Good Business Idea for the Brave

I'm trying to import a vehicle from the US to Canada right now...so far what I've had to go through:

1. Ensuring the vehicle is fully operational and the person I'm buying it from is legit (not an easy task from 3000 miles away).
2. Arrange for temporary out-of-country insurance on the vehicle ($50 Cdn/day).
3. Making sure the vehicle is admissable into Canada (via Transport Canada)
4. Getting a recall clearance letter from the manufacturer, which requires all recalls to be fixed on the vehicle before it crosses the border (again, not easy to do from 3000 miles away). Costs $200Cdn to get the paperwork done after the recalls have been fixed.
5. Registering with US Customs to export the vehicle at least 72 hours in advance, which requires a bunch of paperwork to be completed.
6. Getting ready to pay $200 to cross the border plus another $100 airtax fee at the border.
7. Getting the vehicle to the US border, requiring me to fly to Boston, drive it across the contental US to Seattle, and then head to the border. Costs approximately $500US for gas, plus food and lodging costs.
8. Sending the vehicle in for a federal and provincial inspection within 10 days of it crossing the border and fixing any problems within those 10 days or be forced to send the car back to the US
9. Paying a 7% tax on the purchase price of the vehicle once it has been insepected and all necessary repairs are made.
10. Insuring the vehicle

All this has to be done by Dec 24th because the vehicle is a gift for my wife

I'm on Step 4 right now and already really frustrated because of everything I've had to deal with. I had to go through 8 different people before I found out where to get the recall clearance letter from...

If I ever do this again, I would gladly pay somebody to deal with this crap, and I bet alot of people would be willing to do the same.

 

Wow I always wondered what was involved in importing an automobile. I have seen some guys that import Nissan GTR's or other cars that are not available and end up selling them for double in the states just because of the hassle. They make a business out of it. I guess once you figure it out, you could do the same if you wanted.

P.S. Where did you learn these steps from?

 

Site: Registrar of Imported Vehicles

That's the canadian vehicle importation policies. Gives you a step-by-step walkthrough, but what it doesn't tell you is that you'll have to go through alot of hoops for each step (i.e. I had to call Ford, then Ford Canada, then a local Ford dealer, then a Ford dealer where I'm picking the car up , etc). It's a very complicated process and it's giving me headaches just thinking about it

 

I'm sure there are people like Art Vandelay who do this for a living. Probably wouldn't have cost too much either.

Good luck w/ the rest of the process.

BTW- what kind of car is it and where did you get it from?

 

It may be easier in the US.

Armed forces folks buy BMWs cheap during their tours in Germany and ship them back to the US when they return. SO I'm figuring, though I never did it while I was in, it's not too bad a proces when bringing them in to the US.

 

It's a 2000 Ford Explorer XLT. Cost $4300USD. I've been looking for a good priced explorer for the past 2 months to buy, and this was the best I found so far. It's probably going to cost me about $2000 just to get it to my home though, which sucks. But when I was looking for similiar vehicles, the prices were about $10,000+ for similiar or older versions of the explorer, so I'm still saving a couple grand doing it this way.

 

Ken, Importing a GTR is ALOT more work then a car that has a US counter-part... Someone has to do crash tests, conversion work, etc... I've gone through the process up to a point then backed down... There are companies that will import them and convert them for you but the cost is 50% the cost of the vehicle basically.

I'm sticking with my 3 Supras for the time being.

 

I saw a video yesterday of a 1520 rwhp @ 59 psi Supra.

And the thing looks stock!

 

mmm....4x4....mmmm.....this is what I bought:



Perfect condition aside from a few scrathes on the hood. No damage, no impacts. Less than 100k miles. Leather interior, 4 disc cd changer with 6 speakers, AC, and lot of other features. Very sweet ride

All in all I think it's worth the trouble, but I wouldn't want to go through this ever again.

 

You know the saying, whats the difference between a 600hp supra and a 1000+hp supra? Nothing, they both run the same time at the track. The 1000+ can't get traction

 

Is it <8 sec. 1/4 mile? 'Cause that's what the 1,520 HP Supra is.

Here's a video of the car getting "no traction".
http://supercartuningcenter.com/marko.wmv

 

I know someone who bought an Explorer on ebay and saved big time $$$ or atleast he thought. He got it home to Maine only to find out it was a 4x2 and not 4 wheel drive. He had never heard of such a thing. Needless to say he paid what it booked for and had to park it in the winter.

 

Ouch that sucks. One of the main features of buying an explorer is 4x4. I'm making sure the one I bought has everything that was claimed before I take delivery of it. Flying to boston next week to inspect it