I spoke to sales about it at a US dealership. The sell to Canadians all the time, however cannot sell brand new, only Demo or used. They take care of all paper work, send info to the border. The only thing you might have to do about the HL is change the speed display. If you have a VIN number of one, email RIV and they will tell you want you need to fix.

 

Here's the link to RIV and provides a list of mfg and cars that may need to be modified to import to Canada. http://www.tc.gc.ca/motorvehiclesafety/safevehicles/importation/usa/vafus/list2/Section5_4.htm

it says for 2007 and newer Toyotas, Electronic Immobilization System, daytime running lights, and odometer/speedometer changes may be necessary.

Note that this is for import/sale but if you're just planning on driving up for a trip/vacation, no mods necessary.

Also to add to nontoxicart, typically dealers at the border states will not sell new cars to Canadians only demos/used. However, I understand that the further south you go, the better chances of getting a dealer to sell us Canucks a new car.

 

Its for owning / import sale. Friend of mine is looking to buy. They have limited trim levels and they are asking about $6K more

 

I don't think the exchange would make it any more attractive to buy in the US but you'd have to verify. BUT maybe the additional options are worth the effort for your friend.

Rather than finding a dealer that would sell to your Canadian friend, you could purchase and then sell to him/her?

 

Resale will be a problem. It will be less of a headache to buy in Canada and it'll be easier to sell for more money down the line.

 

Agree, bit time headache. Loose about 10% right off the bat if not more. As long as you save enough buying new, it may be worth it.

 

Hmm, Ok. In the 80's folks purchased MBZ 500 in Germany and shipped here, and the savings were very worth it. With the $ being weak, I guess it doesn't make sense anymore anywhere.

 

People ask this all the time in Michigan, being so close to Canada.

There are a lot of issues, including exchange rate, taxes, certification of vehicle in Canada, all of which make it prohibitively expensive

Not to mention dealers are prohibited from doing this and they won't risk losing a franchise just to allow a Canadian purchaser to save a few bucks because cars are cheaper here.

Toyota USA and Canada know exactly what they are doing with different pricing and specifically don't allow cross border sales, and you may have warranty issues as well.

It ain't easy otherwise a lot of people would be doing this


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It is actually easy, but a bit time consuming.Make sure the time is worth your money. Most dealerships in the Buffalo area will help you with it, actually most border dealers will and they have regular Canadian customers. I inquired about a HL recently, and an MDX couple years ago. The problem is purchasing brand new, they can't sell it to you, but they will sell demos and used. Make sure you do your math right and see if it is worth it. HL's come out the around the same (depends on exchange rate). The MDX were cheaper in the US. Warranty info here http://www.apa.ca/CanadianWarrantyinformationonnewcarsboughtintheUS.asp but remember if it is not covered in Canada, you can always go back across the border and service it there. Have done that for my Mitsubishi.

 

Nontoxicart

I agree about buying used cars, that's easy and anyone can buy a used car and bring it home to Canada (or vice versa USA)

I only meant buying new cars is next to impossible because Toyota corporate and dealers don't allow it.

If the OP is interested in buying used he doesn't have to go thru a dealer either

I assumed he was interested in new because he is looking for 3rd gen and there would be very few used 3rd gens at this point


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Thanks all. Ya, he is looking for new, and I thought I'd explore the option for him here.

thanks, I will let him know it isn't worth the trouble

 

Hello,

For those buying HL 2014+ in the U.S. and bringing it in into Canada, can you tell me if the navigation/map includes Canada? I know the traffic will not, but what about the core map and navigation?

Thanks.

-Binsar

 

I bought in the US and have driven in Canada (NW Ontario) and the maps worked just fine for me.

-Eric

 

Thanks Eric. This is really helpful.

And when you said 'map' I am assuming this means both the map as well as the ability to provide directions?

So if I map it from Chicago to Toronto, I will not be left lost once I cross the border, right?

Thanks again.

-Binsar

 

It's ok. There's only one road in Canada. Can't get lost. If you hit an ocean, you've gone too far, so turn around and go back.

Clint

 

The Nav map is North America wide so that should not be an issue. 2 years ago I bought a new Tacoma out of Oregon (via a friend) and exported it to Canada with 100 miles on it. While Toyota USA would not sell me a new vehicle I was able to buy it used from my friend. The Bumper to Bumper warranty is transferrable and honoured at all Canadian Toyota dealerships. As for certification, I had to acquire 2 inspections, one Federal and one Provincial. The Federal one was to insure the DRL's are not switchable and stays on full time and the speedometer shows both Imperial and Metric scales (MPH and Km). If you look at your speedo you will see 2 scales, albeit the metric scale is in smaller font; that's okay. The Provincial inspection is for safety because they assume it is a Used car. Naturally, the Taco passed in flying colours so it was more of a formality in my case.

For the Highlander I bought it locally because there is no price advantage to import from US. The Cdn cars are spec'd a little different from their US counterparts even though the cars all come from the same factory in Indiana. When I compared apples to apples, factor in Exchange rate (10%), cost of inspections ($800) and cost of modifying DRL's ($300), it is a wash and no difference.

The other obstacle this time around is I wanted to trade in my Tacoma which would have been complicated if I didn't do it locally.

So in summary, the importation of a Toyota from US to Canada is not a huge problem. However, crunch your numbers. I don't think the time is ripe for doing so with a Highlander. The only advantage I see is the US cars are available with 1 extra colour choice, the Shoreline Blue. Also, in Canada exterior colours available with the Almond interior are limited to Blizzard Wh and Jade; the only exterior colours available with the Ash leather interior are Black and Pre Dawn Grey.