Importing a car
 

Hey guys, anyone had any experience of bringing a car over here from the uk, anything you had to change or do to it before bringing it? Whats the best thing to do before you turn up at the border with it? Thanks for any advice.

Re: Importing a car
 

What sort of car is it? i.e. Is it a classic car or a newish one?

Re: Importing a car
 

Start here:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...f5048-eng.html

before you get too excited.

Re: Importing a car
 

It can be done,
I'm bringing my old mini over this year, but it is 15yrs old

the popular method is Roll on Roll off ferry and then rail freight to your location around £1500
Other wise its a contanier at about £3000+

I've been recommended
RJJ Freight are the company that do the RORO bit
SeaRail for the rest of the journey
A+A Customs brokers for the unbonding part

Re: Importing a car
 

i know the personal connection which warrants this, but seriously look into the classic car market over here, there are some fine examples around from around $17,000 for a mint mg i saw the other day, virtually concourse, 1973 think it was, possibly earlier, just before they put those horrible black plastic bumpers on for the experts. might be worth while simply saying goodbye and starting again over here, read some horror stories on here from damage, and claiming from the insurance is difficult, i know, i have done it and lost out.

Re: Importing a car
 

Personally, I would think that the frustration and long term inconvenience of having a RHD car in Canada would get to you. Think about paying at underground parking garages, dropping off front seat passengers at curbside locations etc, dipped headlights, overtaking on non motorway type roads, paying tolls on bridges, border crossings etc.

It is likely that the LHD version is available here.

Re: Importing a car
 

excellent point. i have seen everything from alfasuds, 912/911's, spitfires, mg's, morris, and the ususal old ferraris and maseratis.

Re: Importing a car
 

At horrendous prices though! Your looking at 5k for a rust bucket Spitfire that needs tonnes of work. A Mini can set you back easily 12-15k. Load up a container with a dozen mini's (get LHD ones if you can) and make a mint!:rofl:

Re: Importing a car
 

Weird the way they pice it. I just shipped a car from New jersey to Felixstowe in a container and cost me $825 (USD) less UK port handling fees (about £250) and the dreaded VAT which will be about £1,200.

Re: Importing a car
 

well yes, i did say $17000 starting. look at 911 prices for instance,
http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/...&submit=Search

2x911's from 1971 halfway down, one is 30k pounds, one is 24k us dollars, and they are not that different, especially when you add on the cost of shipping the uk one over here.

Re: Importing a car
 

We've done it a bunch of times but always a Canadian car. Face it you can buy a brand new Jeep for 18000 cdn$ and they cost £27000 here?!!!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: If you decide to ship a car into Canada the cheapest is to have it delivered to Halifax Nova Scotia; But when you collect it make sure you have $175.00 for "environmental cleaning" I arrived at 4pm once to pick up a car and it had not been done yet. I could see the car thru the mesh fence and there was a tin popcan infront of the rear wheel. I paid my money and was told to come back in the morning 10:30 when I did the can was still there? Welcome to Canada!!:curse::curse::curse:
Also the good thing about driving a Canadian registered car her in the uk No parking tickets;No MOT;No road fund tax so lond as you leave the country every six months. I have a Jeep here with 1999 plate sticker!

Re: Importing a car
 

I brought my MG - mine went in the container with all my other stuff (upgraded from 20ft to 40ft and they built a wall between the furniture and the car). The cost to upgrade container and add the car was GBP900 (Robinsons).

Re: Importing a car
 

just get one of these, 4.2l v8 1yr old 30k km $30,000 list.

Re: Importing a car
 

I sent a bunch of Jeeps to Switzerland (before Chrysler cut me off). I found it cheapest to send them by air.

Re: Importing a car
 

!!!!How Bizarre!!!!

Re: Importing a car
 

It was odd but there's a transhipment charge for unloading a container from a boat and on to a train at Rotterdam and that made the air fare less. We filled the Jeeps with spare tyres as there was a huge price difference for tyres across the ocean.

Re: Importing a car
 

I had heard something similar about coming this way over the water - shipping Lufthansa airfreight out of Hamburg, from memory. 2-car convoy to the airport, put one on the plane, drive back to the UK in the other. I can't fathom how that would be cheaper than sea freight, but I guess trans-shipment & additional handling charges etc could account for some of it.

Re: Importing a car
 

You wouldnt have to move it to steam clean it would you?... and thats basically what they are interested in, killing off any insects etc that it might be inadvertently introduced to canadian soil. That was my understanding anyway.

I dont really see the point in importing something like a mini, too much expense and hassle for what you get. At least its relatively possible though as its old enough to be excluded from the regs. I know Tiaribbon imported a Camaro they had in the UK, but thats relatively easy as it was on the RIV list of eligible (US made) vehicles. Has anyone imported anything more recent and non american.

Re: Importing a car
 

My reason, its so much fun to drive, the next two cars that are in that league for driving fun are the elise and the atom,
I've driven a huge range of cars over the years, many of them rented and abused on comapny time on autobahns and on mountain roads, and quite a few owned or company cars which have been hurled around the welsh forrestry and the mountins in scotland very few have come close for sheer fun and motoring enjoyment that I've had in my Mini
a nicely set up 1275 twin carb is just a pleasure to drive

My focus will remain the commuter car, the Escape the family work horse

I will miss using it when we visit the UK

Re: Importing a car
 

I had the same problem...in 1999 when the new Jeep came out I got banned by Toronto Chrysler from buying Jeeps just as the they were relaeased in the UK for £35,000 when I could buy demos for $18,000 CAD ie in those days £7000.00!! I bought 6 total and sent them RORO for $925.00CAD from Toronto to Southampton...sold them on as is with Ontario plates. The funniest part was on of the axels let go and the shippers insurance wrote me a cheque for UK chrysler to fix it and daimler had to pay the same garage for the work?!? :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: That was then....no more:curse::curse::curse:

Re: Importing a car
 

I though that only worked as long as you were still paying the registration in the Country of Origin. I could be wrong, but its worth checking as I believe your Insurance could be voided if the car is not properly registered.

Re: Importing a car
 

No...the insurance isue is moot because you just give them the reg# on the Ontario plate and they will issue you a cover note...:sneaky::sneaky::sneaky:

Re: Importing a car
 

Hertz was selling one in town - 1yr old for $23K. Prices on them are starting to drop.

Re: Importing a car
 

We wish we had brough at least one of our cars with us, you WON'T get a mini here for less than 10k cad and we're talking about the ones you can pick up dirt cheap in the UK, that haven't been looked after, so if your Mini will be admissable then bring it with you. There was a little Anglia at the downtown cruise nights last summer and people were all over it.

Re: Importing a car
 

[QUOTE=Looney;6180318]No...the insurance isue is moot because you just give them the reg# on the Ontario plate and they will issue you a cover note...:sneaky::sneaky::sneaky:[/QUOTE

You'll most probably be fine if you have a small prang, BUT if you plough through a dozen pedestrians I reckon the insurance company will take any angle they can not to have to pay the claim.

Yes, you may take it from my comments that I have a grudge against insurance companies.

Re: Importing a car
 

Its admissable, i've waited fours and a bit years to bring it over
It's limited edition Italian job (the red one, only 400 made) in near mint condition

Re: Importing a car
 

Definately bring it then and enjoy it when it gets here! You must be so excited:thumbsup:

Re: Importing a car
 

Hey guys, thanks for all your help. Its a 2003 Honda Civic Type R. Where did you all start with the paperwork, can you just ship it and then they will do the federal inspection at the border or do you need to have anything ready for when you arrive? I was thinking of shipping to US and then driving in, does this make any difference?

Re: Importing a car
 

A Honda Civic? Why bother, just get another Civic here.

Re: Importing a car
 

Makes no difference. Its too new to be a classic and not on the RIV compliance list. I suspect your chances of driving it on Canadian roads in the next 10 years are very low, or prohibitively expensive
http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/impxus_e.htm

Quote:

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Vehicles acquired in foreign countries other than the U.S. and designed, built, tested and certified to meet either all applicable Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards or all applicable United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and bearing a statement of compliance label affixed by the original manufacturer, as required by the Regulations, may be eligible for importation into Canada provided the vehicle has not been altered and the certification from the original manufacturer is maintained, which may be subject to verification at the time of importation.

---

Fortunately Im pretty sure there was a short period of time when they sold Swindon built LHD type R civics here if that's what floats your boat.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/articl...3civic_sir.htm

$17k
http://www.trader.ca/powerpage/detai...7&adid=6744969
$15k
http://www.trader.ca/powerpage/detai...5&adid=6864548
$14.5k
http://www.trader.ca/Search/Details....ADS=6813641%7C

Re: Importing a car
 

Thanks for your help iaink, the Civic SIR just isn't the same though. They seem to suggest though that any car as long as it complies with the regulation would be let in, it would seem that all I would need to add is daytime running lights, am I not reading this right?

Re: Importing a car
 

The problem is certification of compliance with the regulations, the particular model of the car has to be tested, including crash tested, which is impractical for a single vehicle. The short of it is that, practically speaking, cars can be imported only if the exact model is sold in the US or if the car is fifteen years old.

Re: Importing a car
 

No, youre not. the applicable headache is "bearing a statement of compliance label affixed by the original manufacturer"

Thats an insurmountable problem until its old enough to not come under the regs.

Re: Importing a car
 

Old Minis are the easiest vehicle to convert from RHD to LHD, even the speedometer is in the middle. You may have to get some DOT marked lights for it too as they are now being checked on inspection.

Re: Importing a car
 

Does it make any difference? Yes, it makes it way MORE difficult. How were you planning to drive it legally in the US? Formally import it, somehow get it titled, plated, and insured in New York state perhaps? If you did manage to do all that (and it would be a nightmare if you're simply a visitor to the US) you'd then have to do the same all over again in Canada - formally export from US, formally import to Canada, registration, plates, insurance. But since your car isn't on the list, it's all moot. Too much trouble for a 5 year old Civic IMHO. Sell it in the UK, buy a new one in Canada.

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What would be the advantage in formally exporting the car from the US?

Re: Importing a car
 

My recollection was that it was part of the required border dance when bringing a car from the US to Canada... of course I could be wrong about that. I was under the impression that US to Canada was more of a hassle than the other way around.

Re: Importing a car
 

We have two US cars in Canada. One we haven't done anything about, we just drive it on the US plates. The other we imported properly, that didn't turn out to be too much hassle, $1000 for light switch disabling and half a day in Brampton for the customs inspection. We didn't export it from the US though, our thinking is that the Canadians don't care and should we move to the US not having exported it will save having to import it.

Re: Importing a car
 

Just forget the idea. It's far more hassle than it's worth, you'll have problems finding insurance even if you could get it in, which you won't. Over 15 years only. Even some of the US cars are no good for import.

Re: Importing a car
 

I had a 1979 1275GT before I came here. It got sold to help me emigrate sadly. Only after I sold it did my OH relent and say "We should have seen how much it would have cost to ship." :sneaky:

A real Mini would go down a treat here. There's a classic car parade in my town every year and there's usually a couple of Minis which pull just as many open-mouthed Canadians as the muscle cars. However - closer inspection reveals that things aren't as they seem. One guy's "1969 Cooper" looked suspiciously modern. Then I remembered from my Mini days back in the UK hearing that it was rather dubious practice for exporters to take the VIN and V5 from an older (usually scrap) car and stick them onto a newer Mini before selling them onto unsuspecting Californians (or in this case, Canadians).