Importing a Car Into Canada?

I was contacted by a guy from Toronto who may be interested in my Miata.

I know nothing of importing a car into Canada. Also, the car includes a crapton of spares (two extra sets of wheels and tires, extra seats, suspension stuff, etc.) which I suspect may complicate matters.

Can anyone enlighten me as to what we'd be up against?

What year Miata? This is the Canada website that tells what to do. On the left there are links to the various lists of cars that are allowed. http://www.riv.ca/VehicleAdmissibility.aspx

1996.

Thanks for the link.

Depending on build date, it's probably fully eligible to go across under the >15yrs clause...which simplifies things significantly.

I don't know if the >15 yrs. thing makes it easier, but I understand there are significant hoops to jump through to get the car OUT of the States, quite apart from getting it INTO Canada. I seem to recall something about having to give US Customs 24 hours' notice, for example. Of course, (cough, cough) if you just drove your own vehicle across as a tourist, that might not be an issue. How you were planning to get back home could be your own little secret. (Don't forget you need a passport to get back, BTW.)

The paperwork has to be in the US Customs hands 72 hrs before you try to take the car across. See:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/basic_trade/export_docs/motor_vehicle.xml

Woody, if the same model made by Mazda was used in both the US and Canada (likely due to our small market), then the only issue will be that the new owner will have to add DRL's. Also, like someone noted the rules do get relaxed after 15 years.

15 years or older means no rip off riv inspection for him. You just need to fax the title to the us customs 3 days before he takes it across otherwise it will need to sit before being cleared.. I looked into bringing an ae86 from Ohio earlier this year.

I'm surprised... seems like he's doing it backwards. They've got Escort and Sierra Cosworths, R32/33/34 GTRs, Pulsar GTiRs, and a bunch of insanely cool stuff up there that we just don't/cant have without jumping through hoops. Which is why I find it strange to jump through hoops to import a Miata to Canada. Strange.

The road is well traveled. I plan to execute on a Mustang this Christmas season.

Pick a car that is on the list. 72 hours before arrival, documents need to be at border. They only take visa or debit I believe Taxes collected either here or at Registration. Used to be GST at border PST at registration. Harmonized Tax is a wild-card. MAKE SURE numbers on documents are EXACTLY same as on car. No time to find a typo! Car will need to be smogged and safetied. This is where the DTRL will crop up. Make sure you have that sorted and budgeted. Check with your insurance agent; there can be surprises with some models that were not available here for any reason.

Figure if you aint saving 2k it might not be worth your time and hassle.

I would import the parts as a separate consignment with a stated price.

darkbuddha wrote: Which is why I find it strange to jump through hoops to import a Miata to Canada. Strange.

What is strange is a 1990 Miata is worth about $7k here in various states of disrepair. So, uh, a comparable shape Miata for down south for $2-$3k is worth it

darkbuddha wrote: I'm surprised... seems like he's doing it backwards. They've got Escort and Sierra Cosworths, R32/33/34 GTRs, Pulsar GTiRs, and a bunch of insanely cool stuff up there that we just don't/cant have without jumping through hoops. Which is why I find it strange to jump through hoops to import a Miata to Canada. Strange.

Getting parts for a lot of those cars is often very difficult, so that makes them less desirable. Walking into your local Ford dealership and asking for ball joints for a 1992 Escort Cosworth will probably not work very well, unfortunately.

True enough I guess... still, I wish we could import 'em here as easy as it appears this Miata will be there.

CanadianTercel wrote: 15 years or older means no rip off riv inspection for him. You just need to fax the title to the us customs 3 days before he takes it across otherwise it will need to sit before being cleared.. I looked into bringing an ae86 from Ohio earlier this year.

Yup, and 15 years or older means that no changes need to be made to meet Canadian standards. Some cars don't need changes, but still need to be inspected at the nearest company that has the ability to certify that it meets the spec. (Canadian Tire, usually)

It really isn't hard to do - I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Miata in the south, for the reasons stated...they're stupid pricey up here, though there are exceptions.