Hi guys, Thanks to many of you for your aid in helping figure out how to select my new (to me) 575M. I finally found her & brought her home! Getting it home was quite a story in and of itself . . . The car was located in Montreal, Canada. I made arrangements for a friend to drive up from NYC with me in my new FF to pick up and drive back the 575M, seemed like a good plan! We left NYC in the FF at 5:15AM on Thrusday August 28th. We made it to the US Canadian border at Champlain NY around 10:30 am. Canadian customs decided we needed the full search treatment due to my FF having a temporary registration. Despite having made phone calls to Canadian Customs days in advance and being told entering with a temporary license would be "NO PROBLEM", the Customs Officer decided I needed to put a 5% deposit based upon the MSRP of my car "to make sure I don't leave my FF in Canada". I was told the deposit would be refunded in two to three months. Honestly I don't even know what the Canadian Customs Officer meant by that statement. Why would I "leave my new FF in Canada"? Trying to discuss the situation with once Officer grew to two supervisors and other custom's officers listening in. It became like having a conversation with dumb & dumber. I would ask clarifying questions to odd statements they made in an attempt to understand what they meant to be met with statements like "don't argue with us". I finally agreed to pay their fee when they informed me that they could only take debit or cash. The Canadian debit limit was much lower than the amount they insisted on collecting and there were NO banks for miles around to get "cash", let alone that MUCH cash., unbelievable! We finally came up with the plan to go back and wait at US Customs and have the dealership deliver the 575M to us at the border. We finally left Canadian Customs around noon (an hour and a half after arriving). We then hung out at US Customs until the 575 arrived around 4:30 pm. I must say the guys at US Customs were SO nice. One of the Officers was a HUGE F1 fand and couldn't wait to come see the FF. He was elated when I let him drive the car; we went for a 5 mile loop and he was SO happy!!! Once the 575M arrived it was in better shape than I expected (thanks Ferrari of Quebec)! It exceeded every expectation I had condition wise. The rest of the trip home was a leisurely drive back to NYC - the scenery was BEAUTIFUL. We stopped for dinner at Lake George and made it back to NYC around midnight. Here are some photos of our day: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Congratulations! Great cars. Unfortunately, many government drones are insufferable PITAs, just because they can be.
Gorgeous cars. Love color combo on 575M. Not sure what it is about Canadian border control, but I got full search last time & that was Porsche w/o a temp tag. My Ford Escort never got a second look. Back on topic, enjoy those two awesome cars!
Congrats Allen I remeber seing that car it is in fact immaculate. Have you been served by Jean-Daniel? He is a real enthousiast willing to do the extra mile for his custommers. As for our duty officers-you give power to stubborn individuals with limited and even no sense of judgment and you see the results. They could have validate with the person who gave you the infos in the first place or at least try to find out on what rules did that person relied his answer on.
Yes, Jean-Daniel was my salesman. He did a good job, but it always took a day to get an answer. Regarding the "rules" it was clear that there was NO rule for collecting or not collecting a fee for a US vehicle with a temp tag. The Canadian border folks just determined that I was "high risk for leaving my vehicle in Canada", what does that even mean??? In the end we found a solution and had fun joking with the nice guys at US Customs for hours!
Allen -- congrats on the new car, and sorry about the experience with our friends up north, but as Taz said, a fun war story to tell... Btw, I think we met on the FCA PA/NJ Summer Sizzle rally a month ago -- looks like the same Bianco Italia FF picked up in Florida just before the rally. Hope to see your new baby at the next event! Dennis
Allen, try crossing with TX plates...... First question, "Where do you keep your guns?" And they don't take, "I don't have any," for an answer.... Regards... Mark in Houston
Beautiful cars Allen. Sorry for your trouble up here. Each governmental agency up here is now full of incompetent , entitled , power trippers who couldn't organize a party at an Irish wedding on their own. Enjoy your beautiful cars in good health.
Hi Henry, I brought the car BACK to the us myself. I emphasize "back" because this 575M was originally a US vehicle which made it's return easier. Because I had a copy of a previous US title I was not required to obtain DOT or EPA compliance documents. Additionally, I saved the brokering fee by NOT hiring a broker to handle the re-importation. By personally bringing the car back into the US I think I saved about $1,000. TAZANDJAN mentioned in another post (I can't remember where) that all North American Ferraris have the same DOT and EPA specs, but you'd still need to obtain a compliance letter from Ferrari North America (or perhaps a dealership) listing the VIN and state that this vehicle complies with DOT and EPA requirements. Besides the compliance letter there is a 2.5% duty on ALL vehicles brought into the US (except for vehicle built in North America - thanks NAFTA!). The guys at US Customs even said sometimes they can waive the duty if the vehicle was previously a US vehicle that has been gone for less than two years. Hope that helps.
I lived through my own horror story story while entering Canada via Detroit (on way to Montreal) while driving a 1980 400i with my wife and 14 month baby in tow. I was detained for 4 hours, the car searched, no explanations or apologies for the delay. The only rationale I could finger was that I had made several international trips in a short period for my employer at the time. This was in 1982! Still have the car with 65k km. But I avoid crossing borders whenever possible due to the unpredictability of transit times through customs on both ends. Sorry for the off topic response but it brought back memories!
