Tanner2305

I'm back and have the car to show for it. The ordeal wasn't too bad however there is so many people out there (dealerships, MVD's, Customs, MTO, etc) that provide erroneous information to us unsuspecting importers. My visit to the DMV in Niagara Falls NY was really uneventful even though I was sweating while there. Please remember you must have a letter from your insurance company not the pink slip to be able to get a temp tag or in-transit tag!

US Customs was great...although while there two ladeis had a issue as they couldn't find her fax. Canadian Customs was good as well and happily took my few thousand dollars with a smile.

You must have a temp tag to get through customs. The Customs Agent wrote the number down on the little yellow ticket I had to bring with me into Canadian Customs.

Pics to follow.

Dan

Tanner2305

US Customs came out to compare the VIN on the car vs the documentation otherwise no one looked at it anyf urther.

99three

Great info in this thread, but how do you drive the car home if you are purchasing a car from private sale.

Tanner2305

You have to go to the local DMV and get a temp in-transit tag. There is much talk about needing one for every state (not sure if that's true or not) however I shipped my car from Florida by transport company (DAS) and only need the NY in-transit tag with cost me a whopping $10.00.

JasonKM

I had insurance and ownership of the car with me - fine would have been for improper plates. Only a problem if I got pulled over, so I drove carefully.

Maxxx

I did the cross border transporting thing almost 9 years ago. Car was from California, picked it up from Farmington Hills, Michigan and went to the DMV and got a 30 day in-transit tag for $10. Drove up to the Detroit/Windsor border and the inspector MUST have been having a bad day because supposedly I didnt have any of the right paperwork and if I did not turn around in the next 30 seconds, the car would be impounded!!! I contacted the DMV and MTO and some other government agency I was told I needed to fill out some form bla bla bla. I went up to the Huron/Sarnia border and some young guy fresh on the job looked at the car and said "Dude.. sweeet ride.. You got a in-transit tag? Where is the car from?" I answer "I just picked up here, its from California"... he says "Thats so cool.... wait, are you Canadian?" .. I gulp... "Yes" he looks at me and says .. "ok, well here, take this form over to the customs and get it stamped"

I go to the big truckers shop and wait in line. Get called up and fill out some important looking official forms and the guy says "How much did you pay for the car?" I said "$2500US" and here is the bill of sale. He looks at me and gives me the 'whatever' face calculates the tax and whatever other duties and says "$700" cash or credit card? I paid the charge, I get the stamped forms, get in the car and cross the border.... god it was beautiful to be back in Canada!!!!

optionpunk

Wow - it's amazing how many different experiences there are crossing the border.
I got my temp tag from the dealer in Illinois - no issues, just $10.
I never had to produce insurance documentation at the border although I did have the insurance company fax me proof of insurance. The only requirement the insurance company had was that I fax or pdf form 1 and my Ontario registration to them within 1 month of importation.
US customs could not find my fax at the border but I had my cover sheet with me and I sent it to the attention of Mr. X (I asked for a name to send it to) - he was in the office so it was hard to dispute.
US customs also never looked at my car - I could have walked there for all they know.
Canadian customs asked if I had a temp tag but never checked and did not document anything.
I got pre-approval on "No-recalls" from RIV but when I showed up they could not find it. I had my case number with me and also a fresh (can't be older than 30 days) job management report so they approved on the spot.
My only gaff was not realizing that the Canadian Tire RIV inspection and the Ontario inspection were different things... minor inconvenience.
I guess your experience crossing the border depends on who you run into on any particular day.

Rinty

Alberta allows you 14 days to transfer a registration from a vehicle which you own or owned, to another vehicle, so when I brought my car back from Utah I just used the plate off my Subaru and carried the registration particulars. Here's designergene's son putting it on for me at Salt Lake City 2 airport:



And the whole story is here:

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...ad-report.html


Auto insurance is private in the province, and I got the car covered with one phone call to my agent; receiving the fax a few minutes later. The (also private) licensing agent registered the car and issued plates after I got the out of province inspection done, and before the RIV registration was finalized.

Brian 162

I got the label today. Could they make that thing any bigger? Do we really haved to affix that thing on the pillar post?

Rinty

Suggest you make a couple of copies of the RIV approval letter for your car's file/binder.

MichelleJD

I'm here on a work permit (awaiting residence status) and find this statement to be the most consistent of all!!!!

Tanner2305

LOL I thought the same thing when I got mine lat Friday. I ended up putting it down (almost out of sight) on the lower pillar post side ways. Your right the sticker is big and there isn't alot of room to chose from.

Enjoy!

petee_c

i'll have to check if I put my sticker on...... don't recall. Have to dig thru some paper work.....

P

pfitzsim

I never put the sticker on a BMW bike I imported 7 years ago and have since sold.

Maxxx

I put the sticker in the Porsche Owners Manual!