Canada/US Crossing with Vehicle Letter

[zenaxe 22]

I have two Nissan vehicles that I would be importing to the USA. One is Canadian made , Maxima, the other a US made 350z. The US made car I purchased in Canada from a car dealership. It had daytime running lights added - the Maxima had them from the get go.

Do I have to have these disabled for the USA?

[smurfette1971 0]

Hey guys, This is for any of you that have brought your vehicle from Canada to the US. I went down to the GM dealer and ask them for a letter that states the car meets emission control standards for the year it was built. He said well that's just a Vehicle Inquiry Check so he printed me off this piece of paper that has GM Vehicle Inquiry System Summary written across the top. Then it has my vin #, the car description, the original dealer, the warranty info and he pointed to the section that says Service Informational Items and under this section it states Vehicle Has No Current Record of Outstanding Service Information. He said this is what they would want at the border crossing. This doesn't seem right. So I am wondering if I am going to be able to us this...seems to me as it would have to state that it meets emission control standards, he said this is essentially what this says. HELP...what are your thoughts or experiences? Thanks.

Oh and I don't know if I posted in the right section....someone can move it if they need to. Thanks again!

I have just brought my canada truck to usa in dec/09

when i crossed I had to fill out a form at border very simple form, i had to have ownership paper as well as a letter from GMC that says the truck meets all usa standards the truck should also have EPA sticker which is located usually on right hand side underhood, with out this letter i could not import to usa. I had gifted the truck to my husband who is USC

to get this letter

this is where you get the letter

a copy is faxed to you in a few hours and hardcopy original mailed same day and you get in a couple days

it does cost a fee

George Zapora

General Motors of Canada

Vintage Vehicle Services

CA1-160-001

1908 Colonel Sam Drive

Oshawa, ON

Canada L1H 8P7

Phone: 905-440-7636

Fax: 905-440-7644

it is a very simple process

goodluck!

I have two Nissan vehicles that I would be importing to the USA. One is Canadian made , Maxima, the other a US made 350z. The US made car I purchased in Canada from a car dealership. It had daytime running lights added - the Maxima had them from the get go.

Do I have to have these disabled for the USA?

i have daytime lights and i never did

i never had to do anything to my truck at all

[zenaxe 22]

I have just brought my canada truck to usa in dec/09

when i crossed I had to fill out a form at border very simple form, i had to have ownership paper as well as a letter from GMC that says the truck meets all usa standards the truck should also have EPA sticker which is located usually on right hand side underhood, with out this letter i could not import to usa. I had gifted the truck to my husband who is USC

to get this letter

this is where you get the letter

a copy is faxed to you in a few hours and hardcopy original mailed same day and you get in a couple days

it does cost a fee

George Zapora

General Motors of Canada

Vintage Vehicle Services

CA1-160-001

1908 Colonel Sam Drive

Oshawa, ON

Canada L1H 8P7

Phone: 905-440-7636

Fax: 905-440-7644

it is a very simple process

goodluck!

i have daytime lights and i never did

i never had to do anything to my truck at all

Great! Thanks.

[chrylhltn 0]

Here is a number for letter of compliance..General Motors of Canada

Phone: 905-440-7636 hope this will help someone....they will fax the application to you.

[pony1076 0]

Here is a number for letter of compliance..General Motors of Canada

Phone: 905-440-7636 hope this will help someone....they will fax the application to you.

I called this number last week, the guy that answered told me there was a $101.70 fee to have this letter wrote. Has anyone else been told that they would have to pay GM this amount ?

[chrylhltn 0]

I called this number last week, the guy that answered told me there was a $101.70 fee to have this letter wrote. Has anyone else been told that they would have to pay GM this amount ?

You do have to pay the 101.70 to get the compliance letter

[Yellowhead 12]

Has anyone dealt with Toyota Canada about the letter of compliance? I have a 2007 Toyota Yaris and I emailed them about it about a month ago. I got an immediate response from someone stating that I needed to include a ton of info about my vehicle, copies of my registration, photocopies of my license and the co-owners license, VIN number, etc. I was prompt in my response, and they have not even wrote back to confirm receipt of this. I am wondering if I should call them (and if anyone knows where to call for this?)

Also... I am co-owner of my vehicle with my ex bf (still..). When leaving Canada, my ex will be taking his name off the vehicle and it will be in my name fully. He drives it more than me right now, so the insurance is in his name. I am curious if anyone knows whether they will include his name on the letter of compliance because of this, and if this will be an issue when importing or registering in California when I immigrate? We plan to transfer it all over on May 1 when I finish college and will need full use of the vehicle. Will be immigrating after this point (whenever K-1 is approved).

Any help is appreciated.

[Flames9_RN 358]

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/VIG_Canada01192007.htm

[Yellowhead 12]

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/VIG_Canada01192007.htm

Ironically enough, I just got a response from Toyota this morning. The letter is on its way

So far no mention of cost...

Edited November 8, 2010 by hithalynn

[Colleens 40]

I called this number last week, the guy that answered told me there was a $101.70 fee to have this letter wrote. Has anyone else been told that they would have to pay GM this amount ?

When I got mine last fall from GM it was $80...I think, so it looks like it has gone up in price. It was never a free service, if you were thinking that.

[Pejo 2]

For anyone with a Mazda that wants to import it to the US.

I just called Mazda and they directed me to their website to fill out a form to be faxed in.

The form can be found here: http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/pdf/faq/us...mp_exp_form.pdf

The message said that you will get your letter in 10 business days while the form says it takes approximately 20 days. It also looks like they email it to you unless you specify otherwise. Best part, it looks like there is no charge!

I really appreciate that link, wouldn't have found it without your help!

I apologize for the late bump but I have a question about my car. Looking at the nhtsa, it says that you cannot import the car if it is a salvage vehicle. I purchased mine from an ICBC lot so I'm pretty sure mine is a salvage. Does this mean I will be unable to import it? It was written off for damage to driver side door (no frame damage) and it cost me $8600 after replacing the door.

I own a 2009 Mazda 3, and have had it for a year since last week. I'm wondering if it will be better to sell the vehicle and just buy a new one over there.

[charity1214 3]

Bumping this topic again....

My husband has a Chevy Cobalt. It is not paid off. So it'll cost around $100 to get the compliance letter correct?? Does anyone know if GM will require the car to be paid off or not?

I am trying to figure out which declaration reason I can use for my husbands car on HS-7 (Declaration form).

2B requires the "compliance letter" for permanently importing which is what most of you probably did.

but could we also do 5? (Does not conform but a) i'm a non-resident b) temporarily using it for a period of no more than 1 year and c) will export it before the 1 year is up)

If we do reason 5, can we change our minds within the year time-frame and go ahead and import it then?

Thank you in advance for your help!

[PRS12 0]

I have read through the entire topic thread but didn't see my question regarding the timing of importing our vehicle from Canada addressed. Hopefully I didn't miss it!

I will be relocating from Toronto to Denver on an H1B visa rather than through a cross-border relationship. The question is whether I need to have activated the visa in order to import our Canadian vehicle or if I can import the vehicle prior to my visa start date when crossing as a visitor. My visa start date is Sept 1, 2011, making August 22nd (10 days prior) the earliest date I can enter to activate the visa. I believe that is also the earliest a moving company can bring our household goods over the border.

Our son starts kindergarten in Denver August 25th so we would like the option of crossing the border a week or two prior to August 22nd as visitors so we can get him settled in Denver (although we won't have our household goods). Ideally we would import the vehicle then since driving back to a border crossing is not easy from Denver! I would fly back to Toronto on or after August 22nd to reenter and activate the visa at Pearson and allow the moving company to cross. Apparently the rest of the family can file and pay a fee to change their status to H4 visitors from Denver without reentering. However we do not want to create any problems that could hold us up at the border now or in the future.

If early importing is not feasible we would probably wait and cross together and activate our visas as a family of four August 22nd, import the car and make a rushed drive to Denver.

[Krikit 1,163]

You can't import the vehicle prior to having your visa endorsed, but you can import it at a later date at any official Port of Entry. See Locate a Port of Entry.

Edited May 24, 2011 by Krikit

[CourtneyRox 25]

Hey Guys, I guess I should have added my question here instead of posting a topic last month... So Below I have included a link to my original question and picture of my vehicle and compliance letter I received from VW of America. The letter states that I don't meet emissions standards in California.. but the thing is I'm not moving to California.. I'm moving to Illinois! I called EPA and they told me to contact DMV in Illinois to see if they require Emission testing in the county I will be living in.. I called and the DMV said that they do Emissions testing in that county .. I told them that I am importing a 2006 VW Jetta TDI Diesel, and she said that they don't do Emission testing on Diesels.. She also said that she had never heard of a Diesel car before.. which I thought was weird! Anyway I was just wondering if anyone knows if I will have any issues with importing my vehicle if in the compliance letter is states that it does not meet Emission standards in California... California is the only state listed on my letter but, I do know that there are a few other states that are following California regulations but Illinois is not one of them.... anyway, if you could take a look at the link below you can see the letter I received... Thanks!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/326066-importing-vehicle/page__p__4862585__fromsearch__1#entry4862585