Bringing a car into the US from Canada

Hello,
Looks like if I'm going to get a British sedan outside of the norm in the United States, it's going to have to come from Canada. That's fine, as long as it's legal.

Has anyone on the board ever done this before? According to nhtsa.gov, if a car is less than 25 years old, it's not too big of a deal to bring the car from Canada into the US as long as the manufacturer would be able to write a letter stating that the car would be able to meet US safety standards, or be able to be conditioned for these standards by a registered importer.

Since I'm hoping to get a car with the model year 1974 or earlier, what rules apply to it? An example of what I'm talking about is that the classic Mini was no longer legally imported into the US after 1968. They continued to be available in Canada for several years after that. About three years ago, someone in my town had a 1973 Mini for sale, and I'm under the impression that there were no gray market issues with getting it registered.

Not sure how the state of Tennessee would handle this. Their website doesn't say anything about this.

Any stories, ideas, and suggestions would be appreciated.

I brought my '53 MG YB Sedan from Canada to the US. I used TFX International as my carrier and they took care of all the paperwork. It was painless. If you plan to do it yourself you may want to give them a call. They are very friendly and will probably point you in the right direction.

To the best of my knowledge, you should have no problem with the actual importation itself with a vehicle that old.

It's just dealing with various fees that you will encounter. And make sure you have all your documentation straight, like a proper bill of sale.

I brought my 64 Austin Healey in from Canada a couple of years ago. I purchased it in Vancouver. All I had to do was show a Bill of Sale at the border and pay a 2.5% duty. The custom's agent verified the Vin number. The whole process took only about 10-15 minutes. In Canada I had to purchase a one day's vehicle license plate to drive the car out of Canada. Auto license plates stay with the previous owner, so a temporary plate was necessary to drive the car to the border. If the car is newer than 25 years old, then a certificate from the manufacturer is necessary verifing that it meets US standards.

I took the train to Vancouver a couple winters ago and picked up my '67 Cortina. '67 was the last "anything goes" year, I think. I expected to pay import duty on it. I told the customs agent at the border that it had been originally somd in the us, but I couldn't prove it, so go ahead and tax me. They elected not to, and sent me on my way. It couldn't have been easier. I found out later that the old WA plates were in the car, so I may have been able to prove it, but I hadn't looked through the parts boxes at the time.

I guess this is obvious, but you have to take into account not only federal but also state regulations. Having said that, there were no complications whatever in importing (from Britain to California) my old vehicle, granted rather older than what you are considering. Obtaining California title and registration once it was here was a different story, because the DMV insisted on inspection, and then lost the paperwork, by which time the car wasn't running and couldn't be taken to the DMV for re-inspection. Similarly, the insurance company demanded an appraisal, which presented difficulties because the model was so rare and there were none like it in North America.

Good luck.

Ken G, 1925 Rover 16/50 (San Francisco)