Buying and bringing a Canadian Car to US

[69SSZL1]

Looking to buy a 40+ year old musclecar in ON Canada and bring it or ship it to California. Anyone done this before? I will need to title the car in California. Is using a shipper/broker the best way? customs and all that?
Thanks

[Jeff H]

I used an export/import company when I bought the L78 car from Canada. They did a good job and the transport driver said almost all the other cars on the trailer were going back because the paperwork wasn't in order. NJ still gave me a hard time and wanted some obscure form filled out that apparently no other state uses any more, but the company found a copy of the form and sent it so I could get the car titled. As long as the car was originally built in the US, I don't think it needs to go through any safety inspection. If the car was built outside the US I think there are more inspections it might need. It was definitely worth it IMO.

[rszmjt]

New Importation Laws requires you use a Commercial Broker, as of 11/2014

[XXXGoldL34M20]

I am in Ontario and Sold My LS6 to a guy in California in November of 2014 which was very recently.
It was very easy for both of us because we used TFX transport which have there own broker.
All we did was fill out some forms at there office and they will even do it for you via Fax or Email if you can not go to there office.
Car came right to his front door in California and they picked the car up at my front door.
There were no duty fees because a classic American made car going from Canada to the USA has no fees.
I even did this once before with a car out of Texas using TFX again.
There rates are very fair as I have shopped around and the other big companies to me were way to pricey.
By the way my Ontario Title(Ownership) card was signed over to the new owner. No California title until you get it there.

[sixtiesmuscle]

I agree, TFX makes it all very easy.

[njsteve]

You wanna know how &quot;easy&quot; it is.......? [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/no.gif[/img]

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...pics/487291/15


Here's an excerpt from what I went through to get a NJ title.

Time to celebrate! I actually received the title today and went directly to the local DMV where I finally got the car officially registered.

I had wanted to transfer the historic vanity plates that I had from the T/A but when the lady behind the counter said I'd have to mail the old plates and my documents to the DMV in Trenton in order to do that, I almost had a seizure right there. It had already taken 8 weeks to get a title, and it has been 12 weeks since I actually bought the car in British Columbia.

I said just give me the plain old historic plates. She also indicated that it would have been $96 to transfer the old plates...compare that to $44 for a brand new set.

So I could literally apply for the same vanity plate for less money than it would be to transfer my old ones. Go figure? Only in Joysey could this happen.

The entire titling process for a vehicle coming from a “foreign” country to NJ is insane. You cannot get a title for a car coming from a foreign country at the local DMV. You have to send all of your paperwork to the special “Foreign Title Unit” in Trenton, after calling them, of course, and getting an exact list of what they need. Then when they get the package, it takes them at least 2 weeks before they look at it. When they do look at it, they only go as far as the first problem they see with the first document, immediately stop all work and send a letter telling you there is an issue with that document. For example, I have a letter that says the Canadian Title and registration are missing from the package. I call them back and tell them that British Columbia does not issue titles; they only issue a combination registration and insurance form on their cars. The clerk then has to research that issue. Several days pass and the clerk then says &quot;You're right about the title&quot; but we need that British Columbia registration form. I asked them why they didn’t request that in the first place? No real answer. I then tell them that in Canada the seller is required by law to retain the upper half of the form. She says they need the entire form. Luckily the seller in this case gave me both halves of the form. (Thank you Grant!) The clerk said I have to send in the original to them, by certified mail. She tells me that NJ DMV can only take original documents or original carbon copies. No copies are permitted.

So another week passes and I call them back. I am then told that since I had not included a check for the sales tax on the car, they could not proceed any further. I tell them that I included the $80 they requested for the titling process and that no other funds were requested by the DMV at the time. The clerk says, “Well, we need the check to proceed.” I asked what the amount was. She wouldn’t tell me, only that it was 7% of the sale price. So I had to get a calculator out and figure the amount out while I had her on the phone and then ask her if that was the right amount she needed? She said yes. I then sent her the check... by certified mail.

Another week passes and I call them back, the package has now been transferred to another clerk who tells me that they need the Customs Brokers paperwork. I tell them they have it. She tells me that need the original not the certified copy that is in the file. She says that the certified copy that is in the file appears to have been a fax that was notarized by the Customs Broker. I tell her that is how US Customs sends the finished forms back to the brokerage company. She then recites that the DMV can only take original documents or carbon copies. I asked her how am I supposed to get the original document which is in the custody of the United States Customs Service? She simply recites again, that the DMV can only take original documents or carbon copies. New Jersey DMV does not recognize certified copies. The DMV says it has to be the original document or a carbon copy from the original form made at the time of the transaction. So, even if the original form was a computer generated print out, it has to be from the original computer, printed out from the original printer at that location!!!!!!!!! I kid you not. It's like they haven't even entered the 20th century, let alone the 21st.

So, after several days of attempting contact with the Customs broker, I get through and I get another certified copy of the exact same document, only this one is larger and doesn’t have a fax header at the top. I send it certified mail to the DMV.

After several more days I call the DMV again. By now I am on a first name basis with all the clerks in the unit. I hear them sigh heavily whenever they pick up the phone and realize it’s me. The clerk now says she received the Customs Broker form but that wasn’t the form that they actually needed. They actually needed the original carbon copy of the Bill of Lading to prove that the car is in the United States. Once again I ask why they didn’t request that document from me four weeks ago? I didn’t get an answer. So I send them the original pink “carbon copy” of the Bill of Lading...this time by FedEx, since the clerk assured me that this was the final key to unlocking the puzzle of my title. (Silly me for believing her).

So, another week passes and I call the DMV and ask if the title has been issued. They said no. I ask why? They say it is because the US Customs Form 7501 did not have a US Customs official raised stamp on it. I told them it does: it has the notary stamp from the customs broker and under the business records exception of the rules of evidence used by every court of law in the United States of America; that is considered to be an officially recognized original document... And in perfect Abbott and Costello “Who’s on First” tone of voice, she then recites that the DMV can only take original documents or carbon copies as New Jersey DMV does not recognize certified copies. That is when the whole insanity started with the fact that Broker notarized the copy of the form that he received from US Customs for the transaction. According to NJ DMV, that is considered a forgery of another person’s signature, so now the title process is dead in the water until I can provide them with THE ORIGINAL UNITED STATES CUSTOMS FORM 7501 for this car’s entry in to the United States.

So I then contact the broker in Canada to get them to get an official US Customs stamp on the document. They tell me that the document has to be hand carried to the Niagara Falls Customs station where the car entered the US and that it would take at least 48 hours once US Customs has the document, before the broker would get it back. So I wait...a week goes by and now the customs broker is ignoring my calls. (As it turned out the brokerage was sold to a new company, who was not retaining the old staff, so no one really cared any more, about getting me my document). So I get the shipping company owner at TFX International involved (as I previously described a page or two ago) and he raises Holy Hell with the broker on a Sunday night and within 3 days I have the official stamped document in hand. Of course it is not a raised, embossed stamp, but a red ink stamp on the form. I then send it via FedEx to the DMV. I also call the clerk at the DMV and tell him it is on its way. It arrives on Friday. I call the clerk handling my “package” to tell him that the FedEx tracking indicates it has been delivered. Of course he is out on leave that day. I am asked to call back Monday.

I call back Monday and the clerk says the mail has not been delivered from the front office yet but he will call when it gets to his desk, if there are any problems.

On Tuesday, the clerk leaves me the message that the title was processed. I call him back and ask him to define exactly what “processed” actually means. He laughs and says that it means I have a title now and that it was being mailed out that day...by regular mail.

I also asked him if I now hold the record for the longest time to issue a NJ title for an American vehicle entering the state from a “foreign” country.

He says “No, not even in the top five.”

[quik9r]

TFX is great

[69SSZL1]

I am using TFX, they look pretty good. Then its the California DMV is the next hurdle. Should be worth it, car is a big block, 4 speed, posi, original car. Thanks!

[ZAPPER68]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 69SSZL1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am using TFX, they look pretty good. Then its the California DMV is the next hurdle. Should be worth it, car is a big block, 4 speed, posi, original car. Thanks! </div></div>

I too have used TFX...both cars from the US to Canada. No muss, no fuss, reasonable rates and delivered on time. Their rig was immaculate and drew a crowd when the unloading process began. You have made a good decision...

[chevelleheart]

Totally agree, they are professional , and arrive when they say they will,....door to door,....