Import to the US??

[Mr. Flibble]

Hey Flibble,
Where do you get you parts here in the states? I'm looking for a valve cover gasket and some filters.

Thanks,
D

I order most of my parts out of BC - Coombs Country Auto usually. The exchange rate is really good right now, though the shipping balances it out. Glenn is a good guy.

[brian7660]

I just imported a 1991 Delica to Oregon and it was quite easy. You don't need a registered importer, however it is key the the vehicle must be 25 yrs old or older. I had made purchase arrangements out of BC last November but had to wait until March 1 because that was its 25th 'birthday'. The most important document is the US Customs form #7501. They inspect the car and issued this form to us at the border, but i understand that you can go to a local customs office and get it there instead. It is also necessary to have the seller sign a 'certification of liens on an imported vehicle' form. This tells MVD that the rig is free of any liens or encumbrances. I brought form 7501, a copy of the purchase order, an emissions slip and the liens form to the MVD and left with Oregon plates in 20 minutes(the car has to be there as they do a vin inspection). I am sure it varies by state and have heard California is a tough place to register these Delicas in but in Oregon it was cake!

[nenw]

Washingtonians,

Once you got through the border, how was the process of getting things registered through the DOL? Was insuring it easy enough? Any issues to be aware of?? Also, I haven't owned a vehicle over 25years old either, did you have to get emissions tests?

I'm so close...so very close.

Thanks

Joe

[Furi]

Also recently bought a Delica in Vancouver, B.C., imported to US, and drove and registered in New York so sharing my experience in hope of use to others.

Buying:

First and foremost the car needs to be 25 years old which I think everyone knows. There are pretty much three options for the purchase:

1. Buy from a dealer. This means buying the car off their lot as readily available. In most cases the car is supposed to be serviced by the dealer replacing certain parts and servicing others to make the car road ready, or make compliant with codes. The list might differ between Dealer to Dealer so definitely worth to compare. With this method you will also pay a premium for the obvious reasons. If this is the preferred way, and as logic dictates, the car should always always be checked by a reputable third party to verify the work done and note anything that was missed. The warranties that car dealers offer might not mean much if you are 2000 miles away so making sure the car is serviced as it was suppose to be would probably save you some headache. And I can't emphasize enough of how important it is to do research on the dealers and know who you are dealing with. Lots and lots of information on the site.

2. Order the car through a dealer/importer. This way the car will be bought in Japan for you and imported either to Canada, or to U.S. Once it arrives you could arrange for the maintenance to be done by a reputable service center to make the car road ready and comply with codes. You will save some money this way if you have time to wait to find the right car for you. And you will have more control over what maintenance is happening on the car and can verify that it happened.

3. Buy and import the car yourself. Although you might save some money this way but might not be worth your time due to the learning curve. There are plenty of good importers/dealers that take care of everything for a reasonable price.

Insurance / Import / Registration

1. Get your insurance before picking up. Shop around. I've read different accounts. For example one insurance company providing insurance for one person and refusing another. It mostly depends on what questions they ask. Geico gave me a quote the first time I called them, the second time I called they said they can't insure the car since it was a RHD car; which they didn't ask me the first time. And price difference between companies might also be substantial since the car is not in their system and they have to categorize the car based on their own categories. You will run into this a lot. So its touch and go. Shop around.

2. Import was a breeze. I called Customs in Spokane, Wa. twice to get info. You can import 24/7, and you can fill out all the forms there. The process took 45 minutes. Drove in, directed to an exit ramp, parked the car, fill out forms inside, wait til the Custom Officials checked the vehicle, payed the import tax/fees, was on my way. They did tell me that since the car was not registered I could get a ticket if stopped by police while driving in US. They recommended for me to go back to Canada, register the car under my name, and then drive back south to wherever my destination was. Although this might be true I was hoping that I could use the title and the purchase agreement to convince the officer that its a recently purchased vehicle and on its way to be registered. Similar to any other car I've purchased in US while transporting from one location to another. Luckily I didn't have to as I was never stopped.

3. I registered the car in NY and was a bit bumpy. I think its mostly dependent on if the person behind the counter has experience with grey market cars. If they do you will be in and out. If not expect some bumps. In my case the first time I showed up the person did have experience and was moving me along but they asked for a "vin trace" which scared me half to death; thought I had to get that from FBI/CIA on the history of the car. It ended up being a photo of the vin# plate! They called it the "trace" since it used to be done by rubbing a pencil on a paper on top of the vin plate :) So I had to leave DMV and print a copy. Once I came back I got another person which didn't have experience with grey market cars. She called her supervisor and it got complicated pretty soon. I asked if I could talk to the previous person and they said I couldn't. DMV has booklets of the documents from different countries and the documents I had didn't match up with the required documents in their book. We escalated to the manager and she contacted the Title Department of NY DMV, and was told that it was ok to register the car with the documents provided. So don't give up at the first no. They just might not know the rules. Below is what they asked for. This is for NY so other states might be different.

- Title
- Purchase agreement
- Custom Form - Form 7501
- Vin Trace
- Vehicle Weight. They could use the weight on the canadian title/registration or if unlucky to take the car to a Junkyard to verify the weight.
- Insurance.
- Transfer of ownership. You might or might not need this document.
- Safety inspection.

I was also told the title might take an extra 2-3 weeks to process as they need to verify the information with Canada. Total estimate 5-6 weeks.

Happy trails…

[Furi]

Washingtonians,

Once you got through the border, how was the process of getting things registered through the DOL? Was insuring it easy enough? Any issues to be aware of?? Also, I haven't owned a vehicle over 25years old either, did you have to get emissions tests?

I'm so close...so very close.

Thanks

Joe

Hey Joe..
Deli's older than 25 years old are exempt from federal emission requirements. State laws might be different but I think in most cases they are the same as federal.