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Old 04-18-2010, 03:49 PM   #1
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Importing to the US

Can anyone who has purchased an Escape and imported it into the US explain the process? I would like to be able to spend a month or so getting back to NY, so I either need to pre-register it prior to picking it up or find some temporary registration procedure. NY DMV is not much help.

Also, what paperwork & cost is necessary to get it out of Canada?

Thanks!
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Old 04-18-2010, 04:22 PM   #2
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Re: Importing to the US

Hi: Vermilye...Sorry I haven't done the Importing thing but it is my understanding that Tammy supplies all the paperwork required to cross the border. Probably your N.Y. taxes will be paid when you register for a plate back home. A temp. permit should be avail. but for how long they last is a question mark. To obtain a plate before you go to Chilliwack most likely requires a bill of sale. Why the DMV/M of Trans. have to be so diff. is a mystery. Alf
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Old 04-18-2010, 04:35 PM   #3
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Re: Importing to the US

If you are towing your Escape, getting out of Canada it is painless. You will need the paperwork from Tammy to get through US Border and Customs. There will be no fees, it may be necessary for you to sign something.

You will need to cover insurance and license with your state and they are all different. Tammy will provide you with a bill of sale that includes the VIN, that maybe all that is necessary in your state to obtain a license. In Wisconsin you do not have to show up with the trailer, they issue the plates over the counter. After of course, collecting the appropriate taxes. Temporary or drive away plates maybe used by some states.

On insurance there are a number of questions I would ask:

Towing and roadside assistance. Do I want it?
Replacement value covers what?
Delivery from Chilliwack. Sales Tax.
Foreign exchange, what if the loonie is C$1.50 to the dollar?
What deductable can I live with?
Residual – these units hold their value so well I want to be assured I am insuring it at replacement cost.
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Old 04-19-2010, 11:02 AM   #4
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Re: Importing to the US

http://canadaonline.about.com/gi/o.h...ut_veh_reg.asp

Try this website. It appears that one can tour for 6 months without registration. However, that said, I would call Tammy or the B.C. DMV. Going from Canada to Washington was no trouble. Have fun!
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Old 04-20-2010, 07:10 PM   #5
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Re: Importing to the US

Hello,

Once the trailer has entered production I assign it a VIN number. I also email the customer to confirm the name(s) in which you would like the trailer registered and your personal information.

As the trailer nears completion I will complete a Final Bill of Sale, Certificate of Origin, an HS-7 or Declaration for Importation of Motor Vehicles and a NVIS. I also complete a 1701 which must be presented when you cross the border with the trailer - So I keep it in the customers file until they pick up the trailer.

Crossing the border is very easy. Most of the customers use the Sumas border crossing and the customs agents are used to seeing our trailers. But, we have also sent the trailers east where customers have met the delivery truck in a predetermined location and they have presented the 1701 and imported the trailer without comments.

My only word of caution is to ensure you have the customs officer stamp the Bill of sale or 1701 to prove you imported the trailer.

I hope this helps.

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Old 06-07-2010, 08:30 AM   #6
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Re: Importing to the US

We crossed back in the State at Sumas on 5/27/10. The gate officer just said to pull into a parking slot and walk into the building. Once in there, another officer started to hand us a CBP Form 7501, but then looked thru our documents and saw the one Tammy had already completed for us. He stamped it and off we went. The whole process including waiting was less then 15 minutes. Very easy.
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Old 12-20-2012, 02:54 AM   #7
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Import & Title Documentation

We imported our new Escape OK, and managed to get license plates & interim registration papers in Oregon.
Now, however, Escape has emailed us and asked for the customs-stamped document (Escape calls it a Form 7501) that U.S. Customs stamps at the border crossing. Seems the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires that.
Escape wants a copy of the stamped form.
Unfortunately, Oregon's DMV took that stamped form, along with the bill of sale & some other stuff, and shipped it off to their HQ somewhere to process the permanent registration document.
So now, I've got to track it through the bowels of Oregon DMV, and the last time I had dealings with DMV it was all phone voice-mail and bureacracy (BTW it also took me two trips and lots of waiting time to get the title registered in Oregon).
Really lookin' forward to another bout with DMV. I wish someone had advised me to get a copy of the stamped document.
If you're planning to buy an Escape or know someone who is, and planning to register it in the USA, you might advise them to copy that stamped import document before turning it over to their own state's DMV.
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Old 12-20-2012, 06:59 AM   #8
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Our document stamped by the customs people at the border was taken and kept by the DMV in our state, too. I refuse to chase it through the maze of government, and am confident I'd come up empty-handed even if I tried. I would be willing, however, to send a copy of the vehicle registration if that would do any good.
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Old 12-20-2012, 10:33 AM   #9
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Since I had already registered the trailer before I picked it up, I still have the stamped 7501 form. The saga of getting the trailer registered in NY is on page 2 of this post.

I scanned it (and the Certificate of Origin) to PDFs & now keep a copy on my phone...
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Old 12-20-2012, 12:14 PM   #10
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Quite to my surprise, I had absolutely no trouble in California! Rather than waiting until I got home, I stopped enroute at a small California DMV office in Mt Shasta, CA (the DMV office is actually in a shopping mall there). Being obsessive-compulsive about these things, I told them I wanted to keep all the original documents, including the 7501, so they took photocopies, and then handed me the license plate and the originals. Whole process took maybe 15 minutes, including the time they took to go out in the parking lot to verify the VIN.

I don't know whether or not Escape has been asked by CRA for this information in the past, but it might be beneficial for Tammy to tell people to possibly expect such a request from them, and to make additional copies once they get through Customs and before registering the trailer in their home state.

What was interesting for me at the US Border was that the red customs stamp was all they put on the documents, no signature of the agent at all. They said that's all they do. We went through at Port Angeles, and the agent was impressed that Tammy already had the paperwork completed. They were also pretty busy taking apart a U-Haul trailer being brought in by four rather seedy-looking folks!!
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Old 12-20-2012, 03:42 PM   #11
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I guess Escape is being inspected by the Canadian officials on all those units being sent to USA. I too got the request. Fortunately I had my DMV make copies of all the paperwork I submitted 3 months ago and fortunately one was the stamped
Customs copy which I took a photo and then emailed back to Escape today. Interestingly enough I got a letter from State of Pennsylvania, Excise Tax division today stating that a 6% excise tax is due for imported trailers. I checked and this is the same rate as the sales tax I paid to obtain title and registration. I called the Excise Tax and informed them that I paid a sales tax to get my tags and they told me that they wanted me to send them a copy of my registration. I said "Isn't DMV located 2 floors down in your building and why can you not verify with them my sales tax". Furthermore I said "I do not have a fax, I do not have a xerox machine like he does and I do not have a stamp because I pay everything on line". He said he would take of it and for me not to bother. I thanked him and asked for a resolution letter that it was resolved.
Our bureaucracy in action.....I know I was part of it for 38 years.
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Old 12-20-2012, 06:20 PM   #12
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Fortunately, for purchases such as this, California only has Use Tax and Sales Tax, which are also the same rate, and it's one or the other, not both. Use Tax is applied if it's not collected by the California retailer at the time of purchase. Unfortunately, our rates are close to the highest in the nation, it was 8.5% for me, and we're going up another .25% January 1st.

Tammy e-mailed me today noting that henceforth they're asking their US customers to make a copy of the 7501 after being stamped, and to forward that copy to them.
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Old 12-20-2012, 06:40 PM   #13
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We financed a portion of our purchase through our credit union. They volunteered to do the registration and licensing paperwork with Oregon DMV. Their work occurred about the same time we were on our way to Chilliwack to get our Escape. I got my stamped 7501 at the border and my plates came from Oregon DMV through the credit union last week. So far, Oregon DMV has not requested the 7501.
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Old 12-20-2012, 09:08 PM   #14
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We exited Canada through Sumas on July 3. I was able to register and put the Texas plate on at the factory. We stopped and got our Form 7501 stamped and were on our way in 10 minutes. They only asked how we got our registration before we took delivery. And let us travel on our way. At the time the US Border Protection Officers were preoccupied taking a minivan apart.
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Old 12-22-2012, 12:48 PM   #15
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I had quite a different experience than Blugene re: importing into Oregon. After showing evidence of purchase at a DMV office they handed me the new plates for our Escape. It sure surprised me! We then put the plates on at the factory before we headed home. I did have to take the trailer in for DMV to verify the VIN. We also got to keep the original 7150 form. I think we were just lucky in dealing with the bureaucracies. I have since made copies of everything in case they come after me.
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Old 12-27-2012, 10:56 AM   #16
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Given that I am also in PA, I wonder why I have not heard from the tax guys like Jim. I'll opt not to wake the bureaucracy beast by looking into it.

As I recall, in 2011 I just went to a notary and they submitted all the registration info. I kept all my paperwork but I have to find it again in my records.
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