camrowe

My Husband and I are planning to fly into LA, possibly purchase a car and Drive to Vancouver. We will then be spending a year in Vancouver working/holidaying. Does anyone know whether you can purchase a Car in the United States and reside in Canada? Do you have to change registration? Are there any import taxes to pay? other complications??? Thanks all

BAK

The simple answer is yes, you can buy a car in the USA and bring it to Canada, where the car will spend many years. (as distinguished from just being used for a short vacation)

But after that, things get complicated.

Visiting the Canada Border Services Agency web site might help:
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/menu-eng.html

Your message suggests some unanswered questions, including where do you actually live, and how legal will it be for you to work in Canada.

Rules are different, for instance, for immigrants to Canada bringing household goods, including their cars, compared to Canadians importing a car jsut because they want to, either for price reasons or because they've always wanted a 1957 Thunderbird and so bought one at a auction in Arizona.

As for fees... that gets complicated too. If the car is owned by a business, instead of an individual, rules differ.

I know some of this from just standing at a CBSA service counter, beside people trying to bring in cars.

The age of the car matters; older cars are allowed to have non-metric instruments, for instance, and different bumpers.

Again, it gets complicated.

DEpending on your plans, legal residence, etc., you might find the best idea is to buy in the USA, bring it to Canada like any tourist, return to the USA every few months (based on tourist car laws) and stay for a few days, and then come back to Canada, again as a tourist.

The problem with this is that Canada is pretty sensitive about people coming here as workers, pretending to be tourists.

And, to further complicate things, rules for short-term temporary workers vary by country of origina. Canada has a deal with Australia, for instance, that lets Australians spend some time (maybe a year) working in Canada without any intention to live here for many years.

Anyway, hope the web site can help.

krp329

When the Canadian dollar gets near parity with the US dollars, it gets more popular for Canadians to buy a car in the U.S. and import it to Canada. It's complicated and there is a lot of advance work to be done before doing so. We were considering this a year ago, and although I don't remember all the ins and outs of it, my sense of it was that it wasn't really worthwhile for the car we wanted to buy. It has to be an approved year/model, and modifications may be necessary before you can register it. I'm not sure how it would work for Aussies on a temporary work permit, but am guessing even more complicated - and you would want it all legit so that you can sell the car when you leave.

BAK

Another thought, although this is getting complicated.

Buy a car in LA, and sell it in Seattle.

Take the train or bus to Vancouver, and buy a different car in Canada.

Depending on your schedule, it might be better to just rent in LA and drop off in Seattle, or even Bellingham, which is the nearest biggish US city to the border.

It gets complicated / expensive to rent in the USA and drop off in Canada, but it can be done.

BAK

icithecat

I live in B.C. so know some of the rules.

Insurance from outside the province becomes null and void three months after establishing residency here. The car must then be registered in BC and Provincially mandated insurance must be bought. Even if the car comes from that foreign land called Alberta, the car must undergo a safety inspection.

Cars from out of country may require modifications to pass the inspection. For example, in Canada cars must have headlights that come on with the ignition. Elsewhere they don't. That means rewiring the electricals.

The people importing used cars from Japan are finding out that the tires and head/tail lights do not have DOT stamped on them and so are not legal.

Taxes and import duties, I have no clue.

As I said, I just know some of the rules.

zundic

You must get a BC drivers license 90 days after moving to BC. Importing a car into Canada is very straight forward. The day time headlights on is only for cars made in 1991 and above. Its not a rewire job, most cars have them and can be turned on via the diagnostic computer. I imported several cars, as I have a place in the states. One or two I kept the vehicles registered in the states and drove them here in BC. All the police seem to care was it was properly registered and insured in WA. The government can't cancel your registration or insurance from a foreign jurisdiction.

kgsneds

Zundic
It's easy for you because you have a permanent address in Canada, Canadian citizenship or permanent residency and an American address. For someone in Canada on a temporary permit (WHV?) it is complicated - they would not have a Canadian address, a Canadian driver's license or any Canadian driving history (hence very high insurance rates). Plus a car registered in California is going to raise a lot more red flags in BC - that's not a trip someone would make often, unlike Washington.

Going back to the US every few months could become an issue, as non US/non Canadian citizens could run into visa waiver timing issues. I think you have 6 months from your first entry into the US (i.e. Los Angles) - after that, you have to get a formal extension and go through extra paperwork.

You would almost certainly have to import the vehicle as you'd have no way of proving you were going to take it back to the US. Which is NOT cheap. As indicated, you'd have to get a BC driver's license, BC insurance, BC inspection and title the car in BC. Which require a BC residential address etc.

To buy the car in the US, you'll also have to get US insurance, title etc., which could be very tricky without a US address or any driving experience in the US.

I think the suggestion to rent while you are in the US, and then buy in Canada is a MUCH better suggestion. You can find a place to live in Canada, so you will have an address and can deal with the ins and outs of buying a car. And you won't have to go through the whole process (and all the fess) twice. But be prepared to pay dearly for insurance.

cdnyul

Importing:

http://www.riv.ca/ImportingAVehicle.aspx

Warranty service:

http://www.apa.ca/CanadianWarrantyin...ghtintheUS.asp

Mark

tomfuller

My advice would be to fly into LAX and take the Amtrak Coast Strarlight north all the way to Seattle. If there are places to see in northern California or Oregon, you can stop there and rent a car for a day or two then head northward on the next Coast Starlight.
Buy or lease a car in Canada for your one year and then sell it before leaving Canada.

eliztravels2

The original post is 4 years old.