[ramanak]

Does it make (economic) sense to ship RHD Car from India to use in Canada and bring back to India on return (after 1.5-2 years)?Car to be shipped is 2010 Civic.

1)What would the the shipment cost from Chennai to Western canada (Alberta)?.Are there any agencies which will handle all steps in the process from shipment till registration in Canada?
2)Are RHD Vehicles allowed in Canada.Websites say they are allowed but would like to confirm.
3)What will be the insurance and registration costs for a Imported vehicle
4)Will the Indian Customs treat it as an Imported car and charge duty on returning to India?
5)Will driving to other states or country (USA) be problematic?
6)Any other additional problems /issues that I should know of-Like Maintenance issues/Servicing problems/Spares etc.

Advantages of shipping from India will be -Need not spend for another car which will mostly not be a new car.Car will not be unused for 2 years in India (I dont want to sell my Car in the near future).

Disadvantages - Shipping costs,Procedural hassles,Driving RHD in a LHD Country,Servicing/Maintenance issues (I intend to drive around extensively)

Thanks for your inputs.

[amitoj]

My gut feel says that it wont make economic sense and since you intend to drive a lot, it will be quite problematic driving a RHD. Probably the amount you will spend in shipping the car to Canada and then bringing it back and the hassles of getting the paperwork done for it will not be worth it. Forget getting a car from India to Canada, even getting a car imported from US to Canada involves a lot of paperwork and advance prep!

[condor]

Forget all the points you have mentioned. Car to Car, the cars are cheaper in US / CA than here. Why would want to take one from here, and then bring it back.

Eg:
In BLR, Altis starts (base model is) at 11.8L ex-showroom. This converts to 22000 CAD.
Compare that with Canada prices. The Top End itself is CA $21650
(prices are approx - you can check on Yahoo auto;s or other sites).

Add to this the much lower interest rates
And then suitability of the models - ABS, heated seats (in leather trims), etc

The list goes on.

So why would you even want to take one from here ?

[eq24]

I too would not recommend, it will be very tedious work involving lot of formalities, time and money.
Moreover you will have the added burden of finding an insurer there. And then bringing it back will make it even worse than taking it out.

Don't do it. Buy a car there and enjoy.

[amit]

I am not sure about this but it's quite possible that car's there use different grades of fluid's for the engine considering the extreme cold weather.

Also, driving a RHD car in a LHD country in snowy condition's, with black ice on the road will only make it worse for you.

Also, what about emissions? Does the Indian Civic comply with Canadian & US emission standards? California, typically, has very tough emission standard's.

[soonya]

I agree with many of the comments here.

A RHD in a LHD country itself is a challenge, one might want a car that is built for the context. Heating is very critical compared to our needs here in most of India.

Many of the 'foreign' cars are detuned or adapted to our conditions here whether it be fuel, GC or suspension and many other things.

If one can afford a new one, one can always look for good 'preowned' examples.

And what about servicing? If the parts were to be imported from India, UK or Japan would it not add to costs of ownership?

Whether cuisine or cars always try to go local. Cultures adapt and build what makes eminent sense in a locale.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by ramanak

Does it make (economic) sense to ship RHD Car from India to use in Canada and bring back to India on return (after 1.5-2 years)?Car to be shipped is 2010 Civic.

1)What would the the shipment cost from Chennai to Western canada (Alberta)?.Are there any agencies which will handle all steps in the process from shipment till registration in Canada?
2)Are RHD Vehicles allowed in Canada.Websites say they are allowed but would like to confirm.
3)What will be the insurance and registration costs for a Imported vehicle
4)Will the Indian Customs treat it as an Imported car and charge duty on returning to India?
5)Will driving to other states or country (USA) be problematic?
6)Any other additional problems /issues that I should know of-Like Maintenance issues/Servicing problems/Spares etc.

Advantages of shipping from India will be -Need not spend for another car which will mostly not be a new car.Car will not be unused for 2 years in India (I dont want to sell my Car in the near future).

Disadvantages - Shipping costs,Procedural hassles,Driving RHD in a LHD Country,Servicing/Maintenance issues (I intend to drive around extensively)

Thanks for your inputs.

If I were you I would sell the car or give it to a family member here. Go peacefully, buy a nice car while there, use it and sell it off while returning.
No sense in all this moving vehicles from country to country. Too much hassle for too little real gains.

[pganapathy]

The cost of shipping would probably be equal or more than the cost of just buyin a car there. In the event you don't want or can't afford a new car, to can always pick up a used car for 5 to 10 thousand dollars.

Yes, the hassle of leaving a car unused for 2 years is there. Is it not possible to leave the car with someone reliable who will run the car once a month or so. That will make things easier all round.

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

Is it not possible to leave the car with someone reliable who will run the car once a month or so. That will make things easier all round.

It does make sense but in the real world thats the whole cause for worry.

A friend of mine went through this same dilemna before he left to Vancouver for an indefinite period of time. At the time, I really wasnt able to understand his POV because as I see it the car was a Baleno and not some exquisite car that needed special attention. The reason: I did not have my own vehicle at the time and hence was unable to fell his attachment.

All that was until I bought a car and got into into the same dilemna when I was just leaving to the US for 3 months. Yikes! Reality did hit me and I wasn't ready to hand over the keys of my priced possession to anyone.

So I did exactly what the friend finally did - disconnected the battery, tanked up fuel to the brim, over inflated all tires, and jacked up the car off all fours.

Eternal bliss and total relief!

Come to think of it: its a good business opportunity in IT cities where people travel om long term wherein the car can just be trustfully left with the business to take care of the vehicle during your time away on a monthly fee. Of course real estate is also a constraint n expensive in cities.

[gsurya]

Never bring in cars that you expect to use regularly here. But its very worthwhile to bring in unusual cars & classics, even antique cars as they are very cheap & abundant abroad. Market for using such cars in shows, TV/movies, rallies etc growing rapidly in India & bound to hv a good future.. if you can afford it of course

[ramanak]

Thanks for your inputs guys.I have dropped the idea of shipping the car over.

[CR-V]

I have the same question though the difference is I want to ship my BMW over to US - Its about 2 years old and have maintained it quite well - the same model in US is a bit cheaper but still close to 60k dollars. Not really a amount I would like to spend right now.

The same car spec is sold in US so it will pass all the safety and emission norms. RHD might be a issue for the authorities but is there is no problem in terms of driving. Drove around Europe for a number of years with a RHD UK car.

Any suggestions?

[Zappo]

I think most of the same logic people suggested earlier will apply for you as well. The hassles of carrying something from here and getting it back here once again is a big pain to take. Question is, if you are going there for a temporary period, do you really need to buy a BMW over there and that too a new one, of the same spec? If you think that it is really important even then have a look at what it costs to pick up a good used BMW out there and then what you can expect to get back when you again sell it off while returning back. If the delta is less or the same as the cost of shipping your car to and fro (I can tell you it will not be) then it is better to not ship this car from here but buy one there.

[Turbanator]

Does it make (economic) sense to ship RHD Car from India to use in Canada and bring back to India on return (after 1.5-2 years)?Car to be shipped is 2010 Civic

Like others , this is not a good options , there will be too many hassles and costs . You can pick a Brand new 2016 Accord for under 30 K CAD and can easily sell this at around 23-25 after 2 Years. CAD is trading at historic lows and Alberta market is one of worst hit due to oil - go only if you have any firm job / work in hand , PM me if you need any help around Calgary.

[MrA]

Originally Posted by ramanak

Does it make (economic) sense to ship RHD Car from India to use in Canada and bring back to India on return (after 1.5-2 years)?Car to be shipped is 2010 Civic.

Originally Posted by CR-V

I have the same question though the difference is I want to ship my BMW over to US - Its about 2 years old and have maintained it quite well - the same model in US is a bit cheaper but still close to 60k dollars. Not really a amount I would like to spend right now.

There will be a lot of formalities involved, lot of money too but you should try asking Agarwal packers, they do ship vehicles to US, not sure about Canada. I got a Honda City shipped from Pune to Kashmir and they handled it perfectly. The process was pretty swift and organized. I would only trust them with something like this. There are lot of fake Agarwal movers around, this is the real one, http://www.agarwalpackers.com/
P.S Do check for emission compliance and other regulations. Moreover driving a RHD car in Canada and US will be very cumbersome.