Hi,

Is it worth importing your own car to Canada from the UK? Any Idea of the cost and time involved?

Has anyone done this before or have they just sold there cars and bought vehicle's in Canada?

I believe, unless it's a very special vehicle, the answer is NO. Insurance issues, driving on different side of road, possibility car does not meet engine/emission standards here. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable on the matter will soon be along to provide better advice.

I have a 20 year old US import red corvette and my girlfriend has a 6 year old BMW X5. Obviously the corvette is on the right side already

I believe it is easier if the car is more than 15 years old

a forum search should turn up some info

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

So the Vette is a yes, the BMW no chance.

Cheers

They have a list of admissable vehicles under 15 years old. I will try to find the link if someone else doesn't.
To bring any vehicle into Canada can be a pain in the butt. I brought a quad bike (the one that bit me last year) over. It was 14 years old and the whole experience was ridiculous. But the quad was made in the USA, imported to the UK and all the details appeared to have been deleted. The UK couldn't find it, The US couldn't find it, Honda Canada couldn't find it, but the register of vehicle imports in Canada had the thing on file before I ever asked about bringing it in, right down to the VIN and engine numbers and the factory where it was built....

Anything over 15 years old is technically admissable. You would need to get it type approved and safetied, then register it within 45 days. You also need a bill of sale so make sure it is low priced (I wrote the BOS on the counter of our insurance broker on a piece of paper I scrounged from them and with their pen and they accepted that) because you will pay tax on the purchase price.

Don't make it so low priced that it's not believable though. We had a bit of a question and search time last year when bringing the Rolls up from the USA. We obviously bought the Rolls cheaply off EBAY, only thing was customs didn't believe so much that we got it that cheap. Both vehicles (the one we drove down in and the Rolls) were searched top to bottom and we were questioned separately. There is a massive shed there full of sports cars and RV's that have been impounded because of false receipts.

As for the OP wanting top bring his 'vette, check out replacement prices here, it probably would work out a lot cheaper to bring yours, we wished we had brought our challenger and would like to re-import mustangs as they are cheaper in the UK than here. Costs to import are not prohibitive and it takes about a week or so depending on the type of delivery you need. For example we drove our Expedition to the Train depot in Edmonton and Step Dad picked it up from the port in Liverpool (I think), it took five(ish) days.

The tricky bit is when you already own the vehicle and have done for years. It is slightly different then as this will be on their customs manifest. I am not sure, but I think there is an entitlement which is tax free upon landing. I just can't remember all of it.
Also, if it is on your manifest then you cannot resell it. Research would be needed here.

Would it not be just on your goods to follow list?

Hi

Yes, and it can't be sold for 1 year.

That sounds ok.

It is also possible to import vehicles as deck cargo sometimes and that is a lot cheaper than using a box. Again, research would be needed as I don't recall things as well after my accident, although I did have all the information at one point.
When you do bring it over, can you stick a LandRover Defender on with it for me? We could show them a real 4WD then..

hi, just moved to canada and we sold our 7 year old vw and bought a new car in ca. as you already know you can only take "oldtimers" if you plan on staying for good, but the shipping should not be too bad. I think, if you only stay for a temporary period you could even bring the bmw as you have to take it back when you leave, but you should get some more info on that. when we moved our removal guys told us they usually put the car in a container and then fill the car with all sorts or moving stuff which you would take anyways. get some quotes from different companies. we used evl (european van liners).

When I was working temp for a Haulage company 20 years ago I helped fill a container and build a frame for a car to go in so they could ship it to Grenada.
I must admitt it felt odd hiding a car under all there belongings

If I were to bring my Corvette (1990), apart from them maybe charging me for shipping, cleaning,tax etc. What standards will my vehicle have to meet to be able to keep it in Canada? Ie MOT, Emmisions testing? does it have to be completely stock too? OEM?

Cheers
Andy