Tips on Car Buying in Canada

Canada has 6.7 percent of the world's land area. As such, Canada provides a significant addition to the auto purchasing options available to United States Citizens. While purchasing a vehicle in Canada is more complicated than purchasing a vehicle in the U.S., the complications may be worth the reward if you have the car you want at a price you can afford.

Find Your Car

You can search through available vehicles at dealer websites or try using a service like Canada's branch of Autotrader: www.autotrader.ca Be sure, however, to avoid new cars as these sales are restricted in Canada and the United States because of an auto trade agreement which prohibits new car sales to non-residents. When searching you'll also want to take into consideration the location of the vehicle since you'll eventually have to go there.

Investigate

After you've located your vehicle, call the seller and obtain the vehicle identification number (VIN), and then call the manufacturer to determine if the vehicle meets U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). If the vehicle complies the manufacturer will mail a letter to you certifying the vehicle.

Determine if your vehicle meets emissions guidelines as established by your particular state. Those guidelines are available at your state website for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

If the vehicle meets safety and emission standards, take one more preventative measure and consider purchasing a Car Proof report on the vehicle. Car Proof is a company that investigates the history of the vehicle linking both United States and Canadian resources. The Car Proof service will give you a comprehensive report of the vehicle registration, accident history and number of insurance claims placed.

Purchase

If the investigation of the vehicle proves promising, the next step is the actual purchase. Be prepared to pay for the entire car up front or arrange for financing in the U.S. The good news is that if you can prove that you are a non-resident, you will only have to pay a portion of the usual Canadian sales taxes. When the sale is complete make sure the dealer provides you with a complete bill of sale.

Finally, you can drive the car to the border. A customs officer will ask for the bill of sale and your name and the VIN number of the vehicle. Then pay U.S. taxes on the purchase before crossing the border.