Bring Your Car With You
(Information supplied on this topic is from experience only, and in no way reflects policies, regulations, or laws from either Canada, USA, Manitoba, or Minnesota).
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Bring Your Car With You(Information supplied on this topic is from experience only, and in no way reflects policies, regulations, or laws from either Canada, USA, Manitoba, or Minnesota). |
General:
You may bring any vehicle - new, used, or leased. However, if you are bring a NEW
vehicle, you MUST have previously registered the vehicle in Canada. You can NOT go
and purchase a brand new vehicle with the intention to immediately driving it to the USA.
You should not have any problem driving this car to the border, and later insuring
and plating it in Minnesota. There are two things you should consider (and possibly a
third if you are leasing your vehicle), as discussed below. This discussion deals
with a Canadian resident moving for the first time to the USA. Otherwise,
see Purchasing a Car in Canada
as a US Resident
There is a myth that a vehicle must be at least one year old. This is a myth. A used vehicle is defined as one that has had a previous owner. If the vehicle is being purchased from a dealer, and the vehicle had a previous owner, it qualifies. This is NOT a customs issue, but an agreement (AutoPact) that dealers in Canada and USA are bound by.
EPA and Safety:
Before you drive to the border to leave Canada, you MUST get a letter from the
vehicles manufacturer. On this letter (original), the manufacturer will state that
the vehicle meets all EPA and safety standards. You may also receive a sticker that
would be placed under the hood. Either will suffice This letter will
state the VIN of the car, stating that it meets or exceeds all emission standards for the
following states (and then lists the states). When we asked our Ford dealership for one,
we waiting about 2 weeks, and received both a letter, and quite a large slicker. There was
no charge (from Ford, or dealership) for this letter. I will try and post a sample of the
sticker, and copy of the letter.
TIP: You will need some sort of certification regarding
vehicle emissions or you may not be able to import your vehicle .
Customs:
Upon your arrival at Customs and Immigration, most likely immediately after getting your
visa (if a TN or TD, or other similar), you need to declare any personal possessions -
such as your vehicle. It is a this time, after the immigration process, that you
will present your vehicle documentation. Your Manitoban (or Canadian) registration
will suffice as proof of ownership. You will need your EPA/Safety letter, as shown
above. The customs official will have you fill our a personal declaration card, and
give you a copy. If they do NOT give you a copy, ask for one. Without this
declaration, you will not be able to insure and plate your vehicle in the USA.
Age of Vehicle:
The general rule of thumb when exporting anything into the USA, for your personal use or
consumption, is the item (such as your car) must be used. It also appears (but do
not quote me on this!) that you are also allowed to bring in a brand new vehicle across if
you are leasing it, providing that they were originally registered in Canada. We
paid no duties or taxes, and we brought across a brand new leased Ford Van, and a Ford
Escort (2 years old). They did ask us if we planned on licensing and insuring these
vehicles, then asked us to produce those emission papers. You will have to fill out a
declaration form, stating the approximate US$ value.
Sales Taxes:
If the vehicle was registered (and thus insured, and both GST and PST taxes paid in
Canada) in Canada, and you move to the USA within 60 days of Canadian registration, you
may be elligible for a tax rebate of both provincial and GST taxes. However, when you
register the vehicle in the USA (Minnesota at least), and your Canadian registration shows
that it has been registered for less than 60 days, you will have to pay the state sales
tax (6.5% for Minnesota) when you plate the vehicle. If you had the vehicle
registered in Canada for longer than 60 days, you will not be eligible for a PST/GST
rebate - but you will not have to pay the state tax when plating the vehicle.
Leasing a Vehicle from Canadian Leasing Company:
I was leasing a 1998 Ford Windstar. Here is the scoop. You must have originally started
your lease of such a vehicle, and provide a Canadian address (assume Winnipeg), with the
intention of carrying out the term of your lease (assume standard 2 year) in Canada. Well
things happen. Like you are moving to the USA, and you want to take your vehicle. Notify
your leasing company. They will most likely hum and haw about taking a vehicle to the USA,
but be firm. They will offer you (maybe) a "buy-out" option of the lease. Be
careful. Is the vehicle new (lease than 1 year old)? You don't want to pay duty and taxes
on the car at the border.
Let the leasing company know your new billing address (in the USA). Try to set up an
automatic payment plan with would debit your Canadian bank account. Notify your car's
manufacturer that you are changing your address so that you can be informed of any
recalls, etc. As far as we can see, your manufacturer's warranty in valid in USA as well.
We are going to test this out shortly - we need something fixing on the Escort. Ford
of Canada leasing, for some stupid reason, will not send an invoice to a US
address, nor will they remove the PST and GST from the lease. They claim their
computers can not accommodate changes of address, nor will it accept a US
"state". Yeah, right...
Stewart Loewen was leasing a 1995 GMC Jimmy in Canada, and brought it to the states. It appears the GMC is a little more organized - the leasing company did not did not charge him PST on any lease invoices mailed to him in the US, they did not have to charge him PST on the buy-out, and did have to charge him GST on all lease invoices and the buy-out. When he bought out the vehicle they had to charge him GST, but was able to claim this back from Revenue Canada (he had to talk to about 3 different people at Revenue Canada before he found someone who knew how to do it. Send Stewart Loewen an e-mail if you want some more details - he said he'd be happy to help out!
(04/10/99 Update): Apparently, GMC has
had a change of heart. Recently, a Canadian who just moved to the USA was simply
told he could NOT take his lease vehicle to the United States. I do not have to many
details, but he was forced to cancel his lease (big penalty!). I would really fight
hard against this. Unless there is a specific clause in your lease stating it can
not be taken to the states (we checked our Ford Lease and there wasn't), I would contest
it. I mean, you can DRIVE the GM leased car in the USA. So, why not? I
would be interested to hear from other people who have run into this.
Buying a Car in the USA:
(03/14/98
Update)
Another option, of course, is to buy your car in the USA. Some of the
problems that Canadians who have just arrived in USA is obtaining financing for such a
purchase, so looking into the financing before you are committed to buy your car.
If you are buying or leasing a brand new car, many times, the dealer financing can
be very attractive. Let the sales person know you have just arrived from Canada, and
have their financing company do an Equifax CANADA credit check. If you are
purchasing a used car, contact your bank ahead of time. If you own your
house in the USA, and if you have the equity, consider getting a home equity loan
for your car purchase. In most situations, the interest and costs of such home
equity loan will be tax deducible.
Another consideration is how long do you plan on living in the USA? If you buy a
car in the USA, do you plan on returning to Canada with it? If so, make sure your
check out the Canadian Registrar of Imported Vehicles WEB
site for information of importing a US purchased car into Canada.
Things to Consider:
Here are some things to consider when bringing across your Canadian vehicle to the USA.
The biggest one is when it becomes time to sell it. It will have a odometer with
kilometers only, and a speedometer with both kms and miles (but the miles will be
in small letters). We checked and asked around, and most dealers, right off, would be reluctant
to accept a Canadian manufactured vehicle for trade in, just based on that. You could
consider getting a dealer in the USA to install a new odometer/speedometer, but I believe
that is a costly option.
Your other option is just to use the vehicle in the USA, and bring it back up to Canada
and sell it there. These are just some things to think about.
Please feel free to contact