Shipping a Car From Canada to US -- Experience?

[CA5775]

Hello, All.

I'm considering importing an E92 M3 from Canada to the US (the car has the exact spec and condition I'm looking for--long story).

Does anyone have experience or recommendations for:

- Shipping companies?

- Issues to watch out for relative to US Customs or registration with the California DMV?

I spoke with BMW NA today and apparently the warranty will transfer fairly easily. Any other thoughts?

Thanks

[Nola 32/65]

I ship packages valued at a couple hundred dollars to Canada weekly and I know my customers have to pay Custom fees based on the value of the package. Do you know if its the same thing for vehicles? Might want to look into this if you haven't already.

[CA5775]

Originally Posted by Nola 32/65

I ship packages valued at a couple hundred dollars to Canada weekly and I know my customers have to pay Custom fees based on the value of the package. Do you know if its the same thing for vehicles? Might want to look into this if you haven't already.

Thanks, Nola. I'm ok with duty fees, etc. My real concern is being able to register the car without a major hassle, not having my resale value affected, those sorts of things.

I've searched the forum and there's a good amount of info for importing from the US to Canada, but very little about importing FROM Canada to the US for a US citizen.

Anyone else have experience with this?

[hlmiii]

Originally Posted by CA5775

My real concern is being able to register the car without a major hassle ...
Anyone else have experience with this?

Yep. More than I hope you'll ever have ....

Here's a start: http://icsw.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/
And then here is Canada: http://icsw.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/imp...da10102012.pdf

It will take some time, lots of patience, and some money (the amount will depend upon whether you do this all yourself or have an import specialist do it for you). Also - the vehicle must meet some basic requirements to be eligible.

If you do decide to get into this you can post here and/or PM for some further help.

Good luck either way.

[CA5775]

Originally Posted by hlmiii

Yep. More than I hope you'll ever have ....

Here's a start: http://icsw.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/
And then here is Canada: http://icsw.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/imp...da10102012.pdf

It will take some time, lots of patience, and some money (the amount will depend upon whether you do this all yourself or have an import specialist do it for you). Also - the vehicle must meet some basic requirements to be eligible.

If you do decide to get into this you can post here and/or PM for some further help.

Good luck either way.

Thanks. The car I'm looking at is a low mileage 2012 M3 with zero mods. Seems like it should confirm pretty easily. Did you have an issue on a similar car or something with more of a story? Feel free to PM if it's a complicated answer. Thanks...

[75175]

If its from BMW its probably safe.
I shipped a car years ago and I found out it had been in minor wreck..impossible to verify unless you drove it and looked at every gap....
Be careful..

[hlmiii]

Hi, CA5775 -

Yes, you can expect that your M3 could be okay for importation. The US and Canadian models are almost identical from the standpoints of emissions and safety equipment, from what I have learned in the past few years (please note the disclaimer - I have not spent hours and hours on the US/Canada details).

The safety requirements are fairly straightforward, although they won't seem that way after a first reading. The key will be to have everything nailed down by the time you start in with NHTSA. This will include contacts to US and Canadian Customs for their requirements, BMW US and BMW Canada for letters and input as to car details, understanding and properly completing the necessary paperwork, and finding the best contact for NHTSA, etc.

The other aspect is emissions. I neglected to provide the EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/index.htm
You will find find Canadian-specific information at: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/canadian.htm

Like the safety issue, the EPA requirements should be straightforward and resolvable.

As to your question ... yes, I have imported an M3. The process was far more difficult and intricate than what you are talking about. Working through mine on my own, initially, and learning about the NHTSA/EPA processes is why I am confident that you should be able to import your car. It will simply take some diligence, care, money, time and patience. You have all that, right?

Sure, feel free to send a PM if you'd like more details. Whether my car is "similar" would be in the eyes of the beholder.
Definitely an E90 M3, though.

[CDNRay]

I've imported a couple of vehicles myself. You'll want to make sure that your vehicle won't have any required 'updates' once it arrives. Check out the riv website to find out anything specific.

There are a few things to consider.

1. Your car may not have a lien on it.
2. You must have sent your vehicle's title, ownership and letter from the dealer stating that all/any outstanding/known recalls have been performed.

Once your car arrives at the border, you will be required to pay a 6% duty, that is payable immediately at customs. Once your car has arrived to you, you have to perform a safety and then bring that along with all your riv documents to the MTO. MTO will then register your car and give you Canadian plates, but only after you've paid 13% tax.

When you're buying the car in the US, make sure they absolutely know it's for export and that they do not charge you any local tax. The dealership should provide you a temporary plate, but that's only good for 30 days.

Best of luck. I just bought an m3 myself, but bought it locally.

[CA5775]

Originally Posted by hlmiii

Hi, CA5775 -

Yes, you can expect that your M3 could be okay for importation. The US and Canadian models are almost identical from the standpoints of emissions and safety equipment, from what I have learned in the past few years (please note the disclaimer - I have not spent hours and hours on the US/Canada details).

The safety requirements are fairly straightforward, although they won't seem that way after a first reading. The key will be to have everything nailed down by the time you start in with NHTSA. This will include contacts to US and Canadian Customs for their requirements, BMW US and BMW Canada for letters and input as to car details, understanding and properly completing the necessary paperwork, and finding the best contact for NHTSA, etc.

The other aspect is emissions. I neglected to provide the EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/index.htm
You will find find Canadian-specific information at: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/canadian.htm

Like the safety issue, the EPA requirements should be straightforward and resolvable.

As to your question ... yes, I have imported an M3. The process was far more difficult and intricate than what you are talking about. Working through mine on my own, initially, and learning about the NHTSA/EPA processes is why I am confident that you should be able to import your car. It will simply take some diligence, care, money, time and patience. You have all that, right?

Sure, feel free to send a PM if you'd like more details. Whether my car is "similar" would be in the eyes of the beholder.
Definitely an E90 M3, though.

Thanks very much for the response--I'll definitely PM if I decide to move ahead. At this point I'm starting to wonder if mileage alone is enough to go through all of this... Very helpful feedback.

[CA5775]

Originally Posted by CDNRay

I've imported a couple of vehicles myself. You'll want to make sure that your vehicle won't have any required 'updates' once it arrives. Check out the riv website to find out anything specific.

There are a few things to consider.

1. Your car may not have a lien on it.
2. You must have sent your vehicle's title, ownership and letter from the dealer stating that all/any outstanding/known recalls have been performed.

Once your car arrives at the border, you will be required to pay a 6% duty, that is payable immediately at customs. Once your car has arrived to you, you have to perform a safety and then bring that along with all your riv documents to the MTO. MTO will then register your car and give you Canadian plates, but only after you've paid 13% tax.

When you're buying the car in the US, make sure they absolutely know it's for export and that they do not charge you any local tax. The dealership should provide you a temporary plate, but that's only good for 30 days.

Best of luck. I just bought an m3 myself, but bought it locally.

Thanks, but just to be clear I'm talking about going from Canada to the US, not the other way around. Seems like you guys got some great deals there for a while that justified the hassle. For me I'm just looking for a very clean car in the right spec with low mileage and for whatever reason you Canadians seem to have the market cornered at the moment...

[X5-User]

CA5775,

It is not worth it to buy the car in Canada and bring it to US no matter what spec you are looking at. You will end up paying a lot of taxes (13% then customer 6% then local state which can be 8 or 10%).

Cars in US are a lot cheaper than Canada. I, my self, sold my car in Canada before moving to US and bought it from here in US. Zero hassles!

[CA5775]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-M3

CA5775,

It is not worth it to buy the car in Canada and bring it to US no matter what spec you are looking at. You will end up paying a lot of taxes (13% then customer 6% then local state which can be 8 or 10%).

Cars in US are a lot cheaper than Canada. I, my self, sold my car in Canada before moving to US and bought it from here in US. Zero hassles!

Thanks... I think that's to the point. Appreciate all the responses. Sounds like I need to either just accept a higher mileage car or just be patient and watch the market. Better to get the bad news now than later!

[R7]

Originally Posted by CA5775

Thanks... I think that's to the point. Appreciate all the responses. Sounds like I need to either just accept a higher mileage car or just be patient and watch the market. Better to get the bad news now than later!

It's only because we have long and harsh winters. Nobody drives their m3 and it's mainly a summer car - that's probably why we have more with low kms.

Just curious what the specs you are after. U.S. has a much larger market...

[CA5775]

Originally Posted by R7

It's only because we have long and harsh winters. Nobody drives their m3 and it's mainly a summer car - that's probably why we have more with low kms.

Just curious what the specs you are after. U.S. has a much larger market...

I'm looking for a very clean Frozen Silver E92 with low miles. There's one in the States I'm looking at but it's much higher mileage. I found one in Canada at 6K and another posted here at 11K. The one in the US has almost 27K. If you hear of one let me know... Makes sense on the summer use. Hadn't thought of that.