Thanks to all! I have received a lot of good data and have learned a great
deal from the experiences of those on the list. There have been some
conflicting bits of data, but in general the following is a summary of the
collective wisdom of the list:
As far a shipping a car from Canada, there can be some difficulties, but
generally on cars subject to emissions control. A major issue seems to be
that taxes and bureaucracy can be a pain and expensive, depending on the
circumstances. The best bet is to insure that the vehicle is titled in the
US before it is purchased if at all possible (ie have the seller take care
of the import issue). Further more, due to idiosyncrasies of California
registration it is better to have the car registered (Tagged) in the US
prior to purchasing. There clearly are ways to have a car from Canada
Titled and registered in California, but not with out some difficulty and
risk of having the car "black listed" if the paperwork is not absolutely
straight.
I have also been advised to check references as there the spectrum, as is
the case everywhere, runs from very good suppliers to less than optimal, so
I will be following this e-mail with a request for information. In the
meantime the basic premise is to try to have any vehicle clearly titled and
registered prior to attempting to get the car titled and registered in
California, and preferably have the vehicle titled and registered in the
US. If there is any last thought or experience in the issue please contact
me. Thanks and thanks again.
Frank
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