We also brought a newish bosch lawnmower. It's now in the basement - it's useless over here...

Thats because grass grows outside and not usually in basements unless referring to the other type of grass with the THC content

Our BBQ never got used, we bought a weber a month after we arrived.

It is customary here for containers to be pulled trucks.

Has any customs officer ever said this to you?

I'm giggling as I was never bothered if they did pull the container, I am too honest for my own good

I'm giggling because I'm just at the point of deciding that my goods and chattels might be better as bloody landfill...If I never see a carton again....

FL, or anyone that's done it, is there a Wiki about putting a car in the container? I am using a company, and they are coming in three weeks...I'd just like to be prepared.

Customs hardly took the time to read my paperwork.

Retrospect sucks sometimes/all the time *delete as appropriate*

No. I have lived with international removing for over 20 yrs, my husband has been in the industry for over 30 yrs. who knows the real reason a container that appears to have the perfect inventory gets inspected, my guess is, it's customs doing there job.

You wouldn't be giggling when presented with the bill for an inspector container.

In regards to vehicles ensure that the vehicle is professionally cleaned and obtain a certificate from them and have it with your paperwork and a copy with the shipment. You can clean it yourself but if found not to be clean enough then CFIA will demand it gets cleaned at a cost to you.
Also make sure vehicle is eligible to be imported.
If you arrive at a CBSA office and your vehicle does not meet the requirements of both the CBSA and Transport Canada, you must either export or destroy your vehicle under the CBSA's supervision. You are responsible for all the related costs. In such circumstances, duty and GST may not be refunded.

Remember that it is your responsibility to meet all import requirements. Call the CBSA and Transport Canada (or the RIV) before you attempt to import your vehicle.
All vehicles must be clean and free of soil, related matter and organic material (soil) prior to arriving in Canada. This requirement applies to all used vehicles, regardless of origin.

Soil is a high-risk pathway for pests that can cause serious and irreparable harm to Canada's natural resources.

Vehicles found to be contaminated with soil will be refused entry and ordered removed from Canada under the authority of the Plant Protection Act and the Health of Animals Act.

Some countries, including the United States, have requirements that you must meet before you can export a vehicle. Check with the customs authority in the country from which you intend to export the vehicle.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...eng.html#s10x2
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...f5113-eng.html

There are lots of BMWs and Mercedes now shredded bits of metal because they did not comply.

When we came over in 98 our containers came into Winnipeg by rail, in Bond, and customs officers came to our home during the unpacking process.

They came complete with an x-ray machine in a van, and inspected our packages at random as they were unloaded.

All we had to do was keep them topped up with coffee as it was -40c at the time.

They told me this was normal practice in Manitoba for effects arriving in this way.

We had our container professionaly packed and listed and it still got picked for checking at customs. We were presented with a bill for $1000 for the pleasure!!

You wouldn't be giggling when presented with the bill for an inspector container. [/QUOTE]

Very true I can't complain our move was very straight forward and not bringing much meant lots of shopping on our arrival

Very true I can't complain our move was very straight forward and not bringing much meant lots of shopping on our arrival [/QUOTE]

Shoppings the way forward.

There is a bold warning on the CBP website about this, and I know from personal experience you should follow it: DO NOT USE YOUR VEHICLE AS A SHIPPING CONTAINER.

One of the bigger mistakes I ever made. Someone has to have the keys in case Customs wants to look inside the car and because the vehicle is listed as one item, there's a good chance anything inside of it will get stolen, because the interior of the container looks undisturbed. A bit counterintuitive but that's why they warn you about it. Also if the keys get lost or are not immediately to hand, guess what, they're going to break the window to get into your car to examine the contents.

The stuff might still get stolen, but the insurance adjuster at Felixstowe told me it was really common for things to get stolen out of cars that had been shipped. In my case all of the boxes in the container except one were undisturbed (one had been opened but retaped closed) but everything I'd put in the car had been stolen.

My personal experience is that Americans/Canadians don't steal in the way that British people do, British robbers don't mind making a mess but Americans and Canadians are more opportunistic, i.e. they steal stuff that has been left lying around, so if they can steal something and make it look as though nothing has been stolen, that is usually their MO, plus I'm guessing the assumption is that you would put all the most valuable stuff in your car.

As for self-packing v. having someone else do it, makes no difference at all, the removals people who filled up the container aren't the ones who sign off on the container before it is loaded anyway.

We did pay taxes on some tools my husband had in the container but it wasnt nothing to shout about. Looking back our move was really easy.