Car Rental from US into Canada

[Habz2006]

Doing a trip down to Myrtle Beach and will be flying in. I will be renting a car on the way back and dropping it off in MTL. I contacted Hertz who confirmed it is doable.

Has anyone ever done this before ? My concern is that I will have issues at the Canadian border.

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[Habs 4 Life]

I have never done it but when you get to the boarder be prepared with your paper work from the rental company and I don't see why you should have a problem. They'll ask you if it's your car or not

 

[CrAzYNiNe]

I rented a car in MTL to go to NY and came back with the same car. The border really doesnt care what car you drive as long as you answer their questions swiftly and coherently. If you pause to think about an answer, that is when they think you are a potential threat. (So many reason to pause without actually being a threat LOL)

PS don't give them any info unless they ask. Never tell them its a rental car unless they ask about it.

 

[Gains]

Not relates to what you said, but i'm in myrtle beach Atm for 3 more weeks.

 

[Pierre Dagenais]

Not relates to what you said, but i'm in myrtle beach Atm for 3 more weeks.

Thx for telling us

 

[Bloumeister]

I've done this dozens of times before. Here's the trick:

When you get to the border, ditch the car and RUN!

 

[DJyellow]

I have never done it but when you get to the boarder be prepared with your paper work from the rental company and I don't see why you should have a problem. They'll ask you if it's your car or not

Yup, I have done it several times. They may ask if it's your car or not. When you tell them that it's a rental, the border agent will probably ask to see the rental papers.

Then, they'll ask you to go to the office for a strip search.

 

[walsy37]

If you are travelling on a Canadian passport and your car has American plates, be prepared to be pulled over. The reason they generally do that is to make sure that the car is registered to the right person and in the right place (State or Province). Have your paperwork from the Car rental car place ready and your filght info from Florida. Once you show it to them, it is very quick (there is even a chance that the person at the border station will not tell you to pull over). One piece of advice is as you are likely to be pulled over, make sure that you declare whatever you are supposed and do not have any contraband.

 

[Lions999]

Did it 2 years ago and had no problem, just make sure you tell the car rental agent of your intentions. There will be a fee for dropping it off in Canada , should be about 100.00 extra.

 

[llamateizer]

I've done this dozens of times before. Here's the trick:

When you get to the border, ditch the car and RUN!

dont forget to scream Allah Akbar!

 

[Bloumeister]

I've done this dozens of times before. Here's the trick:

When you get to the border, ditch the car and RUN!

dont forget to scream Allah Akbar!

Looks like I forgot the part where you have to set the car on fire

 

[Twist and Shout]

Having worked with a rental company, be prepared to pay a one-way fee. That is, if it is possible because rental companies really limit one-ways (if you aren't dropping the car in the same province) so double and triple check this with Hertz before even going to the branch on the day of.

If ok, shouldn't be a problem at the border. Just have your rental agreement (and the rental company will have to give you permission to drive the car to QC by noting it on the contract).

 

[scosar]

I rented a car in MTL to go to NY and came back with the same car. The border really doesnt care what car you drive as long as you answer their questions swiftly and coherently.

Nope this is an entirely different situation. You drove a Canadian car into the States and came back to Canada with the same car. I used to work in the states and had a rental car there. When I drove to Canada I would get hassled all the time. I had a TN visa to work in the states which allowed me to have the U.S. car but even then I got some border guys who didn't know the rules and I would get pulled in for 2 hours of discussion at least every 3 months.

They would insist I take the car back to the States and rent a car in Canada. Not practical obviously if you are coming into Canada anywhere near Montreal as the U.S. border crossings are in small towns.

I would call and see if the rules have changed. Otherwise be prepared to hitch hike from the border.

 

[HabsByTheBay]

I doubt there will be a problem, other than the fat one-way fee you'll get. I've come into Canada with a US rental car several times and never had a problem.

 

[CrAzYNiNe]

Nope this is an entirely different situation. You drove a Canadian car into the States and came back to Canada with the same car. I used to work in the states and had a rental car there. When I drove to Canada I would get hassled all the time. I had a TN visa to work in the states which allowed me to have the U.S. car but even then I got some border guys who didn't know the rules and I would get pulled in for 2 hours of discussion at least every 3 months.

They would insist I take the car back to the States and rent a car in Canada. Not practical obviously if you are coming into Canada anywhere near Montreal as the U.S. border crossings are in small towns.

I would call and see if the rules have changed. Otherwise be prepared to hitch hike from the border.

Why in the world do these border people care about the car? I would think that if a person has an arrangement with the company they rented the car from, they should not have a say in the matter.

 

[HABS win CUPS*]

i think you just have to notify the rental company that you're crossing the border and as long as you have unlimited km's you're all set

i dunno if you normally get insurance with your rental or have a cc that gives you insurance included with car rentals but you might need to take insurance policy so you can demonstrate coverage at the border

otherwise just make sure you're wearing clean underwear at the border crossing for when they ermmmm work you over

 

[HABS win CUPS*]

dont forget to scream Allah Akbar!

oh great now this forum is being.....ermmmmm 'tracked' by certain agencies

 

[beowulf]

For the proper information go to the source http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d2/d2-4-1-eng.html

Temporary Importation of U.S.-Based Rental Vehicles

10. Residents of Canada may temporarily import a U.S.-based rental vehicle for non-commercial purposes, under Customs Tariff Item No. 9993.00.00 under the following conditions

(a) After an absence of 48 hours or more, full duty and taxes relief for a period of up to 30 days;
(b) After an absence of less than 48 hours, GST/HST will be calculated on a fixed value determined by Regulations on a weekly basis for a period of up to 30 days.
(c) Weekly fixed monetary values for the following types of vehicles:
(i) $200 for cars, motorcycles and ATV;
(ii) $300 for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans including minivans, camping trailers, fifth wheel trailers and trucks up to 10 tonnes or similar vehicles; and
(iii) $1,000 for recreational vehicles, such as motor homes.
11. Where GST/HST applies on these rental vehicles, the GST/HST rate applicable will be that of the province/territory where the vehicle enters Canada, whether or not the importer is a resident of that province/territory.

12. This reduced tax treatment will apply only to U.S.-based rental vehicles temporarily imported for a period not exceeding 30 days. This applies for non-commercial purposes only.

Note: Snowmobiles and Golf carts are not included in the definition of a qualifying vehicle and do not receive any relief under the “Tax Relief for Foreign-Based Rental Vehicles Temporarily Imported by Canadian Residents” measures announced in Budget 2012.

 

[Agnostic]

Doing a trip down to Myrtle Beach and will be flying in. I will be renting a car on the way back and dropping it off in MTL. I contacted Hertz who confirmed it is doable.

Has anyone ever done this before ? My concern is that I will have issues at the Canadian border.

Not sure where you are in the process but a one way rental of that length will probably be more than airfare . Border services won't bother you but your rental company will kill you with fees.

 

[HABS win CUPS*]

It's expensive to drive but that's a cool drive I've driven return to NYC a bunch of times from Montreal and also drove key west to Montreal once great drive

 

[Player 61]

It's North America, our driver's licence is good everywhere in North America and visa-Vera- How we transports goods for our great truck drivers./economy. Rental cars are driving over borders daily, All rental car company's are USA anyway. Use a good credit card, you get free insurance and can drive really cheap if U do homework!

R

 

[buddahsmoka1]

You will be fine at the border. There is nothing to be concerned about.

You are going to get destroyed monetarily by the rental company though.

 

[Habz2006]

You will be fine at the border. There is nothing to be concerned about.

You are going to get destroyed monetarily by the rental company though.

Hey guys ... thanks for writting so much ... so very interesting readings LMAO ... and yes I will to MAKE SURE I am wearing some clean undies.

Regarding the price, it's costing me $540 to rent the car. I am picking up on a Sat morning in myrtle and dropping off sun night at trudeau. Honestly .. the flights back from myrtle to MTL are EXTREMELY expensive ... i found ONE flight at $400 AND it isn't even direct .... for a few hundred more I would rather drive down and extend my trip a little longer.

 

[Lemons]

The trick at the border is to bring all hard documentation of the reservations/events you've made/planned within the states.

 

[mbz]

speaking about renting cars, does anyone know if there's places where you can rent one under the age of 25?