How I Imported a Buggy from the US to Canada
This is how I imported the buggy. Your mileage may vary. The buggy in question is a tube buggy with no title and no VIN. It's a long read, but I had a hard time finding info, so maybe this will help someone.
Information:
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/
Importing a Vehicle into Canada:
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5048-eng.html
Toll free: 1-800-461-9999
Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV)
http://riv.ca
Toll free: 1-888-848-8240
Transport Canada (TC)
http://www.tc.gc.ca/
Importing:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/safevehicles-importation-index-443.htm
Toll free: 1-800-333-0371
Ottawa: 1-613-998-8616
Email:
roadsafety@tc.gc.ca
I had a hard time finding information that supported what a few people had told me. Option 1 was to show up at the border and tell them that you are importing it for 'parts'. Option 2 was to say that you are importing a 'dune buggy'. Not one to just take something on faith, I started making calls.
Step 1:
I started with the CBSA. In a nutshell, they told me that in order to import a vehicle I would have to fill out either Form 1 or Form 3 from RIV. Form 3 is for the vehicle being imported as parts. But there was a catch. Wether you are filling out Form 1 or Form 3, the vehicle still had to go through the RIV program. I spoke with a few people at CBSA and one person suggested that if the vehicle was disassembled I could bring it over as 'goods'. But she was not sure at what point the vehicle would just be considered goods.
Step 2:
After visiting the RIV website, I called RIV to figure out how to deal with the buggy, as it did not fall into any of their categories of allowable vehicles. Mostly stemming from the fact that it was not 'manufactured' in the United States and that it had no title or VIN. They basically told me 'no', it is not allowed. Their statement was essentially if the the vehicle didn't fall into one of their allowable categories, then it was by definition un-allowable. When I questioned how other people had done it she implied that if they had, they had done it illegally. At the tail end of this conversation she casually suggested I could call Transport Canada as they are the ones who make the rules.
Step 3:
It took me two days to get someone on the phone with Transport Canada. But when I did, holy cow. Three days of frustration was erased in three seconds. I explained that I was trying to import an offroad only vehicle and that so far I couldn't understand how it would possibly fall under the RIV program. The guy I was speaking with proceeded with asking me a few simple questions about the vehicle. He sounded like he had done this 1000 times and took note of my answers.
Q: What kind of tires?
A: Big offroad ones.
Q: What is the body like?
A: No body, it is a tube chassis with body panels on the sides.
Q: How many seats?
A: Five!
Q: What does it have for seatbelts?
A: Four seats have 5-point harnesses. One seat has a 4-point harness.
Q: Does it have a dashboard? (i.e like a car with a glove box?)
A: No, it's just a sheet of metal with a speedometer and switches.
Q: Does it have a roof?
A: It has a tube frame above the passenger compartment with a sheet of metal on top.
Q: Does it have a place for a license plate?
A: It does not have a license plate mount like a car, no.
Q: Does it have turn signals?
A: No turn signals, but it does have front and rear lights.
Q: What is it's intended use?
A: For off-road use in private offroad parks.
After answering all of his questions, he replied that it certainly sounded like it was not really a 'passenger vehicle', that it would not be regulated by the VIR, and that it could be simply imported as 'goods'. No forms. No inspections. No fees. No disassembly. Just pay your taxes at the border and be on your way. Now, how does one convince the border patrol that the buggy you just paid X dollars for isn't a passenger vehicle (despite having five seats!) but is in fact 'goods'?
Simple. All I had to do was email Transport Canada (roadsafety@tc.gc.ca) and explain that I was looking for written confirmation that I was trying to import an offroad dune buggy and that I would like to confirm that it is not regulated. I was asked to include pictures of the vehicle, including side, front, rear, and seats. He basically said that if it looks how I described, there would be no problems, and that TC would put in writing that it was to be 'imported as goods' and that I could present it the border guards for a hassle free border crossing.
So simple. Almost. After my email was received, I got a call back the same day saying that it just looked too much like a 'vehicle' and that it would have to go up the food chain for approval. It was suggested that I fill out the KIT car form on the TC website and fax that along with my description and pictures. The KIT car form didn't make a lot of sense to me, but the gentelman I was speaking with suggested that it would show that I was demonstrating good faith in trying to follow the rules as set forth by TC.
This was the FAX I sent to TC:
"Hello, I am trying to determine how to import a custom built off-road dune buggy that has neither a title nor a VIN. The Kit car form was the closest I could find as to a category where this would fit. The pictures I have also attached should be enough to give you an idea about what it is, and that it was built entirely from scratch.
The majority of rules and regulations I have found on the Transport Canada website have to do with regulation of "certain prescribed classes of vehicles", either manufactured or imported, for which I have been made to understand that tubular frame type dune buggy's are not. The off-road dune buggy I am trying to gain permission to import from the United States to
Canada , although custom built, emulates the basic tubular frame design of similar manufactured dune buggies, including the ommission of amenities to allow it to be used legally on the road.
It will be transported from the United States to Canada via a car hauler and I recognize that it can never be driven on public roads or trails and can never be registered.
Please consider the kit car submission form as my signed attestation of such."
This was the response from TC:
"The following is in response to your fax dated xxxx, regarding the importation of "dune" buggy type vehicle from the United States into Canada.
The vehicle depicted in your fax is not regulated by Transport Canada. The vehicle is admissible for importation into Canada without any restrictions from Transport Canada."
Once I had my email from TC, I called the border office where I would be crossing to confirm that the statement I had from TC and the bill of sale was sufficient. I didn't want any surprises!!
When I was bringing the buggy across the border, I got a comment about the mud.
CBSA: You know these things can't come across the border muddy. (he didn't phrase it as a question)
Me: Mud? What mud? My truck is dirtier!!
CBSA: They have to be show room clean. I can make you turn around and wash it.
Thankfully, he didn't ...
Please note that this process is not the same as the import process for a vehicle with a VIN and Title. Just like I did, I suggest doing your own research and making the phone calls to make sure that whatever you are planning on bringing across the border is going to be allowed. The border service patrol can, and will deny your vehicle import request to Canada if
they so choose, if it doesn't fit in the 'allowable' column. Melissa was once a border officer and she said it happened all the time. Don't leave things to chance, make sure you have all your ducks in a row.
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