[tinaraia]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to get an Eos toward the end of the year and wondering if it's worthwhile to buy it in the US instead of Canada.
Has anyone imported a car from the US before? Was it a big hassle? Any advice/tips greatly appreciated

 

[Eos_Up]

Don't know about the hassle or customs charges. I was just on the vw.ca site and it appears that in Canada there is only one model of Eos and with the BIG option package of around $4000, you end up with a car equipped similar to the US Lux version for about $5000-$6000 more that the US version. This assumes that the Canadian dollar is on par with the US dollar. With it being a bit higher, the cost for a Canadian Eos would be a bit more than the above figures.

Based on this, it would certainly appear to be something you MIGHT want to explore. I don't know if you have any strange safety features that are different than the US model. Our speedometer of course is in MPH although we have KPH in smaller font. Canada might require you to replace the speedometer and anything else that might be different which would cut down on your savings. Then, there's always the warrantee question.

Other considerations would be sales taxes. Unless you had the car delivered to the border, you could get nailed for up to close to 10%. Also, I believe Canada has VAT taxes which they probably will try to nail you with when you register the car in Canada. So, there certainly are some things to consider before taking this step. If you haven't already done so, you can see the US pricing at vw.com.

 

[cb391]

Yhere was someone on another Eos forum who was from Canada and bought a used Eos is the US and drove it back over the border and said at the time he had very few problems doing so. The US models have KM markings on the speedo although they are harder to see and there are conversions for Metric in the MFD unit for temp and mileage readouts that are on the MFD. But if you have questions, maybe you can check with your local licensing office or wherever you have to go to get license plates. The worst they can do is say they don't know.

 

[tinaraia]

Just an update on this.
I spoke to several dealers in Washington state and have been told that they can't sell new cars to Canadians because of a Volkswagen company policy. They are allowed to sell used cars and demos however.. sigh

 

[Truffle]

Imports from the US

There are a few around on dealer's lots and private sales. My advice is don't bother. The price differential is not worth the hassle of a speedometer change. And you will not have the accident record/ history - which makes insurance a hassle and potential resale problematic. It will alys be identified as an imported vehicle and will always be a question mark in the Canadian market.

 

[Hugh Jass]

You would have to pay 6.1% duty based on the purchase price in Canadian dollars, and then 5% GST on top of the purchase price + duty. You then have to pay approx. $250 in RIV fees, plus the cost of modifying the immobilizer, if required. Also, an out of province inspection may be required depending on your local Provincial licensing regulations. Plus, as tinaraia pointed out, some US dealers will not sell a new VW to Canadians. If you want a good used Eos, see my other post!

 

[Tup]

I did it

See my post above about importing an Eos....

No mods are required on an Eos...it has Daytime running lights. I did pay a 6.1% duty but I got a 6 month old 2008 Eos for $25800!!!

A nice touch is that we could go into the setup and change the units to Celcius and the gallon size to imperial gallons for reading the MPG.

We are loving this car!!!