Wheels and Tires from the states?
 

Is it worth all the stress/chance of being caught to buy wheels/tires from the states (discount tire/Les Swhab...etc)

or should I just get them up here?

any tips, tricks, or good places to look for pricing?

Just report the amount the tires cost and pay your taxes.. Then you won't have to worry about anything.
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Dont you have to pay PST/GST + Duty?

If you drive down with worn out tires, get new ones mounted, and drive back, I don't foresee any problems -- unless you leave a receipt or something laying in plain view, or unless you bring back your old tires/wheels in the trunk. (I'm sure RS moral police will fail me for that one, but it's the truth)

Shop around, I found decent prices at US costco, drove there, had wheels installed, hit up some outlets, drove back.

Ill have to look into the total install cost. If Im still saving good money, Ill declare them at the border like a good canadian

The main problem I had was sourcing the hankooks i wanted here in canada. most tire shops said a price almost double that of the US and a lead time of 2 months. Phoned a discount tire in the states had the tires mounted on the car a week later, for a fraction of the price and only paid about 100 bucks at the border...

So in total including gas and fees and duty and everything the US trip costed me $1100. (includes mounting the tires, TPMS, etc.).

Same thing here in canada would have been over $1600.

why dont you but the set of tires/wheels separately at different times? (crossing 4 different times)

Not sure if it would work though, I'm sure there are rebates/discounts when buying the set all at the same time.
Also have to account how far you live from the border too.

I blew a tire while vacationing in Cannon Beach last year. Instead of rolling on three low tread tires and one new one, I simply bought four new ones. Didn't declare it at the border, mainly because I see it the same as if I had gotten a new bearing installed or did an oil change. It's maintenance that was necessary to drive the car safely. Of course it probably helped that I had put a few hundred clicks on the tires before I hit the border crossing.

But honestly, even if the border guard notices that the tires look new, he can't say boo unless you've got the receipt floating around in your car.

Of course, if you're buying rims and tires and plan on bringing the old ones back with you, that's another story entirely. There's no duty if they're made in North America, but you'll run the risk of having to pay tax.

We had tirerack tires mounted and shipped to an installer near our vacation spot.
Full disclosure, under limit, =)

You could pull off the new tire whiskers


Clear, concise, emphatic, preferably one word, answers rule at the border.
The border guards sit in the box all day long.
The last thing they want to hear is more bullshit.

That said, some are quite chatty after the preliminaries.

I did the same thing yesterday. I had old worn tires and drove to Bellingham to Discount tire (beside Fred Meyer) and had 4 cheap all season tires installed, and it costs $388. On the way back between we also purchased stuff from Walmart, Costco and target.
At the border we told him how much we brought back for the both of us, we also mentioned tires too. We didn't pay anything.

has anyone been to that NAPA autobody at Blaine, near those parcel pickup locations?

I was thinking of getting tires shipped to blaine and getting them installed there...

my rims and tires should come to around 3,000$ in the states.

contemplation time

I paid 12%

i dont think you have to pay duty as long as its made in the US or mexico.

taxes probably, but im sure its still cheaper than local pricing.

my only advice is to declare everything rather than risk getting fucked in the bum by a CBSA officer

i would declare everything to the officer, why risk putting your future visits in jeopardy with being hassled over couple hundred bucks in duty, not worth it

if you want to spend less, then stop smoking, drinking or going out for dinners too much, first world problems