Hi, does anyone know how much it will cost and the procedures to importing an RX-8 to Canada? Because Canada's RX-8 colour selection sucks... I want a Titanium RX-8, but Canada offers an ugly Black/Brown interior......

there is no difference in Canadian RX-8 and USA rx-8, except the colours right?

Originally posted by 13B-MSP

there is no difference in Canadian RX-8 and USA rx-8, except the colours right?


Don't forget the headlight washers :)

Yeah.. i dont' really care about the headlgiht washer though..
do you know the cost to importing one from US?
is it a lot of registration fees etc.??

FYI you can't import new RX8's from the states to Canada. They won't allow you to register it for a licence plate. They don't meet our standards re daytime running lights, bumpers, speedometers, side door impacts, emissions etc. CCRA (Canada Customs) has a web site http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importusa/impusae.htm [/URL] that tells you which models can and cannot be imported. The exception is classic cars over 20 years old.

If it can be imported you still have to pay brokerage, duty, GST & PST . Then the items I mentioned above have to be modified to meet our standards before they will register it in your province. This is clearly not worth the effort unless you want to pay thousands more for a different colour. BTW Mazda Canada may not honour the US warranty. Last but not least the dollar closed @ 77 cents yesterday which makes the Canadian cars cheaper by thousands of dollars already.

Maybe the US guys should be importing Canadian cars down there. Hope this helps you out!

Originally posted by westie
FYI you can't import new RX8's from the states to Canada. They won't allow you to register it for a licence plate. They don't meet our standards re daytime running lights, bumpers, speedometers, side door impacts, emissions etc.

Not true. You have to bring it into compliance to register it, but it certainly can be done. Re standards - speedometer and odometer change with the push of a button, side impacts and emissions are the same as the US. The only regulatory differences are DRLs and rear bumper standard, and replacing the US rear bumper substructure with the Canadian one is not that tough (it's commonly done for importing US Miatas to Canada).

Here's the real web site that governs importing US vehicles to Canada - http://www.riv.ca . If you look at the Mazda list, the RX-8 falls under the admissible category covered by "ALL OTHER 1988 TO 2004 MODELS
EXCEPT THOSE LISTED IN THE
INADMISSIBLE COLUMN" (it's not listed as inadmissible).

Equipment packages are different between Mazda USA and Mazda Canada. All Canadian RX-8s have the headlight washers and 6 disc in dash CD changers as standard. All Canadian RX-8s have the sport suspension and 18" wheels (no base automatic package). The base model is called the GS, and the only option package is the GT, which includes leather etc., and then the only factory options are moonroof and nav. In fact, several US residents are interested in getting a Canadian RX-8 because that's the only way to get a leather package without a moonroof!

Dollar for dollar, it's significantly cheaper to buy a Canadian RX-8 than to import a US one. Have you seen the black/brown interior? Many people consider it to be the classiest colour combination, but of course that's subjective. (I happen to love it, though! ;) )

Regards,
Gordon

thanks for the detailed analysis Gord, I was trying to get the point across that it didn't make a whole lot to sense to import them. What about the warranty?

i think it might be cheaper to just buy an RX8 in canada and have it painted?

All of the parts that are brown can be bought after the fact with all black parts (since Canada does sell the all black interior in other exterior colors). This is way simpler.

Besides, I didn't think much of them at first but now it looks great!