Information Re: Importing to the USA and Complete DIY How-To (4 Viewers)

[WarDamnEagle]

A few follow-up questions from my posts above...

If the car is refurbished in Pakistan and subsequently imported, would the declared value of the vehicle be the purchase price or its purchase price + the cost to refurbish?
If you import a car with intent to sell it, should you go through a registered importer? - I guess what I'm asking is, when should you/shouldn't you use an RI?

Secondly, let's say purchase price + refurbishing costs = $10,000. What would you estimate (ballpark) the total costs of shipping/importing to be? I know it's fairly nuanced so I'm just trying to get an idea. If it is a former military vehicle, but has since been unused for years, is it taxed as an Auto 2.5% or Truck 25%?

Cheers,
Greg

Declared value of the vehicle is usually the purchase price, because in most cases that's an accurate assessment of the car's value, but technically, you're simply declaring what the car is worth, in the condition its in when you import it, irrespective of how much you may or may not have invested in it. What would be a reasonable purchase/selling price for the car as imported? What would it appraise for? What value would you insure it for? It can be pretty subjective, and you may raise some suspicions at Customs if you declare too low a value to be believable, but if you declare a value that's within spitting range of what a similar car would sell for in the US, no one is likely to check your math.

Because I knew I would also have some questions at the local DMV regarding value and would need a Bill of Sale, I used the Bill of Sale as my stated Value for the import documents. That Bill of Sale may have had some resemblance to reality but as advised, it probably shouldn't be too far from the "eye test" value.

 

[hamad974]

Hi Great Write up on this thread

I have a question im trying to import a 1984 Land cruiser to the bay area California, What is needed from my end in the states and how hard is it to get California plates on it once the car arrives. Is there any company you guys recommend to import the car into the bay area. I understand the 25 year rule but not able to figure out how the whole registration for California once it arrives. Any advice would be helpful thank you

 

[gilmorneau]

What is needed from my end in the states?

What kind of information are you lacking? Most of the details are in this thread, but if I've forgotten something please let me know and I'll try to address it.

how hard is it to get California plates on it once the car arrives?

It's hard. There's a whole thread on it here:

California Title and Registration of Diesels

I'm in California. What are peoples recent experiences with title and registration of an HJ61? Any vehicle I'd be buying would come with out of state registration (and then I'd register it in CA) or some companies even can get a CA title and registration. If one does the import yourself, its...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[hamad974]

What kind of information are you lacking? Most of the details are in this thread, but if I've forgotten something please let me know and I'll try to address it.

It's hard. There's a whole thread on it here:

California Title and Registration of Diesels

I'm in California. What are peoples recent experiences with title and registration of an HJ61? Any vehicle I'd be buying would come with out of state registration (and then I'd register it in CA) or some companies even can get a CA title and registration. If one does the import yourself, its...

forum.ih8mud.com

What about this whole thing of registering these cars with Vermont plates ?has anyone heard of that

 

[hamad974]

What about this whole thing of registering these cars with Vermont plates ?has anyone heard of that

Nvm just found out that they stopped registering cars in Vermont that loophole is done

 

[ikarus]

Nvm just found out that they stopped registering cars in Vermont that loophole is done

I heard from some guys that import Skylines and other JDM cars that California is cracking down on out of state vehicles and CHP is keeping a record of how long out of state vehicles have been in CA. So even if you can register in Montana, etc there’s a good chance you’ll get caught eventually.

 

[Cjryu92]

Hey everyone, not sure if its been asked and I've searched this forum for a specificn answer but haven't found a clear answer. I have a HZJ75 I want to import back from Australia. Its a double cab ex-firetruck. I want to fit an intercooler and a bolt on turbo. Is mods like these give me grief on importing? I know this is affecting emissions but not sure if this is something clearing customs will care about. Cheers!

 

[gilmorneau]

In order to get the EPA exemption from emissions requirements, the vehicle must have its original motor in unmodified condition. Turbo + inter cooler would definitely qualify as a modification, but whether the Customs inspector has the bandwidth to catch it, or would even care, is the gamble.

Know that regardless of whether Customs flags it, or if you wait to do it after the vehicle is on US soil, it’s a violation. Is it a crime if you don’t get caught? That’s a philosophy question.

 

[anavant]

Hello everyone. What states are you all using recently to register imported trucks? I have gone through VT in the past but it got to be very expensive. Recently I went through SD but the wait for the title is 10 weeks. Way too long. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

 

[knuckle47]

Hey D…I use Alabama …I haven’t done this in a few years but at that time, it was a very easy process…it may have changed..

 

[REDrum]

Hello everyone. What states are you all using recently to register imported trucks? I have gone through VT in the past but it got to be very expensive. Recently I went through SD but the wait for the title is 10 weeks. Way too long. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Define "very expensive". Why not NJ?

 

[knuckle47]

If i may respond: New Jersey is extremely demanding with paperwork.. if anything is out of order the rejection rate is very high. From a commercial business standpoint, over 33 years i have seen people turned away for the craziest reasons. As people, the general population has no clue about the intricacies of the DMV procedures and policies. AT BEST, they publish a driver manual and you take A Driving test. This test Does not review and of the finer point of driving or road markings Or 75% of what people get ticketed for. The title 39 law book is as thick as a brick.Easy to see how screwed up things can get just by driving a bit here.

Weight classes on a registered vehicle cannot be changed if listed improperly on a previous form without painstaking efforts and multiple visits. The process regarding importation is complex anll by itself and it is likely a long wait to have the review documentation without calling supervisors and asking for notarized documents Or other detail. Additionally since Covid, they minimized the availability of services and re-direct you to more distant locations for specific tasks. More local dmv offices no longer perform complex processes

while this is no manifest on the policy of DMV, I would implore you to sit in a waiting area for only 1 hour and listen to the frustrations of people simply trying to register or title their vehicles, change their license or ask for a name change from a marriage or divorce. Had I not know a woman who worked in the office so well from another job, I would have had more than a dozen failures executing some more complex transactions.

phew! Getting anxiety just thinking about it

 

[edmond4822]

Hello everyone. What states are you all using recently to register imported trucks? I have gone through VT in the past but it got to be very expensive. Recently I went through SD but the wait for the title is 10 weeks. Way too long. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Why don't you just stick to Soith Dakota and wait it out till you get it instead of stressing out with other states. I sometimes waited 6 weeks to get title from Montana..
The sad truth is that no one is working like they used to at the DMV. So the wait time is longer. Short of staff and they don't want to work

 

[anavant]

Why don't you just stick to Soith Dakota and wait it out till you get it instead of stressing out with other states. I sometimes waited 6 weeks to get title from Montana..
The sad truth is that no one is working like they used to at the DMV. So the wait time is longer. Short of staff and they don't want to work

The reason why I can’t just wait it out is because I have clients that purchase vehicles from me and would like a title in hand.

 

[anavant]

Define "very expensive". Why not NJ?

NJ is a nightmare and very expensive is a generality but often VT charges a % much higher than expected. They can simply look up the value of the truck and what the book says, they charge. Does not matter what I actually paid for the truck.

 

[knuckle47]

Up until a few years ago, I would restore some very old motorcycles…1920’s 1930’s etc. You would go to swap meets all year long or even for years….buy enough parts or pieces to actually make a complete bike…. In the mean time, as long as you had the side of the engine case that had the vin #, you could title it. Didn’t have to be any other part of the engine…just that one small piece and you had a complete vehicle title…..There still might be a place called “titles unlimited” which I Al so had used a few times

 

[edmond4822]

The reason why I can’t just wait it out is because I have clients that purchase vehicles from me and would like a title in hand.

Well, best way for not get anyone stressed out is to not sell any cars before you get the title.

 

[REDrum]

NJ is a nightmare and very expensive is a generality but often VT charges a % much higher than expected. They can simply look up the value of the truck and what the book says, they charge. Does not matter what I actually paid for the truck.

I hear ya, and I got news for you.....many states have adopted the NADA cost guide for determining “value” and tax rate on imported cars, NJ is not alone. It's pretty much the price of importing these days, and selling/buying cars in general.

The double whammy is when the type of car you are importing is also considered a “classic” in NADA and tax rate can be 5X to 10X what non “classic” is. That can really sting. (Like intrusive inspection costs from CBP….) This is why I stopped importing Vintage Land Rovers from Costa Rica a few years back. There was no way I could recoup that “classic” taxation rate within market pricing of the trucks (at least pre-C19). I still bring in a truck every once in a while, but I make sure its in my name at origin so I don't have to pay sales tax, its just a transfer, like I moved into the state from another US state.

As for the bureaucracy of NJ RMV, (or Mass or NY or any other state), after you have bought and sold vehicles in Central America, its like the scene from the movie Scarface “….there is nothing you can do to me the Communists have not already done”. If importing was easy, everyone would be importing. Good luck to ya!

 

[foxtrot678]

Hi everyone, had a couple quick questions. saw that some guys on this thread were shipping through the military, but never saw anyone close the loop on the process. I am stationed in Germany right now and have a HDJ80 originally from Belgium. Here is the purchases that happened:

military guy bought cruiser from Belgium citizen.
military member sold vehicle to me.

I am trying to figure out what all I will need. I have the original Belgium registration documents (was told this is their version of the title) and the military registration/ownership documents. the military has their own vehicle registration system and ownership system separate from the US and German systems.

my question is this: What documents do i need to register in my name in the states? is it just the military system “title” or do i need to translate the Belgium documents (even though they aren’t in my name)?

also, is anyone able to tell me about the shipping process through the military and what is needed to get the vehicle from the VPC it goes to? do the VPCs have their own customs brokers that deal with imports? thanks for the help!

 

[tlaporte]

Registration requirements are dependent on the state, so knowing where you would be living will help others answer those aspects of your question.