Recall clearance letters

[Excell]

In Manitoba you just need from Ford .I just did mine last fall .go to any Ford dealer with chassis vin .

[Jerry r]

My nephew has imported severals vehicles over the years and he tells me the US customs have nothing to do with crossing the border, you go through the canadian custom only as you do not stop at Us customs at all. I'm also importing an RV from the US
Jerry

[michelb]

Originally Posted by Jerry r

My nephew has imported severals vehicles over the years and he tells me the US customs have nothing to do with crossing the border, you go through the canadian custom only as you do not stop at Us customs at all. I'm also importing an RV from the US
Jerry

That's a bit of a loaded question. Technically, importing has nothing to do with the US Customs and you can import into Canada without exporting from the US so that part is true but the US CBP policy is that prior to being imported into another country, all motorized vehicles must be exported from the US. I've been told by the US CBP that if you do not export, you are in violation of US law and if you ever return with the vehicle to the US, it could be seized. That said, I don't know if that actually does happen or how they would find out (they'd have to check the VIN).

I wouldn't be all that surprised if they do enforce it heavily (i.e. if you get caught, you will be in trouble) because it nullifys the US liens system (i.e. if you get a loan for a vehicle, the bank puts a lien on it so that it can't be sold without the lien being discharged (i.e. the bank gets payed back) but if you take the vehicle out of the country, that lien becomes completely useless - once in Canada, it's very hard to enforce it and it can be freely re-registered regardless of the lien) but realistically, unless you are caught for another infraction, I don't think they'd ever identify that the vehicle was never exported (how often to US CBP verify a VIN on a vehicle? Even if it was imported somewhere else but never exported, unless something was reported against it, it probably still wouldn't even come up in their system and they'd have to check it with individual state DMVs - not something they would do during a normal check at the border.

[HHIDan]

The one good reason you stop at US customs is to verify/confirm that the vehicle you are buying has a clear title, ie no US liens. When you leave the US with your new purchase you are, in fact, supposed to send the title and the bank release at least 72 hours before you cross so that the US border can confirm the papers are valid. As much protection for you as for them...

[michelb]

Originally Posted by DBeauchamp

The one good reason you stop at US customs is to verify/confirm that the vehicle you are buying has a clear title, ie no US liens. When you leave the US with your new purchase you are, in fact, supposed to send the title and the bank release at least 72 hours before you cross so that the US border can confirm the papers are valid. As much protection for you as for them...

I would argue that in most cases this only offers protection for the lien holder, not for you. If you already bought and paid for the vehicle, finding out that there's a lien on it at the border probably doesn't help you at all. Customs will certainly not let you leave the country with it in fact they might seize it because they suspect that if they don't you'll just go through another border and even if they do let you keep it, you've already paid for it only to find out that it kind of belongs to someone else. You can try suing the person you bought it from to recover the money but even when you win (that shouldn't be a problem) collecting might not be trivial.

The only situation that this might work for you is if you send the info to the border BEFORE you buy it and they tell you all this BEFORE you buy it. This isn't an option at a number of borders which will only process the original documents (i.e. you have to send them the title that's signed over to you and by then, it's too late) and only if they'll tell you over the phone which I'm not sure all POEs will do.

That said, it's really not up to the border to do your homework. Verifying the title is just one of the things you need to do when buying a vehicle.

[GREGORYJ]

Follow the steps in the RIV overview : Registrar of Imported Vehicles - Overview
Stopping at the US customs in my case was only 5 minutes, I had notified them a
few weeks before by email when I left home. They simpley checked the title in their
system, stamped the title US VEHICLE EXPORT , date , port location and said the title was now closed. In my case, RIV only required a recall clearance notification from
the chassis manufacturer , in my case Workhorse. RIV had indicted this by phone
before I purchased the rig.

[Excell]

You do have to notify US Customs 72 hrs prior to leaving the US .They check to make sure there are no leans against it . you have to stop on US side on the way out .
If you don't you could have a problem if you ever go back to the US with that unit .

[michelb]

Originally Posted by GREGORYJ

Follow the steps in the RIV overview : Registrar of Imported Vehicles - Overview
Stopping at the US customs in my case was only 5 minutes, I had notified them a
few weeks before by email when I left home. They simpley checked the title in their
system, stamped the title US VEHICLE EXPORT , date , port location and said the title was now closed. In my case, RIV only required a recall clearance notification from
the chassis manufacturer , in my case Workhorse. RIV had indicted this by phone
before I purchased the rig.

As Gregory stated, it really isn't a big deal to stop at the US POE to have it exported properly so I don't know why someone wouldn't do it. They do require 72 hours notice and different ports have different processes so you have to check with the actual port you'll be exporting from to find out what their's is (some will accept just an email with the VIN, some want a faxed copy and some want the original title 72 hrs before you cross the border).