Importing a car from Canada

So quick question for you Canadians. Is there some weird tax that I should know about if I buy a 240 up there?

I'm not sure whether you would have to pay the PST when you purchase the vehicle. But you would obvs have to pay any import taxes @ customs and whatnot.
 
I keep looking at doing the same thing to get a "non-supercar-exemption" XJ220 into the US and keep getting the same answer. Think I'm going to have to settle for the US-built 95% accurate replica, though.

Wait, are you serious?
 
The R33 will be legal shortly. Its not the model year that determines eligibility, rather, date of manufacture does. If you try to import a 1994 R33, the model year being 15 years old now that its 2009, but one that was made in July, RIV would say no.



As for importing cars from Canada into the US...that depends. You won't pay any taxes in Canada, but I'm sure you will back home. I don't know what Spectre's talking about, but its a lot more than OBD-II keeping Skylines (and others) out. You can't get a R33 or R32 in from anywhere; you'd realize that if you read the NHTSA form or looked for that info through DOT. Your best bet for getting a Silvia has already been mentioned. Find a cheap 240 with a good body, then buy one of the front clips with the SR20-series engines and swap it over.
 
We can't have R34s in Canada either, there is one guy in Vancouver that managed it (how he did it i know not) but a vehicle has to be 15years old to import if it doesn't meet the standards.

I think I saw that guy last weekend in Vancouver on the Mary Hill bypass. If its a black one we are talking the same car.. If not there are at least two in Vancouver.


And the import/export of a car is one reason my boyfriend has a PT, its a NAFTA car and is exempt from most of the duties you would have to pay to import/export it from Canada to US and reverse. He's Canadian and when he came down here a few years ago he wasn't sure he was going to stay long term so the PT was cheap.
 
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I think I saw that guy last weekend in Vancouver on the Mary Hill bypass. If its a black one we are talking the same car.. If not there are at least two in Vancouver.

The one I know of is Silver. So perhaps there are two.
 
Hey Jip do you know how much trouble one can get in if you switched VIN's in Canada. I know it's a federal offense in the US, but I don't know about Canada.
 
I think it's pretty illegal here too. Although I know there are ways around it. Like if you have two cars that you have rebuilt into one, I think you can choose the VIN or something. I used to know the details of it, but I have forgotten. I looked into it one time when I was wanting to fabricate my own street buggy. Talk to Kaboom. He might beable to sched some light on it as he is building his own custom vehicle for street use. (although he's in australia, it may provide some idea of what needs to be done)
 
I think it's pretty illegal here too. Although I know there are ways around it. Like if you have two cars that you have rebuilt into one, I think you can choose the VIN or something. I used to know the details of it, but I have forgotten. I looked into it one time when I was wanting to fabricate my own street buggy. Talk to Kaboom. He might beable to sched some light on it as he is building his own custom vehicle for street use. (although he's in australia, it may provide some idea of what needs to be done)

Thanks for the info. Also OT, but to the guy who has been constantly neg repping me calling me a "pipe dreamer" I like to know this information not because I'm contemplating on buying any of these cars, but because I find this stuff interesting.
 
Thanks for the info. Also OT, but to the guy who has been constantly neg repping me calling me a "pipe dreamer" I like to know this information not because I'm contemplating on buying any of these cars, but because I find this stuff interesting.

That's pretty lame... here, maybe this will help balance it out....
 
Years ago I wanted a motorcycle that Honda did not sell inside the US but was available to my neighbors to the east(Canada). I had a long conversation with the local Honda dealer and he told me how to do it. First I had to contact the nearest Canadian dealer to find out if they had them in stock and find out the cost out the door without registerating it there(ie., no plate or Ontario charges besides tax). Tell the dealer there exactly what you are doing and they will supply you with an export permit for a small charge(about 10$ canadian at the time).
Show the export permit at the border where they will charge you a import fee(about $250 US), and give you an exemption form for the state DMV where you will have to pay the normal registrtion fees and taxes. That was about 1992-3, I am not sure how NAFTA has changed that, but it may be easier now. I even saved money due to the exchange rates and had a great trip, the border guys were even nice.
 
Motorcycles (except two strokes) are exempted from the stupid import regulations, especially as you have to assemble them yourself (they come from the factory knocked down in a box).

We used to have SVA, but Mercedes got that killed in the Democrat Congress for us back in the 1980s in the name of "Safety and the Environment." Thanks a lot, Mercedes.
 
It is customary for the dealership to assemble the motorcycle before it gets shipped out. And peeps import cars all the time from Canada. It wasn't to long ago that Chrysler was threatening to stop honoring the warrenties of vehicles bought in Canada at US dealerships.
 
Hey Jip do you know how much trouble one can get in if you switched VIN's in Canada. I know it's a federal offense in the US, but I don't know about Canada.
Like others have said, that's very much illegal. IIRC just possession of the special rivets that they attach VIN plates with is a felony. I tried to pass of my Yamaha as a salvaged bike, just to get a title, and that didn't fly in Kansas. Kansas. Imagine how much of a pain it is somewhere with real inspections and regulations. :lol:

I think your best bet is to hold out for a clean 240SX, then get a SR or RB engine from somewhere later on. If anything you can come out here to go Nissan shopping. There's a couple rough SR20DET S13s on craigslist here for ~2 grand.
 
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