Importing a Car From Canada

[Bailey Guns]

Have any of you ever imported a car from Canada? I found one I want in Vancouver, BC. It's a run-of-the-mill Chevy Cruze (diesel) but it's thousands less than anything I can find in the PacNW (thanks to the exchange rate). I found some info on the CBP and EPA websites but I'm looking for first-hand experiences and tips.

[sniper7]

Not sure about this way but I know for a long time the Canucks would buy Atvs in the states and take them back when the exchange rate was more favorable for them. Still taxes and whatnot added on but ended up cheaper than buying from a dealer up there.
i assume it is the same as far as taxes go and then the titling and emissions might be several hoops to jump through.

[Monky]

I know people who buy them in Germany and bring them over.. don't see it being anything harder than a normal trip to the DMV if you have your ducks in a row


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[ruthabagah]

I did. Worst idea ever. There are a lot of difference between cars for the canadian market and the us market. Spare parts maybe diferent (some part ,will use a certain type of clip in the us, fastener in CA), battery and alternator will be different. And when its time to resale NOBODY will buy your car.

The 2 cars i imported were a jeep cherokee and a saab. Guess which one was the worse? The jeep.....

[ray1970]

I'm too lazy to drive around converting kilometers to miles. It's much easier for the speedometer to match the speed limit signs without all of the arithmetic.

Oh, and I'm pretty certain I remember a warranty claim being denied on a Canadian Chevrolet here in the states because the vehicle wasn't built for this country. General Motors told them they would have to take it to a dealer in Canada to have the repairs covered under warranty.

[ruthabagah]

I'll confirm what ray posted: warranty will cease or be refused.... odometer will have to be swapped and may be reset to zero making the resale even harder....

[Bailey Guns]

The odo is actually in miles (according to the photo...it could be the digital type that's switchable from miles to KMs) so I'm not worried about that. The warranty issue would bother me...that's part of the attraction of this particular car. Lots of warranty if honored by GM.

OK...so I'll do some checking on the issues you've all mentioned. Appreciate the input.

[ruthabagah]

The odo is actually in miles (according to the photo...it could be the digital type that's switchable from miles to KMs) so I'm not worried about that. The warranty issue would bother me...that's part of the attraction of this particular car. Lots of warranty if honored by GM.

OK...so I'll do some checking on the issues you've all mentioned. Appreciate the input.

Last post and i'll stop: The problem with the warranty is that Canadian warranty or US one will only work if the vehicle is titled in the country where the warranty was issued.... If the car is sold in Canada, with a Canadian title/plate you can have warranty work performed in both US and Canada. If you title the vehicle in the US, you loose your warranty. Jeep was an absolute no-no to transfer or buy the warranty, Saab (Gm at the time), did actually refuse to service the car at any of their location.....

[brutal]

This thread and the 80% lower thread could get merged.