Bought NSX from Private Party, how can I drive it home.

Hi,
I bought a private party NSX (original US car) from Canada and I am an American (Sorry). I would like to pick up the car and drive it to my relatives house in Canada for storage until I can get it transported home. Would I be able to obtain a Canadian temporary plate so I can drive it? The seller will be removing their plate and it's too far of a drive from the sellers house to my relatives house to ask them to drive it for me.

Is there any other advice you can share with me, like the proper way to transfer ownership?

Again sorry that an NSX is leaving Canada, but I promise it's going to a good home!

Thank you!

You can get a temp plate. Valid for 10 days, all you need is an insurance slip and the signed ownership. Can only do this once.

I would check the Canadian DMV website and look for what is called a "transit permit". I know here in Texas it gives you a 5 day window to move the vehicle around within the state before you need all the paperwork sorted.

Also, if there is no pic then it didn't happen, so lets see the new ride.

Link here: http://www.ontario.ca/page/temporary-licence-plate-sticker

Thank you all for your help. I will post pics once the car is in my hands (late next week). The car has been paid for, but it's still hasn't sunk in for me yet! I can't wait to pick it up!

It would depend which Province you are in for temporary plates.....

drive FAST you'll be fine!!!

Tow it to your relative's house or have them drive it and you can pay for his UberX cost to get him home?

As my car is formerly a US car I'm interested to know the federal process(es) you have to go through to bring it (back) to the US.

Hi All,
I'm going the temp licensing route. The seller is helping me with this. We are meeting at the licensing office to do this.

Eddie,
To bring a USA car back to the USA from Canada is actually pretty simple (in theory). You need to get past US Customs (CBP.gov).

You will need these documents:
Proof of ownership (signed over registration)
Bill of Sale (have the seller write up this document with vehicle info and seller contact information)
Proof it's a previous USA car (Past title, past bill of sale, carfax report, etc)
- This will exempt you from import tax and eliminate the need for EPA and DOT Safety forms.

If you do not have proof it's a previous US car or EPA & DOT forms, they will still let you past the border. You will just need to complete the CBP requirements before being able to register the car in your state.

I am not an expert in these things, but I'm pretty sure I know how they work. As others have noted, each province (or state) has a temporary registration good for a short period (typically 10 days). That is supposed to give you enough time to travel to your home where you will need to go to the local DMV office to transfer the title and get the registration. If you are storing the car at your relative's house in Canada, you can still go home and get the title and registration done; you don't need the car to be there when doing that, only the title and bill of sale. You'll receive the license plates along with the registration; then you can bring them with you when you go back to retrieve the car.

Also, don't forget to call your auto insurance company. You typically have thirty days from the purchase during which to arrange insurance on the car.

MaxGeek said:

You will need these documents:
Proof of ownership (signed over registration)

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The title, not the registration, is the document that needs to be signed over for proof of ownership.

Yeah Title, but in Canada you transfer ownership on the back of the registration document I believe. I don't believe they have a document that is called a Title in Canada.

MaxGeek said:

Hi,
I bought a private party NSX (original US car) from Canada and I am an American (Sorry). I would like to pick up the car and drive it to my relatives house in Canada for storage until I can get it transported home. Would I be able to obtain a Canadian temporary plate so I can drive it? The seller will be removing their plate and it's too far of a drive from the sellers house to my relatives house to ask them to drive it for me.

Is there any other advice you can share with me, like the proper way to transfer ownership?

Again sorry that an NSX is leaving Canada, but I promise it's going to a good home!

Thank you!

Click to expand...

Has already been answered by many. Depending on province depends on requirements though. Most refer to your temp sticker as an "in transit permit" which is usually only good for a set period of time. You need to provide proof of ownership and proof of insurance in order to obtain. Depending on the province depends on where you buy this permit. In Alberta as an example, you get it from privately owned and operated vehicle registries. In Manitoba you would need to get it from gov't owned and operated motor vehicles branches.

For shipping/driving your vehicle back to the US, it's quite straight forward since you are returning a vehicle to the US that was sold in the US. Therefore all you need to do is export it from Canada and then import it to the US. I can't recall the time period that the CBP requires for receipt of documentation showing you are the new owner and plan to export (just like the US the border patrol agency needs to ensure the vehicle isn't stolen or has any other complications that would hinder it's export), but you will need to go in to building and talk with the customs officers and obtain export document. You then present export document to US customs and go through your import process. Being as the vehicle was already sold in the US and duty was already claimed by the gov't at time of import from Japan, you do not need to repay the duty. You will need to prove vehicle was originally sold - or at a minimum was originally registered - in the US to make this an easy process. You will be subject to any administration fees and local state tax depending on your residence.

NOTE - Vehicles in Canada do not carry 'Titles' like they do in the US. Therefore you need a proper 'Bill of Sale' from the seller. It's advantageous to also have a copy of the previous owners registration that is signed over to you, but as far as I am aware it is not legally required nor will prevent your efforts for export/import.

I picked my baby up Thursday. It's safe and sound in my relatives garage. Now I just have to get it shipped home.

Is that the red on red from ebay?

Looks like it to me!

Yup that's the one.

guess its different up there... I had several car purchases and each one let me use their plate to get it home and i sent it back FEDEX. Guess its all a matter of how you ask or the I just got lucky with who i was buying from

I believe it is different in Canada and each Province can be a little different. In Ontario the plates have to stay with the seller.

Max, NICE pickup!! Where in WA you located?

arista5 said:

guess its different up there... I had several car purchases and each one let me use their plate to get it home and i sent it back FEDEX. Guess its all a matter of how you ask or the I just got lucky with who i was buying from

Click to expand...

This is perhaps academic for the original poster since the vehicle is now at its destination. That said, you can do the above if the original owner retains ownership of the vehicle and the transfer of ownership occurs when the plates are pulled off at its destination. In effect the original owner is letting you borrow 'his' car to drive it to your destination. In most of the provinces with no fault if you transfer ownership and then drive it home on the original owners plates, you have no insurance and no vehicle registration. Pretty much equivalent to 'borrowing' a set of plates off of any old car parked out on the street. It works as long as nothing bad happens in transit. In Alberta and perhaps other provinces where the accident and liability insurance is decoupled from the cost of registration, the insurance might still be in effect; but, probably not. Since the vehicle is technically unregistered the insurance would probably become void.

One thing to consider while the vehicle is in storage awaiting the final transit. It appears that a temporary permit was legitimately used to move the vehicle to the temporary storage point. Generally, that permit provides no 'all perils' coverage at the destination point, so if the vehicle is in storage for any length of time make sure there is a 'package policy' in place providing general peril coverage (theft, fire, tornado .....). In most provinces that type of coverage is pretty cheap.