What about buying a car in Canada, bring to the US

[onlytrueromeo]

Anyone know how hard it is to buy an MX3 in Canada, and bring it into the US? With our stupid foreign policy rules nowadays I don't want the car to be pulled apart and me be anally probed to see if im going to blow up a building to smuggle drugs. I may be looking into purchasing a GS over the next few months, and sell my current RS project car (because I want a sunroof, and rear disk brakes + rear wiper) if the price is right, and it seems that a lot of cars are sold in the ontario area. I am from Albany, NY so it's a bit of a hike for me, but I have friends that are in Buffalo/Rochester area.

If I were to find a car in Ontario/Quebec what would I have to do to bring it across the border?

[Mooneggs]

If I were to find a car in Ontario/Quebec what would I have to do to bring it across the border?

give them one of your kidney's... but seriously I think this is a great question. I will be closer to canada when I move to Oregon and I really really REALLY want to import a RHD mx-3...

[shameem]

http://www.canadatotwincities.com/buy_car.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[wytbishop]

I found this link http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; which gives all the necessary information for importing a car into the US. This information applies more to the JDM import question than to cars made for Canada being imported to the US.

Inparticular it says this...

"As a general rule, a motor vehicle less than 25 years old must comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) to be imported on a permanent basis. EDIT: Cars not made for North America will not comply. Vehicles (other than motorcycles) manufactured to comply with the FMVSS will have a certification label affixed by the original manufacturer in the area of the driver-side door....

A vehicle without a certification label cannot be imported as a conforming vehicle. In this case, the importer must contract with a Registered Importer (RI) to modify the vehicle and post a DOT Conformance Bond in an amount equivalent to one and a half times the vehicle’s dutiable value. This bond is in addition to the normal Customs entry bond. Copies of the DOT Conformance Bond and the contract with an RI must be attached to the HS-7 form.

Under the contract, the RI will modify the vehicle and certify that it conforms to all applicable FMVSS. Before an RI can modify a vehicle, NHTSA must have determined that the vehicle is eligible for importation based on its capability of being modified to conform to all applicable FMVSS. If no determination has been made, the RI must petition NHTSA to determine whether the vehicle is eligible for importation. If the petitioned vehicle is not similar to one sold in the
U.S., this process can become very complex and costly. A list of vehicles that have been determined eligible for importation can be found on NHTSA’s web site at http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

You can contact someone on the list of Registered Importer and find out what is really involved in modifying a common JDM vehicle to comply. I found that I could get a 93' Presso into Canada for ~$4500 - 5500CDN because they're not very highly sought after over there so they sell for cheap. Maybe it's worth it.

[Mnemonic]

I had a buddy who bought a Honda Beat, from a car importer from Canada. He purchased it in Canada because they require the same safety regulations for the most part that US has, BUT there restrictions are not as bad, So they imported it in Canada, got it titled, then he just flew up, purchased it and drove it home, he didn't have any problems crossing the boarder with it, he just had to declare it show proof of ownership and proof of insurance fill out a form and he drove it home. Took it to the title/tag office and got it registered with ease

[lowflyinmx3]

I live in Ohio and I have a 94 GS Precidia. The previous owner brought it across the border, so I don't know what they had to do. But I do take pride in the fact that it is a REAL Precedia. LOL