just got some parts that i ordered from the usa,and UPS puts a $75.00 brokerage fee on everything coming into Canada,(part was $25.00) would have been nice if they would have told you that.(live and learn) so my question is: anyone up here in Canada know of a good online autoparts place? or,secondly a place that is in the USA, but would ship USPS(regular mail) they only add a $5.00 charge.

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1980 mercedes euro 300D 232000 miles(died,now parts car)
2004 2500 ram cummins diesel
1980 harley shovelhead
1988 anniversery corvette zr1(engine)
1978 240D 4spd 240000 miles (new benz toy)
1946 Cessna 140, Continental 0-200

It's hard to find places that ship to Canada. I'd like to support this site, but last time I checked, they won't ship outside of the US.

******** Arizona (www.***************) will ship USPS. Then you only have to pay the $5 "handling fee" charged by canada customs. It's nice to pay the government $5 for the privilege of being charged 78 cents in duties and taxes . We need a Canadian on-line auto parts source. I've seen this site: http://www.altrom.com/cadDefault.aspx but never ordered from them. I've only used it to look up pricing. If you use it, let me know if it works for you.

Items shipped by UPS air have no brokerage fee. So, even if it's $20 more to go by air, it's actually cheaper overall. That's the easiest... Also, if the shipper declares the item to be a low value (something like less than C$25, don't know the exact number) then there's no duties and no brokerage fee. Also, I'm not advocating anything illegal / unethical, but one time I got a package that had no $ owing, and it was because the shipper marked it as repaired items being returned to the original owner. I didn't ask them to do this; they just did it on their own for some reason...

You should also know about the secret tip of clearing it through customs yourself. To do this, you need to get the tracking # the moment the item ships out. Then, call the shipper and tell them that you want to clear it yourself. When the item arrives, you'll have to go to the shipping company warehouse and pick up some paperwork, then go to Canada Customs (located a block or two north of the Toyota/Lexus dealership that's on 32nd ave NE). You have to find the customs code for the item and fill out a form on their ancient computers, and then you can pay the taxes/duties and they stamp the shipping paperwork. After that, you go back to the shippers warehouse and they hand you the item. I've done this twice before (I think it was with DHL and FedEx, not sure about UPS) but it was a few years ago so rules may have changed. It takes about an hour. If the item is imported into Canada somewhere else (e.g. in another province or something), this may not work or may be more of a hassle (faxing paperwork, etc).

You have to go to the customs place well before they close. I went there once and it was 20 minutes to closing time, but the lady told me the process would take 25 minutes, so I'd have to come back another day!

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1989 250TD Wagon 5-speed, 160,000mi ::: Dark gray metallic / black cloth
1984 190D-2.2 5-speed, 287,000mi ::: Silver-blue metallic / black MB-tex ::: SOLD

Because of the ridiculous UPS brokerage fees when ordering from the States I now ask merchants NOT to use UPS. If they won't comply, I don't order.

Guess what? US Postal Service is probably the most cost-effective and reliable method I've found.

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Dean Albrecht
"Lead, follow, or better yet, get out of the way!"E500 owners motto

great info guys thanks again,some guys that i fly with that are into cars and bikes often place orders to be delivered directly to the airport (USA) gates we go to.
sounds like alot would have to come together at the right time in order for this to work.......USPS may be the way to go......by the way, when you say this site doesnt send outside the us, do you mean Fastlane?

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1980 mercedes euro 300D 232000 miles(died,now parts car)
2004 2500 ram cummins diesel
1980 harley shovelhead
1988 anniversery corvette zr1(engine)
1978 240D 4spd 240000 miles (new benz toy)
1946 Cessna 140, Continental 0-200

can try http://www.hopefungautoparts.com in Richmond, BC... can send by COD through Canada Post within Canada

When I was a mechanic in North Vancouver we used Altrom I think they are the canadian version of Worldpac /this site. If it was a euro import they had it.

Hey Wade!

It would be so much easier if you knew someone in the Waterton Lakes area that would let you mail these items coming in to Canada at there place in the states.
I do this through Point Roberts Washington where i have a friend of mine and all i do is go down to his place fuel up and pick up my parts..
Have a nice xmas !!

PS Hope Fung is a great place to buy your parts and after market stuff...See Jeff and tell him Dan sent you!

UPS + Canada = disaster

I've had multiple run-ins with them. They suck.

Shipping via the post office is the only way to go. Ensure the seller can meet the request prior to transaction.

I've had similar disasters happen to myself. It doesn't seem to matter who you ship with, you're always going to get jammed with all kinds of fees. Sure, the initial low online pricing is tempting, but it almost always costs more in the end. My solution to the problem is to NOT order anything from over the border. So far it has treated me very well. Sometimes it takes a little more effort, and you may have to get off the computer, but most everything you need can be had locally. So grab the phone book, and make some calls. You would really be suprised at what you can get.

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1967 200D FINTAIL (in service)- 86K
1983 VOLVO 244 DL (daily driver)- 300K
1988 VOLVO 244 DL (ice racer) - 345K

A couple of years ago I bought a set of eCode headlights from a shop in Vancouver. Sale price was US$$309. UPS attempted to assess fees that added up to US$$320.

The united parcel stickup is well known. Fully ninety percent of vendors I use either automtically devalue goods or will act on request. The free into canada amount is twenty dollars but i do not know if that is canadian or american dollars. Two hundred dollars for our items entering into the states get no surcharges I am aware of. I even have an american mail drop but save it for emergencies where I must have the item. Even worse is ups can have three times the shipping price from the same area as usps. They indeed are a clip service. To be fair overall I have saved a fortune buying in the states over home prices. I cannot afford not to buy in the states both from a price as well as availability perspective on some items. My real problem is to get american vendors to sell a canadian. First I try to assure them it is easy and that I am easy to get along with. Then I move into the mercinary stage that usually does it by appealing to their greed. I suspect that it is universal when I tell them how much more they might realise by letting me bid and explain it. Some of our own home grown vendors are much harder to deal with. Pay attention to developing your feedback beyond perfect. You want comments in there that others do not get. Work at it.