Importing a car in the United States

We had a lot of problem to solve when we imported Daisy's car, a 2009 Nissan Rogue, in the United States.

First, we were not prepared and we did not check what we needed to do to have the car legally imported. So, on November 30th, we were stuck at the border because we did not have the proper paperwork.

When importing a private car in the United States, you either need a certification by the manufacturer that the car is OK to be imported (I don't remember the details), or you need a registered importer to do the certification for you.

We were unable to get the proper paperwork from Nissan Canada, as they were already closed in Ontario when we phoned them. So, we needed a registered importer. We found one in Alberta. We had to drive back 60 km (with all our furniture in the U-Haul trailer) and we had to pay 400 dollars.

Finally, we were allowed to cross the border around 8PM. Because of this car problem, I believe that the border patrol forgot about our furniture and did not ask us any question about it.

Getting a US insurance is a prerequisite to have a Florida license plate. As the Canadian insurance expired on January 31st, Daisy did not want to get a US insurance before the end of January. In retrospect, it was a mistake as the Florida rules is that the change to a Florida license plate should be done within ten days. But nobody asked us anything. I guess they are used to see Canadian cars in Florida.

We went to two different insurance companies that either quoted outrageous prices, or asked us papers we did not have. Finally, we called Geico and the process was very smooth and the price was not too high.

To get a Florida license plate, you go to a private "Tag Agency". We first went to the closest one on a Saturday morning. After queuing for one hour, we were told to go to the DMV for the car to be inspected.

Thinking I was smart, I went on the DMV web site and I thought that we only needed a VIN verification form. Such a verification can be done by a police officer and we have a police station not far from our apartment. So, we went to the police station during lunch break, got our VIN verification form signed by a friendly police officer and went back to the TAG Agency, where there was no line on weekdays.

This was a fiasco. We were told that the form was not the right one and that we needed to go to the DMV. So, I phone the DMV and were told that indeed the car needed to be inspected by a DMV inspector. The owner did not need to be present. So, I went the next morning and the car was inspected and I got the signed form. Back to the Tag Agency at lunch time for the third time.

This time, we got our license plate. However the price of the plate is outrageous: US$320 for the default license plate. Adding the licensing fees, the county fees and the Tag Agency fees, we had to pay US$435!

Daisy says that it was the most expensive license plate she has ever bought.