Is anyone familiar with buying a boat in Canada and bring it to the USA ?

[HTMike]

Entertaining this idea and wanted to know what all is involved with bringing a boat across the border. Buying at a dealer and using a transporter to bring it all the way to me.

The dealer says I have to pay canadian sales tax then file for it back once it gets to the USA. Is that true ?

[Bevostein]

I once looked into this and heard conflicting things about taxes. I think there is a way around this. Something like if you were to go up there, take title in Canada and escort the boat across the border with your transporter. One thing to consider is the fine print on the Nautique warranty says a bought originally sold outside the US isn’t eligible for warranty in the US. I’m not sure if that’s still the case so you should confirm if you’re buying something you expect to be eligible for warranty transfer.

[Canuck-Surfer]

I'm about an hour north of Toronto. With the exchange rate at 1.41 right now, I've wondered if people are doing this. You could get an incredible deal. If anyone needs any leg work done up here, let me know!!

[jjackkrash]

When I looked into buying a used boat in Canada, I came to the conclusion they needed to drive the boat into the US on "vacation" and then decide to sell the boat when it was already here. IIRC, if you buy the boat when it is in Canada there is an excise tax or tariff when to cross the boarder, and if you have the boat transported here for sale, you need to use a customs broker. You will have to pay your state's tax when you register it here in any event. The boat also needs to meet current EPA requirements. Also, I am not sure if the new United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement changed anything. You might want to call a U.S. Customs and Border Protection office for guidance.

[Dano13]

Hey I can shed some light on this as I export vehicles for a living everyday.

I can help you with this it is really quite simple as there is not tax or ditties Nd the border and I’m there is no 30 day hold time either unlike when exporting a vehicle.

I am currently selling my 2019 G23 from Canada and I will assist anyone buying the boat for free to get it down to Washington State for them to pickup.




https://www.onlyinboards.com/2019-Na...on-110579.aspx

PM me and I can help you with export questions of Canadian boat


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HTMike]

Sorry for the late delay guys. The boat I am looking at is in Kelowna BC at Martin Motorsports Dealership. Dano, Are you close by there ? The dealer is saying I need a broker for the border stuff. I am not going to get the boat myself. I am having a transport company bring it from Canada all the way to me in Indiana.

[SilentSeven]

I purchased a boat in Canada some years ago and imported myself without any issue. From memory, here are the considerations.

- Engine emissions certification - engine must comply with US EPA specs for that year, type of boat. There are US import docs on this, do a search. You'll want to be careful here as newer years have specific emissions requirements (like cats, etc) and need to be dead sure your engine is compliant. My boat was a '97 and so it was pre any emissions regs.
- Trailer federalization - trailer must meet US specifications.
- Warranty - I didn't have to deal with this it was past the warranty date
- Payment currency - be mindful that if the seller wants Canadian funds, you likely be charged an exchange fee % for the bank. This can be a sizeable amount. You can shop this fee/rate but you need to factor it in. Better if they will accept US funds.
- Taxes - Canadian. I don't recall paying GST but my deal was with a private party. We did a bill of sale and I had my bank wire him the funds. If buying from a CA dealer you may have to pay but I believe you can submit paperwork for a refund. Definitely a research item but should be easy to figure out.
- Taxes - US. My state law required me to pay local sales tax at the time of registration. You'll want to check your state laws.

Regarding engine and trailer import and certification. If the items were manufactured in the US and then export to Canada, it's highly likely they meet US guidelines. You'll want to verify for sure that there isn't a different engine installed by Nautique for CA market boats. I bet if you get the engine serial number / hull VIN and call Nautique, they can tell you if it's US spec or not. If it is, ask them to provide a manufacters letter stating it's US spec. My boat was originally sold in the US, imported into CA and so I was effectively importing a US spec boat back to the US and I had the paperwork to prove it. That helped my situation. Re the trailer...mine was made in the US (it was a DHM). I contacted DHM (they were still in business at this time), provided the serial number and they provided me a letter stating the trailer met all US federalization laws at the time of manufacture. This solved the trailer import questions.

Prior to my boarder crossing date, I called the local customs office to explain what I wanted to bring across, reconfirm the needed paper work and ask what was the best crossing to go to. This was useful to make sure there were no surprises.

On the day of the crossing, I just arrived at the boarder crossing, declared the boat, presented a folder of paperwork and then the customs agents verified the VINs, paperwork, engine EPA requirements and then let me continue. It took maybe 2 hours.

I never used a broker but instead took the time to figure it all out on my own. My biggest gotcha was I agreed to pay in CA funds without realizing the bank fees involved. :/

Hope this helps!

Edit: remembered one other item - the seller and I agreed that the sale was contingent on my successful importing of the boat. I had 2 days to complete the import with a right to return for refund if the import was refused. Might be a good clause for your purchase agreement.

[HTMike]

Thanks for the help. The boat is a 2018 G23 so no worries on current compliance. I spoke with Nautique. The Canadian and US boats are 100% identical with absolutely no differences.

Did you have to have the boat removed from the Canadian vessel registry ? I been seeing some things about this.

They will charge me canadian sales tax but like you said I will have to file for the refund here in the states.

I called my bank and asked them about wiring funds in Canadian dollars. They said it was an extra $50 over the standard wire charge. What did you end up paying ?

[SilentSeven]

Re vessel registry...hmm. Don't recall. I would research to see who's responsible for that - the seller or the buyer. Might be the same as a US title transfer..someone needs to notify the province of the ownership transfer.

I'd ask Nautique if they will provide a certification letter on US compliance. Pretty sure someone will need that at time of import. You or the broker would need to obtain. Same for the trailer.

Re payment...I recall there being three things to check on. fx rate they will provide (they may embed fees here with a spread - the lowest rate is the 'interbank rate' and you will likely get that rate + something), a straight up % charge (ie 3% fee) and then any international wiring fees - there can be a mix of all three. I got sorta fleeced here...I recall paying upwards of $500 on $12k transaction...wasn't happy. It was mostly because I just didn't know to ask up front and shop it. EDIT: I'd specifically ask the dealer if they maintain a US account and will accept a US $ payment.

[ST3]

Entertaining this idea and wanted to know what all is involved with bringing a boat across the border. Buying at a dealer and using a transporter to bring it all the way to me.

The dealer says I have to pay canadian sales tax then file for it back once it gets to the USA. Is that true ?

Warranty. That is what I learned when researching buying a new boat in Canada and using it in the US. I would have to bring the boat back to a Canadian service center for any issues. This was back in 2018 so maybe things have changed. I have to trailer my boat 300 miles for service vs 50 miles through customs to Canada.




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[liquidforce133]

Anyone have any experience getting an imported boat warrantied in the US? Seems like a pretty big deal.

[Bhazardc5]

Re vessel registry...hmm. Don't recall. I would research to see who's responsible for that - the seller or the buyer. Might be the same as a US title transfer..someone needs to notify the province of the ownership transfer.

I'd ask Nautique if they will provide a certification letter on US compliance. Pretty sure someone will need that at time of import. You or the broker would need to obtain. Same for the trailer.

Re payment...I recall there being three things to check on. fx rate they will provide (they may embed fees here with a spread - the lowest rate is the 'interbank rate' and you will likely get that rate + something), a straight up % charge (ie 3% fee) and then any international wiring fees - there can be a mix of all three. I got sorta fleeced here...I recall paying upwards of $500 on $12k transaction...wasn't happy. It was mostly because I just didn't know to ask up front and shop it. EDIT: I'd specifically ask the dealer if they maintain a US account and will accept a US $ payment.

Though it takes a bit of time you can do Norberts Gambit USD to CAD and buy DLR.U ETF and journal it over to DLR.TO ETF then withdraw into a Canadian account. Agree with above though as the dealers are usually working in USD so they may accept USD payment.

[surfnjosh]

Thanks for the help. The boat is a 2018 G23 so no worries on current compliance. I spoke with Nautique. The Canadian and US boats are 100% identical with absolutely no differences.

Did you have to have the boat removed from the Canadian vessel registry ? I been seeing some things about this.

They will charge me canadian sales tax but like you said I will have to file for the refund here in the states.

I called my bank and asked them about wiring funds in Canadian dollars. They said it was an extra $50 over the standard wire charge. What did you end up paying ?

You should contact Wizard Lake Marine, thats where that boat was originally sold. Also they have shipped boats to the US many times so they know the ins and outs. not to mention buying a Nautique from a Nautique dealer is always better when/ if a warranty issue ever arises...... Check out there inventory and im sure you can find an equally nice boat.

[Bhazardc5]

Agree with above! Get in touch with Wizard Lake.

[SCNautique210SAN]

Hey guys, I'm interested in doing the same thing but was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for financing. Since the boat is in Canada, U.S. banks are telling me they wont finance it. It has to be registered in the U.S. Anyone familiar with the process?