weidspeed

I'm wanting to re-import from BC, Canada a 1990 944 S2 that was originally a USA car. The current owner no longer has the import paperwork. The doorjam tags show it's a U.S. imported vehicle, but beyond that all the current owner can provide is his Canadian paperwork. The current owner is going to drive it across the U.S. Border and meet me at my Oregon home. I'm concerned that if he states he's just visiting and doesn't return with the car, it'll create a red flag down the line for one of us. Does anyone have experience registering something similar (25 year old car) armed only with the Canadian Registration docs with Oregon DMV? Thank you!

Onami

He cannot sell the car without you importing it properly. You need the import docs to register the car.

dsmyth

I recently sold my 995 993 C2 back into the U.S.( California ) from Canada. It was originally from NY. The purchaser had no problems importing the vehicle. Had to pay a small duty though. A good bonded vehicle transport company handled most of the transaction. There are some great cars up here considering the dollar difference at the moment. I've never seen an aircooled in the winter as they are all stored away.

il pirata

The buyer in the US should not have to pay duty as long as you have previous proof of US title/registration, otherwise 2.5%.

Onami

Bob, that's what I thought as well, but I just sold my car to a U.S. buyer and the broker would not import the car without the 2.5% duty. I called 4 different border crossings...2 said duty was due and 2 said it wasn't. I argued With the broker and they escalated it to whomever is in charge of vehicle imports at US Customs and they ruled that duty was due. Only if the same owner of the car exports and imports the car will it be duty free. I told them that many others have done this and they said they review all imports...they can come back and charge duty up to 3 years after import. I split the duty with the buyer of my car so we wouldn't have any problems in the future.

il pirata

Sorry but it does not have to be the same owner.

From US Customs:

"A vehicle taken from the United States for non-commercial, private use may be returned duty free by proving to CBP that it was previously owned and registered in the United States. This proof may be a state-issued registration card for the automobile or a bill of sale for the car from a U.S. dealer. "

The issue in some cases is that the registration card or a bill of sale may not be easily dug up. The broker does not care, it's just a tack on fee to the customer.

Onami

Ok, I guess you know more than the Director I spoke to at Customs....and yes, I repeated the same paragraph to him that you just posted and had a copy of the Tennessee title and the Canadian import documents from when I imported it. Of course, I wouldn't take the broker's word without verifying the facts. The director said that the confusing part of that paragraph is the word "taken". When they say that,they are inferring it is being taken out of the U S and returned under the same ownership. He said that if it said "exported", it would mean a change in ownership. I had read about a number of people not having to pay and in every case, they had driven the car across the border themselves. I spoke to the customs supervisor at the Champlain crossing and he told me they wouldn't charge duty...the Detroit supervisor told me that they would charge. The Director was in DC and he has final ruling. If you are willing to take a chance, call a border crossing in advance and drive across the border yourself. Worst case is you will have to pay the duty at some point in the future.

For those reading this and thinking about buying a U.S. car from Canada, please call Customs before making a commitment!

Pags993

As is most things border related it really is luck at some point in fact often. If they demand it you can argue until you are blue in the face, it will be so.

Onami

You got that right Pags...I spent almost 2 hours trying to save that $2,500!

Onami

Addendum to my posts above. After all of the back and forth, I finally received a response to an email that I sent to the customs website. That officer said that I could re-import the car without duties. The buyer of my car rented a trailer and crossed with no problems and no duty by showing the border guard the email. what a major PITA!

Knight

Incredibly confusing but at least we now know!

Just out of curiosity, how challenging would it be if it was an original Canadian car instead?

jo-hans

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...ml#post9375434

JG 996T

Interesting. I'm reimporting US car, and two different transporters said duty is due. If the car were in Montreal I might fly up and drive back and try to avoid the duty. But,it's not and I'm not in a position to drive it across myself.

TJ993

if its the car on beside your name I will drive it!

TJ

Toronto

Knight

Interesting Hans, doesn't seem to bad outside of the speedo conversion hassle. I'm guessing the 2.5% fee is the only addition too.