Sponsored

Buying in Canada and importing to USA - big savings, no warranty

fixbroke

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2018
Threads
12
Messages
62
Reaction score
38
Location
Canada/California
Vehicle(s)
.
I've been doing a little research lately on the possibility of buying in Canada to take advantage of the much better pricing, then importing into the USA. If anyone else is thinking of doing the same, here's a quick and dirty synopsis of my findings so far.

  • Since the build/price tool for JT isn't live on jeep.ca yet, I priced a JLUR with the options I'm likely to pick for my JT. My USA build came to $49,015, whereas my Canada build (converted to US dollars) came to $41,742. That's $7273 in savings, assuming MSRP is the actual price paid. 15% cheaper!!!
  • Buying in Canada, you do have to pay the federal sales tax of 5%, but the provincial sales tax can be avoided if the proper forms are filled out to declare that the vehicle is being exported. Many states will deduct tax paid to foreign jurisdictions from their own tax rate, so you'll essentially get your 5% tax back when you register in your state.
  • The warranty is the snag. To have an FCA Canada warranty transferred to the USA, you must be a Canadian citizen, you must have registered and owned the vehicle in Canada for at least six months, and you must provide proof of permanent relocation to the USA (visa, job offer, etc).
I'm a Canadian living in the USA, so this is an appealing option for me. The warranty becomes an issue, but it may be worth registering it in Canada and driving on Canadian plates for six months before doing the importation.

It may even be worth doing and kissing your warranty goodbye. Let's say you completely blow up your engine or transmission. What's that worth? Maybe $5000? You could even ship it back to Canada to have the warranty work done, if needed.

I'm not sure if Canadian dealers are as flexible with prices as USA dealers. If Canadian dealers can't get below MSRP (or somewhere near those 7+% below invoice American dealers' deals on JLs), it might not end up being that much different.
Sponsored

 

Karl_in_Chicago

Active Member
First Name
Karl
Joined
Nov 4, 2017
Threads
4
Messages
28
Reaction score
29
Location
Chicago
Vehicle(s)
Acura RL, Chevrolet Corvette, Harley-Davidson FLHTC Electra-Glide Classic
I'm not sure I follow your math. Yes, the exchange rate makes an apples to apples comparison very attractive but Jeep charges considerably more north of the border. While there may not be JT pricing available on the Canadian Jeep site there is for the JL and if you compare, say, two JLU Rubicons the base on the Canadian model is roughly $10K higher (~$50K) than the US model (~$41K). Like any company dealing with international sales Jeep is going to price their products as needed to adjust for currency variations, they aren't going to eat it. Assuming the savings are actually there I'd definitely pursue the register it in Canada for 6 months then move it to the US to get the warranty. No way I'm buying a $50K anything without a warranty, but that's me being me - risk-averse.
 

JTRUBI

Well-Known Member
First Name
Chris
Joined
Nov 10, 2018
Threads
55
Messages
847
Reaction score
1,466
Location
Toronto
Vehicle(s)
Jk rubicon
Build Thread
Link
I've been doing a little research lately on the possibility of buying in Canada to take advantage of the much better pricing, then importing into the USA. If anyone else is thinking of doing the same, here's a quick and dirty synopsis of my findings so far.

  • Since the build/price tool for JT isn't live on jeep.ca yet, I priced a JLUR with the options I'm likely to pick for my JT. My USA build came to $49,015, whereas my Canada build (converted to US dollars) came to $41,742. That's $7273 in savings, assuming MSRP is the actual price paid. 15% cheaper!!!
  • Buying in Canada, you do have to pay the federal sales tax of 5%, but the provincial sales tax can be avoided if the proper forms are filled out to declare that the vehicle is being exported. Many states will deduct tax paid to foreign jurisdictions from their own tax rate, so you'll essentially get your 5% tax back when you register in your state.
  • The warranty is the snag. To have an FCA Canada warranty transferred to the USA, you must be a Canadian citizen, you must have registered and owned the vehicle in Canada for at least six months, and you must provide proof of permanent relocation to the USA (visa, job offer, etc).
I'm a Canadian living in the USA, so this is an appealing option for me. The warranty becomes an issue, but it may be worth registering it in Canada and driving on Canadian plates for six months before doing the importation.

It may even be worth doing and kissing your warranty goodbye. Let's say you completely blow up your engine or transmission. What's that worth? Maybe $5000? You could even ship it back to Canada to have the warranty work done, if needed.

I'm not sure if Canadian dealers are as flexible with prices as USA dealers. If Canadian dealers can't get below MSRP (or somewhere near those 7+% below invoice American dealers' deals on JLs), it might not end up being that much different.

If you fill the forums out to avoid the tax then you loose the warranty. If you don’t then you pay the tax.


I’d say test it out and see, spending your money in Canada helps our economy so no issue with that lol
 

JTRUBI

Well-Known Member
First Name
Chris
Joined
Nov 10, 2018
Threads
55
Messages
847
Reaction score
1,466
Location
Toronto
Vehicle(s)
Jk rubicon
Build Thread
Link
I'm not sure I follow your math. Yes, the exchange rate makes an apples to apples comparison very attractive but Jeep charges considerably more north of the border. While there may not be JT pricing available on the Canadian Jeep site there is for the JL and if you compare, say, two JLU Rubicons the base on the Canadian model is roughly $10K higher (~$50K) than the US model (~$41K). Like any company dealing with international sales Jeep is going to price their products as needed to adjust for currency variations, they aren't going to eat it. Assuming the savings are actually there I'd definitely pursue the register it in Canada for 6 months then move it to the US to get the warranty. No way I'm buying a $50K anything without a warranty, but that's me being me - risk-averse.

Yes the price is higher when you look at it but the conversion is even greater than the price difference. It gets even greater when you factor in the options. Just simply go to the Canadian site and US site. Build two indentical Jeeps and then convert the pricing. You’ll be surprised.

But it’s not just Jeep. It’s basically every new car sold right now. Canada’s low dollar has caused strong buying power for Americans in Canada. Basically if you want it to be equal, come to Canada, spend your money and our economy gets better. Lol
 
OP
OP
fixbroke

fixbroke

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2018
Threads
12
Messages
62
Reaction score
38
Location
Canada/California
Vehicle(s)
.
If you fill the forums out to avoid the tax then you loose the warranty. If you don’t then you pay the tax.
Interesting. Is this something you have personal experience with? Does the Canadian warranty completely fizzle away to nothing when the tax forms are signed, or is it still possible to bring the vehicle back to Canada for major warranty work, as I suggested in my post?
 

Sponsored

Karl_in_Chicago

Active Member
First Name
Karl
Joined
Nov 4, 2017
Threads
4
Messages
28
Reaction score
29
Location
Chicago
Vehicle(s)
Acura RL, Chevrolet Corvette, Harley-Davidson FLHTC Electra-Glide Classic
Yes the price is higher when you look at it but the conversion is even greater than the price difference. It gets even greater when you factor in the options. Just simply go to the Canadian site and US site. Build two indentical Jeeps and then convert the pricing. You’ll be surprised.

But it’s not just Jeep. It’s basically every new car sold right now. Canada’s low dollar has caused strong buying power for Americans in Canada. Basically if you want it to be equal, come to Canada, spend your money and our economy gets better. Lol
Oh yeah, back when I was actively fishing I bought most of my gear online from Canadian companies - saved a ton due to the exchange rate AND the gear was reasonably priced to begin with. I see your later post, I won't do the config myself, trust you've done it right. That's surprising. I'd still do whatever it took to have that warranty though. Good luck however you end up going.
 

CaliJK

Well-Known Member
First Name
Michael
Joined
Nov 29, 2018
Threads
3
Messages
70
Reaction score
49
Location
Ontario
Vehicle(s)
Ram 1500
Hey OP, it's a great idea in theory. I've never done it this way, but I have imported several used vehicles from the US to Canada, and looked in to buying new to import.

The biggest snag I found, was that no dealer would sell direct to export. So right off the bat you'd have to buy and register in Canada, which may cost you the tax right off the bat. I think once you did that, you'd be free to export, but lose the warranty.

I've seen people mention the cost of importing, having to change the vehicle to meet US regs. Again, bringing one in to Canada, only issue was the daytime lights, and some vehicles have things specific to them. Either way, every vehicle I brought in, cost me $150 at good Ole Canadian Tire. You don't have to change the instrument cluster at all, in fact I liked having the MPH instead of the same old boring KPH.

Again, if its worth the savings, and as you mentioned being a Canadian in the US, might be easy to buy and register here, before exporting. I know when dollar was par, we saved bunches on our 2 daily drivers, and my 08 JK. Thing was 6 months old, had just been modded beautifully, and was an awesome ride, all for the low price of $29G, couldn't get a brand new same model year for less than that. Loved that Jeep.

IMG-20120903-00409.jpg
 
OP
OP
fixbroke

fixbroke

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2018
Threads
12
Messages
62
Reaction score
38
Location
Canada/California
Vehicle(s)
.
A little more research:
Dealers in Canada won't offer below-invoice pricing, from what I've read. Best to hope for is around $500 over invoice.

With the following assumptions:
  • Canada build is ~14% cheaper than a USA build (still no pricing on jeep.ca)
  • Canadian invoice pricing is ~9.5% below MSRP (based on JL order guide)
  • 6% below invoice in USA
  • CAD$500 above invoice in Canada
...my JTR build works out to be around USD$5900 cheaper in Canada.
 
Last edited:

Willcofam

Member
First Name
Mike
Joined
Oct 11, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
8
Reaction score
6
Location
Los Angeles
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Sport
That's something I've never considered before. I've actually had an SJ shipped from Canada when it developed some mechanical issues and it really wasn't too expensive (highly recommend A1Auto Transport if anyone ever needs to do the same). It would certainly save some money & something I'll look into next time I'm looking to buy. Even with the required mods it seems quite a bit cheaper.
Sponsored

 
 



Top