Odd importing dilema.. | GTAMotorcycle.com

Odd importing dilema..

Max527

Well-known member
Out of province registration? Importing?

Hello,

2 weeks ago my father passed away from a heart attack. He was on vacation in Croacia and lives in México. He visits BC every summer for a few weeks to ride and tour the province and some US states below. He also has 2 bikes in México that I often rode without issues so riding for me wouldn't be a problem.

Anyways, prior to his passing, he told me that he had a 2016 Suzuki Vstrom 650 waiting for me jokingly with his friend in BC if anything were to happen to him. He predicted the future too soon unfortunately.
I (35) am in the process of getting my M2 and shipping the bike here to Toronto so I can follow in my dads footsteps.
He told me also that his wife didn't know about the purchase and to keep that a secret. So, my question...

How do I register an out of province motorcycle that was signed over in my name, thanks to his friend, in Ontario? I read the step by step process but confused on the registration part. Is it as simple as it seems to go to a Service Ontario and register the motorcycle?

Thanks in advance.
 
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"I know this sounds like a fake story, but it's 100% true
when I was in college, this beautiful girl came up to me............."
 
Very important question: Look at the bike's VIN plate ... What does the declaration of conformity say? Related ... Where was the vehicle originally bought when it was new? (it's unclear from your post)

If the VIN plate has a maple-leaf symbol inside a circle and the letters "CMVSS": It is a Canadian-specification vehicle. Suzuki built it to Canadian standards which means you just need to bring it in and register it same as any other vehicle. BUT, This is only going to be the case if the person in question originally bought the vehicle in Canada.

If the VIN plate has the words "this vehicle conforms to applicable federal motor vehicle standards" or something very similar, and has no maple-leaf symbol, then it is a US-specification vehicle and you can follow the RIV import procedure.

If it makes no mention of the words "this vehicle conforms to applicable federal motor vehicle standards" etc then it is a "somewhere else in the world" vehicle - and if it was bought in Mexico, this is the most likely case. And if that's the situation ... you are screwed. It cannot be imported to Canada and registered for road use until it is 15 years old to the date of manufacture. There is no procedure for establishing that a vehicle conforms to CMVSS if its original manufacture did not originally declare it to be so. Even if the rest-of-world vehicle is IDENTICAL to the Canadian-spec vehicle ... The government only cares about the paperwork, and if it was originally built as a rest-of-world vehicle then that's what it is ... end of story ... can't be imported (until it's 15 years old). Unless you want to import it as a paperweight, or a track bike (not likely, for a Vstrom).
 
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Very important question: Look at the bike's VIN plate ... What does the declaration of conformity say? Related ... Where was the vehicle originally bought when it was new? (it's unclear from your post)


If it makes no mention of the words "this vehicle conforms to applicable federal motor vehicle standards" etc then it is a "somewhere else in the world" vehicle - and if it was bought in Mexico, this is the most likely case. And if that's the situation ... you are screwed. It cannot be imported to Canada and registered for road use until it is 15 years old to the date of manufacture. There is no procedure for establishing that a vehicle conforms to CMVSS if its original manufacture did not originally declare it to be so. Even if the rest-of-world vehicle is IDENTICAL to the Canadian-spec vehicle ... The government only cares about the paperwork, and if it was originally built as a rest-of-world vehicle then that's what it is ... end of story ... can't be imported (until it's 15 years old). Unless you want to import it as a paperweight, or a track bike (not likely, for a Vstrom).

I am almost VERY certain he bought it in BC. I guess I'll find out soon enough! Thanks for the help!
 
Another way to look at it is by the title, which you should have since you say it was signed over to you. If it's Canadian then you just take it to Service Ontario with either a bill of sale and pay the taxes, or fill out a family gift form and you pay none. Considering the circumstances, Service Ontario may need to help you with the form since your father is not available to sign his section. If the title is from the USA, then go to RIV.CA and follow the process - looks like Suzuki Canada requires you to go through an authorized dealer to make any required changes. If the title is from anywhere else, then you can only import it as parts. From there you would have to use your imagination on how to turn that pile of "parts" into something that could be registered.
 
Another way to look at it is by the title, which you should have since you say it was signed over to you. If it's Canadian then you just take it to Service Ontario with either a bill of sale and pay the taxes, or fill out a family gift form and you pay none. Considering the circumstances, Service Ontario may need to help you with the form since your father is not available to sign his section. If the title is from the USA, then go to RIV.CA and follow the process - looks like Suzuki Canada requires you to go through an authorized dealer to make any required changes. If the title is from anywhere else, then you can only import it as parts. From there you would have to use your imagination on how to turn that pile of "parts" into something that could be registered.

Actually I cannot use the family gift form as it's coming from a different province. There are was no bill of sale "sale" involved so I wouldn't be paying any tax esa either correct?
 
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Best bet is to call Service Ontario, explain the situation in detail, and they can guide you from there. But where is the title from? That is your biggest problem if it's not Canadian or American.
 
Best bet is to call Service Ontario, explain the situation in detail, and they can guide you from there. But where is the title from? That is your biggest problem if it's not Canadian or American.

I am 99% it's Canadian. My dad would have purchased it in Vancouver or Kelowna.
 
Re: Out of province registration? Importing?

Sorry for your loss. I lost my dad when I was about your age too. It sounds like he enjoyed travelling and riding motorcycles.

Is the motorcycle registered in your father’s name or your father’s friends name?




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Re: Out of province registration? Importing?

Sorry for your loss. I lost my dad when I was about your age too. It sounds like he enjoyed travelling and riding motorcycles.

Is the motorcycle registered in your father’s name or your father’s friends name?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks, I believe it might have been in his friend's name because he was able to sign ownership over to me? I am not entirely sure. Although his friend made it sound like my dad owned it and registered it first.
 
Re: Out of province registration? Importing?

Sorry for your loss.

I'm not advocating this, but as your father lived and died in another country, if he is the owner, a bill of sale signed by "him" may be all you need assuming it's a canadian bike with a clean title. I would be amazed if MTO ever caught on to this. If you really want to cover your ***, as you only have 6 days to register the bike from the time of sale, write up a bill of sale dated three weeks ago that says the transaction will be completed May 25. This should beat any trivial level of investigation they throw at it.
 
Re: Out of province registration? Importing?

Assuming the bike is registered in BC you will need a copy of the ICBC " Owner's certificate of Insurance and Vehicle License" and a ICBC "Transfer/Tax Form" (form APV9T) endorsed by the registered owner.
Take that to the MTO and you're golden. (ICBC = Insurance Corp of British Columbia).

If the vehicle was "willed" to you and you don't want to pay sales tax you will need a copy of the will to show the MTO (a certified copy is a good idea).
If the vehicle is not mentioned in the will you have to pay sales tax.
 
Re: Out of province registration? Importing?

If the vehicle is not mentioned in the will you have to pay sales tax.

True, but maybe he bought the bike for $100. MTO has no book values so he would owe $13. They may send a letter to the previous owner asking if that is the correct price, but I don't think he needs to worry about that letter resulting in the OP being thrown under the bus.
 
Re: Out of province registration? Importing?

True, but maybe he bought the bike for $100. MTO has no book values so he would owe $13. They may send a letter to the previous owner asking if that is the correct price, but I don't think he needs to worry about that letter resulting in the OP being thrown under the bus.

True. He is open to defraud the government at any time.
 
Re: Out of province registration? Importing?

Possibly some estate issues. If your father owned it, then I suspect his wife 'owns' it now. Post #14 has the solution though. I don't have any experience with MTO asking for Will/PoA/Executor documentation but plenty of other institutions ask if they know the principal is deceased. Possibly this fact is already in the system.
 
Re: Out of province registration? Importing?

Possibly some estate issues. If your father owned it, then I suspect his wife 'owns' it now. Post #14 has the solution though. I don't have any experience with MTO asking for Will/PoA/Executor documentation but plenty of other institutions ask if they know the principal is deceased. Possibly this fact is already in the system.

Agree. It’s an estate issue. Even if the bike is registered to a friend, it’s just as complicated unless the friend is down with signing the ownership over to you and knows the deal.

Ultimately it the estate that needs to sort out the assets and whoever the executor is.

And if a will wasn’t done, it another wrinkle.


Good luck. And my condolences. Lost my father when I was 8. Miss him still and I’m 48.


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