I want to purchase a new or low-mile/used - Merc B-Class. Not available in US. Available in Montreal or Quebec/how do I properly buy one and register in the Commonwealth of MA?? - No help from dealers in Canada or US to tell me - Any help?
http://www.mass.gov/rmv/regs/index.htm. You will pay a ton of taxes on this. Canada charges quite a bit on the sale and you will have to pay taxes in the US (fed) on the import (you may have to prove EPA certification) and Mass sales tax. You May be able to file a tax rebate form with Canada after the sale and eventually get that tax back. That tax could be as high as 18% as Canada has a VAT.
You’ll have to check the local regs on this, but there’s a good chance you wouldn’t be able to legally drive this thing on public roads as the B Class was never sold in the states, and hence never went through EPA or crash certifications.
You can’t. It’s not DOT/EPA approved. It’s that simple.
Thanks all - Looks as though I’m out of luck on this one.
Importing grey-market cars into the United States is illegal, it’s as simple as that…It happens now and then, but it involves swapping the VIN from a legal, similar, U.S. model (a wreck) onto the illegally imported vehicle. A Canadian citizen with a Canadian registration can drive the car into the States as a tourist, sell it to you, and return home by bus or air, leaving you to do the VIN change and paperwork…But if you are in an area that requires emissions testing, the technician is likely to notice the VIN information and what he is looking at don’t match…Nothing good will happen after that…
Don’t even think about it. As pointed out, the specs and regs are different, although it’s easier to import a car from the US into Canada since the 49 state US and EPA are similar to Canada’s. Quebec has a high sales tax, not refundable, I believe, and you’ll have to pay tax again in the US.
Add all that up and even if you could get it licensed buying a good used C Class in the US makes more sense.
I get a lot of questions about bringing in foregn cars and usually recommend against it. One exception are Japanese mini muscle cars old enough to qualify as “classic cars”.
- Marry a Canadian
- Buy the car in their name
- Drive to the US
Sounds like a lot of trouble, money and effort to me. Is this the only car that will work for you?
Even if you were able to do it legally, you’ve already found that you will not receive any help from the dealers and that will apply to almost every phase of parts and service ever needed on that car too.
Marrying a Canadian has the additonal advantage of qulifying for free health care, as long as you have a provincial health care card. I believe there is a three month wait and you need a Canadian address.
Many guys in Detroit have married Canadian girls from Windsor across the river, and seem to get away with it.
Looks like it would be simpler to buy a Toyota Matrix and put in leather seats.