OP, you didnt mention how much you had to pay the scooter man. Percentage? Standard fee? I would love to import a vehicle but am worried about salt. Is there anywhere in CAN that doesnt use salt?
Importing a vehicle from Canada B.C. to the U.S. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Borick
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jblueridge
SILVER Star
Import Duty Tax (or whatever) was 2.5% of what I paid for the BJ74; Customs translated Canadian dollars to US$.
Also a one-time fee of about $45 for processing or some such nonsense.
Also a one-time fee of about $45 for processing or some such nonsense.
jblueridge
SILVER Star
Yeah. The last thing you want to do is ask a bunch of questions... if you're in, you're in!
You mean, that to import a vehicle into USA from Canada, all you pay is 2.5% duty on purchase price? Does state of Washington charge you
state tax on top of that? Or a federal sales tax as well?? I'm not asking what you paid for the truck, I'm just curious what the percentages are that you are charged by Homeland Customs and Border Protection, and federal and state taxes as well.
jblueridge
SILVER Star
I was not at the border; I hired a customs brokerage firm to handle the details. That bill came to about $450. As recall, $300 or so went to US Gov't. Plus the 2.5% of price. Plus the $45 processing fee. I can't lay my hand on the brokerage invoice right now.
yes, state of Virginia got me for "sales tax" when I got the thing titled/licensed. That varies by state I'm sure.
yes, state of Virginia got me for "sales tax" when I got the thing titled/licensed. That varies by state I'm sure.
Double jeapordy!
Well, in Canada, we are charged 8% import duty unless the vehicle was made in the US. Then in BC
we pay 5% GST(goods and services) + 7 % PST (provincial sales). So add 20% to purchase price.
I'd say you got off easy. Just curious, thanks
fireball
SILVER Star
Many thanks to the original poster. This thread was very helpful to me as a few months ago I bought a BJ74 from a dealer in Vancouver and drove it down into the USA.
I'll quickly share my experience here so that others may better understand the process.
I purchased the car via bank transfer. The dealer sent me a bill of sale and a registration transfer form. In the US we are used to signing over titles, but the registration transfer form is the CA equivalent. So I drove across the border and followed the steps above "I'd like to import this vehicle" and went into customs. The only hangup was that they wanted to further prove the vehicle was over 25 years old. After a bit of searching and some key help from @wardharris I was able to point them to the toyodiy website which shows a build date when you type in the VIN number.
I had to pay the $30 fee (first $1000 at 3%) plus 2.5% based on purchase price. FWIW, my bill of sale from the dealer was in CAD funds, but the border agent did everything in US dollars. So I paid about $50 extra for the entry, but wasn't about to argue with the border guard. I asked a few times what all paperwork I needed and he assured me the ENTRY SUMMARY form he handed me was all I needed.
Fast forward a few weeks when I go to register the car in PA and find out that PA requires form HS-7 and EPVA 3520-1. These are the forms that say that the vehicle is 25 years old or older and doesn't need to conform to crash testing or EPA guidelines. I ended up having to call the local customs office in Harrisburg, drive up there and have them sign and stamp the forms for me. So then I took the ENTRY SUMMARY, form HS-7 and form EPVA 3520-1 and went back to the DMV, paid my monies and walked out with a PA license plate!
I have a few things to do before I get the truck inspected, but I now have a proper and legal PA title for my JDM truck!
In summary, don't be scared of the process! It was all very easy, if not a bit unnerving since I'd never done it before. Make sure you have the current papers from the CAD sale, and make sure the border guards give you the REQUIRED paperwork for your state. I found out that to register a imported truck in Washington, you do not need the two forms above, so that is likely why the guard didn't provide them. Both forms you essentially check off a box that says the form isn't required because the vehicle is older than 25 years.
And last thing, print out the toyodiy VIN check information and have that handy. Since there is no build date stamped on the frame or info on the VIN plate, the guard wanted a way to verify the age of the truck.
Thanks again to the folks in the thread for posting their info, and I hope my information above might help someone in the future!
I'll quickly share my experience here so that others may better understand the process.
I purchased the car via bank transfer. The dealer sent me a bill of sale and a registration transfer form. In the US we are used to signing over titles, but the registration transfer form is the CA equivalent. So I drove across the border and followed the steps above "I'd like to import this vehicle" and went into customs. The only hangup was that they wanted to further prove the vehicle was over 25 years old. After a bit of searching and some key help from @wardharris I was able to point them to the toyodiy website which shows a build date when you type in the VIN number.
I had to pay the $30 fee (first $1000 at 3%) plus 2.5% based on purchase price. FWIW, my bill of sale from the dealer was in CAD funds, but the border agent did everything in US dollars. So I paid about $50 extra for the entry, but wasn't about to argue with the border guard. I asked a few times what all paperwork I needed and he assured me the ENTRY SUMMARY form he handed me was all I needed.
Fast forward a few weeks when I go to register the car in PA and find out that PA requires form HS-7 and EPVA 3520-1. These are the forms that say that the vehicle is 25 years old or older and doesn't need to conform to crash testing or EPA guidelines. I ended up having to call the local customs office in Harrisburg, drive up there and have them sign and stamp the forms for me. So then I took the ENTRY SUMMARY, form HS-7 and form EPVA 3520-1 and went back to the DMV, paid my monies and walked out with a PA license plate!
I have a few things to do before I get the truck inspected, but I now have a proper and legal PA title for my JDM truck!
In summary, don't be scared of the process! It was all very easy, if not a bit unnerving since I'd never done it before. Make sure you have the current papers from the CAD sale, and make sure the border guards give you the REQUIRED paperwork for your state. I found out that to register a imported truck in Washington, you do not need the two forms above, so that is likely why the guard didn't provide them. Both forms you essentially check off a box that says the form isn't required because the vehicle is older than 25 years.
And last thing, print out the toyodiy VIN check information and have that handy. Since there is no build date stamped on the frame or info on the VIN plate, the guard wanted a way to verify the age of the truck.
Thanks again to the folks in the thread for posting their info, and I hope my information above might help someone in the future!
Southern Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland tend to have much less salt use than the rest of Canada. Also key to get one from an urban, non- hard-core wheeling area.
Good info!
Resurrecting an old thread .. but if buying Canadian vehicles - my 2 cents:
1) do not buy from Ontario or any province east of Ontario unless a low mileage/newer vehicle from Southern Ontario (crappy roads in most of the other locations accelerate chipping and corrosion -- and everywhere has cold damp salty winters! I am pretty sure that even fiberglass will rust here!!) Quebec cars are not to be trusted: they roll back the odometers, smoke heavily, drive into curbs at high speeds as they try to make out with their girlfriends while checking the rear view mirror and hope that their wives aren't following them in the other car! If you buy any vehicle from the Maritimes you may never be able to get the smell of the Pine air freshener out of the upholstery -- or the smell of Molsons Canadian out of the carpets!
2) Manitoba and Saskatchewan can be ok because even with the salt -- climate is cold and DRY so corrosion is slowed - you can occasionally find surprisingly good vehicles here. A lot of them will have no chrome! and if they could take the radio out - it will be missing too! Devils work you know!! Used to be a 15 year old sedan from anyplace north of Regina would have 3000 miles on it - while the 3 year old "half-ton" would have 65,000 miles on it.
3) Alberta .. dont know - I think it can be a coin toss -- Edmonton is the only place I regular rent vehicles where the Avis/Hertz dealers make a big issue over windshield coverage. Maybe they think you are going to drive the ALCAN? As a general observation - Albertans drive the piss out of their vehicles -- like my father did!
4) BC can be pretty good due to far less/no road salt and mild climate - and people in BC are "kinder gentler flower children" who name their Volvo's after fairy tale characters.
1) do not buy from Ontario or any province east of Ontario unless a low mileage/newer vehicle from Southern Ontario (crappy roads in most of the other locations accelerate chipping and corrosion -- and everywhere has cold damp salty winters! I am pretty sure that even fiberglass will rust here!!) Quebec cars are not to be trusted: they roll back the odometers, smoke heavily, drive into curbs at high speeds as they try to make out with their girlfriends while checking the rear view mirror and hope that their wives aren't following them in the other car! If you buy any vehicle from the Maritimes you may never be able to get the smell of the Pine air freshener out of the upholstery -- or the smell of Molsons Canadian out of the carpets!
2) Manitoba and Saskatchewan can be ok because even with the salt -- climate is cold and DRY so corrosion is slowed - you can occasionally find surprisingly good vehicles here. A lot of them will have no chrome! and if they could take the radio out - it will be missing too! Devils work you know!! Used to be a 15 year old sedan from anyplace north of Regina would have 3000 miles on it - while the 3 year old "half-ton" would have 65,000 miles on it.
3) Alberta .. dont know - I think it can be a coin toss -- Edmonton is the only place I regular rent vehicles where the Avis/Hertz dealers make a big issue over windshield coverage. Maybe they think you are going to drive the ALCAN? As a general observation - Albertans drive the piss out of their vehicles -- like my father did!
4) BC can be pretty good due to far less/no road salt and mild climate - and people in BC are "kinder gentler flower children" who name their Volvo's after fairy tale characters.
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Has anyone had any experience importing a Suv that is not 25 years old from BC into The US, Washington state? Am looking at a 2010 Lexus LX 570, Does that vehicle count as a 25% duty fee truck or 2.5%? I am assuming it is probably rated as a truck...?
BC is generally salt free I believe, as is AB, but they use "pea gravel" on the roads in AB, which is why the rental guy was worked up about windshield coverage. SK and MB use salt, but winter is cold here, not like southern ON. Northern ON is like MB in a lot of ways. Southern ON and east is all salt/rust country IMO.
gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
From all my reading I do not believe it is possible to import anything that is less than 25yrs old from outside the US to inside the US without considerable pull and heartache. Seems like the EPA standards for crash testing require everything to meet US standards for both emissions and crash. I could be wrong but anything that would not be considered a "classic" vehicle (more than 25yrs old) I would probably look at using an import firm to do all the work.
I think if it was originally a North American market vehicle, it falls under the NAFTA agreement and can be imported freely, this would include Mexico and Canada imports. The Lexus LX570 @Ruffaroundtheedges was asking about is the same as the US market truck with the exception of DRL's and a speedo in km/h as the prominent numbers, among other small things. That being said, I'm sure there's some hoops to jump through, but it shouldn't fall under the 25 year rule like imports from Japan/Australia/Europe/etc.
New Mexico requires proof of insurance before they will even talk to you.
I had a bit of fun getting mine done because it has a British Columbia assigned VIN. It came into BC with it's original 10 digit JDM VIN and BC changed it into an international 17 digit VIN. The net result is it reads like a vehicle that was manufactured in Canada.
Result: insurance company computer meltdown and blank stares from NM MVD drones.....
I think it's insured. At least I am paying for it.....
I know this thread is OLD, but it was the only thing i could find online that mentioned an BC Assigned VIN and a Cruiser in the US. Im hoping Cruiserdan can shed some light on this. Did you have issues importing with a BC Assigned VIN? I know the JDM cruisers have the short VIN and that BC will assign a VIN. Before I try to bring it across the border I'd like to know if anyone has dealt with this?
HELP!!!
