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Hi everyone, 

First off, great forum, I have been reading a lot of info on here and you are all such a wealth of information for a guy like me, so thanks in advance.

I've been a fan of speedsters since I can remember, and I'm finally in the market for...well... an affordable replica.  Now that I'm finally able to look more seriously I'm finding such a wide range of prices for many different replicas (and lots of scams) and I'm hoping I can gather more info from this group to grow my knowledge as to what to look for, or avoid.   I am definitely looking on the cheaper end, but with that also comes a lot of concerns for me and I don't want to buy a lemon.  I would rather buy a quality build that has a few more miles, blemishes and needs a bit of work, but not a complete rebuild.  

The other challenge it that I'm in central Canada, so there is absolutely none within 1500 miles of me.  I have only ever seen one in my city (an can currently only find two for sale within Canada now).  I found one outside of Toronto, but even on the more affordable end it's still a large investment, and I'm not experienced enough to know if it's worth the money they're asking.   I would definitely fly to look prior to purchase but want to be 95% sure I'm buying it before I purchase a ticket (once this Covid-19 stuff all dies down and borders re-open).  

I'd really appreciate any information you can all provide, and if there are any good sites or leads you can share I'd really appreciate it.  

Thanks in advance.  

 

 

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@Geoffluczka

Greetings Geoff - its pretty exciting to be at the point of looking in earnest for the car most suitable for you (budget and appearance). As a word of caution, I think there are restrictions as to what vehicles can be brought into Canada (particularly a replica).

There will be the SOC brain trust (much more knowledgeable than me) that will eventually chime in with sage advice. Best of luck with your Speedster endeavor, and keep us posted with your results. 

Good luck with your search! Importing a built and finished car can be done. According to Transport Canada, a finished kit car can be brought in, as long as it was fully-finished 15 or more years ago. Then it qualifies as age-exempt, and while it still needs to be safe and roadworthy etc, it can be imported. Anything newer than 15 years old is subject to all the normal ‘new car’ regulations, compliance with which will likely be prohibitive. 
Of course, you’ll have to pay for shipping/transport, customs duty, and whatever taxes your province charges. And the registration fees of course. As with all such procedures, if do it right, provide all the right documentation at the right time, and follow all the rules, it’s definitely do-able.

The issue of course is always cost - if you find one in the US for say, 25,000, by the time you’ve converted USD to CAD, transported it, paid the taxes etc, it’ll end up being closer to 40,000CAD by the time you’re driving it. Which explains why a. They’re rare in Canada, and b. They’re expensive.

I’d like to say that I’d been through it all and had first-hand experience of the above, but I lucked out and found a great base car close to home. However, I did a ton of research before that one popped up, so I do know that the guidelines above are true...

Whatever - it’s still totally worth it! Much better value and much more fun than any other $40k car out there.

 

good luck again!

@jesse postill that’s actually the one I have my eye on. The problem is that it’s 3000km away from me, so it makes it difficult. I just don’t know these well enough to know what a quality build looks like (especially just from pictures) and what a quality build is worth up here, as there’s not much to compare to in Canadian dollars. 
thanks very much for the reply. 

Last edited by Geoffluczka
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