Has anyone from BC gotten parts or labour in Washington?

Hi. I'm looking to replace my stock suspension with the 6112/5160+Dakars but having shopped around the Lower Mainland area I'm amazed at the cost of parts and kind of shocked at the price of labour. Has anyone had any experience buying parts or getting work done in Washington?

Does it work out much cheaper?

I've toyed with the idea of installing myself but my Taco doesn't fit in my garage so I'm worried I wouldn't get the job done in one day and have to leave it open overnight.

Any other cost saving tips would be appreciated.

 

Over the years I’ve bought many auto parts, RC car parts, mountain bike parts etc and had them shipped to either Lynden or Sumas WA.
Previously you could save a lot of money by purchasing online and then shipping to a parcel receiver on the US side of the border. You’d then go down and bring the stuff back on your own. In the past couple years online vendors have had to start charging sales tax which now once you get it home almost makes it equal in cost, or sometimes slightly more.

So here’s my math…
Let’s say you’ve got your eye on an item worth $250 USD. We’ll pretend it ships for free but you’re on the hook for sales tax, we’ll pretend that’s 8%.
Now you’re at $270 USD and we’ve gotta convert it to Canadian funds, my rule of thumb is 30% but that obviously fluctuates. That puts you at $351 Canadian dollars and your item is still on the US side of the border.
Once you go down there and get it in your hands, bring it to the Canadian border and declare the value. I always declare the US price and if I’ve paid shipping I omit that from the value. You’re most likely gonna have to pay GST/PST on it, and that’s gonna be the value in Canadian dollars. So with another 12% PST/GST on $351 you’re looking at a total of $393 Canadian.
Also factor in that you’ll need to pay the parcel receiver on average a cost of $3-5 per box, and some charge different rates based on box size.
You’ve probably heard people claiming they had to pay duty on their stuff but they’re most likely confusing it with the GST/PST they’ve paid. I’ve never once have had to pay duty, and I’ve brought a lot of stuff back through the years.

I don’t have any experience with getting work done on my personal vehicles down there but I have been asked by the border guard if there was anything done to my vehicle during my time in the USA.

 

My experience is the same as overlimit's with buying all sorts of goods. Haven't had any work done though.

My crossing is a small interior BC town where everyone knows everyone. I only get called in to pay PST/GST on items over $100 and usually closer to $200. A single high ticket item usually draws you inside faster than several small ticket items that total a similar value.

Just remember the rules for crossing, pull up to the window, engine off, have your hat sunglasses off before you get there, passport at the ready to hand over and receipts organized. Be polite, they are just doing their job but if you are beligerant they can make your life miserable.

 

Thanks for the responses!

I guess I'll get my parts here and try to get the install done myself. It seems like it might not be worth it to cross the border.