Can Canadian e30 pass US import regulations?

[mr ilia]

I think OP has found some special e30, like Alpina or similar.

[ksjdan]

yes, but your car came from vancuver where they really don't use salt. this car is in torronto where they dump it on the streets like water. it that part of the country, cars will rust. ask me how i know.

op, i was totally shocked/floored when you posted that you live in the south but bought a car sight unseen from the north!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????!!! to me, this is pretty ludicrous. i was thinking that you lived in a state that bordered our northern neighbors. i hope it works out well for you and the car is in good shape. i really have my doubts. i sincerely hope your lack of patience doesn't come back to haunt you.


i don't exactly live in your area, but over the course of the last 6 months, i have seen perhaps 15 cars on local craigslist ads that held promise that they were in good condition. all for less than 4 grand. generally ranging 1200 to 3000.

are you going up there to drive it down or pay to have it shipped? either way, your cost to get the car to your door step is going to be well over 1000.00

i am not trying to be a downer or discourage you in any way, but.....

if you drive up there to pick it up, you will have around 2000 miles of gas to pay for, plus 1000 miles for the car in question, plus food for two people and hotels plus your time and someone else's.

if you fly up there, a one way ticket to torronto will be at least 600+ dollars per person, plus hotels, food and 1000 miles of gas. soutwest doesn't fly to canada, so there won't be cheap rates.

if you have the car shipped, the shipper will have to transit two countries and cover all the customs documents and that will honestly be expensive. my guess would be around 1500.00.

well if there is a silver lining to all of this, at least you will get to see niagra falls. check it out from the canadian side. the view is better. might as well make a vacation out of it and spend a weekend night on university street in downtown torronto. i recommend "the rex" if you like live jazz.

I really hope the car is in a good condition. Not prefect, but justifiable. It wouldve been ideal to find a car in California or Texas, but its hard to find, goes quick and a lot of the times over priced. Also that'll be a 2 day drive unless it was near the Texas/Louisiana border.

I ran a Priceline calculator earlier today and I was getting ~$250 one way to Toronto. Total cost should be under $600. Shipping company would be a expensive alternative, but I might consider it if it's way too much of a hassle driving it back home. But i did a 1000+ mile purchase drive before, and it wasnt too bad. Wasnt great since most drive was empty straight flat road, but not too bad.

Edit:
I somehow missed the entire section of you're experience with out of state purchase! Looks like it was quite a journey. Your ix looks clean outside, but the interior looks pretty tired. I'm not sure if a/c is working on this car either, but i hope it cools down by early August this yr... As far as I know the car had 2 owners and it's been somewhat taken care of by a non-enthusiast. Broken things were replaced, small bits wear and tear has been replaced. It seems to be in a "good condition" for its age I suppose.
Also I re-ran the Priceline quote and it a $350. But the 2nd stop did change from tx to nc so it's different.

[flyboyx]

Good cars can be found in Canada. There isn't a spot of rust on my M3. It never came out in the rain (the guy only drove it less than 3000 miles a year.) If you have found a nice rust free car with low miles for a good price, roll the dice and go for it.

Will

yes, but your car came from vancuver where they really don't use salt. this car is in torronto where they dump it on the streets like water. it that part of the country, cars will rust. ask me how i know.

op, i was totally shocked/floored when you posted that you live in the south but bought a car sight unseen from the north!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????!!! to me, this is pretty ludicrous. i was thinking that you lived in a state that bordered our northern neighbors. i hope it works out well for you and the car is in good shape.


i don't exactly live in your area, but over the course of the last 6 months, i have seen perhaps 15 cars on local craigslist ads that held promise that they were in good condition. all for less than 4 grand. generally ranging 1200 to 3000.

are you going up there to drive it down or pay to have it shipped? either way, your cost to get the car to your door step is going to be well over 1000.00

i am not trying to be a downer or discourage you in any way, but.....

if you drive up there to pick it up, you will have around 2000 miles of gas to pay for, plus 1000 miles for the car in question, plus food for two people and hotels plus your time and someone else's.

if you fly up there, a one way ticket to torronto will be at least 600+ dollars per person, plus hotels, food and 1000 miles of gas. soutwest doesn't fly to canada, so there won't be cheap rates.

if you have the car shipped, the shipper will have to transit two countries and cover all the customs documents and that will honestly be expensive. my guess would be around 1500.00.

well if there is a silver lining to all of this, at least you will get to see niagra falls. check it out from the canadian side. the view is better. might as well make a vacation out of it and spend a weekend night on university street in downtown torronto. i recommend "the rex" if you like live jazz. while you are in new york state, eat bbq at the dinosaur. they have one in buffalo.


here is an account of my experience driving a random just purchased car across the country. http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthr...hlight=driving

it worked out well for me, but i work for the airlines so my son and i were able to fly over there with a box of tools for free. speaking of free, the car was/is rust free. i put a lot of work into this car but i still drive it today.

[ksjdan]

Just out of curiosity, how long have you been looking?

Its been quite a while. Ive been searching time to time for about a little more than a year now. I was very close to getting one a Atlanta few months ago, but missed it by a day. I checked out some local ones but the 3 ive seen here recently were all in bad shape. the one posted on the thread was definitely the worst.

This one in Canada is just what I was searching for. Silver/leather IS in good condition and not a ridiculous mile or price. Distance is bit crazy, and shipping it over seems to be a bigger issue than I thought, but its just perfectly optioned.

Ill be honest, there were some rush when I called the seller, but no regrets and im willing to make a trip to get it. Lets just hope the car is up to my expectations. :up:

[agent]

...its almost equally difficult finding a good condition e30 here in Alabama, Georgia and surrounding states for a good price. It seems like most sellers know e30s are a high demand car so they add premiums. Ones in good condition are $4000+ and decent are in $2500-3000 range and junk are around $1000.

Just out of curiosity, how long have you been looking?

[ksjdan]

I bought my M3 in Vancouver in December. When you bring the car across, you will need an HS7 form, the document from BMW USA (I tried to get one for my car but they wouldn't issue one. They just gave me the run around.) Make sure the car is VERY clean, inside and out, and beneath it. Try to find a small boarder crossing. They will have you park the car, and go inside. Someone will take the paperwork you have and go out and inspect the car. You will have to wait inside. You will also need plates to put on it since the Canadian plates are issued to the person, not the car. It took me about 45 minutes at the boarder, most of that was waiting for someone to help me. You might run into some issues since it is a Canadian car. Hard to say however. The boarder people don't care about the emissions stuff. They do care about the HS7 form, title, and bill of sale. Its not a bad idea to have it already insured as well.

Good cars can be found in Canada. There isn't a spot of rust on my M3. It never came out in the rain (the guy only drove it less than 3000 miles a year.) If you have found a nice rust free car with low miles for a good price, roll the dice and go for it.

Will

Thanks Will! This was the exact information Ive been searching for! I have the HS-7 form sitting next to me right now. Also have the EPA 3502-1. Haven't filled them out yet, but I have to wait 10 days for BMW to send me the letter so I have some time. The car is almost perfect except for the slight damage on the front fender. Only difference is that I cannot leave the country to pick up this car because my non-traveler visa status. :hitler: Best I can do is send all the documentation to the seller, and have the car meet me at the Canada/US border. My question is did you not need a EPA emissions form? Also how were you able to obtain the plate without having the car? Did you just put a random one on? Was the customs people very picky or required anything else?

[BlackbirdM3]

I bought my M3 in Vancouver in December. When you bring the car across, you will need an HS7 form, the document from BMW USA (I tried to get one for my car but they wouldn't issue one. They just gave me the run around.) Make sure the car is VERY clean, inside and out, and beneath it. Try to find a small boarder crossing. They will have you park the car, and go inside. Someone will take the paperwork you have and go out and inspect the car. You will have to wait inside. You will also need plates to put on it since the Canadian plates are issued to the person, not the car. It took me about 45 minutes at the boarder, most of that was waiting for someone to help me. You might run into some issues since it is a Canadian car. Hard to say however. The boarder people don't care about the emissions stuff. They do care about the HS7 form, title, and bill of sale. Its not a bad idea to have it already insured as well.

Good cars can be found in Canada. There isn't a spot of rust on my M3. It never came out in the rain (the guy only drove it less than 3000 miles a year.) If you have found a nice rust free car with low miles for a good price, roll the dice and go for it.

Will

[mamzak]

Where in Canada? Anywhere near me?

[10Toes]

What is the import duty % you will be paying?

[ksjdan]

I hope you didn't pay more than $1000-1500 for it..

:oops: ....Still happy. :D

[nando]

I thought a lot of about the rust problem since its a Toronto car. But its almost equally difficult finding a good condition e30 here in Alabama, Georgia and surrounding states for a good price. It seems like most sellers know e30s are a high demand car so they add premiums. Ones in good condition are $4000+ and decent are in $2500-3000 range and junk are around $1000.

So I ended up finishing the deal with the seller yesterday. :D
Its a 1990 325is silver on beige leather. no accident, 198k miles and 1 or 2 owners. Small dent on driver fender.
Im happy with the car, but lets just hope it can make it down here.

I also called US borders and customs and got all the information needed to bring a car here. Just manufacturer certification stating that the car pass US emissions and safety and forms from both EPA and NHTSA.

Im projecting the cars arrival date around early to mid august. Depending on how smoothly things go.

I hope you didn't pay more than $1000-1500 for it..

[dnguyen1963]

Why E30 from Canada? There are plenty here state-side to chose from.

[ksjdan]

yeah, and it's easy enough on an E30.

I do agree it's probably not worth it for a rusty car, the shipping, the hassle, etc. for what you pay in shipping, you should be able to find a clean rust free example in the south.. just be patient!

I thought a lot of about the rust problem since its a Toronto car. But its almost equally difficult finding a good condition e30 here in Alabama, Georgia and surrounding states for a good price. It seems like most sellers know e30s are a high demand car so they add premiums. Ones in good condition are $4000+ and decent are in $2500-3000 range and junk are around $1000.

So I ended up finishing the deal with the seller yesterday. :D
Its a 1990 325is silver on beige leather. no accident, 198k miles and 1 or 2 owners. Small dent on driver fender.
Im happy with the car, but lets just hope it can make it down here.

I also called US borders and customs and got all the information needed to bring a car here. Just manufacturer certification stating that the car pass US emissions and safety and forms from both EPA and NHTSA.

Im projecting the cars arrival date around early to mid august. Depending on how smoothly things go.

[Stanley Rockafella]

No but would be nice to see MPH in big numbers vs KPH.

OR just have your garmin (gps) up whenever your driving and you'll always have the most accurate speed reading.

Use this method whenever i'm in the states and still never received a ticket.

[nando]

yeah, and it's easy enough on an E30.

I do agree it's probably not worth it for a rusty car, the shipping, the hassle, etc. for what you pay in shipping, you should be able to find a clean rust free example in the south.. just be patient!