I have a friend that works in the US and lives in Canada. He has a cottage in the US and his house is in Canada. I told him to buy a new bike in the US and save a few thousand bucks then just import it. Dealer wouldn't be any wiser since he'd use all his US info (dual citizen) but he's worried...........about what I don't know. He knows dealers can't knowingly sell 'new' bikes to export but what they don't know doesn't hurt them. Besides once it's in his name who cares what's done with it.

I quickly researched it and aside from warranty (have to service it in the US) seems perfectly possible.

Anyone have any ideas? I don't want to give bad advice in case I'm missing something.

Thanks,
J.

 

You might want to start here: http://www.riv.ca/ImportingAVehicle.aspx (see section 8 of http://www.tc.gc.ca/media/documents/...fety/vafus.pdf)

and here

http://importation.deeley.com/hdimport/index.php#1

 

He has to pay $250 RIV fee, which includes inspection and the bike he's interested in requires no extra work to have it licenced/titled in Canada. He will also have to pay Canadian tax but he's pay that either way. It's literally thousands less in the US for the same bike.

 

does your friend go back and forth? if he has 2 addresses and beleive the rule is the vehicle cant be more than 180 or something like that out of the country. if thats an issue, he buys it in the usa, leaves it there for a bit, not sure the time needed and than he can import it into canada. Not hard to import, i imported 2 used bikes into canada, harleys over the past 4 years, not complicated at all, savings is more than a few kkkk.....when he imports it into canada he will have to pay gst and pst taxes but no duty and approx $100 in inspection fees, i did not have to change the speedo or anything, if you need more info, PM me.

 

I know you can import a used Harley but this one is new so I'm not sure if it matters (to the Government) I'm sure it matters to Deeley though. Maybe if they wouldn't charge $4k extra for the same bike even though US/Can money is at par people wouldn't play the system.

 

Once it's driven off the lot it's a used bike. Whether it has 10 miles/km or 10,000 miles/km it is not new anymore.

 

Your friend should use the bike for some time in the US. If I recall it right at least 30 days, not sure with a US license plate. With this he should be able to avoid paying GST and PST. Warranty could become an issue.

 

Back in the 'olden days' when you bought a new vehicle for export from a US dealer you were tax exempt. To do this you had to get an export document (most dealers along the border had them) and NOT register your vehicle in that state. Now with the new rules in play how are you going to convince a US HD dealer not to charge you tax? You can't. You can still buy that bike cheaper in the US than in Canada, but you'll still wind up paying the US taxes on it. Now when you go to import that same vehicle into Canada the nice folks at Canada customs will ask you for proof of the TOTAL price paid for your bike, taxes and all. From that number is determined your Canadian tax amount owed, so now you're double taxed, once in the states and again in Canada but with the 'benefit' of being taxed on the total US price. Granted it still works out cheaper in most cases than buying from HD Canada but not by much. Used bikes of course are a different kettle of fish but Canada customs has a year and mileage chart to determine their fees if your bike is on the 'newer' side of used.

 

He's buying it in a different state. I don't think you need to pay tax if the bike isn't registered in that state. Not certain of that though.

 

His best bet would be a slightly used bike. I just imported a 2011 Electra Glide Ultra Classic with 5199 miles on it, paid $19,995 US, worked out to $19,754 for GST. It was in New Hampshire, which has no sales tax anyway, but if he was buying slightly used, or a demo, he should be able to export it without paying state tax. Simple at the border. US customs has to have all paperwork 72 hours ahead of export date. They check the serial # on arrival and stamp your forms, good to go on that side. On the Cdn side, they also need all paperwork, along with the date of mfg. 15-20 minutes of paperwork & GST and you are done. Once in Canada you have to have the RIV done (mvi at Canadian Tire). This costs $225 including taxes. Once done, you can register the bike & pay pst. A couple of days later you receive the RIV sticker for the bike & you are now the proud owner of an imported bike.