Rental car from US to YVR for DO??

I'm going to the YVR Do, but I'll likely be in Seattle for business on the days prior to the do. Look at airfare between SEA and YVR, but I found it expensive and I'm playing with the idea of renting a car in SEA and drive to YVR on Thursday night the 5th of May, since it's only 140 miles away.

What are your experiences in renting a US car as a Canadian citizen, drive it to Canada and drive it back to the US after the do?

Since you're not doing a one way drop off, it shouldn't be a problem.
I did the opposite without issues (Rent at YVR, drive to SEA/PDX and back). The border crossing wasn't a huge wait (this was on a weekend) and the line of questioning is nowhere near as retarded as YVR customs. The drive on I-5 is nice.

Good you asked on this one- Canada is usually a real stickler for a Canadian in a US registered car entering Canada- it is specifically NOT allowed. Now, they may not catch it, but if they do- they will advise you to turn around or leave the car in impound until you return to the US border. Interestingly, the other way around is not a problem. Be careful on this one...

woops, nevermind...

I rented a car from SEA - YVR a long time ago. The car they gave me at SEA had British Columbia plates and I had no problems getting into BC. I've also had no problems doing this recently from YYZ-BUF one way. I have not tried to do a return but I have done one ways from BUF-YYZ as well with no problems (with Ontario plates)

The key is a Canadian Car....usaually few and far between at SEA.

The majors in SEA (Hertz, Avis etc.) have a few BC-registered cars specifically for this situation. You have to phone them and ask for one in advance, I've never found anywhere to ensure you get one with a web booking. (Yeah, I know there's a comments entry, but I guarantee they never read that ).

Rent a 2005 Mustang GT V8 Convertible. I had one in Montana, hit 225 km/h, and it's just a sweet car.

Unless you are a non-resident of Canada, the official CCRA line is you cannot rent a non-Canadian registered car outside Canada and drive it into Canada.

There are supposedly exemptions for short one day rentals to get home but not to drive around Canada before returning south. Other exemptions are people returning to live in Canada, purchasing and moving stuff home (e.g., buying furniture), emergencies (such as your car being stolen, wrecked, etc.), and being a non-resident of Canada.

As for Canadian cars - yes, they are far and few between in SEA (found that out a few times this past year). Make reservations at Hertz, Budget, Avis and National and hope for the best (National used to be cheap but you're looking at $100+ basic rates these days) and offer to swap for a U.S. car when you get to YVR. FWIW, National in Canada told me an average of 50 of their Canadian cars are driven OW to the U.S. yearly.

From the Canadian Border Services Agency Website:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/.../rc4044-e.html

Restrictions on temporary importing
If you buy, lease, rent, or borrow a vehicle while outside Canada, customs legislation does not allow you to bring it into Canada for your personal use, even temporarily, unless it meets all Transport Canada requirements and you pay the duties and federal taxes that apply. In the case of a one-way rental, you are allowed to drive the rented/leased vehicle to the authorized rental agency closest to your destination in Canada to drop it off.


I recently rented a car from BUF to drop off in Mississauga, ON which had Michigan plates without any problems. We are Canadian Citizens. The Canadian Customs Officer noticed the Michigan plates and I told him that we are doing an one-way rental and dropping off the car in Mississauga. He said go ahead, without any problems.

[QUOTE Backbencher]In the case of a one-way rental, you are allowed to drive the rented/leased vehicle to the authorized rental agency closest to your destination in Canada to drop it off.
[/QUOTE]

This looks like something that has been added on since last last year. ^ Good for those of us who need to get back from down south.

So a business side trip into Canada would be OK?

yes, it is not uncommon to get stuck at the Seattle airport when you are trying to get back to Victoria or Vancouver. A bit of fog or a few snowflakes and they seem to cancel all the local flights. (Well, sometimes it seems that way, anyway!)

I have been caught up in this situation with car rentals at SeaTac before (some car companies would not rent a US registered car to us to take into Canada), so I wanted to find out a bit more. I phoned Hertz at SeaTac just now and they said they will try to provide a Canadian registered car to Canadian renters, but they can always give you a US registered car and will set you up with a location to exchange for Cdn rental car as near as possible, with no drop fees or anything.

Why do we have this silly restriction, in the first place, though? Is this to prevent Cdn citizens from sneaky ways of bringing US car purchases into Canada or something? I don't understand!

Exactly so. It's been there for as long as I can remember (which is a very long time indeed ). Back in the 60s-70s the difference in new car prices US-Can would have made this a very lucrative loophole.

This is a typical nuisance that is an archaic bit in the tax code that Paul Martin should have removed when he was finance minister. It goes against the essence of free trade. I heard him say that he couldn't remove all the nuisance tax items because the government needed the money. He didn't mention that it was needed to give a future enquiry something to do. He did say that he instituted the airport security charge because passengers are the ones who benefit and that was a good thing. Yes indeed.