Importing a Toyota from the US (read the big thread already)

[TooSoonJr]

So the costs to cover are:

GST
PST
6.1% duty for it not made in North America
A/C fee ~$200

Am i missing anything else?

My question pertains to the fact that they won't sell to anyone with a non US address. I know the "loophole" is to register it to someone else's name and bring it to the border and then switch it over there, but will that actually work? Has anyone managed to import a car that's sold to US registered people?

Thanks.

The car is a 2008 Toyota Highlander Limited (Hybrid) w/ third row seating.

Also, will the Canadian gov't give the grant that they give for fuel efficient vehicles?

[ceruleanblue]

I'm not of any help here, but we are wanting to buy the same vehicle. I am in the midst of reading the big thread right now for more info (but heck it's long! :)). Did you find out if Toyota Canada will provide warranty on a Toyota purchased in the U.S.? And have you found a place to purchase yet?

[Pete_Coach]

I think that very recently Toyota (along with many other "import" car companies) have stated that they will not honor any US warrant on vehicles.
http://www.toyota.ca/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WWW.woa/wa/vp?vp=Home.WhatsNew.MadeForCanada&language=english%3E

I would not have concerns with most but, the Hybrid vehicles can be problematic and the repairs expensive. My Son is a service manager at an import dealership and they will repair all imported from the US cars at the customers expense and gives the name and number of the National office to discuss the matter to the customer. There is nothing he can do to help the customer. You can imagine the O'd off customers. To date, no warranty claim has been paid. Neither has any safety recall, if the customer was fortunate enough to be notified.
So, buyer beware.

[ceruleanblue]

Thanks for that Toyota link Pete_Coach. What totally irks me is Toyota is giving some song and dance why vehicles "Made for Canada" are different. And also saying that Canada has a specific engine immobilizer AND that you'll likely have to get DRL installed. The Highlander I want already has the immobilizer (and is on the admissible list for import) AND it already has DRL.

Then they blather on about the great incentives they are offering. Well, I checked their great incentives and although they are offering $4000 discount on the Highlander (or gas card), they are NOT offering it on the HYBRID.

In the warranty section on that page, it does imply that U.S. vehicles are covered. But they say, it could take longer to "verify the claim", "order U.S. specific parts", etc. And they say there are a few warranty options offered to vehicles "Made for Canada" that won't be offered for the U.S. vehicles.

[ElvaSoShexai]

ur also missing the RIV fee...

and i doubt gov of canada will give u rebate for a car u bought in the us

if u do the name change thing u would b paying double tax

[ceruleanblue]

other thing is depending on your vehicle you may need daytime running lights which could range from $150 - 500The good thing is, the Highlander Hybrid Limited already comes with DRL. :)

[gilboman]

I think that very recently Toyota (along with many other "import" car companies) have stated that they will not honor any US warrant on vehicles.
http://www.toyota.ca/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WWW.woa/wa/vp?vp=Home.WhatsNew.MadeForCanada&language=english%3E

I would not have concerns with most but, the Hybrid vehicles can be problematic and the repairs expensive. My Son is a service manager at an import dealership and they will repair all imported from the US cars at the customers expense and gives the name and number of the National office to discuss the matter to the customer. There is nothing he can do to help the customer. You can imagine the O'd off customers. To date, no warranty claim has been paid. Neither has any safety recall, if the customer was fortunate enough to be notified.
So, buyer beware.

that link you gave states that US warranty work will still be honored. where are you getting the no warranty from:confused:

[cwb27]

AC is now $200? Used to be 100...

[Pete_Coach]

that link you gave states that US warranty work will still be honored. where are you getting the no warranty from:confused:

Sorry, I normally like to attach links to comments that I make but in this case, there have been numerous newspaper stories and announcements by the OEM's (Toyota, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai Honda etc) about not honoring the warranties and I just cannot find them right now. Like I said, my Son is a service manager at a dealership and this was sent to them by corporate headquarters.
I believe that the statement of honoring US warranty work is applicable to those that can prove their US connections (US citizens, transferred here for their work purposes etc)

[Rehan]

I believe that the statement of honoring US warranty work is applicable to those that can prove their US connections (US citizens, transferred here for their work purposes etc) You must be thinking of Honda, for which what you wrote is the case. But Toyota still honors the warranty for Canadians that import from the US.

[Pete_Coach]

You must be thinking of Honda, for which what you wrote is the case. But Toyota still honors the warranty for Canadians that import from the US.

For now, and with restrictions I believe but, nuff said, import away.

[Rehan]

For now, and with restrictions I believe but, nuff said, import away. The only restriction Toyota has is that they won't sell new cars to Canadians. If you have any concrete information otherwise (hearsay from a Hyundai employee doesn't count), let us know. Hyundai made some changes to their warranty policies recently, but Hyundai's warranty issues are irrelevant to this thread.

[Regin8r]

They aren't offering that much discount on the Hybrid south of the border ether. Also there is limited stock.

We ended up getting the regular gas Highlander Limited instead because the discount was better. Enough to offset the gas savings.

Deal has been worked out, deposit has been paid, and we pick up ours in the New Year (for the lower GST).

We may pick up the Camry Hybrid though (also because the discount is better).

We did have help from our relatives south of the border.

The import process is the same as any other car.

You may want to consider that it is better that you pay with a US bank draft directly from your account since the IRS may flag your relative with large lump sum transfers.

[Rehan]

Regin8r, how much of a discount are you able to get on the Camry Hybrid? Are they easy to find new?

[Regin8r]

It's not a lot, but the Highlander Hybrid you get nothing off.

Including all our accessories, getting pretty much the base with leather, nav, moonroof for about $1k off. We're looking at south of $30k from the US dealership, and then you have to add back all the taxes and fees. Up here, we're looking at north of $40k for the same options even after all the discounts, cash back rebates. The savings are about $7k overall for the Camry Hybrid conservatively speaking.

I believe you get the provincial rebate, not the federal.

The bulk of the savings is because of our dollar and their MSRP.

Honestly, even if it were MSRP, it's still a good deal. We're still going through the process though.

[ceruleanblue]

The only restriction Toyota has is that they won't sell new cars to Canadians. If you have any concrete information otherwise (hearsay from a Hyundai employee doesn't count), let us know.Is that just in the border towns? Or anywhere in the U.S.? We live no where near a border state/city so we've got to travel a huge distance anyway, so it doesn't really matter to me where we buy!

If it is everywhere in the U.S., I've got a BIL who lives there who should be able to help us. He's Canadian, but legally lives there and legally works in the U.S. and he bought his own vehicle there, I'd assume it would be okay if he purchased for us? With his state tax though and NOT getting the federal rebate here, we're narrowing the gap on saving money, and with the expense of our trip down there, we might not save too much at all. I wonder if we got him to buy in a state with no tax, and sold it to us before he registered it in his state...ugh, not sure if that would work.

[ceruleanblue]

They aren't offering that much discount on the Hybrid south of the border ether. Also there is limited stock.

We ended up getting the regular gas Highlander Limited instead because the discount was better. Enough to offset the gas savings.Crap, that's what I figured. Well, at least I've using MSRP as the scenario in all of my calculations. :)

I'm actually buying the hybrid for the environment and not having to fill up the tank as often (got kids and it seems like we're always running on empty and never have enough time to fill up!), so I'd like to stick with it, even if the non-hybrid is a better deal. Any gas cost saving would have just been a bonus for me.

[contoursvt]

I want to go buy an old VW Bug (60's) and bring it over but I guess I have to be careful about the bumpers and such.

[michelb]

I want to go buy an old VW Bug (60's) and bring it over but I guess I have to be careful about the bumpers and such.

If the car is over 15 years old (i.e. could be as recent as 93 but built in Nov 92 or earlier), you can import it no matter what it is with no modifications. Cars 15 years or older are exempt from RIV program.

[Regin8r]

Crap, that's what I figured. Well, at least I've using MSRP as the scenario in all of my calculations. :)

I'm actually buying the hybrid for the environment and not having to fill up the tank as often (got kids and it seems like we're always running on empty and never have enough time to fill up!), so I'd like to stick with it, even if the non-hybrid is a better deal. Any gas cost saving would have just been a bonus for me.

The Hybrid is good if you are driving in the city a lot. For us, it's mostly for cottage trips and snowboarding trips which is a lot of highway driving.
The gas mileage between the Hybrid and the Normal on the highway is marginal since the Hybrid uses the gasoline engine mostly.

For the daily commute in rush hour, Camry Hybrid FTW!!! :lol:

[ceruleanblue]

OP, have you further pursued purchasing your Toyota? Find out any new info for us?

[oldsnail]

ive imported a few older toyota's from the states with no problems.
they are really old though. mid 90's

[Regin8r]

Brought over the 2008 Highlander and the 2008 Camry Hybrid last week.

Dealer didn't provide use with the rear mats on both cars though since he said there was a problem with stock. Also, I think we weren't clear on which hitch we ordered on the Highlander. It was stamped 3500lbs and we thought it would be the 5000lb hitch since both were the same price. :mad:

It's not a huge deal though since our boat is about 2000lbs.

Everything went pretty smooth at border as we made multiple calls to check if things were in order.

CDN Tire (Markham & Lawrence) tried to rip us off selling us Emissions and Safety with the RIV inspection..

MTO line up in Scarborough was a bit long, but plates are on.

Just got to get used to everything in Farenheit and Miles. Too bad the Navi in the Camry can't be changed while it's moving. It's kind of annoying to have to park to make changes.

[B0000rt]

Nice! Which dealership? Being able to legally work in the US, my dealership wanted all USCIS information, before they sold me the card. I had a feeling if I was there just for the car purchase, and not working here in the states, they wouldn't have sold me it (Little Falls, NJ dealership)

I got use the the Farenheit pretty fast, but the MPH still confuse me from time to time.

[Regin8r]

I pm'd you the dealer info since I don't want to post it publically.

All Toyota Nav's have that "safety feature" where some of the functionality is locked out while vehicle is in motion. We don't have Nav in the Highlander, but it is the same. Some people have been able to disable that by wiring up a switch that cuts the vehicle speed sensor signal to the Nav.

Just to clarify: You don't have to be in park, just stopped. Which in itself is annoying because some lights don't stop you enough to finish programming the Nav.

The same is applicable to the Bluetooth. I can use the voice dialing while in motion, but I can't use the touch screen to enter a number, only select my speed dial numbers.