Purchasing Car out of Country

[Harritwo]

I live north of Seattle, about 50 miles from the Canadian Border,On Craigslist there are many canadian vehicles which I might be interested in and was wondering what the laws are about purchasing a Canadian Owned Vehicle and importing it into the US? Are there customs to deal with, Taxes, Emissions Testing? Can you shed any light on this for me?

Harry

 

[MTboatguy]

Yes, you will have to deal with Customs, you will have to make sure you have ALL the paper work including an import permit, you need to make sure it will meet USA and Especially Washington State Emissions requirement. Call the DMV in Washington and Call the US Customs dept to get all of the requirements for import. Living outside of the States for much of my life, I have been through it before and some states can be a real challenge.

 

[Boomyal]

I am driving a 2006 Explorer V8 that was originally sold in Canada. I don't know how it got here but it is proof that is is doable. Maybe the Canadian that owned it moved to Washington and brought it with him?

 

[gm280]

Isn't most of our vehicles from outside the states anymore... :facepalm:

 

[MTboatguy]

Isn't most of our vehicles from outside the states anymore... :facepalm:

Yes, but they are manufactured for the USA market with the correct emission to pass EPA requirement, which is one of the reasons overseas or out of county vehicles sell for less. You probably are not going to have any emission situations when purchasing a Canadian Car to bring back to the states, but it is always better to be safe than sorry, Trying to get a grey market car in the US is very expensive.

 

[Harritwo]

Well that answers my questions, for the most part I will pass on a Canadian Car due to the fact I am looking for something I can buy, sell and make a profit. With the regs and other issues that MT highlighted for me, I will pass. Thanks for the info.