I've seen several threads going the other way, but so far haven't seen a thread where someone is bringing a Canadian Excursion to America. Sorry in advance if it's just that my search ability is no good.

Anyway, I found what looks like a pretty nice Ex at a fair price, but the hitch is that it's Canada spec and I'm in the States. Hoping to check with Ford today, since my understanding is that if Ford themselves says "yes, the safety gear and the smog stuff is the same as one we sold in America", then I should be good. In theory, at least... But did anyone actually do this? Do they care about the odometer being in km instead of miles? Did you have to make any other changes to the truck? The one I'm looking at is lightly modified (chip, injectors, exhaust), stock ride height.

Oh, and since the truck was originally manufactured here, you don't have to pay the 25% import duty on foreign trucks - do you?

Thanks in advance for everyone's time.

 

I would check with US Customs. When the Excursion first came out they were a lot cheaper than in the US and I had considered doing this. I don't think it is that hard of a process getting it over the border.

 

I just bought a '99 F350 Canadian Spec truck.
Carfax showed it was from Calgary via Washington and imported new, sold in Idaho or Montana if I recall correctly. The only telltale is the Daytime Running Lights.
​​​​The dash is in MPH with KPH as well, just like my '05 Excursion.

 

Thanks guys!

Big Sky: good idea to check with them, especially about handling the km vs mph thing. I have this bad feeling that the details are going to come down to what customs agent you get when you bring the truck in.

Misky6.0: Did they change the gauge cluster in yours when they imported it, so that the odo is in miles instead of km?

Also, I requested the compliance letter from Ford, because the seller hasn't gotten back to me about whether it has the US stickers under the hood (smog) and on the door jamb (everything else). The site warns that it could take several weeks. Does it really take that long?

 

Find out where it was originally from, ours that we bought out of B.C. was originally from California. When we purchased it and brought it back into the U.S. it was as easy as driving it over the border and the border patrol checked the VIN and ran it to see if it was stolen.

 

No idea what was done, if anything to the dash. If it has the digital odometer I wonder if you can put the dash in 'diag mode' and change it to KM vs Miles.? Or the dealer can?

I can check next week, but the F350 is a lariat, I thought it had electronic odometer vs the wheels that turn.

 

If it is modified, the owner could have removed the catalytic converter. Not a problem if your state does not smog.

 

Seems odd, most things I read right now are about getting out of the US...

 

Misky6.0: it's a 2000, so analog odometer. Yeah, digital would have probably made this a lot easier... My first choice would be to have an American odometer reset to the correct mileage (in miles, converted from km) but I'm sure that's a pretty specialized thing. Can even the dealer do that? Or ... Can you swap in a 2002+ gauge cluster (and have them program that with the correct mileage) without a huge headache?

Don Naslund: sorry, I think I forgot to mention it's a 7.3 diesel. What smog equipment did those even have? Particulate filter?

Apocalypse: right, there's a ton of info available from people who export American cars to other countries, much less info about bringing them back home. I read the experiences of one lady who did a Ph.D in Canada and took her American minivan with her, then brought it back after she finished. It was kind of a bureaucratic hassle, although she did ultimately get to bring the van back to America.

 

I bought a 2000 EX that started life in Canada it spent 2 years there. When it was imported it went through a company that did all the emission work & speedometer from KPH to MPH. I would look into all that needs to be done before making a purchase. Is the deal really good or just so so after all the work needed?

 

All I can say is watch for the rust, I looked here before buying in Texas but they were all rusted more than I would like. Even if the body panels look good when you climb under it its bad.

I can't imagine having to switch the speedometer or doing any emission work the speed is listed in both km and miles, and we have the same emission requirements here as you do.

 

72GTS, did you go through a "registered importer"? That's a hassle and expense I'm trying to avoid. Truck sounds like a pretty good deal, but a lot depends on a pre-purchase inspection. We're sort of haggling right now. Back bumper is moused up, and the bottom of the oil pan looks damp. Basically I want a shop to do a PPI to make sure that (a) it's actually consistent with the low mileage the seller is claiming, and (b) the chip that's been in it (hypermax) hasn't goofed up the 4r100. Well, that and the usual suspects (check for bondo, etc). I'm aware it's a 16 year old truck and won't be perfect, just don't want to buy someone else's problems.

Jspence105, I completely agree. Last 3 cars we've bought came from Texas, California, and Oregon respectively. The weird thing is that you don't pay much of a premium to have a totally rust-free car. But with that said, the owner did send me a bunch of pics of the bottom of the truck. It's not immaculate but it's plenty good enough.

 

Mine was in Canada for 10+ years and received a lot of rust. Have pictures taken before you go to see it of the lower inside door panels. It should have plenty of rust.

 

Pictures looked pretty decent - I don't think this particular one has seen much salt. But I agree, that's a huge thing to look out for. We had a Maxima back in the day, one of the old hard-to-kill ones from the eighties, and I knew the unibody had reached its service life when I went to jack it up and the jack kept going *through* the unibody...

 

I didn't import it some else did when it was only 2 years old. By car fax it looks like the went through an importer. They did all the changes that was needed to bring it in.