What exactly is the law for Canadians in regards of transporting a snowmobile across the border . Is there a pre inform notice of a certain time ,or can you just come over and buy, and take back home ,same day without regard!
MBtriple
Member
ive never done it but i believe it has to be used and you have to give the border 72 hrs notice. im pretty sure they have a form and description of what to do on customs Canada website.
02YamiSxViper
New member
I bought mine in NY. I came and gave a deposit. Then had a bill of sale and the ownership and brought it to the nearest US border. They ask for 48 hours I think before you bring it over, I believe they check for liens and to make sure its not stolen. Then in 48 hours I went and picked up the sled, stopped at the US border and grabbed my ownership and bill of sale. Then you bring it to the Canada border office and they start a Canadian RIV which is like $250 and pay the GST/5% of the HST. Then it sits in your garage till you get a letter from Yamaha saying all the recalls have been done and you bring it to Canadian Tire saying it meets Canada standards, then register....... Wow when your writing it down its a mouthful. Oh ya then you have to go to the Ministry and register it, pay remaining taxes, and get a plate and sticker. I did this with my last two sleds. Went pretty easily, Yamaha was very good about the letter, I hear Ski-Doo makes you pay $500 for this letter.
I believe your supposed to have the paperwork at the border 72 hours prior to bringing the sled back,actually this applies for any vehicle bought in the US,but if you don't plan on ever taking it back across the border you can get away with just showing up the day of purchase.You don't have to schedule any appointment or anything like that but you will need some paperwork.The bill of sale especially but if you can get it the registration too really helps,and be prepared to spend some time too because along with the inane questions they like to ask there's the RIV paperwork that you will have to fill out.RIV is Registry of Imported Vehicle and this is necessary to bring any vehicle into Canada.
I bought my 01 SRX a year ago October and just showed up with it at the border,all I had was the bill of sale which will pass for your documentation just be absolutely sure things like the date,purchase price,serial number and signatures are on it.
The border crew will ask some pretty numb questions too like where did you find the vehicle,ie Craigslist or other auto trader,so they can look it up and question you about the purchase price,especially if there's a big discrepancy in the asking price and your purchase price.They make you feel like a friggin criminal with some of the questions they ask.And be prepared to have them call the seller to verify the sale price to so if you do have the bill of sale wrote out for less than what you actually buy it for to save on the taxes make sure you and the seller have your story straight because it's not uncommon to have the border agents call to try and trip you up on the price.
Once you get the vehicle home you have a certain amount of time to have the RIV inspection done at Canadian Tire,unless there's another authorized inspection station around you to do RIV's.There's a fee for this too,naturally,something like $240 or $250 dollars,then it's just a matter of changing the vehicle over into your name and registering it.
You'll have to email Yamaha Canada and get a letter stating there's no outstanding recalls and other bs too,this you'll need when you get the RIV inspection done.It's free to,one of the only things that doesn't cost ya in the whole transaction.
I bought my 01 SRX a year ago October and just showed up with it at the border,all I had was the bill of sale which will pass for your documentation just be absolutely sure things like the date,purchase price,serial number and signatures are on it.
The border crew will ask some pretty numb questions too like where did you find the vehicle,ie Craigslist or other auto trader,so they can look it up and question you about the purchase price,especially if there's a big discrepancy in the asking price and your purchase price.They make you feel like a friggin criminal with some of the questions they ask.And be prepared to have them call the seller to verify the sale price to so if you do have the bill of sale wrote out for less than what you actually buy it for to save on the taxes make sure you and the seller have your story straight because it's not uncommon to have the border agents call to try and trip you up on the price.
Once you get the vehicle home you have a certain amount of time to have the RIV inspection done at Canadian Tire,unless there's another authorized inspection station around you to do RIV's.There's a fee for this too,naturally,something like $240 or $250 dollars,then it's just a matter of changing the vehicle over into your name and registering it.
You'll have to email Yamaha Canada and get a letter stating there's no outstanding recalls and other bs too,this you'll need when you get the RIV inspection done.It's free to,one of the only things that doesn't cost ya in the whole transaction.
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Looks like 02Yami beat me to it,he must type faster than I do.lol
02YamiSxViper
New member
You typed a couple more paragraphs.....