Imported US 2006 Subaru Impreza STI

[xrayvsn]

I finally borrowed a digital camera to take a few pictures of my car. I imported it from Seattle over the May long weekend, and have recently completed the RIV inspection. The trip from Seattle took me to just past the recommended 1000 mile break-in.

My first impressions of the car. Wow, this car has a lot more power than I am used to. The sensation of boost forcing you back into the seat is addicting, and I have to be restrained while driving, especially when I have my son in the back. There is actually adequate torque off-boost to make it a fun daily driver, and I can actually cruise on the highway for long periods without fatigue on my part.

The Brembo brakes grip well, and are easy to modulate, but the brake dust they produce is unbelievable. The wheels get dirty almost immediately after I wash them - so I will maybe get a darker set of rims for my winter set. The big wing cuts my visibility out of the back, and I find it funny watching the middle of it bouncing around when I drive. If I can get my hands on a 2007 STi Limited trunk with decklid spoiler I may go that route.

Despite my wife's reservations about the blue interior, I quite like it. The Alcantara seats in the front have a hidden feature that Subaru does not tell you about. They leave an imprint of the last person who sat down - to the point that I can almost tell what type of underwear my wife is wearing

Here are a few pictures I took of my car the other day. I had more but I took a Sunday drive with my son, and he was in a lot of the pictures. My wife asked that any pictures that you see him not be included, but I can take more pictures another time.

[xrayvsn]

I want to start off by thanking Benyl for pointing out that this is even possible, and the cost savings you can have by doing this. My pocket book and adrenal glands thank you

In order not to duplicate the excellent information in Jaymez importation thread, I have decided to make this post into a FAQ. I also have specific directions for exiting through Blaine, Washington/Pacific Highway US/Canada border stations.

1. Why did you buy it in the US?

Cost savings, pure and simple. Including my flight, gas, duties and taxes, I estimate that I saved $10,000 - $12,000 over a Canadian STi. See the post below for the rough breakdown of costs. I would probably have saved another $1000 if I had waited 2 or 3 weeks to exchange currency, but these things are out of my control.

2. Is the warranty still valid?

I e-mailed both SoA and SoC (Subaru of America/Canada) regarding this. Their responses to me:

Dear xrayvsn:

Thank you for visiting the Subaru web site and for your message!

The warranty on vehicles sold in the United States is mutually interchangeable with Subaru Canada's warranty and will be honored at any Subaru Dealer in the U.S. or Canada.

If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to reply to this email!

Best wishes,

Samir Hasan
Subaru of America, Inc.
Customer/Dealer Services Department
-----------------------------------------------------------
YOUR ORIGINAL MAIL:

Re: Subaru Warranty Coverage

I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and hope to export a 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STi from the USA for my personal use in Canada. I notice from the Subaru of America website that "Any and all repairs must be performed by an Authorized Subaru dealer located in the United States." The nearest United States Subaru dealer from Edmonton is over 6 hours away, in Montana if I needed warranty service.

Is there a way I can still obtain warranty coverage in Canada from a Canadian Subaru dealership for an exported United States vehicle?

Thank-you for your time,

xrayvsn

The SoC response to the same e-mail:

xrayvsn,

The program with Subaru of America covers US vehicle owners who have relocated to Canada or are traveling in Canada. The intent of the reciprocal warranty agreement is to allow US visitors the benefit of emergency warranty repairs while in Canada.

As this is an uncommon practice and primarily meant to offer assistance to US citizens vacationing or in transit through Canada a dealer may encounter difficulties determining if a repair is warrantable which may in turn delay the repair process. This program was not designed to accommodate Canadian residents who have purchased a Subaru vehicle in the United States for the purpose of importing the car into Canada.

Should you decide to import a US vehicle into Canada you will need to contact the NRIV (National Registrar of Imported Vehicles) at 1-888-848-8240 or online at www.riv.ca for additional information regarding this process.

We trust this information is helpful.

Sincerely,

Christina Morris
Senior Consumer Support Representative
After Sales
1-800-894-4212
www.subaru.ca

You can decide for yourself what the 2 e-mails meant. Note that the SoC e-mail did not outright say "no you're SOL", just that there may be a delay in the repair process.

Warranty coverage may be changed in the future, but for a $10,000 savings I am ok with that chance.

3. Are the US and Canadian STi identically featured?

No, the US STi does not have the seat warmers, heated side mirrors or the reat seat pass-through present in the Canadian STi. Of course, the speedo and trip meter are in MPH and the outside temp gauge is in Fahrenheit. The fun bits are identical - so its kind of like dating one of a set of twins. To the casual observer they look identical, but there are a few minor differences. The ride... Well, you get the idea

4. Where did you buy the car? Why did you buy it there?

I bought the car from Joe Spitz, from Carter Subaru in Seattle Washington. He also runs the cars101.com website, which I also found pretty helpful.

I bought in Seattle for a few reasons: Flights to Seattle are pretty cheap ($270), and short. A dealership in Montana, while closer in distance, would require a more expensive flight, or someone to drive me to the dealership. There are also several Subaru dealerships in the Seattle area to do comparison shopping. A quick e-mail or phone call will net you a lot of info. Seattle is also very close to the border, and to Vancouver, where I have friends where I can stay for free on my way back.


5. Did you pay State Tax in Washington?

No, you need to prove you are not a Washinton state resident, and Carter Subaru did not charge me any State tax. I only paid the negotiated price, and $25 for a temporary Washington permit because I asked for it. I suspect that the dealership would have thrown it in without my asking.

I proved my Alberta residency by bringing some utility bills that were in my name. You can also bring rent receipts or mortgage papers instead, I suppose.

6. How do you go through the process of importing the car?

This has been covered extensively in Jaymez_STi excellent thread. I also have a few other links I referenced from other people who have also done this, so a quick read can yield lots of useful info:

RIV website
MR2 importation thread
Jaymez Import thread
LGT import thread
Nabisco 2006 STi thread
Nabisco 2006 WRX thread

Since Jaymez's thread covers importation of a used vehicle, I'll just quickly mention what you need to bring a new vehicle across the border.

Before you cross the border - this applies to the Blaine, Washington crossing. I don't know if the rules are different elsewhere

Fax both sides of the Manufacturer's Statement of Origin to the border crossing, as well as the purchase order with your name, and the car VIN on it. These should have been faxed to you by the dealership. You should also fill out and fax this form at the same time: http://www.hddbroker.com/en/resource...tWorksheet.pdf

For Blaine Washington, the fax number is: (360) 332-2632
I got this number from this website: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/c...ts/wa/3004.xml

The 3 documents need to be at the border crossing 3 business days before you cross. While they say 72 hours, they do not process the forms on the weekends or holidays, and weekend/holidays do not count towards the 72 hours. They will also not start processing the forms outside of their office hours, or after 15:00. Also note that the export office opens from 08:00 - 15:30 M-F, and you can not cross when they are not open.

As an example, if you fax your documents to them on a Friday at 14:00, you cannot cross until Wednesday 14:00.

You can confirm that your documents are complete a day or 2 after you have faxed them. The contact number they provide (360) 332-2639 - is just a message that tells you that you need to e-mail them any inquiries.

The e-mail address they give you: [email protected]

You need to provide the following info in your e-mail: Year, make, model, and what state the vehicle is titled in. If there is a carrier company transporting the vehicle, you need to include the company name. They will e-mail you back to tell you that everything is good.

I also set up both car and health insurance for my drive back. I went to the registries and picked up a temporaray "In Transit" permit that allowed me to drive the car from the border to my house without registration. This cost about $24, and is good for 7 days as long as you will be in more than one province on your drive. If you will be in your home province, I think they can only give you a 3 day permit, but I am not so sure about this.

At the Blaine, Washington border crossing

I knew from my research that I needed the MSO stamped exported on the US side, and that I needed to fill out paperwork and pay for duty etc. on the Canadian side. The details of where to go, where to park, etc was a bit hazy. My experience here led me to believe that even the border patrol officers are not as familiar with the process.

I first ended up getting siphoned into the Canadian crossing lanes, where I showed my passport and declared that the vehicle I was driving was being exported. The Border Patrol guard told me incorrectly that I would be able to import the car before having it exported. She also told me I could park my car at the Canadian side while I got the paperwork.

Do not cross over to the Canadian side until you have your MSO stamped exported. The US export office was not happy when I told them I was parked on the Canadian side, but he stamped my MSO anyway. I also did not have the vehicle equipment export worksheet filled out ahead of time, but he let me fill it out at the office. Technically this should have also been filled out 72 hours before my arrival.

Directions to the US Export office: There is a special place that you park your car before you stamp it exported. To park, exit the I-5 at exit 275 - past 2 traffic lights (Boblett and H street). You will go over a small hill, at the bottom of the hill there will be a left hand turn that goes around a small building with a sign marked KIOSK. You park in that left hand turn. Walk across the southbound traffic headed to the US, and go into the US Customs and Immigration office - a brown barn-looking building. The export booth has a window on the left side about half way into the room.

After you get this done, you can then proceed across to the Canadian side, and get all your paperwork, pay your GST, Duty and RIV fee.

The border patrol guard who processed my RIV papers on the Canadian side did not look at the sticker of compliance or of manufacture that is on the hinge pillar of the car. Some of them will come out to the car and check, but you can probably avoid this if you check this yourself and note the date and place of manufacture, as they will want to know this for the RIV paperwork.

Cost breakdown of fees at the border
$209 RIV fee
$100 Excise tax on cars with A/C
6.1% Duty on the converted Canadian price
7% (now 6%) GST on the Canadian converted price
They will list the day's exchange rate near the cashier booth. You can pay this with a credit card, so make sure you have enough room on it before you cross, since this step will hit you with about $5,000 worth of fees.

You should make sure they stamp the top of your Form 1 from RIV indicating the border crossing and date. You need this stamp for getting the car registered.

7. How do I get the car registered?

Technically, the correct way to do this is to wait for your inspection papers from the RIV to arrive. They tell you that you will get them within 10 days. Once you get the car inspected at Canadian tire, they will stamp the front of your Form 1, and you take the white copy to registries to get a plate for the car.

You will not need to modify the 06 WRX or STi in any way to pass inspection. They both have DRL and proper child restraints, so the inspection should be very quick.

I ran into some delay at this step. RIV did not send me my paperwork after the 10 days. I had to phone them several times, and they ended up e-mailing me a pdf of the Form 2 papers. Despite not having the Form 2 or second inspection stamp on my Form 1, I managed to get the car registered. Here is how:

Don't go to AMA, since they will refuse to register your car without the second stamp on your Form 1. I tried on 3 separate occasions at different AMA locations, and it was as if they had all recently had an inservice on this. I then went to a small registry, and they did accept the Form 1 without the second stamp. They also asked me for an out of province inspection, which I avoided by telling them that it was a brand-new car. This is true, you do not need an OOP on a new car, as I had this confirmed each time I went to the AMA to get registered. So a big to incompetence, as it got me on the road a few weeks earlier than I technically should have.

[CRXguy]

Congrats.

I drove an '05 a while back. If I wasn't married, I'd trade my WRX in a heartbeat!!

[benyl]

Get some lock nuts for dem BBS wheels.

[max_boost]

Congrats man. I hope you had a fun drive on your way back. The power delivery is so smooth and instant on the WRX, I can't even imagine what it is like on the STi.

I also contacted Subaru Genuine Parts about the STi limited trunk spoiler, it isn't available yet.

Oh yah, you mind disclosing how much you paid all said and done? Did you manage to get any discount from the US dealer? I really wanted to go this route too but I didn't have time for it. I did get a pretty good deal on my 06 Aspen White though, $3k off and 2.8% financing hehe

[xrayvsn]

Originally posted by benyl
Get some lock nuts for dem BBS wheels.

I can't find them anywhere but at the stealership. According to the McGard fitment guide, I need 12 x 1.25 but Canadian Tire does not carry those. Neither did the Partsource I went to. Any other places carry them?

[GTS Jeff]

Such a nice upgrade from an EL.

[xrayvsn]

Originally posted by max_boost
Oh yah, you mind disclosing how much you paid all said and done? Did you manage to get any discount from the US dealer? I really wanted to go this route too but I didn't have time for it. I did get a pretty good deal on my 06 Aspen White though, $3k off and 2.8% financing hehe

Nice choice on colour, I wanted white, but my wife told me that as a compromise for the blue interior, I could only choose between black or blue.

2.8% financing is awesome!

I got the car at the invoice cost which is $31,400 before options. My car cost $32,300 US with boost gauge, short shifter, titanium shift knob and sub. I should have bought lock nuts while I was there, but figured I could get them from Candian Tire or Partsource. I did not finance the car, since I had room on a PLC at prime. The exchange rate when I bought the car was 1.12 and I got my money exchanged at 1.14 from my bank. There was no state tax on the car, so my Canadian price was 36,800. Tack on $100 excise tax, 6.1% duty and 7% GST at the border = $4800. Add in to that the $209 RIV fee. My flight was $270, and I spent about $140 on gas.

Total cost was in the neighborhood of $42,000

[turab16]

that is a very good deal, i think u saved atleast 8000 easy!

smart thinking......... but don't u think a second hand with 5-10k would have saved you additional 5gs maybe?

just wondering.........

[Aleks]

Looks great man.

Have fun with it and be safe.

[khtm]

Nice!

Can't wait to read your notes on importation.

[heavyD]

Nice car. Makes me wonder why anyone would buy an Sti from a Canadian dealership at those savings. I'm surprised the car didn't come with lock nuts. Courtesy Chrysler installed and charged me for lock nuts without even asking me. Does the boost gauge illuminate?

[max_boost]

^^^

HID's are standard on American STi's too

When that STi limited comes out, I'm going to be sooooo tempted haha

[teggypimp95]

Just get some non oem break pads for it. You will no longer have a break dust problem. THis is the same for bmw, audi, ect.

[mac_82]

does the 06 USDM STi have seat warmers? i can't remember...

anyways killer car, you should come out to the meet this weekend.

[benyl]

Originally posted by xrayvsn


I can't find them anywhere but at the stealership. According to the McGard fitment guide, I need 12 x 1.25 but Canadian Tire does not carry those. Neither did the Partsource I went to. Any other places carry them?

Try Contemporary motorsports.

Aren't they only $50 at the stealership? Cheap insurance for expensive wheels.

[stevieo]

my god, i went out to test drive a wrx a few days ago, and im set on getting on. i can't imagine but to feel what the STi is like.

I may goto the states as it is better (price wise..) but i don' tknow how to deal with the mph gauge, im used to looking at the bigger numbers

[Hollywood]

Originally posted by max_boost
^^^

HID's are standard on American STi's too

When that STi limited comes out, I'm going to be sooooo tempted haha

The sti limited looks like a sleeper for sure. I wonder with teh added wieght of the new amenitites how much slower it would be...

Nice deal on the STi man. Even used STi's are cheaper int he US.

[gp36912]

i wanna test drive a sti great buy though. i was looking into either a sti or a s4 a little back

[Pee_Sack]

Originally posted by mac_82
does the 06 USDM STi have seat warmers? i can't remember...

anyways killer car, you should come out to the meet this weekend.

no they don't

ohh yeah and way good deal on the car, if I ever break down and buy an STi it will def be from the states.