Car Import Journey

[trailmix 77]

$90! Bastards!

Thanks for the info...how long did it take to receive the letter?

Yeah, $90 for a letter. It takes 2 business days.

They mailed ours to us, it took about 2 weeks

[Tina&Roland 4]

Hola!

So we just got into the US yesterday through Port Huron, MI. The car import was a cinch. They did the paperwork. All they ask is that you bring the compliance letter and your title

Tina

[HeatDeath 430]

I imported a 2002 Pontiac Sunfire earlier this summer. Easiest part of the whole process. I had ordered the compliance letters from GM: $89.95. I drove to the PoE, and after them taking an hour and a half to process my K-1 entry (a whole 'nother story!) I mentioned that I wanted to import my car. Guy looked at my registration (which in Manitoba is also proof of ownership, and proof of insurance) and compliance letters, had me fill out one form, they stamped it, and that was that. The form asks for the value of your car, which I had to guess. I guessed a little high, but it ended up not mattering.

Later, in Utah, when I went to register it, I had to get safety and emissions inspections (local county requirement). Then i took those certificates, the compliance letters, and the import form to the DMV, dropped $150, and they gave me local plates and a new registration certificate for my car. They mailed out a new title deed about a week later. On recent models, apparently, they charge a 1-1.5% tax on the value of your car as stated on the import form you did at the PoE, so it's probably good to either check it beforehand or slightly lowball it, but it ended up not affecting me because my car is old enough to be charged a flat import/registration fee.

Only complicated part there was, because my Canadian registration was also my proof of insurance (I was still on my Canadian car insurance until a couple of days ago) they had to give me a photocopy of my registration to serve as temporary proof of insurance, and I had to call the state agency that maintains the database the police use to check whether people have insurance, and have them create a database entry for my Canadian car insurance until it expired and I replaced it with American insurance.

[HeatDeath 430]

Ordering the compliance letters from GM was easy: I called tham, and they referred me to an outfit called Vintage Vehicle Services, who do the compliance letters for all GM cars. You can order the letter online or via fax. It's $89.95, and they send them out in about a week.

When I registered my car in Utah, I did have to explain to them about how a Manitoba car registration form is simultaneously a car registration, proof of ownership, and proof of insurance. You just write the explanation on a form and then everything was fine.

They take your existing registration when they give you the new one, but I had them give me a photocopy, so I would still have the proof of Canadian insurance and ownership until I got the new insurance and the title deed showed up in the mail.

Edited December 17, 2009 by HeatDeath

[Tina&Roland 4]

Just registered my car today! In case anyone is in Indiana, the BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) requirest the following for out-of-country vehicles:

1. Police inspection (apparently the people at the BMV cannot inspect your vehicle - a police officer does it)

2. CBP forms

3. Emissions letter from Ford

4. CAD driver's license

5. Title/ownership from Canada

6. Social Security card

7. Proof of address (in my case, I was added to hubby's bank account)

8. $82 cash or credit

We had no idea about the police inspection, so we had to drive to a police station, get a police officer to fill out the form and drive back to the BMV. A pain in the neck, but it worked out well in the end.

Next stop...driver's test!