Has anyone purchased equipment and hauled it across the Border to the US? I was wondering what the pitfalls and hidden costs are. Often I find auctions in nearby Canada. I live 150 miles from the border so including Canada in my equipment search would broaden opportunities quite a bit. Is it worth the hassle? What about transport?
Best bet is to talk to a import broker that deals in the paperwork for such stuff. One of the guys on the ACMOC recently did that to bring in a small self propelled scraper from Canada and sailed thru the border in just a few minutes. Only cost him a few bucks for the right paperwork. Me, on the other hand bought a used UNIMOG wheel in Canada for $150.00 UPS got it to the border and the import gods charged me $54.00 duty and fees on it because they said it was worth $500.00. UPS gives $500.00 in free insurance on a package so the shipper took the insurance and I had to pay the price to get my wheel into the US.
The NAFTA agreement covers most purchases,for individual purchase by privot party.You will need to have a good paper trail of your purchase,and prove all local sales taxes have been paid.I just bought a new top deck for my boat,it was built in Canada,I live in Michigan.Cost $2500, no fee to import!
My uncle used to haul machinery back and forth across the border. I do know that you will only be able to bring it through Regway or Sweet Grass (commercial ports). I believe there is a 72 hr waiting period but besides that and someone to do your ACE manifest, that's it.
Thanks for the reply. I'd have to find a broker that would be willing divulge those trade secrets. Since I would likely be buying at auction, it would not be a brokered deal. Thanks for the reply. Sweetgrass would be the closest of those two, but would add quite a few miles to a direct route, thus making a Canada purchase farther away for me.
Keep in mind the EPA restrictions, even if it was built in the US you'll need verification that the engine meets the required emissions certs for the year of manufacture to bring it across to the US. If it doesn't, no entry. The fine if you get something in and the EPA later decides it wasn't kosher I believe is $15,000 per engine. Had a royal hangup shipping a new Japanese machine from the US into Canada a few years ago. Was no problem bringing the machine into the US, but US customs wouldn't let it leave until the factory in Japan had FedExed an original letter of origin stating where the machine was made. Of course they didn't have one so the factory had to make one and then overnight it to the dealer who overnighted it to the broker, who tendered to customs.... 9 days standby time for the truck at the border. YMMV
Thanks for the reply. Yikes. Anything I buy will be at least 15 years old. Since I wouldn't know what emissions requirements are for a machine I'd be bidding on, that really throws a wrench in my gears. The regulators sure do a good job of penalizing people who try to dodge the slavery of paying interest to bankers for new machines.
Depending on the horsepower, Tier 1 came in January of 1996/97/98. Tier 2 would be 2003 or thereabouts again depending on horsepower rating. Well, at least you're not in Kommifornia, the CAB make the EPA look like church mice.
Thanks for the details. Do you think anything 1995 and earlier would be exempt?
I would think so, and in the past I have imported machines from Japan that cleared exactly because they were that old. However always check with a knowledgable customs broker about this issue as the rules seem to change every year. Cheers.
I need a hydraulic pump for a John Deere 510c backhoe anyone have call or reply Carl 860-680-6878