Tripalot wrote:
WRT purchasing a Class A in the US. We were told if you trade in your Class A in the US for a new Class A, when returning to Ontario you pay the HST on the full amount of the new unit. If you trade in Ontario, you pay the HST on the difference between the cost of the new unit and the trade. Can anyone confirm this. Also a dealer in Florida informed us that a new rule has been instituted in the past year and you have to pay 6% duty at the border. If all this is true, I fail to see where it is worth buying in the US and going through the steps to get it inspected etc. for licencing in Canada.
A couple of years ago there was a US made unit we were interested in but it was not certified for Canada due to the way the propane lines were run. I think you have to be very careful and do your homework before deciding to buy in US.
You are correct that the biggest thing is that you have to do your homework. Not all US vehicles are admissible into Canada. As far as the savings, it really depends on the vehicle but even if you do have to pay duty, it can be worth it in many cases. Personally, if I can save a few thousand dollars, it's probably worth it. On a new trailer, I think you can easily save $10k-$20k+, on a new motor home, I wouldn't be surprised if you could easily save $30k-$50k+ so for me, it would certainly be worth it.
As others will certainly tell you, don't believe everything a dealer tells you. There is a 6% duty (it's actually 6.1%) but it's not a new rule, it's always been like that. Also it only applies to foreign built vehicles. If the VIN begins with a number (i.e. built in Canada, US or Mexico), no duty applies, if the VIN begins with a letter (i.e. built anywhere else on the planet), you pay 6.1% duty. (I think the only RVs this would apply do are the 'Dodge / Mercedes Sprinter based chasis).
I've never checked as far as the taxes but I suspect you are correct. Ontario will probably charge you tax on the full value even if you have a trade. That said, it's probably a non-issue, for the same reason a Canadian would buy in the US, you're also better off selling your old motor home in Canada where you'll likely get significantly more for it.
Also for the inspection, read up at
www.riv.ca. The only requirements are that: 1) the manufacturer has informed Transport Canada / RIV that the vehicle is admissible for import into Canada (i.e. it's marked as 'admissible' on the list) 2) You can get a recall clearance letter from the chassis manufacturer (RIV's website actually says you might need them from the chassis (e.g. Ford / Workhorse, Freightliner, Spartan, etc) and the house manufacturer (e.g. Winnebago, Tiffin, Newmar, etc) but the last two mhs I imported, I only got it from the chassis manufacturer and it was fine. If you cannot get a recall clearance letter, you cannot import the motor home. 3) You pass the RIV inspection at CanadianTire (or a few other autorized garages). This inspection has nothing to do with any of the systems (propane, electrical, etc) and is only on the 'chassis' side of the RV. They verify the VIN, GVWR and daytime running lights, KM/H markings on the speedo, etc (for cars there's a few others things (e.g. 'Immobilizer' for the ignition, child-seat anchors, bilingual labels if the airbags need periodic maintenance, some cars need bumper modifications, etc)). 4) Some 'branded' titles are not admissible in Canada although I've heard reports that this isn't actually applied or it's not applied in all states (e.g. Ontario says that any US title that's ever been branded as 'FLOOD' cannot be imported and registered in Ontario for use on roads even if it has a 'REBUILT' title in the US).
Another thing to keep in mind is that most States and Provinces treat the taxes differently so you have to do your homework.
As long as everything is okay, the importing process really isn't a big deal and can often be done in a few hours (e.g. when we imported our Toyote Sienna, I think I picked it up at the border at around 7AM and by lunch time, it was in my driveway with Ontario plates).
