Buying cars in Canado for US

Not really tech, but has anyone purchased cars in Canada to return to the US? Just wondering if there are going to be any DOT or emission compliance issues.

-Jeff Deeney-

Reply to
Jeff Deeney
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Check with U.S Customs. Most Canadian models were sold in the US, and have minor changes, and depending on the car, you may have to change out some sensors and such with parts from a U.S. model. More especially so with carbureted cars.

Also Canadian model cars going back about 15 years all have DRL's (Daytime Running Lights) so whatever you drive will have the headlights on all the time. Some people like that. I haven't decided.

What kind of car are you talking about?

I'm thinking of importing a Chevy Pop Joy (same as European Opel Corsa) from Mexico into the U.S. I didn't think it was possible, but then I saw one with Texas plates and inspection, and asked the owner, and she spent less than $500 to import it, and it's legal to drive and own here, since it passed our emissions test and safety inspection, she took the certificate from the inspection over to Customs and brought a letter from the selling dealer in Mexico along with all her titlework and they were happy to register it. She is a new U.S. Citizen as well and happy to be here with her old car.

I'd buy hers but it's not for sale, I get to go to Mexico and find my own.

Alan Moore Dallas, TX

Notice - I do not respond to the above email address, change the ilema to crownvic to respond to this message outside of this thread.

Reply to
Occupant

It's not.

Er...no. You are greatly mistaken.

There are no restrictions upon the importation of any vehicle certified by its original manufacturer as complying with all applicable US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety, bumper, antitheft and emissions standards, as long as the vehicle is in compliant form when it is imported. The only notable condition is that if the vehicle is brought in from one of a short list of specific countries, its catalytic converter(s) and oxygen sensor(s) must be replaced.

Vehicles newer than 25 model years old that are manufacturer-certified as complying with all US standards can be brought in privately, as can any vehicle 25 model years old or older. A vehicle that is less than 25 model years old and which is NOT certified by the original manufacturer as fully compliant may POTENTIALLY still be brought in privately, but ONLY by engaging the services of a Registered Importer, and ONLY after a determination of eligibility for importation is made by NHTSA. Such a determination is made only with (a) the verified existence of a substantially identical vehicle in US-compliant form, or (b) the provision to NHTSA of all relevant data gathered from US-spec vehicle safety tests. These include several destructive crash tests.

The loophole that was plugged in 1990 was the "Grey Market" loophole, whereby vehicles that were not compliant with US standards were being brought in without any means of verifying that they were brought into compliance with US standards.

There are extensive regulations on the importation of cars not originally certified as complying with US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and US emissions *certification* requirements.

Conversion to meet US safety and emissions standards is extremely expensive, assuming it is even possible (which it often is not, even if "the same" vehicle was sold new in the US.)

The US does not adhere to the international ECE safety regulations the rest of the world uses...virtually every safety-related system is different. Every piece of exterior lighting, mirrors, glass, seatbelts, airbags, controls and displays, bumpers, side impact protection, interior material fire safety, fuel system integrity, etc. is subject to different standards here vs. there.

The headlmaps are different, the bumpers are different, the taillamps are different, the mirrors are different, the fuel system doesn't meet US rollover (zero fuel loss) standards...

...and that's just the safety stuff. Then you have to worry about emissions. THis is *not* just a matter of heading down to the gas station for a tailpipe test, or noticing that one or another particular component (catalytic converter, for instance) is present...the entire emission system must either be originally certified as compliant with US EPA requirements (which the Mexican-market Chevy you mention is not) or retrofitted with a *complete* US-spec emissions SYSTEM...the whole system, designed for that specific car (which does not exist for the Mexican-market Chevy you mention).

Vehicles *twenty-five model years old* or older do not have to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards or Federal Emissions Standards. Vehicles under 25 years old must first be determined to be eligible for importation. If a substantially-similar vehicle was sold in the US, and there are no objections from the US branch of the automaker, and an engineering analysis shows that the non-US model can readily be converted to meet US standards, often the non-US model will be determined to be eligible, but that's far from a free ticket. The vehicle must be imported by a Registered Importer, with the owner having posted a *very* stiff bond. The R.I. carries out all of the conversion work, certifies the work, and once it's all done, the owner gets the car...and the bill for conversion work. The US branches of automakers often post objections, real or fabricated, to the importation of non-US-spec vehicles.

I looked into importing a Mexican-market vehicle for which an identical US-market twin existed. The difference amounted to the presence/absence of US certification. The cost and effort required to do so would have run into the thousands of dollars, and that was on a car that lacked only the certification labels!

More info from the horse's mouth

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And from a Registered Importer:

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DS

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

A Toyota Prius. They're pretty much sold out in the US, but still available in Canada. My local dealer did tell me the warranty would still be valid here, even if I bought the car in Canada.

The vast list of import regulations remains confusing.

-Jeff Deeney-

Reply to
Jeff Deeney

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