Date:         Tue, 11 Oct 94 20:51:06 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "J. Walker" <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Crew Cab & other goodies: importing from Canada.

On Tue, 11 Oct 94 13:10:47 CDT William Abbott said:
>        One question I have that this group might be able to answer is
>which model year Canadian spec Vanagon pickups can be legally imported
>into this country? I remember a dealer in Idaho who was bringing low-milage
>"used" ones over the border- they used to advertize in DB&HVW but they
>aren't in the current issue...

back in 93, i had a buncha money burning a hole in my pocket, and i also
want a vanagon pickup (double-cab would be best, but i'll take a single-cab!)
so i start calling the vw dealers Allllllllllll along the canadian border.
fer real. you should have seen my phone bill. nothing.

so then i tried the major cities in canada. this is what i found:
- folks in quebec don't want to talk to you at all. especially about vw
    trucks.
- trucks sold in the eastern part of canada do NOT seem to have the required
    EPA/DOT stickers (more later).
- trucks sold in the western part of canada, specifically  Vancouver area,
    DO have the required stickers. i guess because of Seattle being so close.
    but then why don't the trucks sold near Detroit and Buffalo have them?

ok. so now i've located the best possible source area. which was, of course,
the most distant from me. :(  what do i need to do to get it back into the
states? so i called the U.S. Customs office in Seattle. you need:
- the truck MUST have both the EPA and DOT u.s. stickers on it. otherwise,
    you will have to pay a 'bond' of $5000 AND get the truck brought up to
    u.s. emissions AND safety standards. and be able to prove that you did
    so. otherwise you do NOT get your $5000 back, and your truck may be
    confiscated at the end of the 'grace' period. and if the stickers are NOT
    on the truck, you will have to make the truck meet CURRENT standards, not
    just those for the year of manufacture!
- you must have a NOTARIZED bill of sale from the individual/dealer in
    canada. how you pay them is your problem.

what will it cost? ha!
- 25 percent duty (that's one-fourth, folks!) on the sale price listed on the
    bill of sale. hint. hint. hint. nudge, nudge, wink, wink. say no more,
    say no more. really expensive radio you have in there, mister. ;)
    payable at the time you cross over.
- $8 fee. wow.
- some other 'paperwork' fees, totalling about another $50.

you would have to drive to Seattle to have it checked (that it meets their
paperwork requirements) OR you could apply for a 'conditional entry', which
means you would have to have it checked back at your home town customs office.
now, i don't know about you, but the customs folks in birmingham, al, are
just not really set up to deal with this kind of stuff. i called them first.
no help.

i talked to Nance Crandall at (206) 553-1581/1589. she suggested that Blaine,
WA, was the best place to cross with the truck, as they were set up to handle
that sort of thing (apparently, they do a lot of it).

another factor that enters in is that not all vw dealers in canada are truck
dealers. that is, if you want to find the vw pickup/panel trucks, you have
to find the vw truck dealer.  yeah, it seems strange to me, too, but then,
mercedes does the same thing, and volvo also.

this are the dealers that were helpful:
Cowell VW,  13611 Smallwood Place, Richmond, B.C.
    (604) 273-3922

Guildford Motors, 13820 104th Ave, Surrey, B.C.
    (604) 584-1311

Sunwest, Courtney, B.C. (on the island)
    (604) 338-1221

Speedway, Victoria, B.C.
    (604) 385-2415

the guy in idaho was North Idaho Imports, in Coeur D'Alene (next to Spokane,
WA). his name was Pat, and his number was (208) 667-5421. the last truck he
had was an 89 Tristar (syncro double-cab super-whoopee model). at the time,
he said it was too much of a hassle, so he wasn't going to do it anymore.
he might have changed his mind by now.

another place to check are the smaller towns along the u.s. side of the
border, like Bellingham. i don't remember the name of the dealer, but their
number was (206) 734-5230. the advantage of buying from a u.s. dealer is that
someone has already gone through the hassle of the customs paperwork for you.
but you'd better check to make sure!

i would still love to have one, and still keep my Project binder (from whence
commeth all this info) ... but the money done slipped through my fingers, and
it ain't very likely any time soon.

good luck to the rest of you. :)
joel