I'm considering buying a car in the US and importing it into Canada due to favourable exchange rates at the moment. I have a couple of questions that maybe some/one of you guys could answer for me. I don't know if it varies from State to State, but is there tax on purchasing a *used* vehicle? and also, has anyone used Carfax? does it give you a good background check on the vehicle in question? I'm also wondering if people who live *out of state* would get any taxes back on the purchase of a new vehicle or one purchased from a dealer.

Tax on used vehicles is paid when registering the title (actually it's there on new cars too, but the dealer includes it in the "tax, tags, and delivery" fee). I own a "parts car" which I've never titled, so I've never paid tax on it.

Carfax can only tell you if the car's been involved in something which an insurance company has reported on. It can't tell you the service record or anything like that.

The best thing you can have when buying a used car, is someone to take with you that knows a lot about cars.

Thanks, Chris. I'm getting a couple of friends here who've brought cars/boats up from the States, to check some things out for me. I just don't want to get dinged with paying tax more than once on the same vehicle.

Hey Adrian,

Carfax is still a good idea IMHO unless you know someone who has an account who can do it for you, even better. It's information may be limited but when it does come up with an accident report or something that the current owner claims not to know about, it is certainly better than not having that info.

When I was truck shopping recently, it saved me a few trips, both short and lengthy, to look at trucks that I might otherwise have been wasting my time with.

Also, along with the duty at the border and the tax when you register it, as per above, there is also a 90ish dollar fee to have an inspection done that certifies it has all it's correct paperwork and VIN plating intact. The importer is supposed to have that done before he registers it to keep or sell.

Just certain car dealerships will be licensed to do these inspections. Also Canadian Tire could do it, at least in some areas. There may be others.

I believe you are talking about the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) .

That would be it. Make sure your returning vehicle has both VIN plates and that they can read the one on the door clearly, GVW and stuff. They check that stuff at the border too, as they do for the RIV.

I never bought directly from the US myself but had a bad experience with a dealer who did. It all worked out for the better in the end but I learned some lessons during the experience.