Canadian Residents Buying Guide

  1. Select your vehicle from our website or through our Auto Finder Service.
  2. We can take the vehicle to a certified dealer of your choice for a pre-purchase inspection for your peace of mind.  We also have a specialist repair shop on site that has already inspected the vehicles and we can email or fax that report to you as well.  We also have the Carfax reports for all of the vehicles.
  3. Once you decide to purchase the vehicle, you give us a deposit to hold the vehicle and set a date to pick up the vehicle.
  4. We will send you a purchase order with the amount of the vehicle, the vin#, etc.
  5. You contact ICBC (www.icbc.com)  and get an insurance binder to have with you when you cross the border.
  6. Call the Bureau of Customs at 360-332-2632 obtain a form that they will fax to you.  Fill out this form 3-5 days before you pick up your car. (Not absolutely necessary, but this saves you time at the border.)
  7. Please bring certified funds.  We will give you the title, odometer disclosure, and a letter you will need stating that there are no open recalls on your vehicle.  We will also put a temporary permit on your car so you can drive it before you get B.C. plates.
  8. At the border, you will pay 6.1% of the purchase price in Duty at the border, as well as 7% GST.  You will check in with Canadian customs.  You will be through customs within 30 minutes.  Very easy process. 
  9. To register your vehicle, you must first go to a Canadian Tire for a Federal Vehicle Safety Inspection.  This costs approxiamately $90.  They just verify that your vehicle has features like daytime running lights and a way of determining your speed in km/hr.  YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE YOUR ODOMETER REPLACED TO READ KILOMETERS.
  10. Go to Licensing with your title, purchase order, recall letter, and safety inspection.  You will pay 7% GST and your car is now licensed in B.C. Your car is now officially Canadian! 

We have many B.C. clients who have bought their cars here and have found the process quite simple and painless.  We have been told over and over again that they saved quite a bit of money by getting the vehicle through our company, even with the duty and GST.  Besides saving money, their experience at buying a vehicle through our company was much more pleasant and stress-free than if they had gone to a dealer.