Hi all, first post here. I’m looking forward to learning and sharing some of what I learn. I hope a few of you can help me: My father, a brain cancer survivor with not much memory left, is gifting me his red over cream 1988 328 GTS that he can no longer enter/exit. Kind of him—and he knows I’m a car enthusiast with a spare garage spot who will drive the car well and keep it maintained. He lives in Quebec, Canada, where he purchased the car in the mid 90s. It appears to be a U.S.-spec car with the odometer in miles, speedometer in MPH, and (if I recall correctly—can’t locate the photo I took) DOT information on the door jamb plate. VIN is ZFFXA20A6J0075336 (if it’s taboo to post that, can an admin kindly remove it?). His long-time Ferrari maintenance guy recently passed away, and the person who took over the shop isn’t being responsive, so I’m looking for help locating the history of the vehicle. I’m hoping to find proof of its first sale and or registration in the U.S. that would make reimporting it into the U.S. much less expensive and easier. Separately, I need to find a secure yet reasonably cost-effective way to get the car from Quebec to California. Very thankful -Justin
Contact TFX. They will handle door-to-door shipping, all paperwork, everything. They specialize in US-Canada shipping. Sounds like a US/NA spec car from the VIN. You shouldn't have any issue getting it across the border given the age. However, registering in California is a whole other kettle of fish, but if it's a real US spec car, shouldn't be a problem. You want to do your homework on that one though.
Hi Justin, I don't know so much about this 328 ( VIN is not taboo mainly if you looking for his history ! ) but this one is noted in the Ferrari US owners Club 2001 Membership Directory to be own by HW B. in Drummonduille, Quebec but with not more detail.
Thanks, Michael. I may decide to register the car in a different state; I just need to figure out importing it without spending a fortune. I’ll contact TFX. Thanks
Contact Cosdel (cosdel.com) for importing; I recently used them to import a Euro to the States and they were excellent. As for registering it in Cali, it's probably impossible as it's not going to pass emissions, but you can put it in a Montana LLC. I used Bennet Law (bennettlawofficepc.com) to set up mine, and they facilitated the title/registration process without having to send the car to Montana. DM me if you want specific contacts at those companies.
lol, A back alley law firm in Montana promising you a get out of jail free card with an LLC filing? You better be able to show Montana residency for half the year or Ownership of property ,because they WILL dig into your status and I can guarantee your life will get very complicated. Lived here all my life. Oh, and as an added bonus, they also contact the state you actually reside in.
I am not a representative or officer of the firm I posted, I was just offering a rec based on my personal experience; it's not "back alley" - there are numerous firms that offer the same service. I'd offer a lesson on the application of llc's in this instance and how it differs from illegally claiming personal residency in a State one does not actually reside in, but I gather it would be pointless. That being said, formation of an llc in this case is absolutely legal per Montana law. All apologies to the op for this unfortunate, stententious thread jacking.
No worries, it’s all helpful information. Any suggestions as to how I obtain proof that the car was originally sold & registered in the U.S.? My father says that’s what he was told when he purchased the car from a dealer in Quebec, and although he has a poor memory all evidence so far supports that fact. I haven’t researched the dealer that sold him the car; I don’t think they are in business. I paid for a Carfax but it has no information at all prior to the mid-90s when my father registered it in Quebec.
Good day, According to the US Customs Website (https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/importing-car) has a lot of great info and here it states that the importation duty rate would be 2.5% ... so... if the car is "sold" for say $100K USD then your importation tax would be $2500 US which is relatively modest. Whichever State you decide on registering the car may have their own taxes (State, etc) and requirements (inspections, etc), and so you would need to contact the respective DMV for these details. Cheers, Sam
The Classiche cert ("Dati Produzione Vettura") from Ferrari should have the car's original dealer destination ("Consegnata"). https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/auto/officine-classiche
You could ask from your local ( nearest ) Ferrari dealer and see if they want to check the manufacturer data of your car. To my knowledge those information are registered but sometime it's hard to access them I guess that the original warranty book is not present
Excellent idea, thank you. There's a dealer only a couple of miles from my house; I'll try that. I didn't realize that the original warranty book may/would include the dealer, but that makes sense. I might be misplaced somewhere--my father's memory is shot. I'll look for it again when I visit him next. Thanks again
Thanks. Does every Ferrari have a cert, or only cars that have gone through the program? It seems like the latter?
"You should be able to get a build sheet from Ferrari without going through the program" My experience is that you cannot. I suspect that years ago that was possible but once Ferrari realized there is MONEY to be made for the information...well, the results are predictable. A Ferrari dealer MIGHT be able to help if they choose to do so...
I based my assumption on the fact that the PO of my car provided a Classiche build sheet, but the car had not gone through the program. The cert I have was provided in 2016, so maybe they've stopped since then.
The state of California and CARB doesn't care about Classiche build sheet. You need an experienced specialist California importer - not just a transporter and US domestic importer. No way around it - it just takes time and money. Depending on where you are located, there are more JDM cars coming into and through California than anywhere else. Toprank in the LA / OC area is very experienced at bringing in vintage cars and bringing them through not only US but California certification. When a car is California certified, that value is built into the car. In case you follow the Monterey auctions, even there they often stipulate "this car is for sale but not CA certified." You will have to smog it every two years as it is post '75. Per the Montana suggestion above - it is done but the state is getting sick of this and cracking down. Unless you are prepared and wealthy enough to deal with the ramification in case the state demands you to remove the car from it's borders, just deal with the certification now. It might cost you 20K, less any work that needs to be done to the car. If you do go this route, make sure you ask your selected importer if they need a ferrari mechanic to collaborate with and anticipate those expenses, too. Welcome to the journey of classic cars in California. Good luck! https://www.importavehicle.com/faq-and-info
^ This Back in 2001 I wrote FNA and they responded on a nice letterhead with basic info on my QV including the original selling dealer. It was free then but I'm not sure you can even get that little amount of complimentary attention from them now nearly 25 years later.
Thanks for the continued advice. No need to worry about registration for the time being; I can also keep the car in Maine. Actually, as I further research I will never be able to register the car in California because my dad had a Tubi exhaust installed that I have to assume isn’t CARB legal. But regarding reimportation of a U.S. vehicle, which appears to be far simpler than importing from scratch: I was able to get this piece of information from the long time maintainer of the car. does anyone know how I can find out a dealer’s name given the dealer code? It’s 006090. I’m hoping that once I have the information for the dealer that sold the car, assuming they’re still in business 40 years later, I can obtain some sort of proof that the car was sold in the U.S. Image Unavailable, Please Login Many thanks again
