Bringing car to US under TN status

1) I think these documents are easy to get since a Honda dealer is clse to my place.

2) Drivers record, I can get this from the ministry of transportation right?(Toronto, Canada); Insurance records, of course from my insurance. So without these documents I cant cross the border and start to work there?

3) My car is financing, so just bring all the financing papers with me from the ank and dealership?

Thanks in advance!!

canuck2002 said:
1) If you can, DOT and EPA compliance documentation from Honda, which is a standard letter that Honda would issue(if you phone Honda they will give you this document, but it might take them 10-15 days). With this document you can import your car legally to the US and sell it in the US if you want.

2) Drivers record and insurance record from your Vehicle insurance company. Again a standard document which will be sent to you right away, by fax or email.

3) The Liens related document that was described in the other email.

Document 1) is optional but well worth it, 2 and 3 are musts.
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FYI,
if you have a financing on you car, you can't import your car unless you pay all the financed amount to the lender and get the "No Object Letter".
 
Shyboy said:
FYI,
if you have a financing on you car, you can't import your car unless you pay all the financed amount to the lender and get the "No Object Letter".
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Not completely true, it depends on who you're financing the car through. As long as they allow you to bring the car into the country you can import it, you might just need a letter from them saying it's okay to do so to show to Customs. I was buying my Chev and making payments to GMAC. They allowed me to bring the car down. I just kept making payments to them from here.

On another note, though, my wife's car was leased. It was also a Chev and was through GMAC. GMAC had problems with the leased car coming down and wouldn't allow us to import it, so we had to pay it out. Apparently there are some companies that allow you to take a leased car down (someone I know with a Ford was able to bring it down, even though it was leased.)
 
Shyboy said:
FYI,
if you have a financing on you car, you can't import your car unless you pay all the financed amount to the lender and get the "No Object Letter".
Click to expand...

Is this true, I cant bring my car to US if its financing?? I bought my Civic 04 LX loaded Jan. 07 from the mazda dealer and Scotia bank handles the payment. Is this gonna be a problem to bring the to Las vegas(that where Im going)?? Can someone clear this out..

Thanks people!!
 
As long as you're not leasing you shouldn't have a problem.

You might have to get a letter from Scotia Bank saying it's okay for you to import the car. I got one from GMAC but Customs didn't really care anyways since the car ownership was still under my name. They didn't even look at the letter but it might be good to get anyways. Customs doesn't care if you owe on it, they just want to make sure you CAN bring it down. You should be fine, unless Scotia doesn't allow it. Once down here you can either try to get an American bank to buy your loan and then pay them, OR you can risk the dollar going up and down and just continue paying to Canada. I just kept paying to Canada.
 
cdnchris said:
As long as you're not leasing you shouldn't have a problem.

You might have to get a letter from Scotia Bank saying it's okay for you to import the car. I got one from GMAC but Customs didn't really care anyways since the car ownership was still under my name. They didn't even look at the letter but it might be good to get anyways. Customs doesn't care if you owe on it, they just want to make sure you CAN bring it down. You should be fine, unless Scotia doesn't allow it. Once down here you can either try to get an American bank to buy your loan and then pay them, OR you can risk the dollar going up and down and just continue paying to Canada. I just kept paying to Canada.
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Great info chris! Some more questions for you chris;
1) What documents I need to bring with me to bring my car to the US? (here so far I know what to bring: letter from Honda dealer, drivers record, insurance record and policy, and car's financing papers) Tell me if im missing something..

2) Should I tell my insurance broker that im taking the car to the US and keep my insurance till it ends the payment(my policy expires July 07)?

3) Should I tell to the dealership too that im bringing the car to the US?

Thanks a lot!!
 
2civic3 said:
Great info chris! Some more questions for you chris;
1) What documents I need to bring with me to bring my car to the US? (here so far I know what to bring: letter from Honda dealer, drivers record, insurance record and policy, and car's financing papers) Tell me if im missing something..

2) Should I tell my insurance broker that im taking the car to the US and keep my insurance till it ends the payment(my policy expires July 07)?

3) Should I tell to the dealership too that im bringing the car to the US?

Thanks a lot!!
Click to expand...

For customs, you'll need the manufacturer's letter stating that the vehicle meets all EPA/DOT regulations. You'll also need your passport/driver's licence (some form of ID) and the ownership/registration. Get a letter from Scotia Bank (the lien holder) saying it's okay for you to bring the car down. As I said you might not need this but it doesn't hurt to have. BUT, if Scotia Bank is listed as the owner, you will definitely need the letter. You should at least notify Scotia that you're moving. It also doesn't hurt to take the contract/sales records, but they don't seem to care about this either, just the ownership.

You should notify your insurance that you'll be down in the States. My insurance company covered my car up to 6 months in the USA, but you should double-check with yours. If you get insurance down here you will need to get your driver history from your Canadian insurance company. Insurance companies down here need that and I don't think they can get that information directly from the Canadian company itself. Also, make sure you get familiar with your State's laws on vehicle registration/insurance.

I don't think you have to tell the dealer. I didn't. Basically once I registered my car down here GM knew about my new address change and that I was down in the States so everything was updated. But it definitely wouldn't hurt to tell them. But, at the very least, I would make sure Scotia Bank knows.
 
Oh, and one more thing, make sure the letters from the manufaturer and/or Scotia Bank are addressed to you and contain the vehicle's VIN number. Also make sure the VIN number on all the documentation is correct.
 
When I moved to VA, my car lien holder (Honda financing in my case) didn't allow to be moved the car with me, so I have to pay my balance and then they send me the letter says that there is no more balance left and now they have no objection to take this car to USA.

my insurance company also aware that I am in USA(they didn't know that I moved there) within the first 30 days I change my insurance, in my case it wa s GEICO they asked me to convert my license within 30 days which i did, and in anyway the auto insurance is cheap here in USA compare to Canada.

HTH
 
My financing was through Scotiabank, and they would NOT allow me to take the car unless I paid out - check with the bank, it's got to do with cross border regulations on loans and access to their collateral as I understand it.

My auto insurance in Atlanta is quite a bit more than what I was paying in Calgary - depends on your situation I guess :)


Good luck getting the paperwork together.
Dale.
 
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