My Import Experience (1 Viewer)

[jdj1971]

Well I'm the proud new owner of an '87 HJ60! woohoo!!! First I have to say thanks to those that recommended Trevor Normand for the importer. He's did a great job and is a really nice guy. Not to mention his rates are pretty reasonable. Crossing the border wasn't too much hassel. They did search the vehicle THOROUGHLY though. Crossing at 3am probably had something to do with that though. So don't buy any cuban cigars before you cross the border to bring your new cruiser in! One thing I'd recommend as an additional step though is to call the broker at the border crossing the day before to make sure they have your paper work. The broker I dealt with was less than helpful. They couldn't find my paper work and insisted I was supposed to cross somewhere else. I think the issue was that I was making her work. They did find my paper work eventually and I made it into the US without any big hassel. The cost of diesel in canada was a bit of a shocker though!

I've gotta say though diesel is the way to go! I love this truck! 21mpg from montreal back to dallas. It's an automatic (very rare) but I'll switch it over to an H55 this summer and throw on a turbo and hopefully get about 25mpg out of it.


IMPORTER CONTACT INFO
Trevor Normand, Flatwater Enterprises Ltd.
Your Vehicle Import/Export Specialists
Phone 250-862-0897
Toll-Free 866-862-0897
Fax 250-764-0817

 

[Stone]

Congratulations!

 

[David*BJ70]

You buy your Cruiser in Montréal ? Who ? Where ? maybe I know that guy ?

How much.

 

[jdj1971]

His name is Christophe Perrin. He actually lives about 100km southeast of montreal. He currently has a BJ40, BJ43 and an HJ75 forsale. He usually sells em on ebay, I got mine for $6000 rust free believe it not.

 

[David*BJ70]

6000$ US ? or Canadian money ?

Nice purchase.

Some pics soon ?

 

[Stickboy]

Could you post up the nitty gritty details of the process. i think many folks would be interested in duplicating your experience or reading about it none the less. I perceive many folks being nervous about breaking into the world of RI's and importation when it really isn't that big of a deal and not as expensive as we may think.....

thanks and as others have said "this tread is worthless without pics"

-mike

 

[archie]

Keep us up to date on if you get some hassles on state registrations and emissions. thanks for the info!

 

[jdj1971]

pics to come

First I need to wash it before I take some pics. all that salt from up north needs to be washed off.

Using a RI for the transaction makes all the difference. He took care of everything, short of driving it across the border of course. Basically all I had to do was call him up and give him the VIN# to start the process. His fee came to around $350 US I think. It varies w/ the vehicle though I think. I also had to pay the duty on it up front which was 2.5% of the sale price. Not a big deal, then I had to give him my SSN for the customs paper work and that was about it. He called me and talked me through the procedures at the border and what I could expect. Which was not much when you get right down to it. Here's what I did. You have to cross using the commercial/trucking lanes. Just drive up and tell them you're importing the vehicle. From there it's 20 questions especially if you have lots of foreign stamps in your passport, like hungary and the ukraine. So my advice would be to just use your drivers license while importing in that case. They also asked stuff like where I worked and what i did in those countries I visited. They then searched the vehicle, I don't know if that's typical for someone importing a vehicle or not. It wasn't a big deal, just let em do their job, chat with the border patrol guys and you'll have no problems. From there they sent us to the broker's office. They gave us our paper work, which to be honest I didn't even read through it to see what all it was, and went to the customs office. They stamped one of the forms, the customs manifest, and sent us on our way. From there we drove out and handed the stamped form to the guy at the exit, payed the toll ($4) and we were on our way. The customs office will then mail you copies of those forms in a few days. You'll need those to take to your DMV along with the Canadian registration/ownership, they don't have titles in canada. Here in texas I have to make an appointment w/ the police dept to have them inspect it. They just check all the VIN#s and make sure it's not stolen. From there I'll go get the regular state inspection and get my tags. When you're in canada you need get a temporary transit tag and pay taxes (7.5%) there as well though. The seller and I worked out a deal ahead of time to create a bill of sale that was far less than what I really paid. I based it on the blue book value of the truck actually. That reduced the taxes I had to pay in canada. I thought paying taxes there was a bit much but they gave me a form to get a refund once I've registered and payed taxes here in the US. It's just a minor hassle. Also you may not need it, I was never asked, but I got a card from my insurance company that showed I was covered in canada. I also got a temporary license tag from texas before I went up there and stuck that on once I crossed the border. Also though I did all this in quebec, it's my understanding that some of the other provences may not require you to pay taxes.
All in all it was pretty painless. Except for that long friggin drive from montreal to dallas!

 

[archie]

Since they didn't need titles in Canada, how do you know if the car was not stolen?For example,you could have handed somebody money that you might see again. How did you protect yourself from fraud?

 

[jdj1971]

titles

Well it's not that they have no representation of ownership. It just different. The "title" there is simply a slip of paper that also doubles as your registration. They call it 'ownership'. Since I went to the DMV with the seller and we were both present when he signed over his registration I think it's legit. I don't know if it's a requirement to both go to the DMV but we did. It was simplier that way. He signed over his registration and we gave them a copy of the bill of sale and they issued me a ownership/registration thing. So techinically right now I own a vehicle that's registered in canada. US DMV offices are aware of how canada does their registration so they'll ask you for this 'ownship' paper when you register in the US. Before going up there I asked my local DMV what all I needed to register an imported vehicle from canada. The 'ownership' paper was one thing she mentioned.

 

[Diescipel]

You got far more worked at the border than I did. Of course, I screwed up and had to double back cuz I didn't go through the commercial truck lanes, but it all worked out ok. They actually never looked at the vehicle.

Trevor was great and I'm glad he's getting more business. He's 100% reliable, knows his stuff, and makes the process very smooth. I'd recommend him to anyone.

RE: Stickboy--yep, importing is really a breeze and not that expensive.

RE: Archie--they do have title in Canada, it just not like the US. All vehicle transfers have to be done at an insurance broker's office, unlike in Cali where you can just sign it away privately once you have your money. When I told my seller that, he asked me "How can you be sure you've got the official title? How can you prevent fraud with that system?" LOL.

I recommend going the import route for anyone who cannot or does not want to do an engine swap if you want diesel power. In the end it will cost way less and you will have your diesel Landcruiser from the get go. I stress though that you should get the vehicle inspected by a knowledgeable LC mechanic before even putting down a deposit. I had 2 inspected before I found the one I wanted, both had major frame rot that was not apparent in the copious pictures the sellers sent me. Other than that, I'd say the whole process was very smooth and easy.

B

 

[cruiser_guy]

Since they didn't need titles in Canada, how do you know if the car was not stolen?For example,you could have handed somebody money that you might see again. How did you protect yourself from fraud?

I don't know about other provinces but in British Columbia is is part of the insurance paperwork. It's the bottom half of the sheet and when the vehicle is sold the new owner gets the bottom half and the seller keeps the top half to get the insurance refund. We get a "new" copy of it when we get our insurance renewed. If you were concerned about not having ownership of the vehicle you can always get a title search and then transfer title at any insurance office in B.C. when you are statisfied with the title search.

Lack of title (like you have stateside) has people down here in Guatemala asking questions each time I cross borders but I have yet to be refused.

 

[David*BJ70]

Here in Québec, the SAAQ (Québec automobile society assurance, the government registration office who delivery license plate and driver license) can give you the historic of the truck for 8 $ CAN. You just have to go IN PERSON at a SAAQ office… wait and give the car VIN. With this historic, you must see what was the last km of the last transaction on the car, if the car was stolen or if the car was seriously damage in a accident. That the kind of resource who can help you.

For information, Québec SAAQ web site : http://www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.html

HTH

 

[Diescipel]

Well, I guess they don't have to be done at an insurance office unless you want the title in your name leaving Canada.

B

 

[archie]

Thanks for the detailed explanations guys! Jdj1971 what would you do differently next time you get a diesel? thanks!

 

[jdj1971]

Thanks for the detailed explanations guys! Jdj1971 what would you do differently next time you get a diesel? thanks!

Mostly the biggest hassel was dealing with the broker's office. They must hate their job. I'd be sure and call ahead and make sure they have the paper work and let them know what time you expect to be crossing. I crossed at 3am. Which probably also promted the search of the vehicle by border patrol. Even though there's less traffic at night you'll probably get more questions at night.

 

[mot]

GREAT INFO!

Thanks, jdj1971, for sharing it!!

Keep us posted as to how (much more) you like owning your rig in the future!



Mot

 

[Island Moose]

Also, go through the vehicle thoroughly after purchasing, and before getting to the border...you want to know for certain what is inside. For example, a friend of mine bought a rust-free Chevy truck in California, trailered it to the border with the right paperwork, and the vehicle was searched randomly. The Canadian border guards found 3 bullets rolling around under the passenger seat and a 1/2 joint in the ashtray. Took some persuasion to avoid having the entire car torn apart.

 

[VTCruiser]

Importing isn't too bad at all.

When i brought my '86 HJ60 over last year, i paid $300 in importer fees and under $100 for duty. I have at the boarder for less than 30 mins and they never even looked at the truck. Registering it in VT was also as simple as registering a FJ60. No emissions to deal with at all, just standard tax and tag.

 

[coldtaco]

jdj1971

Congrats on your purchase. I think I might have you beat on the drive. I drove my BJ 70 from 1hr east of Vancouver to Winnipeg, down to Pempina, ND, and then to Fairbanks, AK. I left its old home on a Sunday and drove into my driveway on Friday afternoon. My experience was pretty painless too, but they did look my cruiser over pretty thoroughly at the border.