Car Import Options.

[trailmix 77]

sorry sly for hijacking a little of your thread, but....is it ok if the compliance letter says it meets everything cept for the daytime running lights?

I think that will depend on who you get at the POE.

I didn't get my day running lights done and no one asked for my compliance letter at the POE. I think Trailmix didn't have them done either.

Do you have a Ford?

No doubt

I got the compliance letter that had the blurb about the running lights. I called the officer at the POE and they said - get them disconnected or we are not going to let you import that car!!

So I didn't get them disconnected, got to the POE - no problem, the only thing the officer said was "Ford should know better than that" - I assume he meant the stuff about the running lights (since the rest of it was just blah blah blah).

Agree with Cat - probably just depends who you get at the POE.

[wowswift 3]

yeah he has a ford. but that isn't a big deal lol

[BH45 0]

This is my experience with importing my car. I own it so it's different from a lease.

I crossed in June 2008 and due to the fact that I had just left my daughter, I didn't import my vehicle at the border as I never even thought about it at the time. I lived in Chicagoland for 2 months before I went to o'Hare airport and imported my vehicle. I had no problems in August. Three days ago, I finally went and requested a Certificate of Title and plates for it.

There were no questions from anyone as to why I delayed all the steps. Well, except for the township office as here in IL you have to have a parking sticker from the township you reside in. No biggie.

[Texanadian 10]

Keep that compliance letter. You probably won't need it at the border. But you may need it to register your car in your new state. That's the way it was with me. I never even bothered to get the GM letter until I went to register in Texas.

Texas makes it frustrating to register a car. You'd think a title/registration and insurance along with the form they give you at the border would be enough. Noooo, they give you a stack of papers to fill out as well as directions on where to get the other papers (multiple different places)......I downloaded them all from the net instead.

In TX, you need to get a vehicle inspection first, then register your car, then get a TX driver's license. In that order. I show up to register my car with the extra forms I had to hunt down (as well as a police VIN check, they only do that VIN check on Monday at 9AM. I found this out at 11AM on Monday when I phoned to make an appointment.) I needed the GM compliance letter for my car to register as well.

I show up again.....Nope. You have insurance from BC. Need to get Texas insurance first before you can register. Apparently my 1 million dollar liability plus full coverage doesn't meet Texas' minimum insurance requirements ($25,000 liability)...whatever. Nevermind that 1 in 5 Texans has no car insurance whatsoever. If I had TX insurance that said it expired the day after registering the car, that would be proof enough of coverage to get the car registered and titled. Go figure.

I got Texas insurance this weekend. Now I can go back and register the car and then go get a driver's license. Of course my insurance company wants to know why I don't have a TX driver's license and when will I be getting it. "Next week." They're OK with that.

My experience is that border guards don't really care if your car has the compliance letter or not. They're too busy denying I-94 work stamps to bother you with your car.

In Texas, you can't get a driver's license within 30 days. You need an I-94 that doesn't expire for at least 6 months (impossible for a K-1) or a green card to get a license. Since the rules say inspection/registration/driver's license within 30 days of being a TX resident, I take that as being a "permanent resident." After all, how can a temporary non immigrant K-1 be considered a resident of a state if they're not a resident of the country? I may be wrong, but that's my logic.

In other bizarre news, even though my car needs yearly emissions tests until it's 25 years old, I didn't need to get one this year since "it was formally registered in a county without emissions testing." I got it done anyways. I was curious to see what the numbers were.

I'm going to miss having my BC plate on the car. It was nice driving around in TX and being the only person who doesn't have 2 stickers on their front window. I could also get away with no front plate since they don't have any idea if BC has a front plate or not. Up until just recently there has been no way for police to verify if a person truly has insurance or not. The paper that stays in your glovebox is what says you have insurance. But if a person canceled their insurance and kept the paperwork, the police had no way of knowing. Hard to believe isn't it? Some TX cities are just now starting up an electronic verification system for police. But not many yet.

I would never recommend going without car insurance. Drivers here are too crazy. The fines are bad. And the minimum requirements for insurance are so low here, that I could get a year's coverage for $380. If you can't afford $30/month for car insurance, you shouldn't be driving.

As yucky as the windshield stickers are here, at least there aren't any license plate stickers. It used to annoy me when I'd follow someone who had 9 layers of crooked stickers on their back plate. (I always peeled mine off before putting the new one on. A hairdryer and some Goo Gone will take off an old sticker with ease)

P.S. Texas charges a "$90 New Texan fee" along with all the other registration fees. Oh well, I've heard of other states that include your vehicles in your property tax bill every year. That would suck.

[wowswift 3]

lol i remember doing my car in texas years ago. took almost all day from driving around. had to do an extra trip to buy tires since i didn't pass inspection lol (this was pre-smog days though). you should get your plates the same day you register, unless you want personalized plates lol

[MsZ 6]

It is completely normal to require insurance in the state prior to registration since registration is only valid for an insured vehicle. That isn't just Texas.

I still don't have my NY driver's license but I insured my car in NY as soon as I moved here and then I registered it. That's one area where you'll get bitten if there is an accident so it is wise to do it soon after you arrive. While you can get away without it, an unforseen incident could be costly.

(BTW, I moved states, not countries. But the same principles apply.)

I'm supposed to have gotten my NY license by now but I'm still legal for another 100 or so years in PA. I have everything in my car in case I'm in the area of the place to apply for my license but I work on the other side of the world so it just hasn't happened.

[trailmix 77]

One other note - before you leave Canada you might want to look at having your insurance company write you a letter of experience (it has another name, can't remember it).

At the very least I would recommend going to a registration place and getting a 5 year driver's abstract. They can do it on the spot and it might help with your new insurance (assuming it's clean )