Importing a car from Canada

Habusailor

Habusailor

Senior Member
I am looking at a car In Canada, I live in the US, which the owner does not have current registration, and the last registration he shows me is a different year than the license plates shown on the pictures. In fact the name of the registered owner is not him and he tells me the guy listed on that registration is deceased. I am requiring him to get current registration and license for the car and I will require a bill of sale from that individual prior to buying. Has anyone else had an experience like this? I have talked to the guy selling, he seems like an ok guy, my feeling is he ran into a barn find did some nice improvements to the car and is flipping it which is fine. I am looking for a clean day driver and this seems to fit for that. Am I out of line?

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Would suggest have someone local give it a close look on your behalf. Even a local car restoration firm could be worth in in the long run. I did similar on buying a car out of the USA. Had a local restoration firm check it out. They gave me a report and managed to get all sorted out with the seller. Money well spent with the inspection.
Phil NZ
 
Anytime you buy a car whether its local, out of state, or out of country make sure you get the correct paperwork to make the transfer. From what you are telling us this deal has the potential to be a big headache. Check with your local DMV to see what they require. Hopefully a Canadian Fordbarn member will chime in on this question.
 
Phil Gillespie said:
Would suggest have someone local give it a close look on your behalf. Even a local car restoration firm could be worth in in the long run. I did similar on buying a car out of the USA. Had a local restoration firm check it out. They gave me a report and managed to get all sorted out with the seller. Money well spent with the inspection.
Phil NZ
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Thanks for the comments, the car is in western Canada, probably not a lot of firms out there to retain for this but I will check into this.

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TJ said:
Anytime you buy a car whether its local, out of state, or out of country make sure you get the correct paperwork to make the transfer. From what you are telling us this deal has the potential to be a big headache. Check with your local DMV to see what they require. Hopefully a Canadian Fordbarn member will chime in on this question.
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I would appreciate any help from Canadian members who may have insight on this matter. Thanks

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Be sure to get the registration WITH serial # and a bill of sale as well. It's relatively easy to bring an antique car into the U.S. but you don't want any surprizes at the border. As mentioned above, talk to your local DMV and see what's required before you do anything. I would contact Bob Booth in Ontario. He's a barner here; bobsford. He'll have lots of info on this subject.
Good luck, Doug.
 
Hab, there have been numerous comments on this and other sites of horror stories involving vehicles without proper paper work. Make sure all the paperwork is in order and check with Canadian DMV if you aren't satisfied. Also, make sure your state will accept a "hand written" and non notarized bill of sale. NYS, DMV has an "official" Bill of Sale. Also, make sure all the numbers match on the car and paperwork. Don't exchange any money unless you are completely satisfied and sure you can register the car. You might end up with a piece of expensive lawn art.
 
I second the advice of '1934'. No one has had more cross-border experience in both directions than Bob Booth and I'm sure he'd be happy to share it with you.
 
yes, check with your local DMV first and find out exactly what they will want. You should also find out in advance what the correct vin number sequence should be. It took me 4 months to get a clear title after purchasing a car in Connecticut and bringing it to Colorado. The previous owner went by the vin on his registration, which turned out to be missing the "18-" prefix and had a "1" in place of an "I" in the rest of the vin. Take some sand paper with you and clean the vin on the chassis very well to confirm what the actual number is.
If you want the title in your name and a spouse's name, get that on the notarized bill of sale as well. Do be sure it is notarized, otherwise it is just paper, not a legal document.
 
What kind of car and where is it located. Western Canada is a large area.
We were looking at a Lincoln out west and something smelt real bad about the whole deal. We never did go to look at it.
 
When you are talking to someone at the DMV be sure to get their name and employee ID number if you can. I just tell them that if I have any additional questions I would like to talk to them. You never know.
 
Be careful, It is not a simple thing. I was going to buy a pinball machine from canada, and I was told by the movers that it has to past through a customs broker review screener..which needed extra paper work and greatly increased the cost of the move and if the paper work was just not perfect. The mover could not get the item across the border unless my Customs Broker have filled out the necessary paperwork for an extra 400 dollars. If any problems and loose ends were noticed at the border, then It would have to be stored in canada at cost to me until all the paper work was perfect. I would imagine that a motor vehicle is more complicated as far as custom screening. I decided not to buy. To many open ends that could have cost me a fortune.
 
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I third the advice about contacting Bob Booth.
I have purchased quite a few cars from him over the years with zero issues on this side of the border.
You need current proper matching documentation and have to fill out a
few forms at the border.
 
Habusailor said:
I would appreciate any help from Canadian members who may have insight on this matter. Thanks

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I'm from Canada and have brought an American car here in the past without problem, and I've also "exported" things to the U.S. without trouble (you just need the right paperwork).

I cross the border very often and I was actually going to ask the U.S. customs guys about doing exactly the same thing as you, as the title-less 1939 Ford I'm looking at near here would ultimately be trailered down to the garage of my second home in Florida. The only tiny difference in my case is that I know how, and can, obtain a title for it here in Quebec before exporting it to FL.

So I'm curious to hear about your experience, since I'm likely to be doing the same thing... and if you're not in a hurry, by the middle of next week I might have more info about it for you (unless of course this Bob from Ontario answers it all in the meantime :))
 
Cars and pinball machines obviously fall into different customs classifications. Many thousands of new cars cross the border in both directions every week; it's all in the paper work and there isn't a lot of it, but all the numbers have to match up. Been there, done that. It is far more likely that you'll encounter more resistance at the local DMV office when you get a new title and plates than at the border under you are fortunate to encounter a DMV employee who has seen a Canadian registration before (they're registrations, not separate titles in Canada).
 
I live in Minnesota and recently imported a 1950 F47 pickup truck that I found in Canada. I completed the necessary documents that can be found from the US government websites pertaining to the importation of a classic vehicle. I had a signed (but not notarized copy of a bill of sale. There was no title. There was no other documentation. The truck had not been licensed in Canada since 1978. The only salvation was that I had known the "owner" for over 25 years. I crossed the border without any problems. Never asked for any paperwork. Might have helped the custom agent also was restoring a 1950 F1. My local vehicle registration office provided a form that required photographs taken from the four sides and of the VIN plate. I provided a copy of the bill of sale to complete the process. No problems. The age of the vehicle made many of the forms I completed for the custom agent not necessary.


Good luck.
 
100550dvr said:
I live in Minnesota and recently imported a 1950 F47 pickup truck that I found in Canada. I completed the necessary documents that can be found from the US government websites pertaining to the importation of a classic vehicle. I had a signed (but not notarized copy of a bill of sale. There was no title. There was no other documentation. The truck had not been licensed in Canada since 1978. The only salvation was that I had known the "owner" for over 25 years. I crossed the border without any problems. Never asked for any paperwork. Might have helped the custom agent also was restoring a 1950 F1. My local vehicle registration office provided a form that required photographs taken from the four sides and of the VIN plate. I provided a copy of the bill of sale to complete the process. No problems. The age of the vehicle made many of the forms I completed for the custom agent not necessary.


Good luck.
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Thanks, I am on the same track as you describe. The owner says his son in law works on the Canadian side of customs and he assures me bill of sale is what it will take to get to USA. My state will require a notarized bill of sale.

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100550dvr said:
I live in Minnesota and recently imported a 1950 F47 pickup truck that I found in Canada. I completed the necessary documents that can be found from the US government websites pertaining to the importation of a classic vehicle. I had a signed (but not notarized copy of a bill of sale. There was no title. There was no other documentation. The truck had not been licensed in Canada since 1978. The only salvation was that I had known the "owner" for over 25 years. I crossed the border without any problems. Never asked for any paperwork. Might have helped the custom agent also was restoring a 1950 F1. My local vehicle registration office provided a form that required photographs taken from the four sides and of the VIN plate. I provided a copy of the bill of sale to complete the process. No problems. The age of the vehicle made many of the forms I completed for the custom agent not necessary.


Good luck.
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Would you give me the name and form number of the documents you needed to get across the border? I want to have that paperwork in hand and filled out when I get to customs. Thanks


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