Importing into Canada

[skateboardnorth]

Hey guys, I'm new here, but have been a fan of the 4wd tercel for a long time. The other day I came back from vacation and saw a Tercel4wd for sale in Ontario(where I live), which is very rare. Of course, by the time I sent the e-mail it was gone. So the past week I have been searching and I can only find cars on the west coast of Canada or down in the USA. Some of the ones I found in the USA are a much closer drive for me. I was just wondering if anyone has imported a Tercel into Canada? Anyone know the costs and the logistics of it all?

[jimcrazy]

i have a friend who has brought several cars back from us, I think he told me if they are 25 years old there is no hassle, if I ever find the right one when he is going cross boarder shopping he will bring it back for me. I also belive there was a inport fee of 300,400 bucks. I will be talking to him first of the week and find out for sure, here in nova scotia they are getting hard to come by all rusted out

[skateboardnorth]

Thanks for the reply. Any info would be appreciated. I would also like to know if I could get a temp permit and actually drive it back across the boarder, or if it has to be on a trailer.

[marlinh]

I imported a car from Washington State in January. It was a private sale, so the details may be different if it is a dealer. It cost nothing to import. You are allowed to bring up $800 or less duty free. My car was less, so no duty. They are sticklers about you waiting 72 hours before crossing the border. If the car has AC working or not they will charge you $100 for that. It is exempt from the RIV program. Get all your paperwork beforehand, and copies of the registration for your insurance.

I knew I was buying the car so I bought temporary insurance that was good for ten days before I left Canada. The insurance was very cheap. The car needs it's original State plate with valid tags.

If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.

[simon]

Hey there,

I imported a car into Ontario from BC (I know, same country but different province)

You are gonna have to go through a safety inspection to have it plated. Just a head's up: I drove my tercel, and it ran great, over 4000kms and when trying to have it inspected they found over 1500$ of work to do on it, just to make it pass the safety check that you need to regiater the car in ontario. All of these things were mechanically insignificant, but it was a licensed mechanic (canadian tire) and you know how they are.

So, if you know a mechanic that is gonna be more reasonable (I luckily found one) then it can be a breeze. Most mechanics in ontario are licensed to do these safety checks.

[marlinh]

I had the same problem when I imported a car from Washington. The mechanic wanted me to do a lot more and I challenged him on it. He backpeddled a bit, and I did all my own work. If I had to pay someone to do it, the cost would have been exhorbitant as well.

[dlb]

same thing happened to former forum member intheforest. he bought a tercel off another member here and was required to do all sorts of stupid things. even superficial cracks that had zero effect on bushings required those bushings be replaced.

[Jarf]

Years ago, when we did import inspections (in those days, any shop licensed to do safety's could do an import inspection.) Sometime after the advent of RIV the Ontario Gov't, with all their wisdom, determined the public would be better served with a national chain being the designed inspector (CTC).

Back when we used to do it, we would have to instal km speedo's, DRL's and french warning labels for air bags. Nowadays that has all gone by the wayside, I know of several people that have brought in new vehicles and it was a simple fee and a quick inspection (for RIV compliant vehicles).
No km instrument packs, no DRL's, no french warning labels.

The issue I have, is that the "inspection stations" are also service providers, so I see a huge conflict of interest when you can only go to one place and they can call whatever they feel like, it would seem that the slower the shop is, the more they feel they have to call.
About the only way around the current scam, I mean scheme, is to go to an indy shop, get your DOT done and with certificate in hand, then go to the inspection station.
If they then call a bunch of things, at least you have a position to argue from but it is no guarantee they will relent and pass the vehicle.

My biggest issue with the CTC repair facilities is they way they run their service departments.
A brand new apprentice gets paid the same as a seasoned tech and they are all flat rate.
So the seasoned guys that are supposed to teach the new kids don't teach as they are not remunerated for it, the more they teach the less money they make, added to this, the guy they are teaching will then be able to take jobs from them in the future. So there is no incentive to train, as a result the apprentices can do horrible work and customer gets to pay for it.
I have heard far too many horror stories from that place over the years that I won't go there for mechanical work, ever.
Also, they have a policy in place that says there is no such thing as a "comeback", it's now referred to as
"return for more work".
This has just been my experience and YMMV.

[mytercel]

Hi - I've imported quite a few things from U.S. to Canada. For an older car (15 years +), it's easy. Just have a copy of your title sent to the border you'll cross through, 72 hours before you cross. That's the big thing. Other than that, have your bill of sale etc ready. If the car was advertised online, they like to have a printed copy of the add, so print out the Craig's List add or which-ever.
My nicest tercel was bought in the U.S. and brought home to CDA. That was the only way to find one that wasn't a total rust bucket or asking triple what it's worth.
Good luck!
Dutch