First of all. make sure it is a legally importable vehicle by checking on this list
Then you need to go to here and follow the checklist of what you need to do to get the unit into Canada.
This does NOT answer your questions on plates, tax etc for an extended US stay. Most States will give you a "temp" or paper plate to get you home but they are only valid for 10-30 days.
Keith J, Retired from GM Engineering
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE 2WD/CC/SB/DA.
1999 Sunnybrook 27RKFS Fiver
Bilsteins, Line-X, Westin steps, Prodigy, Retrax, 16K Superglide, 5th-Airborne pin-box, Multi-vex mirrors.
We are new to this forum so forgive if this is not the place for this.
We are Canadians from British Columbia.
We are wanting to buy a motorhome here in the states (California).
What problems will we encounter?
Can we get insurance?
Can we stay down south until June in the new Coach?
How do we get licence plates? Do we need licence plates?
Do we habe to pay sales tax here in California?
Love to hear from someone who has been through this.
Can we take the new coach back to Canada without duty?
Do we have to modify the coach to get it to comply with Canadian laws?
Thanks.
Gerry and Leslie
Hi there, we bought a Hurricane 34B last September in Buffalo, NY. It is a relatively simple process.
Insurance: find an insurance provider that will cover you from the minute you pick it up in the US. Some insurance companies will only cover you once you bring it back and plate it.
Stay in the US: return to Canada and complete the paperwork as soon as possible. I doubt you will get a temporary plate in the US to last more than 10 days.
Sales Tax: you should not have to pay local sales tax. The dealer you buy it from will file papers to the US border stating the unit is for export. You will however have to pay GST at the border upon returning to Canada and PST upon plating it in BC. Lets say you buy a MH with an MSRP of $100,000 but after doing your deal get it for $75,000. If you can, get the dealer to issue the paperwork showing the actual purchase price not the MSRP. You will be charged GST & PST on the MSRP otherwise.
Duty: there is no duty on importing a motorhome.
Modifications: yes you will have to make some modifications to the coach. Daytime running lights are mandatory in Ontario (not sure about BC) but the dealer can usually do that and often include it in the deal.
Just as kaydeejay mentioned, be sure to verify with RIV that the vehicle is admissable to Canada. I would call or e-mail them. You will have 30 days or so to get the Provincial Inspection and Emissions Test completed (+/- $250), Federal Inspection at Canadian Tire where they check for silly stuff like tire pressure, bilingual warning signs etc...
If you are buying used in a private sale I am not sure what the process would be like. A lot harder I imagine, my dealer was very familiar with the exporting to Canada issues.
It all sounds a little intimidating but as long as you follow the steps outlined by RIV it is very simple. If you have any specific questions I would be glad to answer them if I can. Hope all goes well.
Stephen
2007 Four Winds Hurricane 34B (Ford Chassis) Bunkhouse
2007 Chevrolet Cobalt LT (5-speed manual)
SMI Stay-In-Play & Blue-Ox Aventa LX
Thanks so much. It all sounds simple except for going back to Canada ASAP since we don't particularly want to head back up there until spring so maybe we'll have to give this deal a pass and wait until we are heading home and try again.
Thanks for the prompt replies - this is a great forum!
I had a 30 day permit to get mine back home, I believe they can be extended with a good reason but don't know for how long, plus you either need a new permit for Canada or enough time left to get inspections done in Canada. Didn't have to pay any duty and I got the factory to put on day time running lights which was only modification I needed. Also had Canadian insurance on my motorhome from date I picked it up if I remember correctly but you can"t get plates till inspections are done. Saved a pile of $ buying in thw states and GST was 8% and dollar a lot lower back then.
If you buy it in California, and don't pay the sales tax, they will not deliver it in California and it will not be legally allowed in California for 90 days.
Out of state delivery is required. They pay a driver to drive it to the border in AZ or NV and have an out of state delivery certificate notarized and off you go. The driver told us many times he gets passed by the RV as he goes home.
We are new to this forum so forgive if this is not the place for this.
We are Canadians from British Columbia.
We are wanting to buy a motorhome here in the states (California).
What problems will we encounter?
I am in a similar situation and can tell you what I found out. There are two main problems you will face:
The first is you have to pick a motorhome which is on the RIV and can be imported into Canada. And coaches you think would be fine may not be on the list. I had a deal done on a Country Coach a few years ago, and discovered that none of the CC's were on it. Quite a shock! They got their paperwork done last year, and a NEW one is now OK, but used are not....
The second one is that you will probably not be able to register it in BC without actually taking it into BC. We imported one into Nova Scotia and the RMV needed both a valid NS inspection and the importing paperwork. If you don't take it back, you may have to register it somewhere in the US (hopefully in a sales tax free state) until spring. There will be costs to this approach, or, you may decide never to take it back........... whatever you do, don't try to take it back and leave it US registered. That will give you a world of trouble!
Can we get insurance?
I had cover on mine that I bought (the coach, not the insurance)in Connecticut through my insurance agent at home. No different than when you get a new car. I have seen people from BC saying that ICBC wouldn't cover them until they registered the coach in BC, and wouldn't register it until they brought it to BC. Catch 22! One buyer reported that ICBC insured their coach with no problems, so I would do a search and see exactly what he said.
Possibly you may have to buy a short term cover in the US. Not a big deal.
Can we stay down south until June in the new Coach?
Don't know. Are you going to be in one place till then? You may be able to get a temporary registration to cover getting it into the park, and then another to drive it home in june????
If you want to roam around you will either have to drive it to BC and register it, or register it in the US until you take it home.
How do we get licence plates? Do we need licence plates?
It needs to be registered somewhere. Typically registration triggers the need to pay sales taxes. Depending on the state you are in, you may be able to get a temporary permit, but I doubt it will last 180 days, even with extensions.. Also, not all states recognize temporary registrations. Massachusetts will seize your coach and jail you for driving without insurance as they don't recognize temporary registrations.
Do we habe to pay sales tax here in California?
Love to hear from someone who has been through this.
Not unless you register it in California, or unless California decides you need to.
Can we take the new coach back to Canada without duty?
There is no duty on motorhomes being imported to Canada. There is, however, sales tax to be paid. GST of 5% on crossing the border, and your provincial sales tax on registration in BC or wherever.
Do we have to modify the coach to get it to comply with Canadian laws? Most coaches don't require anything, but you will need Daytime running lights and the ability to read your speed in kilometers, plus a few other things. Canadian Tire has a monopoly on doing the inspections and there is a fixed charge of about $175 for doing the inspection.
Thanks.
Gerry and Leslie
Good luck. There is a lot of info on the board on this topic on past posts, so do a search covering the last three or four years and you will learn a lot.
fulltime 5 months a year
FMCA 368297
1990 Beaver Marquis 40'
Gillig MHA 3208T chassis, 300 HP Cat 3208, Allison MT647
We bought our 38 ft pusher in Washington State from a dealer. He gave us a 90 permit because we were going to use the MH right away. When we got to the border (Aldergrove) we only had the bill of sale (no title or registration) we paid the GST and continued home. Title in Washington State will take 8 to 10 weeks to be processed then it's mailed to you. You will have to take the paper work back to the US side so THEY can search to make sure the rig isn't stolen or have money owing against it. This take 3 days.
There are some tests the government wants you to go through, like an "out of province test". You don't need to do that one because the weight of your rig is over 20,000lbs (I think that's the weight) at any rate your DP will weigh more then the test requires. The other test is for things like daylight driving lights, kilometer stickers for the speedometer... Canadian Tire seems to be the people doing that test. After all that you go to your AutoPlan agent and get BC papers! Simple!
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