Here 's a not so little how to that I hope will help out if you find a bike in the US that you'd like to buy and want to import it back home to Canada.
It's actually not that hard, I've done quite a few of these for myself and helped some members here already.
First if you find a bike in most cases you'll be buying a bike sight unseen and the process takes a leap of faith, to a certain degree. Here are some tips that may help you with the process. Ask for pictures, service history and negotiate a sale price. Once you have done this a call to the dealer that the seller uses will usually help with a couple of things.
I call the Service Manager and using the VIN and the sellers name ask about service history and the conditon of the bike. If need be, have the seller take the bike to the dealer and have them inspect it for you.
While I'm talking to the Service Manager I ask if a HD shipping pallet is available. Some places have them and are willing to part with them to help you get you new bike home safely. Some dealers will not part with them as they receive $ 125.00 form HD for returning them. If this is the case I offer to pay the $ 125.00 to buy one from them. If the selller is a good customer and wants to sell his bike bad enough he can speak to the dealer and hopefully act on your behalf.
In 2 instances, for me, I've contacted fellow members like Black Cat and Big Rich who are friends and they have helped me find skids for shipping. I usually have the bike serviced by the sellers dealer if required before shipping and this will also buy you some good will with the dealer.
Next you have to pay for the bike. Here's the tricky part. Most people will not give you a signed bill of sale or signed title before they have been paid in full. This is understandable and you need to have a signed copy of the bill of sale and the signed title at the border crossing that you plan on having the bike cross at 72 working hours in advance.
I use bank wire transfers to pay sellers for the following reasons. If you use Paypal for a big purchase the seller does not want to eat the 3% fee Paypal charges, in some cases I've paid the 3% or split it with the seller.
A bank draft in Canada is a guaranteed form of payment but not in the US. If you use a bank draft be prepared to wait 7-10 for it to clear. The best and most effective way to pay is by wiring the money to the seller using your bank.This usually takes one to two days maximum, most times the same day. Ask the seller for his bank name and address, his name and address, his account number and a routing number. Make sure you make reference to what you are buying on the wire, i.e. VIN and bike name, model and year.
Once the seller is 100% certain that they have been pain in full ask them to sign the back of the title and provide you with a signed bill of sale ASAP so you can forward this to the Border you plan on crossing at, or to forward to a Customs broker who will be acting on your behalf.
At this time I take the faxed copies of the bill of sale and title to the my insurance company and insure it. VERY IMPORTANT to make sure you are covered in the unlikely event.
A broker will normally charge you $ 250.00 - $ 350.00 to act on your behalf, especially good to use if you are using a trucking / shipping company to haul the bike for you. With almost all shipping companies it's mandatory. A broker can do in one day what normally takes 3 days for you do on your own. The border will commence the process with faxed copies of the above to them but the originals MUST travel with the bike to the border.
You can find all of the information you need regarding border crossing locations, hours of operation, fax numbers, etc. by doing a search of the " Border Protection Agency " site on the web.
If I'm picking the bike up myself I like to use larger Ports that are open 24hours. When you cross they will take Interac, cash or credit card for the GST due on the purchase price of the bike when you cross with it. If I'm having the bike picked up I like to use the dealer as a pick up point and pay them to secure the bike to the skid and load it for me. This is usually a 1/2 hour labour or so. You can find out all of the dealer information to pass on to the trucking company by using the HD website and their dealer locator. I like to use the service manager as a contact if it's OK with him and follow up with a call once you have the shipping booked. I also send an email to the trucking company with all of the information needed for the dealer listed as the pick up point with a phone number, full address and the name of the Service manager / contact person.
Once the bike crosses you or the truck driver will be given a Form 1, the original bill of sale and the original title. Make sure you don't lose these 3 documents.
Once you take delivery of the bike, you have to apply for a mandatory compliance letter from HD Canada. Their phone number is 905-660-3500 to request this form ( compliance letter ) the fax number to send the completed form back to them is 905- 660-9146. They will fax you a fill in the blank one page form. Send it back them via fax, it's the fastest way. If you provide them with a return fax number, they will fax the recall / compliance letter back to you instead of mailing it.They are located in the Toronto area.
The form from HD Canada is required for the next step in the process with the Registrar of Imported Motor Vehicles.
They can be found @ riv.ca or tel: 1-888-288-9238 for contact information etc. or even making an online payment for your upcoming RIV inspection. When contacting them make sure you have your Form 1 ( long form in 2 copies one yellow and one white ) handy to make reference to. They'll want the tranaction number and the Port code to track your shipment. You'll have to pay a fee of $ 206.70 for their inspection which will allow you to register the bike, the inspection only takes a few minutes and in most cases is done by your local Canadian Tire store. RIV is located in Toronto.
Also note that in some provinces you may require a provincial safety inspection as well prior to registering the bike.
Hope this helps anyone wanting to purchase a bike in the US. It's sounds more time consuming than it really is.
If you have any questions or need help please send me a PM and I can refer you to a shipper and broker that I use and know are reliable. Shipping costs for me so far have been anywhere from $ 800.00 - 1100.00. There is no duty to pay if the bike is made in the US.
Good luck. Pat.
It's actually not that hard, I've done quite a few of these for myself and helped some members here already.
First if you find a bike in most cases you'll be buying a bike sight unseen and the process takes a leap of faith, to a certain degree. Here are some tips that may help you with the process. Ask for pictures, service history and negotiate a sale price. Once you have done this a call to the dealer that the seller uses will usually help with a couple of things.
I call the Service Manager and using the VIN and the sellers name ask about service history and the conditon of the bike. If need be, have the seller take the bike to the dealer and have them inspect it for you.
While I'm talking to the Service Manager I ask if a HD shipping pallet is available. Some places have them and are willing to part with them to help you get you new bike home safely. Some dealers will not part with them as they receive $ 125.00 form HD for returning them. If this is the case I offer to pay the $ 125.00 to buy one from them. If the selller is a good customer and wants to sell his bike bad enough he can speak to the dealer and hopefully act on your behalf.
In 2 instances, for me, I've contacted fellow members like Black Cat and Big Rich who are friends and they have helped me find skids for shipping. I usually have the bike serviced by the sellers dealer if required before shipping and this will also buy you some good will with the dealer.
Next you have to pay for the bike. Here's the tricky part. Most people will not give you a signed bill of sale or signed title before they have been paid in full. This is understandable and you need to have a signed copy of the bill of sale and the signed title at the border crossing that you plan on having the bike cross at 72 working hours in advance.
I use bank wire transfers to pay sellers for the following reasons. If you use Paypal for a big purchase the seller does not want to eat the 3% fee Paypal charges, in some cases I've paid the 3% or split it with the seller.
A bank draft in Canada is a guaranteed form of payment but not in the US. If you use a bank draft be prepared to wait 7-10 for it to clear. The best and most effective way to pay is by wiring the money to the seller using your bank.This usually takes one to two days maximum, most times the same day. Ask the seller for his bank name and address, his name and address, his account number and a routing number. Make sure you make reference to what you are buying on the wire, i.e. VIN and bike name, model and year.
Once the seller is 100% certain that they have been pain in full ask them to sign the back of the title and provide you with a signed bill of sale ASAP so you can forward this to the Border you plan on crossing at, or to forward to a Customs broker who will be acting on your behalf.
At this time I take the faxed copies of the bill of sale and title to the my insurance company and insure it. VERY IMPORTANT to make sure you are covered in the unlikely event.
A broker will normally charge you $ 250.00 - $ 350.00 to act on your behalf, especially good to use if you are using a trucking / shipping company to haul the bike for you. With almost all shipping companies it's mandatory. A broker can do in one day what normally takes 3 days for you do on your own. The border will commence the process with faxed copies of the above to them but the originals MUST travel with the bike to the border.
You can find all of the information you need regarding border crossing locations, hours of operation, fax numbers, etc. by doing a search of the " Border Protection Agency " site on the web.
If I'm picking the bike up myself I like to use larger Ports that are open 24hours. When you cross they will take Interac, cash or credit card for the GST due on the purchase price of the bike when you cross with it. If I'm having the bike picked up I like to use the dealer as a pick up point and pay them to secure the bike to the skid and load it for me. This is usually a 1/2 hour labour or so. You can find out all of the dealer information to pass on to the trucking company by using the HD website and their dealer locator. I like to use the service manager as a contact if it's OK with him and follow up with a call once you have the shipping booked. I also send an email to the trucking company with all of the information needed for the dealer listed as the pick up point with a phone number, full address and the name of the Service manager / contact person.
Once the bike crosses you or the truck driver will be given a Form 1, the original bill of sale and the original title. Make sure you don't lose these 3 documents.
Once you take delivery of the bike, you have to apply for a mandatory compliance letter from HD Canada. Their phone number is 905-660-3500 to request this form ( compliance letter ) the fax number to send the completed form back to them is 905- 660-9146. They will fax you a fill in the blank one page form. Send it back them via fax, it's the fastest way. If you provide them with a return fax number, they will fax the recall / compliance letter back to you instead of mailing it.They are located in the Toronto area.
The form from HD Canada is required for the next step in the process with the Registrar of Imported Motor Vehicles.
They can be found @ riv.ca or tel: 1-888-288-9238 for contact information etc. or even making an online payment for your upcoming RIV inspection. When contacting them make sure you have your Form 1 ( long form in 2 copies one yellow and one white ) handy to make reference to. They'll want the tranaction number and the Port code to track your shipment. You'll have to pay a fee of $ 206.70 for their inspection which will allow you to register the bike, the inspection only takes a few minutes and in most cases is done by your local Canadian Tire store. RIV is located in Toronto.
Also note that in some provinces you may require a provincial safety inspection as well prior to registering the bike.
Hope this helps anyone wanting to purchase a bike in the US. It's sounds more time consuming than it really is.
If you have any questions or need help please send me a PM and I can refer you to a shipper and broker that I use and know are reliable. Shipping costs for me so far have been anywhere from $ 800.00 - 1100.00. There is no duty to pay if the bike is made in the US.
Good luck. Pat.
