canadaian laws ???

[scottie]

hi everyone
havent posted anything in a while...still looking for a bus...
saw one on ebay 1983 mci 9
it was close (driveing distance) and the price was right....
i  just got off the phone with "the powers that be" (goverment)
i cant bring this bus across the canadaian. boarder......any guess.....
its because (i was told) it has no seats it it!!!!! yes thats right no seats???
up here they look at that as a modified bus and that would not pass a "bus inspection"
the real kicker is the guy in the u.s.a has it titled as a r.v,  and that doesnt matter??

also if i did find a bus with seats and  got it across the boarder i was also told that i "might" have to get it inspected(some kind of bus safety check) first!!!! then i could change it to a R.V. title.. $$$$
crazie,crazie,crazie!!!
scottie

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Scottie,

Words are invaluable!

Don't call it a bus to the goverment. Call it a Motorcoach or Motorhome.

Good Luck
Nick-

[Paso One]

Hi Scottie
I have brought in 2 buses from the US and there is a few things that can be done to ensure that you can get it into Canada.  Have you been to the approved  Vehicle/ Bus site the Gov't has???  Should have been no Problem for the MCI But they have buses on a list that cannot be brought in. I don't have the web site link handy maybe somebody else has. I also have a name of a top dog in the Customs process that made my first crossing a breeze.  The second crossing they didn't even Bat a eye.

[scottie]

hi nick

yah with my luck ,i would hate to pay for it,drive it across the country,and then canadaian customs says sorry cant let you in....then what sorry cant park that "thing " here, takes up too much room..

mmm i wonder if walmart in Ogdensburg n.y would let me park it in their parking lot with a sign in the front window "FOR SALE" CHEAP !! BUS /HIGHWAY COACH /MOTOR HOME /R.V./ MOTOR COACH / PARDICE ON WHEELS /MOTOR HOUSE ...LOL LOL
SCOTTIE

[tekebird]

get all your ducks in a row including letters from the authorities.

get a letter from MCi stating that one could buy the exact same bus with no seats......they did sell shells and still do

[scottie]

HI PASO ONE

from what i have  heard its the EAGLES that you cant bring in to canada

this bus, which is a M.C.I  would have been fine ...but the owner took the seats out...and thats what the problem is NO SEATS...canadaian customs just take one look at it and say...thats not a bus because there are no seats in it  ,.... go figure...WELCOME TO CANADA....
scottie

[dave870]

First thing is to check if your choice of coach is permitted to be imported,  many have never been issued a "Certificate of Compliance" with Canadian regulations.

Dave.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/impusae.htm

[scottie]

hi tekebird
now do all thoses ducks have feathers  ...because if they dont,then there not really ducks and they would not be allowed into canada....
im not going to give up yet!!!
ill head down to the d.o.t. and ask them about modified buses,buses with seats and ones without.

gee  back in june when i started looking for a bus,and got hooked up with this wed site (and started getting the bus conversions mag) i figured the hardest part of this whole project would be working on the bus engine,brakes etc...not trying to get the thing across the boarder  
scottie

[scottie]

hi dave 870
thanks for the link
i think another thing im going to do is next time  i  cross over the boarder , chat it up with the boys in the office on both sides of customs.
problem is some of them dont know a lot,and like i said before i would hate to pull up with the 40 footer i just bought and i get the good old goverment dead end ..and im out $100,000 ... ...just kidding
scottie

[tekebird]

I would not refer to it as a bus or modified bus.

MCI Coach or MCi Motorhome.

once you get your duck's with or without feathers authorized in writing...the monkeys at the border won't have much to say when you show the a letter from above.

[scottie]

hi tekebird   

i was speaking to a woman at the registrars of imported vehicles,she the one what told me, sorry no seats in it,cant bring in ,then i told her the guy in mass. has in titled as a R.V ,she say it didnt matter what its title as ,because its a bus,it has no seats ,and there for it will not pass a bus inspection...
i told her i would be takeing the seat out anyways and turning it into a  R.V /MOTOR HOME etc,didnt seem to matter ....its one of thoses thing where i dont know at this stage if she 100 right or shes dead wrong....im just worried about the guys at the boarder crossing.....i just want to get it home and ill worrie about all the b.s later. i just dont want to go through and the time,effort and money and its parked at the boarder....
scottie

[David Anderson]

Scotty,

You might try talking to Ian at Busnut.com.  He is the moderator for the board and I think he lives in Canada.  Maybe he could give you some good advice.

Good luck,
David

[Stan]

Scottie: There are a multitude of laws, rules and regulations covering the import of vehicles. If you follow all the rules and have all the paperwork completed and sent to the appropriate places (US Customs where you will export the vehicle and Canadian Customs where you will import the vehicle) it is pretty straightforward. After you have it in Canada, you have to have it inspected and if there are things like 'daytime running lites" you have to have them installed before you can use the vehicle.

In your case you want to import a modified vehicle which comes under the rule

Vehicles that have been modified from their original state, other than regular maintenance, may not be eligible for importation into Canada.

The key word here is 'MAY' which means that modified vehicles are not outright banned. Your argument of a bus without seats is reasonable when it is being imported for conversion. My suggestion would be to get a customs broker to do the paperwork and they will try to get the approval if you tell them what you are doing. Customs Brokers are bonded and they can get away with a lot that individuals can't. They are dealing with the bureaucrats every day and know how to make an end run.

[bobofthenorth]

Guys there's a lot of conjecture and supposition in this thread.  Not meaning to throw cold water on the OP's dream but ...........  he's screwed by the dweebs in Transport Canada.  The sticker that he is going to run up against is that he needs to get a certificate of compliance from the manufacturer (in this case MCI) stating that the coach in its current configuration meets all applicable Canuckian safety regs as of the date of manufacture.  He simply can't get that certificate - MCI won't issue it because the coach has been "modified".  And that's as far as it will go.  He can spend money, hire brokers and take his chances but the bottom line is it ain't gonna happen.

BTDT got the t-shirt.

The only way you get a converted coach across the Canuck border today - note - TODAY - is if it is converted from a new shell by a converter that is registered with Transport Canada as a manufacturer.  That way the converter rather than MCI/Prevost issues the certificate of compliance.  And that's a really short list - Marathon, Liberty - I'm not sure who else but its a short list.

In days past you could smuggle coaches across the border, strip off the US plates, go into the local yokel who sold registrations, tell him the coach was from out of province and he'd enter the S/N and issue a registration.  Not anymore - all that stuff is computerized and linked across country - as soon as the coach shows up as never registered in Canada you are up $hit creek with no paddle.

Again - BTDT got the t-shirt.

[buswarrior]

Hello scottie

Quit yer bitchin'.

These rules are to protect manufacturing jobs, create government work and to trip up fools.

You ain't any of those, are you?

If the bus is admissable, and if you have the ca$h to make it worth my while, I got the grea$e.

e-mail in the profile

happy coaching!
buswarrior