Importing a Car from Canada to Europe — and How to Check Its Canadian and US History

From Canada
to Europe

Canada is the quiet half of the North American import trade. Prices are in a weaker currency, odometers are in kilometres, and a large share of Canadian used cars were themselves imported from the United States. The VIN check covers both countries at once.

How Canada differs from the US

  • Titles and brands are provincial, not state: salvage, rebuilt, non-repairable and irreparable brands are applied by Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia and the others under their own rules.
  • Odometers read in kilometres, which removes one conversion step for a European buyer and one place where a cluster swap hides.
  • Canadian plates cannot be resolved to a VIN by the public; the VIN must come from the seller, the windscreen or the ownership permit.
  • Salvage auctions are run by Impact Auto Auctions (IAA's Canadian arm) and Copart Canada; the same lot-page logic and the same history gap apply.
  • Many Canadian used cars entered Canada from the US through the Registrar of Imported Vehicles programme, and carry an American title and auction history before their Canadian one.

Who imports from Canada

Polish imports from Canada grew 13.8% in 2025 according to IBRM Samar, on top of a 48% rise in US imports the year before. A Belgrade-area dealer specialises in Canadian cars and Serbian and Croatian forums discuss the route. Lithuanian and Bulgarian brokers advertise "cars from the USA and Canada" together. Norway has treated cars registered at least six months in Canada like EU-registered cars since 2018.

The double history

A 2018 Ford Escape on a Toronto dealer's lot may have been a Florida rental, an insurance write-off after a Texas hailstorm, a Copart sale, a rebuilt-titled car in Georgia, and then an RIV import into Ontario with a clean Ontario registration. The Ontario Used Vehicle Information Package shows the Ontario part. The report by VIN shows all of it.

What to check

Provincial registrations and brands

Each province the car sat in, how long, and any brand applied there.

US history where it exists

Titles, brands, accidents and auction records from before the car crossed the border.

Odometer readings

In kilometres for Canadian events and miles for US ones, in one sequence.

Service history

Canadian vehicles carry maintenance records more often than American ones.

Liens

Not reliably: Canadian liens are provincial PPSA registrations. Search the provincial registry before you pay; the report does not replace it.

Three things to check before money moves

  1. 1

    The US title brand

    Clean, salvage, rebuilt, flood, junk. Issued by a US state, invisible in every European registry.

    How it is checked
  2. 2

    Prior auction records and photos

    Copart and IAAI intake photos, damage codes and sale price, from every sale the car went through, not only the current lot.

    How it is checked
  3. 3

    The odometer sequence in miles

    Readings at US titles, registrations and inspections in date order. A reading below an earlier one is a rollback.

    How it is checked

Frequently asked questions

Is duty the same for a car from Canada as from the USA?

The EU's trade agreement with Canada (CETA) provides preferential tariffs for goods of Canadian origin with proof of origin. A car assembled in Canada (VIN beginning with 2) may qualify; a US-built car sold in Canada does not. Confirm the origin documents with your customs broker.

Can I look up a Canadian car by plate?

No. No province releases plate-to-VIN data to the public. Ask for the VIN.

Does the report show Canadian liens?

Not reliably. Liens are registered under provincial PPSA law and only the provincial registry is authoritative. Search it directly.

Which Canadian auctions sell salvage cars?

Impact Auto Auctions and Copart Canada. Their lot pages work like their US counterparts and have the same gap: the current sale only.

Check the vehicle before you pay

Enter the VIN to see which US and Canadian records exist. The preview is free; the report is $19.99, once.