57 replies to this topic

[G-Man]

Dang you guys are funny. I don't need coffee now.

[van-island]

I'm planning on importing a car this spring... I wonder if the guv will go through with its plans?

[gumgum]

Which kind of car? Was it difficult to arrange? What are the costs?
I'd be interested in the details, van-island.

[renthefinn]

I looked into importing cars from Japan, and there is definately money to be had, the only problem I ran up to was that you need to store any vehicle for a period of time to get the necessary inspections done, before it can be insurable in the province. Now meeting all the requirements for the inspection is another story, you might need a couple or 3 inspections before it passes. Now if you did it a few times you could get the routine down and it wouldn't be much of a problem, but for my investment budget it didn't make a lot of sense.

[van-island]

Which kind of car? Was it difficult to arrange? What are the costs?
I'd be interested in the details, van-island.

I haven't gotten into anything seriously as of yet. I've still got a month left on my contract over here, and then I'll be looking into things.

Right now I'm sort of looking around at potential cars. I've already decided that a Mitsubishi Minica Toppo is what I want - now it's just a matter of finding one in decent shape for the right price, and sorting out a company to ship it to New Westminster. If anyone has information on that I'd love to hear it!

To be quite honest I also have no idea of the costs involved. I'm pretty sure that I can get the car for less than $1000, and if all the costs after that come in at under $2000 I'm happy to pay ~$3000 for a 15 year old ride.

[rayne_k]

Apparently Chevrolet also makes some smaller vans - check out the people squished in the back seat!:

[Holden West]

Right-hand drive vehicles safe
Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, January 24, 2008

Re: "Right steering a safety hazard," Jan. 21.

I had to shake my head at the letter about right-hand drive vehicles. I operate a government vehicle inspection station. I inspect a good number of these vehicles and the vast majority of them are in excellent shape. If they are not, they do not get licensed. I would say that when they pass inspection they are in better shape than many domestic vehicles on our roads.

It is easy to confuse the issue when we discuss driving in other countries.

Naturally, if you started driving on the opposite side of the road it would be a very difficult adjustment, but merely switching driving positions in a vehicle is quite another matter.

I have been driving various right-hand drive cars and trucks for two years; I have one as a daily driver during summer months. I find it usually only takes a few minutes to find your place on the road and you soon experience no adjustment period. It becomes normal, similar to switching between a small car and a large SUV. Garbage truck drivers do it every day, as well as mail carriers in many parts of North America.

As we have mostly four-lane highways passing is not an issue unless you are following too close.

To lump all right-hand drive vehicles together is ridiculous. Some are diesel SUVs that are designed to travel at conventional speed and highway condition. Others have three times (or more) horsepower than is required for responsible driving.

I would be interested in which of these vehicles this ICBC study shows are more likely to crash.

Every car can be dangerous. Responsible drivers should have the right to choose.

Bill Dean

Nanaimo

[D.L.]

interesting thanks for posting

[valleyflyfisher]

My brother picked up a 1991 Toyota Hilux diesel a couple of years ago, it had 54,000 K on it and was pretty much like new condition,($17,000 all in) the only issue he had conforming to the regs was the need to add some reflective strips on the front and rear fenders as the factory lights do not show from the side view.
Since that time he has purchased 3 more, all three are Preludes for his wife, daughter and son, all of which with very low K's and in fantastic shape for their age.

Here is my bros truck, the thing is amazing and he has taken it places only ATV's would think of going and he averages well over 30 miles per gallon, sorry for the "old school" mileage reference.

[Galvanized]

^Wow, a Toyota without a rusty box on the back. Looks nice!

[Fergus]

Japanese cars are also popular with some high-performance-car fans. There's seems to be a particular cult around the Nissan Skyline series.

renthefinn is correct that there are necessary inspections, but it goes beyond that. You can count on any Japanese import to fail right off the boat. Why? Right-hand drive cars have a different headlight orientation than left-hand drive cars, so the headlights need to be fully replaced prior to passing inspection. It shouldn't be a huge expense, but the point is that you should expect some adjustments to be required.

If you want to import a Japanese car, you should probably get advice from someone who has actually done the whole process before paying an exporter.

Here's a Japanese import I noticed on View. Amusingly, the illustration on the Mitsubishi vehicle depicts a what I believe I recognize as a Swedish sports car. (It's a Koenigsegg CCX, no?)

[Holden West]

I see the newest trend here with these imports is to take a little Japanese minivan and transform it into a modern-looking VW Microbus.



Which is funny because Volkswagen is trying to leverage the Microbus nostalgia factor with the advertising for their new Routan mini-van, which actually looks just like a standard boring mini-van and nothing like the retro-cool Microbus.

This must have VW marketing execs scratching their heads.

[Mike K.]

I'm considering importing a classic vehicle from the US into Canada. My question is, will the WA state sales tax I'll have to pay when transferring ownership of the vehicle be something I can get reimbursed?

[LJ]

I'm considering importing a classic vehicle from the US into Canada. My question is, will the WA state sales tax I'll have to pay when transferring ownership of the vehicle be something I can get reimbursed?

If you are buying a vehicle for export, which you are, you do not pay WA state sales tax.

 

You will have to pay Canadian tax on the value however.

Edited by LJ, 22 January 2017 - 07:17 PM.

[Szeven]

I just did this over the holidays for a 20 year old vehicle from Florida. I can answer any questions if you need Mike.

[Mike K.]

Thanks, everyone!

 

The top-of-mind questions I have are:

 

- with the vehicle of 1975 vintage, I can't check the recall database to ensure if it has its recalls (if any) sorted out. Will I still need a letter from the manufacturer identifying that it is recall free?

 

- this recall letter, if applicable, do I present it at the border, or once the vehicle is examined in Canada?

 

- because vehicles from that era had odometers in miles in both the US and in Canada, will I be required to alter the odometer once the vehicle is imported into the country, but thereby altering its collector status?

 

- regarding the value and taxes at the border, will CBSA tax me on the book value of the car, or the actual paid amount?

 

- is the requirement to supply US border services with the VIN 72 business hours prior to arriving at the border a staunch requirement, or do they process these requests faster, at times?

 

- and lastly, would using the 520 crossing be recommended over I-5/Peace Arch?

[LJ]

It would be classed as a "vintage" automobile and as such should outside of the "recall free" category.

 

As far as the odometer is concerned it is fine to be in miles. I imported 3 different cars and although not vintage there was no requirement for the odometer to be in KM's. The speedometer needed to show KM's but a simple overlay can do that although in vintage cars I don't think that would be a requirement either.

 

The value you declare would have to be close to book value and you would need receipts or some explanation of why the vehicle is of lesser value than book.

 

I used the Coho so I can't help you on the different crossings but a friend of mine brought a truck in last year through Douglas and the CBSA agent was much less than helpful. I had no problems at Victoria but your mileage may vary.

 

I dealership supplied the VIN to the US border services and one time I got in trouble because I drove the car for three days before bringing it over the border. You are supposed to go direct from purchase to border if you are exporting. The person you are buying the car from should be able to give you the VIN well ahead of time.

 

Just follow the steps listed at https://www.riv.ca/I...ngAVehicle.aspx and you will be fine.

[Mike K.]

Thank you!