Importing/Shipping a car from Canada?

Considering buying a car in Canada in an online auction.  If somehow I end up being the highest bidder, I'm wondering how hard it is to get the car across the border and home.  It's in Saskatchewan and I'm in Wisconsin.  My first thought was that it would make a great Fly&Drive, assuming the border doesn't get shut down again in the meantime.  Can I just show up at the border with a car and a Canadian title?

Otherwise I know there are shipping services that will handle this.  Anyone have experience, good or bad, with them?  How painful are the fees?

In reply to jwagner (Forum Supporter) :

I imported cars in the late 90s. There were no titles for cars. I did have to get epa, dot letters of vehicle US equivalency before the border. The vehicles were inspected before entering.  I think you need a broker now. Good luck

If it is over 25 years old you could just drive or tow it through the border. You will have to pay customs. You will probably get stuck in customs for hours. It can be a significant amount.

Less than 25 years old you will have to deal with all the stuff clownkiller mentioned, and then deal with the customs fees after that

How off-road capable is it? 

The NHTSA has a page on exactly what you need to do if it's a Canadian market car.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/document/imported-canada-vehicle-importation-guidelines-pdf

If it's a JDM car that was imported into Canada, then the rules are different.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/document/imported-other-countries-non-canadian-vehicle-importation-guidelines

Note that it does have to be done at the border. You can't bring it across and then import it. I'm trying to deal with that situation on one of my cars now, and I'm trying to avoid a trip to Montana to visit the closest border crossing. 

Keith Tanner said:

Note that it does have to be done at the border. You can't bring it across and then import it. I'm trying to deal with that situation on one of my cars now, and I'm trying to avoid a trip to Montana to visit the closest border crossing. 

Correct.  You could take it back to the border, but it physically has to be on-site.

I did this with a trailer going the other way.  I towed it up to the lake and then decided to leave it there permanently.  I took it back to the border, did the paperwork, paid them something like $120 (tax on it's value), and took it back to the lake.  Trailers are easy.  Cars are a bunch of paperwork and red tape.

I was looking at a '99 Jag XK8 coupe on BAT.  The bid went high enough that I decided to just sit on the sidelines.

- Import would have been a hassle

- Car had some issues - A/C didn't work, needed the timing chain updated, etc.

As pretty as it was, It just wasn't worth adding another project car to the list.

Bringing a car north, they want to see the title in your name at least 48 hours prior to you hitting the border crossing, but it's the southern side looking for that.  The Americans want to make sure there is no money owed on the thing, and you are supposed to stop and do the export paperwork.  It's a tough job, but if you just drive right past the American side, and go to the Canadian customs, you can eventually convince them that they don't care about American customs, it's none of their concern whether you've properly exported it, and just let me pay the taxes and move on.  I was with a friend when he did this, and I was pretty sure we were going to jail.  He kept explaining to higher and higher level people what their rules are, and eventually they gave up, and walked out arm in arm like the best of friends.  He was a long haul trucker who crossed the border weekly, so he knew the rules.

The important questions are, What is the age of the car?  Does it meet the US emission standards that would have applied to that model?  Does it meet the crash standards that would have applied to that model?  Can you find a speedometer that reads in miles? 

The correct answer to the first question makes the others moot.

One thing to watch for is outstanding recalls.

I own a 2009 Solstice and several people were blocked from buying in Canada and shipping South when the passenger air bag sensor problem came up.  For a long time GM had no solution and no cars crossed the border.  It didn't matter that all of the cars already in the US had the same issue, they wouldn't let you import another one until the recall was solved and the work done.  At least one poor guy had already bought a car up here but hadn't had it shipped before the recall hit.

PS - I shipped a Lamborghini to the Netherlands, a Jensen CV8 to New Jersey and a TVR race car to Europe. While it is the buyer's responsibility to arrange shipping and insurance, you can research it. See https://www.schumachercargo.com/blog/how-ship-car-overseas/  for instance.