Oh anyone else know how does it work if the car was originally sold in canada and then exported during the past 10 years and now its coming home?(Repatriated)
I've actually re-patriated a BC car from WA before. My sister moved to Seattle and took her Honda. When she moved downunder a year later, I brought the car back to BC.
When you get to the border, you have to have something to prove the car was a CDN car before, like a former ICBC form. You might be able to get this info from ICBC with the VIN. If the original CDN FMVSS sticker is still on the left door jamb, that should be good enough. With proof, you don't have to pay a dime of duty or GST at the border, duty and taxes were already paid 30 year ago. When I brought in my sister's 6 year old Japanese made Honda I paid nothing. Since ICBC requires proof you paid the duty and GST at the border, CDN Customs will give you a legitimate invoice for $0.00, proving you paid the tax.
If the current owner is the one that had the car in BC, it's even easier than you think. Get him to bring it across the border and sell it to you here. Then it is treated as if the car never left BC. No customs, inspections, taxes, or anything. All you need is his old ICBC papers and a transfer form. When a car leaves BC, ICBC does not get notified when it is registered elsewhere, according to them, it could be sitting in a barn here for all those years.
