How to import a car? Options

[ThinAir]

Seeing that Dr. Hamley's 916 is in the U.K., the buyer is going to have to import it. Now I'm not gonna be the buyer, but I've long been interested in what it takes to bring a classic car into the U.S. I read a lot of the VW magazines and it's clear that there are lots of cars that make the journey both ways across the Atlantic. Since Europe is my preferred place to vacation, I just might run across something on one of my trips that I'd like to bring home. What does it take?

[jonwatts]

To bring cars in from any country they need to meet US DOT safety laws as well as any smog laws for the area in which you live. For a car like this 916 I would bring it in as an exhibition or museum piece, as making it US DOT legal would detract from its value. I wouldn't even register it. If you can afford the car you can afford whatever ticket you might get on the rare occasion it may see city driving.

[cha914]

I am no expert, but I have looked into this before, and it is a serious pain in the ass...and very expensive:

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/factmtop.htm

get friendly with the EPA requirements if you ever think about importing a car, there are several different ways to import vehicals, and you might be able to get a show car license, but if you violate the restrictions they can take the car from you and DESTROY it!

So be sure you read up and talk to some people before going ahead with anything.

HTH,

Tony

[tryan]

i believe every 'person' gets a one time exemption to the dot rules if the car is 25 years old. epa, i am not sure.

[aufaber]

There is an exemtion added a few years ago for cars of rare or unique value. Which these days is how you would want to bring in a 959 or 916 I'd think.

-Aaron G>

[anthony]

Yeah, I just saw a program on the Fine Living channel about a legal 959. They said that the owner could only legally drive it 5000 miles per year.

[GWN7]

Call your local customs office for the proper info. They will be able to tell you what years are exempt (if any) and what you need in the way of paperwork. They are government employees and hence work for you. All it will cost you is the price of a phone call.

I know what is required to import a car to this side of the border, but not going the otherway. Guys buy trucks/cars up here all the time and ship them South. On newer cars/trucks all I know is you have to change the speedo from KPH to MPH and have them inspected. I have been told the speedo change & inspection runs about $350. Back in the 80's I used to drive cars from here to the wholesale auction 3 hrs South and there wasn't any problems with customs then. The guy I drove for made some good coin doing this.

If they are coming up here and are over 25 years old they are DOT exempt and all you have to pay is the GST tax. I will have to pay the state sales tax when I start driving them.

[krk]

a) check w/customs -- for older cars, it's not that bad.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif) I brought a 914/6 into the US from Canada -- at the border, I had to pay some customs duties, but that was it. But I made sure that I had the right papers.

hmm.... the duties are based on the sale price of course.....

kim.

[Dave_Darling]

My understanding is that the "one-time exemption" was a thing of the 80s and maybe the early 90s as well. That's where most of the "grey-market" cars in the US came from--people exercising their "one-time exemption" and bringing cars into the US. The customs/DOT people eventually realized that people who had never been out of the country were importing cars that didn't really meet US emissions and inspections standards... So the loophole closed in the late 80s or early 90s.

--DD

[GWN7]

Just pulled out the Transport Canada (DOT) documents on both the cars I bought.

Here, if the car is 15 yrs old or older (except buses) (there are 7 exemptions to this) they are exempt from the Registrar of imported vehicles program and fee.

The fee is $182.00 and you must modify the vehicle to Transport Canada standards within 45 days of import.

The other exemption that might fit is: Vehicles entered for exhibition, demonstration, testing, evaluation or special purposes.

If it is over 25 yrs it is classiffied as antique and you don't pay duty on it

Both countries are usually fairly close in their regulations.

But I'd still call your local Customs office to find out all the info.

If you get someone who says call a broker...ask to speak with someone else. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)