Bring US tractors to Canada

[project_X]

Hi All,
Why are more Canadians not bring tractors from the US in to Canada? It seems to me that there is a large discrepancy in pricing between the two, and the duty (for a foreign origin tractor is negligible (Japan ~6.1%). For example a "Turf Special" B7510 is ~$10.3kUS=$13200CDN (with the 6.1% duty). This is an advertised price compared to the Canadian advertised price of $14500CDN+mower+freight..... a significant savings. Besides possible warranty issues, is there any other reason not to do this?

Thanks,
Rob

 

[ByronBob]

To ship product to Canada from the US you need special paperwork. I would imagine the cost of running paperwork and hassle into the equation ruins the deal you might get.

As the dollar looses ground to the Canadian I'm sure it will continue to look more attractive

 

[project_X]

the paperwork for a canadian is negligible. You need to contact US Customs, to let them know that you are taking vehicle out of the country. Contact the Registrar in Canada with the VIN to ensure that you are able to bring that model in ( not really a problem for a new tractor). Go to the border with you tractor, pay the applicable duty (6.1% for a japanese built tractor, 0% for a US built tractor) and pay the applicable PST and GST.

Simple as that. I have done a bit of work so far, the savings on a B7510 with mower and loader amounts to over $4500CDN or approx. 25% after everything is paid ( and that includes paying 7.25% to the state of New York during the purchase).

 

[Luremaker]

Rob. Last summer I came close to going to the USA and bringing back a tractor. It is very easy to do. You must have the original bill of sale and either the NAFTA certificate or proof of place of manufacture. Have seperate invocies for each part (tractor/loader/decks as some are manufactured in Japan and others in the USA or Europe or even Canada. Each country has a different of duty/excise tax. All taxes GST/PST/HST plus duties are due at the border by cash or certified cheque. The entire process should take no more than half an hour if all paperwork is in order. Make a practice (without tractor) run at customs to get the prodecure down pat and ask all you questions.

Kubota Canada will look at your new tractor as grey market and you will not get a Canadian warrante nor any dealer support for any problems. Some dealers may not want to service it if they run the serial number. Call Kubota and ask to speak with the inside sales manager for your district and tell him what you are thinking od doing and you just might find a discounted tractor at a dealer near you.

When I was thinking of importing a tractor I figured that I could save $2000-$3000 for one days work. WOW! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I shopped around a long time, got prices from every dealer I could find, and finally found a large dealer that did better than many USA dealers. He droped his price by almost $5000 Cdn on the L3130 package that I now have delivered to my door. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[slowzuki]

I recently bought a US L5030 HSTC. We saved approximately 10,000 $ Canadian over the equivalent used Canadian model. It is large enough to be 0% duty (Japan origin has no duty on tractors for agricultural use, the category goes right down to 15 hp or something like that)

I filled out the B-3 coding before hand, had receipt. You pay GST at the border and be on your way. Of course we do have a commercial importer account (took an hour to set up) and we are a registered farm so we get our GST back. Took 10 minutes at the border. Oh and 100$ excise tax on the AC!

It has 6 mo of powertrain warrantee left at the US dealer so if something major goes I will haul. The local dealer I just told I bought private sale out of province so he isn't so cold to me at the parts counter. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

What is it missing compared to Canadian model? Well a spin through the parts book shows Canadian models have the rear defrost and wiper standard. So it had defrost already added by previous owner, I got a wiper kit for 150$. Anything else? Nope all the other parts are the same.

I think the Intellipanel setup program will let you program KM/H to come up first instead of MPH if you get the setup manual. Wish I had that... have to push the button twice! Not bad for 10K though.

 

[schole]

Great ideas. Luremaker, I followed your line of thinking and ended up purchasing the dealer, so-to-speak. I did pay more for the unit, but hopefully purchased some good-will and service (L3400DT).

Now a 10k savings....wow....I think I'd make my own warranty for that...


Shawn

 

[boustany]

Agreed. I've bought a number of big ticket items in the US recently, and the only trade off is warranty vs. savings less transport costs (GST, etc., you pay anyway).

A lot of Canadian dealers are using stupid exchange rates like $1.60, and they hold to them even if you tell them you'll buy in the US! Apparently, they've never heard of the Internet or a telephone!

Warranty has a value like anything else. There is no reason to be screwed for buying local.

 

[Luremaker]

When I purchased my tractor the Canadian dollar was around $0.72-.$073 to the US dollar. Now it seems to be around $.080-$0.83 to the US dollar. It just might be time to start a grey market dealership in Canada. Go south buy cheap tractors and sell them in Canada at a discount and make a profit at the same time. A few years back when the Canadian dollar was $0.60 to the US dollar it most likely could have been profitable for Americans to purchase their tractors here and import them back into the USA.

 

[boustany]

Apparently, most of the used equipment sold in Canada at that time, like my Case 580C, was immediately shipped to the US.

 

[slowzuki]

Yup, our area was drained of good used tractors when the dollar was teh other way.