Canadians buying used US sleds

[hivoltagesledhead]

Hello everyone,

I am thinking about buying a sled I found on this forum. I am in BC and the sled is in th US. What is the best way to get the sled over the border without incurring any extra costs ie:duty,taxes and customs.

I figure if I can get him to cross the border with it and pay him cash in $US,then I dont get dinged at the border coming back with it. If I dont register the sled,then I dont pay our stupid 7% GST. Not sure what kind of customs or duty charges there would be. Obviously, I dont want the seller to take great risks either,just dont want to overspend on US sleds.If I buy it in the US and cross the botder,I will have to pay a lot of extra money,so I have heard. Also,I need a passport now to drive over the border....what a pain in the arse.

Would appreciate any input from someone who knows what the facts are.

THX

 

[ChickenMan]

check the sticky about 3 posts up. Lots of info in there

 

[hivoltagesledhead]

I read that post,but I get the feeling these people are buyimg new machines. I still think it is better if the seller brings the sled over the border. Bill of sale,pay him cash,no registration or ins.,done deal.

 

[Trenchmaster]

I bought a new unused sled from a guy on this forum and payed the extra costs to import it. If you do the deal as you suggest it would be like owning a hot sled, if your comfortable with this go ahead. The amount you will save will be about 3 or 4 hundred bucks.

 

[hivoltagesledhead]

hardly seems worth it for 300-400 bucks

 

[chris79]

I bought a used sled from montana and it is very easy. The paper work takes about 25min to do and then its just a matter of faxing it to the proper border crossing 72 hours befor you bring it across. The cost is 204 bucks you pay on line after you get the sled home wich allows you to register your sled.this fee gets you the inspection at canadian tire You will have to pay the gst as well and that is payed when you cross. We have brought 3 sleds across in the last two years and never had to pay any duty. There is a web site that you can print all the forms and instructions for doing the paperwork. Phone you closest border crossing tell them what you are doing and they will tell yiu the web site adress. If you don't import the sled the right way it will be fine in canada but if you take it back to the us to do some riding and they check you coming back into canada without it properly imported things will get interesting and not in a good way. Just my experiance.

 

[94fordguy]

Hello everyone,

I am thinking about buying a sled I found on this forum. I am in BC and the sled is in th US. What is the best way to get the sled over the border without incurring any extra costs ie:duty,taxes and customs.

I figure if I can get him to cross the border with it and pay him cash in $US,then I dont get dinged at the border coming back with it. If I dont register the sled,then I dont pay our stupid 7% GST. Not sure what kind of customs or duty charges there would be. Obviously, I dont want the seller to take great risks either,just dont want to overspend on US sleds.If I buy it in the US and cross the botder,I will have to pay a lot of extra money,so I have heard. Also,I need a passport now to drive over the border....what a pain in the arse.

Would appreciate any input from someone who knows what the facts are.

THX

If it was myself personally, I would NEVER sell a sled to somebody who was not going to register it in their own name!!! Reason being, if the sled is involved in an accident, found in wilderness, or any other type of crime, intentional or not, the ownership and responsibility would be traced back to the last person who registered it, in your case, the seller...


Something to think about, but trying to save some money in the short run could cause both parties a lot of potential headaches if something was to happen

My $.02 Take it as you will

 

[knee deep in it]

i have personal experience in doing it the wrong way. What I found is that my ability to lie is about 5 out of 10. Their ability to tell when people are lieing is about 10 out of 10.

It ain't worth it. Pay the taxes, do the right paperwork.

 

[Gromit]

Customs officers also read this thread. They can make your life miserable if either the buyer or seller gets caught at the border trying to pull a fast one. If they choose, they cam confiscate your vehicle and sled, levy a nasty fine as well as the GST. They won't release your stuff until the fine is paid. They usually don't take credit cards or cheques so unless you have a pocket full of cash, you're stuck.

And GST is 5% not 7%. Trying to save a few hundred bucks in GST and import fees isn't worth it.

 

[Trukker]

If your not willing to go through the motions than don't bother.If the deal doesn't justify you spending a few hundy then the concequences are greater than you could imagine.Trust me I do it every day.

 

[hivoltagesledhead]

Good points made by all...i spent several hours reading all of the material on different posts and since it is only GST and 205 for paperwork, it is better to do it right.

Thanks for all of the convincing arguements !!! I really do appreciate it.

 

[KFD070]

I just finished doing all the research as I too was looking at buying a sled from a guy in Washington. In the end after all the fees I decided it just wasn't worth it. The purchase price of the sled that I had agreed on with the seller was $3700. That same sled in Canada would run around $5000 to $5500. Add in Exchange rate, right now is around 15%. Plus RIV fee $200. GST 5%. Recall clearance letter.You cannot get these free on line and the dealer will charge anywhere from $85 to $200 to get it done. If you plan on registering the sled you have to take it to Canadian Tire to get it certified before you can register it in Canada. Canadian Tire charges, (I believe the guy said) $265 to do a certification check. Cost of fuel to go pick up the sled. You'll likely be doing that with an SUV and trailer or pick-up truck(Gas Hog) so depending on your proximity to where the sled is this could run you at least $200 for fuel. All in you're looking at around another $1200 to $1500. You know it's never gonna be the cheaper route so add $1500 to $3700 and now it's $5200. I felt it really wasn't worth it.
Go to RIV.ca and also phone Canadian Tire to confirm their price to do the certification. Call the local dealer of the brand of sled you're considering and ask what they charge or how you get a recall clearance letter for that brand of sled. Should you decide to do it ...do it right. Don't try to cheat because they will catch you. Good Luck!

 

[bigbird]

I just finished doing all the research as I too was looking at buying a sled from a guy in Washington. In the end after all the fees I decided it just wasn't worth it. The purchase price of the sled that I had agreed on with the seller was $3700. That same sled in Canada would run around $5000 to $5500. Add in Exchange rate, right now is around 15%. Plus RIV fee $200. GST 5%. Recall clearance letter.You cannot get these free on line and the dealer will charge anywhere from $85 to $200 to get it done. If you plan on registering the sled you have to take it to Canadian Tire to get it certified before you can register it in Canada. Canadian Tire charges, (I believe the guy said) $265 to do a certification check. Cost of fuel to go pick up the sled. You'll likely be doing that with an SUV and trailer or pick-up truck(Gas Hog) so depending on your proximity to where the sled is this could run you at least $200 for fuel. All in you're looking at around another $1200 to $1500. You know it's never gonna be the cheaper route so add $1500 to $3700 and now it's $5200. I felt it really wasn't worth it.
Go to RIV.ca and also phone Canadian Tire to confirm their price to do the certification. Call the local dealer of the brand of sled you're considering and ask what they charge or how you get a recall clearance letter for that brand of sled. Should you decide to do it ...do it right. Don't try to cheat because they will catch you. Good Luck!

Just to clarify a couple things. If you get the seller to get the recall letter there is no charge, also Canadian Tire doesn't charge anything. That's included in the RIV fee. We have imported a number of vehicles and sleds and the problem with sleds is, unless you buy multiple machines to spread out your travel costs it's usually not worth it.

 

[KFD070]

Just to clarify a couple things. If you get the seller to get the recall letter there is no charge, also Canadian Tire doesn't charge anything. That's included in the RIV fee. We have imported a number of vehicles and sleds and the problem with sleds is, unless you buy multiple machines to spread out your travel costs it's usually not worth it.

There ya go. I learn more every time I address this issue. Neither one of those points were clarified for me by the dealer or by Canuck Tire. Good to know. I still think it has to be one heck of a screamin deal and relatively close to home, proximity, wise to make it worth while. Cdn dollar is not in the best shape to do it right now either. Look for that Summer bargain right now at home in Canada and be patient. I managed to find a 2007 Ski Doo 600 Ho SDI with new clutches, pistons and crank, higher end rebuildable shocks extrovert drivers and new hyfax for $4800cdn. Only 20 miles from my house. Relatively comparable to US pricing that I'm seeing advertised right now. Good Luck shopping.

 

[captjacksparrow]

Snowmobiles don't have to be exported anymore. The US border doesn't even want to know your buying one. The last time I bought a sled from the US the Canadian side didn't believe me that I didn't have to export it so they phoned the US side and said "well you learn something new everyday" lol. Quads still have to be exported but sleds and trailers don't. You can just just import when you hit the border. I have never payed for a recall letter yet. I've imported 6 vehicles so far and they just fax them to me.

 

[KFD070]

Snowmobiles don't have to be exported anymore. The US border doesn't even want to know your buying one. The last time I bought a sled from the US the Canadian side didn't believe me that I didn't have to export it so they phoned the US side and said "well you learn something new everyday" lol. Quads still have to be exported but sleds and trailers don't. You can just just import when you hit the border. I have never payed for a recall letter yet. I've imported 6 vehicles so far and they just fax them to me.

Are you trying to say that there are no longer hoops to jump through to get a sled across to Canada from the US??????? NO more RIV fee. NO GST. NO requiring a recall clearance letter. No copy of the ad, presentation of title or registration.? Etc, Etc. You just drive across? If so when did this come into play and where is it documented? I was just on the phone with the US border customs people last month and they didn't mention any changes to the importing of vehicles process? As for the recall clearance letter my buddy had his Harley stuck at the border for days while he tracked down a recall letter from the manufacturer. Maybe depends on when the dude/dudette at the border crossing last got some at home!

 

[GKR]

I believe what he is saying is that you don't have to do the US Export portion anymore. That is the 72 hour notice to US Customs and the stop at the US side to do the official "Exported" part. The Canadian side with the RIV fee, the GST, copy of the sellers ad, the recall letter, the inspection, etc. is all still in place. Don't be intimidated by this tho, it's all really quite simple. Bargain on exchange rate, 5% GST on the CDN dollar price, the $209 RIV fee, being the only costs to do this (plus transport costs of course) I think the posts above are correct, Canadian Tire does the federal inspection for free.
Cheers,
Gary

 

[Jaynelson]

Hello everyone,

I am thinking about buying a sled I found on this forum. I am in BC and the sled is in th US. What is the best way to get the sled over the border without incurring any extra costs ie:duty,taxes and customs.

I figure if I can get him to cross the border with it and pay him cash in $US,then I dont get dinged at the border coming back with it. If I dont register the sled,then I dont pay our stupid 7% GST. Not sure what kind of customs or duty charges there would be. Obviously, I dont want the seller to take great risks either,just dont want to overspend on US sleds.If I buy it in the US and cross the botder,I will have to pay a lot of extra money,so I have heard. Also,I need a passport now to drive over the border....what a pain in the arse.

Would appreciate any input from someone who knows what the facts are.

THX

Sounds like a great way to do it if you're both down with smuggling and tax evasion....just don't get caught, or you'll have wasted $X,XXX and your new sled will be spending the winter in impound.

If you don't have a passport, and don't know the import/export procedure, I would highly reccomend just buying a Canadian sled or a US one that's already been imported by someone who know what they're doing....HIGHLY recomend. You are in prime position to get completely screwed.

 

[ScubaSteveSK]

I totally agree with 94fordguy. Stick it to the man, but not in this situation.

You can end up in a situation that is NOT worth the $600 bucks in taxes + RIV. Border guards are very cunning when it comes to investigating these things online and there is no limit to what they can access on the internet including your email and personal accounts.

 

[lightening800]

im picking one up this weekend from the us and there is still the import procedure to go through, only they are not as busy now, they need a little time to make sure there is no leins, stolen, etc on the sled your buying. I personally like travelling so i dont intend to p$ss anyone off at the border.