[Rewted]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Al

Wow! Please keep me in the loop on this one. Does this apply to buying new as well? Considering a 335x to replace my 325i

No it does not. You cannot purchase a new BMW from an American dealer, it must be used.

[Rewted]

In regard to the whole import process, I'd say it's worth shopping around for a year old BMW in the USA. Though the Canadian dollar is down a bit, there are definitely some significant savings to be had. BMW Canada needs to re-evaluate their profit margins too.

All these additional fees and regulations came about when the dollar was on par and BMW needed a way to protect the resale market in Canada. Nothing gets me more heated than economic explanations like "It cost more to bring into Canada"! Don't give me that crap, I can look out my office window and see the State side!

I won't buy another BMW from Canada again. Especially if the rumor of BMW may start manufacturing the 3 series in United States is true. Good bye duties!

[smartys]

hey man, good to hear that you're planning to import.....

Unfortunately, US BMW dealers are not authorized to sell new cars to Canadians.......only used/demos. an 09 for 10k more seems like a great deal, but make sure you take all the importation costs into account before you make any decisions....i suppose it's a moot point, as they won't sell you a new one, but before you buy any car, make sure you just do all the calculations, including exchange rate, duties, gst/pst. About the car you mentioned....personally, I would stay away from anything that was issued a Lemon Law title.....that's just beyond my comfort level.....

It's true what you say tyrewt.....it's bullshit that BMW Canada makes all kinds of excuses and tries to discourage Canadians from importing.....flippin hell, here in ontario, BMW Canada headquarters in Whitby has been importing cars from the USA like crazy.....their hypocrites....but whatever, that's business, i guess......

[klo]

Awesome, thanks for the details! I'm going to be shipping my car over in about a month (undecided if I want to ship or drive it). Couple of questions:

1. Do you not have to do anything as far as crossing the border goes? I'm assuming not since you dealt wiht customs in Sauga, but i wasn't sure. Especially if i drive my car across, I could probably just say Im visiting or something.

2. How did you decide on the shipping service (Hansen), and do they only drop the car off in the mississauga location? Just wondering if they had other locations that you coudl handle customs just as easily at.

3. How did they determine the price to charge you tax on? I'm assumng it was just the book value of the car (KBB?), and not necessarily what you paid for it? I guess in my case it's a bit different since I actually bought it new in the U.S., but I'll be shipping it back as used since I"ve had it for more than 6 months.

4. Was there anything you had to do to call ahead and tell the RIV that you would be importing a car? FOr some reason I recall reading somewhere thatyou needed to call ahead to make sure you had all the proper paperwork, or something ready or you could get stuck at the border. Not sure though.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by smartys

Hey all,

So I wanted to update you guys on my import of a 335i Cabriolet E93 (2007).

The Salient Points:

1.) You DO NOT have to get the "BMW Letter of Admissibility"

2.) You DO NOT require a Recall Clearance Letter from BMW CANADA
-The RIV will accept a printout from ANY North American Authorized BMW Dealer. I called Warren BMW in Ohio and they mailed it to my sister's address in Ohio.
3.) You DO NOT have to change the Cluster
4.) If you activate the DRLs through the computer before you bring it into CanTire for the Federal inspection, they won't know, and won't make you install the kit to activate them (the RIV guy HIMSELF volunteered this info to me, and it worked!!)

So just to sum up my experience:

After purchasing the car (privately), I had the car shipped by Hansen's (BONDED Carrier). They shipped the car to a bonded warehouse in Mississauga on 401 and Dixie). I got a call the morning the car arrived, and went down there to pick it up. I got the paperwork from the warehouse office, and then went to the Customs office downstairs in the same building.
The guy must have liked my boyish charm, because when he converted the price into CAD, he converted it based on the exchange rate the DAY I BOUGHT the car, as opposed to the day it crossed the border (ie. 0.99 vs 0.94!)

Tricky part: So apparently, during this summer, the MTO changed the rules, so that the inspection must be done before issuing any temporary driving permits----doesn't make any sense, cause once the inspection is done, I won't NEED any temp plates, I'll get the permanent ones!!?!! I tried to explain this to the moron at the MTO, to no avail---so I just drove ihome t w/o plates---that was a friggin nightmare, cause I never went by so many cops on the streets in my life. In retrospect, I should've brought my old plates and a screwdriver with me.......

At home, I put on my old plates from my tercel (RIP).

Another helpful hint to save time and get your car on the road:

After paying the duty and GST and obtaining the Form 1 from Customs, rather than paying the RIV fee there and waiting for the Form 2 in the mail, the customs officer (God bless him---I never thought I'd be saying THAT) informed me that if you go to the RIV office directly (in Mississauga--burnhamthorpe and 427, I believe---PM me and I can tell you exact address), you can pay the RIV fee there with all your documents (including Form 1 stamped by customs and Recall printout, title and Bill of Sale), and they'll give you the Form 2 right there!

Take the Car with the Form 2 to CanTire, activate your DRLs thru the computer beforehand, get the Fed inspection, Emissions Test and Safety if the car is used.

Once that's all done, make sure your car is INSURED by your auto insurance, and take all these documents (Form 1, 2, Insurance, Title, bill of sale, and ID) to your local MTO license office, where you'll pay PST and register the car, and get plates.

VROOM VROOM!

Once my car arrived to Customs Mississauga, I literally had the car registered/plated within 24hours.

To be on the safe side, I would fax the Form 2 to the RIV yourself, as I called a couple of days after and the RIV had NOT received it, so I faxed it myself.

If anyone has any questions, PM me, will be happy to help out.

I love my car....I just love this thing.....hopefully doesn't give me any problems....best money i ever spent, and flippin saved about 15k buying in the US.

Best of luck to you all, and PM me if you have any questions...


marty (MK786 are my plates--honk if u spot me!)

[smartys]

hey man:

1.) I did not have to do anything at the border BECAUSE I SHIPPED the Car through a bonded carrier. IF you drive it yourself, you'll have to do everything at the border. DO NOT say you're just visiting, and then try to import it at another site, they will confiscate your car. When you're importing it, you say you're importing it.

2) I decided on Hansen's by Googling "shipping company". I saw some reviews on ebay forums or something somewhere. Another well-known shipping company is DAS shipping. They can ship it to sites other than Mississauga....Mississauga was closest to where I live. I don't know where the other bonded warehouses/customs office locations are in the GTA, for that you'd have to contact them yourself.

3.) Tax determination: They convert the price YOU paid in USD into CAD. (so long as it's a "reasonable" price. ie. if you got a family member to sell you the car for like "a dollar", they'll take black book. But so long as you bought the car for a reasonable price, even if it's a bit under market, they'll convert the USD into CAD, generally based on the exchange rate the day the car crosses the border. However because you've actually been living in the USA and bringing the car back (As opposed to someone who specifically went to the US to buy a car), the Customs Agent may give you a break on certain taxes.....I know my buddy who worked in Seattle for a couple of years brought back his Civic and the Customs guy didn't charge him duty. It all depends on the mood of the person you deal with i guess.

4.) Before the car crosses the border, the Title (3 copies) and Bill of Sale and any other supporting docs must be faxed to US Customs at least 72 hours before. If you decide to ship your car, the Shipping company will do this for you.

anyways, hope this helps and best of luck!

[klo]

Thanks for the awesome post - much appreciated!

[mekeni]

thanks for the post.. you are one of the lucky that didn't have to change the cluster

[albertmlls]

Hi,

I'm a Canadian currently living in Texas on a work visa and want to buy a BMW 3 series about a month before I come back to Canada (January or Dec.) Was thinking about infiniti, but apparently they don't transfer the warranty.

I guess most importantly i'm having trouble telling if this is even worth it, comparing cars between Calgary and Houston dealership websites doesn't give me a clear picture of if i'm getting a very good deal or if the savings are so small that it isn't even worth the hassle.

I also have some questions, as I find the combined might of government and corporate bureaucracy thoroughly vexing, and confusing.

So what's easier in terms of dealing with BMW and the Canadian Law:

Used or New?

If used how old (minimum age required for certain benefits?)

If used prviate or BMW dealership? My neighbor is willing to sell me hers, so this is tempting just for the sake of convenience.

If I don't really want to drive it back, what's the easiest way to have it delivered to Alberta? (which service is best?)

I heard it might be easier to take it through ontario rather than alberta - true?

How do you turn on the day time running lights yourself without paying some big fee?

Can I have a temporary title/registration done in texas so I avoid paying taxes there?

[smartys]

albertmlls
To answer your questions (in succession)

1.) USED. BMW dealerships in NA are not going to sell a new car to a Canadian. Having said that, if you have a US address at the moment, you can buy it and not tell them you're Canadian planning to import it. However, when it comes to registration of the vehicle, when you buy from a dealer, they may do it for you no? Tell them you may be moving to a different state and that only register it with temp plates.

2.) How Used?
doesn't really matter. Can be 2 days old or 10 years old. There are some BMW vehicles that are inadmissible to Canada, so look on RIV.ca (Registrar of Imported Vehicles website) and check out the "admissibility list". There's only like 2 or 3 models and years that are not, no biggie.

3.) Private vs Dealer?
Makes no difference. I bought mine privately, many buy from dealers

4.) Getting it back to Alta?
I shipped it through a BONDED carrier. I used Hansen's, but I hear "DAS" auto transport is better. google'em and call them to get a quote. If you ship it, you just send them the paperwork they require, and they'll cross the border with the car "in bond" and leave it at an authorized Customs warehouse (you can specify a particular location of the ones available) and do all the customs paperwork/payment there.

5.) ON vs Alta?
I have no idea.....sorry!

6.) DRLs
If you don't turn on the Daytime Running Lights, the fee to convert it is like $200.00, so not that much. You can do it through the car's menu/computer. I'm not going to go into detail about doing it, but once you get the car, just look through the owner's manual and it will guide you. Takes like 1 minute. There's no guarantee that if you do turn on the DRLs that you won't have to pay for the conversion kit, cause the legislation is that the DRLs should be active at all times, and there should exist NO capability to turn them off. But if the tech at CanTire doesn't know much about BMWs, he'll just look for them to turn on when the ignition is turned on, and that'll be that.

7.) Temp Registration
Absolutely. It's like $15bucks or something to get a 1 month temp plate, no taxes have to be paid then in the US. The only thing I'm not sure about is if you buy a new car from a dealer, do they register it? If so, you may have to pay taxes there. I would clarify it with them, and like I said, you may just wanna tell them that you're moving to another state, and that you'll want to register the car yourself or just have them register it on a temporary permit. If you tell them you're moving to Canada, they won't sell you a new one.

Hope this helps,

Marty

[wilS.]

Originally Posted by smartys

albertmlls

3.) Private vs Dealer?
Makes no difference. I bought mine privately, many buy from dealers

Any suggestions on the best place to look for a Used vehicle? Where did you find yours?

[smartys]

I found mine by scouring Autotrader.com, for MONTHS....and I found one with everything i was looking for. It's a pretty good site, actually. But like I said, I also went across the border (to Buffalo) and went to a BMW dealership there, and the Sales guy I spoke to was well versed with Canadians buying across the border. He told me that every month they have BMW interal auctions in Mannheim Pennsylvania (BMW corporate lease vehicles driven by BMW execs), and ev month he would call me and let me know if there might be anything that may interest me. The prices are usually a bit under market, so usually a good deal. Nothing happened to come up that had what i wanted (mainly 6MT). Though the CAD is tankin a bit these days, the American economy is RAPED, so it may still be a good time to buy.....but I urge everyone to do the exact calculation by hand before doing it....

hope this helps and good luck!

[Soni]

thanks for the info Marty!! One of this day you need to join us for the meet. I would like to see your ride personally!!

[wilS.]

Originally Posted by smartys

I found mine by scouring Autotrader.com, for MONTHS....and I found one with everything i was looking for. It's a pretty good site, actually. But like I said, I also went across the border (to Buffalo) and went to a BMW dealership there, and the Sales guy I spoke to was well versed with Canadians buying across the border. He told me that every month they have BMW interal auctions in Mannheim Pennsylvania (BMW corporate lease vehicles driven by BMW execs), and ev month he would call me and let me know if there might be anything that may interest me. The prices are usually a bit under market, so usually a good deal. Nothing happened to come up that had what i wanted (mainly 6MT). Though the CAD is tankin a bit these days, the American economy is RAPED, so it may still be a good time to buy.....but I urge everyone to do the exact calculation by hand before doing it....

hope this helps and good luck!

Thanks for the info. I was actually about to make an appointment to see a dealer across the border that deals strictly with BMW Financial auctions (presumably Mannheim as well) and see if they could find the spec I was looking for.

I've been on Autotrader too as well, but haven't quite found the specs I'm looking for (white/red). Maybe I will keep tuned to it and when it shows up, the Can$ might look a little brighter as well

[smartys]

No problem guys, my pleasure. It's about time that we Canadians were able to NOT get ripped off on EVERYTHING. I just wish I bought a few more USD a few weeks ago just in preparation for more auto-shopping (ie. SUMMER WHEELS). I was lucky to buy some snows and rims from tirerack just before the CAD tanked to hell.....hopefully it oughta look up in the next few months.....

WilS, good luck with your search man....keep scouring Autotrader and the dealer across the border, you WILL find it eventually...i was literally looking at the web every night for like 6 months....White/Red is not that uncommon a combo in the US.....

Soni, I would LOVE to come out to one of the TO meets sometime....just PM next time you guys meet up.....my car as of right now is bone-stock....but i'm teetering with the idea of Dinan Stage 2, but I'm likely gonna wait until the warranty's done....and rims next summer.....but anyways, give me a shout and i'll try to come out sometime...

marty

[montreal red]

wow amazing thread... i dont plan on importing my car from the states just cos i dont want the headache but your experience is really helpful... and you sure as hell did your research! we need more people like you on the board!

[klo]

So I just called the RIV, and hey actually told me that the only recall clearance letter they accept from BMW (specifically) had to be issued by a canadian dealer or the headquarter. I told the girl that others have done it by getting a recall clearance from a u.s. dealership, but she kept telling me that it had to come from a canadian dealer.

This obviously means that the only way a bmw in canada will give you the letter is if they do all the mods, which is 3k+. What gives, is the girl I spoke to ignorant about this?

[smartys]

that's retarded, call again and speak to someone else. i called numerous times over the summer to verify the info, and I was told SPECIFICALLY that as of JUNE 26th, so long as it's a PRINTOUT from an authorized BMW dealer in the US, it's ok. I even scanned it and emailed it to them and they verified that it was acceptable. If you scroll through this thread I even mentioned the guy's name i spoke to at the RIV, and he told me that he was the only one by that name (i think it was "Fraser"???). Call again, and ask if the rules changed again.

[klo]

So I called around dealerships just to even obtain a recall clearance letter from them to begin with, and none of the few I tried here in WA would even issue me one - they all said that it had to be one from a Canadian dealer.

Has anyone tried getting a recall clearance letter recently from a U.S. dealer?

[gu3s5]

I didn't want to start a new thread so I hope someone sees this and can help. I'm trying to bring back my car from the States after a year of school. Someone just recently told me that because I've had the car here for a year already, I don't have to pay duty just gst? can anybody confirm that?

[T i h o r]

Man this makes me want to import a car from the US just for the hell of it. lol

[klo]

I just called the cbsa, and asked them about this - it doesnt matter how long you've owned the car, you still have to pay duty and gst (in addition to pst when you register). The only exemption you get is 10k off the taxable value of your car when you import it, if you've had the car for more than 6 months.

I've heard various things before like this too (owning 1 year no duty, or pst, etc. etc.) but as far as the cbsa its not true. Some people might have gotten around it in some cases, but at least the official story is what I stated above based on my conversations with the cbsa (and documentation online).

Originally Posted by gu3s5

I didn't want to start a new thread so I hope someone sees this and can help. I'm trying to bring back my car from the States after a year of school. Someone just recently told me that because I've had the car here for a year already, I don't have to pay duty just gst? can anybody confirm that?

[gu3s5]

cool thanks for the response.