Canada International Auto Transport Quotes
You can read auto transport reviews from major companies in Canada to see the services offered by each company, read testimonials from their customers, and compare quotes side-by-side instantly. In addition, you can get detailed information about shipping to Canada or get professional advice for shipping from Canada to the United States or elsewhere in the world.
CarShipping.com works with many of the best auto transport companies, who are recommended for vehicle shipping, freight and personal moving services. Review each Canadian moving company and compare multiple quotes when you’re ready.
Reviews of Canada International Shipping Companies
Car Transportation Between the US and Canada
In most cases, citizens of the US and Canada can bring their cars into and out of either country without too many restrictions. However, if you plan to stay in either country for more than just a few days, you need to take steps to register it officially. The rules vary depending on whether you are importing the car on a permanent or a temporary basis. There are very few restrictions for a temporary stay in either country. However, if you plan on permanently shipping a car from Canada to the US or the other way around, you need to comply with a series of vehicle safety and emissions requirements.
Import Requirements
Canada for example, requires all US vehicles that are brought into the country to have the equivalent of daytime running lights installed on the vehicle within 45 days after it is imported into the country. Canada’s tough emission standards prohibit certain cars from being imported into the country from the US as well. The US, meanwhile, has tough standards for vehicle safety, and does not permit the import of vehicles that are more than 25-years old.
Trans-Border Car Shipping Companies
Canada international shipping companies will pick up your car from your door and transport it across the border for you and handle all customs processes on your behalf as well. You will be required to provide the shipping company with your original title documents, registration, and bill of sale. If your vehicle ever had a safety recall, you will also be required to get a certification directly from the manufacturer stating that the recall issue has been addressed.
Complete Suite of Shipping Services
Most major Canada international car shipping companies offer vehicle inspection as part of their services. They will do a complete, bumper-to-bumper inspection of your vehicle to see if there are any issues related to safety or emissions that you need to address before you can ship your vehicle across the border. If you want a shipping company to transport your car, you will need to give them your original title. Cars that cross the border without a title will be stored in a customs-bonded warehouse, from which you will need to clear it subsequently. You will be charged a storage fee for every day that your car remains in the customs warehouse.
In general, importing or exporting cars between the U.S. and Canada is a fairly straightforward process if you know what to do. Canada international shipping companies can make the task of transporting your car across the border even simpler by taking all the guess work out of the process.
Vehicle Admissibility
Before you can even begin the process of shipping a car to Canada you will need to first determine if your American vehicle is eligible for import into the country. Canada’s Registrar of Imported Vehicles maintains a list of vehicles that are admissible in the country. Find out if the vehicle you plan on importing is on the list and determine whether it needs any major modifications in order to meet Canadian requirements.
Preparing for Import
If you are driving the vehicle across to Canada, make sure to send a copy of your car’s title at least 72-hours in advance to the officials at the U.S border crossing through which you intend to enter the country. If you plan on shipping a car to Canada using car transporters, you will need to place the original title of the vehicle in the glove compartment. Vehicles will not be permitted into the country without the original title.
Clearing Canadian Customs
Make sure to have your title, registration, proof of insurance, and all sales bills and receipts when you enter Canada. Customs officials in the country will inspect these documents and give you a Vehicle Import Form that will need to be filled. Depending on the vehicle you are importing, you will be required to pay applicable sales and excise taxes, as well as import tariffs. If your vehicle is accepted, you will have 45-days to complete any required modifications. You will then need to bring the imported car for another inspection, and, if it passes that inspection, you will get a sticker saying that your car is ready for Canadian registration.
If you are shipping your car using professional car transportation services, your car will be taken to a bonded customs warehouse, where you will need to complete all of the same formalities.
Additional Information
There are a few additional factors you need to be aware of listed below:
- Before you ship a car to Canada, find out if it meets Canadian emissions requirements. Be aware that Canada levies a fairly steep emissions tax on high emission vehicles.
- Sometimes, any required modifications to your vehicle, such as installing day-time running lights, will need to be done by a qualified dealer of the vehicle. That can be expensive.
- If your vehicle has ever had a safety recall, you will need to obtain a recall clearance letter from your dealer before you can import a car to Canada.
The task of importing a car to Canada can be accomplished quite quickly and painlessly so long as you pay attention to all the required formalities.
Safety Requirements
The vehicle needs to have been originally manufactured to meet all US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards. Cars that are certified to Canadian vehicle safety standards are also eligible for import, because many of the requirements are the same. Even so, the Canadian vehicle manufacturer will have to formally certify that your particular vehicle meets all U.S. federal standards in order for you to be able to ship a car from Canada to the US.
Importing from Canada is Straightforward
In general, importing a car to the US from abroad can be a complex and costly undertaking, especially if the car is not designed to meet US safety, emissions and environmental standards. Fortunately, importing a car from Canada is not very tricky at all, and can be achieved in a fairly straightforward manner. Typically, you can import a car from Canada either on a permanent basis or on a temporary basis.
Temporary and Permanent Imports
If you are importing a car from Canada temporarily, you can get an approval permit to keep it in the US for up to one year as long as it is intended for personal use, and so long as you do not plan on selling the car. If you plan to keep the vehicle longer than one year, you will need to submit a written request to the U.S. Department of Transportation at least 30 days before your temporary permit expires. When your permit expires, you will need to show proof that you exported the vehicle back to Canada. For a temporary import, you generally do not have to show that the vehicle is in compliance with US safety standards.
Using a Registered Importer
If you are shipping a car from Canada to the U.S. on a permanent basis, you will need to show that your vehicle is compliant with all safety requirements. If your vehicle is not compliant, you will still be allowed to import the vehicle through what is known as a Registered Importer or RI. An RI is a person or company that is qualified to make modifications to imported cars in order to bring them into compliance with US safety requirements. You will have 45-days to bring your car in compliance. During that time, you will be required to deposit a bond amount equivalent to 150 percent of the value of the car. In case you fail to bring the car into compliance within the allotted time, or if you haven’t exported it back by then, you will forfeit that money.
Emission Requirements
When shipping a car from Canada, pay attention to US emission requirements. Though the emission requirements in both countries are more or less the same, the forms that are required to be filled when you bring you car in from Canada are different depending on model years and vehicle class. Generally speaking, it is easy to ship a car from Canada to the US, but you can make it easier on yourself if you hired a professional open or enclosed auto transport service to haul your car across the border for you.