Hi Fellow MINI enthusiasts!
As new owner of a 05 MINI JCW, it's a real challenge to source and have shipped parts to Canada...there are some great US Vendors but shipping/duty costs make it unreasonable (often having to pay more in duty and shipping) than parts are worth....what's are others doing or found the best options...thanks

 

I've have shipped parts to a border town, driven down and picked up the parts. I try to arrange it to coincide with a trip to the USA, allowing me to avoid any duty or taxes on bringing the parts into Canada. I'm not sure where you live, but most likely you are within a 1 to 2 hour drive of the border. Almost all border entry points have some form of package pickup dealer.

 

Thanks for the tip...
I have thought about that and maybe I'll try it if I can coordinate a trip...
Being as I live on Vancouver Island the cost of travel is high but hey I'd rather get a trip out of it than pay brokerage and shipping fees to UPS!

 

I attended AMVIV a few times and each time, I had parts installed. Mostly labour free.

Having said that, you might be surprised the number of performance parts available at places like Lordco or NAPA (they can order them in for you) and if you have a car club discount, the pricing is pretty reasonable.

Being on Vancouver Island, I understand making a trip to the mainland would negate any savings in shipping charges. I'm originally from the island myself.

 

WildMINI - We ship internationally, you can call into our sale team and see if they can help you more. Put your orders in bulk if you can, order all your parts at once. . Thanks

 

Thanks for the tip will surely look into it!

 

I think ECS Tuning is a great supplier and have ordered there before.... and would be more than happy to continue shopping there if it were not for the shipping/duty.

I did try and put together a bulk order along with the suggestion of using UPS Can-Ease shipping/broker option....the shipping and /duty costs where ...extremely high

 

Where on the Island are you? The Coho in Victoria used to do shipping when I lived there. There was a PO box on the US side where you could ship stuff that didn't ship to Canada, and they'd send it over on the boat.

 

I'm in VIctoria and familiar with the Coho....haven't heard of the shipping service
I'll have to look into it...Thanks!
Not sure if most suppliers would even consider shipping to a PO Box or that cross border fees would be any less.
I'm ok with the exchange rate, and standard shipping fees but the added cross border brokerage and duty fees make it a bit hard to justify.

 

I'm in Calgary and the closest us town is almost 5 hours away. The duty brokerage and now exchange are killers. I keep wondering about free trade. I almost think shipping from uk is cheaper.

 

Hey there, fellow Victorian. Subscribed to this thread for interest, I've definitely had the same question. For awhile there was a small one-man operation called VI Auto Parts that was able to get stuff for a decent price, but I believe he may have moved on. I bought my H-Sport control arms from him.

 

If I remember correctly, they use a physical address, but you have your own box there. It also helps when 99% of the retailers south of the border offer free shipping in the US. Basically, you only pay to have it brought over on the Coho, and then you self declare it at customs, pay the GST/PST. No brokerage fees or other BS. I think it was called "Ship Happens".

 

Thanks Quicksilver2003!...that gives me some hope that I may have some options

I just looked into Ship Happens...and that looks really interesting
They claim they do not forward freight...do u remember how u got your purchases to be shipped via Coho Ferries?

 

I went to their ticket office at the inner harbour and talked to them directly. You could probably call them as well, 250 386 2202 I know they used to do it, but not sure if they still do. However, you can walk on the Coho for pretty cheap, and go to the Ship Happens office on the other side, pick up your stuff, and take the boat back.

 

I messaged Black Ball Lines on Facebook yesterday. The reply I got was that they are not licensed to carry freight. There is a company in Port Angeles called Port Angeles Package Receiving that will allow you to ship goods to their facility where you can pick them up and accompany them on the ferry into Victoria.

 

Thanks for the info quicksilver2003!

That's really great to know that there are options
The only stumbling block (besides the time and effort to make it happen) is that the ferry runs on a limited schedule and often does not return to Victoria the same day...but if coordinated and scheduled right it could work...thanks a lot!

 

No prob. I've done the walk on voyage a few times to get parts for my Jeep when I lived there. It's a nice trip!