Registering Mini-Truck?

[albertatrout]

Has anybody here ever registered an out of country vehicle before? I'm looking at buying a Japanese mini truck which has not been registered/ used on the highway in Canada before but I do not know the process. It is already in Canada, but has only been used on private land. Any ideas? Cost specifically? Thinking it would be a great little fishing truck for the bit of off-roading i need, belly boat or pontoon would fit on the back just fine. Just trying to figure out what it may cost in the end.

[Flytyer]

Depends on a lot of different things, such as street legal , safety inspections, what province it is in and other things that I can't remember as I looked into this type of thing years ago and at that time it was going to cost more that what it's worth. Maybe looking for an old Willies is a better option

[TIKKAM65]

Its gotta go for an out of province inspection not sure what the cost is anymore but should run around 200$ depending on the year there are certain things you may require to install like daytime running lights etc. Not sure about overseas vehicles but just call a shop that does inspections, they will tell you what it takes.

[Taco]

And try to not look too silly when climbin' in the left side door and then realizin' all the essential go Vroom! Vroom! stuff is over there on the right side..... don't ask.....

[NewDirection]

For sure you need to pass an out of province. I can't remember for sure (its been awhile since I did mine) but I think it also needs a Canadian import inspection of some sort. The main one is that it has to be at least 15 years old. And that's down to the month of manufacture. It should be on the inside of the door or firewall I believe. It's for sure doable but the things that could be deal breakers are if it doesn't pass the out of province can you get parts for it and how long will it take to get them? For example I painted my car a few years ago and took out the windshield because it was cracked a little on the bottom. I figured I'd replace it with the North American version and threw it out. So I go to put the new one in and realize that it doesn't fit because the bottom goes lower on one side because of the windshield wiper motor and its on the opposite side as the Japanese car. So it took somewhere around 6 months to find a used one that was cracked worse than the one I threw out. It's worth looking into though. Things like brakes and starters and alternators if they're not the same as something else sold over here can be a hassle. It's kind of funny to go to a parts store and ask for parts from three different vehicles because that's what cross references to yours. Depending on what it is too there might be enough of them all ready imported that you might find some used stuff if you need. I'm not trying to scare you off, you can find some good deals. Just trying to make sure you're aware of some things and don't make the same mistakes that I did. The other thing to think about is there are times when driving a right hand drive vehicle can be scary. Like turning left at an intersection when some one coming the opposite way is waiting to turn as well. You can't really see past them if some one is coming. Also if you want to pass on a two lane highway. You can't see past the vehicle you want to pass to see if anyone is coming towards you. Sorry like I say I'm not trying to scare you off but just trying to help you make a more informed decision. Hope it helps and sorry for the long post. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[albertatrout]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. Its greatly appreciated. We will see if it works out.