Just went through this on the other side of Canada, if you're the doing the shipping, make sure you have your US customs forms all complete and at the border on time, well ahead of the car. If there is a buyer on the US side that's handling the shipping, make sure he knows this, it's surprising how many people just figure you can drive the car across without so much as a blink of an eye. From what I've heard, US Customs loves seizing cars and putting them up for auction later.
I am interested in a car in Canada, but need a company that can handle getting it to US. Sounds like its too much hassle to even consider.
You may want to try Transport Laberge. They can do this, but I am unsure if they have a closed trailer if this is what you are looking for,
It's not that it's much of a hassle, just be mindful of the documentation and hire a company that has a brokerage agreement and it'll sail through. What takes time is the delivery. My buyer had to wait a month to get it all done, and to be honest, I don't know if he's actually received it yet. Base rate for shipping is about a dollar a mile at least, and Canada is big with not a lot of direct roads going through, plus, there are only a few border crossings that will handle cars. All of this can be planned for, and coupled with the ridiculously cheap exchange rate it's till cheaper to bring a car out of Canada than to find one in the US.
Get a broker. been there done that. Even if you managed to get into the states with no docs ya cant ever get it registered. It was worth the extra 500.00 to have it taken care of by a professional.
Back in the day you could just drive it over the border... My dad bought a 66 Caddy coupe de Ville in Washington state. He got the seller to write two receipts to try and save on the taxes when he drove the car over the border. Lesson here The border guard asked “are you sure that’s what you paid for the Cadillac”. My dad stuck with his story and said yup. Got home and an hour later the RCMP showed up and impounded the car and fined my dad. The border guard. ... yup he tried to buy that Cadillac for more than what my dad tried to say he bought it for.... quite the drama. Man driving that car was something else. That was late eighties. Memories of a different time
I did this. Hire a broker to do paper work. As Briz said, 400 to 500 dollars. You can get a shipping quote based on the pickup and drop off as well as trailer type.
As has been said, paperwork is key. Both my Buick’s came from the US into Canada and I drove both across the border, last one was 10 years ago. At that time US customs needed their forms filled in with a copy of title and bill of sale faxed to them at least 72 hours before my arrival. I’ve heard now it’s recommended a broker handle the border paperwork, but if you’re organized it shouldn’t be a problem.
That's what I advised the buyer of my car. Don't know what he ended up doing, I guess I'll find out if that car appears in a customs salvage auction a year from now. I hope he went with a broker, because I told him there's no such thing as "title" in Canada, or at least not in Alberta and he'd have a heckova time getting it registered otherwise.
