buying from owner in Canada?

[NutmegCT]

Howdy all.

Have any of you in the USA bought a car (1960s LBC) from a seller in Canada?

Wondered if there are any gotchas (taxes, shipping, import duty, etc.) to be aware of.

I searched on "Canada" and find posts on buying and shipping parts from Canada, but nothing on buying or shipping a car.

Thanks.
Tom

 

[heliguy]

Try your cusoms websites. I think its a pretty easy thing to do, i sold a Spit to a guy in Seattle one time, as long as you have the registration and proof of vehicle ownership i dont think its that complicated at the border. But do check into it before showing up with the car!

 

[tony barnhill]

Usually we're selling our cars to them.

 

[R6MGS]

Usually we're selling our cars to them.

I've brought some up here...but never taken them down, I don't see it being a problem thou, if you plan to have it shipped down to you then make sure ur shipper(i can recommmend a toronto based on if u like)is ready to deal with the boarder. If you driving it across just show the appripriate documents(don't mark down the price too much - I've tried, they're pretty sharp)and you shouldn't have any issues.

 

[BOXoROCKS]

Car/schmar, I want some Canadian land.

 

[shorn]

I bought my Austin Healey in Vancouver, B C and drove it back to Seattle. No problems. I had to pay a relatively small customs fee (in my case about $400) based on the price of the car. You need a bill of sale.
One interesting thing, the license plates stay with the previous owner, so I had to purchase a one day temp license to drive the car to the border. At the border the customs agents check the title, bill of sale, and match the id numbers to that of the car.

 

[AngliaGT]

I bought my Cortina MKIII in Victoria,B.C.,
a few years ago.
Make sure that you have your paperwork in order.
If I remember correctly,it was a certain percentage
for the first $1000 of value,then another percentage
for the rest after that.
I went through the Truck Route entrance for US Customs.
It came to less than $90 on an $1800 car.Took me about
10 minutes.

- Doug

 

[NutmegCT]

Thanks for the suggestions folks.

There are many references to "get your paperwork in order".

What paperwork did you need? I assume I'd need to get the paperwork done in advance, but unless I know what the paperwork is, it's kinda tough to get it done in advance LOL Having to wait 72 hours at the border for some forgotten clearances wouldn't be fun.

Obviously I'd have a bill of sale, plus my own insurance coverage ID card. There's a 2.5% import duty for the US, some kinds of documentation of pre-1972 car exemptions for US smog and safety requirements, a US customs fee of some sort, plus whatever docs are needed by Canadian customs. I'm a US citizen and resident, so I *assume* I'm exempt from any sales taxes in Canada.

Doug and shorn - do you remember what you actually had to do in advance? If there's a Toronto based shipper who can handle the cross border details, please let me know.

Thanks.
Tom

 

[Ralph_Y]

As far as paperwork, you seem to have the list complete. You got it.

The temporatrry Canadian registration can also include a couple of days of Canadian insurance. If I remember correctly there was no paperwork for the Canadians at the border- just a wave through as I left.......

 

[shorn]

Ralph has it right. You need:
1. Bill of Sale from the person selling the car.
2. Car Title
3. Temp vehicle license if you are driving the car out of Canada. (Although I purchased my car from a private party, we met at an auto dealer, who employed a person who could issue a temp license for the car).
4. I carried a card showing I had auto insurance, but I don't believe anyone looked at it. I don't remember if I had to get a day's worth of auto ins to drive out of Canada, but if I did the same auto dealer person did that.
5. When you cross the border, the customs people will check your title and bill of sale and match them with the vehicle ID numbers. They will pop the hood and actually look at the ID plate.
6. When you pay the customs fee, which you do at the border, they will issue you a receipt which I needed to license and title the car in the state of Washington. The State license place will also want the old title and bill of sale and will collect sales tax on the car if required in your state.
7. You do NOT have to pay sales tax in Canada if you are removing the car from Canada.

 

[14dna]

I have imported two vehicles from the U.S. into Canada. All the information I see on this post is the same as what I had to do with One Exception. The border station where I came through (American side) required a fax of the original title 72 hours before entry. If I arrived early, I was rquired to wait until the time was expired. Each crossing has a toll free number to call so as to check this scenario. Would hate to see you get caught and have a 3 day wait. Canada does not charge taxes if you prove you live in the U.S. Hope this helps Dave