Can I bring a car to Canada after the first visit to US Customs?
10-05-2007, 05:48 PM
#1
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Can I bring a car to Canada after the first visit to US Customs?
I want to import a Cayman S from the US.
I stopped at the US border yesterday to inquire about their process. They were very helpfull and explained the process in detail.
What reaIly surprised me is that they said I can bring the car to Canada without waiting for the 72 hours delay. However, they said I need to have the car with me when I go the second time to get final approval.
Canadian Customs confirmed that they do not check wether I have US approval or not.
Did I miss something?
What is the purpose of this US Customs approval?
What would happen if one would not bother with US Customs approval? I do not want to skip it but I just want to understand.
I stopped at the US border yesterday to inquire about their process. They were very helpfull and explained the process in detail.
What reaIly surprised me is that they said I can bring the car to Canada without waiting for the 72 hours delay. However, they said I need to have the car with me when I go the second time to get final approval.
Canadian Customs confirmed that they do not check wether I have US approval or not.
Did I miss something?
What is the purpose of this US Customs approval?
What would happen if one would not bother with US Customs approval? I do not want to skip it but I just want to understand.
Last edited by Denis54; 10-05-2007 at 05:53 PM. Reason: Typo
10-05-2007, 07:19 PM
#2
Drifting
Customs just wants to make sure there aren't any leans against the title or other legal problems. depending on what border you cross you can just fax a copy of the title 72hrs ahead of time and just drive right through, if you do this make sure you have a copy of the fax transmittal page because they have been known to lose faxes.
It is correct that Canada does not check for US approval. What are the consequences of not telling the US and then one day going back to States one day....I don't know, probably nothing. For me I didn't feel like finding out so I just faxed them the title, not like it was a big effort.
Hope this clears matters up for you.
It is correct that Canada does not check for US approval. What are the consequences of not telling the US and then one day going back to States one day....I don't know, probably nothing. For me I didn't feel like finding out so I just faxed them the title, not like it was a big effort.
Hope this clears matters up for you.
10-05-2007, 07:30 PM
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May be I should have worded my question differently. What I really want to know is can I pick the car in the US, drive to the US border, give them the documents they need, drive the car to Canada and return 72 hours later with the car for final clearance from them.
Being able to drive the car to Canada without having to wait 72 hours would be nice in my situation. Returning 3 days later is really not a problem.
I do not want to play any trick. I just want to know what can and cannot be done.
Being able to drive the car to Canada without having to wait 72 hours would be nice in my situation. Returning 3 days later is really not a problem.
I do not want to play any trick. I just want to know what can and cannot be done.
10-05-2007, 08:47 PM
#5
The first time that I brought a US car into Canada after they made the 72 hour rule, I had no idea where the US customs office was and missed it altogether. I told the Canadian Customs people the mistake I made and they said it had nothing to do with them, so they didn't care. There was no way I was going to trailer the car back out of Canada again for fear of a hassle on the US side, so I just made my way home...I never heard another thing from them.
10-09-2007, 06:45 PM
#6
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In theory Canada Customs isn't supposed to allow the car into the country without the stamp on the title from US Customs. When I imported my vehicle they checked the title to make sure it was stamped.
Some US Custom border locations DO NOT have a 72 hour requirement. Check with your local border crossing to confirm--but you should fax in your information (and ask them to call you back to confirm receipt) 72 hours in advance anyway.
Some US Custom border locations DO NOT have a 72 hour requirement. Check with your local border crossing to confirm--but you should fax in your information (and ask them to call you back to confirm receipt) 72 hours in advance anyway.
10-09-2007, 10:49 PM
#7
Instructor
In theory is right. I imported my 85 Coupe this summer and, contrary to the information I'd received, the vehicle export inspection folks were closed for the weekend by the time we arrived....After a quick call to CBSA, they told me to cross over and they'd process the car. Once I arrived, I paid my duty and GST and was on my way.
It was the long weekend and I was dreading the line-ups on Monday when I'd have to return to the US side to get the paperwork done - when I called US Customs to see if I could wait a few days, they seemed pissed that CBSA cleared it, since at that point, the car is 'officially imported', but advised that I return to finish the paperwork, or risk some headaches if/when I ever brought the car back into the States.
I ended up going back to a different border crossing all-together, but that required that I re-initiate the title-search process (and a new 72 hour period) with the new crossing post.
My take-home lesson - make sure you SPEAK to someone at the port of entry/exit you plan to use. I trusted some automated garbage that gave me old info. Also, not every border crossing has consitent policies - where I crossed at Lewiston/Niagara only required a fax copy of the title; where we finished the exportation process at Thousand-Islands/Alexandria Bay required the original title.
Good luck,
Dave
It was the long weekend and I was dreading the line-ups on Monday when I'd have to return to the US side to get the paperwork done - when I called US Customs to see if I could wait a few days, they seemed pissed that CBSA cleared it, since at that point, the car is 'officially imported', but advised that I return to finish the paperwork, or risk some headaches if/when I ever brought the car back into the States.
I ended up going back to a different border crossing all-together, but that required that I re-initiate the title-search process (and a new 72 hour period) with the new crossing post.
My take-home lesson - make sure you SPEAK to someone at the port of entry/exit you plan to use. I trusted some automated garbage that gave me old info. Also, not every border crossing has consitent policies - where I crossed at Lewiston/Niagara only required a fax copy of the title; where we finished the exportation process at Thousand-Islands/Alexandria Bay required the original title.
Good luck,
Dave
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10-10-2007, 12:26 AM
#8
Team Owner
that crap about hassle in the future is just that .. crap .. the next time you would have a Canadian plate on it anyway .. it's not like they check your vin when you cross the border .. maybe if you got a speeding ticket, but even then I would doubt it ..
10-10-2007, 01:11 AM
#9
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I imported my car without the U.S. export-stamp. The Canadian border didn't seem to care, even though I told them I had missed that step. The MTO took my US Certificate of Title, so unless the U.S. border enters the information of exported cars into a database, they have no way of knowing whether the car was ever 'officially' exported (i.e., CoT was stamped). Maybe this could pose a problem if you were re-importing the car into the U.S., but I think that's highly unlikely. at any rate, i dont have my US CoT, so nothing i can do now!
