Here’s a small guide a client of mine wrote up concerning how he managed to purchase a car in the United States and import it into Canada. There’s a lot of paperwork to go through, but you should end up saving quite a bit of money, especially since the Canadian Dollar now is so strong.
- Find a car of your choice.
- See if the car is admissible into Canada, and that it fits the Canadian safety requirements.
- Check the vehicle history by using a service such as CARFAX. You’ll need the car’s VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) to perform the lookup. CARFAX is predominately an American vehicle lookup service, while CarProof is Canadian.
- Check to see if there are any recalls on the car with the dealer and Transport Canada.
- Check to see if there are any modification requirements. Transport Canada (1-800-848-8240) and Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV).
- Negotiate the price of the car with the seller.
- Reserve the vehicle and then send the seller a USD money order, via Fedex or a courier of your choice.
- Prepare the Original Certificate of Title and sales receipt 72 hours before arriving to the border.
- If the vehicle is purchased for resale, you have to advise this to the CBSA (Canadian Border Services Agency).
- Ask for a recall clearance letter from the manufacturer / dealer. Fax this document to RIV, which is 1-888-642-9899, to facilitate the timely release of the inspections form from RIV.
- Anti-theft immobilizers are required.
- If the vehicle will be shipped to you, call a company to arrange transportation, e.g. ShipMyVehicle.com (1-877-512-2227).
- Open an account with a broker, e.g. A&A Contract Custom Brokers Ltd.
- Call the broker and provide the necessary documents: title, registration, sales receipts, buyer information and recall clearance letter.
- Get the Admissible letter from the broker, which he will get from the border.
- Complete Vehicle Import Form #1, from A&A Contract Custom Brokers Ltd.
- Your vehicle will now ship to your chosen destination.
- Get the recall letter from the dealer and send it to the broker in order to complete Form #2.
- Take an appointment with the inspection company. With Canadian Tire, it’ll take you 2-3 days to do so.
- Vehicle inspections must be done prior to licensing and insuring.
- Register the vehicle with Forms #1 and #2 approved by the inspector, recall letter, admissible letter, sales receipts, original certificate of title and pay the 8.5% PST/TVQ sales tax to the SAAQ.
- Change the speedometer to km/h (if possible) and turn on daytime running lights.
- Check to see if there are any other additional costs (duties & taxes) such as the A/C excise tax.