mmartin061

Anyone in the United States buy their car in Canada? If so I am curious what measures have to be taken to get through customs. Just more knowledge I want to soak up just in case .

RCFC89

iTrader: (1)

You will save money up front because of the current exchange rate. The seller will need to get you a form from their local Lexus dealer stating the car is identical to the US model for emission purposes. . The downsides are the multiple taxes and fees at the border, expense of changing out the gauge cluster and dealing with getting the miles to match, lastly the terrible resale value of selling a Canadien car in the US market.

mmartin061

I heard %2.5 for fees. And I don't have emissions in my state. Why would you have to change out the cluster and get the miles to match? Not trying to sound argumentative. Just don't know these things. I am seeing in some aspects a comparable savings of 6k or so. And I never knew there was such a loss if it were to be resold.

xellos

I bought my 2010 from a Canadian dealership and they took care of most of the forms. They took care of the letter from Lexus saying that the vehicle was identical to the US version. As for other forms, there's the Entry summary form CBP 7501, NHTSA Declaration form HS-7, and EPA declaration form 3520-1. This was all taken care of by the dealership and the shipping company. When they were shipping the car, it got held up for a few days in the US to await USDOT clearance as well. The border crossing fee is 2.5% of whatever you bought it for, which isn't too bad. As for swapping the cluster, I believe most states allow you to get your odometer read in kilometers now, so it's not a big deal.

The shipping fee is what's probably gonna to eat up most of whatever savings you get from the exchange rate. If you can do all the forms and drive it yourself, then that's probably best.

mmartin061

Ya that's what I was thinking. I have seen a couple dealerships that will fly you in on their dime. Well there goes my fee for having to get there. Then I would just have to have all my paperwork in line at the boarder I suppose. Think I may take a drive to the boarder since for me it is only 2 hours away and see all what needs to be done. That would be the best way to know what to expect. Ask the people there.

newgsman

iTrader: (4)

My Canadian 2012 can switch between MPH and KPH if I hold the odometer button down for a couple of seconds. I presume this would be for all 2011+ models having the digital speedo read out. The odometer reading also switches to miles. You can switch back and forth any time you want.

mikersoft

iTrader: (1)

OP, are you looking for an IS-F in Canada? Didn't you just sell your red one like two weeks ago??

-Mike

tas02

iTrader: (2)

Check with your state's DMV, as that's where you'll be registering the vehicle.

knshro13

iTrader: (4)

Yeah I thought you had a red one?..

mmartin061

Yes I did and I am kicking myself for it lol. I am paying off the house now and down the road I will be looking in Canada if it makes sense. But their dollar has to drop more for me to even consider it.

mmartin061

Hell out of all the simple answers I never thought of just going there. I am sure they would have all the necessary paperwork. Well hopefully.