Pug

Hi guys.

I am currently in the process of obtaining residency via marriage in WA. I've been here a shade over a year.

I have found a car I want to buy, but it's in Canada. It's a small hatchback from 1991, but a relatively rare vehicle and something I'd very much like to obtain.

I found this:

http://foreignborn.com/visas_imm/ent...ingyourcar.htm

So my plan is to have it delivered across the border from BC, then take it to customs and cite this as my method for importing - that currently, I'm non-permanent and want this car for a year.

My question is - will this work?

I'm confident that once it's on American soil, I can have people who work in local government I know help me get it registered in the long-term, but in the short-term ,I just need to be able to obtain it and drive it without issue.

Any advice on this matter appreciated.

Ray

Was it ever sold in the US ...or is a grey import to canada

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/...ml#Anchor-4060

ian-mstm

You can bring over any item duty free if you have owned it for 1 year or more. You'll pay duty on it if you haven't owned it long enough. Regardless, with cars, you must obtain a letter from the Canadian manufacturer confirming that the car meets US safety and emission standards for its model year. In 1998, I was able to do this online with a Visa card from GM in Oshawa, Ontario for my 1988 Cavalier Z24... $45 at the time... probably a bit more now. Make sure to keep a copy of the letter and proof that you've paid duty.

What car is it?

Ian

Ray

$45 ..good price for that car ......lol

ian-mstm

Hey... I sold it 3 years later (13 y/o at the time) for $3,500. It had 280K km (175K mi) on it. She was a good little car!

This pic was taken on 6/10/88 - two days after I bought her! I had more hair in those days. Hmm... I was a lot thinner also!

Ian

Ray

Quick somebody!!! ..... call animal control ..there''s a bear loose ..

Pug

Interesting question.

It was originally a French car, that was then imported to Japan. It was then imported from Japan to Canada. Now I'm wanting to import it from Canad to the US. It's a well-traveled little thing, that's for sure.

That's the problem, it was never sold in the US. I know it sounds a little boy-racer, but it's a Peugeot 205 1.9 GTi - a very limited edition version that I'm smitten with. They are a fantastic little car and I'm desperate to get my hands on this one.

I have no idea if it's even possible to get any kind of manufacturer's letter from Peugeot, given the car was never released in the USDM or CDM for that matter.

Any ideas?

I was hoping to use the non-resident year-long loophole just to get it across the border from Canada, then deal with getting it finalised later.

RoadWarriorFromLP

For permanent importation, the car has to comply with DOT (safety) and EPA (emissions) regs. If the car was originally designed for the Canadian market and there is a US version of the same vehicle, chances are pretty good that it is very similar to a US model and won't require many changes. If not, then you could have a problem, and I'm not sure how your friends are supposed to help you to avoid compliance with federal regs.

In any case, the car would need to have a speedo and odometer that display standard measurements. (Canadian vehicles are metric.) That probably means changing out the odometer, as well as the speedometer or, if that is not possible, the entire gauge cluster, depending upon the design. I believe that you also need some sort of documentation of the odometer reading at the time that it is swapped out. All of that may or may not be cheap.

I'm not sure if this affects you, but 1988-1991 cars sold in the US had to have either an airbag or else a (cumbersome, frankly stupid, quite unique to US) passive restraint system that included motorized belts. If this requirement is imposed onto 1991 model year imports like yours, then this alone could be a costly death blow to your permanent importation plan. Retrofitting the passive restraints would be next to impossible.

elfman

Didn't late 80s Audis have something similar or am I thinking of something else?

RoadWarriorFromLP

Every new car between 1988 and 1991 either had these belts or else a driver's side airbag. It was a federal requirement.

The requirement was meant to push automakers to install airbags into all of their cars. If they didn't have an airbag ready in time for 1988, they needed to have one of these contraptions, instead.

At the time, the automakers complained about the pending airbag requirement, arguing that it would be too costly to fit them into existing models that were designed without them. As a "compromise", the feds let them use these belt systems as a cheaper alternative to fitting airbags into the then-existing designs.

If it is necessary to retrofit these belts, this would be a non-starter. I think that it would be difficult, if not impossible to do, at any price.

ian-mstm

Since 1980 - when Canada went fully metric, all Canadian vehicles have had a dual display... perfectly legal for importing to and selling within the US. The odometer also does not need to be changed. A reading will be done when the car crosses the border... but whether in kilometers or miles, as long as it is accurate and not tampered with, it is considered valid. Further, since the Canadian auto market is closely tied to the US auto market, airbags have been standard on all Canadian vehicles since 1988.

Now... that said, I have no idea whether or not the OP's Peugeot would fit into these criteria. Hey... look what I found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL0jKF5JxVc.

Ian

fatbrit

Speak to people in your local Custom Car club -- they are very good at doing rather unconventional things with titles.

RoadWarriorFromLP

Canada has a speedo requirement for metric, not one for dual displays. While the Detroit Big 3 and Asian cars will often have dual-display speedos, the European origin cars will often be metric only. Here's one example of a Canadian 90's-era BMW gauge cluster that doesn't include miles and does require a speedo and odometer swap for export to the US: http://willz.ca/importcanadatousa.htm

If it's a Peugeot, I would suspect that most models couldn't be imported at all, at least not without significant drama. Until researching this thoroughly, I would not assume that this is going to be easy.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/

http://www.epa.gov/oms/imports/

Pug

I'm more interested in just getting it here. I live in a small town with a DOL and City Hall that are friendly and willing to bend the rules - Once it's cleared customs.

I really want to get it in using the one year rule for non-residents. If it's then registered as a show car or something like that - I'm fine. As for the safety issues quoted - this is strange as I just bought a Rabbit Cabriolet from 1989 - a USDM model - that had no airbar or trick seatbelt...

This is a perfect example of a classic car and I really do desperately want it. My wife has been telling me I have Peugotitus because I can't stop thinking about it!

If anyone's done the year-long trick - or can offer any other advice - I'm all ears. Thanks guys.

Pug

I can go with this, right? *crosses fingers*

Edit: Mods, I'm not going to try and sell anyone discounted electronics, Viagra or tell you how to get a FREE PLAYSTATION, so if I could just post, that would be great.