Importing Cars [Merged 5-8] import skyline evo wrx Canada

[abstraction]

Hey,

I was just wondering if anyone has imported an Eclipse into Canada? If so, was it worth the effort? was it too much of a hassle?

I know i can save a lot of money strictly in the conversion of average US prices to average CDN prices of a 2G GS. but am i going to get reamed on taxes?

Thanks,

Abstraction

(sorry if this got double posted)

 

[KRAB]

I'm looking to doing the same thing and tried calling a few places and some body told me not to waste my time and money. Then I went to the 1000 already answered question site and they had the info needed to bring a car from the US into Canada. It isn't bad at all. You have get a 1 week temporary insurance before getting the car, you're suppose to give the boarder 72 hours notice that you are coming and give them the cars vin number (creates less hassle at the boarder). At the boarder you have to pay GST and an air conditioning tax if the car has it (you might also have to pay PST not sure though being from Alberta I didn't worry). If they try and make you duty you don't have to, since the car was built in the US it is not applicable. When you bring the car back you need to rewire your head lights or fog light into day time running light and buy baby seat carriage strap (but you don't have to install it, figure that out) this is manditory for all Canadian vehicles. You also have to get a provincal inspection and federal inspection. It cost one person $224 (Can) to get all of this done and she needed to get her car fixed a bit, so all in all it isn't exspenive. Don't forget about the money for gas needed to bring the car back. I believe that is everything, hope it helps.

 

[DevinGSR]

For those that have imported a mitsubishi from the states in canada, what did the process involve? Would you go the same route or just look for one in Canada? Keep in mind I would likely have to do a cross province inspection, as most mitsubishi's are in B.C and Alberta...

 

[Defiant]

It's gotta be a fairly common occurence, but you'd have to ask on your side of the line. I don't know what they do about things like daytime running lights and whatever other differences you have.

 

[DevinGSR]

One person I talked to with a gst for sale said he would never bother with the trouble again, but I didnt get into specifics. Apparently there is no need to get the speedometer switched from miles to kilometeres, but Id imagine it would have to be safetied. Since the talon is sold in canada, im hoping the mitsu is capable of running daytime lights.

 

[heavyD]

To register the car in Canada, you have to install the child seat harness in the hatch which is no problem, the hard part is the daytime running lights. You can buy datime light conversions for $30.00 from Canadian tire but they won't work on Mitsubishi's. You have no choice but to spend $600.00 CDN for the DRL module from an Eagle Talon. Add that to the $150.00 out of Country inspection which can only be done at Crappy (Canadian) Tire plus any little parts they rip you off err...make you replace as they see fit, and $60.00 registration. When all is said and done it will cost you about $1000.00 CDN to do all of this.

I would only do it if the car is in perfect shape and it is a great deal. Otherwise you are probably better off buying a Talon. If you really want an Eclipse, you can buy them from Eclipse Automobiles in Toronto, they import Eclipses. But be warned, they are snakes!!!

 

[DevinGSR]

There is a guy in Edmonton that imports eclipses as well, but he sounds a little shady and I was told to be wary of roll backs on the odometer...
I should really be satisfied with the talon, but for some reason I prefer the looks of the eclipse.
Thanks for the info.

 

[Lunch_Box]

Okay importing a car isn't as bad as everyone is making it out to be.

1. You don't need to install the child safety harness, just prove that you have purchased one.
2. You don't need to have your head lights as your day time running lights. You can just use some fog lights, perfectly legal.
3. The exspensive part is the inspections, federal and provicial.
In total this will not cost you $1000 can, more like $250.
4. There are a couple of things you need to do before you go get your car. You have to get temporary insurance, give the cars VIN# to the Canadian boarder crossing that yo will be going through at least 3 days in advance to you coming back. At the boarder you have to pay an Air conditioning tax (if the car has it) and GST. You don't have to pay dutie because the car was made in the USA.

Hope this was able to help you out.

 

[DevinGSR]

The reason behind the child safety harness is very puzzling to me. Also, do DSM's come with fog lights or would I need to buy some? Can these changes be made after it is in Canada, or does everything have to be done prior to crossing the border?
Any more experience or input that people have had doing this would be great!

 

[thedrjayman]

before i bought my mitsu i looked in how much it would cost me.
You have to first pay the state tax where you buy it from ex. Michigan 6% than when you bring into Canada GST 7% than PST 8%(Ontario) than 5% duty. For me i was looking at 26% tax + 50% exchange rate. Not to mention the safety, e-test.
Lucky for me my brother in law brought his gsx over and i bought it from him.
I don't have DRL's on my car. Not sure how he got away with that.

 

[Lunch_Box]

You don't have to pay duty. If you do than you are a chump. Go on to the transport canada website it will tell you that you dont have to. I believe on Vfaq there is a section for importing cars. And I never paid any state tax. JUST GST adn the AIR condion tax. I don't know why but you don't have to install the child saftey harness just show that you have it. Go buy it and when you take the car in for the inspection toss it in the back seat so they can see it. The car doesn't come with fog lights unless the previous drive put some on. You can bring the car back to canada the way you bought and then I believe you have 45 days to fix what ever is need and add the lights so it can pass the inspections.

 

[heavyD]

Originally posted by Lunch_Box
Okay importing a car isn't as bad as everyone is making it out to be.

1. You don't need to install the child safety harness, just prove that you have purchased one.
2. You don't need to have your head lights as your day time running lights. You can just use some fog lights, perfectly legal.
3. The exspensive part is the inspections, federal and provicial.
In total this will not cost you $1000 can, more like $250.
4. There are a couple of things you need to do before you go get your car. You have to get temporary insurance, give the cars VIN# to the Canadian boarder crossing that yo will be going through at least 3 days in advance to you coming back. At the boarder you have to pay an Air conditioning tax (if the car has it) and GST. You don't have to pay dutie because the car was made in the USA.

Hope this was able to help you out.

Trust a person who went through it. I was lucky because as of June 2003, the government is making it even harder to bring cars across the border or province to province as a wheel alignment is now mandatory whether the car needs ot or not as well as other more stringent changes.

Canadian tire is the only place that can do the out of country inspection and fog lights WILL NOT SUFFICE for DRL. They are very particular and will insist it is the headlights. They also check to see if you have rigged it properly. Trust me, the mechanics at crappy tire are all rejects that couldn't get a job at a dealership so they treat the whole inspection quite seriously to make them feel like they are a real mechanic and not a Mr. Lube graduate.

Also, I didn't say the inspection itself would cost $1000.00. I said that the total of inspections, modifications, registration, etc. will run close to $1000.00. He asked and I told him the truth. You may have been lucky and dealt with leanient mechanics but it wasn't that way for me and I went to two Canadian Tires in Calgary.

 

[Lunch_Box]

Trust a person that went through it, Okay I went through it. You CAN use fog lights. The people at Canadian tire didn't think you could but I proved them wrong, at first they reject me with fog lights but I was persistant and proved to them that it was legal. Look at the new dodges they don't use there head lights for DRL they use fog lights. Look on the transport canada website, it says that you can use fog lights for your DRL. I never ment that the inspection was $1000, I understood what you ment, but in total it cost me no more than $250 to import my old car.

 

[nametakennow]

Why the hell do they have a tax on AC?

 

[Lunch_Box]

I couldn't tell you why they put a tax on A/C. That's the government for ya, they tax anyhting and everything.

 

[Defiant]

It's because Chicken Little told them the sky was falling through the ozone. Freon and 134a are destroying the atmosphere, y'know... even though the highest guess at automotive AC use of Freon was on the order of 3% of the total. We can't keep ants out of a 10'X12' kitchen, but they want us to believe we can destroy the atmosphere.

I thought the mandatory wheel alignment was the good one.

Baby seats? My god, how did any of us ever live this long?

 

[DevinGSR]

Thanks for the input guys. Im glad you at least have time to preform the modifications in Canada after you bring it back.
Now if I could only find a nice GSX somewhere around North Dakota haha.
edit: One more question. What would be the case if I bought a car without a cat? Do they check for emissions etc?

 

[Coldandafraid]

why dont you look in the autotrader for toronto. There are always lots of nice eclipses in there. And, you live in an Allied depot, probly cost $200 or so to ship it too you.

 

[DevinGSR]

Well, 200 dollars for shipping a car sounds pretty good. Then again, I'd probably be buying a car I'd never seen before.

 

[Coldandafraid]

yes, thats the down side. Were you planning on driving to the states to pick up a car?

 

[DevinGSR]

If I could find a nice GSX around the border, even in washington, I was thinking about it. Unfortunately no one seems to sell DSMs in the Dakotas. Just for curiosities sake, what would you pay for a 98 gsx? THere is one in Edmonton listed for 25g's (Canadian). I think it has about 60,XXX miles on it.
Also, I only found one gsx in ontario through trader.ca.

 

[d1abolic]

I'm thinking of importing a 97-99 Spyder GS-T into Canada from the States because the prices there appear to be 20-25% lower. I looked over several government sites describing the process, and it seems pretty straight-forward. Apart from the $200 registration fee, the taxes standard - i'd have to pay em if i bought the car here anyway. And there is no duty fee because the car is US-made, and is therefore exempt.

The one thing that's really bothering me is something called 'child tether anchorage,' which is basically a special back-seat seatbelt for child seats, and is required by the Canadian gov't. Their site says Eclipse doesn't have it (no mention of year, nor whether that goes for Spyder as well), and has to be modified. And an article i found on a private site says that cars that didn't have it factory-installed CAN'T be modified that way.

So what's the deal here? Do 97-99 Spyder GS-Ts have this thing? And if not, how come so many dealerships import them into Canada? Also, does anyone have ANY experience with importing ANY car into Canada? Any general advice?

 

[Black_Stalon]

hey man, dont know if you figured out your little problem but i found this over at dsmtrader.com, might help you.


http://www.gopartstrader.com/cgi-bi...ion=display_sub_list&session=3f71757c4ce32bad

 

[TalonRacer18]

How would that help him? Those are for a 1g and they arent even the tether anchors those are front seat belts. About your question though, do you have to have them even if you dont have kids, or do you have children?

 

[s2000b4idie]

does any onr know how much a skyline would cost? How to get one imported? if any one knows any thing about this subject please share.