Hey all,

I'm a Vancouver resident who's having a hard time finding the right S2000 in the local market and am thinking about buying one in Washington or Oregon and importing it. Just wondering if any of you have been through the hassle, how much of a headache it was and how much it ended up costing you in GST, PST, Fees, Documentation, Duty.

If you buy a car in the US to be immediately exported to Canada do you have to pay US sales tax? I know you have to pay GST when you cross the border and then PST when you register with ICBC, but do you get hit twice?

I've heard some nightmarish stories about expensive mods and upgrades that were mandatory to meet Canadian safety standards. At least the digital dash can show both mph and km/h. Still, does anyone have any first hand knowledge about what needs to be done to bring the S2000 up to canadian code?

Please post if you're "in the know"

Cheers,
Dan

 

You don't pay state sales tax (if the particular state you're purchasing from even has it).

You'll pay the following taxes:

1) 6.1% duty as the car is manufactured in Japan.
2) 7% GST
3) PST since you're in BC

You'll have to get a letter from Honda saying that all recalls have been completed on the car, and you'll have to take it to a place like Canadian Tire to have them install daytime running lights.

It's a pretty big process to go through, and unless buying the S2000 brand new, you wont save much in the end.

 

Just do what I did and pick one up in Toronto... If your lucky you can get a good condition one for a great price... and then have it shipped back to BC, or drive it back (which is what I did, but I live in MB).

 

There is also a $100 excise tax.

The only thing that you need to do to bring the car up to Canadian Standards is to install Day Time Running Lights. No module or relay is required to satisy this requirement. All that is necessary is for ANY of the lights to come on as soon as car is started or e-brake is released.

Thats it.

 

www.riv.ca - everything you need to know.

I believe the duty is actually 6.5%, not 6.1%. And the MY06 comes with DRL in the States, so all you have to do is press the little km/mile button on the gauge cluster

If you somehow get a dealer to export a car to you, you won't pay any American taxes -- HOWEVER they are not supposed to sell cars direct to Canada as per an agreement with Honda of America. So if you buy one there with the intent of bringing it back to Canada, you will have to pay the tax as you buy it there. If you bring it into Canada within a certain period of time (1 year I believe) you can make a claim to get the tax back.

The value of the car used to calculate duty and tax on is based on an appraisal done at the border. So don't piss off the customs officer because there is a fair bit of wiggle room in the officer's appraisal of your car.

 

Ah, I think you're right about it being 6.5%.

 

The value for duty for a Honda S2000 is 6.1%, not 6.5%. I imported one a month ago. The value of the car is taken off your bill of sale and what you declare, and not on a customs officers appraised value of your vehicle. If they suspect the value was under declared they will request proof (ie. bank records, proof of bank drafts/money orders, the seller may be contacted, etc etc).

If they decide you are lying about the declared value of the vehicle they will seize it. At this point you are offered a chance to purchase the vehicle back from them at a cost of 25% of the value you under-declared by. They determine the "true" value through various means, nothing set in stone.

Hope that helps.

 

Kenny, since yours was preowned, did you have to go through the whole hassle of declaring that it had no outstanding recalls? I've been trying to figure out if this applies only to new vehicles

 

Yup, Canadian Tire (or Stampede Lexus which is now Calgary Lexus?) will need the Recall Clearance Letter even on a pre-owned vehicle. Its quick, just call American Honda with the VIN and a fax number for them to send the clearance letter to. The first time I called they wanted proof of registration, but after insisting that I bought the car and that it is not registered, they eventually faxed it to me.

They don't need this at the border.

 

My dad was a customs officer for 20 some years, that's how it was done when he worked the border, but that was a long time ago. It's a shame, he had a bunch of tips for how to reduce its appraised value.