What should I take care of while importing goods and Car to Canada? Pl. give inputs..

M

mayankdave

Registered Users (C)
Hi Friends:

We have decided to move to Canada.

Car: I have received Recall Clearance Certificate from manufacturer. I have Title and Insurance. What else should I have or what else I need to do for importing car, except 182 $ fees at the POE and filling form there?

Goods taking with me: I have made document with company and model # with few cases where I could locate serial # of the goods which I am taking.

Do I need to make any documents/have to have anything other than that? Can I take as much as I can while I drive to Canada? Any problems at the border? Any fees need to be paid for goods?

I have IMM 1000 and SIN Card. Will that be enough to enter Canada by road? Does US Customs charge anything for any of these things?

I would appreciate your comments.

Thank you.

Mayank Dave
 
As for moving, you have the sufficient documents for importing the car. As for insurance, you may need your insurance history. It's called experience letter and you can get that from your insurer. I also took my driving history from the DMV, but I have never been asked for it.
As long as all the items are accounted for int he good to follow, you will not have to pay any duties/fees. Your landing record will suffice for entry into CA. You won't have anything to do with US customs. CA customs looks at the goods to follow and just ask you if everything you are carrying is accounted for. They don't bother to verify. You can fill up the car as much as you want as long as its safe.

Once you are in CA, you will have to pass federal inspection for registering and insuring your car. So, if you think your car needs new tires, it might be better to change it in the US and get the wheel alignment done. Make sure you hold onto these papers. The reason I say this is that you may find better deals in the US and you have knowledge of the stores there. Almost any auto centre is certified to do federal inspection, not only Canadian tire (not the best). And carry traveller's checks. US Cashier's Check/DD take 3 weeks to clear in CA.
 
Taruntula:

Thanks a lot for your response. It definitely took off much of the weight from my shoulders and head.

Few more questions:
(1) Can I take cash with me? May be 5000 US $?
(2) In case of insurance; do I need to have Canadian Insurance while I enter Canada or US insurance will do for some time after entering Canada?

Mayank
 
1. Don't carry so much cash if you are going to be in CA searching for apts and living in a hotel for some time. Traveller's checks are secure. Keep a note of the TC numbers in case they are lost or stolen. Ask the bank about the security of TCs. They are more secure than cash. I would say carry 2 month's rent as cash. Since you will need to pay the landlord 1.5 times and the rest you will need for groceries, car licence, reg etc. You might want to either take a cashier's check or traveller's check. The advantage fo TC is that it's instantly cashable by the issuee. I think you can get free TC from BofA if you are a member. Your friend can purchase it for you too.
Remember to keep valuables in the car out of sight. CA crime is a bit more and cities have lots of druggies roaming. Not to scare the crap out of you. Just be safe and alert. I assume you are going into ON.

2. As for insurance, if you are employed, your employer's insurance should cover you. If not, you should apply for the OHIP card in ON as soon as you enter. Look at the provincial website, there should be an office very close to the border. I don't know anything about private insurance in CA. My employer transferred me to Vancouver hence, I did not have to think much about insurance. In BC, there is a 3 month waiting period to get covered.
If time is on your side, you might want to see if your US insurance covers CA too.
Here is a site frequented by desis in Toronto. Very helpful:
http://www.canadiandesi.com
 
Taruntula:

Thanks for your reply.

* I am going to stay with my friend for some time in ON.
* I was wondering abt auto insurance and whether my auto insurance will work in Canada and do they let me drive for some time ?(basically can I enter and drive without getting ticket for lack of auto insurance; as they might say you can't drive in Canada on the basis of US auto insurance)

Thanks.

Mayank
 
Hi Mayank

You can drive in canada with US auto Insurance for upto 60 days , by that time you car importing formalities also would have completed .

Once they are done , call up your US insurance and inform them and get a refund for any future "paid" months of auto insurance.
You can also withdraw "canadian cash" from ATM based on your US bank acct , they do charge a small fee of 2$ a transaction but you can withdraw upto 400-500 $ a day till the time your money is transferred . This is safer then getting 5K cash .
 
bhand's right about the car insurance. I had progressive and they were ok with me driving the car as long as I had US plates (for about 2 months).
As for atm/debit cards, if your card has a visa logo and if you need cash out of it, you will have to use it at atm's that have the PLUS logo. RBC atms have it.
 
Thanks Bhand, Tarun.

With that said, if I take 5K cash, that's not a prob from customs except it might be risky. Is that right? Other thing is that I have account in Canada, so I might put that money, which I can use rightaway to write a cheque.

Mayank
 
car inspection in canada

could anyone please let me know which one is the best for taking car for inspection otherthan canadiantire...


thanks,
kanna













tarantula said:
As for moving, you have the sufficient documents for importing the car. As for insurance, you may need your insurance history. It's called experience letter and you can get that from your insurer. I also took my driving history from the DMV, but I have never been asked for it.
As long as all the items are accounted for int he good to follow, you will not have to pay any duties/fees. Your landing record will suffice for entry into CA. You won't have anything to do with US customs. CA customs looks at the goods to follow and just ask you if everything you are carrying is accounted for. They don't bother to verify. You can fill up the car as much as you want as long as its safe.

Once you are in CA, you will have to pass federal inspection for registering and insuring your car. So, if you think your car needs new tires, it might be better to change it in the US and get the wheel alignment done. Make sure you hold onto these papers. The reason I say this is that you may find better deals in the US and you have knowledge of the stores there. Almost any auto centre is certified to do federal inspection, not only Canadian tire (not the best). And carry traveller's checks. US Cashier's Check/DD take 3 weeks to clear in CA.
Click to expand...
 
As far as I know ( My knowledge is 4 yrs old on this matter ) ,you have to get a fedral inspection and a provincial inspection approved of your car before you can register it in canada . A lot of dealers will do provisional inspection but only canadian tires can do fedral .

More info at www.riv.ca
 
validity of 'goods to follow' ?

Is there a limit of validity for the 'goods to follow' doc, i.e. how long is the 'goods to follow' doc is valid for ? I have one but its about four + years old. I'm wondering if I can have my car brought over using it ?

Also, can i have someone else drive my car over to canada for me ?
 
Can someone please shed some light of what is actually involved in the INSPECTION (federal and provincial)? Do they do a total 'cavity search' of your vehicle, or what? What kind of things do they inspect? Those of you who did it, please share the details.
 
My Insurance company doesn't give out driving history

My Insurance Company in NY doesn't give out driving history so how could I get something similar/equivalent before leaving to Canada?
 
I got the Driving Record

Hi bhand11683,

Thanks so much. I just came from DMV and paid $6 and got it quickly!

However, it shows that 7 years back I had 1 speeding ticket. So now do you think that showing it to a Canadian Insurance company would result in savings since I have 1 speeding ticket? Or is it better to hide it since it might result in high insurance rate.

Thanks
 
Hi,

Soon, I am moving to Canada and this particular post will be too useful to me. I have few more questions.

1) My car does not have day light thing. Is it ok ?

2) And i will be taking Uhaul for my moving. Any experiences on that ?

Thanks
 
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