Hi Everyone...
I\'m about to be landing in about 5 days...and I need to import my car. I checked out the site and what needs to be done....the only thing is I don\'t have the Title of the vechile. It\'s still being paid off. And on top of that the car was given to me as a gift from my parents, and my name is not on the Title or loans or anything. Does anyone have any experience with this or can suggest what I need to do?
Thanks!
You can\'t export/import a car that is not in your name. You can\'t export/import a car that has a lien.
Pay off the car, get the car in your name.
If you can\'t at the time, put the VIN on your goods to follow list and export/import it when you can at a later date. You cannot sell it for at least a year after you import it.
The only way it would be possible is for you to take over the loan, get it in your name, and get permission from the bank to export it, which won\'t happen (the bank wouldn\'t be able to repo if they wanted to)... mephista gave about your only option. I don\'t know if they\'d let you cross in it? You\'d likely get in trouble/get ticketed if you didn\'t get it licensed after a certain amount of time. You might be better off leaving it in the US until you can pay it off and transfer title.
the thing is...the car is already with my in canada....and i need it to get around and can\'t afford to buy another one. should i call the border and ask them?
I think your car can visit for 6 months. It sounds like you need to put it on your Goods To Follow list when you land. Then get the car in your name, etc. and then you\'ll have to go out and re-enter Canada when you\'re ready to import. I\'m in the same boat. My car has been here with me for longer than 6 months so I try to use it as little as possible to avoid being pulled over for a traffic infraction and having to answer the question about how long it\'s been here.
Thanks everyone for the advice. Going to try and pay off the car asap! Do I have a \"valid by date\" as to when I have to have the car imported?
I\'m not sure how strict they are about this:
Ownership, possession and use requirements
To qualify for duty- and tax-free importation you must have owned, possessed, and used the goods before your arrival in Canada. For further information, consult the publication called Immigrating or Returning to Live in Canada on the CBSA Web site.
I was told and I can\'t find it, that pretty much as long as you don\'t lose the list (goods to follow) you can do it any time. You can always import a vehicle, it\'s just paying taxes vs not.