pok

hi all, I just wanted to comment a few things i've experienced yesterday. I was one of the canadian members that took advantage of the groupbuy deal for the OEM KIT from honda/raylaks.... first of all, i want to commend them for great service to help me arrange my trip as seamless as possible. Now, I paid around 260US for the installation there, not sure if its a great deal but then i really did not have a choice. Couple of things happened on the way back... this was my first time cross border shopped, i'm very unfamiliar with the rules and regulations in bringing things back into canada. At the border i did not mentioned anything about the kit that was installed, i think they got a bit suspicious, pulled me in to search my car inside out.. i was naive and ignorant enough to leave my receipt in my wallet, which was sitting in my glove compartment. And of course they went through it and found it. I ended up having to pay for 25% penality for both the cost of the purchase and the installation fees plus another 8% PST on top... that was an extra 500 dollars... they were trying to nail me for the injen CAI that i had installed months ago as well.. so for all you canadians that wants to do the same, just make sure receipts are thrown out... they even searched my pockets later on.. and also, if you did not know already.. the white color in US is not the same as the one in Canada.. i just realized it! so just wanted to let you guys know ahead to time... so i ended up paying more then if just had it shipped over... and the colors did not even match... i'm trying to see if i can file for an appeal for that 25% penalty they inflicted on me, the guy crossed out the computer print out, and added another $105 in PST onto it in writing.. looks fishy to me.... well sorry to have blabbed all this out, i guess i also wanted to vent a little as well!

curls

The white color is the same, it's just that the existing paint on your car has slightly yellowed from UV rays.

My car didnt have the OEM kit, but when I bought it (used), I had the dealer throw in the kit as part of the deal, and same thing - it didn't match 100%. It needs time to soak up the sun (I'm guessing one or two summers), and then should match nearly perfectly.

And yeah, when going across the border, you throw EVERY piece of evidence out, AND, have a reason to be in the States aside from getting the kit. Make something up, but make it simple and believable. Best thing to do is buy some clothes or a few things (like $60-100 worth) on the US side, and claim that as your shopping trip for the day.

LannyM

Oh that sucks dude ......


Couple years ago I sold a set of 16" HPF rims from a Civic Si to a guy from Canada. After we had agreed on pricing, I attempted to ship them, but the cost between shipping and the various duties was going to be huge. So he decided to drive down from Canada to CT and put them on here, and drive home with them. He rolled down on an old set of steelies with some bald tires that someone was throwing out.

He got here, mounted up the new rims, pitched the old ones out and then went home. He was so worried about crossing, kept saying that they would be suspicious; I was thinking why would they even suspect something like that with the hundreds of cars that go through. He made it, but I guess they really are tough.....

Belzebutt

Back in the days when cross-border shopping was fashionable, me and a group of friends got in a mini-van and drove to Syracuse and each bought a whole bunch of clothes. I'm talking 3-4 items each. Nobody wanted to pay duty of course, and we didn't have a place to hide the clothes, so what did we do... we all wore them. Like 2 shirts each and a sweater on top, etc. None of the clothes matched of course, it was summer, and we all looked like clowns. They searched the van inside out, but didn't say anything about the clothes and we didn't pay anything.

virtualbong

I can't believe they would actually go thru the trouble of inspecting someone's car for aftermarket parts??? That's just ridiculous. I seriously cannot believe that, that was their motivation to inspect the car. If so, then that blows.

dontcare4urshyt

silly Canadians. Trix are for kids

Dan Martin

....OR you could have just told them that you bought a body kit and paid the duty on it like you were supposed to.

They have cameras at every border crossing so when you drive across, they type in your license and it will show what your car looked like before you crossed. They purposely look for things like wheels and body kits so it's no wonder you got caught. Once they start inspecting, of course they're going to try and nail you on any other mods.

curls

Just a hint: If you really still want the receipt and don't want to chuck it out, mail it to yourself from the USA.

matelot

paragraphs ! please

JTso

iTrader: (2)

You could have easily put the receipts in an envelope and mail it to yourself.

Edit: curls beat me to it.

CJams

Buzz kill! They searched your wallet in your glove box? Probable cause? They can do that? And then they fine you for a receipt? Since when did Canada become communist?

pok

yup.. i did not expect them to search so thoroughly at all, but then again i could have thrown out the receipt, or even just put the damn wallet in my pocket.. not that hard to do. I'm glad to know that the colors are supposed to be the same, but this kit got quite expensive after the mess.

curls - the dealer thrown in the entire kit for free when you purchased your car? I should have done the same and negotiated with the kit as I was purchasing my car.

By the way, I also took out the k&n filter off the injen CAI and replaced with a MonsterFlow... seems to have more throttle response, and low end is a bit quicker.. but not as loud anymore

curls

It was part of the deal.. they weren't budging on price much (got it for a REALLY good price, used), but were willing to negotiate on material things like wheel locks, OEM kit, and 10,000km extended bumper to bumper warranty. (It has 72,000km so it was out of the bumper to bumper, but I fixed that w/ the extended 10,000km goodwill warranty negotiation).

Nickel88

ugh.. sorry dude. that sucks .. to bad..

Here's more information about cross boarder mod's to your vehicle.

straight from the Canada Gov web page. Excerpt:

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.

Repairs or alterations made to your vehicle/vessel/aircraft in the United States, Mexico, Chile, or Israel will be free of duty when it is re-imported into Canada. GST/HST will apply to the value of the repairs or alterations.

Incidental minor repairs can be made to your vehicle/vessel/aircraft, or parts replaced while you are travelling outside of Canada to maintain your vehicle/vessel/aircraft in proper operating condition. Although these minor repairs do not make the whole vehicle subject to assessment, you may still have to pay duty and GST/HST on the repair parts and labour.

If you must make repairs or get replacement parts due to an accident, repairs are allowed to ensure the safe return of your vehicle to Canada. CBSA officers may be able to apply a special provision in the regulations that waives any duty and GST/HST that may be payable. To be eligible for this special provision, however, be sure to declare the value of all repairs and replacement parts when you return to Canada with the vehicle.

Transport Canada also has requirements for vehicles that are extensively modified. For more information, contact them at 1-888-848-8240.

curls

Interesting, I see NOTHING in there about a "25% fee" for not declaring your stuff.

Mind you they have the power to impound your car for a long time and basically take it apart to the bare undercarriage, leaving you to put it back together.... so I guess "consider yourself lucky".

drking69

Oh man, that sucks. Too bad this happened to you. My ears are very sorry to hear that.

Back in 99', I remember when I used to visit my ex in the States. I bought 2 cartons of cigarettes and attempted to cross the boader. The receipts were torn off and the cartons were placed in the trunk. I was asked if I'm bringing any weapons and thought to myself "wut??" Well, I, of course, said "NO!" three times and was pulled over at the custom. They searched my car twice, thoroughly and I ended up paying $70 something, just for the extra carton of cigarettes I was bringing in.

Yes, they have so much power for some reason and yes, sometimes it just doesn't make much sense. Ah well...

TinkyWinky

That's a shit-load of cars to be keepin track of.

Dan Martin

Tax dollars hard at work.

Belzebutt

That's insane, especially considering that the vast majority of the time you could drive drive on and they can't even chase you. I read an article recently about how they can't even have chase cars at most of the crossing and they just rely on people to nicely pull stop and let themselves be searched.

Benz_05_TSX

iTrader: (1)

That sucks dude..... haha, i was gonna do that, luckily i was too lazy to drive down to the US to mod~

Big Pimpin

LOL for canadians a better excuse is to say that we went over to get cheaper gas some ppl in Vancouver do it cause we get fucked raped over here $1.10 a litre and in a few weeks mabe $1.18 a litre.

Alin10123

That sucks. Sorry to hear. But i guess if he didn't find any receipts on you, there was no way they could prove you just had those mods isntalled. Maybe you should've mailed the receipt back to your house loo. Or had them fax it. Then you wouldn't have been caught with a receipt. lol

Tony the Tiger

Every summer the CBSA has "extra man power" in the form of trainee officers helping to conduct inspections of cargo. This could be be a reason why they had time to check so thoroughly. On the other hand, i was told that the US and Canada border people exchange a lot of info. I notice that on both the US and Canada crossing at Blaine have cameras. I cannot remember if the Canadian side had it, but the US side had X-Ray scanners pointed at 4 corners of the car next to the cameras.

That fine you received for failing to declare falls under AMPS (Administrative Monetary Penalty System). You can read more on CBSA web site.

narci

Technically could you get dinged for buying gas in the US and driving back up to canada?

POK, haha sorry, seems like everytime you try to get a deal on something you get screwed over for some reason.

Sell the prelude yet?