Importing an ATV from the United
States
Introduction
I see the question being asked
more and more lately... "How hard is it to import a quad from the
U.S.?"
Well, here is my experience.
When I sold my Honda
Rancher AT, I knew that the next quad I wanted to purchase was a Rubicon.
I called around to some of the local dealers for pricing and found that
the average price before taxes and dealer fees was $9600, close to $11000
after taxes... out of my price range.
I then did some searching on
the Quads.ca forums and found a thread about a wholesaler in Delta that sold
imported quads. I called them up to get a price on the Rubicon... $8699;
cheaper than the dealers but close to $10000 after taxes, and once again a
bit out of my budget.
I then remembered about a couple of threads
in regards to importing quads from the US. I read the threads a few times and
wondered how much money I could save by going this route. The first place
I thought about checking was eBay. I found that there were a few dealers
selling brand new Honda Rubicons. The best price I could find was from a
dealer in Minnesota, and he also happened to be one of the dealers that
was willing to ship the quad.
Before I put a bid on the quad, I did
some further research.
First I
contacted the dealer (by phone, as this helped me determine that it was
indeed a legit auction) to inquire about the cost of shipping and if he
was willing to sell to a Canadian Resident (I had read in some other
forums that some dealers did not want to sell to Canadians as some
manufacturers frown upon this as it is cutting into Canadian Sales and
they can risk loosing their dealer licence). I received a quote of US$370
to ship to Sumas, Washington (which is where I have an account at Package
Express) and he told me it is not a problem that I am a Canadian
Resident.
Accounts at Package Express are free; however they charge
you a fee depending on the size of the package they receive for you. Check
their website for more information.
|
Package
Express 115 Garfield Street Sumas, WA 98295 Abbotsford: 604-755-4388 Vancouver: 604-628-2230 http://www.packageexpress.com/ |
Registrar of Imported Vehicles
The next step is to contact the Registar of Imported Vehicles (http://www.riv.ca/) to determine if the quad is admissible into Canada. In their list of allowable vehicles I found the following restriction:
Vehicles manufactured before December 1, 2004, must have a VIN between 14 to 17 alphanumeric digits as required by CMVSS 115. Vehicles manufactured after December 1, 2004, must bear a 17 digit alphanumeric Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) as required by CMVSS 115.
Honda ATV's have 17-digit VINs, so this was no problem.
The RIV site also states that the following requirements must be met at the inspection that must be done once the quad is in Canada.
1. Recall clearance letter
2. Off-road statement label
3. All Lights On, for existing lights
|
Registrar of
Imported Vehicles 405 The West Mall Toronto, ON M9C5K7 Phone: 1-888-848-8240 http://www.riv.ca/ |
The Purchase
I then went back on eBay and put my bid in and ended up getting the quad for US$6099. For payment, I did a wire transfer to the dealer's bank account.
The next day I called the dealer to make sure he received the payment. I also asked him to fax me the bill of sale and the certificate of origin.
U.S. Customs
U.S. Customs requires notification of all self-propelled vehicles being permanently exported from the United States. Their regulations state that at land border points:
1. The required documentation must be submitted to U.S. Customs at least 72 hours prior to export; and
2. The vehicle must be presented to U.S. Customs at the time of export.
I called up the Sumas US Customs office and told them that I would be exporting an atv. They faxed me what they call the "Vehicle Export Worksheet".
I filled out the worksheet and faxed them the following as requested:
1. Vehicle Export Worksheet
2. Bill of Sale
3. Certificate of Origin (or Title, if vehicle is used)
4. Driver's license
They suggest to call back the next day to make sure they received all the documentation properly. At the same time they will be able to give you an exportation number.
Note: U.S. Customs will only do vehicle exports between 8-4 Monday to Friday. They clearly state no vehicle exportations after 4pm.
|
U.S. Customs and
Border Protection 103 Cherry Street Sumas, WA 98295 Phone: 360-988-2971 Fax: 360-988-6300 www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/export/export_docs/motor_vehicle.xml |
The Pick Up
My package consisting of the original documents, owners manuals and safety video finally arrived in the mail. I was now ready to head down to Sumas and pick up the quad!
We headed down to Sumas, waited 1/2 hour in the lineup and proceeded down the street to Package Express. They had already taken the quad out of the crate (they needed to do so to unload it from the truck as they did not have forklift extensions at the time) so we wheeled it out of the warehouse and onto the trailer. The staff at Package Express were very helpful with this process.
We then headed to US Customs with the original paper work and export number I was issued beforehand. After a 5 minute wait, the expert clerk asked to see the original certificate of origin. She embossed the certificate and said I was all done. She did not even go out to check the VIN on the ATV.
Next was a short wait in the Canada bound line-up. We told the customs agent why we were down there, for how long etc... and showed him the bill of sales for the atv. He wrote us up and asked us to go inside to pay the taxes.
Once
inside the Canadian Customs Clerk asked to see the bill of sale and wrote
up the charges. She also asked if we had cleared the machine with US
Customs and wanted to see the embossed certificate. She filled out the RIV
form for me as well. She quickly went outside to check the VIN and
off-road statement label. Two minutes later she returned and told me
everything was good to go. I then headed to the cashier to pay the taxes
and RIV fee (you can either pay the RIV fee at the same time, ask for an
envelope and mail it in, or you can pay online).Within 10 days I will receive a package from RIV that lists instructions on what to do next (inspection information). The whole process took less than 10 minutes.
When I called Canada Customs to check if there were specific hours that they do vehicle imports, they told me it can be done anytime.
RIV Inspection
Two weeks later, I received the inspection information from RIV in the mail. It consisted of a checklist of what is inspected and a list of inspection locations.
I decided to go to Canadian Tire since they are just down the hill from me. I called Canadian Tire the day before and they told me that I did not need an appointment, and that I could just show up anytime during business hours.
When I arrived I had to show them my recall clearance letter. The mechanic then went outside to inspect the ATV. I did not have to take it off the back of the truck. The only thing he checked was the VIN, to insure it matched what Canada Customs gave them.
Canadian Tire faxed in all the information to RIV. The whole process took about 15 minutes, and the inspection fee was included in the RIV fee I paid at the border.
Two weeks later I received the compliance decal in the mail with instructions on where to affix it on the quad.
Cost Summary
| 2006 Honda Rubicon: | Cdn$7400.00 (includes cost of quad + shipping) |
| Package Express Fee: | Cdn$35.00 |
| GST/PST: | Cdn$893.00 |
| RIV Fee: | Cdn$206.70 |
| Total: | Cdn$8534.70 |
That's a savings of about Cdn$2465.00.
** Please Note: The exchange at the time of purchase was about .86