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bilsbietoday at 5:25 PM6 repliesview on HN

Could an American go up and buy one and drive it back? Any registration or insurance issues?


Replies

cactaceatoday at 5:37 PM

No. Tarriffs aside this would be the problem:

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/importing-car

> As a general rule, motor vehicles less than 25 years old must comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) in order to be imported permanently into the United States.

Without homologation there is 0 chance you'd be able to import and register one of these.

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tzstoday at 8:29 PM

Others have covered the problems with this. However if you live in certain US cities that are close to Canada there may be a work around.

Actually move to somewhere across the border and live in Canada. As a US citizen living in Canada crossing into the US for visits, even fairly long ones, has little or no hassle and you can bring your Canadian car.

For example if you are in Detroit, move to Windsor, Ontario. Outside of peak congestion times it is 10-20 minutes to get to or from Detroit. That's quick enough that this could work out even if you do almost all of your activities outside of your home in Detroit.

BTW, there are also cities on the south border of the US where this works (with Mexico, not Canada!), but in many of those the cities on the Mexican side have somewhat of a crime problem so you would have to be a lot more cautious in picking a place to live there.

toast0today at 6:02 PM

Assuming they don't conform to US safety standards (and aren't easily made to conform), your best bet is to aim for this provision:

> Nonresidents may import a vehicle duty-free for personal use up to (1) one year if the vehicle is imported in conjunction with the owner's arrival. Vehicles imported under this provision that do not conform to U.S. safety and emission standards must be exported within one year and may not be sold in the U.S. There is no exemption or extension of the export requirements.

There's certainly a question of if it's personal use if your canadian friend leaves their vehicle at your place and you drive it around. But your friend can certainly get it over the border and I don't know how much enforcement you'll get after that. You will want the vehicle to return to Canada before the year is up.

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46493168today at 5:28 PM

Sure. If you want to pay the 247% tarriff, there’s nothing stopping you from doing this. US import duty applies when you cross the border, calculated on the vehicle’s origin (China), not purchase location.

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SirMastertoday at 5:29 PM

Where are you going to get any issues repaired?

tayo42today at 5:29 PM

Chinese brand cars are already in Mexico and people don't do that. I think you can't register them or something.