That’s a good tip. Can you please suggest at what time did you pay the RIV fee - 72 hours before leaving or on the day when you were crossing the border? Thanks
I paid the RIV fee 5 days before the date of border crossing.
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Didn’t know you can hire a realtor for renting. Do they charge the landlord or the renter for the commission ? Is it recommended to hire a realtor for renting ?
Yes you can. Leasing agent charges the landlord commission, not renter. Note that leasing agents are not showing homes / apartments that are in rental-only buildings,
Realtor will charge the landlord and not the renter. However, for that very reason, landlord’s interest and not yours, will be the priority for Realtors. There may be an upsell. Please do your own independent due diligence as well.
Can someone suggest a good realtor for rental units in Windsor area?
There are tons of realtors all over ON, and I’m sure in Windsor. Try the popular relator businesses such as Remax or Sutton group etc. (not recommending any, just off the top of my head), and give them a call, they’ll be happy to connect you with someone in Windsor. You can also check out purplebricks.ca, realtor.ca, royallepage.ca etc and they will usually have the listing agent there.
Hello I have a question for car import
about the recall clearance letter needed by the RIV.
Can I just use the website to check and print out myself or do I have to officially visitmy manufacture in person and request for a official statement from them via mail or something ?
As for the car value is there a way to find out the value of it ? Is it the estimate value I get if I sell the car , or a value of the car with similar spec on the sales market now ?
You will need to email or contact your vehicle manufacturer in order to obtain a Recall Clearance Letter. As per the official RIV instructions, the recall clearance letter must be printed on the vehicle manufacturer’s letter head and furnish details of your vehicle’s current recall status. (VIN Number should be documented in this letter). My vehicle is a Toyota and it was super easy to get this letter. I just called up Toyota North America and they gave me a letter. This is pretty common and the vehicle representatives are aware of the format for the letter. You can also email them via their customer support portal (this option worked for me too). Edit : If you are unable to get a recall clearance letter from the vehicle manufacturer, then you can also visit the vehicle dealer (for example Toyota Authorized Dealer or whichever brand your car is) and ask them to give you a letter stating that your vehicle does not have any safety recalls or all registered safety recalls have been repaired. This option is also documented on the RIV website.
As for the car value, you may use KBB to estimate your vehicle’s current value. If you are going to import this vehicle as part of your “exempted goods”, for example, landing as a new PR and can claim exemption from import duties, then the vehicle value doesn’t even matter. Just value it at what you paid for or the KBB resale value.
Another note : Daytime Running Lights are necessary to pass the Canadian RIV Vehicle Inspection. The Daytime Running Lights should always be turned ON. Even if the light control switches in the car are set to the OFF position, the DRL should still be ON and visible on the front of the car. I had DRL on my vehicle but I could turn it OFF if I wanted to and because of that my vehicle failed the RIV inspection. I went to a local Toyota dealer here in GTA and they installed a module to override the DRL settings. Now, my DRL turns ON and stays ON as soon as I start my vehicle and they will NOT turn OFF even if I switch my lights OFF. Hope that makes sense.
Thanks for the reply
I will try to contact my dealer to get that letter printed for recall clearance. It has to be dated within 30 days of import date right ?
So I tried using KBB and it shows me the trade in value of my car is 6k. I tried searching for Used car with the same make and model it is around 8-10k. I think it should be fine for me to submit the car value as 6000usd right ? do I need like a proof for that? A screenshot or some sort just in case they have doubt.
As for the daylight , my car doesn’t have it. I tried asking the dealer they don’t have those in United States so I am planning to just install those led lights and wire it right to the panel /battery so it stays on once I start the engine. Not sure if it suffice or should I just wait and do it in Canada ? How much does it cost you ? The lights are going for only 30 usd ish here ( I don’t even know if they will accept that light fixture )
You do not need the Recall Clearance Letter to cross the border. You will only need it after you cross when you intend to begin your RIV inspection. You should email a copy of the Recall Clearance Letter to (recall@support.riv.ca) and the date on the Recall Clearance Letter should not be more than 30 days before. This is my understanding and it worked for me.
6000 USD is fine as per KBB.
You have 45 days from the date you enter Canada to complete the RIV Import Process. You can complete the modification in Canada since the dealers understand the requirement better. The Toyota Dealer charged me about 140 CAD (Parts & Labor) for the always-on DRL module.
As to your question about the LED lights, I’m not sure of the exact physical requirements so not sure if it would be sufficient to pass the inspection. If you plan to keep your car for a long time then I’d suggest installing a completely new aftermarket headlight assembly which includes built-in DRL LED lights. This is a more reliable albeit expensive option.
You can’t hardwire lights directly to the battery for them to be considered daylight running lamps.
At the very least you’ll need a relay that’s wired into your headlights and wire it such that when the headlights are turned on, the daylight running lamps turn off.
They don’t need to be in the same housing as the headlights, so you can definitely add them onto the grill or any other position that might be appropriate for your vehicle.
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Hi @avj , Thank you for your brillaint post with details. I am planning to move in a few days with my car that I will be driving in. Is it okay to list the car on GTF and import it later or do I have to import the car the first time I enter Canada?
P.S: I plan to commute for work in Detroit from Windsor daily.
Thank you.
If the car is going to stay in Canada permanently (i.e it’s becoming a permanent resident of Canada for all intents and purposes 
) after you enter it has to be imported (doesnt matter if you’re using for commute everyday from Windsor/Detroit). Listing the car on GTF won’t make much difference if it’s value is less than $10k exemption amount. If more than that it makes sense to list on GTF. In any case I believe you can drive the US car in Canada for 3 months I believe, without importing it.
Hi @avj thanks for the amazing post!
I have 1 quick question. If you were to do the whole process of moving again, how much time off would you take off from work? I am trying to decide whether 2 week off work (16 days including weekend) is enough to pack, dispose, load, and then set up everything in Canada (import car, furniture, get SIN, bank account, etc). Bit about us: We are a couple with a 6 month old baby. With a baby, 1 of us will have our hands full taking care of her, so I will be co-ordinating most of the things with help from perhaps a packer/mover. I am also using the shipping container service (though PODS, not UPack).
You mentioned early in your post that you recommend at least a week to pack everything, ship, dispose remaining stuff, etc, for the amount of stuff you had. I probably have similar or more stuff (we live in 2 bedroom filled with stuff), so I will take your advice and plan 1 week for that. I am guessing 1 more week is needed to set things up in Canada (import car, furniture, get SIN, bank account, health insurance, etc). So 2 weeks sounds about right? I don’t really want to rush things.
Obviously, this question is directed to anyone who has gone through the process, not just @avj !
Hi @arjun-humain thank you!
Just some points off the top of my head:
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The mistake I made during my move was not starting packing way early (as soon as I knew I would get the job offer), since that was the only thing that was completely under my control, and like I mentioned in the post, the small items take most of your time! I think one could still make it work with 2-3 weeks in hand if they’re efficient about packing/disposing off stuff.
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I should have planned my last hour packing better, e.g. I had to throw away some items that would’ve fit in my suitcases at the last hour, had I planned it better. Working your way backwards from the travel hour to two weeks before leaving will help.
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Some last minute packing is inevitable since you need some household items till right before you leave and there’s only so much you can carry in a suitcase or dispose off at last hour. For that, having friend(s) willing to take some stuff off your hands at the last moment will help hugely. You also need to clean apartment and return key etc. (if applicable) right before you leave your place for good.
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I would categorize the items in such a fashion that I have to deal with the least amount of stuff the closer I am to my travel date, e.g. all furniture, heavy electronics, kitchenware, etc. can go first, and then gradually the smaller items can be packed asap so they only need to be transferred to the shipping container giving you enough time to deal with the last few items. At the end you will have to manage with minimum stuff for a couple of weeks. Get apartment cleaning, car shipping (if applicable) done earlier if possible.
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Wear gloves while packing boxes! 3 days of handing cardboard and ducktape will hurt!
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For me, arriving in Canada was not as stressful since I stayed at a friends place for few days (one could stay at a hotel) and since I was not worried about my household items or my car (they were in transit and I had already paid for ABF storage had they arrived before I found a rental place). Granted, with a baby it can be much more challenging.
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Even though SIN, bank accounts etc are important items, they can happen over a few days as convenient, in the meantime you can keep using your US driving license and bank accounts/credit cards. I would take care of the health card/health insurance first, as well as rental cars; not sure if you’ve heard but after pandemic it’s been a nightmare to find rental cars due to rental companies selling them off to cut losses! Regarding health card, during pandemic everyone was covered under OHIP from day one, check if that is still applicable else you need insurance.
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Finding an apartment is what I would prioritize first, since it can take a few weeks to get it, and having your own place is going to help hugely, even if your shipped stuff arrives late.
Hi @avj
Thanks so much for the detailed response. This is very helpful for my planning, especially the furniture part which I realize I have to carefully plan.
I have a couple of questions regarding car shipping and car rental:
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I know that shipping time for vehicle is highly variable. Given that it is ideal to have one’s own vehicle as soon as one arrives, and also the fact that one has to pay 100$ per day fee if car arrives in Toronto before we do, when do you think is the most reasonable time to ship out the vehicle? I think I am OK with paying couple of days of 100$ fee. I am in touch with the Canada Car Shipping company and they want a 5 day window for pickup. I guess it will take another week at least to actually reach the CBSA office in Toronto. So, if my flight date is say June 9th, I suppose it’s reasonable to give May 31 - June 4 as the window? What did the timeline look like when you shipped your car?
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I am wondering how to manage paperwork if there is a delay in receiving my car. We are very likely going to have a rental apartment ready to move in when we arrive (deposit paid, application approved, going through leasing process now). We have rented in mid-town Toronto with high walkability and TTC transit access. But I guess we still need a rental car whenever we have to go to take care of customs for the furniture and customs for the car (which I will be shipping from California). I am guessing we can do that with the Enterprise Auto Share or Zip car. Do you know if the Auto Share or Zip car hourly rental is reasonably easy to get within a day’s notice these days in the GTA? I guess situation may be different in Toronto proper versus the Suburbs.
Thanks
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For an assumed week of traveling time, May 31-June 4 sounds reasonable; you can ask them realistically how much time it is taking these days and plan accordingly. When I shipped back in 2019 it took a week for the car to arrive. It’s great that your apartment will be sorted out it will be helpful.
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Check with various rental car companies and airport and city locations to identify best rental car deal for you, maybe things have improved since I last checked. The car sharing app they use here is called Turo which is essentially an Airbnb for cars (the one I know of, might be others), but their insurance is a grey area and I would be wary/do my research before I book with them. However their rates are cheap since these are just regular guys renting out their cars (e.g you’ll get a sedan for ~$40 a day)
Depending on the rental car deal it may be cheaper than paying $100 storage fee per day.