Norm
12-17-2004, 12:06 AM
Forwarded-
Norm London
Ontario Hummer Owners Group
After you find your Hummer, the work begins on how to import it and the
steps you have to go through to make it the least frustrating. From a
purely personal observation, my experience is that government is NOT
your friend - take every precaution to ensure they cannot put sticks in
your wheels!
The first thing to understand is that a military Humvee CANNOT, under
any circumstances, be imported into and registered in Canada.
Any civilian Hummer (except those that have a salvage/non-rebuildable
title) can be brought in and registered sucessefully. To satisfy
yourself, go to the Registrar of Imported Vehicles website at
http://www.riv.ca and check the list of allowable imported vehicles.
Have your vehicle checked by an independant mechanic prior to buying -
if you have not seen the vehicle spend the few bucks necessary to give
yourself some peace of mind. Be aware that even this may not find all
of the problems - in my case the vehicle was advertised as having a "new
engine" - but it turned out only the short block had been replaced.
After I got it home I found one of the old heads was cracked. Allow for
stuff like this in your initial purchase price - leave some wiggle room
for repairs. Also make sure that all liens have been released - an
outstanding one can stop you from exporting the vehicle until it is
satisfied.
O.K., after you have done all the negotiating and have parted with your
cash, you now own a Hummer in the U.S. and you need to get it into
Canada and subsequently have it registered. With Free Trade that should
be easy right????? ONLY IF YOU FOLLOW ALL OF THE STEPS IN ORDER AND
MISS NOTHING OUT.
Step one:
U.S. customs requires a CERTIFIED copy of the title and bill of sale 3
working days prior to the vehicle coming across the border. The papers
have to be at the border crossing you will be using - you can't drop
them off at say, Cornwall and then come over at 1000 Islands. Saturdays
and Sundays do not count, so if the papers get there on Friday, you
won't be able to bring the vehicle over until the following Wednesday.
If at all possible, take the papers personally to the border crossing
you will be using and make a connection with one of the border people.
While you are there, go to the Canadian side and explain to them what
you are doing - it just eases the way. If you can't get there in
person, send the paperwork by registered mail and follow up with a phone
call to make sure it got there. Get the name of the customs agent you
speak to and don't be shy to use it every time you deal with them. The
same goes for the Canadian side.
Step two:
Go and get your truck and have fun driving it back to Canada. (you can
have a shipper bring it in but it could take a few weeks. As I didn't
use a shipper I won't get into that area). Make sure that the bill of
sale and the title have all the necessary signatures on them. As an
example, if the title has two names on it, make sure the bill of sale
has the same two names. Present the truck and yourself at the U.S.
customs post (some posts have specific hours for bringing vehicles
across, check prior to getting there). They will check the paperwork
against their records, verify that it is the correct vehicle (VIN
check), stamp your paperwork (the ORIGINAL title and bill of sale).
They may also search the vehicle, although they did not in my case.
Step three:
After clearing U.S. customs, head through to the Canadian side. You
will be asked to park the truck and go into the office to complete the
paperwork. They are looking for the stamped original title from U.S.
customs and the bill of sale. You will complete a couple of forms at
Canadian customs, the Registrar of Imported Vehicles Form 1 and the
G.S.T. declaration. G.S.T. is charged at the border on the Canadian
equivalent of the purchase price as shown on the bill of sale, there
will also be the R.I.V. charge ($175 in Ontario) and the air tax of
$100. Some customs posts will charge an overweight vehicle fee, mine at
Cornwall did not. Fees can be paid by VISA or Mastercard.
Step four:
R.I.V. is supposed to send you a Form 2 within 10 days of the vehicle
crossing into Canada. In my case this did not happen and after I
checked 3 weeks later the nice R.I.V. folks told me that the Form 1 that
was faxed to them by Canadian customs was illegible, so they just put it
to one side. Moral of this story is - if you don't have the Form 2 10
days after you bring the truck in, call R.I.V. and find out what the
problem is, as you cannot register the truck without a completed Form
2. If you bug them enough they will fax the from to you.
Step five:
Probably the least you will need is daytime running lights installed on
your truck. You also need to have all open recalls done, as well as any
of those other pesky repairs I mentioned above. While it is more
expensive, you will be much further ahead if you can get an authorised
Hummer dealer to do the work. They can print out a certification on AMG
Hummer letterhead stating that the work has been done and that there are
no open recalls left on your particular truck. If you do not use a
Hummer dealer, you will have to get the letter from a dealer or from AMG
yourself.
Step six:
Now you head off to an authorised R.I.V. inspection station (It is
Canadian Tire here in Ontario) to have the Form 2 completed (this costs
nothing as the cost is built into the original R.I.V. fee you paid at
the border). Take all of the paperwork with you, it's better to have it
there when they ask for it!
Step seven:
After getting the Form 2 stamped by the inspection station, take ALL of
your paperwork to the licence bureau. The things they are looking for
specifically are:
a) Original title
b) Bill of sale
c) G.S.T. form that you were given at Canadian customs
d) Completed R.I.V. Form 2.
If all of these are in order, they will then extract the Provincial
sales tax from you based on the bill of sale purchase price, the plate
fee and the road tax. They will then give you your new plates and
ownership. YOU ARE DONE!
Step eight :
ENJOY - you deserve it.
One further thing - if you import a 4 door pick-up or an open top, in
Ontario you will be required to have an annual heavy diesel safety
check. This does not apply to the wagon - go figure!
It took me four weeks to get through the process. It could have been
done in two if I had been more on the ball, your experience may vary!
John Ferguson,
Happy HMC4 owner.
EmailJocelyn@cyberus.ca
Norm London
Ontario Hummer Owners Group
After you find your Hummer, the work begins on how to import it and the
steps you have to go through to make it the least frustrating. From a
purely personal observation, my experience is that government is NOT
your friend - take every precaution to ensure they cannot put sticks in
your wheels!
The first thing to understand is that a military Humvee CANNOT, under
any circumstances, be imported into and registered in Canada.
Any civilian Hummer (except those that have a salvage/non-rebuildable
title) can be brought in and registered sucessefully. To satisfy
yourself, go to the Registrar of Imported Vehicles website at
http://www.riv.ca and check the list of allowable imported vehicles.
Have your vehicle checked by an independant mechanic prior to buying -
if you have not seen the vehicle spend the few bucks necessary to give
yourself some peace of mind. Be aware that even this may not find all
of the problems - in my case the vehicle was advertised as having a "new
engine" - but it turned out only the short block had been replaced.
After I got it home I found one of the old heads was cracked. Allow for
stuff like this in your initial purchase price - leave some wiggle room
for repairs. Also make sure that all liens have been released - an
outstanding one can stop you from exporting the vehicle until it is
satisfied.
O.K., after you have done all the negotiating and have parted with your
cash, you now own a Hummer in the U.S. and you need to get it into
Canada and subsequently have it registered. With Free Trade that should
be easy right????? ONLY IF YOU FOLLOW ALL OF THE STEPS IN ORDER AND
MISS NOTHING OUT.
Step one:
U.S. customs requires a CERTIFIED copy of the title and bill of sale 3
working days prior to the vehicle coming across the border. The papers
have to be at the border crossing you will be using - you can't drop
them off at say, Cornwall and then come over at 1000 Islands. Saturdays
and Sundays do not count, so if the papers get there on Friday, you
won't be able to bring the vehicle over until the following Wednesday.
If at all possible, take the papers personally to the border crossing
you will be using and make a connection with one of the border people.
While you are there, go to the Canadian side and explain to them what
you are doing - it just eases the way. If you can't get there in
person, send the paperwork by registered mail and follow up with a phone
call to make sure it got there. Get the name of the customs agent you
speak to and don't be shy to use it every time you deal with them. The
same goes for the Canadian side.
Step two:
Go and get your truck and have fun driving it back to Canada. (you can
have a shipper bring it in but it could take a few weeks. As I didn't
use a shipper I won't get into that area). Make sure that the bill of
sale and the title have all the necessary signatures on them. As an
example, if the title has two names on it, make sure the bill of sale
has the same two names. Present the truck and yourself at the U.S.
customs post (some posts have specific hours for bringing vehicles
across, check prior to getting there). They will check the paperwork
against their records, verify that it is the correct vehicle (VIN
check), stamp your paperwork (the ORIGINAL title and bill of sale).
They may also search the vehicle, although they did not in my case.
Step three:
After clearing U.S. customs, head through to the Canadian side. You
will be asked to park the truck and go into the office to complete the
paperwork. They are looking for the stamped original title from U.S.
customs and the bill of sale. You will complete a couple of forms at
Canadian customs, the Registrar of Imported Vehicles Form 1 and the
G.S.T. declaration. G.S.T. is charged at the border on the Canadian
equivalent of the purchase price as shown on the bill of sale, there
will also be the R.I.V. charge ($175 in Ontario) and the air tax of
$100. Some customs posts will charge an overweight vehicle fee, mine at
Cornwall did not. Fees can be paid by VISA or Mastercard.
Step four:
R.I.V. is supposed to send you a Form 2 within 10 days of the vehicle
crossing into Canada. In my case this did not happen and after I
checked 3 weeks later the nice R.I.V. folks told me that the Form 1 that
was faxed to them by Canadian customs was illegible, so they just put it
to one side. Moral of this story is - if you don't have the Form 2 10
days after you bring the truck in, call R.I.V. and find out what the
problem is, as you cannot register the truck without a completed Form
2. If you bug them enough they will fax the from to you.
Step five:
Probably the least you will need is daytime running lights installed on
your truck. You also need to have all open recalls done, as well as any
of those other pesky repairs I mentioned above. While it is more
expensive, you will be much further ahead if you can get an authorised
Hummer dealer to do the work. They can print out a certification on AMG
Hummer letterhead stating that the work has been done and that there are
no open recalls left on your particular truck. If you do not use a
Hummer dealer, you will have to get the letter from a dealer or from AMG
yourself.
Step six:
Now you head off to an authorised R.I.V. inspection station (It is
Canadian Tire here in Ontario) to have the Form 2 completed (this costs
nothing as the cost is built into the original R.I.V. fee you paid at
the border). Take all of the paperwork with you, it's better to have it
there when they ask for it!
Step seven:
After getting the Form 2 stamped by the inspection station, take ALL of
your paperwork to the licence bureau. The things they are looking for
specifically are:
a) Original title
b) Bill of sale
c) G.S.T. form that you were given at Canadian customs
d) Completed R.I.V. Form 2.
If all of these are in order, they will then extract the Provincial
sales tax from you based on the bill of sale purchase price, the plate
fee and the road tax. They will then give you your new plates and
ownership. YOU ARE DONE!
Step eight :
ENJOY - you deserve it.
One further thing - if you import a 4 door pick-up or an open top, in
Ontario you will be required to have an annual heavy diesel safety
check. This does not apply to the wagon - go figure!
It took me four weeks to get through the process. It could have been
done in two if I had been more on the ball, your experience may vary!
John Ferguson,
Happy HMC4 owner.
EmailJocelyn@cyberus.ca