Sold 1970 SS396 L-78 Chevelle Survivor

[ls6owner]

Thx Mark. I am going to have to do a bit more digging. I know I can register it in Saskatchewan with the BOS but no registration from the province it was imported into because I had to present the BOS to permit the car. However, in SK, permitting the car does not trigger paying the provincial tax bill.

Also, over the years, I have bought several cars that had been parked for a long time (the last one was a '65 Mustang that had been parked since 1980) without any record of previous registration and all I had to do was present the Bill of Sale.

That said, the previous car that I exported a few years ago was registered at the time so that is why I called Homeland Security about the L-78. I explained the reason for not having a registration and was told that the Bill of Sale and previous title was sufficient to export the car back to the US. I didn't ask Homeland Security anything about titling a car in various states as I figured that was not their jurisdiction.

I am going to double check before I end up in a situation like you describe where I sell the car, and then have the buyer unable to title it in their home state unless I register it here first. The other option is just register it and add the cost to the price but I'd rather not and save a buyer some money, if possible. If I end up keeping it, I do plan on registering it eventually so I can drive it a bit more.

I appreciate the information.
Oliver

[Zedder]

It seems like they are getting pickier about paperwork with every year that passes. Absolutely the right idea to check it out fully to prevent any headaches.

In 96 I bought an LS5 Corvette down at the Bloomington auction. I flew back the following week and drove the car home to Ontario. I had the title and bill of sale when I hit the border and presented them to customs. 10 minutes later I was on my way home with clearance. Got the car saftied and then went to register it and they wouldn’t let me. The seller had titled the car in his and his wife’s name, but only he signed the bill of sale. Both had signed the title over to me and they still wouldn’t let me register it. I had to get him to FedEx me a new bill of sale with both signatures. I’m sure another ministry clerk would have let it slide, but not the one I got that day!

[wayoutz]

Originally Posted by ls6owner

Folks,
I thought I should add some clarification to this discussion so people aren't afraid to move cars across the border. Getting the car back into the US was not going to be difficult or costly. I called Homeland Security and got clarification that I could export the car back to the US with a previous title and a Bill of Sale. The car was properly imported to Canada with all applicable taxes and fees paid. However, the car has never been registered to actually put a license on it in Canada and has only been driven on short term permits.

Where this appears to get tricky is what is required in a potential buyers state to actually title the car in a new owners name in the state in question. Some states appear to require an actual registration from Canada as well as a previous title and a Bill of Sale. To get a registration (I have previous titles and a BOS) I could go register and put plates on the car on Monday but would incur provincial sales tax of about 6K CAD so I would have to add that to the cost of the car, or absorb it, which I am not prepared to do.

This additional cost, plus shipping, plus the applicable state tax got pretty significant.

Any car that has been registered in Canada, or was going into a state that would accept a Bill of Sale and previous titles to issue a title in a new owners name, would only incur the cost of the state taxes and shipping, of course.

I hope this information helps with the process. I have exported a car to the US before, so am familiar with that process, but am not familiar with the rules in various states.

Wayoutz, I hope you don't mind me sharing a bit of information publicly about our discussion, but I didn't want people on either side of the border to think it is terribly difficult to import/export a musclecar. An EPA Form 3250 must be completed in advance and a vehicle that is 21 years old and in unmodified configuration is exempted from EPA regs under code E on the form. There are many other exemptions on this form for things like race cars etc. In addition, Form 7501 needs to be completed by Homeland Security at the border. A shipper will handle all this for a buyer but I don't know how much they charge for that part of the process.

From my perspective, the process to get the car across the US border is fairly easy. I've never personally imported a car into Canada, but I believe that process is fairly easy to navigate as well. Again, using a shipper takes care of all this, but comes with a cost.
Thx
Oliver

Hi Oliver its ok to share this information. I just cant believe no one has bought this chevelle yet. I personally love it

[Zedder]

Oliver, I was just reading the Saskatchewan registration info and see that all you need is a BOS to register the car there as you mentioned. Is it possible to register it as “unfit”, meaning it is not roadworthy to put plates on because it hasn’t been inspected yet, but it proves your ownership? We can do that in Ontario, but it still triggers payment of sales tax. If you could do that without paying taxes, I believe you could export the car to the US and other Provinces.

[BJCHEV396]

Originally Posted by Zedder

It seems like they are getting pickier about paperwork with every year that passes. Absolutely the right idea to check it out fully to prevent any headaches.

In 96 I bought an LS5 Corvette down at the Bloomington auction. I flew back the following week and drove the car home to Ontario. I had the title and bill of sale when I hit the border and presented them to customs. 10 minutes later I was on my way home with clearance. Got the car saftied and then went to register it and they wouldn’t let me. The seller had titled the car in his and his wife’s name, but only he signed the bill of sale. Both had signed the title over to me and they still wouldn’t let me register it. I had to get him to FedEx me a new bill of sale with both signatures. I’m sure another ministry clerk would have let it slide, but not the one I got that day!

So true....depends who serves you at M.O.T.

[ls6owner]

Hi Mark, I did check on your suggestion. I spoke to an SGI agent as was told that there is an unfit classification in Saskatchewan but it stays with the vehicle forever, and is only used if the vehicle is truly unfit to license and it will be that way for the rest of it's life. At the end of the day, the best solution is probably to just license it and pay the taxes. It just irritates me to pay the government for no good reason as this car is not one that will actually use the infrastructure that our tax dollars are supposed to be used for, to any degree. Oh well, there is my rant. I appreciate the information. Thx Oliver

[Zedder]

Sorry to hear that Oliver. Our Unfit category lets us register a car in our name until we get a safety certificate on it to make it roadworthy. Once you get it certified, it gets registered as "fit" again. We do have to pay the required taxes though even if it is registered as "unfit".

[ls6owner]

Sold, pending full payment. Thx SYC

[chevelleheart]

Congrats Oliver

[ls6owner]

The car is sold.