As these events have already happened, I’ll try to summarize the process of getting the car to Canada. As mentioned in my previous post, the car that I had just purchased came without a title. Import regulations in Canada state that no car to be operated on Canadian roads can cross the border without a title stating the condition of the car. Although this excludes parts cars, which if brought in as such will render the car unfit for Canadian roads. I started my process to regain a title for the car. I looked into several different options; doing all of the paperwork myself to make it legitimate in California, moving the car to Maine to get a quick and easy title from the state itself, or bringing it over as a parts car before knowing that it would not be allowed on the road. Ultimately, it was up to myself to get the title back in the state of California.

Jason had already been holding onto the car for me for months, and he was moving shortly so it was a stressful procedure. After several calls to the DMV and talking to the branch manager in Sacramento, I was given the information required to start the process. This included the forms that I had to submit to the office, an inspection as well as the fees required to process a new title. California state regulations require a highway patrol officer to inspect the vehicle before the DMV will begin to process the title renewal. It is written strictly on every source that I could find that you must bring your car into the DMV, and that an officer will absolutely not for any circumstance travel to a location to inspect the VIN. After dealing with nasty people day in and day out for months, I knew that this was going to be a headache. Statement of facts, a VIN inspection, and a request for a new title.

I was prepared to have the car towed to the branch for an inspection, I had already planned out most of what I needed to get it there and keep it in a safe place until the title was in my hands. I tired my luck at calling the gentleman in Sacramento that inspects the VIN’s for situations like mine. To my pleasant surprise, this man was nothing but helpful. I explained my case, and gave him my plea to travel to Jason’s house to inspect the vehicle. He was more than hesitant, but after about 15 minutes on the phone he had accepted my begging and agreed to drive to Jason’s house. Although he said it would be in three weeks from the date I had called, he went to his house the next day and inspected the VIN for me, as well as did a title search. This day was my first victory; the car had a clean title and the paperwork was mailed to me immediately. I can’t emphasize enough how helpful this man was for me, and without him the title would have never been attainable.

WBCC Meet – Drooling Over the Automotive Excellence

 

As soon as I received my copy of the VIN inspection, I promptly filled out the rest of the forms that the DMV needed, and sent it off with a nice $38 USD bank draft. From this point, six weeks had past and I had yet to receive any news about the status of the title. I had called several numbers which were given to me by people who didn’t know who I should talk to. I ended up with the DMV processing team, where I spoke to a man on the phone that gave me the happiest news I had heard in months. The title was cleared, it has been pulled out of the archives, and officially put in my name. The hard work was over, now it was just waiting for the title to arrive at my doorstep.

– Sean