Driving an IM Home. Title and Tag

Has anyone driven their IM home from Vancouver? If so I need info. Especially about obtaining a title prior to pickup, insurance, etc. My state does not issue temp tags/title... I understand WA will issue a temporary 3 day tag.....

I'm just getting started with this, so any experience shared will be helpful.
Jim

Jim,

Henry drove a new IM down to Knotts last year for delivery. I bet he knows what is needed. I don't remember seeing any stickers on the car, in fact forget if it had plates on it. Thinking it probably had BC plates and he removed them and took them back home after delivery.

Bruce

If all else fails keep the old one insured and active on the policy save the old tag and reg who will know the difference?

We'll all chip in for the bail bond should you follow Alan's advice and get stopped at the border or elsewhere along the way. That's just too risky - no registration, no valid registered title, no inspection, no insurance. Too risky unless you're driving just a couple miles.

That's some good advice. I may do the contracted out of state Title services and go from there.

I talked to our Tag Agent and it sounded like a grind. Maybe it's better to get it registered via a service, get the insurance going and then hassle for the local when I get it home.

Yes, Henry has some papers... I am getting a jump on this so that I can get tagged asap. I want to come out of Cananda Slap the tags on, legally, have my papers, and insurance...

I think a service is the way to go, get her registered and tagged. Enjoy the cruise.

I didn't take into consideration the border situation hence, I stand corrected !

I, for one, want no part of posting bail for a "Red-Dirt Law-Breaker".

On the other hand, I could round up a contingent of "Good Ol Boys" from the new neighborhood, here, to ride to whea-eva yo' at and spring ya.....Should be a piece o cake for all my retired Marine neighbors.....

We'll bring along "Hoss Hallstrand" and his hat - he looks authoritarian when he wears it (hope he leaves the Dulcimer at home, though - might give us away)...

Gordon
The "Speedstah Guy" from Port Royal

Then again Canadian detention is strip clubs and FREE beers. Make a run for the border my friend! We'll all join in on the party!

i'm with alan.
i drove two motorcycles kaw. h1 500cc +h2 750cc for years. one registration, plate
and insurance bill. besides you can only drive one at a time, whats the issue.
why would they look twice? drive right through.

Bruce, your "drive right through" takes me back to my High school days when I rode my Honda 150 Dream right down the main hall of my HS in NJ blowing by the "office" out the other double doors and got away with it!

Bruce: My H-2 has been realllly jealous of all the Speedster seat time this year.

BD

Jim,
I had the same questions when shipping my VW from FL. My insurance agent told me I was covered for 17 days from time of purchase at the lowest current coverage. Everything I have id full coverage and he said it would be covered. It is a grace period that most ins. companies offer.
Also, in the state of missouri it is legal to put the plates off the car you are tradinig in for 30 days before transfering them. I say take the platers off the old one and drive away. Check with your insurance agent first of course...

Ben

Jim:

I am watching this thread pretty closely for obvious reasons.

If I had another Speedster with valid plates and registration AND Henry was willing to get the car over the border with his BC plates, then I would go ahead and put the old plates on and have at it. In CA Insurance companies are bound by law to cover you for (I think its 30 days) on any new car you buy, so at that point I think you would be fine, even if you got a few tickets along the way. I think most states have similar insurance rules.

On the other hand, I could not disagree more strongly with the concept of trying to get it over the border with other Plates and Registration. Although you do not look Middle Eastern, I think the border people are pretty "on alert" for anything out of the ordinary. If you decide to go for it, leave the Koran at home.

I am still trying to figure out if my 60 day temporary operating permit will work getting through the border.

Bill

This is good advice guys.

Although the Vanishing Point approach (except I crash into a bar of Canadian Strippers) has a sexy appeal, right up to the point of blunt impact or charges under the Partiot "Act"..... well, I think I'm going for a legal approach using every letter of the law and a few I am just learning about and shall keep discrete (off forum).

I'm looking at a Title Company to register and tag the car in a state that will do such things, then sell it to me and register it again in that sate. I end up with a Tagged car I bought, and then will do the title in my own state. I will work to get this done asap. State Farm appears to be custom car friendly and I will try to go with them....

It's legal, and may cost another $300-400 to go through a third party and state, but it takes the hassle out of what appears to be a wall here at our DMV. I may be surprised though... maybe I will be able to do it all through Oklahoma.... a shocker. I think OK may make CA look liberal on car registration.

When I went through Army Warrant at Ft Rucker Ala, I found a Lotus Europa that had sat through some guy's two tours untitled. I bought it from his soon to be ex-wife.. no title, no nothing. Walked into Alabama DMV, paid $40-50, and walked out with a new title in 15 minutes... and that was without a bill of sale. I think Alabama was a title wash state for the SE USA back then. I doubt if it is that easy 35 years later.

My old tags? Gone with the VS to Justin. My personalized tags are still mine though........ hmmmm.

My car was shipped to California so I did not worry about border crossing. A good friend that lives in Redding drove his home mid-2001 and had no problems. Henry provides the paperwork that shows that the duty and other import fees are paid. You drive up to the border, present the papers, the guys in the big hats will have you go to the office and sign some papers that the car is leaving canada and entering the U.S. You then drive it to your state and follow the rules of the state you are registering the car in.

You will have the import papers to show that the car belongs to you if you get stopped by the local police. Just register it as soon as possible in your home state.

Jim, If your state just has a paper process and does not need to view or test the car before registration, I would think/guess that you could take the bill of sale and anything else to the OK. equivilent to the DMV and register the car before picking it up. I'd wait until you cross the border, and until you clear customs before attaching a plate if the scenerio immediatly above is possible.

Jim:

You may want to check around OK about how "out of state registration companies" are received at the OK DMV. In CA, I understand that was the way guys did it for a long time.

From what I understand, CA DMV is really clamping down on this approach. There is a new CA law (SB100) that covers "Specially Constructed Vehicles" and if you don't obey this rule, you run the risk of not being able to register the car in CA, ever.

Another "gotcha" in CA is a car you are bringing into CA that was previously registered in another state has to have a minimum number of miles on the Odometer prior to being able to register it in CA. This keeps people from using out of state registration services, just to get around the new car rules in CA.

While I am sure there are probably many differences between CA and OK DMV rules, these guys do talk a great deal among themselves, so you might pass your plan by an OK DMV offical before launching.

Just a thought.

Bill

PS - How could you possibly think CA could be more liberal than OK in any area?

Jim, everything Dale said is correct. The most serious or difficult of the problems is getting the car licensed in your state. Getting the car across the border is the easy part. Henry will provide you with a packet of all the necessry paper work including the DOT requirements which the car meets, a certificate of origin, bill of sale,and the papers showing that the car was ultimately constructed in the US. In Oregon the DMV requires that the car be driven to their offices for inspection to insure it has the required number of tail lights, headlights etc. which the state workers are qualified to count. They are equally capable of determining if the headlights work or not. Horn too. What they aren't able to understand is that it is a VW in a Porsche-like body and a replica of a, say, '56 Porsche Speedster. They confuse easily. Go into it with the attitude that their ability to think outside their little box is greatly impaired and just be patient. It's not that bad really. Be sure to inform your insurance agent of what you are doing and get the proper temporary coverage. That's it.