It may appear that way in some regards, but the savings are usually much less than anticipated, if you realize any. The price of cars fluctuates between the US and Canada, depending on the exchange rate, and between other nations if you are considering buying a car made outside of the NAFTA zone. The US has been known to impose punitive duties on imported products (usually in violation of WTO and NAFTA rulings), which may apply to automobiles imported into the US from Japan, Korea, and Europe. Such duties are rarely be imposed by the Canadian government. The exchange rate fluctuates and influences the purchase price dramatically. You can expect to pay about C$1.25 for ever US$1.00 today, substantially better than the C$1.35 of a few years ago. This still means that a US$20,000 vehicle costs C$25,000 to begin with. When you import the vehicle, you will be required to pay sales tax and GST on it. You would have to do it if you purchased the vehicle in your home province, but it is still paid on imports. In Ontario, sales taxes amount to 15%, so the car now costs C$28,750. You might also have been required to pay sales tax in the US, which usually can be refunded after you file a claim with the revenue department in the state where you purchased it. This still means that you usually have to lay out the cost at the time of purchase. Depending on the origin of the car, you may also be required to pay duty on it when importing it to Canada. That duty will vary depending on the origin of the vehicle. Since duty might have been imposed when it was imported into the US, you would be, in effect, paying duty twice. You may also be subject to an import fee by customs. If you use a broker, there will be brokerage fees. If you are considering leasing a car and buying it out at the end of the lease, you will likely find that lease financing will be very difficult to obtain in the US, as you are a foreigner with an unknown credit rating. You may have problems if you try to finance a car you are trying to purchase outright, both in the US, where you are an unknown, and in Canada, where they may not finance a car purchased outside of the country or charge you a higher interest rate when they do. If you import a car, you are responsible for providing the paperwork to demonstrate that it abides by Canadian emissions regulations before you are allowed to license it. This documentation might be available from the seller, you may have to purchase it from the manufacturer, or you may be forced to pay to have the car tested and then pay to correct any deficiencies. You are also required to demonstrate that the vehicle meets Canadian safety regulations, another expense if a certificate is not freely available from the seller. If the car does not meet Canadian requirements, you will have to pay for the modifications. If your province requires a safety check before the car can be licensed, you are responsible for the test and all costs associated with it. This is part of the purchase price at a dealership for a new car and is often rolled into the price of a used car. When you maintain and repair the car, you may find that certain parts are different between the US and Canadian versions of the car and that the parts you require are not immediately available from a dealer or parts supplier. I had this problem, in reverse, when I was unable to find a replacement part for a car I owned during a trip to the US. The car was driveable, but I was told by a couple of suppliers that I would need to wait two to four weeks for the part. This may be less of a problem with some vehicles today, as some are 'world' cars that share almost all of the same parts in every country in which they are sold. On the other hand, it is true that some Canadian provinces apply taxes to vehicles that are not applied to vehicles sold in the US. However, most of these apply only to new cars (e.g., A/C levy in Ontario). There are some dealers along the border that do offer good deals to Canadians in order to attract more business. They usually provide everything you need to import the car and have it licensed in Canada. But it can also be a very large headache to import a car on your own, particularly if you are unfamiliar with the system. There are companies who do this sort of thing for those who want to import more exotic vehicles, but they charge a hefty price for the service and any modifications they are required to make to the vehicles.