Buying a US Spec Car from a Canadian Dealer

[BayAreaBMWFan]

I am considering a car being sold by a Canadian dealer (used 2001). I have confirmed with BMWUSA that it is a US Spec car sold in the US first. The car will have a Canadian title. Assuming things go well, and I decide to buy the car, what are the steps I need to take to bring it over?

1. Border/Customs: What kind of documentation would I need to bring the car into the US.

2. California DMV:
What kind of documentation is neede to register a Canadian titled car here in CA?
Can the DMV do a VIN search and check that it is a US spec car with 50 states emission
certification? Is there a sticker or something which the car needs to have before DMV will allow me to register it?

3. Shipping: Is it an option or would driving it through myself be the best option.

[tierfreund]

Edit

[jpettit]

my understanding is that if the car is being sold by a Canadian dealership then they must have the car cleared before you can purchase it (ie setup so that it meets Transport Canada specs). i was looking at a US car from a dealership, and it was no different than buying a Canadian car...except for the options installed and the odometer was in both miles and kms.

for importing cars into Canada you should contact Customs and Revenue Canada who can tell you all about what is needed. there are different regulations and requirements for different years, etc...and some cars can not be imported at all.

[jpettit]

check out Transport Canada re: importing cars from the US
http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/impusae.htm

[BayAreaBMWFan]

check out Transport Canada re: importing cars from the US
http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/impusae.htm

The car is a US spec car which was bought in the US and then the owner moved to Canada. Their they got it certified for Canadian standards (Daytime Running Lights and child restraint). Now it is at a dealer's lot in Canada.

I want to get it back into the US.

The process seems simple but for the fact that there has to be a custom's inspection where I will have to establish that the car was sold in the US first and still meets US specs.

[Malibubimmer]

The car is a US spec car which was bought in the US and then the owner moved to Canada. Their they got it certified for Canadian standards (Daytime Running Lights and child restraint). Now it is at a dealer's lot in Canada.

I want to get it back into the US.

The process seems simple but for the fact that there has to be a custom's inspection where I will have to establish that the car was sold in the US first and still meets US specs.
You can drive it across the border with no difficulty, right? (Of course, the question is "do you want to?") Drive it to your local BMW dealer, have a mechanic there inspect it, and then give you an affidavit that the car meets US specs. Your dealer's sales or finance people will be able to look up its pedigree on BMW's data base and give you an affidavit that it was first sold in the US.

Voila.

[e46Christian]

You can run a carfax on the VIN. Toronto area dealers are pretty good at recording services, etc. so you should be able to more or less deduce the car's service history.

As far as bringing the car into the US, the page below might be a good place to look. Not sure how accurate the info is anymore, since it's a few years old. Mind you, they assume it's a CAD spec vehicle, so you might have an easier time.
Good luck.

Here's the page.
http://www.twinturbo.net/ttnetfaq/FAQpages/canada.html

[Surdy]

Just to be on the safe side, you need a letter from BMW USA or BMW Canada stating that the car meets US specs. Normally the US approval sticker should be on the car.

+ a certified check or cash to pay the import duty, (about 5%) if applicable. Depends on the custom agent whether he considers it as a US car.

Good Luck!

[BayAreaBMWFan]

A followup question:
Once I get the car from the Canadian dealer, what documentation will I need to cross the border from the Canadian side?

Also what happens to the title? I would need an out of state/country title to title the car here. But I am unlikely to get a title in Canada, right?

[neill]

A followup question:
Once I get the car from the Canadian dealer, what documentation will I need to cross the border from the Canadian side?

Also what happens to the title? I would need an out of state/country title to title the car here. But I am unlikely to get a title in Canada, right?
Definitely no titles on Canadian vehicles.....

You may want to get in touch with a broker to help you. Back when lots of Canadian vehicles went south with the dollar difference, there was a company in Lethbridge AB named NAFTA (how they got away with that name I'll never know.....) that was quite helpful in exporting Canuck cars. I don't know if they are still around, and re-patriating a US car would be slightly different.

As far as the freight goes, there are some companies that do ship from here to California. We were quoted IIRC approx 1800 cdn to ship a car from Calgary to LA for a client. (Westjet flights from SFO to Calgary are 92 bucks plus tax one way, and what better way to get acquainted with your new car than a drive home...... I think you can connect to Toronto for low 200's total....)

Best of luck - is the car out west, or down (salt, salt, salt) east?