[urq] Importing a car from Canada into the US

[packley]

I imported a Canadian URS6 from Toronto and still drive the beast...
Euro big brakes, Hoppen suspension, RS2 engine upgrades.

You have to select an importer who will drive the car and extra parts
in my case extra struts and wheels, etc. over the border.

Special papers accompanied the import.

This is my third imported car. In 1985 I imported a 1979 Ruf 930.  Difficult
process during Grey-market years. Previous to that by 15 years, I imported a
BMW 2000CS as a military personnel from Germany (easy, just took a case of
beer in the trunk!)

In my case, I used Keith Anderson, who also installed a US speedometer
cluster that cost $800 back 7 years ago and was a requirement.  Otherwise
the car arrived muddy but physically as hoped.  It has been an exceptional
car ever since!  The whole process required patience and persistence.  I
felt the importing team had the potential of possibly take advantage of the
buyer if you were not on top of them.  All in all, I feel Luck also
prevailed.

If memory serves me correctly, the car was first registered in Minnesota,
which made the import process into Virginia easier, as the Registry may have
thought it was a Minnesota car rather than a direct import from Canada.
Check your state laws, but importing a Canadian registered car directly into
Virginia would have been much more difficult.  So the initial import state
is a key factor.

Your question about just driving across the border is an interesting one...
You have to have the car registered or towed.  Obviously, you want to
inspect the car and then drive it home.  My answer may be to elaborate, as I
used third party to avoid the hassle.

If you are interested I will try to find who I used as an importer, and the
cost.