Thursday, April 29, 2010

Ontario Trip Permits

How to apply for an Ontario Trip Permit

If you are importing a vehicle from the United States into Ontario, you will require an Ontario Trip Permit once you are back in Canada and ready to operate your vehicle to complete Federal and Provincial Inspections.

Use this link http://www.forms.ssb.gov.on.ca/mbs/ssb/forms/ssbforms.nsf/GetAttachDocs/023-SR-LV-054~2/$File/SR-LV-54.pdf to access the application form for a 10-day trip permit.

The US trip permit is only valid until you are back at home and parked in your driveway.

For more information on how to successfully import a vehicle from the US into Canada visit UCanImport.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Vehicle Imports from the US Continue Upwards

Strong Loonie Drives Canadians South

The North American Automobile Trade Association reports that imports have jumped in the first quarter of 2010 with Canadians importing a total of 36,272 vehicles under the RIV program. GM and Ford vehicles led the pack with Toyota, Chrysler, Honda and Volkswagen rounding out the top 6.

If the strong dollar has you comparing vehicle prices, join the thousands of Canadians who have opted to purchase in the US and save.

Recent articles of interest: Globe & Mail and MSN Money make a good case for comparison shopping.

Still not convinced? Well, Cars Without Borders, a consumer advocacy group leading the campaign for fair prices for Canadians, has a few eye-opening examples of how Canadians continue to get duped by the manufacturers.

And if you have already imported your vehicle and had to pay manufacturer fees for recall letters and other non-Transport Canada required modifications, read about the class action law suit at http://autolawsuit.blogspot.com/

UCanImport encourages you to learn about the price differential between vehicles available in Canada and the US and to exercise your legal right to do what's best for your budget.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Nissan Voids Warranty on Brand New Vehicle Purchases

Vehicle Must Be Registered in US for Warranty Transfer

If you are thinking of importing a Nissan vehicle from the US, note the following:

1. If you purchase the vehicle brand new in the US, you MUST register it in the US, before you import it to Canada. When you import it to Canada, you are restricted from selling the vehicle for 6 months. If you sell the vehicle within 6 months, the new buyer will not get the warranty.

2. If you decide to purchase a pre-owned vehicle in the US, the vehicle must have been owned and operated for 6 months in the US. If the vehicle is pre-owned, but not owned and operated for a minimum of 6 months, the warranty will be void when the vehicle enters Canada. There is no delayed warranty activation. So, if the vehicle was owned and operated for 5 months, and you import it to Canada, Nissan will void the warranty. If the vehicle is pre-owned, and has been owned and operated for 6 months, the warranty will transfer over to Canada.

If importing a brand new vehicle that you have registered in the US or a pre-owned vehicle that has been owned and operated for a minimum of 6 months, be sure to call Nissan North America at 1-800-387-0122 to register the vehicle and hold on to any remaining warranty.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Recall Clearance for Audi Vehicles

If you are importing an Audi vehicle from the US into Canada, you will need to know if there are any recalls outstanding on your vehicle.

There are several ways to obtain this information, and we believe the first 2 are the most efficient:

1. If you are purchasing the vehicle from an Audi dealership, ask them to print off the dealer internal system report. This is usually 2-pages long.

2. If you are purchasing the vehicle from a private seller or a non-Audi dealership, visit the Audi website at http://www.audiusa.com/us/brand/en/owners/main/recalls_campaigns/vin_lookup.html and type in the VIN number for your vehicle.

3. The final way you can complete this step is by using the guidance we provided in an earlier blog posting at http://ucanimport.blogspot.com/2007/11/importing-audi-from-us-request-recall.html

We wish all importers good luck on their purchases!