15-Year Rule And Other Questions

I was reading the 15-Year Rule today on the Canadian road safety site and it says that any car over 15 years old is eligible for import regardless of it's compliance with the safety standards, am I reading this right? I realise the 15 year rule is nothing new but I was wondering if anyone had any experiences with it. Also how would I go about liscensing a car in Canada that falls under this rule, do I just take the title into the DMV or whatever it is called in Canada and ask for my tags and registration? Last question what is the border crossing like from the US to Canada is it pretty laid back or do they actively search every vehicle and person for contraband and illegal items? Any information would help me in trying to secure a Skyline and bring it legally into the country.

I was reading the 15-Year Rule today on the Canadian road safety site and it says that any car over 15 years old is eligible for import regardless of it's compliance with the safety standards, am I reading this right? I realise the 15 year rule is nothing new but I was wondering if anyone had any experiences with it. Also how would I go about liscensing a car in Canada that falls under this rule, do I just take the title into the DMV or whatever it is called in Canada and ask for my tags and registration? Last question what is the border crossing like from the US to Canada is it pretty laid back or do they actively search every vehicle and person for contraband and illegal items? Any information would help me in trying to secure a Skyline and bring it legally into the country.
Hi first of all I will start with the us/canada border question with a reply that we are not as bad as the Mexican border.
Second a proper importer will secure the paper work for you and get a new vin number for the car (you will still have to safety an E-test it), then you would bring it down to the ministry and they would license it. Next step is insuring and it will have to be apraised for this compliance.
Lastly I will let you in on a dissapointing reality which is it will now be legal to drive for any canadian citizen only. This car will still be looked on as a japanese car to the american authorities, and so illegal to import and drive for you.
I should mention the american attempt by Motorex to import the Skyline to the US. This man sold cars for a couple of years (r32,r33,r34) however he falsified data for crash test and such and has since been arrested, serving time now. I think his bail was set at one million initially. He profited $16000 of the $33000 price an r32 went for, however most cars he importd could possibly be seized even now because they are technically illegal.
American authorities have no special vehicle import clause like Canada has at 15 years, they might have one at 30 or 25, because I read about a 1972 datsun being legal to import somewhere. Sorry this news sucks for you but if its any consolation I plan to buy a 91 Skyline GTR within the year and keep seeing them go for about $12000 to $14500 canadian taxes included( 35000 to 55000 miles on the odometer).

Hi first of all I will start with the us/canada border question with a reply that we are not as bad as the Mexican border.
Second a proper importer will secure the paper work for you and get a new vin number for the car (you will still have to safety an E-test it), then you would bring it down to the ministry and they would license it. Next step is insuring and it will have to be apraised for this compliance.
Lastly I will let you in on a dissapointing reality which is it will now be legal to drive for any canadian citizen only. This car will still be looked on as a japanese car to the american authorities, and so illegal to import and drive for you. If you try bringing it across the border they will likely crush your car and then give you the bill for auto recycling.
I should mention the american attempt by Motorex to import the Skyline to the US. This man sold cars for a couple of years (r32,r33,r34) however he falsified data for crash test and such and has since been arrested, serving time now. I think his bail was set at one million initially. He profited $16000 of the $33000 price an r32 went for, however most cars he importd could possibly be seized even now because they are technically illegal.
American authorities have no special vehicle import clause like Canada has at 15 years, they might have one at 30 or 25, because I read about a 1972 datsun being legal to import somewhere. Sorry this news sucks for you but if its any consolation I plan to buy a 91 Skyline GTR within the year and keep seeing them go for about $12000 to $14500 canadian taxes included( 35000 to 55000 miles on the odometer).

I actually tried looking into this a couple months ago. I'm a US resident, who thought about bringing a skyline from canada. I checked the Ministry of Transportation in Ontario's website and found out that as a visitor, i could keep my US issued license for up to 60 days in the country, but it wouldn't be difficult to get a Canadian license regardless. Secondly, registration would entail proof of insurance. My question here, for all Canadians reading this, what exactly is necessary for vehicle registration? After the registration, I could simply "visit" my family in the US. Having a canadian license and registration would make me look just like a visitor if I'm in the US, as I've seen MANY parked vehicles with canadian tags on them.

Any thoughts? Because I've seen r32 skylines in canada go for around $15000 US...which would make this definately worth it.