I know a few of you guys have recently purchased sleds in the US. I've located one that I am interested in, but have a couple of questions before I pull the trigger:

a) what exactly do I need in order to bring the sled back?
b) what did you guys do for insurance when transporting the sled?
c) Is there any time period requirements that need to be adhered to? Ie. If I complete the purchase and have the vehicle stored on my behalf until I can get down to pick it up (will probably be 6 weeks before I can), will this cause a problem?
d) what are the total costs I will incur at the border, and is PST and GST payable when registering here?

Thanks in advance!

SRX:

Get all the info you need here: http://www.riv.ca/english/html/how_to_import.html

1. You need a valid bill of sale
2. Registration/Ownership - some states are different and do NOT have a title - just a registration.
The whole 72 hour notice at the border deal - you will get different answers from different people on this one. I called the border crossing I used (Prescott) and the US Customs officer specifically told me it did not apply to sleds. Had all that info in case I had a problem.
3. Your insurance should automatically cover you for a new purchase for a certain number of days - call them and confirm.
4. At the border you will pay GST on the Cdn $ value of the purchase price - they take credit cards. You have the choice on the RIV fee. I followed the recommendation to pay the RIV fee online (at the website above) when I got home. Then fax your copy of the RIV form and the recall letter to them. That speeds up the process (waiting for customs to mail the form to the RIV office).
5. Recall Letter from the Manufacturer. The RIV website has all the contact info. You need this letter to get the inspection done at CTC - you do not need it at the border. Personally - I got the vendor to give me the VIN # in advance and had my recall letter before I bought the sled. I was just trying to be careful.
6. The RIV fee covers the cost of the inspection at CTC. Once that is done you go to the MTO and register the sled and pay PST at that time. Oh - you also have to buy plates and your annual sticker of course.

Basically the "additional" cost of buying a sled in the US is the $195 RIV fee and the GST - which would not apply on private sale up here.

Think that covers it.

Good luck - what are you hoping to buy????

/\ What Red said.

what are ya buying and what are you doin with the srx?

thanks RR. What is the CTC? So you pay only the GST at the border? I'm assuming the purchaser (me) has to bring the sled across the border? ie. I can't have a friend who lives close by do it on my behalf, or do you know the answer to this? I am assuming the answer is "no"...

as for the sled - '06 Fusion 600. 1030 miles on it for $3900 US. I think that's a pretty smoking deal.

see above. As for the SRX. I may just keep it and polish it up real nice for the odd rip around the lake, or for the yearly northern high speed Cochrane run. It runs great and has given me 8k miles of worry free riding, but the lack of suspension is killing me!

It's in pretty good shape:

Click to view attachment

RIV has a contract to have the inspections done at Canadian Tire Corp (CTC) - sorry.

yes - only the GST at the border. The Customs guy said to me "We don't care about the province - only the federal government". PST is paid at the MTO when you register it here.

Cannot answer the friend question - sorry.

Sounds like a good deal! - Back on a Poo eh!!

Good luck!

thanks. Yeah, have always liked Poo....really like the new IQ's/Switchback's, but can't bring myself to spend that on a sled right now. Best case I only get 4 sledding trips a year these days.

[quote name='SRX4ME' date='Aug 21 2007, 09:46 AM' post='2979291']
thanks RR. What is the CTC?

WHAT IS CTC?????? You should be ashamed of yourself. No soup for you.

After he spelled it out it made sense. Wasn't thinking.

Not knowing what CTC stands for is grounds for having your citizenship revoked.

That is the exact reason why I bought my ProX2 last winter. With a young family buying new iron is a complete waste for me. I don't mind it sitting in the garage not getting used. As it is now we are expecting our second child on Valentines day - so we better get some damn snow in January this year!!!

BTW - I think I know the sled you are trying to buy. I have dealt with Paul at Sled Solutions on numerous things - always been a stand up guy!

my feelings exactly. I'd take a few years off the sport rather than buy a sled brand new for 12k only to have to sit through shitty winters and/or use it 3 times a year. All I'd see when I looked at it would be money burning!

As you say, if it sits for a season, no biggie with that much cash invested. Congrats on the new addition, btw....my wife gave birth to our second in May...it's been an adjustment!

The sled seems like a deal. I am waiting to hear back from my insurance right now to see if it would be covered with a bill of sale until I can get it over the border. That's my only concern at this point. From all I've spoken to he is a stand up guy...

Thanks - I sure we will be busy - our Son will be 23 months old when the little one is born in Feb. This is part of the reason for planning a sled trip in Mid January. Hope to rack on some miles before the birth. I remember you just had a second - I think you went to a Sens playoff game the day after?? LOL!

I bought some parts off Paul - he had a 2006 Fusion Racer that he wrecked and then parted out. I bought the snowflap and the helix to use on my ProX2.

Good luck and pray for snow!!

yep. He was born on May 30th and I was tailgating outside the rink at high noon on June 2nd. My wife's a good sport.

Youre wives are at home with cracked nipples and youre out buying new sleds????? Its a mans world for sure, you make us proud.

suspension....your a young man ,whats wrong lol........i would like an srx to tinker with but not looking hard.....Call the border you plan to cross talk to each side to be sure of no surprises

My wife went to a wedding the day after our second. She taped an ice pack to her ass, drank some wine, stayed for a couple of hours and went home.

I bought my Pro-X 2 years ago and the only issue I has was when the shipping company lost the title. Other than that is was real easy. SRX, if you're considering having it shipped instead of driving to pick it up, let me know. I still have the steel Polaris crate that mine came on that you could use if you wanted to.

you can get them shipped? How much did that cost you and who did you use?

I'd have to go back and look who they used; I did it through my dad's business. Yellow Freight rings a bell. With his rate/discounts it was less than $500US; way less than what gas would have cost me, nevermind the time, lodging, etc. but I wouldn't have lost the title.

Did you end up getting the sled?

When in person at the border they may ask if you bought it on ebay, and they throw it in to casual conversation. (I was asked inside and outside the office by different customs officers) If so they may double check the auction listing and see if you truthfully declared the value. A Canadian out west posted last year he had everything impounded and had to pay over $1100 to even get his truck back.

Yes, We have had this happen to us. So be very careful of what you say. We bought a sled off of dootalk and they wanted to go look up the price on the net. Luckily for us he hadn't posted the price in the add.

I just bought a sled in NY state, going to pick it up this weekend, so I am going through this process for the first time. Has anyone bought a sled from NY state recently? The dealer is telling me I need to pay NY state tax 8%, which I did not think would apply to me since I will not be registering the sled in NY. They are looking into it more, but they said its something new only on snowmobiles, not even atvs, seems strange to me. I think they are probably wrong or confused, anyone had to pay this, and if so, can I reclaim it back?

No sure - bought mine in NY last year, privately - did not pay state tax.

The Polaris dealer I talked to this week said they do not need to charge tax to Canadians but the Ski-Doo dealer told me they are getting a lot of pressure from BRP so in order for them to sell to Canadians they would first have to register the sled to someone from the states and then they would sell it to you as used.

dealer is trying you on or is uninformed........no tax to you if bought in NY.

How did any of you actually pay for the sled when you were in the US? certified cheque or money order? cash?

I wonder because the yanks don't have the faintest idea what TD Canada Trust is...

US Bank draft from TD, no problems.

Money order from Canada Trust.

thanks guys.. looks like I'm headed to Vermont this weekend to pick up an 04 REV 800!

I have received the country of origin certificate, do I need a registration or title document as well?

EDIT: just spoke with the owner.. he never registered it so he only has the certificate of origin.

is this going to be a problem?

probably not, as i believe in some states registration of snowmobiles is not necessary, but i would phone the US customs office you plan to cross at, and ask them to be sure, maybe even the canadian customs too.

trying canada customs right now.... on hold

any other info is greatly appreciated I am picking it up on Saturday so have to fax the stuff to US border by thursday the latest.

not sure where you are crossing? might be ok at buffalo, but some US customs export offices are only open Mon.-Fri. 8am-4pm, so you can only cross with the sled during these hours

thanks! i will check that out for sure.

I will be crossing at either Hill Island near gananoque or cornwall it looks like.

also just got off the phone with Canada Customs and the COO is all they need, lady on the phone said they learned this recently though so I'm going to call back and get a confirmation of this in writing.


Also.... seller is willing to write the BOS for any amount and is willing to make a post for sale indicating whatever selling price and details we agree on.

I'm wondering if I can say the motor is broken.. seller has no problems with it, but in actuality it has a complete rebuild on it with 0 miles... new pistons and the cases were split, inspected and put back together. it smokes a lot because of the oil in the tank for break in.....

any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

I crossed at Gananoque, and I can tell you for sure, you have to cross Mon.-Fri. 8am-4pm, Saturday will not work for you. So you will have to saty until Mon. or you can leave the sled on the US side in storage, thats what I did. Left it near Watertown,NY in storage. Only cost $25 to leave it there for a week, as the place had a special on for Canadians leaving vehicles for the 72hr clearnace. The place was full of vehicles, atvs waiting to clear.

I would call your US crossing port, here is the Gananoque/Alexandria Bay US port info
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contact...rts/ny/0708.xml
They have vehicle export info right on this page.

F@#$%K

I had no idea about that.... messena is the same thing mon-fri 8-4pm

do you know of any other ones east of lake ontario that are open on the weekend?

RR you crossed at prescott,ON/ogdensburg, NY?

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contact...rts/ny/0701.xml

or trout river: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contact...rts/ny/0715.xml

or champlain into quebec: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contact...rts/ny/0712.xml

I don't know if there are any others open on weekends besides Buffalo-lewiston bridge.
I crossed at Alexandria Bay, did not check any others except Ogdensburg, and same thing Mon-Fri.

I crossed at Ogdensburg - Prescott.

I never gave the US side 72 hours notice, I called a week before and confirmed with US customs in Ogdensburg and they said I did not have to (not interested in sleds). You do not have to stop on the US side - I just drove across the bridge to the Cdn side. Did my thing on the Cdn side and left. I crossed on a Saturday morning. I don't care where you cross - when exiting the US there is no US custom's booth to clear - you just drive across the bridge. IMO - I would only go into US customs if the Cdn side sent you back.

IMO - simply not worth trying to screw around and lie about the actual purchase price. You are saving enough $$ as it is. Custom guys have quite a bit of power and why risk fines etc ruining a good deal.

JMO

just got off the horn with 2 different us custom offices 1. ogdensburg, ny and 2. High gate, VT.

the guy at ogdensburg said they are only open mon-fri...

both said that you have to provide the original documents and 2 photocopies 72hrs before IN PERSON (or through an authorized broker). this is a new rule they have put in place.


fact is, everyone is saying Canada Customs doesn't care about the stamp...

thoughts please

Don't think it is a "new rule" - perhaps they are just enforcing it more. I probably "should" have done the exact same thing - but I know I did not and the Cdn side never even blinked.

Have you contacted the Cdn customs and asked what they "require"???

no I haven't yet


what does this "stamp" say and where do they put it? I only have the COO and a bill of sale for the vehicle when I get to the border.. isn't that when they give me the form 1?

I NEVER stopped on the US side - they did NOT give me any form or ANY stamp.

The Form 1 comes from Canada Customs.

I have no idea what the US guys give you or what they stamp - because I never stopped on the US side.

US customs stamps the registration, or in your case the COO, i think its just some kind of US cutoms seal and date, didnt really look. Canadian customs may or may not need the stamp, you probably just take your chances without it, and may get sent back, or possibly a fine. I would bet it comes down to whether the Canadian customs office enforces it a lot, and if the officer really takes notice. Chances are these days with all the importing of vehicles that they are checking this, so I would probably try and go the legit route if i were you, otherwise you will be sent back, and have to put the sled in storage and go back 72hrs. later. All this is documented on the riv site http://www.riv.ca/english/html/how_to_import.html and the us customs site http://www.customs.gov/xp/cgov/export/expo...tor_vehicle.xml

well the Legit route is going to the border crossing 72hrs prior and giving them the papers in person...

whoever developed this is a complete idiot because how do I have the original documents if I am in a different country? stupid beaurocratic morons.... grrrrrrrrrrr

I have researched this for years and never done it and now its time I am going to do it and they have this stupid rule. why can't they just run the vin!?! like they always have!!!!

i think they are trying to make it more of a hassle to prevent it somewhat. some us export offices accept faxes of the originals, but if they dont, you can always get the original docs couriered to the office, thats what most people seem to be doing.

thought about this a bit on the train home.. I am going to cross at Buffalo, unless my phone call tomorrow to prescott changes anything.

buffalo said I can fax in the docs and the bridge is listed as open, however from what I gather the only reason they want you there during the week is so they can inform the proper authorities if they need to be present... I know this sled isn't stolen and has no liens so there is no problem there.

my thinking is that Buffalo is only 1.5hrs from me and worst case scenario I have to leave it there I can come back pretty easily to pick it up.

I'm hoping(!) to cross at Port Huron this Friday.The registration was faxed last week.I'd hate to think I'm gonna have to make two trips down there......I tried to call them for two days and never did get through,just sent to voicemail...0 callbacks
I guess I'll see what happens...