Import Question - Worries about New Quebec Rules

[impalator]

Hi everybdoy,

I bought our Van through a dealer in Richmond - and as a result was not involved at all in terms of getting is certified / registered / approved with Transport Canada and ICBC for legally driving it...

As we moved to Canada from Switzerland last year (April 2008) we had a 40ft ocean container with all our belongings, household items etc. shipped. Among these items were also my 1969 Ford Cortina MK2 as well as my 1992 Motorcycle Honda Transalp XL600V.

Both vehicles were obviously over the required 15 years of age when imported. In addition, the Cortina is a left hand drive made for the non UK European market - so my request does not really fit into the Delica Forum.

However, since I know that some of you imported your vans yourself, and as the owner of a 1993 Exceed I do - after all - belong to the Delica community, I was wondering if you could let me know what steps I need to take to get these two vehicles licensed and insured in BC.

They are legally inside of Canada and I have all the original registration papers from Switzerland (certificate of title, mechanical reports for being in tip-top shape upon importation, Swiss licensing documents, copy of import documents etc.) and they obviously successfully cleared customs upon arrival in Canada.

With the worrying news coming from Quebec about our RHD's I want to make sure I get these vehicles licensed here in BC before some bureaucrat figures out a way to deny me the opportunity to cruise around BC with them....

Any hints and tips on where I should start, who I should contact, which office / agency I should call, whether or not to get the help of a mechanic etc. etc. and any other practical tips, hints and suggestions would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance and as always, CHEERS,

Chris

[loki]

Just give the bike to me :)

I would call an ICBC agent and talk to them, if they don't know they should point you to someone that does, I would imagine that customs is the hardest part of the whole thing, so if you have paper work from that it should be pretty smooth, that of course is just speculation.

[elbosque]

You will need to do an out of province inspection. To do it you will need to get an temp permit to get it to a shop licensed to do the inspection. Once they have have passed, you will apply for registration and have to show proof of owenrship. Complete details and more experienced assitance can be found at ivoac.ca. Good luck.

[konadog]

Hard to tell from the picture, but isn't that motorcycle right hand drive?

[elbosque]

Depends which side you choose to mount the side car.

[impalator]

RHD Motorcycle... LOL.... it's Japanese.... so in the eyes of a zealous ICBC inspector it could well be RHD... never know...

And since the Ford Cortina is actually a UK Ford model (although mine was made for the European LHD market) the same zealous inspector could also detect some RHD elements...

I actually talked with customs and the Vehicle Registrar today... seems I got all the paperwork - so I'll be paying a quick visit to ICBC and see what else is needed to get the two vehicles rolling...

Thanks for all the inputs,

Chris