Prius Import by the number
Now we have brought the 2007 Prius back to Ontario in one piece and have managed to get modifications (really just day time running light, which Jason did it himself) and inspections done, what did we end up spending/saving?! From what I’ve been reading, the price you pay for a Canadian Prius is pretty much what you price on the internet, so I’m going to use it as a comparison base. Just a few other notes:
- All costs listed are in Canadian dollars except where noted
- All the numbers you see were paid from our wallets. The exchange rate fluctuates so some of the costs, i.e. PST and GST may not corresponds to exactly 8% and 6%
- This calculation assumes that a new Prius never registered in the US can get Canadian Federal rebate. There is controversy to this but since the program is not finalized, I’ll assume we can get it for the sake of this comparison
- GST, PST, and Freight fee are back-calculated from Toyota’s website, which states a lump sum of $5062.00 on taxes, levies, fees, freight & delivery
| Item |
Canadian Dealer Price (Package B) |
US Import Prius (Package 3) |
| Base Price | 35,360CAD | 24,525USD |
| Exchange rate | 1 | 1.054 |
| Base cost in CAD | 35,360.00 | 25,851.10 |
| GST | 2121.60 | 1,654.83 |
| PST | 2828.80 | 2073.63 |
| Freight/other fee | 111.60 | NA |
| Duty (6.1%) | NA | 1682.42 |
| Border fee | NA | 222.20 |
| Modification | NA | 51.44 |
| Inspection | NA | 90.10 |
| Provincial Rebate | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| Federal Rebate | 2,000 | 2,000? |
| Total cost (with rebate) | 37,738 | 27,634.98 |
| Savings from an import | 10,103.02 |
The bottom line is we save more than $10K (which is similar to fellow Canadians who have managed to import a Prius from the US)! In addition, our experience has been very pleasant. Our dealer was extremely nice and helpful (unfortunately a few days after we picked up the Prius, he told me his dealership got a phone call from Toyota USA and is no longer able to process cross border transactions, =_( ), the car so far is awesome, and crossing the border and going through the customs were smooth and painless.
I highly recommend taking this route to bring in a Prius given that you can find a dealer who is willing to sell to Canadians. Our approach was to be straightforward to the dealers in the US about your Canadian status so no one has to waste time. Most of them will likely tell you that it’s against their franchise agreement, but if you keep trying you could find someone who will sell to you. I personally do not know what the franchise agreement states, let us know if you have seen it!
2 Comments
benk on February 20th, 2008
$10000…pretty much exactly the price of the A123 battery pack for plug-in conversion…convenient.
mattfifer on December 31st, 2007
Hi there,
My name is Matt, and I just stumbled on your blog doing some research about importing a Prius into Ontario. I live in Toronto, and would like to import one myself.
I must say thank you for your insightful blog about your experience of importing a Toyota Prius to Canada! My partner and I are planning to do the same thing, and we both are so relieved that it seems to be relatively easy to do.
I was wondering, if you wouldn’t mind, sharing the name of dealer from whom you purchased your vehicle. I’ve contacted two dealers so far (one in Chicago, and one in Cleveland — my parents live in the States and we happened to be in those areas over the holidays) and both have been adamant about their policy not to sell vehicles to residents of Canada. Of course if you don’t feel comfortable sharing this information, I understand. At any rate, thanks again for putting your experience out there for all of us, and in such detail!
Happy Holidays,
Matt Fifer