Trading in a Canadian Car to Purchase a US car

[pony1076 0]

On the weekend I went to a dealership looking to buy a new car. I plan on trading in my Canadian car as part of the deal. The salesman offered me an amount for the car, which I considered reasonable. He then called me back today and said they could only give me 1/2 of that amount because Canada does not have the same safety and emission standards that the USA has. Has anyone ever come across this ? Am I going to have problems trying to sell my car here because it is in Kilometers ?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated !!

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Did you check that you could even import your car first? Some cars are not importable.

[Nolabound 3]

you need to call the company of your car make and ask for a letter stating the it meets US standards for emissions. I had to do it for my truck for Toyota, all you do is give them your VIN # and they will send you a letter whether or not it meets standards for importing.

[Loki_Go 126]

Yes, you will have that problem trying to trade in your Canadian car.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Just my opinion - I would take what the dealer gives...they're doing you favor since trying to sell privately might be difficult.

[herestoUS 5]

I feel like that is a bunch of bull (from that dealer).. Its been a while but I for sure had to present paperwork coming into the USA for the car (as someone mentioned before, got it from the manufacturer). Also I think I might have had to present those papers when I went to register the car here in the USA. Often the same car gets sold here and in Canada with minor changes, so safety features should be the same .

One change that exists is the DRL (daytime running lights), but that is only usually an issue if you are bringing a US car to Canada, where you need to get DRL installed to comply with Canada's rules.

That said, it might not be desirable for the car to have KMH as the main measure on the speedo. I was lucky on my Canadian car, I had a analog speed reading but the cars computer could be switched to MPH without the numbers on the speedo needing to change or show dual mph/kmh. I wouldn't think it would half the value of the car though.

I did run into interesting financing issues, where they had to check my Candian history to finance me here in the USA.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Hopefully you can dig up those papers or contact the car company again and then go back to the dealer and call shenanigans

I feel like that is a bunch of bull (from that dealer).. Its been a while but I for sure had to present paperwork coming into the USA for the car (as someone mentioned before, got it from the manufacturer). Also I think I might have had to present those papers when I went to register the car here in the USA. Often the same car gets sold here and in Canada with minor changes, so safety features should be the same .

One change that exists is the DRL (daytime running lights), but that is only usually an issue if you are bringing a US car to Canada, where you need to get DRL installed to comply with Canada's rules.

That said, it might not be desirable for the car to have KMH as the main measure on the speedo. I was lucky on my Canadian car, I had a analog speed reading but the cars computer could be switched to MPH without the numbers on the speedo needing to change or show dual mph/kmh. I wouldn't think it would half the value of the car though.

I did run into interesting financing issues, where they had to check my Candian history to finance me here in the USA.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

The dealer ship wants to cover their back. They don't want to resale a car they aren't legally allowed to sell, and they're going to want to make sure it's 100% clear and good. Offering less money means they're worried, but at least they're out less money if they have to make the car to american standards.


While it may be a money loss, my fiance is selling his car up in canada before hand, then once he's here we're buying a cheaper used car. The car process seems like an unneeded stressor at this point.

Edited September 2, 2015 by Ash.1101

[AC&BS 23]

We tried the "sell it in Canada route" but you take a bath because you need to sell in a short period of time and then you take a bath on the exchange rate. Really limited what we could get here. We decided that we would bring the car and run it into the ground.

As for the dealer, I'd be looking for another one or maybe consider selling privately. Even though that is definitely a pain in the backside. They have no reason to be gun shy of the car and they are just using it as an excuse to change the quoted price.

I don't think the trials related to imigratin ever end.

Good luck.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

Yeah we're aware we're taking a bath with the exhange rate, luckily though my fiance can just sell the car back from the dealer ship he bought it at a year ago with out losing out on too much.

And yeah, they really don't end. We're trying to prepare to avoid as much as possible, even if it means eating some of the cost.

[carocaro 22]

you need to call the company of your car make and ask for a letter stating the it meets US standards for emissions. I had to do it for my truck for Toyota, all you do is give them your VIN # and they will send you a letter whether or not it meets standards for importing.

I sold mine here no problem -- just as writer posted above. Contact the auto manufacturer and give them the VIN # etc for the letter regarding importing. If the letter says all is good, you are set. If there are things you have to change, ie. updating panel display to show miles vs kms (it isn't enough to have it read digitally), you can have that done by the dealer before the sale, or calculate it into it the sale. I think I had to spend $1000 to have that panel changed on my vehicle before I could even have it plated/registered here as it didn't display both.

Anyhow, do some homework on your own before you're snowed by the dealer.

Caro

[Loki_Go 126]

It's not BS- if your car doesn't pass the clearance to be able to be imported the dealer has to make the changes at an authorized OEM dealer. My car failed because it doesn't have a passenger side air bag, and in order to retrofit one in it's not worth the cost. If there's something like that going on with your car, perhaps that's why the dealer lowered the offer.

I imagine the dealer trying to sell a Canadian car in the US would be a hassle too.

[VeeNDee 44]

So I'm curious - my 2005 Toyota Matrix was imported legally by me when I entered on a K1 visa status. At some point in the next year or two we are thinking of trading it in for a minivan (coz, 2 kids now exist that didn't before hehe). However I'm worried I'm going to get a lowball offer or outright refusal for trade in like the original poster. I had the letter at import using the VIN that showed it met all the US emission standards etc. It said there was a minor issue that the odometer was in kilometers (which has been an annoyance at maintenance because they insist in recording that as miles and giving me the wrong recommended checkups even AFTER I convert it to miles for them - they just read off the kilometers). My speedometer has both kph and mph although kph is prominent. Neither of these was an issue for importation though. Do you think we are going to have serious issues trying to trade in? Or even sell privately - how much do people care? I'd love to run it into the ground but we need a bigger vehicle sooner and frankly my husband's car is much better than mine and we'd rather keep that for him to go to work in. Any tips? I wonder if I can find that letter back in my giant stack of immigration paperwork or request a new one.

[pony1076 0]

Thank you so very much for all of the great information. When I moved here, I imported my car and I have an American titie for it. I also have the letter from the Canadian CM saying that my car does meet the US emission standards. Maybe it will help if I have the speedometer changed to miles per hour. Definintely the 1st Dealership will not get our business, Canada has higher Emission Standards and I have lost all trust in his salesmanship and his tacticcs.

[Flames9_RN 358]

I detest car salesman. They look for any small issue to take $$$ off a trade in! When I moved from Saskatchewan to BC many years ago, they gave me the excuse it was an out of province car and gave me a really low value on the trade in...so I walked....... And the same thing years later (different car) when I was looking to sell/trade my car bought in Manitoba, selling in Nova Scotia!