[ibrandon]

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions regarding importing my 2007 BMW X3 to Toronto, Ontario, Canada and was hoping someone could help me out and/or point me in the right direction.

I have a good friend who lives in Waterloo during the weekdays and Toronto on weekends as she comes back and visits her mom. I plan on giving her my X3 for her to drive and also for me having a car there to drive around when I come visit.

The car is fully paid off, no warranty left, and the title is in my name. I currently have U.S. State Farm insurance (full coverage) on the car. I will be driving the car up there myself.

Now my questions are what options, insurance wise, do i have for me and her to be insured in Canada?? Also whats the average price you guys are paying for roughly for full coverage?

To register in Canada, will i need to put her name on my title along side with me?? I have gone thru the IMPORT Sticky forum and understand i will need a Vehicle Service warranty letter and do not need a Recall letter.

When crossing the boarder, is it mandatory to immediately provide them with a copy of my title and original BOS? Or can i go thru the process later when i arrive there in Toronto? The car was also purchased a few years ago.

What taxes will I have to pay on the car itself?? The purchase price or the depreciation price?? I think the X3 was built and manufactured in the U.S., so maybe i wont have to pay that tax, correct me if im wrong.

Thanks for your help!

-Brandon-

[airwave808]

You have several options depending on how want to proceed.

A. If the car is going to be registered on your name and in the US it is registered to your name then you need to create a Bill of Sale and transfer the US title to her before exporting. The requirement is to send original title to the border crossing 48 hours in advance

B. If you want to keep the car under your name then your best option is to drive across and not export it into Canada. Keep the US plates and State Farm Insurance which should cover you for Canada

C. Export the car under your name. In this case, you need to have some type of legal resident status in Canada. As the X3s are manufactured in NA, you won't pay duty on it but you will be liable for 13% sales tax when you register in Canada

I would go with option B by adding her name to your insurance as you will save a lot of money since you are not living in Canada and you don;t need to officially export. At any point, when yo decide to formally register it in Canada, just follow the process outlined in C.

[ibrandon]

Airwave,

Thanks for your reply! Greatly appreciated!

I would like to keep the car under my name and if its easy as adding her to my insurance, then that's the route I will need to go.

Really quick, do you know if insurance company's allow you to add anyone on your policy including foreigners?? Guess I will have to call them and find out.

Also, is there any duration or time restriction that the car can only be in Canada for so long at a time?? If she gets pulled over by the police will they give her lots of problems as to why she is driving a U.S. plated car??

I did some research and read that its a good idea for me to issue her a notary letter of possession stating that I gave her permission to drive and possess my vehicle while it is in Canada.

Thanks again for your help!