Hi all, I've been seriously looking at buying my next A4 from the States. Has anyone had experience with this? I understand that you pay GST + duties and a minor fee at the border. You also have to modify the car to: 1) Add daytime running lights, 2) Change the guages to km's from miles, and 3) Make sure it passes safety inspections and emissions standards, which I assume should not be a problem.

Anyone have any idea how much it would cost to get daytime running lights working and get the guages converted? Looks like savings would be about $7,000+ before these changes.

 

I imported a Buell bike from the States 2 years ago and I think it's very similar with a car. You have to make sure the car you want to import is on the "accepted list" at the border. I had to get a title in my name from the state I bought it, get a recall clearance letter from the manufacturer. Then at the border, you have to enter the vehicle in the registrar of imported vehicle program. You pay GST at the border (no duty on motor vehicles if I remember well) and then pass a federal inspection (pay PST when you get it plated). You can use Vag-Com to code the daytime running lights and I'm pretty sure the speedometer will have km/hr in small numbers on the existing speedo (I know my Buell did).
These are pretty much the big lines (like I said, this was for a bike, probably similar for a car). Check this out:
Registrar of Imported Vehicles RIV: How to import a U.S made vehicle into Canada
CanadianDriver: How to import a used car into Canada
http://www.riv.ca/english/US_vehicle_admissibility.pdf
Import Car To Canada! » How to Import a Car, Truck, Van, Motorcycle or Passenger Vehicle into Canada
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/...sf5048-07e.pdf

Good luck!

 

Thanks x1Rider. I believe you're correct on the duties only if the vehicle was manufatured in USA, Canada or Mexico. I've been doing some more research and looks like anything originated in Germany (Audi's and BMW's are all mfg'd in Germany.. for now at least) has a duty of 6.1%.

I got some prices today and it looks like it's definitely worth it. I figure a min savings of $4k on a $40k car.

How much did you save on your bike? Was it administratively difficult? Would you do it again?

 

Now that I think about it, I think you're right on the duty thing, I didn't pay duty because Buell being a Harley division, are manufactured in the US. It wasn't hard to do, just time consuming and a lot of reading. I would do it again now that I've been through the process. I saved about 4K on my bike (I got it off eBay and the price was 4K below the blue book value). If you don't want to go through all the paperwork, you could probably just hire a broker who will do it all for you.

 

u know any good/cheap brokers.?

 

Hi

Hope i can share a little of my current experience on here. I am currently waiting on my 2005 A6 from the USA - it replaces the allroad i will miss foreever.. - as well as a 2006 GTi. I am using a shipper for the A6 and will be picking up and driving the GTi over the border myself

This was my experience so far and i will try to update this when all is said and done.

A6: Dealership (Riverside NJ) was very helpfull. Couriered the papers to me and was on time with most of the details. i had to organize shipping and had to shop around a little. They will not do that for you. I picked a shipper because they promised sooner pick up and similar shipping times - i picked them despite the higher price. Long story short ---after 2 weeks still not picked up and i yelled at the shipper which saved my $200... . The shipping company does it all for you except you go to the local customs office and pay you dues. More to come when she arrives eventually....do i hear 2008?

GTi: Dealership was helpful & friendly (I bought used from a Mazda Dealer). Customs need a copy of the certificate of title 72h(business days) prior to arriving at the port of entry to Canada and the original in the vehicle. Dues and taxes due at the port. Some ports are not open 24h/7d though.....check this on the site i will attach at the bottom. Good idea to call some of the people in person as well and ask your questions. This was actually a good experience for me with a government office! You will of course need insurance and i believe they organize some sort of transport papers as well...Guys at the US Customs office called this Export Control. Also there was mention of an in transit permit...will still check on this


This site was VERY HELPFULL: how to import



good luck

Will give an update later.

 

Thanks for the info, any experience is helpful to hear about. I just ordered a new 2008 A4... expected to arrive in 8-10 weeks, but the dealer said it's likely sooner than that. I negotiated everything over the phone. The dealership is in Brooklyn, so I'm planning to fly to NYC and drive the car home. I figure the one-way flight will cost around $200 and it will take approx 6 hours to drive to the border.

Why did you choose to have the car shipped as opposed to picking it up yourself? What do they charge for shipping?

Good luck!

 

I purchased a 2004 A4 Avant USP from Audi of Mendham in NJ and crossed the border last Monday. I didn't have any issues at either customs office, US or Canadian. US customs just require the paper work 72 hours in advance of crossing date, this included the weekends but could only cross during the weekdays 8am to 4pm. They wrote down how much I paid, the temp license no. and the verified the VIN.

Canadian border took copies of the title and bill of sale. I had to pay the duty (6.1%) and GST, along with the $100 AC tax and chose to pay the RIV while I was there $209 CAD. They didn't question the value of the vehicle since I had a dealer bill of sale, but I know they can question that amount if you ended paying way less than what you would in Canada.

I haven't received Form 2 yet, but have already activated the DRL and cost me around $50. Canadian Tire federal inspection is free and you might as well get the safety and e-test there since it seemed to be the least expensive place around (not sure if that is necessary for the new car though).

Then what's left is registering in Ontario, paying the PST and plates.

 

Hey Jimminez, congrats! Can you tell me where you got the DRL done? Did you have to convert the speedometer/odometer from miles to km? And did you have to change any stickers from Spanish to French for the airbags?

 

I had the DRL activated at shop close to work that deals with Germain cars, but the Ottawa dealer would have done it for $50. They just charged half hour labour. I have not had the federal inspection yet, but as far as I know the odometer wouldn't need to be changed and the speedometer has km/h on it as well so it won't need to be switched. As for the stickers, oddly my car has them in french already. Once I have it done, which would be within the next week, I'll put a post up.