How do I import a car into Canada?

Canadians can talk to Revenue Canada and get a copy of the "List of Vehicles Admissible from the US". This list published by Transport Canada. This list details most vehicles that can be brought into Canada with minimum fuss. At present, all Eclipse and Galant models after 1990 are on this list.

Vehicles may enter the country as is, but need to be modified to Canadian specifications and certified by Canada Customs before they can be registered. Talk to the Registrar of Imported Vehicles for everything you want to know (look at this guide for details).

For those interested in importing non-USA cars to Canada, you should refer to this page from the Transport Canada website.

Typically, the only additional components required for USA-spec vehicles are a daylight running light relay and a child seat restraining strap. The relay can be found at Canadian Tire or other automotive stores. There seems to be no special requirements for it; as long as the headlights light up when the ignition is on, it's fine. The car seat strap can also be found at Canadian Tire or Wal-Mart, and simply attaches to an already-existing bolt in the rear hatch area. A few people even say it doesn't have to be attached, you just have to have one.

Jerry Hong imported a new Eclipse GSX from the USA into Canada. Here's what he had to do:

• Sold his car.
• Got a 1 week temporary insurance.
• Went to Los Angeles and picked up the Eclipse.
• Drove back with the Eclipse, declaring the car at customs. Paid GST and 0.1% duty.
• Went home and got a British Columbia motor vehicle inspection for out of province cars.
• Insured the car as a Talon.
• Got the car inspected by Transport Canada.
• Re-wired the fog lights into DRLs, and bought a baby seat carriage strap from Canadian Tire, in accordance with Transport Canada requirements.

That was it! Notes: Jerry lost his warranty. Extended warranties are apparantly honoured in cross-border deals, but factory warranties are not. You may also need to pass emissions testing for your province.

Marta Cepek of Canada DSM also imported a car, in this case a 1990. Below is her 'mini-FAQ' on the subject:

First

Read the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) website, http://www.riv.com , phone their 1-800-511-7755 number, and they will send you a nice kit of all the info you need.

Costs

• $224 - (obligatory) covers the cost of "Form 1" & the Customs brokerage fee if you go through a "designated" border crossing. The RIV kit has a list of all border crossings and whether or not they're "designated". It's something like $60 more if you don't go through one. This fee includes "Form 2" and the inspection to ensure the required mods are done.
• $100 - Air conditioning excise tax. You have to pay this if there are any AC components, even if the AC isn't hooked up/working.
• Duty - Not applicable. The car was built in the USA. They tried to charge me duty, but I made the lady go outside and showed her the "Made in USA" sticker on the door panel and the duty was waived.
• Taxes - Federal GST payable at the border. This is based on the higher of the price written on your bill of sale or the "Red Book" value of your car. If the sale price is "ridiculously low" (e.g. under $2000 US), you should get the seller to have the car valuated at a Mitsu dealership and write the valuation on their letterhead. The Red Book only goes back 8 years, so when I was importing my 90 GSX in March 2000, they told me that a 92 with my mileage was evaluated at US$7,000... you might end up having to pay tax on the book value even if you only paid, say, US$3,500 for the car.
• Provincial Tax (if applicable in your province) is payable on the same amount that the GST was paid on. You pay this when you you get your plates / register the car.

Required Mods

First of all, all models of the Eclipse from 89-99 are admissible into Canada. Bumpers and seatbelts (even the electric "mouse belts") meet Canadian standards.

All cars built after Nov. 89 require DRLs (Daytime Running Lights). If you are handy with electrical, you could probably wire this up yourself. I'm not, so it cost me $100 to have mine wired up, including labour & relay. The little box that recieves the DRL circuit board and the wiring infrastructure are not there in the US-spec cars, so if you have the DRL module from another DSM (I did), it's not a plug'n'play scenario. But I believe I saved maybe 1 hour labour cost by bringing in all the pertinent schematics/wiring diagrams from the factory manual for the guy.

A child restraint tether anchor is required. This is a no-brainer. The kit is about $4.95 at Canadian Tire, Walmart, etc.

Inspections

The inspection to import the car into Canada only checks that these mods are done. The cost is included in that $224 fee.

As for provincial inspection, well, you'll have to check with your Provincial Authority whatever you need to do to get the car certified, emissions tested, and whatever it takes to get the car plated. The Quebec inspection costs $66. I got a real a$$hole inspector, so he flagged a couple of "minor defects" that would've cost me ~$500+ to repair if I'd gone to Satan. I ordered parts from a US Mitsu dealer and had a local garage do the repairs, all for about $150. Michel told me I should've put $50 in the ashtray when I was having it inspected, to tell you the truth, that idea would never in a million years occurred to me. If you have a connection for getting the car certified, you might have better luck than I did.

Well, that's about it for associated costs.

US Export

As distinct from Canadian Import - One thing that has no associated costs but could cause you problems (it did me) is that you must contact the US Customs Export people at the border point you intend to bring the car through a minimum of 72 hours before you plan to bring the car through. They need the car's VIN in order to run it through some kind of check. Not doing this runs the risk of having the car seized at the border.

Insurance

Prior to bringing the car onto Canadian soil, you need to have valid insurance.

Oh, and don't forget the cost(s) of travelling down to the US to pick up the car. In my case, that entailed a plane ticket to South Carolina, and about US$100 in gas (boy, their gas is cheap). You probably won't be going that far, eh? ;o)

Hope that helps. It's not that complicated, and definitely worth it for the right car.

Finally, Christopher Lewis (also of Club DSM Canada, has this to say:

"Considering I've imported both the cars I currently own plus a 3000GT I consider myself educated in this field. :-)

The DRL you can pick up for $25 at Canadian Tire, It takes me 10 minutes to install and you can just remove it after the govt. inspection.

You don't need to change your speedometer, it's fine.

The child infant kit is $5 and you don't need to actually install it, its is just required that you "have the kit".

You are required to buy a SRS maintenance sticker that is in both English/French. Check your glove compartment - if it has French (like mine did) you're fine. "

The RIV in Canada has all the info you need.