Public Service Announcement - Buying Supra From Canada

Now that summer is gone in the pacific nw (like someone flicked the switch), I thought I would share my experience getting my boat from canada to the states so nobody else gets to experience the drama I did.

I have been craving a comp for several years and waiting to find the right classic composite, crystal waters turned me on to a '94 for a good price in great condition aboot :cool: 6 hours away from me in Canada. I talked to the guy a bunch, got closeup pics, asked him if he had paperwork and took the leap of faith and headed up to get it, cash in hand. When I got there the boat was as expected, everything looked great and I was ready to pull the trigger. I ask for the title and he hands me the title - to the trailer. Turns out in Canada they don't do boat titles and there are no yearly licensing or tab requirements for boats. There are no pleasurecraft ownership transfer requirements in canada, just a one time registration transfer requirement that is largely unenforced and only about 8 years old. I call the local insurance office and ask about this and they confirm that bill of sale is all that is needed, everything looks to be on the up and up; I have no reason to believe this guys is bsing me, he owns the trailer and it clearly came with the boat.

I bite the bullet and hand over the cash and haul a$$ to the border sweating bullets the whole way. Get to the border, show them the trailer title and b.o.s and give them the story. Border guy checks trailer & boat ID numbers, sends me thru no prob! Now I think I am home free right? WRONG.

A couple of days later I head to the Dept of Licensing to get titles and tabs. Trailer was a breeze, now comes the boat....We need proof of ownership from previous owner she says. I explain that it is a 20yr old boat, probably been thru a few owners and there is no ownership transfer requirement in Canda....We need proof of ownership to issue a title she says...NEXT!

After much research I find out that the only doc that will work is a vessel registration from the government of canada in my name. You can request this via mail with a copy of the bill of sale and about 5 weeks worth of wait. I do this and finally get registration in my name from the government of canada, take it to the licensing office, and FINALLY get my title & tabs.


MORAL:
If you buy a boat in canada that is coming across the border, make sure the person you are buying it from is the registered owner, has the document from the canadian gov't, have him give you a bill of sale, and just for good measure have him fill out a form you can get from the canadian government website stating that he is the owner of the boat and have it notarized in Canada. The first 2 months I owned this boat were nervewracking as hell, hopefully this saves someone from going through this.

Good news is, after all of this, I love the boat and have been having a blast with it. Now I have 9 months of crappy winter to fix all the little stuff that bugs me.

Congrats on a good ending to that story. I wasn't sure how it would turn out. So now you owe us some pics of your new Comp!

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Originally Posted by TitanTn

Congrats on a good ending to that story. I wasn't sure how it would turn out. So now you owe us some pics of your new Comp!

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I threw the few pix I have in an album in my profile

wow, must have been fun! Sort of sounds like me and my dad fighting NY.

NY is a b!tch! For our CC, it was an expired NH registration. Because it wasn't up to date NY would NOT let us PAY THEM $130+ to register the boat!?!?! Go to NH (dads family has a family house there) had it registered in 5 min for $90 no prob. So, now we are sticking it to NY by registering it in NH every year so far for $90, an out of state registration lasts 90 days in NY, the whole season basically!

Same deal with our Supra trailer! Lost the Texas registration, cant do anything with Texas plate, Texas no longer has it on record, and turns out, we found the "original" registration that my parents received. Its for a 1987 TANDEM axle 3000lb Supra trailer! We've never had to the correct registration. And in Texas, there are separate DMV's for boats, cars, atv's and trailers. The trailer must have the boat off and taken in for a full inspection, we had to fight them a long time in order to get it registered. Finally some said, oh, its a boat trailer, then we dont need the exact weight, just bring it in for inspection... ERRRRRR... So now we have to borrow the CC trailer plate in order to move the Supra around, can no longer get away with a 2008 (maybe 2009) Texas plate...

And for our 2002 Arctic Cat Z370 ES, with only 400 hours, and we are the 3 owner, the 1st was an old lady who cleaned and stored in her garage at all times. And the 2nd owner bought it and never used it or registered it. We bought it, the guy accidentally signed in the wrong place when transferring from the 1st owner, simply crossed out, and wrote under and every thing else was perfect. Not for NY! They said because he never registered it and that the signings were wrong they couldn't do anything. Went to NH, signed two yes 2 lines and it was in our name! THANK YOU NH!!!!

Another story. Wanted to re-register my uncles sled for him. Sadly in NH we couldn't do that. But if we signed our name on two different lines it would get transferred to our name! haha.

In NH they realize that if something is stolen it will get reported. And because if the theif registers it, it is now in their system and they can tack it down and actually catch the guy... As for NY, for some reason they like taking our money, *much more expensive than Texas!) but at the same time they dont let us hand it over to them...

I have to say, NH makes up for no sales tax by higher registration (only one year on boats) and higher house taxes(family house is taxed pretty high!). We don't mind at all giving some of our money to NH. Its a beautiful state and they take great care of the Mt and Lake Sunapee area!

To the OP's issue - definitely an issue that varies by state. As stated above, NH is pretty relaxed with registering boats, all you really need is Bill of Sale, US or otherwise, doesn't really matter. The logic might be, like 92SupraComp said, that they can find a thief easily if he/she registers the boat. Meanwhile they'll take the money happily. And NH does not issue titles for boats, of any age or size, which makes things dicey for lienholders, but anyway that's how it is.

When we sell a boat to someone from NY or MA, though, there's always something complicated with the paperwork thanks to the nuances of the various DMV/RMV whatever of each state.

The best thing to do is to call wherever it is that you are going to register the boat / trailer before you buy the boat to find out EXACTLY what you need. Thanks to the OP for posting the details on his experience, for that exact reason! Save someone else a headache in the future.

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Originally Posted by SquamInboards

To the OP's issue - definitely an issue that varies by state. As stated above, NH is pretty relaxed with registering boats, all you really need is Bill of Sale, US or otherwise, doesn't really matter. The logic might be, like 92SupraComp said, that they can find a thief easily if he/she registers the boat. Meanwhile they'll take the money happily. And NH does not issue titles for boats, of any age or size, which makes things dicey for lienholders, but anyway that's how it is.

When we sell a boat to someone from NY or MA, though, there's always something complicated with the paperwork thanks to the nuances of the various DMV/RMV whatever of each state.

The best thing to do is to call wherever it is that you are going to register the boat / trailer before you buy the boat to find out EXACTLY what you need. Thanks to the OP for posting the details on his experience, for that exact reason! Save someone else a headache in the future.

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I agree, whenever buying from somewhere other than your home state where you don't know the rules make sure you know what you need. The whole 'another country' thing just kind of added another layer to the whole transaction. I will say the canadian government was pretty responsive, they have a 1-800 number that somebody actually answers the phone and helps you get what you need - and they don't have a closed sign on the door:roll:

I live in WA too. I bought my boat from OR, but since OR doesn't have a requirement to register the trailer, my trailer had the old expired CA plates. My problem is that the CA registration did not have a weight for the trailer and WA needed an exact weight either from the previous title, or a letter from the manufacturer.

I was able to find out that SMP was Sweetwater metal products, but they don't do boat trailers anymore. I got a guy that told me an aproximate weight, then just made my own "letter from the manufacturer " using their logo that I poached of the internet. The other option would have been taking the trailer to get it weighed without the boat.

NH gave us a new transferable title. Don't know what SquamInboards is talking about...

So, actually, we could have registered our CC in NY for the past 2 years, but, we aren't for now. We go to NH at least 3 times a year and still don't mind handing them $90 for a one year registration. Thankfully, the lady at the DMV is very nice, she could put us down for Out Of State and then make $150+. But, because the family has a house there (she has been there for many years and understands the house situation, and has dealt with my aunts and uncles) she can legally (i think) put us down for In State Resident because we pay house taxes on the family house...

In Canada you are required to register your boat and display the license numbers
you receive prominently on your vessel on both sides
Of the hull.When you purchase a used boat in Canada
Ask for the trailer registration and have it signed over to you
As well as the owners copy of his boat registration
that should depict the numbers on the vessel as well as the current sellers name
And address etc.
There is also an area on that same form for the owner to sign same
Over to you for your future proof of ownership and registration .
Sometimes a buyer will fail to register those numbers as now belonging to him for when he does it triggers
A provincial sales tax due and payable.
Unless pulled over by the police on the water during a boaters check
It will go unnoticed.
When buying a used boat in Canada make sure
You get the boat registration as mentioned above and that
It is in the sellers name etc

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Originally Posted by 92SupraComp

NH gave us a new transferable title. Don't know what SquamInboards is talking about...

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Whatever document you have for your boat, from the State of NH, it's not a "title." The registration document (sometimes) has a place on the back so you can transfer it to a new owner. It serves as your ownership document, but it is not a "title" that can have lienholders attached, like a car or trailer. I know it's nit-picky but there is a difference, and the biggest one is the ability of a bank or other entity to have a lien on the vehicle with the title, and typically the bank or whatever would actually physically hold the title until the loan was paid off. With the registration document, there's nothing stopping someone with an outstanding loan on a boat from selling it on Craigslist and the buyer registering the boat at any agent location, only to find out much later that the boat has a lien on it, maybe when it gets repossessed, if the previous owner stops paying their loan. This does happen occasionally, and would be solved if you had to have a free and clear title. Most new boats will have a Certificate of Origin, which is similar to a title, but is issued by the manufacturer, doesn't allow for lienholders, and doesn't have to be present to get a registration if you have a bill of sale.

Again it's a detail but nonetheless, it's a thorny issue that those of us who process registrations for the state, would really like the legislature to make some changes and start issuing titles for boats, now that even a generic average I/O is over $30,000 new. Loans are common and there's no easy way of knowing whether a boat has one outstanding.

One more thing: I genuinely do not mean to come across as argumentative, but I do know what I'm talking about and I'm just trying to clarify. Cheers.

"Sometimes a buyer will fail to register those numbers as now belonging to him for when he does it triggers
A provincial sales tax due and payable.
Unless pulled over by the police on the water during a boaters check
It will go unnoticed."

I think this was the situation with the boat I got. This is why I posted so if anyone is headed north to pick one up they will pause for a minute and be sure the paperwork is in order. This creates a pretty big gap in the chain of ownership if multiple owners skip the CA registration process. A sticky situation on an older boat like this but could be a major bummer when you start looking at newer boats with higher prices!

I am sure every state has different rules and wrinkles, I was just trying to point out the US and Canada differences. When I was trying to figure out what to do I spent lots of time searching without getting any real answers.

oh, the actual original document with the specs of the actual item in question. Not the paper of who owns it, where it rides etc...

I see... My mistake...