importing a competition vehicle into canada

[kwlsti]

dose any one have any experience in importing a competition vehicle into canada?
i may be looking at getting something across the border :rolleyes:

-update
i was searching for the wrong thing, but i have found other posts on the subject. any new or changed info would be great tho :)

[kwlsti]

so far what i've read is that i need a letter from the CASC stating that it's a race car, and the bill of sale. i'll skip the USA side :p go right to the Canadian customs and get things paid and done. the car was never used so it has no log book. :D

[Transamdriver]

Unless the rules have changed, US customs wants 72 hrs. advance notice during their business hrs. of any vehicle shipped out of the US before they will issue a clearance certificate, certifying it is not stolen, clear of liens etc. They require a copy of the title, and/or the bill of sale.

Robert Barg

[kwlsti]

good to know! thanks. i will give them a call today.

[Bubblecar]

From what I have seen in the past few years - each person who has tried - has had a different experience.

There is no ONE answer to this question. Some people have sailed right through with no problems at all - others have been tied up in bureaucracy for months.

- First there is what the actual laws and regs are.

- Then you have what the Canadian government "tells you".

- Then - what the Ontario government "tells you".

- Not to mention - what the U.S. Customs "tells you".

- Finally - it all comes down to who the Border Guard / Customs Agent is at the time of crossing. No matter who many times you tell them that you have all of the papers completed "as you were told" - if that person doesn't agree (or is having a bad day) - well you up the creek.

Do all of your due diligence before hand - then cross your fingers - and be prepared for almost anything. (always makes fun stories in the forums)

You can START with the Canadian Registrar of Imported Vehicles (http://www.riv.ca/ImportingAVehicle.aspx).

Good luck.

[glh]

if you bring it in as a parts car or a race car not to be registered to drive on the street then you just need to go straight to Canada customs and pay taxes
you will need a bill of sale they have a form there you fill it out and pay taxes
if you want to register to be plated they have a different form and you also need a stamp from US customs and that is where the 72 hours come in play

I have brought numerous car in from the US ,race ,street and parts cars

[kwlsti]

it will only be used as a race car, it's all ready caged and gutted.
i've all ready contacted RIV and they told me that i have to call the Canadian Customs directly.

time to cross my fingers!

[glh]

it will only be used as a race car, it's all ready caged and gutted.
i've all ready contacted RIV and they told me that i have to call the Canadian Customs directly.

time to cross my fingers!

not to worry all they want is there Tax dollars

[shamrock]

if you bring it in as a parts car or a race car not to be registered to drive on the street then you just need to go straight to Canada customs and pay taxes
you will need a bill of sale they have a form there you fill it out and pay taxes
if you want to register to be plated they have a different form and you also need a stamp from US customs and that is where the 72 hours come in play

I have brought numerous car in from the US ,race ,street and parts cars

Then again I was going to import one a month or so ago. I was told by someone who had imported three race cars that unless it has a VIN it isn't coming in. I replied " well a purpose built car never has a vin." My answer was get the seller to go to his DOT and have them generate one. Very expensive I heard.
Bottom line is what Nick said. You can take your chances. You may get in with a bill of sale, you may be stuck there forever. Pretty silly though that there is no straight policy or at least some people can't interpret the one they have.

[Bubblecar]

it will only be used as a race car, it's all ready caged and gutted.This is where the "subjectivity" can come in.

Four years ago - I made a deal to purchase Peter Cunningham's World Challenge Nissan Sentra from Realtime Racing. The car had no VIN. I submitted paperwork in advance to Canadian authorities - including letters from CASC-OR, SCCA Pro and Nissan - and - a magazine article - detailing the technical build specs for the car - from Racer Magazine (it was the Cover story yet, with huge pictures)

The special Canada customs guy who approves these things - refused to accept that it was a non-streetable / track only racecar. He was hung up on the fact that it was built from a commercial sedan - not a racecar from the ground up. :confused:

I know that many other people (read Steve / GLH above) have had no problem at all, but in my opinion, it's just a roll of the dice - you get lucky or you don't.


Nick

[glh]

I have brought 2 race cars and 2 parts cars in the last 3 years and this is how I did it and I had the exact same result each time
go straight to Canada customs tell them its for parts only you have no interest in using it on the street DON NOT SAY IT'S a race car
you will fill out the necessary paper work be ashed a bunch of questions
and PAY TAXES the border patrol are really only interested in collecting taxes and doing as little as possible

OK this has been my experience but 4 times no hassles

I totality agree with what Nick said so dont not ask questions make out like you know what your doing

i have brought in at least 6 cars that I did plate so i have so yes I have done this a few times

[Steve Moore]

Ive brought in two race cars from the US, the first one was an ex Speed World Challenge race car, no problem at all. The second a purpose built race car, again no problems at all. Like Steve said they just want to collect their Taxes.

[glh]

if you guys are having this much trouble send me the paper work tell me where it is and Ill have it drooped off at your door takes about a week to deliver a car from the southern states to Ontario

[Bubblecar]

Steve / glh raises a really good point (but it needs a little editing for clarity)


I totality agree with what Nick said so dont not ask questions make out like you know what your doing

=

I totally agree with what Nick said. So dont not ask questions (of the customs guy). Make out like you know what your doing.I think that part of the problem is that importing a race car is not a daily occurance to Canada Customs. If you assume that they know what should be done - you may be wrong. Each person that you ask - will look it up and give you their own interpretation of what you should do.

"Make out like you know what you are doing" - and make their job easier for them.

[glh]

yes the customs people
sorry for the poor gamer

[shamrock]

This is a good thread and needs to be discussed. About the parts car thing I believe that but I do know someone who did that and got told if it has the engine in it it isn't a parts car, so he truned around, went to a shop , had the engine removed and shipped up seperately.
He had no problem with his parts car at the border after that.

Its clear though that there needs to be better education and clearer policy at customs so it isn't a crap shoot. It was because of all this that I backed out of a good ebay buy a little while back. It was a great koni car with no VIN. I didn't want the "potential" hastle.

luckily I got a great CCTCC car here shortly after. Right in my back yard! No travel at all!

[kwlsti]

i think i might take Steve up on his offer :p. The car dose have a vin and was taken from the showroom floor into the cage shop. it was only on the street for 600 miles for break in and currently has 710 miles. its located in California so where not sure if where going to go pick up or get shipped.
getting excited for a whole season of racing!.... i hope :rolleyes:

[ScotcH]

i think i might take Steve up on his offer :p. The car dose have a vin and was taken from the showroom floor into the cage shop. it was only on the street for 600 miles for break in and currently has 710 miles. its located in California so where not sure if where going to go pick up or get shipped.
getting excited for a whole season of racing!.... i hope :rolleyes:

I've brought over 2 cars ... the first was a street car destined to be a race car (my BMW). This I imported as a parts car. They simply black listed the VIN so it could never be registered. I paid tax, and done. For this one I had to have the title at the US side 72hrs before, same as for a street car.

The second car was the cougar, a WC race car. This was annoying ... since it has a VIN, they wanted the title and all that shit. It does not have a title, only a bill of sale and a log book. In the end it took a letter from SCCA stating that it's a race car, and will never be registered for the street (SCCA has a letter for this already). This was faxed over to customs, we paid taxes and went on our way (3 hrs later).

Here is my suggestion: Buy my car and race without ANY hassles all next season (including no pesky blown up engines!) :D

[timewarp9]

I have imported two race cars, one with a VIN the other without. The VIN car required that 72 hours notice be given in advance to US customs for export. It was a sedan. I asked the seller to fax the US customs with the information and when I got to the border it was on file. On the Canadian side I paid the taxes and left.

The other car was a tube frame car with no VIN, but had a log book. I did not stop at the US side just went straight to Canadian Customs, declared it as an off-road vehicle paid and left.

Jon

[m gray]

When bringing a non vin race car ( formula car ) across the border into Ontario, what taxes are actually collected right then and there ? I called customs myself and they told me PST / GST and 6.1 % duty. I have spoken to other that tell PST is not collected there. Anybody know for sure ?
Thanks Martin

[Matt Graham]

I've imported, or helped import, more than my fair share of vehicles (both street cars and race cars).

In my experience, when a street car is imported, and run through the RIV process, the customs folks don't charge you PST as they know that MTO will when you register the car. On a race car that doesn't go through RIV, it's plain old goods, just like a TV or tires or whatever. Therefore the border collects GST and PST.

If you cannot PROVE that the vehicle was built in North America, you will be charged 6.1% duty as well. As far as what proof is required depends on the customs officer you get. I've always imported race cars built in Europe, so I've always paid the duty. On street cars that go through RIV, I think RIV keeps information on which cars are required to pay duty on file.

My theory is always show up with MORE documentation than you need. This will demonstrate to the customs official you've done your homework, and aren't trying to "pull" anything. I bring print outs of the advertisement of the car, copies of bank drafts, receipts for wire transfers, copies of the bill of sale, as much documentation as I can to establish value. Similarly as much documentation as I can get to establish the car is a race car: log book, letter from CASC-OR, letter from SCCA, copies of previous race results, photos, etc. It only takes a few minutes of your time to get all of this documentation together, and the customs folks seem to really appreciate an entire FOLIO of information on the car.

Following this method, I've never spent more than 30 minutes at a border crossing with a vehicle. More than once I've even gotten through without the customs official even inspecting the car. Most times, they open the trailer door, take a quick look, and then ask how fast it goes as they close the door.

That all being said, I always gladly pay the full taxes/duties applicable, and don't try to claim any value except what I actually paid. When buying the car, you just have to know that the price of the car landed is:

car price + exchange rate + shipping + 5% GST + 8% PST + 6.1% duty

:)

-Matt

[John Powell]

Matt. A good summary but there's no duty on shipping. GST and PST may apply depending on how much is related to shipping within Canada if billed separately. Also, any articles imported with the car and invoiced separately may be rated under tariff items other than that for the car and bear a different rate of duty, and if they are of North American origin, may also be duty free under NAFTA.

[Matt Graham]

Good ponits, John. My calculation was a little over simplified, and perhaps out of order.

Also a good point about having spares (if there are an appreciable amount) invoiced separately.

That being said, I'll gladly trade the difference (if any) in tax and duty between the car and the spares for the saved time at the border. One invoice = one price = one line item for customs = me home earlier. ;)

In any event, I will NEVER hesitate to purchase a race car in the US and bring it in. Just have your ducks in a row, and be willing to pay the taxes.

-Matt

Matt. A good summary but there's no duty on shipping. GST and PST may apply depending on how much is related to shipping within Canada if billed separately. Also, any articles imported with the car and invoiced separately may be rated under tariff items other than that for the car and bear a different rate of duty, and if they are of North American origin, may also be duty free under NAFTA.