Importing a Canadian car to the US

[Colin Wilson 0]

I imported my car. No duty at the border but I had to pay Florida sales tax to register the title and get my plates.

I requested two letters

1. One From Chrysler for my 2006 Dodge Ram -- no Charge ( took weeks)

2. One from GM 2002 Blazer --- Cost $ 75.00 took two hours via fax

(but I sold this one so I will not have to pull it down to Tennessee.)

Colin

[HannahP 119]

I drove through Pembina and they didn't even look at my car. I was a little nervous because I've gone through that POE a thousand times as a visitor to the states and they ALWAYS searched my car, but not now that I'm moving down there, go figure. The customs guy was funny -

Me: Do you want to look at my car or my stuff or anything?

Customs guy: Do you have any child porn in it?

Me: Uh... no.

Customs guy: Then we don't want to see it.

Me: Ok!

I think that when you register your car and get a US license plate you have to produce a letter that shows that it meets the EPA requirements, but that's pretty much it to my knowledge. My Alberta tags are good until July 08 so I won't have to deal with it for a while at least.

[Flames9_RN 358]

I have no clue on the actual bringing the car across as i ended up selling (giving away more like it) prior to moving, BUT I thought I read on VJ that there some sort of paperwork or stamp that POE should give you for the car! You will need that paperwork/stamp when it comers to registering the car at your DMV??? I could be wrong, or only certain States require it??

[Krikit 1,164]

I have no clue on the actual bringing the car across as i ended up selling (giving away more like it) prior to moving, BUT I thought I read on VJ that there some sort of paperwork or stamp that POE should give you for the car! You will need that paperwork/stamp when it comers to registering the car at your DMV??? I could be wrong, or only certain States require it??

Yes, the customs agent at the POE completes the paperwork so it comes in duty free. The Florida tag office told me the duty was Federal tax and this was State. I do recall the customs agent telling me that I may get hit with a State tax, so I was forewarned. The FL tag office was not interested in my duty-free documentation, nor the compliance letter from Ford of Canada (@ $85 cdn) . They did mention that if my car had been manufactured outside North America then there would have been an even higher tax to pay.

[Griffon76 0]

When my husband came here last year, he was intending to return to Canada so he didn't know what he needed to do with getting the car registered after we decided we'd get married and he'd stay. The DMV told us what to do so we called for the compliance letter from GM ($75) and had to bring it to the local customs office at the local airport. The man we spoke to took care of it in about 15 min (after asking some questions...like asking my hubby where he worked...of course he didn't yet as he didn't have an EAD We were able to bring the docs to the DMV and get the new registration and title.

[Krikit 1,164]

When my husband came here last year, he was intending to return to Canada so he didn't know what he needed to do with getting the car registered after we decided we'd get married and he'd stay. The DMV told us what to do so we called for the compliance letter from GM ($75) and had to bring it to the local customs office at the local airport. The man we spoke to took care of it in about 15 min (after asking some questions...like asking my hubby where he worked...of course he didn't yet as he didn't have an EAD We were able to bring the docs to the DMV and get the new registration and title.

Sounds like they didn't make you pay VA taxes?

[AndreaK 1]

i imported my car the end of june and had no hassles whatsoever at the border. most manufacturers can fax the compliance letter to you quickly, but be aware that some require two or more weeks to process the request. i have a mazda that i've owned since 2003 and was manufactured in japan, and the only way Mazda North America would accept a request for the letter was by me faxing in their form, and their processing time was minimum two weeks - and they do NOT do rush requests. i actually ended up having to call to find out what was going on after 4 weeks time because i hadn't received anything yet. annoying, but i got my letter emailed to me.

other paperwork i had on hand at the border, just to be on the safe side, was all my loan paperwork, my full insurance policy and pink card, registration AND a letter from my bank with my vehicle's info on it, indicating that they were aware that i was bringing the car into the states permanently. for those who have a lien against their vehicle, i would highly recommend getting a letter from the lien-holder just in case.

also, on a K1 visa (not sure about any others), you are allowed to import ONE vehicle duty-free into the US. most people are not aware of this. however, if you've only just purchased a brand new vehicle and intend to bring it down with you, that may be a different story, i'm not sure.

i know every state is different, but here in kansas i again brought all the above paperwork to the registry with me, including the import document that the border agent completed. you have to have this document in order to register your car. also, since the US uses 'titles' for their vehicle (the 'owner' of the vehicle has this document; if the car has a lien on it, then the lien-holder has the title until the lien is paid off at which time it is transferred to the registered owner of the car) and canada doesn't, i was worried what would happen since there was no way i could produce a title like they are used to seeing. the registration for your car in canada is, in essence, your title for it; since i still had a lien on my car it was a good thing i had a copy of my loan with me as they needed that information in order to create my registration and US title for it.

hope this helps!

[Krikit 1,164]

i know every state is different, but here in kansas

Did they make you pay State taxes?

[daisylynn 0]

Yeah how much are the taxes running?

And are all of you just keeping with the lien holder you have here in Canada? Are you still just sending payments up here?

[Krikit 1,164]

Yeah how much are the taxes running?

And are all of you just keeping with the lien holder you have here in Canada? Are you still just sending payments up here?

Florida State taxes are 6%, plus a 1% revenue markup for the County. I do not have a lien holder on my car.

[AndreaK 1]

i know every state is different, but here in kansas

Did they make you pay State taxes?

nope, didn't have to pay any sales tax on the car (just the damn annual property tax they charge on every vehicle when renewing the registration) because i owned the car for several years prior to bringing it with me. if i had just purchased the car, i would have had to prove i paid sales tax where/when i purchased the car or they would have dinged me for that too.

daisylynn, i am keeping the canadian lienholder (my credit union) for now; until i establish some credit here in the US, any interest rate i get will be stupidly high. and yes, i just transfer money back to my canadian account - through paypal, it's the easiest, fastest and cheapest method - to pay the loan each month. as i mentioned before though, prior to moving i confirmed with my bank that this would be fine with them.

[Krikit 1,164]

nope, didn't have to pay any sales tax on the car (just the damn annual property tax they charge on every vehicle when renewing the registration) because i owned the car for several years prior to bringing it with me. if i had just purchased the car, i would have had to prove i paid sales tax where/when i purchased the car or they would have dinged me for that too.

Unfortunately, that argument didn't wash for Florida.

[GinaRina 0]

I imported my car. No duty at the border but I had to pay Florida sales tax to register the title and get my plates.

Hi,

I want to bring my car to Texas from Toronto in the summer. I'm moving to Texas permanently under the fiance visa. But I don't want to drive my car to Texas I just want it shipped. How do I do that? And how much would it cost?

[Krikit 1,164]

I imported my car. No duty at the border but I had to pay Florida sales tax to register the title and get my plates.

Hi,

I want to bring my car to Texas from Toronto in the summer. I'm moving to Texas permanently under the fiance visa. But I don't want to drive my car to Texas I just want it shipped. How do I do that? And how much would it cost?

I did a search on the internet for a quote. I also asked the companies who moved my furniture. It was cost-prohibitive, so I drove it. I do believe that there are people who will drive your vehicle down for far less than the shipper charges. Perhaps there is someone you know in Canada who wouldn't mind driving to Texas for a visit if you pay their costs?

[ChasingAmy 0]

I imported my car. No duty at the border but I had to pay Florida sales tax to register the title and get my plates.

By the time I move to Texas I will still owe probably $2000 on my car. Do I have to have that paid off before I cross at the POE? IS there a way I can tak the car to Texas and "import" it later when it's all paid off?