do I need to pay off my car before landing?

[abedelia]

Hi,
I have a car that I bought in the US a year ago, and I am financing it at a US bank.
I'm planning to import it to Canada when I land there.
Does anyone have experience with this? Is it critical that I pay off the car in full before this point?
If so, is it possible to secure another loan (refinance) it at a Canadian bank? We could pay it off but it would be a financial hardship for us, especially in light of moving, new jobs, major life changes that are happening along side this.
Thanks for any info

 

[fallenstar831]

You should call your bank about this... not ask a forum.

 

[iarblue]

You could pay it off yes, and then when you come to Canada there is multiple financing companies that will finace your car here again.But look into it because i know that in the US there is TD bank which is Toronto Dominion, there are alll over the place in the states, they are a Canadian Bank.Also Royal Bank has a sister bank in the States, im not sure the name but i was told they do, and Royal Bank is a Canadian bank.
So if you could see if the TD bank in the US will take over the lease of the car then you can transfer it to the Canada.And i really dont think it has to be paid off,just give the bank all your info,like where you will be living the PR card number,and you can keep your US account and transfer money into it for the payment from a Canadain Bank.
As the companies that will track you down if you dont pay lol are the same here as they are in the US equifax is in the US.
So there are some thoughts for you.

 

[abedelia]

Thanks for the ideas, iarblue,
I will look into these possibilities!
Thanks

 

[heatherusa]

It is highly unlikely that a creditor will cross the border to come after you. Also, your credit report does not translate over which causes problems for US citizens/residents when they cross because the do not have a Canadian credit history. My mother often has clients from the US who have great difficulty obtaining a mortgage when moving to Canada, because they do not have a credit history in Canada. I suffered from the same problem when I moved to the US, in that I could not get credit because I had to credit history in the US, even though I had one in Canada.

Investigation on the http://www.riv.ca/Home.aspx website indicates that some cars (I dont know if it applies in this situation) that have liens on the, need authorization from the lender to register their vehicle in Canada. That may be the case here.. I am not sure... But I am paying off my loan before I leave.

 

[wmaitner]

Abedelia, do you want to listen to someone with a -37 karma? Does that sound like someone who knows anything about anything?

 

[BZ Mom]

i am in the same situation. i have made an inquiry with TD Bank here in the US and the response was "no". they will not allow export of the car without paying-off the outstanding balance. according to the loan specialist that i talked to, canada is a different territory. even if TD Bank is a canadian bank, they cannot run after you (in case you defaulted in payment) once you are in canada, if your loan originated in the US. i even mentioned to the specialist that i will still be working with my US employer and still have a direct deposit in my US bank account even if i move to canada, but the response was still a big "no".

you might want to inquire too. please let me know if you get a positive response.

 

[heatherusa]

i am in the same situation. i have made an inquiry with TD Bank here in the US and the response was "no". they will not allow export of the car without paying-off the outstanding balance. according to the loan specialist that i talked to, canada is a different territory. even if TD Bank is a canadian bank, they cannot run after you (in case you defaulted in payment) once you are in canada, if your loan originated in the US. i even mentioned to the specialist that i will still be working with my US employer and still have a direct deposit in my US bank account even if i move to canada, but the response was still a big "no".

you might want to inquire too. please let me know if you get a positive response.

as a loan processor at a small US bank I have to affirm that sounds correct. TD in the States is not affiliated in any way except name, with TD in Canada.

I suppose that you could list your vehicle(and I am not sure about this) as a good to follow... giving you time to get the lein sorted out... but as a lender in the US I would NEVER approve moving to another country because I cant get the vehicle once you are gone... the expense is not cost-productive.

 

[cono_sur]

How many more payments are there?

Couldn't you keep driving and making your payments without the bank even knowing that you now live in Canada? Once you have paid off the loan, then officially import it into Canada.

 

[BZ Mom]

How many more payments are there?

Couldn't you keep driving and making your payments without the bank even knowing that you now live in Canada? Once you have paid off the loan, then officially import it into Canada.

still 60 more payments. i just bought the car a year ago, for a 72-month term. i really feel bad, because it's a brand new car and the mileage is still very low. i must admit, i'm also at fault since i did not do my research before buying a car, given the fact that i am expecting approval of our permanent resident application.

 

[chelley]

"It is highly unlikely that a creditor will cross the border to come after you"

not really... esp if the car is low jacked (many newer cars are by way of the onboard systems, as do vehicles from those "we finance anyone" type places)...

my ex drove a 1998 explorer (in 2004) across the border from georgia and had the repo man at his door after he missed the 2nd payment (i can confirm this because we were together at the time and i answered the door)...

there are modifications that may need to be made to a vehicle to make it legal in canada too (daytime running lights are mandatory here, not all US vehicles are equipped with this... also something about some US tires that cannot be used on our roads)...

good luck!

 

[abedelia]

thanks for all of the helpful responses... this gives me a lot of things to look into! In the end, we may just pay it off and be done with it, or perhaps we'll look into selling the car and buying another here in Canada. We bought it used so it wouldn't be a huge loss for us to sell it. We'll see! Thanks again everyone!

 

[heatherusa]

still 60 more payments. i just bought the car a year ago, for a 72-month term. i really feel bad, because it's a brand new car and the mileage is still very low. i must admit, i'm also at fault since i did not do my research before buying a car, given the fact that i am expecting approval of our permanent resident application.

can you trade it in for something less expensive that will lower or negate your payments? 72 months is such a long time to pay on a loan anyway. the real problem is that if required, you may need the permission from the bank... but you might not if you can get away with not registering in Canada... I dont know all the details... so frustrating.. Submit the vehicle as a good to follow (not sure if you can) and then keep paying on it as if it was in the states...or dont...(as a lender, if you owe less than 10-15k I am not going to search for you over the border... too much work and expense).

 

[chelley]

"as a lender, if you owe less than 10-15k I am not going to search for you over the border... too much work and expense)."

the explorer we had was purchased for somewhere around 7k... i think less than 6500 was owed on it if i remember correctly... might have even been less...

my girlfriend had the reverse.... someone took a leased CAN truck to the US... there was about 27,000 owing on that one tho... and they most certainly tracked it down and took it back...

i wouldn't assume that crossing a border negates any financial obligations... some might get lucky, but from my experience, they want the vehicle back and get quite ansy if they see you are out of contract terms and country...

 

[heatherusa]

"as a lender, if you owe less than 10-15k I am not going to search for you over the border... too much work and expense)."

the explorer we had was purchased for somewhere around 7k... i think less than 6500 was owed on it if i remember correctly... might have even been less...

my girlfriend had the reverse.... someone took a leased CAN truck to the US... there was about 27,000 owing on that one tho... and they most certainly tracked it down and took it back...

i wouldn't assume that crossing a border negates any financial obligations... some might get lucky, but from my experience, they want the vehicle back and get quite ansy if they see you are out of contract terms and country...

I agree that crossing doesnt negate the obligations... and 27k is definitely something I would search for. And I am not, by any means, suggesting that they skirt their responsibility... just wanted to comment on the fact that credit reports dont seem to cross the border.

I had a vehicle make its way to New Mexico from Michigan and the time and expense was not worth the hassle and cost of tracking it down.


Did they come after you for the explorer?