Just thought I'd mention a little bit to the Canadian guys about bringing my car over the border last December. US Customs will stop you dead in your tracks if you try and bring your car over on the weekends. You can go threw with anything else but you can't clear your car on Saturday or Sunday. They're hours are 8AM to 4PM. Mon to Fri. If not you have two options, take it back for storage on the US side till Monday or they will let you threw to the Canadian side without your title which you had to give them at least 3 days before. Now your caught in limbo between two borders, because the Canadian side will not let you procceed past them without your title. Luckily for me I don't think this was the first time it happened. The Canadian customs agent wanted me to take it back to, but when I said I've got my kids in the other car and a pissed off wife that didn't want me buying it in the first place, they offered me their impound yard for the weekend, after that $10. bucks a day storage. Monday morning I came back with my truck and a rented tow dolly, because I couldn't borrow the dealer plates again on Mon. I picked up the car, towed it back to US Customs, got my title back, and then back threw the Canadian side. They charged me GST on the purchase price and $100. a/c tax. This was at the Thousand Islands Bridge crossing NY/Ontario, but I'm sure they're all the same. For you guys that are not close to the border, this could be a major hassle, but it's still way cheaper than hiring a transport company to do it.
A case went to the California Supreme Court,a few years back(maybe as much as a decade or so).California had been charging people a special tax for bringing into the state,a car from another state and registering it.You also had to take the car to a fix-it shop and have them make it conform to California Emissions Regulations.For most,that meant an extra 4 to $500 to the registration fee,and 10 to $1,200 to make the adjustments to the car...Now comes the kicker!!! My brother-in-law,the VW repairman explained it to me...Since all cars made for the American market are made to meet the California standards,there's no difference between a California car and an out-of-state car.You pay a Grand or more,for the mechanic to put your car into the California databank of acceptable cars,and put a new metal label on the intake.The extra money you paid the DMV was,therefore,an unfair tax...The state ended up paying out millions in recompense.To those who'd gone thru the process.My wife and I gave a Dodge D-50 pick-up truck to Pick-A-Part for $275,because we weren't going to be able to afford the process.No recompense for us.And all the others,who gave up vehicles in frustration with the system.There's still an extra fee to register out-of-state cars,it's just not as big.And there's no mechanic to go and see,to make it a California car.Because it allready is.
Yes Taranau, That sounds like a ripoff in California. I'm glad they got that straightened out, because some of the nicesset collector cars in the world are there. When I mentioned the GST tax here bringing a car across the border, I was just referring to a normal federal tax we have to pay on everything here in Canada anyway about 8%. When we go to the DMV we pay the provincial "state" tax when we change the title, about 7%, also a regular tax, plus the cost of the tags about $60. The $100 a/c tax is also a tax on any car new or old with air conditioning. I don't feel we are getting ripped off by the gov., it's just part of the cost of a fun hobby. This is the third one I've brought over in the last 7 or 8 years and I didn't remember the Mon-Fri rule at customs. Also 25 year old cars or antique cars are exempt from all Canadian upgrade regulations like metric speedometers and daytime driving lights.
This is interesting. Back in 98 I bought a 92 Tbird from a dealer. It did not have a California registration. So, the charged the "import" fee. I told the sales manager the deal is off. So, we agreed to split the cost. The next day I went to the DMV, they inspected the car and the underhood emissions tag clearly stated that it was California compliant. The dealer had also charged the registration fees based on the new cost of the vehicle. The DMV gladly reimbursed me the $487 overcharge by the dealer. It only took a week to get the check.
rsherid, those kind of California issues are coming here. We were kicking it around in this thread. http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4182 It's already started in Manitoba and coming soon to some wanna-be green activist politician near you.
