In my experience buying old snowcats up there, your biggest problem will be US Customs. Usually agriculture equipment and parts are exempt from duty but you should prepare your self by going to the Customs website and checking for yourself.Some foriegn things are taxed. I had to pay duty on a Swedish built machine because I wasn't prepared with the number from thier book that proved the exclusion.
i have bought equipment in canada. yes you need a broker. i paid about $200 then when i went through customs it was another $15 it was pretty easy. now a truck could maybe not be. since the fet would never been paid. so when it comes to the us it would be %12.5 on the new list price
i bought a cut to length head made in finland. sold new in canada. i had the distributor write a letter of origin. nobody asked for it
I have bought 2 pieces of equipment in Canada and hauled them across the border myself,both duty free,no brokerneeded.Onewas a $5800.00 wood splitter the other a Farmagrapple.Itis my understanding that ag and forestry equipment purchased for personal use which you transport personally is duty free.Once you hire the transport a broker is required.Make DanG sure your equipment is top notch,you don't want to draw attention to yourself.I have gotten a lot conflicting information about this from brokers and customs agent.When I brought the splitter home last August I was nervous.The customs agent looked at my bill of sale,looked at the splitter and waved me through.Make sure you have a legitimate bill of sale.Good luck
Something to consider with farm machinery is make sure it's spotless. You get the wrong guy at the border and a little dirt will get you turned back
I bought a brand new General table saw that is made in Quebec a few years ago. I bought it from a dealer in Hamilton Ontario. I did not have to pay a broker and the seller took care of the GST tax some how. They gave me the paper work for crossing the border.Since you are located in NW PA I will assume that you will be crossing the border either at the Buffalo Peace Bridge or the Lewiston Queenston Bridge.I was working at a GM plant at the time and we had the day off because of MLK day as well as a lot of other plants. When I stopped at the US side and showed them the papers that were given me by the store they directed me to another building that apparently houses all the so called brokers. I found the office that they told me to go to and the person at the window took my paperwork and sent me to a waitng room. This room had a bunch of vending machines and was lined with chairs. There was one other person there and after a few moments I struck up a conversation with him. He told me that I should not have to wait very long since it was MLK day. He said that with all the plants having the day off a lot of trucking was also down for the day. He said that the room we were in was usually packed full of truckers waiting for their paper work to be processed. I only had to wait about 10 minutes. What dumb luck. 8)So my advice is to plan your trip to take place on a holiday if you can.
If you cross at a more rural border crossing the agents seem less harried and friendlier.
Thanks guys. The little loader I was interested seems to be going somewhere else now. I had been waiting for more pictures and I guess someone jumped on it.
Bringing back US manufactured machinery is usually easier.My brother and a cousin brought back two ATV's that were SC manufactured.It cost them $5.00 each for the paperwork.Note: It's been a few years.Gerald