Saturday, February 26, 2011

Importing a vehicle from the US into Canada


Back in Dec. 2007 we imported a Ford 1997 E-350 (full size van) with a Powerstroke diesel & Quigley 4x4 conversion into Canada. (Since the auto manufacturers don't make 4x4 vans, they are very rare in Canada although there is at least one company in Canada who does the conversion.)



Now that the exchange rate between the Canadian & US dollars is almost equivalent I've been getting more people asking about the procedure on how to do it. Below is the procedure I used 3 years ago. You should check with RIV Canada that nothing has changed.

Good luck!

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Here is a short summary of the process I used to import my van, yours will probably be slightly different if you don't have an outstanding recall to complete.

1 Purchase temporary vehicle insurance (forget the exact name, I can look it up)

2 Bought van in US (already ran CarFax on the vehicle).

3 Stored van at friend's place in Washington. (There are storage lots in Blaine also.)

4 Stopped at US Customs to fill out export form (need copies of
ownership/registration, bill of sale)

5 Wait 3 days for US Customs to complete export permit (make sure it isn't stolen, no liens, etc).

6 Pick up van from friend's place.

7 Stop in at US Customs with van to pick up export permit.

8 Cross border, pay GST & RIV fee at Canada Customs.

9 Have cracked windshield replaced at local shop. (Also replaced worn out wipers & replaced gas cap with locking one, didn't want to fail the provincial inspection on windshield or wipers)

10 Contact RIV to start import process (this is when I found out that Ford has just issued a new recall for the Camshaft Position Sensor on the 7.3L PSD).

11 Contact Ford dealer to arrange to have recall done. Wait 2 weeks for Ford to get themselves set up for recall, parts, etc.

12 Buy vehicle storage insurance.

13 Take van to my mechanic to get provincial inspection completed
(and necessary repairs to be able pass inspection, make sure you
allow $$$$ to do this). Needs temporary insurance anytime you want to drive it on the road to mechanic or dealer, had to buy a few times as there are maximum lengths they will allow with a non registered vehicle.

14 Take van to Ford dealer to get recall completed.

15 Get recall letter from Ford Canada. $100

16 Send recall letter to RIV.

17 Get import paperwork from RIV.

18 Take paperwork to Canadian Tire.

19 Take paperwork to Insurance agent to register vehicle in Canada,
pay provincial sales tax, get plates & insurance.

20 You are done!