Importing Tires from US

[Throttle]

Hey everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has imported tires from the US. As in ordered some from a magazine and picked them up in the states and brought them accross (before installing on vehicle).

Do you pay any duty on them?

[DnD]

GST and PST yes. No duty if they're made in the USA.

[raskal]

Originally posted by DnD
GST and PST yes. No duty if they're made in the USA.
agreed, plus probably our wonderful environmental levy as well

[Regger]

I'm just about to order a set of tires from the US in the next couple days, as there is no place here that can even come close to matching prices. After phoning three places, two of which say they will price match, cant price match!!! As the price from the US is below their cost. So there is no way they are going to sell a set of tires and lose money on them.

The cheapest place I've found up here is from a friend that Manages a tire shop, and even still the US price beats him by over $300 CAD. So unless you know someone in the business up here, your almost guaranteed to save over $400.

And all you have to pay at the Border is GST&PST (13%) + duty if the tires are not US made.

And I would recommend ordering through a website or mail-order as then you dont have to pay any state tax. By going down to Wa., you have to pay their 8.4% state tax.

I was quoted a price in Bellingham for a set of tires, but then once i got home and checked their website, by mail-ordering them I could save an additional $15us/tire plus dont have to pay any state taxes...

Its tough to beat.

And a alot of people will say, well what if you have a problem with them, you have to deal through the US... True, but its a chance you take. You can buy their optional free replacement warranty, and they will ship a new tire to you for free. Just have to pick it up at the border. As for flat repairs, Kal-tire does this for Free... So I dont really see any major advantage to buying in Canada, Besides for the support... But if we cant compete, (even at least close) it is very tough to support...

HTH
Ryan

[DnD]

Originally posted by mabb
Tires made in USA? Good luck with that!

Worked for me - Interco! :D

[killer toy]

i ended up buying from bellingham, mail order was a wee bit cheaper but i didnt order a full set so didnt get free shipping or tire warrrenty. Discount Tire awsome customer service and most of the guys in the shop (not salesmen)actually wheeled and knew what they were talking about. got a wicked price on my intercos(made in mexico) due to the north america act or sum thing no duty. just tax at boarder as regger said. i baught 2 tires 5 wheels mount balance and tire warrenty was like 650 us or 730ish can. cheapest pice quote in can even from a wheeling buddy who runs a kal tire was over 1000. discount tire even offered warrenty on the 2 tires i already had and are like 80% tread.on a pro rated system

so i think buying from the states is well worth it just shop around there is deals out there.

as for the boarder all i had to do was tell the booth attendent i baught tires then go inside and claim it i only had to pay tax on the wheels and tires not any of the services( mounting my old tires on new rims)

tommy

ps carhartt pants are $39 at
G I Joes

[Kellykins]

I'm ordering all sorts of things from the US since the dollar has gone up. Only thing I have learned, never buy anything that ships with UPS unless you like paying horrific amounts of cash at the border for so-called legal fees for crossing the border...

[wascobi]

www.discounttiredirect.com

5-31" mt/r's-$879 CDN shipped to sumas. plus gst/pst and mounting/balancing at your favorite shop. just a warning though, not too many shops are keen on mounting new tires that they did not make a profit selling!

[brian468]

why`d you have to pay gst and pst if you ordered online?

unless you brought them over then had it mounted, in which case ya shoulda drove the truck down and had em put on! ;)

[Throttle]

Ok, so what if you were to order some tires to a US box (the rental kind), then took the tires down to a tire shop in the states, and got the tire shop to put the new tires on and dispose or pay you for the old ones, then find some mud and drive thru it a few times to make them look a little used, then drive back to Canada.

would that work?

[d0ubledown]

Originally posted by Throttle
Ok, so what if you were to order some tires to a US box (the rental kind), then took the tires down to a tire shop in the states, and got the tire shop to put the new tires on and dispose or pay you for the old ones, then find some mud and drive thru it a few times to make them look a little used, then drive back to Canada.

would that work?

it could work. would you want to risk it though? i sure woudlnt want to be on the receiving end of an already pissed off border guard. unless you took a decent trip ie: few hundred K..it'd be hard to have brand spanking new tires look 'a lil' used. customs can and will be a b|tch to you...if they have any reason to be...like trying to avoid paying taxes. id dish out the g's for tax...

and last time i forgot to wash my truck after a day out wheeling..then crossed the border. i was questioned about the mud coming back. apparently if its extremely muddy/dirty..youre supposed to clean it off thoroughly. was news to me so i plead ignorance...

[Regger]

Originally posted by brian468
why`d you have to pay gst and pst if you ordered online?

unless you brought them over then had it mounted, in which case ya shoulda drove the truck down and had em put on! ;)

Most likely because Discount Tire is free shipping to the lower 48. So you pick them up in Sumas, Declare them at the border and pay the GST&PST..

Trying to smuggle them back could work, but then do you really want to risk it and possibly loosing your truck for a $100 odd bucks!!!

Ryan

[eric-the-red]

Something else to consider if you get the tires mounted in the US, you could end up with a big bill

"Repairs or modifications to your vehicle.

If you intend to have repairs or modifications made to
your vehicle outside Canada, check with the CBSA
before you leave. Under customs legislation, the
CBSA can no longer consider your vehicle, vessel, or
aircraft to be Canadian-made if you increase its value,
improve its condition, or have it modified outside of
Canada. As a result, you may have to pay duty and
Goods and Services Tax (GST) or Harmonized Sales
Tax (HST) on its entire value when you bring it back."

[builtzuki]

I bought some 37" MTRs at Wallyworld in the states and drove home with them and only had to pay the taxes. I had the old 35s in the back of the truck and had no issues at all. It took about 5 mins to go in and pay the tax and i was on my way. Well worth it:D

[wascobi]

I live 10 minutes from the sumas crossing. on a heavy traffic day I will walk across the border and then two blocks down to ship happens. many people use hand trucks to carry goods back and forth. hassle? none at all.

5 tires from dtc $879 cdn, +14%=$1002, +$5 a tire at ship happens, $100 m&b=$1127.00

5 tires from fountain, m&b + taxes=$1450.00

what would you do for/with $323.00 after-tax dollars?

[d0ubledown]

Originally posted by mabb
So let's see ...
You order on-line so you don't have to pay state sales tax...
Then you go down there to get them so you don't get ripped off by shipping/import... (but then you have to pay state sales tax?)
Then you have to prove the tires WERE MADE in USA (not just US branded) so there's no duty ...
Pay GST, PST, excise, enviro levy and maybe a ton more if you get them put on in the states ...
And to do this you only have to wait in line 3 hours each way to cross the border (six if the Canada Chicken Patrol buggers off and closes the gates) ...
Of course, your time is worth nothing (or do you get whomever you work for to foot the bill? How nice of them. Do they know they're doing it?) ...
And the gasoline for this day-long, money-saving excursion is also free ...
How are you saving money on this venture again?

you dont pay state sales tax unless you live or are purchasing in the same state that youre picking up/shipping to. just like how we wouldnt pay ontario's sales tax were we to buy from there. so if i lived in WA, id wouldnt pay sales tax if i were to buy online from another state...but if i went to WA, bought tires there in store..then came back..then id pay WA sales tax. got it? :D

when you cross through customs..you only pay BC's PST & GST (canadian equivalent of what youve purchased). if you were to cross through to canada in AB..then you'd only pay gst as there is no pst in AB. got it? :D

you may pay duty or you may not pay duty. if the item you purchased was made in USA or mexico (i think? part of the nafta agreement) then you dont pay duty. that said...i didnt pay duty on a bumper made in AU..so go figure. its all up to the customs officer at the time.

3 hours each way? if you wish to go through peace arch on a saturday long weekend afternoon..sure. but there are other options. point roberts..sumas..etc. going midweek mid day helps too.

whether you see it as saving money or not..lots of people do. especially for big ticket and big sized items. i saved between $350 (if i bought in AB & $400 if bought in BC) on my bumper by purchasing in the states. yes i would have supported the local market..but as with businesses out there to make $$..money talks. the 4 hour round trip including customs and border wait...saved me 4 bills. why pay someone $100/hr to get you a bumper when you can do it yourself...

oh..and i ususally fill up there, and back. that in itself saves me some $$ as well...

[d0ubledown]

oh..and that 4 hour round trip was to the arb warehouse in auburn WA. save on shipping by picking up direct. damn.. i should have bought a front locker while i was at it :laugh

[Kellykins]

I thought due to the FTA no duty is charged on items made in the US, Canada, and some other countries, can't remember which...

[Regger]

Originally posted by mabb

Couple that with the fact that I can make up to $100 per hour, depending on what I'm doing with whose books, and you can see where the profitability of cross-border shopping sinks to zero.
At least for me. If it works for you I say Good On Ya! It just further proves my point that we are over-taxed here, which drives prices up unnecessarily.

Well maybe for you, saving $400 is only a half day of work, but for the rest of us that dont have the luxury of sending the chauffeur out to pick up a set of tires for the 'benz...

$400 is over a day and a half worth of work... And to some thats a lot of work just to not have to cross the border..

And chances are, if they think your a smuggler, then you must look the part....

Just the other weekend I picked up over $150us worth of goods... and coming back, declaring what I had purchased, the guard let me through without even batting an eye... I've purchased a fair amount in the US, and have never had a problem...

So if you having troubles with $6 guitar strings... :confused2 I must ask... if your making $100/hr.. why are you in the states buying $6 strings......


Just a side note... My tires were order from Discount, and I should expect to see them by Next Friday...

Ryan