Importing boxster into Canada? Think again.

[schwartzwest]

Well. thanks to everyone here i went ahead and bought an 06 boxter from the States. I got my recall letter from a US dealers as no Canadian dealer would give me one unless i brought it in to be inspected.($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$) Other than the recall letter,clear sailing.

Love the car. The dealers in Canada are SCUM.

I'm bringing my car (2006 Carrera S Cabriolet) into Vancouver tomorrow. Picking it up from the transporter in Bellingham then driving it through the 176th st. Truck Crossing into BC. So far everything is falling ito place perfectly! I will post tomorrow with an update. I did my research and so far I can tell you the following:

1. I got a PPI done in Arizona by a Porsche Dealer (Porsche North Scottsdale ) before finalizing my internet purchase. Had them e-mail me an internal printout they had on file for my car based on the VIN and their PPI. What you want is called a Porsche "Job Management Report". This will state their are no open recalls on your car. I checked with the RIV (Registrar of Import Vehicles) in Canada in advance, and they were the ones that told me this is what to ask for (they are extremely knowledgeable and helpful). I have e-mailed it to RIV and they have confirmed that it has been accepted and the next step is for me to file the paperwork with CBSA which will be done at the border. PPI ~ $275 CAD
   
2. I e-mailed the Certificate of Title, the U.S. Cutoms & Border Protection Vehicle/Equipment Export Worksheet, and the Bill of Sale to the Port of Export (in my case the Pacific Hwy Truck Crossing in Blaine last week. Within 13 minutes of me emailing it I received a confirmation email saying I was cleared for export 3 days later! $0
   
3. I went to an insurance office and purchased a 10 day Insurance Rider (starting tomorrow) for temporary coverage while I transport and have me vehicle inspected and permanently registered in BC, and yes it coves me in Washington State. $120 CAD
   
4. I will have to buy a Temporary Washington State Vehicle Transportation License. $30 USD
   
5. There is no Natural Resources Canada "Fuel Inefficiency" tax as the 2006 997 CSC's weighted fuel useage stats is less than the taxable threshold. 0$
   
6. I will have to pay Air Conditioning tax. $100 CAD.
   
7. I will have to pay the RIv fee. $195 CAD.
   
8. I will have to pay a non-North American manufactured car duty of 6.1% of the CAD value.
   
9. I will have to pay GST of 5% of the CAD value.
   
10. I will have to have the car inspected at a Canadian Tire (believe it or not). $40 CAD.
    
11. When I register the car in BC I will have to pay the provincial sales tax of 7%.
    

There are a couple of costs referred to in the original post which are a little misleading. If you were to buy a car in Canada (BC) you would:

1. Still pay the 7% PST.
   
2. If the car was purchased from a dealer (even used) you would still pay the 5% GST. You would only avoid this in a private sale.
   
3. Assuming you purchased the car used "as-is" with no warranty either private sale or from a dealer, you would still get a PPI. Arguably you might not need this expense if it is a new car or with some type of warranty.
   

So the only real additional costs you are incurring are:

1. The 6.1% Duty
   
2. Approximately $40 + $195 + $100 + $30 + $120 = $485 in fees etc.
   

Simply calculate this in to your evaluation if the car is "worth it". And don't go through the dealer for the Recall Clearance Letter! Anyway, I purchased my wifes Landrover LR3 from MCL in Vancouver (the Porsche dealer also) as well as having one or two things done on my Boxster and they redefine "Hi, how can I not help you." Aaarghhhh

[03BoxsterS]

I've imported 4 cars from the US to Canada, including my Boxster S in April 2006, never had a problem with any of them. It's a fairly simple process, just have to fill out a few forms and get out the wallet. There is a much wider selection of good used cars in the states, at lower prices. And if you get the right customs agent, sometimes you can avoid the import duty as I did on my wife's Infiniti. They asked where it was manufactured, and I replied I wasn't sure. The agent went out to the car, couldn't find any stickers indicating country of manufacture, decided it was built in North America and didn't charge duty. They didn't realize you could determine the country of origin from the VIN number, or they were to lazy to look it up.

Good for you for bringing up the car, Zedex, and shame on those dealers. Enjoy the new car.

[Tool Pants]

There was a lot of info on this subject on the Cayman club message board about 1 1/2 years ago.

The Canadian dealerships do not want you to buy from the US and import to Canada. The Canadian dealers were denying warranty claims if it was imported. Buy from us Canadians for more money and all that stuff.

Then, supposedly, Porsche forced the Canadian dealers to honor the factory warranty even if it was imported from the US.

So now the dealers want to charge for an oil and filter change so that it meets "original specifications." Cash Grab- I like that name.

It is not hard to tell a Canadian car. The country code on the option sticker is also different for a Canadian and US spec car. Any North American dealer can tell this by going on their computer.

The air bag warning stickers in French and English are funny. Years ago we had a new local Boxster owner show up on a work on cars day. I checked out his car and the first thing I noticed was that the left visor was in French and English, while the right was only in English. It was a US car, so something got screwed up at the factory.

Then we have a local Boxster owner we call "Frenchy" because he is from Quebec. But the visor stickers on his US Boxster are in English.

Airbags have been out for decades. Why some governments still require a warning sticker is amazing. Kiind of why when you get on a plane there is still a demonstration of how to put on a seat belt.

[supersurfr]

Can you please post links or provide details on this information. A friend just brought his 996 into Canada last week and had no problems at all.

How did he deal with the recall letter? If he got one were did he get it ?

[wvicary]

I don't know the details but he did receive a letter from the dealer in the US where the car was being sold. I would guess that is the recall letter.

[maximus]

If the car was purchased from a dealer (even used) you would still pay the 5% GST. You would only avoid this in a private sale.

You will pay GST private sale or not. You I had to pay the GST even though it was a private sale.