[wunderbar911]

Hi,
I'm hoping that someone in this sub-forum may have gone through the experience of bringing a Canadian car into California or even better a Canadian who has moved to California and gone through the process.

Basically my situation is I'm currently a Canadian citizen planning to take a job in California and want to bring my 2010 E92 with me.

My understanding is I need the following:

Ownership papers (license/registration/insurance)...
No outstanding recalls on vehicle...
Letter from manufacturer stating vehicle complies to US safety standards, emissions, etc...

I'm also reading that TPMS are required for vehicles 2009 and newer and our E92 models in Canada do not have TPMS. They use the ABS to sense the tire pressure. Has anyone had to go through adding TPMS and is it even possible for a vehicle not designed with it?

The other question I have is there is no mph display on the speedometer, is this going to be an issue to import the vehicle and require a dash gauge replacement?

Now besides importing the vehicle, the idea of having to do a written/road test in California to get a new drivers license also raises questions that is not clear to me in terms of the transition period:
- can I continue to drive my car with a Canadian driver license/plate/insurance until I pass the exam.
- can I buy insurance in California for the vehicle if I don't have a California driver license yet?

Hope some members can shed some light and share their experience if possible.

[Elixis]

following

[lowrydr310]

I have no experience with this, but here's a start:

https://www.snowbirdadvisor.ca/how-p...-car-us-canada

https://www.epa.gov/importing-vehicl...adian-vehicles

[Fritzer]

Originally Posted by wunderbar911

My understanding is I need the following:

Ownership papers (license/registration/insurance)...
No outstanding recalls on vehicle...
Letter from manufacturer stating vehicle complies to US safety standards, emissions, etc...

Yes, as long as the same model of vehicle was sold in the United States, you should generally be fine. Because it's another car from North America, you shouldn't have many differences in terms of emissions/safety standards, if at all,

Originally Posted by wunderbar911

Hi,
I'm also reading that TPMS are required for vehicles 2009 and newer and our E92 models in Canada do not have TPMS. They use the ABS to sense the tire pressure. Has anyone had to go through adding TPMS and is it even possible for a vehicle not designed with it?

Just because you do not have physical TPMS sensors does not mean you do not have a TPMS system. The system you described is using ABS would still be considered a legal TPMS system. Audis, VWs, Hondas, and many other manufacturers sell brand new cars in the US with the ABS TMPS system. You will be fine in regards to this.

Originally Posted by wunderbar911

Hi,
Now besides importing the vehicle, the idea of having to do a written/road test in California to get a new drivers license also raises questions that is not clear to me in terms of the transition period:
- can I continue to drive my car with a Canadian driver license/plate/insurance until I pass the exam.
- can I buy insurance in California for the vehicle if I don't have a California driver license yet?

Getting a driver's license in California is incredibly easy, you should not have any issues. Just need to establish residency. The test is a piece of cake. You can certainly drive your vehicle with Canadian plates/insurance and driver's license in the United States. The US/Canada have an agreement allowing each other's driver's licenses to be valid in either country - indefinitely. I'm pretty sure your Canadian insurance will be fine down here.

Personally, I know a couple of Canadian citizens who store cars down here, with Canadian plates/insurance, and only hold Canadian driver's licenses, and are perfectly within the law driving around. Depending on how long you will be living here will determine if you should go ahead and register the vehicle here with US insurance. If you become a legal resident you will have to get a California driver's license. Not hard at all being a foreign citizen.



Long story short, you will be fine as you are right now. Of course, once you get down here, it wouldn't hurt to go to your new, local Department of Motor Vehicles/Police Department and ask them all the questions you outlined here.

[wunderbar911]

Thanks for the helpful feedback.

I reached out to BMW Canada and they directed me to BMW USA. It was very straight forward process. I called BMW USA and they collected my information like VIN number, current address, etc and sent me both via email and post mail a letter of compliance for my vehicle indicating that it meets all requires for emissions, etc with the only exception is that speedometer/odometer is not in miles which while need to be swapped out for one that does have it (I need to check if this needs to be done before or after importing the vehicle and if I can do it myself; youtube seems to show simple wiring harness and two screws that hold it in place).

In addition, once I have a permanent residence I will need to fill that information out for warranty purpose (but really just to get my VIN in the US system as my car is way past warranty period).

Aside from that it does sound like I will be ok. As I'm going to be a resident of California for a few years for work I'll need to go take the drivers road test (really wish they could just swap my Canada driver license for a California one but oh well that is the rule). I'm assuming that I can drive around using my existing plate/driver license until I get the California license and plates.

[kylet101]

I moved from BC to California with my 2008 e90. Two things made my process more complicated than it needed to be:

1) BMW USA mis-typed the VIN on the letter stating no outstanding recalls. I was hoping to import my car as I was driving down from Vancouver to Los Angeles, however, they wouldn't let me import my car at this time. I had no issues driving in the U.S, I just had to go to Long Beach port CBP with a fixed letter to officially import the car federally (usually you can do this only at land borders, but it seems Long Beach port was an option too).

2) After you import it federally the next step was register it with California DMV. Things were going well until they couldn't find a "Federal Compliance Plate" on the drivers side door jam. Not sure why my car doesn't have it (is it a U.S thing?), but then I had to go to California Highway Patrol (CHP) to get them to inspect the car to make sure it wasn't stolen. Once their inspection was done and I had their paperwork, I could then register the vehicle at the DMV.

I had no issues passing smog (i have a custom tune, but headers and exhaust are stock), and I didn't have to do anything with TPMS.

Once again, it would have been a super easy process if it wasn't for those two things above.

[wunderbar911]

Originally Posted by kylet101

I moved from BC to California with my 2008 e90. Two things made my process more complicated than it needed to be:

1) BMW USA mis-typed the VIN on the letter stating no outstanding recalls. I was hoping to import my car as I was driving down from Vancouver to Los Angeles, however, they wouldn't let me import my car at this time. I had no issues driving in the U.S, I just had to go to Long Beach port CBP with a fixed letter to officially import the car federally (usually you can do this only at land borders, but it seems Long Beach port was an option too).

2) After you import it federally the next step was register it with California DMV. Things were going well until they couldn't find a "Federal Compliance Plate" on the drivers side door jam. Not sure why my car doesn't have it (is it a U.S thing?), but then I had to go to California Highway Patrol (CHP) to get them to inspect the car to make sure it wasn't stolen. Once their inspection was done and I had their paperwork, I could then register the vehicle at the DMV.

I had no issues passing smog (i have a custom tune, but headers and exhaust are stock), and I didn't have to do anything with TPMS.

Once again, it would have been a super easy process if it wasn't for those two things above.

Did you have to get your speedometer/odometer swapped out or did it already have miles on it?
Before registering the vehicle did you have to go and pass your driving test to get a California drive license? This part I'm a bit confused about.

[trailblazer]

Did BMW Canada or BMW USA issue the "Letter of Conformity" you presented to US Customs & Border Protection to complete the import process?
I have been entertaining the idea of importing an e90 for the last few years but the foreign auto firms make it extremely difficult for people to import late-model Canadian vehicles into the USA IF its not a Canadian resident moving to the USA. USCBP requires a "Letter of Conformity" issued by the vehicle manufacturer stating that it meets US EPA and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Most of the late-model vehicles in Canada already comply with EPA standards. An import duty (2.5%? will have to be paid if it was not made in the USA, Canada, or MX).
I have an address in Canada and live in the USA so I might buy one in Canada, register it there in my name with my Canadian address, and then petition BMW to give me the doc's. I should add that I'm trying to avoid the use of a broker who charge a ridiculous amount of money to file a couple forms and "make it conform". I suppose if it was only a couple hundred bucks I'd consider it.