Cross border shopping

[Ralph6410]

With the Canadian dollar better than par the purchase price of a 2011 HL looks better in the US. Anyone with any recent adventures or thoughts they could share about purchasing a HL in the US.

Thanks for your time.

[vinnyd]

Dealers in the US are not allowed to sell Canadians BRAND new vehicles.
Used ones are ok though.
One option, although complicated, is to set up a numbered company in Montana for example. The co. buys the car and sells it to you. Then you simply let the co. dissolve. Cost you about $1000 to set up.

[miatared]

When comparing, pay special attention to standard equipment - as they were/are different.

For example, in 2010 all Canadian 09 HL had:
- mud guards
- trailer towing package
- roof rack cross bars

That may have changed though. Just be careful.

[Ralph6410]

Kind of a redundant topic now for me. Put a deposit on a 2011 base AWD just a few hours ago.
From the limited checking I was able to do buying cross border seems a simple thing. At the border you pay GST, AC tax and the tire recycle fee. When you register for licence plates you need to prove it is "Canadianized". I can not comment on the legality of dealers selling to Canadians but it was apparent that several would be glad to take my money.

As close as I could tell the Canadian (AWD V6) version is very similar the US AWD V6 that then has the "tech" package for $2115.00. The tech package actually is slightly better, gives a stated trailer package and lists the heavy duty items. These are implied in the Canadian version. The electronic selection is also better itemized and I think has more included.

But.. the deal has been struck, now I will have to wait patiently until they can find one, to see what I have bought.

[yorando]

I just purchased a 2011 Highlander Limited a few months ago. Its true Toyota will not sell new to Canadians however I found mine with 1700 miles on it from a dealer ship in San Jose California. The process is not that difficult just some phone calls, patience and document transfers. I hired a US auto shipping company who also acted as my broker and had it delivered right to my door for $2300 including brokerage fee and RIV inspection. All I had to pay was the GST in advance which I would have to do if I bought here. I figure I saved about $9000 in total.
The dealerships are gouging us here for the same vehicles.

[miatared]

Originally Posted by yorando

The dealerships are gouging us here for the same vehicles.

Not just the dealers - but Toyota Canada, they simply add their margin to the US margin - a double whammy for Toyota Japan.

It's not just the auto industry - it's just about any other too

[tagheuer]

Originally Posted by Ralph6410

Kind of a redundant topic now for me. Put a deposit on a 2011 base AWD just a few hours ago.
From the limited checking I was able to do buying cross border seems a simple thing. At the border you pay GST, AC tax and the tire recycle fee. When you register for licence plates you need to prove it is "Canadianized". I can not comment on the legality of dealers selling to Canadians but it was apparent that several would be glad to take my money.

As close as I could tell the Canadian (AWD V6) version is very similar the US AWD V6 that then has the "tech" package for $2115.00. The tech package actually is slightly better, gives a stated trailer package and lists the heavy duty items. These are implied in the Canadian version. The electronic selection is also better itemized and I think has more included.

But.. the deal has been struck, now I will have to wait patiently until they can find one, to see what I have bought.

Uh...you may have problems with this. I live in Detroit, and a lot of the lawyers in my firm are licensed in US and Canada, as a lot of our clients are in Windsor...of course our office is only 30 mins from Canada.

We have done this for clients in the past. You will have to pay tax, and a lot of it, its not just that simple bringing the vehicle across and saving thousands, otherwise why would anyone buy a car in Canada?

Also, some manufacturers will NOT honor the warranty either

Not sure how you are going to escape the tax, you have to register your vehicle in Canada when you bring it back, and they will ask you where you purchased, etc. and the title will have originated from a US dealer.

Unless you want to commit fraud.

[arabianobsession]

Here's another question.....
In the US we use miles. The odometer on a US car will display miles, and the primary speedometer will be in miles per hour.
In Canada, your odometer will display kilometers, and the primary speedometer will be in kilometers per hour.

I don't know if that bothers you or not, but for some, it's very annoying.

[tagheuer]

Originally Posted by arabianobsession

Here's another question.....
In the US we use miles. The odometer on a US car will display miles, and the primary speedometer will be in miles per hour.
In Canada, your odometer will display kilometers, and the primary speedometer will be in kilometers per hour.

I don't know if that bothers you or not, but for some, it's very annoying.

The canucks will make him "canadianize it" as a previous poster noted...he is going to have to swap out the odo or have it reprogrammed.

If this guy is able to buy in the US at thousands less then he could in Canada, bring it back to Canada without paying significant and heavy taxes and without passing inpections and/or making the necessary modifications, and then register the vehicle from a US based title in Canada, I would love to hear about it because we have never been able to do it for our clients...

Also....if you are financing this, through Toyota USA, there are usually contractual provisions which prevent you from removing the vehicle from the US for extended periods of time.

So far we have:

a) US dealers are absolutely prohibited as a matter of law (by virtue of their contract with Toyota USA) to sell to Canadians (I know, my law firm is one of the largest in Metro Detroit and we do a lot of dealer franchise work);

b) your warranty may not be honored;

c) you are not going to be able to register in Canada w/out paying heavy taxes because the VIN and title will prove vehicle originated from a different country;

d) you will have to make small changes to vehicle to make it comply with Canadian standards.

I'm not trying to be a downer here, I'm just giving you my experience based upon 15 years as a commercial litigation attorney who has done this for clients in the past. There is a reason (actually many reasons) why Canadians simply don't drive 30 mins across the border, buy their cars in the US for thousands less then they otherwise could, and simply bring them back...

[arabianobsession]

^Just curious, is that for all cars, not just new? I know of a couple people who live in Canada with US-spec'd cars, and haven't Canadianized them at all.

[Ralph6410]

Just going over some of the internet pages I was looking at while considering cross border shopping. Some general information http://www.importcartocanada.info/faq/
Letting a broker do it all ? http://www.internetautobroker.ca/?gc...FcW8KgodhFdpuw

How "legitimate" these sites are or what kind of complications might arise I can not comment on. On the face of it.. I thought the process could be straight forward. No longer an issue though for me

[castaban]

I have a US built 2008. The hardest part is to find a dealer to sell to Canadians. The whole import process for me took one day and I saved over $8000. Toyota warranty is honored in Canada. The only extra tax I paid is PST on the GST portion of the car. If you find a dealer, it is child's play. No customization is required if you buy Sports or Ltd.

[grandpapa]

If the avg. saving is near $8K, why don't we see more people come down to buy cars? Can someone explain the actual saving?

[castaban]

Finding sellers is a big challenge. And a lot of buyers are doing shopping over the border...
This thread has over 20,000 posts. You can get an idea on the savings y comparing prices from Edmund's

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/wow-n...a-307601/1362/

8000 was my actual savings, I am not making up

[elicitone8584]

I can see there being significant savings as well.. As long as you pick a state with little to no sales tax on vehicles. I am curently looking for a new Tacoma 4dr 4x4 TRD V6. Just comparing MSRP there is almost a $7000 price difference!!! And it appears by the specs that there wouldnt need to be any changes made for the truck to pass certification here...

I think the reason more people don't do it is a combination of conveinience of buying local and the fear of the unknown.