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| How to Buy a Canada Car? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 3 2015, 06:56 PM (1,466 Views) | |
| tac2013 | Apr 3 2015, 06:56 PM Post #1 |
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Can anyone here tell me what is involved in buying a car in Canada if you are a Washington Sate resident? I'm assuming there are taxes and some kind of fees but what about emissions meeting the emissions here? I'm in Skagit County and here we do NOT have Smog inspections but I think I heard once that Canada cars do not meet Americas Federal standards.......any advice would be greatly appreciated Patrick Skagit County, Wa |
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| Old Man | Apr 3 2015, 07:08 PM Post #2 |
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https://www.google.com/#q=import+canadian+vehicle+to+usa |
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| dayle1960 | Apr 3 2015, 08:20 PM Post #3 |
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Fastest Hampster EVER
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Ya know, if it were me, and I lived in the north west, I would be very cautious of purchasing a Canada vehicle. Don't the Canucks use salt on their roads ten months out of the year. For that fact alone I would be wary of the corrosion factor on any metro in Canada. You've probably heard or read horror stories about rust belt metros crumbling apart due to undetectable rust issues. Secondly, I'm sure if you import a Canadian vehicle you will be stopped at a port of entry and be given a rectal exam just because you are trying to import a big item. Plus there probably import fees and taxes. Since Canada is still within the influence of the Brits,(they kinda speak the same language, except on the east coast) aren't the Canadian cars right hand drive? My two cents........... don't do it. Too many headaches. |
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| Mythstae | Apr 4 2015, 12:09 AM Post #4 |
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Dayle, I think you're wrong, and the reason why can be summed up in two words: Turbo. Firefly.
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| GentleRF | Apr 4 2015, 12:13 AM Post #5 |
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My thinking about the word "turbo" means go better. Firefly brings to mind a spaceship named "Serenity." |
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| Mythstae | Apr 4 2015, 12:19 AM Post #6 |
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Close enough!
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| Mythstae | Apr 4 2015, 12:47 AM Post #7 |
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...but seriously, you could buy a car in Canada that was branded as a "Pontiac Firefly" instead of a "Geo Metro", and it could have a Turbo 3-Cylinder engine! Yeah - FACTORY turbo! Only available in the older body style of cars. |
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| Murf 59 | Apr 4 2015, 02:44 AM Post #8 |
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I was talking with a guy in my area about the turbo fireflys. Very cool stuff. He has a very clean turbo sprint. |
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| Stubby79 | Apr 4 2015, 03:12 AM Post #9 |
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Yeah, there's a Turbo Firefly for sale locally...but 'nuff about that. We don't use salt on our roads around here. Nor do they in Vancouver. We don't really see much of any snow or ice most winters. Farther north or inland, they might. Of the 3 Geos (local vehicles) I've owned, only the convertible had rust issues, and that was due to the poor drainage design and a leaky roof. Even my parts car (not included in said 3) was rust-free. I would assume ours are on par with your Washington vehicles for general lack of rust. Our emissions standards match your own, thought they used to lag behind by a year or two. If you buy a recently insured car from the lower mainland, it will have to have passed an emission test in the last year. Your problems are going to be crossing the border and getting it registered on your end. That and you couldn't just drive it away...cars have to be insured/plated to drive on the roads around here. You'd have to tow or trailer it home... Probably not worth the hassle unless you're looking for something harder to find, like a Turbo or a 'vert. |
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| Cobrajet25 | Apr 4 2015, 05:19 AM Post #10 |
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It is a total pain in the ass. Yay government! |
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| GentleRF | Apr 4 2015, 11:46 AM Post #11 |
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CJ: Have you tried? |
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| Cobrajet25 | Apr 5 2015, 04:45 AM Post #12 |
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I talked to a guy at the DOL a few years ago about it. He basically said, "You are gonna need deep pockets and LOTS of patience. And even then, there is no guarantee." If it were a million dollar Bugatti, it might be worth it. But a Firefly?
Edited by Cobrajet25, Apr 5 2015, 04:46 AM.
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| GentleRF | Apr 6 2015, 12:02 PM Post #13 |
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CJ: Talking about it with a DOL employee about the importation is not the same as having tried it. Especially if the info is over a year old. Regulations can change a lot in that time frame. |
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| truckjohn | Apr 6 2015, 02:41 PM Post #14 |
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I have had a few friends do it... They all said it was a ROYAL PITA... Basically - they made the guys "Convert" the cars over to a "Standard" USA model of the same... For example - one guy's Ford Escort had Daytime running lamps - he had to install a special module that disabled the DRL in the USA... because it was not a standard feature on US Escorts for that model year (Though it WAS a standard feature on many USA cars at the time).... Then - he had to fully update 100% of the emissions controls to the same for the US car of the same model.... THEN - worst of all - the Canadian Escort had a "Better" ceiling headliner lamp.. He had to PAY the dealer to swap it over to the one for the "Standard" USA Escort... The only reason he did it was that he knew he would need a car right away when moving to the USA - ZERO USA credit means you can't get a car loan even though you have a good job... It takes 6 months to get credit established... so even though it was stupid expensive to update his 1985 Escort (This was in 2007 - so the car was ALREADY 20+ years old) - it was a better solution than having ZERO cars for his wife and himself and their two kids.... If it was me... I would get in contact with whoever in Customs deals with such things - and find out SPECIFICALLY exactly what modifications and standards would have to be met.... It might be easier/less expensive to import the vehicle with a "Salvage" title as "Scrap" - then swap the engine/trans over into a US titled frame... Thanks |
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| bluebean94 | Apr 6 2015, 03:07 PM Post #15 |
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New Member
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LOL, I agree. I would love one just so I could get a "Keep calm and stay shiny" sticker for it and see who picks up on the correlation! Best show ever. |
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