₦airaland Forum

Hi everyone,

Most of us only look at US Copart/IAAI when hunting for cars. But IAA also runs a separate Canadian auction, and it's worth a look: different cars, different prices, sometimes less competition from bidders.

I've added Canadian IAA lots to my free catalog. You can browse the live Canadian auction here, with photos, damage, odometer and sale dates:
https://lotariff.com/auctions?country=ca

Below is what I learned while setting it up. These are the things that catch people out on Canadian lots.

1. Prices are in Canadian dollars (CAD), not USD
Every bid and every final price on a Canadian lot is in CAD. Right now 1 USD = about 1.40 CAD, so a car that "sold for 10,000" in Canada is really about $7,100 USD. A lot of people see the number, compare it to a US lot and think Canada is expensive. Often it's actually cheaper. Always convert before you compare. My site shows Canadian lots in CAD (exactly as the auction does), and the customs calculator converts to USD automatically using the Bank of Canada rate.

2. Odometer is in kilometres
Canadian lots show mileage in km, not miles. 120,000 km sounds scary, but it's only about 74,500 miles. Don't skip a good car because the number looks big.

3. Canadian sales tax on the purchase
This one is unique to Canada. When a car is bought and stays in Canada, provincial sales tax (GST/HST/PST) is added on top of the bid plus fees:
- Ontario: 13%
- Quebec: ~15%
- Nova Scotia: 14%
- New Brunswick / Newfoundland / PEI: 15%
- British Columbia / Manitoba: 12%
- Saskatchewan: 11%
- Alberta: 5%
If the car is exported, exporters can usually avoid this tax with the right export paperwork. Confirm with your broker BEFORE bidding how they handle it. If they can't, that's 5-15% added to your cost.

4. What kind of cars you'll find
- Lots of Ontario and Quebec cars: Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Ford F-150, RAM, Chrysler Pacifica, plus premium BMW X5, Audi Q5 and Mercedes.
- Canadian winters mean road salt, so check underbody and rust photos carefully.
- Quebec documents are often in French. Ontario uses its own title brands. A "Non-repairable" / "Irrecuperable" brand is meant for parts only, so check the title type before bidding.

5. Shipping
Canadian lots ship to West Africa through Halifax, Montreal or Toronto (east) or Vancouver (west). Some brokers truck them to a US port instead. Ask for the full yard to Lagos/Tin Can price, not just the ocean freight.

6. Nigerian import rules still apply 100%
A car bought in Canada is treated exactly like a US car at Nigerian customs:
- 12-year age limit, counted from the manufacture date on the VIN plate, not the model year.
- Duty 20%, NAC levy 5% (reduced from 15% on July 1, 2026), ETLS 0.5%, 7% surcharge on the duty.
- Green Tax from July 2026: 0% under 2.0L, 2% for 2.0-3.9L, 4% for 4.0L+.
- VAT 7.5% on everything combined.
- VehCAP pre-shipment certification is now required, and it targets accident-damaged cars especially. Sort it out BEFORE shipping.

You can run all of this, CAD conversion included, in the free calculator:
https://lotariff.com/customs-calculator
Or open any Canadian lot on the site and the calculator there fills in the price and province by itself.

Bottom line: Canadian IAA is a good second market. Just remember: CAD is not USD, km is not miles, ask your broker about the sales tax, and check the VIN-plate date before you bid.

Hope this helps someone get a better deal. Happy to answer questions here.

Hi everyone,

Saw a lot of car-import questions here but not many actual numbers, so sharing what I found useful.

A few things worth knowing before bidding on Copart/IAAI:

1. Nigeria Customs Service enforces a strict 12-year import age limit — counted from the manufacture date on the VIN plate, not the model year. A car built in late 2013 was already over the line as of this year. Check this before bidding, not after.

2. NAC (National Automotive Council) levy was reduced from 15% to 5% as of July 1, 2026 — a big drop if you were budgeting on the old rate.

3. On top of duty (20%) and NAC levy, there's also a 0.5% ETLS levy and a 7% surcharge on the duty itself, then 7.5% VAT calculated on everything combined.

I built a free calculator that runs all of this automatically (works for Ghana too, for anyone here shipping there): https://lotariff.com/customs-calculator

Hope it helps someone before they bid on the wrong lot.