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Cost of Importing from Canada?

Bleep Bleep

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If you’ve imported from Canada how much was your total cost to get across the border? Duties, Custom bond, DOT bond, gas guzzler?, broker, shipping. It sounds ridiculous so your feedback is helpful.
(not incl registration and insurance pieces)

Thanks!
 
First off it depends on if the car was originally sold in Canada or in the US. If originally a US model you are just returning it here, although it still goes through customs. If a Canadian model then you are basically importing it from scratch and I believe the costs and process increase. No expert but I did buy a U.S. built Satellite out of Canada a few years ago and the seller handled most of the process with little problem. It had to be off loaded from the transport to go through the customs warehouse and then loaded back on another transport.

Hope others can be a little more specific.
 
I have always been under the opinion, observation, that it's us Canucks that have a PITA importing a car. We have to give 3 days notice of showing up at the border with said car. All paperwork already has to be forwarded/faxed to the border point you're crossing and must include a valid title / ownership. There is only ONE broker that is allowed to do such paperwork on you behalf for the US government and you can't do it on your own. You have to present the car at US customs to sign the vehicle is leaving the country. Then you have to stop at Canada Customs and fill out more paperwork and pay the 5%GST tax on the sale amount. Then again you can ONLY take the car to Canadian Tire for a safety check certificate... it's a racket.

Canada to the USA. Drive up here, buy the car, load it and drive home same day. I presume you have to declare it, but if you don't live in a border state they won't even collect tax.
 
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First off it depends on if the car was originally sold in Canada or in the US. If originally a US model you are just returning it here, although it still goes through customs. If a Canadian model then you are basically importing it from scratch and I believe the costs and process increase. No expert but I did buy a U.S. built Satellite out of Canada a few years ago and the seller handled most of the process with little problem. It had to be off loaded from the transport to go through the customs warehouse and then loaded back on another transport.

Hope others can be a little more specific.
Thank you!
 
I have always been under the opinion, observation, that it's us Canucks that have a PITA importing a car. We have to give 3 days notice of showing up at the border with said car. All paperwork already has to be forwarded/faxed to the border point you're crossing and must include a valid title / ownership. There is only ONE broker that is allowed to do such paperwork on you rehalf for the US government and you can't do it on your own. You have to present the car at US customs to sign the vehicle is leaving the country. Then you have to stop at Canada Customs and fill out more paperwork and pay the 5%GST tax on the sale amount. Then again you can ONLY take the car to Canadian Tire for a safety check certificate... it's a racket.

Canada to the USA. Drive up here, buy the car, load it and drive home same day. I presume you have to declare it, but if you don't live in a border state they won't even collect tax.
That sounds simple enough. Actually happier now that I don’t live Canada.
:confederateflag:
 
A few year’s ago we got a car in the States. Seller didn’t get the title by the time we got there to purchase it.Long story.
Explained things to US customs when we got there. They checked things and cleared us.
Canadian customs questioned us, especially when I forgot to mention a 300.00 deposit. Little bit of a hassle.
Another time I arranged to get a 69 notchback Barracuda from a friend in Oklahoma. Another friend trailer it to Bismarck. We unloaded it and Cal put the Saskatchewan plates on it and headed home.
US customs cleared it, went to Canadian Customs who collected the tax and we were off. Total time about 2 hours.
 
I took my '64 Polara 500 convertible to Carlisle to sell a few years ago. This was a U.S. car, built in Detroit. In short time, I had an interested buyer who gave me a sizeable deposit on it. I had to explain that I could not actually sell it to him there, that day, because I had not brokered it across the border, and did not have the required import documents. He would have to buy my car in Ontario and be the importer to U.S. He agreed to this.
In the meantime, I obtained, filled out, and signed required forms to declare this car did not need to confirm to modern emission and safety standards due to its age. I met the buyer near the border crossing, where we transferred the car from my buddy's trailer to his. After final payment, I gave him a notarized bill of sale, and the signed vehicle portion of my Ontario vehicle ownership document. I told him that U.S. Customs would make out import papers for him, and he would have to give the emissions and safety forms to them. He was not required to have the papers at the border 72 hours ahead of importing the car, as we in Canada must.
Speaking to him a couple of days l
ater, he said the process at the border went smoothly, only taking about 15 minutes. No taxes, fees, or anything.
 
I took my '64 Polara 500 convertible to Carlisle to sell a few years ago. This was a U.S. car, built in Detroit. In short time, I had an interested buyer who gave me a sizeable deposit on it. I had to explain that I could not actually sell it to him there, that day, because I had not brokered it across the border, and did not have the required import documents. He would have to buy my car in Ontario and be the importer to U.S. He agreed to this.
In the meantime, I obtained, filled out, and signed required forms to declare this car did not need to confirm to modern emission and safety standards due to its age. I met the buyer near the border crossing, where we transferred the car from my buddy's trailer to his. After final payment, I gave him a notarized bill of sale, and the signed vehicle portion of my Ontario vehicle ownership document. I told him that U.S. Customs would make out import papers for him, and he would have to give the emissions and safety forms to them. He was not required to have the papers at the border 72 hours ahead of importing the car, as we in Canada must.
Speaking to him a couple of days l
ater, he said the process at the border went smoothly, only taking about 15 minutes. No taxes, fees, or anything.
Appreciate you sharing. It appears there’s a lot of different experiences, but never having been through it, boy does it make me think twice.
 
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