Nader Fotouhi

Does anyone have first hand experience with buying a car from Canada that was originally imported to the US and then taken to Canada? I am interested to know what I need to do to buy a car in Canada from someone who purchased it in the US and took it to Canada. As I understand it, but have not verified yet, the car was never registered in Canada since it was trailed for track use. I want to title and register the car in the US. My main concern is whether I have to pay any import tax or tariffs in addition to State's sales tax.

SRM11

I live close to the border (in Canada) and have bought and sold vehicles going both directions. It doesn't matter if it was registered in Canada or not - as long as you can prove the car was legally registered in USA, it's then exempt from paying duty. The CBP site gives you all the info you will need to get the car back into USA, but it's a pretty simple process as long as you have everything done ahead of time of getting the car to the border.

Nader Fotouhi

Thanks. The owner still has the US title. I will work with with a Customs' broker to avoid issues due to inexperience.

SRM11

If that's the case, I am assuming the owner as some point just took it across the border and that's where it has been since. It wasn't actually exported from USA as that would have required the title submission and started the process under RIV (the Canadian registration side). Feasably the owner could tow it back across the border and sell it to you state side.

A broker could definitely help clear up your questions, but either way it sounds like it would be exempt from any additional duties or fees imposed.

Parabolic

This thread is a few days old, but I bought my originally US car in Canada last year and imported it back myself, and in so did a bunch of research, so I'll add a few cents.

In general, for importation paperwork, there are 3 pieces of paper that you need. An EPA form, a NHTSA form, and the actual CBP importation form, with supporting documents that it was previously a US car. With those filled out, they just need to be stamped by CBP at the border for approval for import, and that's it. You can then register the car with your state DMV.

SRM is right that once the vehicle has been imported to the US previously (i.e. US import duties previously paid), then the car is exempt from duties if it leaves the country and gets re-imported. While doing research though, it seems like there is some confusion about this at the customs officer level, so some might not be familiar with that rule and still charge you duty. At that point, it is up to you if you want to argue it with the Customs officer... I crossed back at a major commercial crossing and the officer didn't charge me duty once I showed that my car was previously a US car.

Customs broker would definitely make the whole process even easier, but from my research, it seems like most if not all will just charge you the duty as part of the cost, even if it's exempt under re-importation rules, so something else to consider if that is worth the convenience.

In this case, I think it's a bit weird because the importation rules generally assume that it was previously registered/titled abroad. If the owner still has the US title and didn't register it in Canada, and you import the car back, CBP may go "wtf" with all that hassle.

stutt911

i checked on this because there was a car i was looking at in a similar situation, its not too hard , and there are companies or brokers i think that can do it for you