I'm considering buying a car from Canada and wanted to get some feedback. Is it worth the hassle? How much hassle is there really? The comments suggest that one should pay less when buying a car from Canada - how much of a discount compered to US car?
If I were to ever sell a Canadian car in the US, will it be hard to sell a car like that?

The car I'm considering is '10 GT3 Black with PCCBs and carbon buckets, 25k miles, 2 owners, a few range one over revs, all stock. The rear bumper and lid were painted for some reason. It was sold as a CPO 3 years ago to the current owner and the paint work was not disclosed to him. It is clean overall and well maintained. What would be reasonable offer/purchase price for the car?

 

I’ve bought and sold Canadian sourced cars. The hassle factor isn’t THAT big of a deal but it’s more than buying local and more than buying w/in the US, and the hassle factor can vary some by state (required additional inspections, etc). On the Econ’s side of it, just remember, you can get some amazing entry prices on Canadian cars and keep you initial price tag lower. And, that is a positive. However, there’s no “arb”. If/when you sell that car, it will still likely trade at a similar discount to whatever you got when you bought it. So, good way to get in cheap, but you’ll sell cheap also.

don’t try to make logical sense of why they trade at discounts. Somethings just don’t make sense in life and fighting them is futile. This is one of those. Mechanically, exact same car. When you buy it, you’ll pay less; when you sell it you’ll get less; that’s it.

 

I have a Canadian car and have discussed this with Mr Taylor above. While buying and reselling for the purpose of capturing the spread consistently is prob not realistic, that fact is the marketplace is noisy and 1) the market is just weaker in Canada (ie more buyers in USA) 2) the exchange rate can make a car even cheaper at times (beyond the implied CAD car discount) 3) USA buyers are lazy and don't want to "import" 4) used cars for sale are not equal so if you can find a spec you like then go for it. 5) if you plan to hang on to the car I don't think in 10 or even 5 years people will care. An rs is an rs.

Anyway I think it's right to go in eyes wide open as suggested. I found a supreme example that I liked and I found it hard to source stateside (at the time) given my particulars (which was more about condition than specs).

There is a roughly 3% import duty and shippers like tfx will take care of all the paperwork.

Good luck

 

Jeremy gave good advice. good luck with your search.

 

+1 for TFX imports shipped mine from Toronto to NYC hassle free

 

I've used tfx twice and they do a great job and are able to handle the CA and US legs of the trip (some carriers can only do the CA leg).

 

I recently purchased a Canadian car and rented and enclosed trailer to tow it back state side, to avoid paying a transport company and to also see and drive the car before the official purchase.

The process is very quick and smooth at Boarder Patrol if you have all the required paperwork. There is an import tax you'll have to pay based on the sale price of the car, roughly 2-3%. You also have to declare how much money you are bringing over the boarder to purchase the car.

I contacted my insurance company to get temp insurance for the car during transport.

The paperwork required is a Letter of Compliance from Porsche of North America stating that the car (based on VIN & Model) passed US and Canadian safety and emission requirements. A bill of sale, title, and the DOT HS7 & EPA 3520 forms for the importation of a motor vehicle (both available online). They will also inspect the car.

Once the car is state side, you will have to take it to the local DMV to get it plated and registered where you will pay a sales tax on the car, dependent on your states laws.

If you are well prepared, it is an easy process. Let me know if you have any other questions, happy to help!

 

I live in Toronto, keep in mind, US dollars spent will go 30% further due to the currency exchange.
Baseline an offer on similar spec’d cars.

Hope this helps!

 

I've sold two GT3's to American buyers, it's a very easy process, assuming that you are using a broker you can add about 500$ on top of the shipping costs to cover brokerage and then about 3% for duties.

I don't agree that Canadian spec cars sell for less than American spec cars, I've never seen a Canadian spec car trade hands in the US at a noticeable discount.

 

There is a stigma about canadian cars in the US for sure. You have to factor that into the price when buying the car. Simply because there is a much smaller buyer pool for a canadian car.

 

Not according to my experience selling GT3's to American buyers, full market value was obtained and the vehicles sold within reasonable timeframes. Perhaps some potential buyers have a stigma with Canadian cars, but I can't recall any examples where said stigma resulted in a difficulty selling a car.

You're sharing a perceived stigma, I'm sharing actual experience.

 

Im referring of a canadian car selling in the US, not a canadian selling a canadian car to someone in the us.

 

The ‘market’ is often not rational. The perceived stigma of a Cdn car is real to those who perceive it. All things with a car being equal to a US car, an argument can be made that a discount could approach the 3 points for import duty to the US buyer. Beyond that it’s not logical but that doesn’t mean it’s not relevant for some. When I sold my 1982 ROW Cdn spec 930 I received a lot of comments about it not being a US car and it should be reduced significantly. This was not a grey market car and had 30 more hp and less emissions crap than the US cars. But.....the stigma reigned supreme. The first person to enquire in Canada bought it. There’s a lot of jittery obsessing about values that surrounds these cars. In the end options and condition/maintenance/type of use will prevail for those who think it through - regardless of where the car was first delivered.

 

If the vehicle was exposed to the market, and the parties negotiated for the sale, and the car in fact sold, the price paid was market value.

Does a Canadian car marketed to US buyers take longer to sell? Maybe. Is there a perceived difficulty crossing border with Canadian car? Yes - just look at all the threads on this site with that subject matter under discussion. Will a US buyer attempt to negotiate a lower price b/c of transport costs and potential tax/duty owed at border? Of course.

^ both anecdotal and personal. I bought a Canadian car (964 C4). Paid transport and duty. My bid, which was accepted, accounted for these costs.

Stigma - in my mind- suggests there something wrong with the car. Nothing wrong w/ Canadian cars, they are same as US except for speedo, which i think can be changed

 

Maybe stigma is the wrong word, not sure. But either way a CAD car in the US is a harder and longer sell than its US equivalent. When i bought a US car in canada i wanted a discount and i did receive it. Just to account for the future. The speedo was in miles, and if you go changing the speedo questions will be asked when selling. Small adjustment but hey it is what it is.