Importing Car with a Lien - Canada to USA

[andrewsulja 0]

Hello, I figured I would ask the question here because I can't seem to find an answer after extensive searching.

 

I moved to the USA from Canada in October 2022 on an IR-1 spousal visa. I received my green card and I'm all set on the immigration side of things. However, I didn't realize that I can't actually import a car from Canada to the USA with an outstanding lien. My issue is that I have about three years worth of payment on the car left, but there's a time limit of one year to get the car imported at the border. Has anyone else experienced this issue? Trying to see what my best options are. I've thought about selling it but you can't sell privately without the title, which the bank holds. I can sell back to the dealership, but would lose a big chunk of money.

 

Please let me know if you've experienced something similar. Thank you! 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,350]

You can sell privately if the person is willing to pay off the loan.  Or you may be able to transfer the loan.  Lots of paperwork involved.

[TBoneTX 44,658]

Andrew, welcome to the forum.  I'm moving your thread to the Canada regional forum, where the highest concentration of answers will come from.  Good luck to you!

[Lemonslice 4,710]

Some Canadians/their spouses have gotten an American loan to pay off the Canadian loan and be able to import their car. 

 

You might also want to double check that your can actually import that make and model. 

[mel4 9]

We faced this same issue. We ended up selling our car in Canada and buying cars in the US once we moved. We determined it was the best route for us to take so that we didn’t have to pay the car off with our own money, we could avoid the hassle of importing/registering, and avoid the issue of the car being in KM when the US is miles. We owed quite a bit on the loan. Tried to go back to the dealer we bought it from and sell it back, but they were going to really rip us off. Selling back to the dealer meant we would only get enough money to pay back part of the loan, and would have to pay some out of pocket. So we posted the car on FB marketplace and found a buyer within a day. The buyer purchased from us with a cashiers check and we then used the money to pay off the loan. With it being such a high amount I thought the buyer would ask if we still had a loan on the car but they didn’t. If you sell your car in Canada, at least in the province we were in, there is no title. The buyer just takes the purchase agreement to the registry and transfers to their name. Nothing flags the car is still under lien unless the buyer pays for an advanced search which they usually don’t. It was still a hassle as it is with such things, but it all worked out for us for the best. 

[Lemonslice 4,710]

1 hour ago, mel4 said:

We faced this same issue. We ended up selling our car in Canada and buying cars in the US once we moved. We determined it was the best route for us to take so that we didn’t have to pay the car off with our own money, we could avoid the hassle of importing/registering, and avoid the issue of the car being in KM when the US is miles. We owed quite a bit on the loan. Tried to go back to the dealer we bought it from and sell it back, but they were going to really rip us off. Selling back to the dealer meant we would only get enough money to pay back part of the loan, and would have to pay some out of pocket. So we posted the car on FB marketplace and found a buyer within a day. The buyer purchased from us with a cashiers check and we then used the money to pay off the loan. With it being such a high amount I thought the buyer would ask if we still had a loan on the car but they didn’t. If you sell your car in Canada, at least in the province we were in, there is no title. The buyer just takes the purchase agreement to the registry and transfers to their name. Nothing flags the car is still under lien unless the buyer pays for an advanced search which they usually don’t. It was still a hassle as it is with such things, but it all worked out for us for the best. 

Oh wow, you are bringing back memories of importing my car and not having a title/I guess we might be from the same province.  I had to make up something at the RMV when I registered my car (the car was truly mine and paid in full though, that was not a lie!).