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andy_w_90's avatar
andy_w_90
Explorer
Feb 11, 2015

Selling Canadain RV in USA after trip?

Hello all

this is my first post and after some advice.

I am heading south on a road trip in my RV in may from B.C Canada to Arizona USA and hope to sell the vehicle there after the 6weeks.

What issues will i face and is this possible?

The vehicle will still be Canadian Registered and insured.

Any help will be good

thanks Andy
  • JaxDad's avatar
    JaxDad
    Explorer III
    I've done this before, sort of, helping out family friends after the husband passed away in Florida and the widow wanted to sell off their unit.

    In the end it was easier and cheaper to just bring the unit back to Canada.

    You will encounter a real Catch 22 unless you already have a purchaser before you cross the border.

    Here's how it works.

    When you get to the border and declare the unit as being imported into the US they will charge you taxes and duty and give you the paperwork to show it is now a US unit.

    This where it gets sticky. Technically speaking the unit is no longer a Canadian unit and cannot go down the road with Canadian licence plates on it. I'm not saying they will enforce it every time, but I've seen it happen.

    The other issue is that if you don't have any luck selling it down there, and want to bring it back to Canada you will have to import it and pay Canadian taxes all over again as if you'd never owned it.

    It's a whacky quirk of the tax and vehicle registration system, even within Canada (and most States) that when you move from one jurisdiction to another it triggers a new set of payments.

    A friend of mine who flies a helicopter works 6 months in the west and 6 months in Ontario every year. He found it was cheaper to buy a second vehicle and just leave one in each place permanently than it was to re-licence one truck twice a year.
  • mayo30 wrote:
    RV's are way cheaper down south,factor in currency exchange and probably see a substantial lower number then you are planning on.
    I would second this you would get more for it in Canada.

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