MJ23

My car is worth approximately $3000. Do you guys think it is worth it to take it with me to Canada? I'm willing to pay up to $1000 for the cost of doing the modifications and other paper work. I'd rather do this, than spend time looking for a new car. what do you guys think?

How do car prices in Canada compare to prices in the US?

karmacon

its not worth the trouble - sell it
on arrival in canada if you are located in a city like toronto and depending on where your work is, you may or may not need a car in the immediate future (public transport in toronto is excellent, cost effective). parking in dntown tno can be expensive - so first get here and then decide if/when to buy.
as a new arrival you would have enough of other issues to deal with - let your car not be one of them - specially if you are moving to a city with a reliable public transport system.
vehicles of all types and makes - new/used are readily available in Canada as they are in america. costs would be around the same - perhaps even a little cheaper from what ive heard.

orazone

MJ23,
I checked my car's worth using KBB and my car's re-sell value is also around 4,000$ but you gotta consider one more point. If you pay 1,000 CAD you can take your car to Canada and you can use it for years. If you sell it for 3,000$ , believe me new car is going to cost you around 13,000$ USD to 18,000$ USD (ofcourse depends what model and what options you choose). I checked all canadian websites , prices are almost same. (www.honda.ca, www.toyota.ca , www.nissan.ca , www.kia.ca , www.mazda.ca).
So I see no point selling my car in US. This car (98' Mazda) can give me 7-10 more years without any trouble and i wont mind paying 1,000 CADs for that.

Bob

other thing to consider, driving a right hand drive motor on the right side of the road, could be a pain in the bum, and also means it'll have practically no resell value unless it's a classic motor.
Just a thought to bare in mind.

Bob

scratch that, your not heading in from blighty...must drink more coffee

orazone

US and Canada follow same conventions..right ? All vehicles have Steerings on the left hand side , and driver drive on the right side of the road.

Bob

Yup, I corrected in my second post, didn't notice the seattle tag on the OP location *l*

PMM

Hi MJ

Did you check to see if the car is importable? www.riv.ca It should also give you an idea of what has to be done for registration and importation to Canada.

PMM

orazone

Well, thats strange. This website is saying ,
"The list of vehicles manufactured in the United States which are approved for entry into Canada is published by Transport Canada."

Does that mean, Japan assembled car can'nt be exported to Canada ?? My Mazda was manufactured in Japan and then brought to US. It was the last model 'Mazda US' imported from Japan. Well, i better call concerned authorities before planning anything serious. Its kind of scary and I dont like ugly surprises.

PMM

Hi


Check out http://www.riv.ca/english/US_vehicle_admissibility.pdf Sec 3 for Mazda, to see if your model is importable.

PMM

orazone

I am not concerned about this list. I am concerned about what this page is saying.
http://www.riv.ca/english/html/us_ve...ssibility.html

I am getting an impression that only US manufactured vehicles will be allowed to get into Canada and My Mazda was not manufactured in US. It was manufactured in Japan.

QUOTE

The list of vehicles manufactured in the United States which are approved for entry into Canada is published by Transport Canada. Make sure you check your vehicle against the List of Vehicles Admissible from the United States before you import.

UNQUOTE

Boston

If you can import your car, do it. Of course you need a car in Toronto! Toronto is huge, I live in the downtown, and don't get to drive my car every day, but I don't know what I would do without it. Car insurance is expensive though.

HaMa

ive heard that car insurance on imported cars is a little higher than local cars, and some companies may not be willing to cover you,

you might want to keep that in mind,

ive looked at sites like autotrader.ca and have seen a few cars on there that arent too expensive and not too old, a 2001 neon for about $6k , so im sure something a little older wont be expensive,

HaMa

nervous_wreck

Wow, what year model is it?

MJ23

I agree with you. I'm leaning towards keeping my car because atleast I know what I'm dealing with! I don't want to buy a new car and pay a lot of money either!