Importing a Toyota into Canada

[YVR]

First off, I'm a new member, thanks to "futar" whom I recently met. He graciously showed me his toy home. Many thanks futar! Hopefully I'm in the correct category for this topic, please forgive me if I'm not.

I'm considering the aquisition of a Toyota motorhome. As a Canadian I'm aware that only certain vehicles are allowed into Canada. The web site www.riv.ca has the list. I wanted to see if a 1993 Winnebago Warrior would qualify. It appears that our Canadian bureaucrats have deemed any 1992 -1994 units as inadmissible. Do any knowledgeable individuals know the differences between a 1991, and 1992 thru 94 that would trigger this situation?

Thanks YVR

[Graham and Faye Murphy]

Good morning.

I just brought back a 1990 Toyota MH. Odyssey. The general rules do not apply to vehicles more than 15 years old, so a "92 should be OK. When I got to the Can. border(Milltown/St, Stephen, N.B.) and started to fill out the paperwork with the border guard he asked me if I had read the regs.. I said I had and he replied "you know if this Toyota had been less than 15 years old , it wouldn't be allowed in". I had known that but asked him if the book he was looking at gave him a reason for this.

It didn't, but he said that usually it has to do with seat-belt standards, and since is is illegal to modify seatbelts in Canada, there would be nothing I could have done to meet the Canadian standarts!! Typical bureauocratic Catch-22.

If I were you, I would call the Canadian Border Service and go through the usual bs until you get to speak to a live person. I believe a '91/92 should be ok now.

Good luck;

Graham

[Graham and Faye Murphy]

Usually you will find that the chassis was built one year and the MH affixed the next. When talking with the BS(Border Service:) be sure to let them know both years. The problem with the seatbelts probably applies to those in the MH section as well.

You might have to wait until the new year to bring in the rig you are looking at.

[nibs]

We just brought in an 84 Sunrader from Butte Montana, no problems, still havent done the provincial inspection. It is my understanding that 15 yr & older do not require the federal inspection. I beleive that you can bring in any year but have to bring it within the federal inspection rules.

If you know that the seat belts will fail, change them in the US, the previous owner trusted the Canadian style more ;-)

We too are new to this group, have had our Sunrader for just 2 weeks.

Tony

Edited August 10, 2008 by nibs

[Neo Guy]

Being as it is 2008 a '93 model year is the newest allowed to enter Canada under the 15 year rule. I currently have three Japan import vehicles and the newest is a 93 that I got this summer. I can't think of any problems with bringing in a '93 from the U.S. You just have to go through the paperwork.

I'm not sure where you're located but if in BC I would have look in your own backyard. Here on the Sunshine Coast I drive by a 1/2 dozen different Toyota MH's parked in various driveways and likely available to buy. A fella would just have to knock on some doors and ask.

Cheers.

NeoGuy

D'oh! I just noticed your name was YVR so you likely are from BC...

Edited August 12, 2008 by Neo Guy

[jayemright]

Hello,

I imported a 85 Sunrader into New Brunswick in May, and had no problem other than being extensively searched. I think the guy thought I was lying about the price I paid and was looking for a second reciept. I got a good price on it, and the guy I bought it from just did a hand-written reciept on a piece of stationary from a cement company-So make sure your reciept looks official.

Anyway, on a 93, I think it will come down to the date of manufacture , so anything built before August would be admissable. Once you get past the 15 year mark, there is no problem.

Make sure you get the title to the American side at ther port where you will be importing it, at least 72 hours before you bring it across. The US people have to "export" it, and that will be the first thing the Canadians ask for.

Good luck and happy travels

James

Edited August 13, 2008 by jayemright

[nibs]

Thanks for the reminder about notifying US customs, what we do is get their fax number & fax them a note saying we will be exporting vehicle X VIN # xxxxxxxxxxx then show up 72 hrs later with the bill of sale, & get that stamped. Canadian customs doesnt care about the US Title, just the bill of sale.

[westcoast]

Being as it is 2008 a '93 model year is the newest allowed to enter Canada under the 15 year rule. I currently have three Japan import vehicles and the newest is a 93 that I got this summer. I can't think of any problems with bringing in a '93 from the U.S. You just have to go through the paperwork.

I'm not sure where you're located but if in BC I would have look in your own backyard. Here on the Sunshine Coast I drive by a 1/2 dozen different Toyota MH's parked in various driveways and likely available to buy. A fella would just have to knock on some doors and ask.

Cheers.

NeoGuy

D'oh! I just noticed your name was YVR so you likely are from BC...

The problem with the 1/2 dozen parked in driveways on the coast is that we want way too much money for our rigs, prices make it well worth the hassle of importing.

Westcoast

[YVR]

Thanks to all those who have given me further insight into importation. As many of you stated- it appears the restrictions on imports are thrown out the door once the vehicle crosses 15 years. Now here's a couple of technicality issues. Is that 15 years based on the month, or is it the year of manufacture of the newest section of the M.H. - ie. the chassis, or the home portion?

When at the border did those who imported have to pay the 6% duty for a vehicle not manufactured in the U.S. Yes I know the home portion was built and bolted to the frame in the U.S. but with a government organization involved one never knows how they interpret the rules. So to clarify, is it considered an American built vehicle, or was it Japanese built?

They don't make this easy do they! And as Westcoast said, Canadians who are selling somehow feel their rigs are worth gold. Thus we must go through the hoops of importation.

[nibs]

We have brought in 6 vehicles (1 yr old hiundai, 5yr old mustang, 15yr old chev/pu, 25 yr old bus conversion, 22yr old westfalia vw, 24yr old Sunrader) since 1988 & not found it to be much work at all. Usually takes about 1/2 hr or less. If you go through a smaller port of entry and pick a quiet time the officers are usually very helpfull. Just dont try it at the peace arch on a sunday late afternoon. We have never been dinged for any duty other than gst. As noted earlier if you have to make safety mods to the vehicle make them south of the border.

I think that the entry conditions regarding safety issues is not up to the border officer but comes into play when you get the federal/provincial inspections.

(I may be wrong here but it is a motor vehicles issue wether or not the vehicle is in compliance, the border officer is not trained/qualified to judge this).

So far we have never had a problem. The US customs even waived the 72 hour notice once when we showed up not knowing about the rule change.

I think that attitude is an important factor, as long as you are quietly respectful you will PROBABLY be treated fairly.

Edited August 19, 2008 by nibs

[Graham and Faye Murphy]

No worries on the Country of manufacture. They consider it to be American made. they go by the month of manufacture and they look at the dates of both the truck and the MH, so it is the date of manufacture of the MH that would be the deciding factor.

They will charge you the 5% GST only at the border. Register it at home , pay the provincial tax and then get it safety inspected in your province. There is no federal inspection involved with this age of vehicle.

[Bunneys]

YVR,

We imported our 1989 Dolphin from the US into BC.

First, make sure the RV is in good condition The BC safety inspection will require it to be in like new condition.

You must export it from the US. The US border has to have your paperwork 3 business days prior to your arrival before you cross over into Canada. (They do a check to make sure that it’s not stolen or has a lean etc.) They will then stamp your title “exported” CND customs will require to see this.

The CND border guards will go from the VIN for the country of manufacture. So it was built in Japan according to them, but you might get lucky and they might not charge you the duty… (I think I got away with it)

The RIV (Registrar of Imported Vehicles) is not all that bad if you must go through… The only difference between US and Canada for a 93 truck would be daytime running lights… (All they do is look up what was different between the two counters and list tem on a form, the only inspection is done to make sure what is on the list is done, that’s it.)

The big kicker is the Provincial inspection. Make sure it has everything in tip top shape. There is no room for ware and tare for the 15 years of use.

If driving across WA. State, you are required to have “Tags” (A paper license plate) from their DMV. (I never bothered with this, but it’s their law…)

Good Luck!

It is well worth the effort to get a good one.

H & A.

[nibs]

We have never had an unreasonable provincial inspection, as long as the vehicle is safe to operate and has no obvious structural defects it will pass. These inspections are done at private service stations, I suspect that you picked a tech who wanted to make money for repairs on you. Before you get the inspection done, ask around to see who is reasonable. We have had two of the 6 inspections we needed done at canadian tire, they werent too bad, each found a couple of hundred $ worth of fixins.

The others were done at small shops where we dealt and the results were similar.

Tony