Krazykraut
Active Member
In May 2018, I bought my 1993 L300 in BC from a private seller and brought it into Oregon. As I did hit some roadblocks that, if I hadn't been so stubborn, would've derailed the whole effort, I wanted to detail my experiences and hope to shed some light on the process. That being said, I do NOT know if it was the correct, or even legal way, only that I now have a proper Oregon title in hand.
In May, I flew up to Victoria to look at this van, and even though it was in pretty rough shape, I decided to go with it. The seller and I filled out the ICBC sale form, and a Bill of Sale. In BC they don't have car titles, the ICBC is insurance and registration all in one.
With those papers I headed down to the Peace Arch crossing at about 10 AM. After waiting for an hour in line, the border guard directed me to the Customs Building. After another hour of waiting, the officer looked over my paperwork and told me he could not let me import the vehicle, because there 'was no evidence that I was the owner of the vehicle'. He declined to accept the ICBC transfer form or the Bill Of Sale as a valid ownership document, and said I would have to first transfer the van in my name at any ICBC agent. So back to Canada I go, waiting another hour to get back into BC. There, I find an agent's office in White Rock, an independent insurance company. The employees at the Westland Insurance Agency were super nice, but recommended that I should NOT transfer the van in my name, as that would require me to pay the GST on the sale price. They also claimed that it was NOT needed to bring the van into the US. So I whipped out my phone and called US Customs at Blaine. Suprprisingly, I got through to an actual officer. I explained my quandary, and he said that "we don't want you to pay their extortionate sales tax." He said to come back and we would sort it out. Dingbat me, forgot to ask for his name.
So back to the border I drive. Another hour at the crossing, another half hour in the customs line. It's 2 PM by now and I'm exhausted. I plead my case, and nobody of the personnel there was the agent I had spoken to before on the phone. After a long wait, they inform me that no, without the ICBC ownership in my name they would not let me import it. Damnit. At this point I called my seller and asked for a takeback. No dice. So I suck it up, turn around, wait for another 45 minutes in line to get back into BC and head to the insurance office to pay the damn sales tax, figuring I could somehow get it back later.
The folks at the insurance office were getting amused, but said that before they would let me pay the sales tax and register it in my name, I should try one more thing: go to a different crossing. So off I go (what do I have to lose at this point), this time to the commercial crossing 5 minutes east from Peace Arch. I roll up, no waiting in line (it's 5 PM by then). Officer takes my paperwork, stamps everything, I pay my $280 importation fee, get the "VIN" inspected and within half an hour I'm officially legal in the US.
So, being stubborn and persistent pays off, I guess. I have no idea which side was correct, but I like to think that the proof is the pudding, i.e. me having a properly titled vehicle in Oregon now. A big shoutout goes to all the very nice people at Westland Insurance in White Rock for being nice and helpful.
- Fabian (aka Krazykraut)
In May, I flew up to Victoria to look at this van, and even though it was in pretty rough shape, I decided to go with it. The seller and I filled out the ICBC sale form, and a Bill of Sale. In BC they don't have car titles, the ICBC is insurance and registration all in one.
With those papers I headed down to the Peace Arch crossing at about 10 AM. After waiting for an hour in line, the border guard directed me to the Customs Building. After another hour of waiting, the officer looked over my paperwork and told me he could not let me import the vehicle, because there 'was no evidence that I was the owner of the vehicle'. He declined to accept the ICBC transfer form or the Bill Of Sale as a valid ownership document, and said I would have to first transfer the van in my name at any ICBC agent. So back to Canada I go, waiting another hour to get back into BC. There, I find an agent's office in White Rock, an independent insurance company. The employees at the Westland Insurance Agency were super nice, but recommended that I should NOT transfer the van in my name, as that would require me to pay the GST on the sale price. They also claimed that it was NOT needed to bring the van into the US. So I whipped out my phone and called US Customs at Blaine. Suprprisingly, I got through to an actual officer. I explained my quandary, and he said that "we don't want you to pay their extortionate sales tax." He said to come back and we would sort it out. Dingbat me, forgot to ask for his name.
So back to the border I drive. Another hour at the crossing, another half hour in the customs line. It's 2 PM by now and I'm exhausted. I plead my case, and nobody of the personnel there was the agent I had spoken to before on the phone. After a long wait, they inform me that no, without the ICBC ownership in my name they would not let me import it. Damnit. At this point I called my seller and asked for a takeback. No dice. So I suck it up, turn around, wait for another 45 minutes in line to get back into BC and head to the insurance office to pay the damn sales tax, figuring I could somehow get it back later.
The folks at the insurance office were getting amused, but said that before they would let me pay the sales tax and register it in my name, I should try one more thing: go to a different crossing. So off I go (what do I have to lose at this point), this time to the commercial crossing 5 minutes east from Peace Arch. I roll up, no waiting in line (it's 5 PM by then). Officer takes my paperwork, stamps everything, I pay my $280 importation fee, get the "VIN" inspected and within half an hour I'm officially legal in the US.
So, being stubborn and persistent pays off, I guess. I have no idea which side was correct, but I like to think that the proof is the pudding, i.e. me having a properly titled vehicle in Oregon now. A big shoutout goes to all the very nice people at Westland Insurance in White Rock for being nice and helpful.
- Fabian (aka Krazykraut)
Good to know that there are at least two shift's worth of officious pricks on our northern borders protecting the good 'ol US of A from the evils of imported JDM vehicles. I can rest easy.
