Moving to Canada with a U.S. Leased Car.

[FUMAO]

I am currently living and working in the U.S., but am planning to move to Canada in 9-12 months when I receive my Canadian Permanent Residency (my wife and son are both Canadian). I would still continue to work in the US and commute across the border daily.

I am thinking about leasing a car here, but wondered if moving to Canada with this car would be an issue? After moving can I bring it with me and register it within Ontario? Given that I would be commuting across the border every day I obviously don't want to be questioned as to why I have a car with U.S. plates when I live in Canada and of course I would need to have it insured on the Canadian side too.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Rob_TO]

I would not recommend this, simply due to the fact that if you want to register/insure your car in Ontario you may need to make modifications to the car to bring it up to Canadian standards (i.e. running daytime headlights and other safety features). Whoever you lease the car from may not like you making modifications to the car, and also you shouldn't want to spend money on a car you don't even own in the first place.

So if you must look for a lease, see if you can find one that already conforms to all Canadian safety standards.

Also be aware that most Canadian car dealerships will not honour warranties on US cars, so you could be forced to drive back to the US for any warranty issues, as well as to arrange an inspection and return the car back to US after lease is over. Although this might not be a problem if you go to the US weekly for work anyways.

 

[Ponga]

I echo Rob_TO's advice, as per usual.

I was leasing a car from the US, when I moved to a border town and while I was able to get warranty service in Canada, i could not get scheduled maintenance in Canada...which required me to drive ~2 hours to the closest US dealer. At the very least, you could encounter the same inconvenience.

My argument was that BMW North America, should have included Canada (even for maintenance), because the last time I looked, Canada was still part of North America.

 

[zwz002]

I echo Rob_TO's advice, as per usual.

I was leasing a car from the US, when I moved to a border town and while I was able to get warranty service in Canada, i could not get scheduled maintenance in Canada...which required me to drive ~2 hours to the closest US dealer. At the very least, you could encounter the same inconvenience.

My argument was that BMW North America, should have included Canada (even for maintenance), because the last time I looked, Canada was still part of North America.

But you did bring the leased car to Canada as a Canadian PR right? Did you have any issues with it other than the scheduled maintenance?

 

[bigBadWolf]

But you did bring the leased car to Canada as a Canadian PR right? Did you have any issues with it other than the scheduled maintenance?

I'm in the same situation. Will move to Canada hopefully in the next few months once getting the PR. Problem is that I have a leased car with 2 years left. I'll be working in the US on a daily basis. Anyone has successfully story?

 

[lovetravelling]

I'm in the same situation. Will move to Canada hopefully in the next few months once getting the PR. Problem is that I have a leased car with 2 years left. I'll be working in the US on a daily basis. Anyone has successfully story?

I am in the same boat. Were you able to find a solution? My car is leased from Nissan and they wont issue a letter giving permission to export to canada.

 

[bigBadWolf]

I am in the same boat. Were you able to find a solution? My car is leased from Nissan and they wont issue a letter giving permission to export to canada.

Nope. I leased from Infiniti, and they also refused to provide me a letter for export. I was told that the maximum time I can take the car out of the US is 30 days.... I guess Nissan's policy is pretty strict.... I'm now thinking about trading in my car and buy one in Canada once I officially move there. Will lose close to 10k most likely.....

 

[bigBadWolf]

I echo Rob_TO's advice, as per usual.

I was leasing a car from the US, when I moved to a border town and while I was able to get warranty service in Canada, i could not get scheduled maintenance in Canada...which required me to drive ~2 hours to the closest US dealer. At the very least, you could encounter the same inconvenience.

My argument was that BMW North America, should have included Canada (even for maintenance), because the last time I looked, Canada was still part of North America.

Hi Ponda, just curious if you can provide me some advices.... Just curious how you managed to keep the US leased car while living in Canada? Thanks!

 

[lovetravelling]

Nope. I leased from Infiniti, and they also refused to provide me a letter for export. I was told that the maximum time I can take the car out of the US is 30 days.... I guess Nissan's policy is pretty strict.... I'm now thinking about trading in my car and buy one in Canada once I officially move there. Will lose close to 10k most likely.....

I moved to Canada in a border town 6 months ago and since then I have the vehicle in canada. I am driving it in canada with no problem but its just that i cant take it across border because then i cant bring it back. Now either take the chance of keeping my US plated car in canada until Apr 2019 when the lease expires or find somebody to assume my lease in the US and get a car in Canada.
Or a third option is to find a lender who can finance the car in the usa and i buy out my lease provided that lender is willing to let me export the car to Canada.

 

[bigBadWolf]

I moved to Canada in a border town 6 months ago and since then I have the vehicle in canada. I am driving it in canada with no problem but its just that i cant take it across border because then i cant bring it back. Now either take the chance of keeping my US plated car in canada until Apr 2019 when the lease expires or find somebody to assume my lease in the US and get a car in Canada.
Or a third option is to find a lender who can finance the car in the usa and i buy out my lease provided that lender is willing to let me export the car to Canada.

Problem is that I don't want to buy out my car as it has whole bunch of issues..... I guess trading it in is probably the best option as I can save sales tax, as far as I know I don't need to pay sales tax on the residue value. Just taking the car to Canada without importing is kind of too risky, basically you're subject to violations of both countries' laws. Not to mention the insurance fraud, as I'm assuming you still have the car insured in the US.

 

[lovetravelling]

Problem is that I don't want to buy out my car as it has whole bunch of issues..... I guess trading it in is probably the best option as I can save sales tax, as far as I know I don't need to pay sales tax on the residue value. Just taking the car to Canada without importing is kind of too risky, basically you're subject to violations of both countries' laws. Not to mention the insurance fraud, as I'm assuming you still have the car insured in the US.

How is trade in gonna work out? Isn't this a lease? Residual wont kick in until the end of the lease. Can you explain?

 

[bigBadWolf]

How is trade in gonna work out? Isn't this a lease? Residual wont kick in until the end of the lease. Can you explain?

You can take the car to a dealer for a trade in at anytime during the lease. Basically the dealer will buy out the car from the manufacturer instead of you. You'll just have to pay the difference between the trade and the residue value. As far as I know, sales tax doesn't kick in in this case.

 

[lovetravelling]

Oh ok thanks. My dealer is greedy and wants upwards of $5K. I will keep looking for options for a week or so and will decide something soon. At this point seeing the options and car prices in canada, i might just do the lease buyout and have it financed in usa with permission of lender to export it to Canada.

 

[bigBadWolf]

Oh ok thanks. My dealer is greedy and wants upwards of $5K. I will keep looking for options for a week or so and will decide something soon. At this point seeing the options and car prices in canada, i might just do the lease buyout and have it financed in usa with permission of lender to export it to Canada.

Good luck! Keep in mind that importing car to Canada is subject to GST if you're not a new immigrant. Also there's a whole bunch of fees to be expected when you register it in Canada, the insurance is most likely to be more expensive for US imports as well (heck, the auto insurance in Canada is so expensive)..... To me, it makes more sense to trade the car in and buy one in Canada just to avoid future problems.

 

[giovannig]

* BUMP

Is there a definite guide on this topic?

Have a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Leased in New York. Of course its now 2021 in Covid times. I'm a US Citizen and technically employed in the US for now, but intermediate family is full emigrated. I will be following suit. So far just been crossing the border back n forth since covid restrictions were "relaxed". Think I've had 14 swabs already. The moment I get a work permit or PR, I know ease of crossing will change.

I would like to keep my vehicle, but partly because living in Brooklyn was not kind to the exterior in the 1 yr of leasing so far. I would have bought it out, then trade-in to avoid ding damage costs. My mileages even with border crossing is absurdly low, and US credit stellar.

anyway, if I am new immigrant do I avoid the tax? Is best course is to ask Toyota to change the lease? Don't want to take the financial damage to return the lease early, when I'm confident the residual value was going to be in my favor at the the end of the 3yr term.