dcalsv02

I was reading on the ezbordercrossing website and it says "You should obtain a temporary license plate / insurance card from the Canadian Province in which you are buying the vehicle – even if you extended your U.S. insurance to cover the it". Did you obtain the temp plate from the province you purchased your vehicle? Seems a little unnecessary since I plan to take the car across the border the same day I purchase it.

"I did receive an email from the owner of the car saying they have requested the compliance letter from Honda. My journey begins. Ill start a thread."

That's where it begins. The journey anyways. I decided recently to forgo my Cr-v idea as a daily driver, and decided to turn my current b18c turbo/ 00' white Civic Ex daily to its stock form and decided to find a Civic Dx or Cx hatch to turn into a race car for its lighter platform. I know its not the lightest option compared to the eg's but i have always wanted an ek hatch. I haven't found many deals on my local craigslist, and decided to look north. I found a 2000 ek hatch (Vintage Plum Pearl RP-32P) in Vancouver B.C. for a very fair price, and decided to pursue. As I said above, the compliance letter has been requested and I am one step closer to starting my first big civic project aside from that swap I have. Im pretty excited.

touringteg

Good luck!

Yes the temporary permit is a pain. If you plan to drive you have to go to a local insurance agent in BC and purchase a temporary operating permit for the day. Cost me $38 CAD recently for one day.

slomofo

iTrader: (1)

Why waste money on importing a car that's already here?

tony_2018

dat rhd though

dcalsv02

A couple reasons...

1. I'll be saving about 2k in comparison to the average asking price for the same car in my region (Pacific Northwest) in the same condition.

2. There are no stock, unmolested, 99-00 ek hatches closer than a 5 hour drive to Vancouver BC where there are more than a few for sale.

4. I found a mature, adult seller who is willing to be patient and work with me on this.

5. While not rhd, there are a low number of vintage plum purple hatches in the US (to the best of my knowledge) unless they were special ordered because that color is only available in the US on the sedans. While not a big selling point, it's kinda cool.

6. It is the "golden ticket" emissions sticker under the hood saying that it complies with US emissions, which should make it fairly easy to get across the border.

slomofo

iTrader: (1)

Save $2,000 importing car because 5 hour drive costs more than $2000?


Or did I read that wrong?

dcalsv02

I think you may have read that wrong...Or I worded it poorly....The Canadian seller is asking 1500 Canadian dollars, or roughly $1100 USD for the car. I cant find an ek hatch in this condition for less than $3000 anywhere near me....So, a 5 hour drive saves me roughly $2000. Seems like a good deal to me.

slomofo

iTrader: (1)

I did read it wrong.

Damn you, public education!!!!

dcalsv02

From what I have gathered, in order to drive this car across the border into the US, all I will need is a letter of compliance (already requested by owner), the golden ticket (the emissions label under the hood stating the vehicle meets all US emissions requirements, a temporary operating permit, insurance, registration (title) signed by the previous owner, and some cash/credit card to pay any taxes. Someone please correct me if I am wrong or have left out anything. I will post some pictures of the bird in question shortly.

dcalsv02

Here are some pics of the Bird I hope to be picking up. Nothing special....Yet....

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

Yeah these cars are cheap in Canada. Why you Yankee kids keep paying a premium I'll never know, but it does mean you also keep paying premium prices for all the parts I sell your way too.

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

Also an important distinction is that the owner shouldn't say that the car is being sold to an American for import. Honda doesn't like this. But if an existing Canadian owner wants a letter in their own name (e.g. if they are moving to the US), then that's fine.

dcalsv02

Yea, when I saw the asking price of the car after converting it, I wondered to myself, "why isn't this more common?". I think it is seems more daunting than it really is.

The owner requested the letter of compliance on Monday, so hopefully it will show up next week sometime, so we can move along in this process. I get more stoked by the day.

Stripped Honda

To be 100% honest with the emissions label saying it has federal emissions you could get this through the boarder without a compliance letter. Just as I could have but I still showed it to the boarder agent just to show him I have crossed all my t's and dotted all my I's


My type r states it has federal and California emissions .. Oh and for the guys thinking importing from Canada will work with a RHD car just forget it you will just waste your time that is one thing the agent did check for

dcalsv02

I knew that emissions label under the hood was going to be my golden ticket across the border. Just like you, i want to make sure I have everything that is required just to be safe. I don't want to be stuck in Canada with a car i can't get across the border. Better safe than sorry.

EE2bitsk

I like that color. good condition for that price too.

dcalsv02

Yea, im pretty stoked on it. I always thought the US sedans with that color looked good, but im not a sedan fan. I have always wanted an EK hatch, but they are not easy to find around my area. If you do find one, they are over priced or hacked up.

The seller and I are still waiting on the compliance letter from Honda. Once that is received (was requested a week ago yesterday), ill start planning my trip to Canada. Only a 5 hour drive to BC. Can't wait to get this hatch in my garage and start tearing it apart.

I sent the seller a bill of sale template to fill out in preparation for this upcoming sale, as it is one of the required documents to cross the border (also required to complete the sale). Below is the link in case anyone is needing a bill of sale for their transactions. Seems like it covers everything important. I did read somewhere that sometimes the bill of sale needs to be notarized. Can anyone speak on this? Here is the link for the bill of sale in case anyone needs one.

Bill of Sale Form | Free Bill of Sale Template (Canada) | LawDepot

tony_2018

A little bit of qp rust but hopefully you get that taken care of before it becomes a major issue.

dcalsv02

Yea, that was really the only issue I saw besides the small scuff on the bumper. Other than that, it looks like its in pretty good shape and for the price, I cant complain. Ill probably take it to a body shop almost immediately after I get it home. Gotta stop the cancer before it gets too bad.

tony_2018

So are you flying there to pick up the car and drive back or are you having the car picked up and shipped cross country?

dcalsv02

Most likely I will be doing one of two things...I will either ride up there with a buddy, pick it up, turn around and head back. Or two, take a train up there with my gf and pick the car up and take it across the border. Either way, ill be driving it across the border. Im only 5 hours from where the car is, so its not too bad to drive.

dcalsv02

The owner has received the letter of compliance! Time to plan my trip to Canada. I have the EPA and DOT forms in hand. Next I need to contact my insurance company to see if they will cover me while i am in Canada for a couple days with the car. will have to get a temporary permit when i get up there so i can drive the car around Vancouver BC before i take it across the border. Pretty stoked to finally get the ball moving again.

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

When I picked up a vehicle in BC, the ICBC temp permit included rego and insurance. Can't separate them to get just the rego and provide your own insurance.

dcalsv02

Thanks for the response! Good to know. I'll still have to have that car added to my policy when I get it into the US. I know it would be a quick search, but can you think of anything else in forgetting form/document wise? Really want this importing to go as smoothly as possible. Thanks in advance.

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

I just went from province to province, so much less paperwork. Still they gouged me for the insurance when I already had some from my home province for the car. Oh well. Yeah add it to your policy, can't hurt. Oh I also had a BC ticket from 10 years ago that caught up with me, haha, so don't have one of those.

The temp permit is the thing you stick in the front and rear windscreens that doubles as a licence plate. You need one or else you're gonna get some strange looks (or worse) from the itchy trigger finger guys on the US border.

For paperwork, the compliance letter is your get out of jail free card. Not that I've done what you're doing before, but I've read about it.

And yeah, purple is my favourite colour for the 6G Hatchback. I always shed a little tear when I see one in the junkyards.