We are fellow Canadians looking to connect

Joanne Johnson · Jan 19, 2019

Hello fellow Calfornia travellers,

We are looking to connect with like-minded travellers as we are looking to purchase a "left hand" drive California in the summer of 2020 as they do not export them or build them for North American market....too bad! If anyone can connect us to a dealer or anyone that is trying to sell a second hand one, this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
JJ & Arnie

Hotel California · Jan 19, 2019

Welcome , your plan is buying here in Europe and export it to Canada ?

Ting Tong · Jan 19, 2019

Hello @69 Campers has some LH for sale

kp64zl · Jan 19, 2019

Is Gibraltar worth investigating from a tax free & English speaking yet left hand drive point of view?

Joanne Johnson · Jan 20, 2019

hotel california said:
Welcome , your plan is buying here in Europe and export it to Canada ?

Yes, can you help us? We would travel through Europe, then export it to North America.

Joanne Johnson · Jan 20, 2019

liaoyang said:
Hello @69 Campers has some LH for sale

What is @69 Campers?

Joanne Johnson · Jan 20, 2019

kp64zl said:
Is Gibraltar worth investigating from a tax free & English speaking yet left hand drive point of view?

Do you have any information to share about this?

Thank you,

Joanne

Joanne Johnson · Jan 20, 2019

hotel california said:
Welcome , your plan is buying here in Europe and export it to Canada ?

Geuten tag! Ya this is our plan....

Joanne

Joker 1299 · Jan 20, 2019

Joanne Johnson said:
What is @69 Campers?

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...-hire-company-for-sale-south-of-france.28214/
This might help

Hotel California · Jan 20, 2019

Joanne Johnson said:
Geuten tag! Ya this is our plan....

Joanne

Psst....ik spreek Nederlands en geen Duits ...

Psst....i speak Dutch not German ...(translation)
Just stick to Englisch

So you will be buying a Cali in 2020 to use here in Europe and after the trip ship it to Canada .
You first need to be very sure what rules are appliied to import in to Canada before buying here .
Plenty of company's and private sellers to buy 2nd hand in Europe but you would need a domicille here to register a car i think .
Hireing long term with the option of buying would be easyer imo.

Ting Tong · Jan 20, 2019

Joker 1299 said:
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...-hire-company-for-sale-south-of-france.28214/
This might help

@Joanne Johnson read the last post in the link above. They have 3 LHD for sale. Also try this website

https://m.mobile.de/wohnmobil/searc...&fe!=EXPORT&ms=25200;;;Ocean&mk=25200&t=Ocean

German dealer used prices include 19% vat or MwSt and there may be a way of not paying that or reclaiming it if exporting.

kp64zl · Jan 20, 2019

Joanne Johnson said:
Do you have any information to share about this?

Thank you,

Joanne

The only information I have is that I met someone on an aeroplane to Gibraltar - he was living in a non-eu country (I think Norway) and would fly to Gibraltar & buy a car tax free and then drive it back home --saved lots of money.

I think there's information on line about the rules and regulations for buying from Gibraltar - you could start with the Vw dealership there.

Also, as mentioned above you'll want to check the regulations for importing a car/van into Canada. for example - I imported a car from Australia into the UK and the rules at the time were that I had to have owned it for more than 1 year to be tax exempt etc.

Sorry this is a bit vague but hope it helps

burnercan · Jan 21, 2019

hotel california said:
your plan is buying here in Europe and export it to Canada ?

Do lots of home work before you decide to try to import... I looked into this briefly for mine and decided it didn't seem feasible. Something to the effect that there isn't Canadian crash test data available for the T5/T6 (as no versions of that platform is sold there) so you'd have to supply one for testing. I didn't dig very deep, but it was headed in that direction. Transporters are sold in Mexico, but I didn't find definitive info on whether Mexican type/safety certification would pass with Canadian authorities.

69 Campers · Jan 21, 2019

Joanne Johnson said:
Hello fellow Calfornia travellers,

We are looking to connect with like-minded travellers as we are looking to purchase a "left hand" drive California in the summer of 2020 as they do not export them or build them for North American market....too bad! If anyone can connect us to a dealer or anyone that is trying to sell a second hand one, this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
JJ & Arnie

Hello Joanne

If you would like to contact us or call us we can help you source a LHD California

Please see the signature information

Kind Regards

Matt

Ting Tong · Jan 21, 2019

@Joanne Johnson how about this one? Can’t go wrong with the CAD/GBP exchange rate as it is.

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/classi...and-drive/loughborough/vw-t6-california-ocean

Shaun0008 · Feb 14, 2019

In the past and I do believe it's still same as of today you can import a European Vehicle i to Canada if it is at least 15 years old, it is 25 years or older to bring in a vehicle into the United States. In Mexico they do sell the T5 but only as a Caravel and delivery van as far as I know no California campers have I ever been imported into Mexico.

burnercan · Feb 14, 2019

Shaun0008 said:
European Vehicle i to Canada if it is at least 15 years old

I always thought that rule was only to do with import taxation, but the vehicle still needed to meet the national requirements for safety/crash testing. I could be wrong.

Shaun0008 · Feb 14, 2019

burnercan said:
I always thought that rule was only to do with import taxation, but the vehicle still needed to meet the national requirements for safety/crash testing. I could be wrong.

I can't speak for the taxation costs in Canada. But I do know that it does not make a difference here in the United States. Once the Volkswagen T3s reached an age of 15 years old a large influx of T3 Syncro trucks and campers we're brought into Canada because so few were originally imported into Canada after that when the T4s came of age trucks as well as the T4 Westfalia California campers that we're not available in North America were brought in as well. I know a few guys in Canada who are anxiously waiting for the year 2020 so that they can buy 2005 California and bring it Canada. Unfortunately we in the US will have to wait until 2030 to legally bring one into the United States and even then it will be difficult to register the cars in many of the states because of smog regulations due to the fact that the motors in many of the vans we're never used in Volkswagens that were sold in the US other than a few early PD motors. Shaun

B J G · Feb 14, 2019

As you are not resident in either the UK or any EU country you have no place of residence to register a vehicle. If purchasing a vehicle for export any registration on 'International plates' is only intended for driving/taking the vehicle directly out of that country.
An option may be to hire a vehicle with purchase export at the end of your trip.
In theory you could order a new vehicle through the hirer with this arrangement. LHD and correct lighting all as required. Seems the best option as it may be possible to reclaim any taxes to offset any Canadian import Duties.
Care would need to be taken in choosing a reputable Hirer/supplier as there are plenty of scammers out there.

If you have any Canadian Military contacts who have been in Nato's German Bases they might have contacts who can help.

Wally61 · Dec 27, 2021

Shaun0008 said:
I can't speak for the taxation costs in Canada. But I do know that it does not make a difference here in the United States. Once the Volkswagen T3s reached an age of 15 years old a large influx of T3 Syncro trucks and campers we're brought into Canada because so few were originally imported into Canada after that when the T4s came of age trucks as well as the T4 Westfalia California campers that we're not available in North America were brought in as well. I know a few guys in Canada who are anxiously waiting for the year 2020 so that they can buy 2005 California and bring it Canada. Unfortunately we in the US will have to wait until 2030 to legally bring one into the United States and even then it will be difficult to register the cars in many of the states because of smog regulations due to the fact that the motors in many of the vans we're never used in Volkswagens that were sold in the US other than a few early PD motors. Shaun

Hello Shaun008,
Allthough I know this is an old topic I like to respond. I'am planning a trip to USA/CAN with my VW California T5. This for appox. a period of 4 months starting in April. Actually it was planned for last year but we posponed it to 2023 (corona is still a game-breaker). I'm thinking about eithter to take T5 back to Holland or selling it in Canada (were our trip ends).
So my question is: Can I sell as privat person this camper to a privat persons in Canada.
Because you said "I know a few guys in Canada who are anxiously waiting for the year 2020 so that they can buy 2005 California and bring it Canada".
Best regard,
Walter