Looking to import from US
 

Hey guys....

I am in the vancouver area and have been searching for my Z for way too long. I am looking for a black sport/navi hard top but havent been able to find a used 2009-2010 one. So..i figure i should just buy new but in my attempts to save some $$ I want to explore my options down south.

Has anyone here done this? The big question for me is...would it be worth it to buy a brand new 2011 in the states or just buy a brand new 2011 here...I dont think saving 2000-3000 is going to be worth the time and efffort of going down there and jumping through the hoops.... Any thoughtS? :stirthepot:

Not worth it, I would just order one in Canada.
Dealing with importing, registering, tax, fees, etc. will eat through any amount you would save if any.

BIG TIME not worth it, because the car is made in Japan there is huge huge import taxes!

6.5 or 7% tax on Japanese imports to Canada IIRC.
That means you will be paying approx. 20% tax on the price tag.

Might as well just try to find a cheaper deal locally.

You probably won't save much (less than $1K IMHO after the duty tax for Japanese made goods). So, why would you?

Plus, think about the speedometer and daytime running lights. A new imported car (and I said ... new), must comply with Canadian laws.

Yes, my freind did this with a BMW. In the end he only saved 2k from what they were going for in Canada. I'll bet you can get a dealer to nock that off the sticker price. Now if the car was made in North America i would say go for it.

Go see Ken down at King George Nissan. I went to quite a few Nissan dealerships on the Mainland and VI and told them point blank I'm buying a 370Z as soon as you have them in stock. King George and Newcastle in Nanaimo were the only two that could give me the time of day. I highly recomend them.

Save yourself the hassel. I was really worried Nissan was gonna try and screw us like they did with the 350Z at $17K more in Canada than the same car in the USA. Fortunately they droped the price $10K and made it not even worth importing any more. If it's more than 15 years old though its definately worth it. They are giving their stuff away down there right now. I've bought two Z cars from the US in the last year or so and I'm going next week for a third..... my wife says its time for an "intervention" ;P

You really only save importing if you are buying privately and usually a couple years older

Last summer, a friend of mine picked up a 2007 350Z Sport for 16K...while they were still goinf for more than 25K here....

Plus the legality issue of a Dealer selling it.

I guess I'm a minority here :)

Was looking for a 2010 Z for about 6 months, searching all the internet car databases that are out there. Finally found one down in the Seattle area with all the options and colour I was looking for.

The best prices I could get up here for a 2010 PG Touring, sport, nav 6MT was around $47K. Add your taxes on and you're out the door for $53K.

In the U.S. they were being offered at invoice pricing, approx $37,500, factor in duties and exchange and it came to about $44K. That's a significant savings.
Try this web site for calculating the import cost:
Import Car To Canada! Vehicle Import Price Calculator

The process to import was much easier than I thought, and would highly recommend it to anyone.

The dealerships in the lower mainland were just not interested in dealing (guess our economy is hurting as bad, I thought it was.... to some degree). I've purchased my last two nissan vehicles from one dealership, had worked on the computer systems and had a pretty good rapport with them, dealt directly with the owner, offered to bring in a brief case full of cash for the Z and they still wouldn't touch it.

Another dealership is trying to sell a used 40th with 10K Km's on it as "new", asking $47+ for it. Offered them $43 in October and they wouldn't accept. It's still on their lot!

The U.S. dealerships IMHO are a little hungrier and willing to deal. They even offered to drive the car to the border for me to inspect it.

As far as the DRL's issue, it is only a matter of re-programming the ECU. Cost me $56 at the dealership to get it done.

Good luck with the "Z" hunt.

Let us know how you make out.


Cheech

i buddy brought in a Nismo last year save a good amount, plus he couldn't even find a Nismo where he is.

Ouch! You folks are getting squeezed in B.C.. I got mine for $46374 (all-in) and drove away. You could probably get that deal again. Really not worth importing (IMHO).

And then there's the ICBC thing. You would have to do the following on a NEW car from the USA.

1. Change the dash cluster to a metric cluster. (difficult)
2. Install a DRL module. (easy, but expensive)
3. The ICBC inspection costs etc.. (pain-in-the-a$$)

Now, if it was used.... THAT'S a different story. Depending on the deal and your "tolerance" for used.....??

Really wish I could have found the dealer you bought your car from. None of them in BC could come close to what you got yours for. Looking in Ontario, the prices were worse!!

Fortunately you don't have to change the dash. It has both metric and english.

The DRL module already exists, reprogramming the ECU is all that is required, $56.00

Crappy tire or other listed auto shops can do the Federal & Provincial inspection. One is covered with the RIV fee, the other is about $120.

Out of curiosity, what's the difference if a 2010 car is used or not? I never came across any literature stating otherwise.

The name of the dealership is Sherwood Nissan in Sherwood Park, Alberta. Just outside Edmonton. Many members on this forum have purchased there. (Even from other provinces.)

A used car is not subject to Canadian laws regarding required "equipment". IE: a used vehicle from another country would not be required to have the metric dash. Because it has already been in service, that requirement does not take effect. But if it was new (not yet into service), then it would be subject to Transport Canada regulations regarding what is required in Canada. Another easier way of looking at it would be the DRL's. In Canada, it's a requirement on all vehicles (and has been since the 90's). In the USA, for example, not all states require them.

Hope this helps.

My friend is looking for a 09 370Z with any color. price about 23000 to 25000.. get it imported to Ontario area. Any suggestion what to do? Never dealt with import from US

OP, If you are serious about the NAV option, get the '10. It has the HD screen resolution plus the DVD playback and the harness is different, easier to add a backup camera (software is pre-installed)... :twocents:

Before i bought the 370z, I was looking at bringing up an Audi or Benz. Google RIV - it is the governing body on the importation of vehicles into Canada.
As I recall - when you purchase the vehicle in the states, you need to send the commercial invoice 72 hrs in advance to the border office ( that you are crossing at). When you get bring the car to the border you'll have to pay the HST on the invoice value plus RIV Admin cost
You will also have 20 days to get the T1 form signed off by an official source.
T1 form is the conformance letter saying that your car meets all the FMVSS ( Motor vehicle safety standards) - Daytime running lights / Conversion of the speedometer to KM, airbags, anchors for child seats...etc
Canadian Tire will perform the inspection and stamp the T1.
We need to T1 stamped before MTO will issue plates for the car.

I might have skipped a few things, but that is the bulk of the work

I have also heard about import duty on Japanese made vehicles as well. You might have to check into that as well.

Thanks for the clarification. I had not found that information when looking for my "Z". Could explain why I didn't have any problems importing it since it was already in service.

For all others looking at importing a vehicle, here's a couple web sites I used:
Import Car To Canada! How to Import a Car, Truck, Van, Motorcycle or Passenger Vehicle into Canada
https://docs.google.com/present/view...9brw_2gbh66vcm


Cheech

Thanks for the info.
So Daytime running lights / Conversion of the speedometer to KM, airbags, anchors for child seats...etc need to be done before importing to Canada?

THE RIV website usually has a list of modifications required when importing certain brands of vehicles. Usually DRL and Speedometer conversions will be required. But I have heard from so other forum members that the ECU just needs to be re-programmed to turn on the DRL. This would make sense as Nissan would probably not build multiple varations of the same vehicle for export countries.

Check the forum site for cars for sale - I say somebody post an 09 PG Touring in New Jersey. Not to far of a drive.

While it can be pain, if you are patient and good at dealing with this sort of thing it can be worth it.

My father had been keeping his eyes open for fully loaded BMW M3 roadster in the U.S. He managed at save 14k after everything was said and done for a car with 5000miles on it.

I think 14k is worth some paperwork and patience, but it depends on the person.

i looked into this b4 i did the order...lots of headaches 6.2% dutys, plus hst 13%, plus inport fee, plus flight, plus drive time and fuel, plus permit, plus insurance, plus hotel and food. if your not droping over 100k you dont save much

used cars can save a bit more over new cars.

its more then the flash! its a fuse box and a few relays= a few hundred...then you get the 18 year old guys from crappy tire playing with your car for a day or 2..
QUOTE=1Sweet Z;979053]THE RIV website usually has a list of modifications required when importing certain brands of vehicles. Usually DRL and Speedometer conversions will be required. But I have heard from so other forum members that the ECU just needs to be re-programmed to turn on the DRL. This would make sense as Nissan would probably not build multiple varations of the same vehicle for export countries.

Check the forum site for cars for sale - I say somebody post an 09 PG Touring in New Jersey. Not to far of a drive.[/QUOTE]

[/QUOTE]

So did your roadster get swept away in the tsunami? Has the dealer confirmed is in port in vancouver yet/

I too did the math before I bought here. I bought my motorcycle state side and saved a fortune. After I figured everything, I would have saved about $4,000 buying it in the US, and that included buying it in a state without sales tax. So, after taking into account the time and effort to do it, the travel involved, the fact that I am very picky and like my speedo in KM's and most importantly, any warrenty issues, $4,000 just wasn't worth it. That was based on a .95 canadian dollar at the time, so the savings would be slightly more now.

Now, a used one is a whole different ballgame!

I would just like to reiterate, the procedure to have the daytime running lights activated is only a matter of reprogramming the ECU. I had it done on my 2010Z Touring - sport - nav. The cost from the Nissan dealership was $56.00.

A quick call to the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (Registrar of Imported Vehicles) 1-888-848-8240 Confirmed that the speedometer for the Nissan 370Z does not have to be changed.

The speedometer for cars manufactured for the North American market have both Km & miles.

The process to import is very easy and as I've stated in previous posts, very easy to do.

Yes there is a cost to transporting it back to Canada. Fortunately for $200 the dealer drove the car to the border for me:)

If it was any further, I would think of it as a road trip and a great way to burn off the excitement of driving your new car! :D. Not that it ever goes away. Every day I leave work and see the Z waiting for me,.... a smile comes across my face.

One thing you might develop is paranoia. Driving to work the same way for 15 years, I've never seen radar and now they're waiting for me :) Yesterday I was the second car in a row of three. There was a cop along side the road, just around a corner. Instead of waiting for all three of us to pass, he jumped out right behind me. Road my 4ss for 3km.

But I digress. Go import your vehicle and have fun!

Nobody's saying it's difficult to import, it's actually quite easy having done it myself. And yes, the speedo doesn't have to be changed, but you will have the MPH on the outside and KM's on the inside. You can think what you want, but that does lower your resale. I'm sure you're going to debate that, but experience has shown me people get unreasonably skitish about US cars. Buying cars n the US, especially high end cars, can save you a ton. I didn't find the savings worth it with the Z though.

I'll just deal with MSRP as it makes life easy - apples to apples. Price includes frieght and dest fee.

Current US MSRP on a 6MT Sport Touring - $39,100
Current Canadian MSRP on a 6MT Sport Touring - $46,612

Considering our dollar is above the US right now, those numbers alone should make you sick!

So, lets assume you don't buy a single other option on the car. Here in Ontario, add onto the Canadian retail the 13%HST for a total of $52,671.

Now lets take our American car that seems like such a bargain. Add the same HST you'll have to pay which would be $5083. Then add 6.1% import duty because the car was manufactured in Japan. A lot of people seem to think it's 8% but that is not correct. 8% only applies to parts, actual cars are 6.1%. That adds another $2385. Now our US car is at $46,568. Now, the only state that is anywhere near close that has no sale tax in the US is New Hampshire. So, unless you buy your car there, you can add an average 5% state slaes tax to your original price and chock on another $1955 for a total of $48,523.

We are now at a difference of $4148 before modifications required or RIV fees. So at the end of the day, you'll save about $3500 if the dollar is at par.

I asked myself, is $3500 worth the effort of trying to find a dealer who will sell to me (said dealer for me had to be in New Hampshire so I didn't pay the US sales tax)? Is it worth the trip to get it which will eat into my savings? Is it worth the hassle of finiky buyers being skittish on the resale because it's a US car (I've never understood that but it does turn people off). And most importantly, is it worth not having a warrenty? It is against Nissans policy for a US dealer to sell to Canadians. You take your car in for warrenty work, they run the serial number, and you will not get any warrenty work done here. If you get past the dealer (who are pissed these days at the cross boarder shopping), Nissan Canada will void it.

If that's worth the $3500 to ya, fill yer boots. Not even close for me and when I looked at doing it, the dollar wasn't at par so I had to factor exchange into it as well.

When I was comparing prices between the US and Canada, I took into account the "hassle factor" and was willing to go an extra $5K just to keep my money in Canada, but the deal I found made it worth the extra work to go south.

The closest state to BC that doesn't have a sales tax is Oregon, but when I found a car in Washington and started negotiating with the dealership, they informed there is no sales tax if the car is being sold out of state, new or used. Not sure if that goes for all the states or not, but I believe it to be true for most.

I agree, you really have to compare the actual landing cost when shopping down south. For the deal I got it was well worth it. It was frustrating dealing with the dealerships in Canada. No one wanted to make it even close! A couple dealerships were trying to sell used Z's as new 'cause they were driven by Nissan execs. Big deal! Anything more than a 1000Km is used in my book (and that's being generous).

As far as the warranty goes, if you buy used, the warranty is void if you buy it within the first six months of the original purchase date. Wait six months and the warranty is fully transferable.

If you buy new, you must register the car to a US address with US plates. You can, the same day drive it back to Canada and re-register to your home address.

What will void the warranty on a new purchase is if you sell it within six months.

This warranty information was faxed to me directly from Nissan USA.

As far as re-sale value goes. I've never been a big fan of car salesmen telling me how good a car's re-sale value is. I drive 'em till they drop. So that wasn't a factor for me, but most likely is for the majority of new car buyers. Certainly something to consider.

In my case the total landed cost (OTD), taxes, RIV, inspection, & DRL mod was $39,600 - 2010 Touring 6MT Sport & Nav. Closest I could get in Canada was $42K + taxes (plus shipping from Ontario).

In my case it was worth it, but it took several months of searching, which my wife tells me was half the fun.... and if she tells me it was fun, it was fun.... I guess, maybe, OK OK, it was fun, now leave me alone! Man she never stops! j/k she's been great, loves the car too.

So if one has the time and patience, the deal is out there, and like you did, add up the costs and whether the hassle is worth it.

Cheers,
Cheech

If I could have found a car at that price point, I would have jumped at it too. Non of the dealers I spoke to down south were willing to do an out of state sale. They all insisted the car had to be sold and registered in their state. That despite my strongest arguements that they didn't need to do that.

Interesting news on the warrenty. When I called Nissan, the told me the exact opposite. If I bought the car new, or within the first 6 months of registering, I could not transfer or get a warrenty. If I bought it 6 months or later after the car was registered, then the warrenty was transferable.

As a matter of fact, if I could have gotten a Z at that price point, I would have taken my chances with the warrenty! Unfortunately, non of the dealers I spoke with where willing to do business north of the boarder.

Bottom line though, our buck is at par and has been damn close to parity for years. Why then is there that much difference? I actually know the answers to that question......but it still makes me sick!

It's because the population in Canada is one tenth of the USA. MUCH smaller market.... thus the higher prices. Also, taxes in Canada (to actually operate a business) are much higher than south of the border. Yet another reason why prices are much higher in Canada.

Sucks, but not really much we can do about it. Except, bartering with the salesman. Their mark-up has room to discount at least 10% off of MSRP. And at $46,000 (for example), that's around $4500 off.

Untrue
 

Ridiculous, I will have to call BS. Everybody needs insurance the costs are generally in savings for this vehicle high end are about 50 g in canada 38 g in US difference 12 G. Buy in a state you have relatives or do it on a vacation that was planned anyway. Come in through the AB border no HST,PST. All the updates in Canada are minimal to the savings. GST and duty total about 10 11 percent on price, got to pay GST anyways. So 12 G in savings subtract these costs to import I think you still come out ahead. probably enough to cover vacation you may have bought it on. :icon18:

Funny the responses you get from each dealer. Guess some are hungrier than others. Glad I found one that was starving :)

Well, I think we've exhausted this topic..... think I'll go wash my Z now.

Cheers,
Pete

Wow, why didn't I think of that before? I should have just gone to AB and bought my car and saved 8%! It's not like they'd charge me any tax when I go to register the car in Ontario, and not like I'd ever run into any issues if I left AB plates on it! Wish I'd thought of that!

Just bought a 40th anny from Portland (my third USA import). There are some rules when importing, different for every manufacturer... Specifically, Nissan Canada requires that the car must have been registered for a period no less than six months in the USA before it can be considered for import. I bought used so I didnt do any digging on this but it seems to me that buying new from the USA is a no go (however, this may only void the warranty, not sure). as for taxes, if your buying from a dealership the first question you should ask them is to speak to the sales manager, deal directly with this person as the floor salesman don't have all the info and will make bad assumptions about critical go/nogo issues 90% (speaking from experience here, no offense to any sales people...)

otherwise, lots of good posts here by Cheech and others, call RIV, Nissan Canada, take your stress pills "if you have troubles with waiting" and then prepare to apply pressure with your right foot and drive!!! I'll update if anything changes and provide a complete breakdown of my costs when I get back. Any questions in the meantime, feel free to msg me.

Here's a letter I received from Nissan USA regarding warranties. I hope this answers some questions.


Cheech

Thats great information Cheech, but it does confirm my understanding. I do not have a US address so how would I register te car in the US in my name? I was told that was impossible to do without a US drivers license.

I was going to get my Nephew to buy the car as he is in school in Boston. The problem occurs when I bring the car back here, I have to reregister it and change the vehicle to my name in order to do it.

Can I ask how you managed to buy the car and have it registered in the US?

If I bought new, I would have registered it to relatives I have in another state. The one I purchased was originally put into service at the end of June, thus I had to wait till the end of December to make the acquisition.

Without a US drivers license that could be a hurdle, but I'm not sure. When I was looking for a car, there were none with the options and colour anywhere on the west coast. The dealers searched quite a few states, but couldn't find any, so I never got that far with the negotiations. The one I purchased was used, so the warranty fell under a different set of conditions.

It would be worthwhile to find out and post that information on the forum. There are new members looking south for a car. Maybe they can let us know how they made out (with a new purchase).

Indeed, I would like to know that for futue reference. Same sort of boat as you. Bought mine in September last year and the availabilty Canada wide was non existant. I specifically wanted a White Sport 6MT Navi, of which there were non in Canada. So, I started looking south where I could find the car, but couldn't get past the hurdles of dealers not want to sell to Canadians, dealers not realising out of state sales could be done without tax and that all important US address for the warranty issues. In the mean time, my local dealer found a car that Nissan Canada happened to be bringing in as a show car. A little begging and pleading and he came through for me (nice to have friends that work in dealerships).

If anyone does successfully purchase south of the boarder and is able to overcome all the hurdles, I for one would love to hear how you accomplish it. I couldn't get all the pieces to lineup no matter how hard I tried.