BC_MKV

Hi Guys,

I've been a member over at golfmkv.com for a while now (though I'm admittedly more of an Audi A4/S4 fan, I started with a GTI). I shared the information and helped a few people over there so I thought I'd do the same here.

Well, last February I picked up my GTI from the USA. Mint condition, low kms, all the options I wanted and..... $7,000 less than the ones in my province/province beside me!

The price I negotiated it down to (from Texas) was $15,000! lol... Of course, of course there is duty/taxes etc. The final price though sitting in my driveway was around $19,000CAD (and I had them ship up brand new winters as well as the summer tires).

The process took a while though and was frustrating even when looking online for help. Many people have the problem of wanting to import a car from the USA but not knowing where to start. I decided to solve the problem..

I spent about 2 months making the "Easy Guide to Importing". Breaking down the steps in a one-by-one fashion. If you guys wanna check it out and tell me what you think that'd be much appreciated! the word too if you know anyone who's been looking at doing it.

www.easyimporting.ca

Hope this helps to anyone who's been looking into it!

P.S. The Guide on the website is completely free! There is an option to buy the complete kit (more vid tutorials, tips, secrets, etc) but the guide is offered free to everyone

robbie_boy

Where is the best place to look for cars to be imported? Websites? dealers?

LR Audi

You can deal with automotive brokers who can/will import almost anything legal on Canadian roads, but be prepared to spend a tremendous amount of cash. I had a friend import a Nissan Skyline from Japan here to Vancouver. Everything from start to finish was expensive, but it was without hassles as the broker did all the homework, paperwork and even visited Japan to personally inspect the car. Depending on the vehicle make/model and the original country of origin, the vehicle my have to do through certain stages in order to make it legal for Canadian roads. Usually Asian/European imports require a lot more than US imports.

Thanks for the importing info, I might need it if I ever decide to purchase a US RS6.

Rkngel

Hello Rob- I am going through the same process right nowand have found several sites that are very helpful, in some very different ways:

cars.com - You can search by zip code or city, and a radius range from that location, by new/used, make, model, price, mileage, year, style, body type, exterior colour, drivetrain, transmission, listing time, the number of photos, if the listing posts a free Carfax report. The neat thing about cars.com is that you can narrow down your search using these options as filters and come up with some pretty exacting results.

automotive.com is similar to cars.com but not as detailed and versatile.

autotrader.ca in Canada, or autotrader.com in the US, is better than automotive .com, and IMHO almost as good as cars.com.

carsoup.com is right in there with autotrader.com.

cargurus.com has a few interesting details that I have not seen anywhere else before. They have a price comparison system to provide you with a "Deal Rating", based on the asking price vs the average market value of that same vehicle with similar mileage. They also have a "Leverage" indicator that shows how long the car has been on the market, as well as a "Price History" which shows what the seller has done to the asking price, while it has been on the market.

carsforsale.com is solidly in the middle of the pack of decent web sites. They have lots of listings, mainly from used car dealers, and their details are decent.

everycarlisted.com has lots of advertising...

Last but not least is craigslist.com. Craigslist has a very large databank of items to look through, and a lot of private people sell their cars on Craigslist. The problem that I have, is trying to find an appropriate city to look in! On any of the other websites, I can select a city or zip code, and a distance radius around that area (or "ALL Areas" for the whole USA), but on Craigslist, I am limited to a specific city or county at best.

I know I have provided a lot of unsolicited editorial comment, but if you find it useful, great. You're welcome. If not, throw it out with the rest of the spam.

Happy hunting...
MichaelP