Cost of importing?
 

I'm actually giving serious consideration to buying a Subaru south of the border (assuming I don't need to modify it in any way to bring it north) if the Canadian MSRP is unreasonable compared to the American MSRP which I unfortunately think it will be.

Has anybody looked into the approximate costs of what this would be?

I've been doing a bit of research but I'm kind of overwhelmed with all the hoops I'd need to jump through. :P

It definitely seems like a headache but I do wonder if it would be worth it to shave off thousands off the price.

18% sales tax because it's not manufactured in North America and you loose your warranty. :eyebulge:

Why 18%? You have 13% HST there right and it's only 12% here so it'd be 17% here?

I don't think you lose your warranty on a Subaru. You just need to pay for warranty work out of pocket and Subaru US cuts you a cheque.

Source: http://www.importcartocanada.info/to...overage-check/

Do a search on redflagdeals. They have loads of information on importing cars from the States to Canada. Here is the gov't site: http://www.riv.ca/

Regardless of all the different manufacturer considerations and warranty issues, I think the common refrain is that unless it is a high-end car or made in North America it is not worth the hassle.

Yes, it would be 17% tax there. 5% extra for cars manufactured outside of North America (Part of NAFTA)

when I was looking to import a Evo it turn out adding 4k at least to the bill

Also I thought there was a rule on Canadians not being able to buy new car from dealers? Or did I imagine this?

Grey area that one. Some marques are strict about it and dealers won't touch you with a 10 foot clown pole, others not. Go far enough south of the border or check car forums to see which dealers are typically willing to play.

Omg, lost a long post I was typing up... Meant to open a new tab and accidentally changed webpages and when I hit back it was all gone! Doh, need to start from scratch again.

I pretty much just used the WRX Limited 5 door as an example. Pardon the shortness of this e-mail, kind of pissed I lost the last one.

Canada -> $36,395. Add PDI and Freight $1,595. Add Air Tax $100. Add HST. $4,570.80. -> $42,660.80.

United States -> $29,095. Add Destination and Delivery $750. -> $29,845.

$29,845 w/ 17% Tax -> $34,918.65. That's a difference of $7,742.15. Obviously, dollar isn't on parity but still, it would work out to maybe $7,600. I realize there's extra fees as well (included some in the last e-mail, that's how I lost the post, accidentally switched web pages) but I can't see it being even remotely close to $7,000. But, maybe it is? I know it's a hassle. But...

($29,845 + $100 AC fee X 6.1% duty) X 17% tax + RIV fees... likely get you closer to $37500. Add in the other bits and bobs and we're getting closer still. Definitely still a sizeable difference.

But if the BRZ comes in $30K in Canada and $25-$27 in the States you likely wouldn't save more than a few bucks.

Yeah, I'm just hoping they are reasonable. Scion seems really, really reasonable when you compare American and Canadian prices. I see the Subaru head honcho sitting with a cat in his lap gently petting it while screaming "Moar! Moar!" while cackling maniacally... "Those silly Canadians will pay anything as long as we make it pretty enough on the inside."

And they can because the Impreza WRX/STi has a certain cache value and doesn't have many competitors - this only have the Evo X in Canada and no earlier versions didn't help.

With the BRZ, the FR-S will be sitting across the street on the Toyota/Scion lot. If they price it to much above the FR-S - even with the Subaru badge - people will just cross the street and get the Scion. Surely they must be 'reasonable'?... ok maybe not ;-)

City of 100,000+ here but no Scion dealership. Closest one is over a hundred miles away. I wonder if they will be selling for more than MSRP at all the local Subaru dealer because of that. If so, I really have no problem giving my money to another Subaru dealership.

I guess pricing and everything will determine my final decision but I'm really just feeling the BRZ Limited. I'll still take a look at an FR-S (especially if they get released a small amount of time in advance), I just wish it was a little closer since a couple hours is a bit far to drive to check out a car that's not at the top of your list.

it's not unusual here in Quebec to have people call from up north for a car ( 4Runner and Co ) due to the rarity of some cars on the market, I don't know for Subaru because Subaru has a very weirdly tentative relationship with people in Canada, you'd think that in a country covered in Snow for a good 4 - 5 months a year they'd push for a more aggressive pricing strategy to dominate this market but apparently no ...

The thing that makes me laugh is guys like Ed Reilly in NH, they have actively hired french speaking people to sell more Subarus to Quebecois !