Buying a TT in the US and exporting to Canada

[upuaut]

I searched but did not find a thread for this.

I am looking to buy a new 2013 or 2014 Jayco Flight 22FB TT and there are some good prices in Michigan - reasonable driving distance for me - savings of $3000 over price here in Canada.

I have exported a car before, so familiar with the process.

Looking to hear of anyone's experience in exporting a new TT to Canada.

For a fee of $195 CAD, the gas to drive down and back and the paperwork required I can save over $3000 - not chump change.

[upuaut]

Border was easy. Paperwork all in order and in and out in 15 mins.

[upuaut]

Good thing I asked the dealer to get the Recall Clearance Letter. There is an outstanding recall for the stove that they will fix first!

[jspence1]

Looks great! Congratulations.

The border will be easy provided you have you paperwork in order.

I'd also like to point out that both CSA and UL are private for profit companies and are not legally required on any products. Too much misinformation out there on these two companies.

[upuaut]

Pulled the trigger on a 2011 Jayco 22FB today - drove 5 1/2 hours each way to Michigan. Worth the drive - price was right and in excellent shape!

Hope to pick up next week!

[Bearhawk]

I was in the dealer yesterday and saw the sign that said in effect: Happy to service your RV not purchased here - pay first for all repairs and when we get the manufacturer's warranty payment we will refund you that amount.

They do offer to assist you with a warranty claim with the selling dealership. They are too kind.

[upuaut]

Oh - funny part is that one of the ones I was looking at from RVDirect had the option 'Canadian Standards' - $200 which is an option from Jayco, so obviously the BS from the Canadian Dealers is just BS.

[upuaut]

Got a quote from RV Direct - comparable to other US dealers and at least $3000 less than Canadian dealers seem willing to go.

Advantage of RV Direct is that they can drop ship to their dealer in Buffalo - very close to me, although I would be willing to make the drive to Michigan if I felt the price and dealer was worth it.

I don't think anyone in Canada is going to come close to the prices out of the U.S.

[Bearhawk]

I had the same warranty game pulled on me when I purchased mine. We did get the difference to around 1K or after my costs to go fetch one in the states was factored in. It was my first and I was green as grass. My boss bought one in Michigan and for a grand they drove it to the border for him. He saved more but spent more too. While it took my local dealer almost a month to order a part when I took it in for service - right now my next will come out of the US. The units I will be interested have too much of an upcharge north of the border.

[upuaut]

dadmomh wrote:
Since you're looking at a Jayco, have you checked price at RVDirect?? We have bought both our trailers from RVWholesalers, but they do not sell Jayco. Both have excellent reputations and will have everything you need for crossing ready to go. Might be worth checking.

I will get a quote from RVDirect - good idea.

[Downwindtracke1]

Bought a quad, Canadian Tire checked the serial#, easy.

[dadmomh]

Since you're looking at a Jayco, have you checked price at RVDirect?? We have bought both our trailers from RVWholesalers, but they do not sell Jayco. Both have excellent reputations and will have everything you need for crossing ready to go. Might be worth checking.

[Mr_Biggles]

upuaut wrote:
Great responses - thanks!

I did contact the dealer in Michigan and they are happy to facilitate the paperwork and deal with Canadians all the time.

I will give my Canadian Dealer a chance to be competitive. If they come within about $1000 then I'd rather buy local, but for $3000 less I won't 🙂

If the dealer was Terry Town , I highly recommend them.We bought our Evergreen TT from them.They were familiar with Alberta's border crossings,had all the paperwork correctly prepared,and arranged delivery to Montana.

[Mr_Biggles]

We just imported our Evergreen in April.We tried to buy the only one we could find in Western Canada from an Alberta dealer,but they wouldn't budge on the price.Ordered the TT from a Michigan dealer.Had them deliver to Montana.The dealer was familiar with importing,and prepared all the paperwork.We picked up the Trailer in Montana.Paperwork at the border took about 20 minutes.A few days later took it to Canadian Tire and had the trailer inspected.
We saved about 4K. Do your home work,and the experience is very simple.You do NOT have to give Customs notice. That is for motorised vehicles.

The funny thing was the trailer came with the CSA approvals (written in English and French ) on the trailer.

We wanted to buy in Canada,but i-Go's appear to be rare in this part of Canada,and the only Canadian dealer here was banking on that.So we went to the Michigan dealer. If I am in the same situation again, I will buy from the States in a heartbeat.

[RTrider]

This CSA thing is just an agreement among the Canadain Dealers (association) to have the CSA label put on upon them improting. I brought up the issue of importing a specific unit I wanted from Michigan and the Canadian Dealer near Mitchel ON, said a number of BS things that turned me off them completely, They said, without the CSA sticker, no Canadian dealer could legally work on the unit, and that more and more campgrounds were refusing entry to RV's without the CSA sticker. What BS!
In the end I bought a gently used unit from a dealer in London and traded my exiting unit in there to reduce my taxes owing on the sale. I made the deal without them seeing my trailer, but they reserved the option to refuse my trade if it wasn't as I decribed. Upon bringing my trailer in to them the owner did a walk around and immediately brought up the issue of my used unit did not have the CSA sticker. I thought I was in for a big problem, but he immediately said" No problem, the CSA inspector is comming this week anyway and I will have this trailer done at the same time" Appears this is not a big cost item as he never brought up a cost issue with me.

Until Canadian dealers, and most retailers for that matter, stop ripping us off, I will buy in the US as much as possible. I spend 3 to 4 months in the US each winter comming and going so save a lot of my purchases for my visits. One item that is just outrageous is motorcycle tires. They are about 60% of the Canadian cost there.

One other poster indicated that you had to clear US customs and notify them 72 hours in advace. I beleive that is for motorized vehciles only and does not apply to trailers.

Anyway, end of rant! haha