What are you getting?

 

1993 RS America street legal track car

 

I am looking at importing a street legal track car. Most of the cars I am looking at are street legal in various States but have exhaust mods, sport seats with harnesses and after market steering wheels without airbags.

Has anyone imported cars with track mods and had issues with their safety or RIV inspections?

 

I imported a 951 with cup car suspension, cage, big reds etc last year with no problem but it was over 15 so no RIV. if newer than 87 it must pass emissions test. otherwise the only issue may be insurance and you can get modified from Reeds Insurance also make sure it has a clean title (no salvage)

 

What exactly does the US side wants 72 hrs before bringing a car over? Fax of the title? Fax of a bill of sale (does it have to be complete)? Anything else? If all goes well tomorrow, I'll be putting down a deposit on one. The dealer will have the title and will fax it to me with a bill of sale. Since I want to pay for the remainder in person, will the US customs be happy with a not fully paid bill of sale. OR do I have to send them a completed one and wait 3 days? Want to make this part (Canadian side is easy for me) as smooth as possible but don't want to pay for the car untill I see it.

 

I brought a car over last year very simple , the U.S side did not want the title or the bill off sale 72 hrs before just write them an email that your bringing the car over and at wich border and the vin # once you get to the border they will want to see the bill of sale and title , as far as the Canadian side all they wanted was to collect taxes the whole process took less then an hour keep in mind the U.S side at Queenston is only open M-F from 8.30 to 4.30 , good luck

 

Suggest you contact US border crossing you are planning to use to confirm their requirements. Last year when I bought a car in the US, in advance I called CBSA and they suggested I do this as each border crossing may have slightly different requirements on what you have to send them, their hours of operation, etc. IIRC, there was a link somewhere on the RIV site to the US Customs and Border Patrol site and that's where I tracked down the number for the crossing I used.

Here is the text of the form letter email I received back from the border crossing I used:

This email is to confirm that your vehicle information for export from the United States has been received.

The Port of Houlton, ME has streamlined procedures for exporting a self-propelled vehicle (car, ATV, snowmobile, motorcycle, and any other self-propelled vehicle designed for running on land) to Canada from the United States.* Please Note: Trailers and boats are not required to be exported.

These new procedures include the use of email, rather than fax or letter mail, as the preferred method of communication between vehicle exporters and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel.

The new procedures are as follows:

The vehicle exporter emails vehicle information (description, make, model, year, vehicle identification number, and exporters name or business) for the vehicle(s) to be exported to CBP at houltonvehicleexport@dhs.gov. *Please Note: If emailing the information sending a fax is not necessary.*
CBP will confirm receipt of the email within 24 hours and provide the exporter with additional instructions.
The vehicle exporter will print the email confirmation from CBP, and bring the printed confirmation, the vehicle to be exported, and the required supporting documents (see #4 below) to the vehicle export office. Please Note: The exporter must wait a minimum of 72 hours after receiving the confirmation email before physically reporting to the vehicle export office.* Vehicle export hours are 24 hours a day 7 days a week for personal exports and 8:00am to 11:00pm 7 days a week for commercial exports.* *
Supporting documents include the original title and bill of sale or certificate of origin and bill of sale (certified copies issued by State Department of Motor Vehicle are acceptable).* Lien releases are required for titles listed as having a lien. Vehicles not issued titles (ATV, snowmobile, machinery) will require a registration and bill of sale, or a certificate of origin and a bill of sale.* Please Note: If there is a lien on the vehicle, an original lien release from the appropriate financial institution must be presented, even if the lien is satisfied. Alternatively, the financial institution may sign the appropriate area on the title to release the lien.* Vehicles with current liens will require a letter from the lien holder allowing exportation of the vehicle.* Failure to provide proper documentation upon export could result in the in the vehicle not being allowed exportation.*
*
For additional information, please call the Houlton, ME Port of Entry at 207-532-2131.
If you do not have access to email and would like to initiate a vehicle export, you may fax applicable documentation to 207-532-6622 or mail applicable documentation to: Vehicle Exports, 27 Customs Loop, Houlton, Maine 04730. *Please Note: You will not receive a confirmation if using either of these communication methods.* If faxing information please wait 24 hours before contacting CBP to confirm information has been received.*

 

+1000 - Call the US side for the crossing you are planning to use and ask what they need well in advance.

Those guys in Maine sound very progressive. Ogdensburg, NY (Dec'11) required ORIGINALS - no fax, no scan, no email. I had the vendor send them to me by courier while the car was in transit in a truck (photo copies in the car for extra measure). And then I couriered them to the border crossing so they were there well in advance of the car arriving.

Not the sort of thing you would think varies from crossing to crossing, but it does.

Good luck !

 

lewiston just needs you to email them the vin that is it
here is the contact info:


Vehicle Export Office

Field Operations

US Customs and Border Protection

1 Lewiston Plaza

Lewiston, NY 14092

Phone: (716) 282-1500 option 3 (emergencies only)

Phone: (716) 843-8359 (information line only)

Fax: (716) 285-3565

buffalovinnyoffice@dhs.gov

 

Thanks for the info.

 

oh, when you go, it is kind of tricky where you have to drive to get to the US export office, you have to drive in front of all the lanes. what are you getting?

 

I missed the US side bringing mine thru Lewiston too.

It's in a weird spot ON THE LEFT.

 

Although I'll be coming from the west, looks like going through Lewiston is the easiest by far. Port Huron seems like a real PITA. I'll post more about the car when the papers are signed.

 

I missed the American side at Port Huron - it was all under construction and I followed the wrong temporary sign. By the time I got to the Canadian side they didn't care.

I'd pick Lewiston over Port Huron if I had a choice. The border guards at Port Huron are brutal, especially the American ones. Much friendlier at Lewiston.

 

I found Port Huron easy to work with as long as your organized.