Hymotion L5's in Canada

I wonder what Canadians who have had the Hymotion L5 install done at one of the US installers faced in terms of duty and GST when bringing the car back across the border. I 'm on the waitlist for an install in Seattle soon. I'm feeling the pain (and weird looks from my wife) because with the Cdn dollar's fall as oil plummeted this L5 is now going to cost $3500 more! I did not realize that we had such a petro dollar.
I spoke with a guy in Vancouver who had the install done a few months ago. When he declared it upon crossing the border the customs guy praised his 'greenness' and charged him GST on 50% of the $10K-US.
(The Hymotion was developed in Toronto several years ago, but I guess that doesn't amount to much in terms of GST and possible duty.)
My number is up soon according to Erin at Hymotion... this month or January. And I don't suspect we will see any PHEV taxbreaks like our US cousins are seeing any time soon.
Thanks for any input.
Nugget in Naramata.

 

Nugget - I don't quite understand the issue beyond the currency bad news. You would have to pay the GST even if you bought it in Canada. Speaking of which can't you get the conversion done in Canada? If it is available in Canada and you can get a lower pricing than perhaps you can "sell" your allocation in the US to a US resident. Someone might be interested if as I suspect there is a long waiting list.

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Good point about the GST. I suppose what I really want to know is about duty, if applicable. During my quick conversation with the guy in Vancouver who has had his install done I forgot to specifically ask if he was dinged duty on the L5 pack in addition to the GST.
No, you can not get the L5 in Canada, despite the Hymotion origins. The Hymotion rep indicated they are in talks with certified installers, but that could take a while. Meantime, the province of BCis getting about 5 cars done and I'm trying to find out if they are going to Seattle or coming to Vancouver for that. Green Car Co., the Seattle installer, recently went to Wenatchee, Washington for the install of 13 L5 packs.
I've been on the waitlist since June, and my understanding is that they are ready for me soon, but I also think that anyone booking now probably doesn't have a long wait (depending on the locale).
It was interesting to see that the Green Car Co. recently tried to sell a 2009 Prius with Hymotion on e-bay and the bidding went up to $45,000 without achieving the reserve bid, so no sale.
So, maybe I go ahead and get the install done on our 2005, and in the worse case scenario there is always e-bay!!
Thanks for your comments.

 

J.M., aka Peak Oil, thanks for the clarification. I was curious what the reserve would be.
So, briefly, is there a US federal income tax advantage on PHEVs of 4 KW or greater now in place, or is it coming?

 

Retro--I too had no response a couple of years ago in e-mailing and faxing the Hymotion people. Perhaps they were too busy wooing A123?
I must say though that I have all the confidence in A123. I attended the Power Up Summit Plug In Hybrid Event in Wenatchee, WA last May, where key people were there to answer questions. It gave me enough confidence to get on the waiting list in June. Since then, I have found the communications with the customer service rep to be great. ANd, from what I have been gleaning from this and other sites, A123/Hymotion has stood behind the product, tweeked it when required, replaced some batteries, been responsive to after sales service, etc.
Peak Oil Garage---Erin at A123 said that Vancouver might be a possibility, but too early to say. She did not say it would be an expansion by Green Car Co. I'm glad to hear that you can expand the expertise built in Seattle-area.
I don't know...maybe I should 'pull the plug' and give up my spot on the waitlist for a Seattle install and wait for Vancouver when it opens.

Nugget in Naramata (Okanagan), BC.
Hey Retro, we're just about neighbours.
for more info, google "prius naramata"

 

Great points Peak Oil. I'm hoping Santa brings my wife's blessing to the L5 conversion. The pressurte is on now because Erin at A123 says it ready to go ahead soon.
I've been garaging the car during this recent cold snap, and this morning drove out with the car's back hatch open (open in order to take the recycling and garbage can down the long rural driveway).
Heard the crack and stopped. I wrecked the fin attached to the rear window that has the third brake light on it. Its still on, but I'll need to replace it one day. So, that'll probably be $600 bucks at the body shop. Hey, it could have been worse, I could have taken out the whole hatch.
Oh well, she --my wife--was good about it...she's had a few blonde moments too!