It might not be that difficult to do yourself. OK, probably depends on where the car is located and where it's to be delivered. I imported my 328 from Seattle (a dealer) to Vancouver. I'm cautious by nature but it was straightforward and surprisingly simple. The dealer and both US and Canadian authorities were good to work with. Takes some effort, save some money.
Best bet is to check Registrar of Imported Vehicles, the Canadian Registrar of Imported Vehicles, for details on requirements to import. You can handle the Canadian side yourself, they now give you a slick checklist, but on the US side you are required to have export paperwork filed on your behalf; from RIV: "AES Filing Contact a U.S. AES authorized agent, freight forwarder or customs broker to electronically file your export information, if the U.S. person or company you purchased the vehicle from did not file on your behalf. You will be provided with an ITN number that must accompany documents submitted to CBP."
I imported my car in 2013 and handled the paperwork myself, directly with the US authorities. However, Gordon's post jogged my memory that there might have been a change in procedure for the US. When I imported my car, all I had to do was get the vehicle information to the US authorities 72 hours before I would be bringing the car through. The fellow on the US side even expedited it to about 48 hours to ensure that I would get the car through before their weekend closing, saying that they didn't get many Ferraris through the border and he wanted to see it himself. All very efficient and cordial.
Agreed, it's relatively easy to import RIV approved vehicles to Canada. I've imported two on my own and saved the $1k-$2k fee charged by some importers just for filling in the documentation. On the US side, it's important that the border that is processing the car has received the "export" request and has processed it; otherwise, you may end up waiting for a few days in order to get the car across the border. They're supposed to physically verify and confirm the vehicle being exported to Canada is the same one that is registered with the US Border but rarely, if ever, come out to inspect it. Perhaps a border agent who is a car enthusiast may check it out in curiosity.... Make sure you have temporary insurance on both sides of the border though.... Cheers FN
Yes! I used a temporary permit from ICBC, which covered the transit in US and Canada, and a temporary Washington state vehicle tag. Both readily available and inexpensive.
So on RIV 2002-2017 all models are allowed, but it says this: "Ferrari North America, Inc. requires that importers contact an authorized Canadian Ferrari dealership to determine exact nature and costs of modifications and specifies that ALL modifications MUST be performed by an authorized Canadian Ferrari dealership. " I guess I have to call FOO so they get their monies too? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Car I was checking out turned out to be not so good so I stopped this. What I learned so far: 1) recall letter, get it from the seller from the US dealership 2) Kms on speedo 3) daylight running lights 4) Airbag sticker in bi-lingual 5) some smog sticker for under hood There maybe more but I stopped my pursuit of the car when it wasn't looking like what I wanted.
that's pretty much it. If you are going to get someone to transport it back just get TFX International to do. It will come to your door with all the proper paper work.
Absolutely. Get the recall letter for any USA car exported into Canada from a USA dealership willing to provide one. I remember one dealer just printed the history of the vehicle with the notations "no recalls outstanding" on their letterhead and it was accepted by RIV. They didn't charge me a dime for the recall letter and basically, put any info/description that I wanted on it. They also activated the daytime driving lights, switched to KMS and ordered an extra key for minimal fees. A friend of mine purchased a car under warranty from the US and he applied for the recall letter in Canada and paid a hefty price for what basically amounts to "hostage" monies....Notwithstanding, warranties might not be honoured if Ferrari doesn't rubber stamp them in Canada. In my case, both my cars were essentially out of warranty or at least, it was within a year or two of expiry and it didn't matter to me anymore... CHeers FN
Used TFX twice so far. No problems,car arrives at your front door. Try to have a temporary plate from to US. If not you cant get a temp plate in Ontario till after the safety check,so how do you get it to the mechanic legally? Once I had to use a plate from another of my cars,so its a worry.
You can get what's called a trip permit, it basically allows you to transit in the province for 15 days for cars that aren't Ontario-registered. I used one on of my cars years ago. Shouldn't be an issue. Jason, I PMd you my number. I live 10 minutes from your work and I'd be happy to chat about my import experience if you'd like.
