Bringing the car to Canada for 2 years?

bizguy

Hi, just got my IEC POE, best of luck to those who have applied by the way!!

As I'll be there for 2 years, I'm going to need a car. I have a 2004 car here in mint condition, which has passed the worst of its depreciation. It's worth more to me on the road than if I sold it.

The obvious thing to do is:
sell it (for around 6k)
buy a car in Canada (for ?, I think I need a Canadian licence to buy it?)
sell that when leaving Canada (more depreciation and a desperate last-minute sell)
buy another car in Ireland when I get home

This is a lot of money if you look at it over 2 years.

From what I can see, if you're going to live in Canada temporarily (which I'm guessing would include the IEC), you can bring your car from Ireland to Canada without having to do an import inspection or pay duties. You could also maybe fill the car with stuff from here to save you rebuying it in Canada. Has anyone ever done this? I've driven all over Europe in Irish cars so the wheel on the other side is not an issue.

Some advice would be appreciated...

Thanks

goingitalone

bizguy wrote: »

Hi, just got my IEC POE, best of luck to those who have applied by the way!!

As I'll be there for 2 years, I'm going to need a car. I have a 2004 car here in mint condition, which has passed the worst of its depreciation. It's worth more to me on the road than if I sold it.

The obvious thing to do is:
sell it (for around 6k)
buy a car in Canada (for ?, I think I need a Canadian licence to buy it?)
sell that when leaving Canada (more depreciation and a desperate last-minute sell)
buy another car in Ireland when I get home

This is a lot of money if you look at it over 2 years.

From what I can see, if you're going to live in Canada temporarily (which I'm guessing would include the IEC), you can bring your car from Ireland to Canada without having to do an import inspection or pay duties. You could also maybe fill the car with stuff from here to save you rebuying it in Canada. Has anyone ever done this? I've driven all over Europe in Irish cars so the wheel on the other side is not an issue.

Some advice would be appreciated...

Thanks

Yeah chances of that happening Are slim to none

GrumPy

It would cost far more than it's worth to ship it. You'll need to sit and pass a Canadian test and get a Canadian license, remember.
Also, public transport in North America is leaps and bounds above what we have here in Ireland. Bus, rail and underground systems are typically really good. You can certainly buy a car eventually, but if it's just getting in and out of work, and the odd road trip, public transport should be adequate and you can always get a rental for adventures.

el diablo

GrumPy wrote: »

It would cost far more than it's worth to ship it. You'll need to sit and pass a Canadian test and get a Canadian license, remember.
Also, public transport in North America is leaps and bounds above what we have here in Ireland. Bus, rail and underground systems are typically really good. You can certainly buy a car eventually, but if it's just getting in and out of work, and the odd road trip, public transport should be adequate and you can always get a rental for adventures.

Hmm, don't think I agree with that. And there's hardly any rail service in Canada.

GrumPy

el diablo wrote: »

Hmm, don't think I agree with that. And there's hardly any rail service in Canada.

Hmmmm... Is the metro system any use, no? I've heard good things. Obviously I'm talking about dense population areas like the major cities, though.

el diablo

GrumPy wrote: »

Hmmmm... Is the metro system any use, no? I've heard good things. Obviously I'm talking about dense population areas like the major cities, though.

I'm in Calgary (well over a million people live here). No metro/underground here, just a light rail service that doesn't cover much of the city. There's no rail link to any other cities and the taxi service is rubbish.

Public transport in Europe is vastly superior to that in North America.

CBCB2

el diablo wrote: »

Public transport in Europe is vastly superior to that in North America.

I would agree. Although I don't live in Toronto I go up to it often enough. The public transit there leaves ALOT to be desired....

Europe is streets ahead of here. Everyone drives here!!

dirtyghettokid

i looked into it before. not worth it. and no one will insure you on a RHD car over there. the insurance info coming from canadians that like jap imports!

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5048-eng.html

Agro Head

I think the public transport in Toronto is great. If you live on a subway line you won't be using a car much. I signed up for Zip Car which lets you rent by the hour. I use them when driving to meetings etc.. Works out way cheaper than a standard rental as you don't pay for petrol or insurance and can drop it back whenever you want.

Sunshine87

el diablo wrote: »

I'm in Calgary (well over a million people live here). No metro/underground here, just a light rail service that doesn't cover much of the city. There's no rail link to any other cities and the taxi service is rubbish.

Public transport in Europe is vastly superior to that in North America.

Toronto has a good transport system. and pretty cheap too. i commute alot for my job and never have any problems, even in the artic cold we got.

GrumPy

GrumPy wrote: »

It would cost far more than it's worth to ship it. You'll need to sit and pass a Canadian test and get a Canadian license, remember.
Also, public transport in >>>>>CITIES IN<<<< North America is leaps and bounds above what we have here in Ireland. Bus, rail and underground systems are typically really good. You can certainly buy a car eventually, but if it's just getting in and out of work, and the odd road trip, public transport should be adequate and you can always get a rental for adventures.

FYP

Personally my thing will be to get a pick-up once I'm over, useful for my eventual line of work, and I'd look into bringing that baby back to Ireland one day (well, to Iceland maybe. Ferries can get you from there to Eurpe, and it'd be a hell of an adventure! )

againstthetide

Is your car a diesel?
If so and you moving to the praries you are going to have a bad time
You'll need to spend a couple of hundred dollars fitting a block heater if one is even available for your model
If if your car is Petrol I would heartily recommend a block heater.
It's no joke getting your car to start at minus twenty or lower in the mornings

Beancounter 2013

It does seem like a waste to sell you car in Ireland and then buy in Canada and resell before you head back to Ireland (IF you head back to Ireland!) I moved last summer and also contemplated bringing over a 9 year old Saab as it was worth more to me as a car than what I could sell it for. We moved to Calgary, but I figured since Saabs are Swedish the weather couldn't be that much of an issue for it. In the end I sold the beloved car for a couple of grand and bought a 12 year old jeep here to get me around and get through the snow and ice with my winter tyres. It already had a block heater, but no starter and was no fun to start in wind chill temps of -40! The winter is finally coming to an end and all the snow in the city is melted, though there is 5 - 10cm forecast for the next 48 hours, and my old jeep has served me well. When I bought it I figured it was a gamble with it being 12 years old, but no problems. I don't have the hassle of rhd insurance (and the driving wouldn't have fazed me at all), shipping costs, cold weather additions like block heater etc. There are always people heading back home so always a steady supply of cars being sold by Irish who are finishing up on their visas and always a steady stream of new arrivals to buy those cars. Good luck with it - I'd flog it at home.

krishnalynn

Being in a city in North America =/= good public transportation.

I currently live in San Diego and you can't live here without a car. Calgary is similar. It all depends on the city you're in.

ciaran67

If you do bring it make sure you have steel girders welded to each side. Worst drivers on the planet.

ciaran67

ciaran67 wrote: »

If you do bring it make sure you have steel girders welded to each side. Worst drivers on the planet.

This was from last week when some nugget hit me like a missile from behind. Can still see him coming toward me in the mirror.

Popped into ICBC today who were very nice and wrote me car off.