IMPORTING FROM USA

Used Vehicle Inquiry
Name: *

First

Last
.Phone Number: *
-
(###)
-
###

####
.Email: *

.Year: *

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 .Make: *

.Model: *

.Trim:
.Paying: *

Finance Lease Cash .Trade In Vehicle:
. .

INFO ABOUT THE PROCESS

Looking at a NEW car? It is our mission to save you thousands over your local dealers best price!
Looking at a USED car? Take the risk out of buying a Used car! Let us handle the paperwork, vehicle inspections, shipping, history searches and condition reports!


New Vehicle Import
At GN Auto, we allow the average consumer to import Brand New vehicles from the United States. With our extensive list of contacts and our huge buying power, we strive to help you save thousands of dollars over your local dealers price while still offering aggressive finance and lease rates.

We will handle all of the red tape, paperwork and perform all necessary tasks that are required to register your vehicle in Canada, so all you have to do is sit back and wait for your vehicle to arrive.






Used Vehicle Import
Looking for a used vehicle is time consuming, frustrating and majority of the time, unfulfilling. In most cases, someone will settle for a vehicle they didn’t originally want just because their local dealerships don’t have the vehicle available.

At GN Auto, we will open up an entire country worth of inventory for you. We will do our best to ensure that the vehicle that you want is the vehicle that you get. Providing you with the proper places to look for your dream car, then using our wholesale abilities to negotiate the best price and handling the import for you is just the tip of what we can offer to you.


Vehicle Inquiry
Name: *

First

Last
.Phone Number: *
-
(###)
-
###

####
.Email: *

.Year: *

2009 2010 .Make: *

.Model: *

.Trim:
.Paying: *

Finance Lease Cash .Trade In Vehicle:

CAR EXPORTERS OF JAPAN

INTERNATIONAL EXPORTERS
***********************
http://www.monkys.jp/e/index.htm
http://www.providecars.com/
http://www.kktrading-aurora.com/
http://www.gocarcars.com/
http://www.tradecarview.com/
http://www.japan-partner.com/
http://www.braveautointernational.jp
http://www.nikkyo.gr.jp/
http://www.auto.co.jp/
http://www.carjunction.com/
http://www.savagesushi.com/
http://www.isicar.com/
http://www.j-garage.com/
http://www.japanese-d1cars-export.jp/
http://www.allcarsjapan.com
http://www.japanese4x4minitruck.com/
http://www.xroadsimport.com/
http://www.goo-net.com
http://www.best-car-japan.com/
http://mactownminitrucks.homestead.com/
http://export.japan4x4.com/index.html

USED CARS FROM JAPAN

Buying cars online from Japan
******************************



Buying cars online from Japan is still a challenge
With all enormous popularity of the Internet - buying cars online from Japan is still a challenge. Why? There are several reasons for it where trust, way of doing business in japan, language challenges and lack of a good advise are prevalent.

Trust - one of the largest issues that the customer has while buying a car that he didn't see with his/her own eyes. This aspect could be farther divided into company trust -since all online car exporters from Japan require 100% advance payment and confidence that the car described on the web-site is in the same condition as the site says.

Regarding the due-diligence on company's legitimacy - there are several ways how you can check. The easiest one - just pay attention to the company site and such facts as frequency of stock updates, professionalism and clearly defined procedure how to order your car and steps necessary (please check for the details How to order section at Japan Partner Inc.). Also a good check would be to see if the company owns the domain it sells the cars from and the site is not being hosted for free (you can tell it if there is abundance of advertising). There is nothing wrong with free hosting however if the company is serious about selling cars online in Japan they would definitely need 300-1000 MB of hosting space that is never given for free.

More thorough checks can be conducted through the proper official channels. Company status is probably one of the most important factors while checking for its trustworthiness and legitimacy. There are 3 main forms of conducting business in Japan:

Personal business (kojin) is least regulated and least accountable for its practices here in Japan
Houjin Limited ownership (Ltd.) in Japanese (yuugen gaisya)
Houjin Incorporated (Inc.) in Japanese (kabushiki gaisya)
The most prevailing form of business is Ltd. so if the company you are about to buy car online from Japan is either Ltd or Inc. then they should be legitimate and legally operate in Japan. As personal form of business (Kojin) there is nothing wrong with it but it must be transparent and do not claim that it is the "the largest exporter" in Japan and etc. There are a number of personal businesses, which are in export business, and if somebody used that koujin company before and was happy you can also use it .

Another way to check if the company that sells used cars online in Japan is whether they are registered (have registration number) with Foreign Trade Chamber. This registration number is awarded to the companies, which had trading/export history and properly equipped/staffed to conduct export business (For the format you can check our Export registration number on our company profile page). So if the company that you are about to buy a used or damaged cars online from, has such registration number - it is a good sign of its legitimacy.

And the last but not the least - bank account. Japanese banking laws are rather strict when it concerns "monetary movements" and bank accounts. All registered (houjin businesses LTD and INC require to have their banking accounts exactly under the name that they registered their companies. So if you are buying a used car online from Japan and name on the bank account is different than the name of the trading company (or even worth belongs to an individual) then you need to investigate more before transferring the payment.

Language challenges
Even though most of Japanese study or studies English - very few can speak (even if they can write English, most of them have difficulty speaking). Make sure when you speak on the phone with your Japanese agent or dealer that you are about to buy a car from, that he/she understands what you want.

Way of doing business in Japan
Japanese business is heavily dependent on "middle men". It wasn't until 90s when both under the influence of depression and foreign competition Japan economy started getting more efficient and direct while doing business. Regular way of selling cars in Japan is to go through the number of middlemen before it actually comes to a company or individual abroad. So if you decide to shop before choosing your online used car company - you won't have lots to chose from, most of the reliable but rather expensive online car traders can be counted by one hand with stock really exceeding 20-30 cars.

OK, now you did all the homework with choosing the local (Japanese) company to buy a car from and ready for the action BUT� Not so fast.

"MUST DO" before deciding on the car
You will need to check with your country import rules to make sure that the car you want to get does not fall under any restrictions. Most of the countries have liberal laws on importing used and damaged cars and when they do they mostly relate to production year or gas emissions. Also make sure you check and know what export related documents you need from Japan. The regular package is B&L (2-3 sheets issued by a shipping company through your shipping agent, Original Deregistration Certificate in Japanese, its English Translation and Invoice.

What info to look for before buying a car?
Most of the serious sites selling cars online should have a fairly detailed description for the cars they sell online (check this link for the details). Our site offers more details than a regular online used car dealer so you should not expect. You might want the following details before deciding what car to buy online:

Model
Production Year (ATTENTION: Make sure that you are buying a car that was MANUFACTURED let's say in 1995 and NOT REGISTERED in 1995. In most Japanese auctions in the year column, REGISTRATION year is used. Registration is the year when the car is being registered in Japan (and sometimes with LHD cars, it can vary as much as 2 years and with used cars which were imported on personal import base 3-5 years). When you buy cars from the auction - make sure you either check the manufacturing year by chassis number or ask your agent to check manufacturing year by examining the car (most cars have manufacturing year at on their front seatbelts).
Steer: LHD / RHD
Transmission (AT/MT)
Gas / Diesel
Mileage
Drive: 2WD, 4WD
Time to pay for the car that you ordered online
Most of the companies require 100% advance payment before they begin export related arrangements and confirm the purchase. There are three main types of payments you are going to deal with.

Car only price - if you have a yard in Japan and first gather cars in one place before shipping them home, then this is an option for you
FOB (Free on Board) - price should include car cost and export / custom related arrangements (or it can be expressed with Car price + FOB charge). You need to check with your local shipping agent if you can pay freight collect, since the freight is not included into FOB arrangements.
CIF (Car cost + Insurance + Freight). This option is the most frequent when you buy cars online in Japan.
Car Shipping Cost
Getting your car back home
Once you bought your car online in Japan - it is natural you want it fast as soon as you can. If shipments are frequent to your port - and deregistration certificate is already issued - then you can have your car on board of a car ferry within a week (provided your agent could get a spot on it with no lead time). Usually it takes about 2 -3 weeks to ship your car (with frequent connection) or full 4 weeks if deregistration certificate has to be issued. When you buy from the auction, or the car is being purchased directly from an individual - they usually ask for 10 days to have your deregistration certificate ready. Once your payment is confirmed, shipping arrangement are conducted and once the car leaves Japan a package with your car related documents is expressed mail to you.

Picking up your car at the port
Now it is easy. You check your closest shipping agent, contact him/her and bring your export related documents to your agent. For a small fee, he will arrange your car off-loading and other (if any) custom related paper work. After that - the car is YOURS!

* Please note that this is a general and non-specific to any country flow. It is for illustrative purposes only. Check with your local authorities and shipping agency for complete details.

IMPORT CARS FROM JAPAN

Import / Export Overview
Here is an example overview of the process involved in importing a car from Japan if you intend to do it yourself.
Note, that there may be variations on this import process, and this is just an example of what you might expect.
I imported my own car from Japan (an Isuzu Bighorn 4x4) and these are the steps and processes that I went through.


Find an exporter of used cars from Japan. (See the Exporters page for a list of Japan Used Car Exporters).
Choose the used Japanese car you want. (See the Cars page).
Contact the exporter and offer to purchase the car from Japan.
A Pro-Forma Invoice will be issued by the Exporter, usually by fax.
Sign and return the Pro-Forma Invoice - you have agreed to purchase the car!
Send payment for the car to the Exporter by Telegraphic Transfer via your bank.
Exporter will book the vehicle onto a ship from Japan and clear the car for shipping - known as FOB.
A short while after the ship has sailed from Japan the Exporter will send by Special Air Post the shipping documents and car documents to you by courier.
At this point you may be asked to pay the balance of any outstanding amount owed to the Exporter (as you have received confirmation from the Exporter that the car is on board ship from Japan and on its way).
Instruct a Shipping Agent who will handle the arrival of the car in the UK and the clearance through customs. (See the Freight page for a list of Freight Forwarders and Shipping Agents).
When the car arrives, the Shipping Agent will clear it through UK Customs.
Pay the shipping fee, which is calculated on the cubic meterage of the vehicle.
Pay the 10% Import Duty and 17.5% VAT.
Pay the Customs Duty.
Pay the Shipping Agent for their Services.
The car is released from Customs and available for collection.
Register the car and pay the registration fee.
Prepare the car for the SVA Test or MOT test. (i.e Change Speedometer to Miles Per Hour, Fit Rear Fog Lights etc.).
SVA test and/or MOT the car.
Tax and Insure the car for use on the road.
Drive and enjoy your imported Japanese Car!

STEPS FOR IMPORTING A CAR

Importing A Car Into Canada
*********************************


1. Check if the car that you are planning to purchase is admissible for importing into Canada. The list is available at: http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/VAFUS/list/VAFUS.pdf. This list also will state if any major modification is required to import your car into Canada.


2. Get your new car insured by your Canadian insurance company. Make sure that your insurance covers you while you are in the United States. The insurance coverage should begin on the day that you are planning to pick up your car.


3. After purchasing your car at a U.S. Dealer, they will issue you a one-month temporary license plate. You can drive in the U.S. and Canada (while you are completing the import process) with the temporary license during this period.


4. Fax the car's Certificate of Title to the U.S. Customs at the border where you will be exiting the Country. U.S. Customs needs three business days to process the title before they can authorize exportation of your car (a stamp is needed for importing the car into Canada). Call the U.S. Customs office to ensure that they have received your fax.


5. Request a "proof of recall clearance document" from your car's manufacturer. This will be required to register your car in Canada.


6. Drive the car to Canada. Allow three business days from when you faxed the title to the U.S. Customs before you go through the border (otherwise you will have to come back to the border to get the export stamp later). Note that Canada Customs may not allow a Canadian resident to drive their car with a U.S. license plate in Canada, unless they are satisfied that the owner is in the process of licensing the car in Canada. Make sure you go through the U.S. Customs office that received your fax (refer to Step 4 above).


7. Get your Certificate of Title stamped for exportation by U.S. Customs.


8. Drive to the Canadian Customs office. They will need the Bill of Sale and the Certificate of Title stamped by U.S. Customs for exportation. You will pay 7% GST, CAD$100 excise tax if your car has an air conditioner, and CAD$182 fee for the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (cars manufactured in the U.S.A and Canada are normally exempt from additional import duties). You may use a credit card for the payment. You will receive the Vehicle Import Form - Form 1. You will need this form to register the car in your province. A second form, Form 2, will be mailed to your home address within 5 to 7 business days.


9. In Ontario you will have to carry out a safety inspection and a vehicle emission inspection. For our last car these inspections were CAD$63.24 and CAD$37.45 for our last car (the car passed all tests without needing any work).


10. About two weeks after your arrival in Canada, you will receive the "Vehicle Import Form - Form 2" by mail.


11. Take Form 1 and Form 2 and the "proof of recall clearance document" (letter from your car's manufacturer which you requested in step 5 above) to an approved federal inspection centre (e.g. Canadian Tire). The service centre will do an inspection of the car to ensure that it conforms to Canadian standards. If your vehicle did not require major alterations according to http://www.riv.ca/english/US_vehicle_admissibility.pdf, it should pass this inspection with no problem. This inspection should not cost you anything, except if any modification is required. Our last inspection cost CAD$8.04 for the purchase of a tether bolt, which is required to be in all cars sold in Canada. After the completion of the federal inspection, the inspector will stamp Form 1.


12. Take Form 1, original title, bill of sales, safety inspection certificate (Ontario), emission inspection certificate (Ontario), and insurance certificate to your vehicle licence issuing office (the documents may vary in other provinces). In Ontario you will have to pay 8% Provincial Sales Tax and some additional fees for your license plate purchase and sticker.


13. Within a few days, you will receive your car's Canadian Certification Label by mail, which you will have to affix to the car.



Notes:

These steps apply to importing a car manufactured in the U.S.A or Canada. Check Canada publication RC-4140 "Importing a Vehicle Into Canada" for up-to-date information.

These are based on our recent import of a car into Ontario. The procedures and costs for registering an imported car in other provinces are expected to be slightly different.

Check Canada publication RC-4140 "Importing a Vehicle Into Canada" at http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4140/rc4140-e.html for up-to-date information.




Additional Contact Resources for Importing your vehicle into Canada:


Canada publication RC-4140 "Importing a Vehicle Into Canada" at http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4140/rc4140-e.html.


The list of US vehicles that are admissible for importation into Canada: http://www.riv.ca/english/US_vehicle_admissibility.pdf.


Registrar of Imported Vehicles Contact Information:

HOW TO IMPORT FROM USA TO CANADA

Importing Car into Canada
*************************************************************************************
Choosing Your Car
Once you have decided upon the make and model vehicle you are interested in as well as as its state. NEW, USED, SALVAGE or REPAIRABLE DAMAGE, you need to get one. There is no one best place to find the car of your dreams. eBay is an excellent place to start for vehicles in any condition. However, if you find your perfect car in the USA, do NOT buy it unless you call the owner or a dealer to find out more about your dream car. REMEMBER: Cars without Title Certificate cannot leave the USA so make sure you will obtain the Vehicle Title.

Import Procedure
Often, people find their cars in the USA and Americans will usually have no problems selling their cars to Canadians. However, getting the car into Canada is not as simple as buying a case of beer and a gallon of milk. The US Customs & Border Protection (USCBP) requires all vehicles exported from the USA to be inspected. The procedure requires the Canadian vehicle importer to fax to them the vehicle's title (ownership certificate) 72 hours prior to the vehicle crossing the border. This implies that vehicles without proper titles cannot leave the USA. Don't think that you can cut your untitled parts car in half and bypass this requirement. A parts car has to really be in unreassemblable (is this a word?) parts to get through without a title.

If you have faxed your title in to the USCBP as required, they will not acknowledge your fax and your fax machine's confirmation sheet is your only proof that you sent them the title. If there is a problem with your title, USCBP will not call you. In fact, if you call them prior to departing with your vehicle to make sure that there will not be a problem, they won't look up your file so that you could know either way. Upon your arrival at a border crossing they will inspect your vehicle. If everything is in order, they will stamp your title with multi-colored ink indicating that it was inspected by the Vehicle Export Office.

Canada Customs will only allow you to import a vehicle if the title has been stamped by the Vehicle Export Office. Without this stamp, you will be turned back to the USA so make sure that you visit US Customs first. There are two ways of importing a vehicle. You can either import it as one that will be licensed or one that is not. Even if you only want the parts, consider importing it as one for licensing, which would allow you more flexibility in selling the shell of the car to someone who might want to turn it into a hot-rod. Don't forget, vehicles with air conditioning are still liable for the $100 federal air conditioning excise tax.


Vehicles Purchased in the U.S.A.

As a general rule, used cars that are at least 15 years old can be imported from the U.S.A. and are not subject to safety and emission equipment requirements. Age is not determined by model year; the month of importation must be at least 15 years after the month of manufacture of the vehicle.

If your vehicle is less than 15 years old and was manufactured for sale in the U.S., you must first determine whether it qualifies for importation. Transport Canada's Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) program ensures that qualifying vehicles are modified, inspected and certified to meet Canadian safety standards.

Upon arrival at Customs, a qualifying vehicle will be entered into the RIV program. The registration fee is $197 in Quebec and $206 in other provinces. Within 45 days, the vehicle must be altered at your expense to meet Transport Canada requirements (it may need daytime running lights and metric labels for instruments, for example). You won't be able to register and license the car in Canada until it is modified and inspected. The RIV Web site contains a list of eligible vehicles and detailed information about typical modification and inspection requirements.

Vehicles Purchased Overseas

Residents of Canada cannot normally import a car from overseas countries unless it is at least 15 years old. The relatively few exceptions to this rule can be found in CCRA publications.

Vehicles imported from overseas must be thoroughly cleaned before shipment to Canada in order to remove soil and plant material. The CFIA will inspect your vehicle, at your expense, to ensure that this requirement has been met. If your car fails the inspection, you will be responsible for the cost of a thorough cleaning and a second inspection.

Import Fees

Vehicles that are eligible for importation will be subject to import levies including customs duty and GST. Customs duty is generally based on the price paid for the vehicle and the percentage rate of duty varies depending on the vehicle's country of origin. For example, a vehicle imported from the U.S. that was manufactured in the U.S. is duty-free. However, a British-built car imported from the U.S. is subject to a duty of 6.1 per cent, the same rate applied to British vehicles imported directly from Britain.

If your collector car has air conditioning, working or not, you will pay an excise tax of $100. There are additional levies if your vehicle weighs more than 2,007 kilograms (4,425 pounds).

Finally, GST will be charged at the rate of seven per cent of the total of the purchase price plus the customs levies.

Provincial Requirements

When you have satisfied all the import requirements, a critical document called a Vehicle Import Form will be given to you by customs, your broker or the RIV program, depending on the circumstances of your importation. Without this piece of paper, you will get only a blank stare from your provincial licensing authorities.

Before heading off to your licensing bureau, you'll need to satisfy the provincial requirements. In Ontario, for example, your car must pass a safety-standards inspection. You will also need a Drive Clean inspection certificate if the vehicle is more than three model years old and less than 20 years old.

In addition to the fees for registering your newly imported car, provincial authorities may collect sales tax on the price you paid for the vehicle. Don't bother asking why provincial sales tax applies to a sales transaction that occurred outside Canada.

I Goofed!

If your prized collector car does not meet the eligibility requirements of the CCRA and Transport Canada, you will never see it sitting in your driveway. You will be required to export the car or destroy it under Customs supervision, at your expense. To make matters worse, you won't get a refund of the import levies you paid. Could there be a better incentive for consulting the authorities before trying to import a vehicle?

What Next?

If you live in southern Ontario, you have two options for importing a vehicle. You can only either cross at Detroit, MI or at Lewiston, NY. Even though Detroit may be a bit farther for some than Lewiston, you may want to consider it because only Detroit is open 24/7. Lewiston is only open Monday-Friday, 8am to 4pm.

Useful Links - How to Import Vehicle to Canada: