My Import Story, Part 4
So, you've bought a new car... you've paid for your new car, now for shipping.
Brave Auto (I sound like a broken record) does container sharing within the company. Four customers buy cars, and they get shipped out together. This is really one of the cheapest and safest routes to go. Again, Brave Auto uses 'CIF' purchasing, so the shipping is included.
With Brave Auto's container sharing, the containers go to a shipping yard to be unstuffed (the technical term).
Other routes to take are RO/RO - roll on, roll off. Basically, your car will be shipped with some other random cars that are around. Apparently it's a hotbed of theft.
However you ship it, you will need to get it though customs. Because it's 15 years old you can bypass the RIV process (and get an RHD because of that!), but it's still a good idea to get a customs clearing agency to do the work for you.
The things that need to be done for a 15-year old car are a little different than a RIV process car, thought some steps are similar.
You need to get a soil inspection. No foreign soil allowed into the country. They will send your car back for this. And you have to pay tax on it (for the first time), of course. And a border agency fellow has to come and look at it... make sure there's no people in the trunk, or anything crazy like that.
You'll dig through some paperwork, eventually ending in a 'Form 1', which is pretty much just Transport Canada saying that it's allowed through the border... they check the 'it's 15 years old' box, and it's done!
You'll end up with a stack of papers. These should include:
- The completed Form 1 (heck yes it's 15 years or older)
- A deregistration document in Japanese
- A translated deregistration document. That or you'll need to get it translated.
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