MrCanuck

Help me out guys, my usually indefatigable enthusiasm for my 993 has taken a bit of hit lately.

So I'm moving from the US to Canada, and I decided to take my 993 along with me even though it was going to be A) expensive B) a pain to import and C) I'd only be able to drive it half the year.

It'll be expense because duties and taxes will be in the $5-6K range plus the auto hauler will be about $2K. It'll be a pain because of the garbage you have to go through to get it imported... daytime running lights, recall certificates, choosing a reputable auto hauler who won't damage the car, yada yada yada. If my wife didn't know before how dedicated I was to my 993, she does now.

But today I found out from a customer rep at PCNA that I have to replace the entire instrument cluster (convert it to metric)!! This even though the inside of the speedometer already has km/h. Of course, being a Porsche, replacing the instrument cluster is going to run approximately $2K. I mean, jeepers already, I love the car but sooner or later you gotta draw a line somewhere. I'm hoping the guy at PCNA doesn't know what he is talking about, or that they say this to make more money...

I know RRLOwen imported his 993 into Canada, and I have a PM out to him. But I wanted to know if anyone else out there has done the same, and if so, did you have to replace the entire instrument cluster? Please say it aint' so.

Grant

KeithR3

Isn't it cheaper to sell your current 993 and then purchase another 993 in Canada? I got a headached just thinking about your dilemma...

ceboyd

it's also pretty interesting because it seems a lot easier to import a car FROM Canada to the USA...

I know my local Infiniti dealer routinely services 2 Canadian Infiniti cars and it is a PITA for them because of the KM/cluster, etc. and how they have to connect the computer for diagnosis, etc.

Anyway, they obviously were able to import without changing the KM cluster to Miles because they both have valid Illinois plates now.

We ALMOST imported a car from Canada to the USA (changed mind after test drive) and the only fees would have been import duties (no changes). ...but I guess since we aren't required to have DRLs it doesn't matter.

BTW: Were DRLs on 97 993s in Canada or do they just have to have their lights on all the time? I wonder about that actually!

Stu

Interesting.....I just sold a 95 to a dealer in Victoria and he mentioned nothing about all of this. I'll ask him what, if anything, he had to do to make it compliant. BTW - he was telling me there's a severe shortage of nice 993's in Canada, so the value of your car could actually be more there than here.

MrCanuck

I never gave serious thought to getting a 993 in Canada, mostly because I figured that 993's (let alone a Targa) would be impossible to find. It turns out that there is one (and a blue one like mine no-less), but the dealer wants $70K CDN for a 1996 with 63,000 KM. (about $53 US with 37K miles)

http://www.canadatrader.com/trader/r...=1&vid=5613544

I think that is WAY, WAY over priced. The Canadian Black Book (similar to Kelley Blue book) lists a 96 with 63Km to have a value in the 35K to 45K CDN range.

But, even if I did find one at a reasonable price in Canada, I'm moving in 4 weeks, which is likely too little time to sell mine here.

ceboyd

I'd bet you have some leeway if you wanted to sell it... just leave your cali plates on it while you work on selling it... just realize that you'd probably have to drive over the border to deliver to the new owner, etc.

I know my cousin got away with not getting cali plates for 3 months when he moved from Illinois to California... don't they have the same sort of thing if moving to canada from usa?

RRLOwen

Grant:

No, you don't need a new instrument cluster. the dual markings will do. I don't know who you have been talking to, but he is not well informed.

Actually, the required modifications for BC were minimal. A few decals, daytime driving lights, and a child seat restraint bracket. The people at Canadian Tire do the inspections for the feds and they will accept (for a Porsche) a restraint being in the car, not necessarily installed in the car.

The taxes aand duty are the big hits, but you will see those costs reflected in the immediate value increase in your car. I can't see any way you will be able to sell your car down there and get a comparable replacement in Canada for the same money, even after the importing costs.

In fact, if you were thinking of selling, it would pay you to import it and sell it in Canada. You would likely make some money on that deal. Then buy another car in the US and bring it in.

I'l look for your PM as well.

If there are any other questions, let me know.

ROwen

TamiyaGuy

Mr. Canuck,

You need to read up on this site:
http://www.riv.ca/

it's really not as bad as you've been told. The instrument cluster does not have to be changed, there should be no import duties provided you've owned the car more than 1 year. And the certification process is fairly painless because it can be carried out at Canadian Tires which is a very large chain in Canada. Be sure to get a letter from PCNA before hitting the border though.

Thanks,
Peter

DJF1

First of all,,, take a deep breath and relax! IT IS EASY!!!!

I just moved to Vancouver ( 3 weeks ago) myself and brought one of my 3 cars in Vancouver. I brought with me my 1998 M3 Convertible.
First of all are you a settler to Canada??? If so like I am I have to pay NOTHING to import the car. This is what I had to do:

1. Call the US Customs office at the Peach Arch crossing and talk to the export Officer. She will sent you by fax a couple of forms to fax back along with the original tittle of the car. Make sure you FAX these forms and the tittle back to her at least 72 hours before you bring the car in. Then a day BEFORE your car is scheduled to arrive at the crossing give her a call and make sure everything is ok.

2. Go to your Porsche dealer in Cali and get him to give you a paper on Porsche letterhead that the car has zero outstanding recalls. The service advisor gave me this paper in two minutes... You will need this for the Federal Inspection...

3. AT the border (you can park at the Canadian side and walk over the the US Customs building) when your trucker arrives he will need to meet you there. Make sure you have the ORIGINAL tittle with you along with the paperwork you faxed. The Officer is there I think between 8.30am -3.00pm so you have to be there between those times. When you give here the paperwork she will take a look at the car , verify the VIN and then make sure she stamps the original tittle with the export stamp and the CORRECT date!!! Trust me its very important!!!

4. After the US Customs tell your trucker to move along to the Canadian Border he will be directed to the parking place behind the building. Meet your trucker at the Canadian import office and then you have to walk accross to the main customs office with your stamped tittle on hand and your form 1 filed out which you can download from the Canada Revenue site. Now if you are a settler like me at the time of landing you have to declare what you are going to bring with you and if you land before the car arrives like I did, make sure you have the B4 form that you were given a copy at the time of your landing along with the form 1.
You hand these two forms to the officer and the original tittle. Make sure you have your DL and passport with you and then he will fill out an original Form 1, stamp it and give you 2 copies. He will also tell you that the government will send you the federal inspection forms later in the mail ( I got them within 2 weeks) and then he will ask you to pay $182 Canadian either by cash, Visa or MC.
Then he will send you with your papers and your trucker to the import office again where you will present the paperwork and the trucker will get a "get out of jail" card so to speak which will allow him to leave the bonded parking lot and deliver to your house...
If you can believe it they did not even check my car!!!!! I had it parked in plain view in my case and I also had pictures of my car with me along with the all the paperwork filled out etc... The Canadian Customs Officer was very friendly and the whole thing took very little time.

5. Once you arte IN Canada you will be driving with your old plates till you can get the car inspected. I went to BMW in Richmond and got the Provincial inspection along with the daytime running lights. Cost? $272 canadian. You are NOT required to change the cluster!!!! As in your car it has dual metric ( with small letters) and miles which is enough for the Canadian Government. Whoever told you you need to change the cluster he is smoking something or wants to make $$$ from you... The ONLY thing they may do is stick a small sticker next to the odo that will say "miles". My bimmer had it already so there was no need for the sticker.
The Provincial inspection is the most important one , I had zero problems, you get the paper (2 copies) from them and then you wait till you get the federal papers.

6. Once you get them go to your nearest Canadian Tire and give them the Provincial Inspection, the Form 1 from Customs, the recall paper from the Porsche dealer and they will check the car out. It took me 5 minutes! They checked the VIN and the daytime running lights and that's all she wrote.

7. With the stamped Federal inspection paper from Canadian Tire, the Provincial, the Form 1 and your original tittle, find your insurance office and get the car insured and plated. The insurance offices has funny enough the plates!!! So after you get a shock and jolt from the amount you have to caugh then you drive off with your car's registration , funny enough there is NO tittle given to you, and your new plates on the car...

That is ALL she wrote... A few days later I also received from the government a new sticker I had to place next to the original sticker by the door which states that the car has met all Canadian standards....

As you see its pretty painless and for sure the prices that 993's command up here make it worth your while...

JeffPlastow

On a side note....
I don't really know much about "book values" of cars, but both 993s and 996s seem to hold their value much better in Ontario at least. 1999 996 with 30k miles (60K km) still seem to fetch around $70,000+ CAN (a few less and a few more). Its a similar story for 993s. You just can't find a 1995 993 (even with over 60,000 miles) for less than $50,000 CAN. Perhaps its just my area of Canada?

gslaberge

I gave my father a 1982 Mercedes 240D about 4 years ago, and all he had to do was get the required mechanical check in Ontario which is mandatory for all used vehicles even those purchased in the province. Nothing else. The car was originally sold in Detroit area and I shipped it from Denver to Detroit where my nephew drove it to Ontario via I-75 north. No problems at all. Now the car was a gift to him and I mailed him the note stating such and he did not pay much (granted was not worth what your 993 is). Wonder if the laws have changed.

Gregg

Rob993

Jeff, it's not just your part. I always felt that Ontario had better pricing vs the west based on supply and demand. There were only 4 coupes sold in the region in 1995. I paid $63K for my 95 993 C4 last year and have been offered close to the same.
It was a couple more thousand than I wanted to pay but since it had 100% history and an excellent P.O. who was well know to the Porsche community, I thought it was worth it the xtra $'s.

TamiyaGuy

Gregg,

I think your father lucked out. Mercedes Benz are the hardest cars to import into Canada. All Porsches are acceptable for import except for some special editions ones. There are three major factors to determining whether a car can be easily imported into Canada:

1) Is the particular model and year available for sale in Canada already?
2) Do the bumpers on the vehicle meet Canadian standards?
3) For newer vehicles, they to see that it meets current child restraint requirements (you know, those anchors for baby seats).

Thanks,
Peter

MrCanuck

Brian Sutton@Porsche Cars North America is being particularly difficult, insisting that the recall clearance letter has to state that the instrument cluster must be replaced with a Canadian version. $@#!

RRLOwen, you have PM.

DJF1

why you even bother with PCNA??? I got my letter from the service advisor. It is just a printout of the service history on the car and it ends with "no open recalls" at the end. That is it! I did not go through PCNA or BMW North America. Canadian Tire does not require more!