Since our Canadian Dollar is strong. Will I be saving a lot since it's cheaper down at the states? I know I have to add 14% when I across the border. Anything else I should know? Has anybody bought one before and brought it back? please, any advice would help.

Thanks in advance

 

At the Canadian border, since the car is manufactured in Japan, you will have to pay duty at 6.1% and 7% GST. In addition you will have to pay a RIV (Registry of Import Vehicles) fee of $209.

Once in Canada you will have to install DRL's ($150-200), and get a Provincial Inspection ($70-100).

Add in to that the cost of insurance and temporary permits you will need... typically $150 for 7 days. Note that you can't fully insure it until it clears RIV, Provincial & Federal inspections. You will also need a Recall Clearance letter from Nissan/Infiniti USA for the Federal inspection. When all inspections have been done you can finally get insurance/plates for it... and then pay the 7% PST.

Oh.. last thing... Nissan/Infiniti Canada have just issued a memo to all dealer service centers stating that the car has to have been registered in the US for a minimum of 6 months in order to qualify for warranty claims in Canada. For the record, Nissan USA knows nothing of this memo when I called last week.

There is a website which details all you have to do to import a car from the US -- search for "importing vehicle into Canada". I recently did this for my used 2006 350Z. I'm still waiting on Form 2 issued by RIV to complete the Federal inspection.

 

Or... you could buy my 2003 G35 Sedan I have for sale

 

$47000CA vs $33200US for new ones (base model). Just a rough calulation, assuming freight and dealer BS is about equal in the US:

CANADA final cost:
=$47000*1.15
=$54050CAN

US final cost:
=$33200US*(1.15)*(1.061) +500CAN (inspection,daytime lights,...) + getting to uS and getting home
=$45500CAN + to/from US costs

Over $9000 to get you to/from the US and any other things you may want like metric guages (or a Turbo setup for that matter).

 

Note that BC PST is 7%... so you will actually pay a little less.

 

not sure if this applies to G35's, but the base model of the Z in the states has much less stuff in it than the canadian "base" model. now whether or not that (and the amount of work you don't have to do) is worth $9000....

 

Correct.

For example, take my Canadian-spec '06 G35 M6 (which only comes fully-loaded, less Navi) then compare it to an equal US-spec version:

Canadian-spec:

2006 Infiniti G35 M6
includes Power Sunroof
includes Premium Package
includes Aero Package
includes Sport Tuned Suspension Package

= CA$46,962

US-spec:

2006 Infiniti G35 M6 @ $36,750
+ Power Sunroof @ $1,000
+ Premium Package (without full size spare) @ $3,350
+ Aero Package @ $550
+ Sport Tuned Suspension Package @ $750

= US$42,400 * 1.10616 = CA$46,901


Add duties and taxes (and time and effort) and you're WAY better buying local!

 

^^ good point

 

+ I'm not sure what kind of deals US dealers are giving, but I got one helluva deal up here on mine...

 

then again if you just get the base, you have $9000 to play with for mods hehe.

i personally wouldn't want the hassle, but i'm one lazy **** :P

 

Where did you get those US$ figures from? They are pretty seriously inflated (to the tune of $7500US ) from the actual MSRP in the US. If the actual US figures, according to www.infiniti.com, are used, ...

2006 G35 M6 base is $31200 MSRP not $36750
Premium is $3150 not $3350
Power sunroof is free with premium pack. not $1000
Sport tuned susp. is free, included with the M6 not $750

 

There is a difference in the included options in the states. Another opposing difference is the freight, destination and BS charges ($650US vs $1572 in Canada for the coupe)

The price advantage in the states depends on the model. For a coupe with everything but NAV,

Canadian-spec:
6-speed manual with Sport Package, Rear Active Steer $ 51,600
Freight $1572
Tax @15% = 7976
Total = $61147

= CA$61147

US-spec:

2006 Infiniti G35 M6 @ $33800
Premium Package $2850
Aero Package $550
Rear Active Steer Package $750
freight, destination $650
Tax on import (@15%) =$5790
= US$44390 * 1.061 duty = US$47100
US$47100*1.11= CA$52275 + inspection, lights, ?

 

You probably also need to change the speedo cluster and the front bumpers. I looked into this before and with non-American made cars, importing anything under 7 years old required between $3,500 and $ 4,500.00 in work to bring them to our standards. You will still save a bit, but I was not convinced that it was worth the effort.

Charges at customs will be the 6.1% import duty, 7% gst and pst. As well, the buy price for currency is currently 1.122 and not 1.10 as stated above.


Duty is calculated on Canadian Dollars.

Auto is $ 33,200.00
Exchange is $ 4050.00
Can Spec +/- $ 3,500.00 (I think this is mandatory)
Duty is $ 2,272.00
Imp Fee is $ 295.00
GST and PST are payable either way so no issue.

Total $ 43,317.00 all in. Is it worth it?

 

i think he went into the config for the AT version...but the starting price is still wrong...

 

The bid/ask for US dollars was 1.1070/1.1075 at close today. If you get bid/ask from quotes from a bank, they will have a bigger spread. I think on a trade that size, you could get by with a 1/4 to 1/2 cent commission so 1.11 seems like a good estimate.

If duty is charged on the Canadian or the US amount, it won't change the cost, it is still 6.1%.

To figure out whether or not it is worth it, you really have to look into ALL details for EACH case. Newer cars (not US made) don't always need bumpers. There are different crash test standards between Canada and the US but most cars can meet both standards.

For me, if I was looking at the coupe with $61k final price, I would definitely take a vacation to somewhere nice in the states and then a road trip home in a new much cheaper car. The inspection fees and daytime running light conversion hassles are well worth it for well over $8000.