Importing Camaro to Canada - Page 3 - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

msqr · 03-22-2010, 10:07 AM

Wow, thanks for the information!

I wonder how much I actually save. The difference between MSRP is what I'm thinking so far which is like $8000 for a 2SS. I'd have to pay $196 in RIV and factor in time to go down to the states. I'd probably want to buy it in Oregon so I can test drive it with my friend to make sure nothing's wrong with it and all that. That way I can have the title in person right? The only annoying thing is the 3-day fax and wait. I guess I can fax it from Oregon and wait 3 days? Is there any way to confirm that the US border office has in fact received it? What do you think of this procedure:

- Agree on Camaro I want through friend, get VIN
- Get ICBC Insurance Binder (enough for drive down, 3 day wait, and back up?)
- Drive (with friend?) to Oregon to pick up car (and of course say hi to my friend)
- Fax title to US border office, wait 3 days, confirm received.
- Drive back through border and go through the process written above

Rickerbucks · 03-22-2010, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msqr

Wow, thanks for the information!

I wonder how much I actually save. The difference between MSRP is what I'm thinking so far which is like $8000 for a 2SS. I'd have to pay $196 in RIV and factor in time to go down to the states. I'd probably want to buy it in Oregon so I can test drive it with my friend to make sure nothing's wrong with it and all that. That way I can have the title in person right? The only annoying thing is the 3-day fax and wait. I guess I can fax it from Oregon and wait 3 days? Is there any way to confirm that the US border office has in fact received it? What do you think of this procedure:

- Agree on Camaro I want through friend, get VIN
- Get ICBC Insurance Binder (enough for drive down, 3 day wait, and back up?)
- Drive (with friend?) to Oregon to pick up car (and of course say hi to my friend)
- Fax title to US border office, wait 3 days, confirm received.
- Drive back through border and go through the process written above

Thats it exactly....perhaps consider flying to Oregon. Possibly cheaper then driving there and back. When you fax the US border you can call then or send them an email to confirn they got the fax.

Some extra cost to consider is buying it in Oregon versus buying anywhere else in the State. If you buy it in Orgeon the shipping charges to the dealer will be included in th epurchase price from the dealer. if you buy it elsewhere you will then have to ship or drive it from there. As long as you find an Oregon dealer that gives you fair price..I'd do that.

I'm seriously looking for a used one in the States right now. I'm going to have the car significantly modified so I'm looking for a high mlileage car.

Canadian_Stig · 03-22-2010, 01:32 PM

Your welcome! Anything to help a fellow Canadian get a new Camaro.

How much you can save? Yes, depending on options it seems "on par" savings for a 2SS is between 8 - 10 thousand. Your realized savings is likely to be lower then this number for a few reasons. When I do my calculations I assume the savings I can find on a US vehicle I can find here, therefore, if you find $2000 off MSRP in the US, you can find an equivalent discount in Canada. Assuming, you were buying in Canada you would likely purchase the vehicle near where you live. Therefore, it'll cost you x amount to pick up the car in Oregon and/or ship the car to the Vancouver boarder. This amount is deducted from your savings. All the vehicles I've imported, see my first post, the savings are after all costs associated including transport, travel costs, taxes and licensing. Average costs I've occurred importing (flights, buses, fuel, vehicle transport, etc) are around $600 (most expensive was the RX-8 @ $1100 because it was shipped up from Florida to Buffalo).

Traveling to Oregon and test driving the vehicle first is definitely "your call" personally, I test drive the vehicle here in Canada and once I've decided to make the purchase I just look for what I want at the best price. The way I see it, it's similar to all those Camaro pre-orderers who put deposits down on the Camaro without ever previously driving it. All vehicles myself or family members have purchased were done so without ever seeing the vehicle in person, the only one purchased new off the lot was the Highlander and it had 1 mile on it when I picked it up. None of the vehicles imported "used" have had any problems. "knock on wood"

Yes, if you can crash at your friends place for a few days you can fax it from Oregon to the US boarder office. It just has to be there 72 hours in advance of importing. Your friend can fax it for you as well. Yes, you can call the US boarder office that you are driving through to confirm they have received the fax. My brother did for his RX-8, I didn't for any of my vehicles I just kept a copy of the fax receipt with the date and time stamped on it but they always had the fax copy.

Yep, you got it! Once you have the VIN call you insurance company and add it to your policy. My insurance company doesn't care where the car is coming from and when they ask for value I just give them the CDN$ price of the US vehicle after conversion to CDN$ obviously, you can use the price you would have paid had you purchased the car in Canada.

When I imported my first vehicle I actually took a bus to Niagara Falls and walked across the boarder. The guy who sold me the car met me across the boarder then drove me to the US customs office, where he gave me the keys and I drove home and he got a ride back with his father in-law. Nothing like walking across a bridge over Niagara falls in February and the boarder guard asking "Why are you entering the US" and my response, "Going to buy car". Needless to say, for a moment she was a little confused. The "process" is a lot easier then your led to believe.

msqr · 03-22-2010, 03:13 PM

I see. Thanks for the informative posts guys.

Canadian_Stig, you mentioned that you can get the same discounts here as you do in the states... Is that really true? I remember when I got my Honda new dealers barely sold it for MSRP - a lot of them would have tons of markups, pretty much like how it is now with the new Camaro. I've spoken with a few dealerships in Vancouver so far and all of them think it's a treat to not be selling it to me with a $1K markup. There are a few import companies selling US imported camaros for as much as Canadian MSRP!! I spoke with a few Oregon dealers and they were willing to sell it way below MSRP (there were a few dealers on these forums that were willing to sell below whatever their cost is called just to get quantity). If I bring something like that up to a dealer here, they'd think I was mad. What are you guys' opinions on this?

Rickerbucks · 03-22-2010, 03:17 PM

Also....does anyone know when they set pricing? I wonder if for the 2011 cars they adjust the pricing for the dollar?

msqr · 03-22-2010, 05:03 PM

If anything won't US prices go up because of the changing exchange rate (instead of CAN prices going down)? I mean the cars are built here right...

Canadian_Stig · 03-23-2010, 01:14 PM

Sorry, a little confusing, the discount on MSRP suggested was just because when I talk about the savings on importing, if I say I saved $2000 of MSRP, they always respond, "Well, you could get $2000 of MSRP in Canada" and ask "It probably cost you a bundle to get it." So where it is very likely you can get a discount off the MSRP price of the Camaro in Oregon, unless you've exhaust all options you can't assume you can't get the same discount in Canada.

On that note, a friend of mine who just got his 2SS Camaro, watched it sit on the dealers lot all winter, it had a sun roof he didn't want, he negotiated with them for approx 4 months when they finally realized it wasn't moving. They gave him $1000 off MSRP and removed the cost of the sunroof from the price as well, so he finally bought it. So I guess depending on the car, options and location, it's possible to get a discount in Canada.

I don't know if 2011 prices has been set yet, however, I highly doubt there will be an "major" adjustments for the exchange rate, history has shown otherwise. Yes, msqr, you'd think that the adjustment would be up on the US price, but GM wants to remain competitive with certain competition so I doubt an increase on the US price in the neighborhood of anything close to what we pay in Canada is out of the question as to even start coming close they'd have to tack on another $5000 to $6000.

msqr · 03-23-2010, 02:45 PM

Wow, that must have been an amazing deal. Still way more than US MSRP. See I don't mind paying Canadian prices if it's just that, but the thing is, with all of these cars, they depreciate to US values in no time. Even my Honda, the reason why the price is so low is because the US car was $5000 cheaper.

Rickerbucks · 03-23-2010, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msqr

If anything won't US prices go up because of the changing exchange rate (instead of CAN prices going down)? I mean the cars are built here right...

excellent point. In theory the US prices should go UP and perhaps the $CDN come down a little.

Rickerbucks · 03-23-2010, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msqr

Wow, that must have been an amazing deal. Still way more than US MSRP. See I don't mind paying Canadian prices if it's just that, but the thing is, with all of these cars, they depreciate to US values in no time. Even my Honda, the reason why the price is so low is because the US car was $5000 cheaper.

Exactly...indeed...there is the orange car going for auction on Saturday. I have calculated the MAX price I will pay and it is based of my estimate of the USD value + GST + the cost of transportation and importation.

that will be MY best offer.

Canadian_Stig · 03-24-2010, 07:43 AM

Even more interesting, especially in the used car market, for myself msqr & Rickerbucks is that both the Ontario and BC governments are bringing in the HST this year. Which means you are going to pay 13% on both new and used vehicles purchased in Canada, before the end of 2010. So where it was somewhat advantageous to purchased a used vehicle in Canada instead of importing because you only paid the PST on the purchase of a used vehicle (saving 5%). Once HST comes into play this advantage is gone.

So as an example, a used Camaro 2SS can be purchased in the US for approx. $34k or ($38420 after tax), where as a used 2SS Camaro in Canada is approx. $45k or ($50850 after tax). Note*: the Canadian price is the only thing I could find quickly on a used Camaro on Autotrader.ca in Ontario. (I'm sure one could eventually be found for around $2000 cheaper).

Hmmmmm, which one makes more sense? A $12000+ difference is hard to pass up.

msqr · 03-24-2010, 10:15 AM

That's true. HST will be 12% in BC because PST is currently 1% less than Ontario. It's actually pretty bad here because people aren't used to food at restaurants being subjected to PST whereas in Toronto it is - so that's a 7% jump for a lot of people for eating out.

Digressions aside, wait, so does this mean that if I buy used from the US right now I only pay PST? Like if I get my buddy to buy a Camaro in Oregon and he sells it to me say a week later, if I import it I don't pay GST?

Canadian_Stig · 03-24-2010, 10:25 AM

Nope, sorry, you only avoid GST if you purchase a used vehicle privately in Canada. Any new or used vehicle imported into Canada is subject to PST and GST just like if you purchase brand new from a dealer.

This is why I said the used car market is going to be hurt by the HST, once it is in place it doesn't matter if you purchase new or used from inside Canada or not you will pay HST (PST + GST). So one of the main benefits of selling your vehicle privately will be gone and it's likely more people will trade in their vehicles on new ones, since the trade-in value does reduce the HST you will pay on a new vehicle purchase.

Therefore, if you buy any vehicle anywhere in the US and import it into Canada you will pay 7%PST and 5% GST on the US price you paid for the vehicle after exchanging that value from US$ to CDN$ using the current exchange rate on the day of import.

msqr · 03-24-2010, 10:27 AM

Dang, yeah that's a lot of money. If you do trade your old car into the dealer, you get HST credit? Do you get that with GST/PST right now? I wonder how much that works out to? I'm currently thinking about selling my vehicle privately but if I don't end up saving that much and lose out at the same time on tax credit....

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03-22-2010, 10:07 AM	#29
msqr Drives: - Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 45	Wow, thanks for the information! I wonder how much I actually save. The difference between MSRP is what I'm thinking so far which is like $8000 for a 2SS. I'd have to pay $196 in RIV and factor in time to go down to the states. I'd probably want to buy it in Oregon so I can test drive it with my friend to make sure nothing's wrong with it and all that. That way I can have the title in person right? The only annoying thing is the 3-day fax and wait. I guess I can fax it from Oregon and wait 3 days? Is there any way to confirm that the US border office has in fact received it? What do you think of this procedure: - Agree on Camaro I want through friend, get VIN - Get ICBC Insurance Binder (enough for drive down, 3 day wait, and back up?) - Drive (with friend?) to Oregon to pick up car (and of course say hi to my friend) - Fax title to US border office, wait 3 days, confirm received. - Drive back through border and go through the process written above

03-22-2010, 01:32 PM	#31
Canadian_Stig Drives: Highlander Hybrid, Durango, TurboPT Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ajax, ON Posts: 28	Your welcome! Anything to help a fellow Canadian get a new Camaro. How much you can save? Yes, depending on options it seems "on par" savings for a 2SS is between 8 - 10 thousand. Your realized savings is likely to be lower then this number for a few reasons. When I do my calculations I assume the savings I can find on a US vehicle I can find here, therefore, if you find $2000 off MSRP in the US, you can find an equivalent discount in Canada. Assuming, you were buying in Canada you would likely purchase the vehicle near where you live. Therefore, it'll cost you x amount to pick up the car in Oregon and/or ship the car to the Vancouver boarder. This amount is deducted from your savings. All the vehicles I've imported, see my first post, the savings are after all costs associated including transport, travel costs, taxes and licensing. Average costs I've occurred importing (flights, buses, fuel, vehicle transport, etc) are around $600 (most expensive was the RX-8 @ $1100 because it was shipped up from Florida to Buffalo). Traveling to Oregon and test driving the vehicle first is definitely "your call" personally, I test drive the vehicle here in Canada and once I've decided to make the purchase I just look for what I want at the best price. The way I see it, it's similar to all those Camaro pre-orderers who put deposits down on the Camaro without ever previously driving it. All vehicles myself or family members have purchased were done so without ever seeing the vehicle in person, the only one purchased new off the lot was the Highlander and it had 1 mile on it when I picked it up. None of the vehicles imported "used" have had any problems. "knock on wood" Yes, if you can crash at your friends place for a few days you can fax it from Oregon to the US boarder office. It just has to be there 72 hours in advance of importing. Your friend can fax it for you as well. Yes, you can call the US boarder office that you are driving through to confirm they have received the fax. My brother did for his RX-8, I didn't for any of my vehicles I just kept a copy of the fax receipt with the date and time stamped on it but they always had the fax copy. Yep, you got it! Once you have the VIN call you insurance company and add it to your policy. My insurance company doesn't care where the car is coming from and when they ask for value I just give them the CDN$ price of the US vehicle after conversion to CDN$ obviously, you can use the price you would have paid had you purchased the car in Canada. When I imported my first vehicle I actually took a bus to Niagara Falls and walked across the boarder. The guy who sold me the car met me across the boarder then drove me to the US customs office, where he gave me the keys and I drove home and he got a ride back with his father in-law. Nothing like walking across a bridge over Niagara falls in February and the boarder guard asking "Why are you entering the US" and my response, "Going to buy car". Needless to say, for a moment she was a little confused. The "process" is a lot easier then your led to believe.

03-22-2010, 03:13 PM	#32
msqr Drives: - Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 45	I see. Thanks for the informative posts guys. Canadian_Stig, you mentioned that you can get the same discounts here as you do in the states... Is that really true? I remember when I got my Honda new dealers barely sold it for MSRP - a lot of them would have tons of markups, pretty much like how it is now with the new Camaro. I've spoken with a few dealerships in Vancouver so far and all of them think it's a treat to not be selling it to me with a $1K markup. There are a few import companies selling US imported camaros for as much as Canadian MSRP!! I spoke with a few Oregon dealers and they were willing to sell it way below MSRP (there were a few dealers on these forums that were willing to sell below whatever their cost is called just to get quantity). If I bring something like that up to a dealer here, they'd think I was mad. What are you guys' opinions on this?

03-22-2010, 03:17 PM	#33
Rickerbucks HP addict Drives: 2 SS RS, Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Surrey BC Canada Posts: 889	Also....does anyone know when they set pricing? I wonder if for the 2011 cars they adjust the pricing for the dollar?

03-22-2010, 05:03 PM	#34
msqr Drives: - Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 45	If anything won't US prices go up because of the changing exchange rate (instead of CAN prices going down)? I mean the cars are built here right...

03-23-2010, 01:14 PM	#35
Canadian_Stig Drives: Highlander Hybrid, Durango, TurboPT Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ajax, ON Posts: 28	Sorry, a little confusing, the discount on MSRP suggested was just because when I talk about the savings on importing, if I say I saved $2000 of MSRP, they always respond, "Well, you could get $2000 of MSRP in Canada" and ask "It probably cost you a bundle to get it." So where it is very likely you can get a discount off the MSRP price of the Camaro in Oregon, unless you've exhaust all options you can't assume you can't get the same discount in Canada. On that note, a friend of mine who just got his 2SS Camaro, watched it sit on the dealers lot all winter, it had a sun roof he didn't want, he negotiated with them for approx 4 months when they finally realized it wasn't moving. They gave him $1000 off MSRP and removed the cost of the sunroof from the price as well, so he finally bought it. So I guess depending on the car, options and location, it's possible to get a discount in Canada. I don't know if 2011 prices has been set yet, however, I highly doubt there will be an "major" adjustments for the exchange rate, history has shown otherwise. Yes, msqr, you'd think that the adjustment would be up on the US price, but GM wants to remain competitive with certain competition so I doubt an increase on the US price in the neighborhood of anything close to what we pay in Canada is out of the question as to even start coming close they'd have to tack on another $5000 to $6000.

03-23-2010, 02:45 PM	#36
msqr Drives: - Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 45	Wow, that must have been an amazing deal. Still way more than US MSRP. See I don't mind paying Canadian prices if it's just that, but the thing is, with all of these cars, they depreciate to US values in no time. Even my Honda, the reason why the price is so low is because the US car was $5000 cheaper.

03-24-2010, 07:43 AM	#39
Canadian_Stig Drives: Highlander Hybrid, Durango, TurboPT Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ajax, ON Posts: 28	Even more interesting, especially in the used car market, for myself msqr & Rickerbucks is that both the Ontario and BC governments are bringing in the HST this year. Which means you are going to pay 13% on both new and used vehicles purchased in Canada, before the end of 2010. So where it was somewhat advantageous to purchased a used vehicle in Canada instead of importing because you only paid the PST on the purchase of a used vehicle (saving 5%). Once HST comes into play this advantage is gone. So as an example, a used Camaro 2SS can be purchased in the US for approx. $34k or ($38420 after tax), where as a used 2SS Camaro in Canada is approx. $45k or ($50850 after tax). Note*: the Canadian price is the only thing I could find quickly on a used Camaro on Autotrader.ca in Ontario. (I'm sure one could eventually be found for around $2000 cheaper). Hmmmmm, which one makes more sense? A $12000+ difference is hard to pass up.

03-24-2010, 10:15 AM	#40
msqr Drives: - Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 45	That's true. HST will be 12% in BC because PST is currently 1% less than Ontario. It's actually pretty bad here because people aren't used to food at restaurants being subjected to PST whereas in Toronto it is - so that's a 7% jump for a lot of people for eating out. Digressions aside, wait, so does this mean that if I buy used from the US right now I only pay PST? Like if I get my buddy to buy a Camaro in Oregon and he sells it to me say a week later, if I import it I don't pay GST?

03-24-2010, 10:25 AM	#41
Canadian_Stig Drives: Highlander Hybrid, Durango, TurboPT Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ajax, ON Posts: 28	Nope, sorry, you only avoid GST if you purchase a used vehicle privately in Canada. Any new or used vehicle imported into Canada is subject to PST and GST just like if you purchase brand new from a dealer. This is why I said the used car market is going to be hurt by the HST, once it is in place it doesn't matter if you purchase new or used from inside Canada or not you will pay HST (PST + GST). So one of the main benefits of selling your vehicle privately will be gone and it's likely more people will trade in their vehicles on new ones, since the trade-in value does reduce the HST you will pay on a new vehicle purchase. Therefore, if you buy any vehicle anywhere in the US and import it into Canada you will pay 7%PST and 5% GST on the US price you paid for the vehicle after exchanging that value from US$ to CDN$ using the current exchange rate on the day of import.

03-24-2010, 10:27 AM	#42
msqr Drives: - Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 45	Dang, yeah that's a lot of money. If you do trade your old car into the dealer, you get HST credit? Do you get that with GST/PST right now? I wonder how much that works out to? I'm currently thinking about selling my vehicle privately but if I don't end up saving that much and lose out at the same time on tax credit....