I thought something similar but just bypassed the warranty issue and rolled the dice. I would have done it in Oregon which, the last I heard, has no state sales tax. I don't know if that also applies to cars though.

I had also considered incorporating a company in Oregon and having the corp. buy the car. Then I would licence and insure it there but bring it home. I'd then "import" it after 6 months. Once I decided to roll the dice, I quit looking through the pro's & con's of this approach. I deal with corp's for this sort of business reason regularly at work so this was actually quite appealing to me.

 

i am in montreal and i found a few used 2007 350z for aprox 25us. i want to import one but i am wondering what the taxes will be like, do i have to pay 2 taxes in the us and 2 in canada? how did it exactly work for you?

 

No US taxes to be paid. You have to pay GST at the border, Provincial when you register and 6.1% import duty also at the border. There are a couple of minor items like the RIV fee and a small excise fee. The border folks take Visa.

 

I appreciate that David is trying to put his experience out there... but other potential buyers should not expect to replicate it.

The best place to start when considering importing a car from the US is the Registrar of Import Vehicles (RIV) website and then check out the US customs and immigration website -- since they make the rules and can change them whenever they like

 

I am picking up my "new" Z on Monday. This will be my first import. Bought from a friend in Florida and I think the only mod required will be the DTR. I checked with a Nissan dealer in Richmond today and they quoted $250.00 all in.

I was hoping I could do it myself buyt haven't found any information yet on a credible installation method.

Any comments or inf appreciated.

 

Call: A1 Unity Auto in Vancouver

They did my Z and can do the Fed and Prov inspections as well.
The parts are about $40... the labour will be another $150 at least.

PM me with your email and I can send you a schematic for the headlamp circuit -- if you have any desire to do it yourself.

 

I don't see why anyone else shouldn't be able to replicate it. I followed all of the rules, paid the usual taxes and fees. I've done this before with motorcycles and helped others through the process. It should not be any different for anyone else. The RIV don't just change rules whenever they like. They are fairly consistent, notwithstanding the recent issues with the immobilizer.

 

My understanding is that the later model Z's use HID lights (something I just learned a while ago) and the DRL installation may be more expensive for those installations. I wasn't going to attempt it so I don't know for sure; just one more question to ask when requesting and comparing quotes for the installation.

 

so lets say i pick up the car for 25000$ your saying i would pay about 21-23% tax total so the car will end up costing me 31000-32000?

that 6.1% is steep....

 

You will pay GST ( which you would pay anyway if you bought from a dealer, but not privately), you will presumably pay provincial tax in PQ (which you will presumably pay anyway, if you bought from a dealer or privately - you would in BC), and you pay 6.1% Duty. Also, remember that you will be paying the PST and GST based on a smaller purchase price so the $ amount will be less than buying in Canada. The 6.1% isn't a small amount but it certainly isn't enough to turn me off the import process.

 

If you read what I wrote... it says "experience".

Although the rules are clear, the situation and circumstances may be different. For instance, I spent alot of time making sure the export paperwork was sent long before the car got to the border -- when I got to the US border they couldn't find the paperwork and the car had to sit in the US for 3 days before I could bring it across.

As for changing the rules, RIV already has... and more changes are being discussed... manufacturers have changed warranty policies and more changes may be coming -- in fact, they changed two weeks before I imported my Z.

I've helped many people with the process and I always tell them that their experience may be different. The only point, I wanted to make, is to be properly prepared before buying a car in the US and the best place to get the final word is the gov departments that make the rules.

 

And if you had done what US Customs had said and phoned ahead like everyone else, you wouldn't have been disappointed when they lost your paperwork. They lost mine too but the phone and email saved me a wasted trip. I did all my due diligence and did it from home and had no disappointments.

 

Where did I say I was disappointed? I was prepared and had a back-up plan.
My "experience" was obviously different than yours... in spite of my due diligence.

You seem to missing my point and so in spite of the fact that I have never blantantly said you were wrong about anything, I'll bow out of contributing to this thread.

 

just to add to the database regarding the DTR's; I am in the process of importing a 2005 Touring model. My local shop ordered in a universal DTR kit, but I was concerned that it might cook the Xenon lights prematurely, as I had read in the owners manual that the DTR's in Canadian cars do not use the Xenons at all and I didn't know how it worked with the universal kit. My mechanic got back to me after reviewing the wiring diagrams for the car and the kit, and gave me the following information: The xenon bulbs in the Z only operate on low beam, and have a standard bulb for high beam. The kit he has ordered in utilizes the high beams at 50% power, so the xenons aren't affected at all by converting to DTR's using that kit. The kit (sorry, I don't know the brand or the source) was about $110 and they quoted me $58 to install.

I'll let you know how it works out.

 

I too am considering getting a 2008 from the US, but the "no warranty" makes me worried. My dealer has been pretty good here with me.
Decisions...

 

What form of payment did you guys use to pay for your US purchased Z's? US$ money order? certified cheque? What if the price isn't already established before you go down to pick the car up?

 

i jsut imported my car from states aswell...although mine was from orange county so i paid $1500 for shipping in an enclosed trailer :/..lol
was worth it fro car not to get scratched tho

its costing me $200+- for daytime running lights tho from a shop out here in langley..getting them done 2moro morning

P.S- i used a broker to import the car