I’m considering importing a car from the states, through E-Bay Motors, but I’m a little hesitant about the whole process…the main factor being that you don’t get to check out the car in person before agreeing to purchase the car. Has anyone been through this or have any opinions or suggestions in regards to this situation? It would be an amazing deal, provided the car is as good as the seller claims it to be. He has posted a carfax report of the car, which proves to have a clean title. Other than that, I’d also like to know the whole process of having to switch it to a Canadian title, etc. Any information would be appreciated, thanks.
you’ll need DRL’s and that will probably cost only 150
I hate people who offer advice when they don’t know 100%, but I’m confident enough in this one, I’m pretty sure you notify the border 24h in advance of you bringing the car across, they make you pay whatever government fees; taxes, etc… Your car gets a thorough tech inspection, you may have to update certain things to met regulation (DTRL’s for example, as mentioned above), then you get the ownership changed over and presto…
Someone correct me or supplement that please.
I was going to do this as well… ended up deciding against it.
http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/impusae.htm
That website gives pretty much all the information about it I think. That’s what I was looking through.
If it helps, I bought my car without ever seeing it or driving it and I love it. I talked to the seller and he seemed like a nice guy, also got a clean carfax report. Maybe I got lucky though.
[COLOR=“Magenta”]Yeah…I was just reading up on the Transport Canada requirements on importing a car from the U.S. and it’s not too reassuring lol…seems like a lot could go wrong. Maybe it’s not worth the risk after all? :\ [/COLOR]
Its a huge PITA. Unless you’re saving a lot of money and you have a lot of spare time, its not worth it.
Oh I’d definitely be saving a lot of money…$5000 for a 97 kouki.
$200 for the import document
+$100 if the car has ac
- pay the Gst at the border
Then u have a limited amt of time to get an etest … i think Cdn tire was one of the approved places.
and u will need Daytime running lights.
You have 45 days to meet the RIV (registrar of imported vehicles) tech inspection standards. You need Canadian DTRL and manual seatbelt (if it is an s13, however USDM S14’s had manual seatbelts, so you should be ok there).
unlike other people in this thread, i’ve been through the import process several times both personally and for work
as far as whether it’s worth it to import a US vehicle, theres no simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer
it all depends on a bunch of factors… im not gonna get into it all but you can pm me to hear more about it
www.riv.ca
I looked into this a while ago, and I cant remember the specifics so I won’t talk like i do… but it is a LOT simpler if the car is older than 15 years (pre-1992, soon '93)
Well here’s the link to it…but it’s too late now lol Bidding’s over…I decided against it just because it’s probably a big head ache, especially for someone who has 0 experience in the matter. Anyway, some lucky mofo just got what appears to be a mint kouki for 5 grand :mad:
For what it’s worth i’m going through this next week.
But my car is 15+ so, its easy as pie.
i just did it with a 15+ year old car last week…
Yep US cars FTW.
Exept for those gay seatbelts… oh wait, mine doesnt have those.
For all cars, you need DRLs, kmh showing on the speedo (usually does in smaller numbers), french tags on the safety stuff and child seat hooks.
A lot of companies have their own stuff you have to do though, it’s all written at www.riv.ca
i’m moving to ontario in may from va beach. what is DTRL? (edit:ah,daytime runing lights)i’ve been reading over the riv site and i’m curious about anybody thats brought a modified car into canada. the site states “Vehicles that have been modified from their original state, other than regular maintenance, may not be eligible for importation into Canada. For examples, van transformed into a motor home (often known as class B motor home), van equipped with raised roof and/or modified interior, pick-up or passenger car equipped with lift kit, etc.” does anyone know if this will apply to a lowered s13 with 5-lug conv? i’ve also read both that i have to change to manual belts and that i’m exempt due to the 15yr. still got the original n/a ka in it so no issue there. good thing i got some time to figure this out 'cause i’m not trying to drive back to Va from the border for some bs.
btw, i’ve been cruising the forum for awhile and it seems like there are quite a few knowledgeable 240 fans here. i look forward to meeting y’all on the streets of ON this summer. oh, and so theres no confusion or jokes i’m not american. born in windsor, just had my fill of the US if ya know what i mean!
RIV doesn’t apply to vehicles 15 years old and over
Whatever Osad said about dtrl doesnt apply to s13… well maybe a late 1993 or a 1994 since they are less than 15 years old.
Solution to avoid taxes and hassle : buy 1992 and lower 