[sgovind]

I recently moved from the US to Canada and thought I should share my experience about importing my car (2014 BMW 328xi). I thought the process was pretty easy as long as it is well planned. Most of the paperwork can be completed online so I would recommend doing it yourself and saving some money. I imported my car through the Detroit-Ambassador Bridge port of entry (POE).

Below is a summary of the process

NOTES:
*You have to own the vehicle and have a valid Title in order to import. The Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) allows leased or financed cars to be imported if you get a no objection letter from the lessor/lien holder, however, I have not heard of anyone who allows this or provides such a letter.

* If you are driving your car, you need a valid license and registration (US or Canada). If you are towing it, then its ok if you don't have plates.

1. Check Vehicle admissibility - As long as you are importing a MY 2005-2020 vehicle, you should be fine.
https://www.tc.gc.ca/motorvehiclesaf...t2/BMW_3_0.htm

2. Recall Clearance - I have been reading about a lot of people complaining about this due to the $500 fee to get the letter but RIV accepts a simple PDF of the recall information from BMW's website. Remember that the recall clearance must be dated within 30 days of the import date in order to be valid. If you are not able to import within 30 days of submitting the document, just submit it again.

Take a PDF print from https://www.bmwusa.com/safety-and-emission-recalls.html and email it to recall@support.riv.ca. It should be approved in a few hours or in a day. Keep a printout of the approval email for your records.

3. US Customs - Before you import your car into Canada, you have to export it from the USA. Do NOT skip this step as it might cause trouble in the future.

US customs requires you to submit an Electronic Export Information (EEI) through their Automated Export System (AES) at least three business days prior to the import. I used a broker (Simplified Trade Solutions) to create this filing for me and generate an Internal Transaction Number (ITN). Their website has useful information about what info needs to be sent to the specific border crossing. It cost me $35 to get this done and was a pretty straightforward process. Once you get an ITN, you need to email certain documents and the ITN to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) border office you are using. Details on what the email should contain can be found on the broker's website. The broker customer service was great and they were easy to contact since I had to make multiple updates to my ITN entry due to delays in travel because of COVID.

https://simplifiedtradesolutions.com/

For anybody using the Ambassador Bridge border crossing, below is a Google maps screen shot to help you navigate so you are prepared before hand. It is a little tricky to find the entrance to the US custom's office. There is a path under the bridge that you need to take to get there.



It took me about 30 mins to get my title stamped exported and cross the bridge. Again, due to COVID, there were hardly any people in the customs office. This process would have probably taken a little longer on a normal day.

4. Canadian Customs - Once you cross over to the Windsor side, the officer will ask you some questions and will direct you to park your car and go the customs office to finish the paperwork.

The fastest way to get through this step is to complete everything online ahead of time. Go to https://www.riv.ca/OnlineForms/Home/Landing and create a new vehicle import form (Form 1). Once completed, go ahead and pay the RIV fees (C$ 310+tax).

Print all 4 copies of the Form 1 that is generated online and also print the payment receipt. The entire process took less than 30 minutes to complete. No lines again due to reduced border traffic because of COVID.

Give the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer the copies of your Form 1, RIV fee payment receipt, recall clearance, original title stamped exported and the bill of sale. The officer will then calculate duties and provincial sales tax which you have to pay at the border and then provide you with a receipt. You will need this when you register your car in your province (Ontario for me). There are certain exceptions to when you don't have to pay tax and duties so research your individual case accordingly but if you're buying a car in the US and importing it immediately, you have to pay taxes.

After payment, the CBSA officer will stamp the top portion of the Form 1, retain two copies and give two copies back to you along with all the other documents you provided.

5. RIV Inspection - Once you receive the stamped form 1, scan it and email it to support@support.riv.ca. The border officer will also send your form, but emailing it will expedite the process.

Once the RIV receives your stamped form 1, RIV fee payment (already done) and recall clearance (already done), they will release your vehicle inspection form which you can print online. Take the two copies of form 1 and the vehicle inspection form to an inspection location (mostly Canadian Tire) near you to complete the inspection.

The inspection fee is included in the RIV fee payment. The inspection takes around 15 minutes and if you pass the inspection, Canadian Tire will stamp the bottom portion of the two form 1 copies and fax the completed inspection form to RIV. Remember to ask for a copy of the completed inspection for your records. RIV will then process the inspection form and mail you a Canadian compliance label which you have to place at a specific location on your car.

Make sure your car has all the below modifications in order to pass the inspection. If you fail, you will have to make the necessary modification and have it re-inspected (C$ 56.50).


The RIV forms are only valid for 45 days so if you have a non-compliant car, think twice before importing it or have all the modifications done before hand.

This will be the end of the import process. Once you have all the paperwork, follow the guidelines to register your car in the provice you are moving to.

Parting shot:
The car was easy to load onto the U-Haul auto transport and cleared the 6" bumper stop without any issue. However, I used one 2"x16" wooden block for each front tire to get some extra clearance.



Hope this helps and feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Thanks for reading!

[Pauloxxi]

In February, when I bought my CPO, I was contemplating the possibility to buy my car in Canada, taking advantage of currency rates. However I came up to conclusion I would waste more money and sanity navigating through the bureaucracy, that I gave up.
Are there more people living close to the border that does that?

[sgovind]

Originally Posted by Pabloxxi

In February, when I bought my CPO, I was contemplating the possibility to buy my car in Canada, taking advantage of currency rates. However I came up to conclusion I would waste more money and sanity navigating through the bureaucracy, that I gave up.
Are there more people living close to the border that does that?

I am not sure about how difficult it is to import a car into the US. I must say that RIV Canada has done a very good job in making pretty much the entire process online so if you are proactive, it's not difficult at all to import from US to Canada.

[deviantspeed]

I've bought a CA car and registered in the USA.

All I needed was IIRC the pink slip and none of the extra stuff above. Wow.

[deviantspeed]

Oh yeah, my other thought...

How did they test for "functioning airbags"? Did they set them off?

[sgovind]

Originally Posted by deviantspeed

Oh yeah, my other thought...

How did they test for "functioning airbags"? Did they set them off?

I don't know tbh. I was in the waiting area while they were inspecting the car. COVID restrictions were in effect so movement was limited. My guess is they would have probably just checked the airbag lights in the car.

[freespirit]

Sub'ed

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by sgovind

IThe Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) allows leased or financed cars to be imported if you get a no objection letter from the manufacturer, however, I have not heard of any manufacturer who allows this or provides such a letter

Manufacturers have no vested interest in the vehicle, so they would not provide a letter. That would have to come from the lessor with a lease, the lien holder with a financed car. I don't see a way around that. as they hold the title.

[sgovind]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Manufacturers have no vested interest in the vehicle, so they would not provide a letter. That would have to come from the lessor with a lease, the lien holder with a financed car. I don't see a way around that. as they hold the title.

You are correct and that is what I meant. Just didn't word it the right way. I will update it, thanks!