TDIMeister's German-imported 1998 Audi A4 Avant TDI quattro

[bhtooefr]

You know, I've thought of another end run that doesn't require shipping it all the way back to Germany...

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/de...porting-a-vehicle,-car-or-engine-into-the-u.s.

Bring the vehicle into the US, then conduct the sale in Canada. Bring it back into Canada under the new ownership.

(Check with a lawyer before actually doing that, mind you.)

 

[TDIMeister]

I have not done this, but I don't think it will work. Imports from the US to Canada, while doesn't have the 15 year age restriction, have other different rules and procedures, particularly the RIV (Registrar of Imported Vehicles) process. And in that case, there is a list of specifically inadmissible vehicle models, and the vehicle must meet FMVSS/CMVSS standards, that is, made for the domestic US/Canadian market; it must even have a certificate from the manufacturer certifying this fact.

https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/motorvehiclesafety/safevehicles-importation-usa-index-445.htm

Important Considerations
your vehicle is not officially imported until you have it inspected and certified by the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) in Canada.
a vehicle that fails the RIV inspection cannot stay in Canada even though you paid taxes and/or duties when you brought it through Customs.
a vehicle modified from its original state, other than regular maintenance, may not qualify for importation into Canada. This also applies to Canadian vehicles modified in the U.S. and returning to Canada. For example, but not limited to;
a van transformed into a motorhome (often known as Class B motorhome),
a van equipped with raised roof and/or modified interior,
a pick-up or a passenger car equipped with lift kit,
a motorcycle converted to a motor tricycle (trike),
a vehicle stretched or lengthened, etc.
a vehicle built or assembled by more than one manufacturer must meet additional requirements (ex:, vocational truck, van conversions, motorhome, bus, limousine or other).
Before you buy a vehicle in the United States that you plan to import into Canada, contact the RIV and get the facts:

Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV)
405 The West Mall, Suite 400
Toronto ON M9C 5K7
Within North America: 1-888-848-8240 (English and French)
E-mail Address: support@support.riv.ca

More: https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/motorvehiclesafety/safevehicles-importation-faq-index-452.htm

 

[j29]

We'll see what tomorrow brings more phone calls ?
I'm also thinking about phoning customs at the shipping port as they do this sort of thing more than the border CSB . The guys at the border say they really only deal with us imports.

Thanks for you replys, my purchase is subject to clearing Canada customs so I can keep the current owner on the hook.

 

[MEIN_VW]

Can I ask why the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had to inspect the car? Just checking for any agricultural products?

 

[TDIMeister]

To ensure that apart from the car you don't import foreign soil, flora and fauna.

 

[j29]

With the information we have been able to accumulate
We need the farzugschein and a bill of sale and the customs form 1 which may or may not have been filled out when the Van entered Canada. That's it, take that to customs and they change the status of the Van on the customs form1 from visitors visa to import. You then pay 6.1 % duty, GST, and $100 air conditioning tax. You will then get a new customs form1 and a B15 form, this is your recite for the taxes and duties. You should now be done with customs ( they don't even want to see the car! Just give us your money) they did ask if a soil inspection was done ( which was not) but they just shrugged it off.
Then the customs form1, B 15 form, farzugbrief ( if I have this correct it is the original title of the vehicle in the german owners name) to ICBC ( our insurance co.) along with a provincial inspection and air care ( air care is discontinued at the end of 2014) . And the car get registered in my name.

This is what we are going to do when the correct documents come from Germany, cross your fingers and I will ,let you know how it turns out, Monday we hope.

 

[CFriedriszik]

@j29
Fahrzeugbrief is the 'title' and acts as proof of ownership (that's why it is staying with the bank when the vehicle is financed or leased).
There are three variations out there - if the car is ever reregistered because of a sale, moving home or after temporary deregistration, the old superseded variant is voided (usually via stamp and cutting off an edge) and a new one is given out at the cost of the owner. The old void one can be handed out, which is in the interest of the caring owner because of either the historical value and / or documentation of all owners:
A very old one, called 'Pappbrief' because it is of cardboard. Only für historical vehicles.

The old one up to 2005, which has various information about the car including the last 6 owners and most allowed tire sizes etc.

The new one 'Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil II', which has the least information and is quite useless.

Fahrzeugschein is the small foldable leaflet which acts as proof of registration during police checks etc.
It is therefore revoked when the car is deregistered, which in turn is necessary to stop the tax beeing imposed. Therefore you can't get it usually when you buy a car.
Here you too have the old style upt to 2005 and the new 'Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I', which is altogether very confusing.

 

[j29]

Here is were I am at now.
The van is imported into Canada.
No soil inspection it was just shrugged off
With the bill of sale and the farzugsheine we imported the van by filling out the customs import form 1 as an import over 15 years old.
I paid 6.1 percent duty, 100 dollar air condition tax and GST the receipt is the B15 form
It is now a Canadian waiting to be registered.
We had the farzugbrief courier over from Germany and I am instaling daytime running lights, changing worn out tires, cleaning a mouse nest out of the battery compartment, getting ready for a provincial inspection.
My insurance agent wants a translation for the german farzugbrief I can't see why there is not much information on it that can't be read in English such as date of manufacture, type, weight, name of registered owner, land office were it was registered. And some comments on the bottom which do not mean anything to me.
I will try a different insurance agent.
Soon I will be driving an old german diesel multivan.

 

[j29]

Registered the van today

Registered the van today. So I finally got it through registration and insured it.
The farzugbrief is essential in the process the net weight found on the farzugsheine part 1,is also required or you will be sent to the weigh scale.
Without a german English translation the insurance agent will be lost so it is a real benefit. I did not pay $75.00 for it but knowing enough german and google translate I created a document that looked official enough for the insurance broker. It still took me two days to get through the process.
As for the provincial inspection, the first place had issues getting the german car to register in there computers an with the e code headlights then they couldn't find the stamped vin no. The third place just signed off on things including the encode headlights they were more interested in the 2.5 l tdi van, independent suspension and four wheel disks.
So the moral of the story here is be patient it's all about jumping through the hoops.
it's very neat to be driving a tdi VW van even if it it need a few repaired.
Apology to TDIMeister If I have hijacked his thread but I very much appreciated his information in importing a vehicle from Germany.
Thanks Arnie

 

[TDIMeister]

Replaced the clutch today. Lost the clutch after a 3000 km road trip that included New Hampshire to stay at the HO5G, Maryland's Eastern Shore with old TDIClub friend RC, Washington DC and upstate New York with 87homebuilttdi. Thankfully I was in the best possible place for this to happen, in my hometown.

The replacement kit, a Valeo SMF OEM replacement was the only option available to me being stranded 900 km from home and desperate to return ASAP. Turns out the clutch disc, while worn, and the flywheel-side friction surface was heat-checked, were intact. I feared that the DMF had broken up inside but this was not the case. It was actually the pilot bearing that had lost its needles, which caused an intermittent audible rattle when the clutch pedal was depressed, but after the lone incident of losing the clutch I was able to drive on normally to the shop. A $5 part that ended up costing $1000 and a week lost. No more discernible NVH or gear backlash due to the SMF, but I now have peace of mind that the clutch will be my last worry going forward. Had this been more anticipated with more time, I would've put an upgraded disc and pressure plate, but so far it is holding my chipped and 12mm state of tune.

My eternal gratitude to DIESEL DAZZLER to help me and his nephew for letting us use his shop facilities and hoist.

I'll edit this post later to document the mileage on the odometer when replaced.

Edit: I has been a while since I promised to update the mileage when the clutch replacement was made. Based on estimates from the fill-up I recorded right after the repair, it was done at 259,400 km.

 

[TDIMeister]

Back from more than 2 months absence overseas, but my car has had quite a bit of work done in the meantime. Thanks very much to Torque_Delight for his excellent work and keeping me in the loop with details, pictures and videos while I was half a world away.

The shocks and springs have been replaced with OEM B5 Avant sport suspension pieces, bringing it to 1BE specs (original was 1BA) and giving it a very mild and tasteful lowering without being punishingly harsh on bad roads. Swaybars have been upgraded with Neuspeed ones front and rear. All the suspension links and tie rods up front have been replaced. A badly corroded rear driver's side strut mount was replaced. I ordered it from the US because it was cheaper than sourcing from Canada but it turned out to be a false economy; UPS dinged me for brokerage fees and duty to the tune of nearly CAD$118!

Apart from some other minor repair items, the main big change is that my car now has cruise control, because it was not originally so-equipped. Guyaume did some great sleuthing for parts online and with the help of wiring diagrams did the retrofit. It works great! I'm very happy! The car is in the best shape ever even at 264,000 kms with gradual upgrades, doing maintenance and replacing worn-out parts out over the past 1 1/2 years. Otherwise it has been absolutely delightful and trouble-free over 52k km of ownership. With brand new and upgraded suspension parts, the car handles tight, flat and sure, even with the winter tires now mounted on.

Edit: Oil/filter change (~9,000 km OCI) with Castrol Edge 0W40/Mahle.

 

[GoFaster]

That's a good status update!

 

[chaloux]

Weird, I thought I heard that you were selling the car. Clearly that's not the case! I'll be PMing you in a bit about importing...

 

[K.I.T.T.]

Up!

 

[TDIMeister]

Oil/ oil filter/air filter/fuel filter change @ 277174 (~13168 km OCI) with Castrol Edge 0W40/Mahle/Mahle/CAT. Also replaced left rear wheel bearings, rear rotors and pads back in April with about 273300 km.

65k km in a little over 2 years in my hands. Still love it to pieces.

 

[TDIMeister]

Timing belt, water pump and oil/filter change at 298,115 km, then drove 900 km home. Inching to 300k km. . But Looking back at past posts, the last TB changed was done in the fall of 2013 at 242,985 km, so I was way ahead of the interval km-wise; I thought I last replaced the belt earlier after I got the car in my hands and with fewer kms - I guess I should read the posts here first before making big and expensive decisions... The belt still looked great but with the 12mm injection pump I didn't want to push it anywhere near the full 100k km anyway - the first-generation automatic ALHs with 11mm injection pump recommended 40k mile (~65k km) TB replacements so I don't really regret the peace-of-mind of having done it, but it came at an inconvenient time and parts were very hard to get with the perceived rush and urgency that didn't turn out to be the case...

Also fixed a coolant leak at the hoses from the water pump outlet to the cylinder head flange alongside the block.

Edit: I can tell that the stretching TB had retarded the injection timing sufficiently to have a noticeable effect on fuel consumption. Coming down I was doing about 5.4 L/100 km on the highway, returning after I'm at 5.0 (with AC on all the way). The drive is all-freeway over 900 km and I do it so frequently that I'm confidently aware of even small differences in fuel consumption. That alone is worth something. If I average a 5% hit in fuel economy over 100k km interval, based on my Fuelly running cost of 6 cents per km, that will mean $300.

 

[Alcaid]

When will we see a sequential compound setup on this one?

 

[PeeWee]

Keep on rocking that Audi

 

[TDIMeister]

Oil filter change with Mobil 1 0W-40 European Car Formula / Mobil 1 Extended Performance Oil Filter @314136. A little over 100000 km in less than 3 years in my hands. Still soldering on.

 

[Windex]

Looking at your fuelly, you've been all over the place this past year!

 

[TDIMeister]

British Columbia and back, almost exactly 9000 km - under $450 in fuel and only a flat tire.

 

[TDIMeister]

Haven't posted an update in a log time, but happy to report that all has been well. Life has been going on; I moved to the western Canadian province of British Columbia but only recently titled and plated my car in the province after the mandatory inspection.

The original windshield lasted over 20 years AFAIK with nary a bunch of chips that got fixed, but it succumbed to a recent rock strike and had to be replaced in order to pass the inspection, and with it visible records of the car's provenance - the yellow German Euro 3 and Quebec inspection stickers - went away with it.

One side benefit of the inspection is that for the first time in a couple of years, the gauge cluster is not a Christmas tree with ABS and airbag lights constantly on. The respective fixes were relatively straightforward, with new rear wheel speed sensor cables and soldering together a loose under-seat airbag wiring harness, the latter done at the local dealer for the cost of an hour's labour.

Only some minor wear items have been replaced in the intervening years (!) since the last update, but my car, now 21 years old with 363k km, remains an incredibly reliable and enjoyable workhorse. Still no structural rust, but the front fenders have paint flaked-off and surface rust in place on the wheel arches - I got replacement fenders that I'll paint and install when the real need arises. Incredibly, the AC still works having never touched anything!

The turbo, engine long block and transmission are still all-original, save for the upgraded 12mm injection pump that is starting to weep fuel, but the car is still driveable. Fixing that is next on the to-do list.

I got caliper carrier brackets that will allow upgrading to larger 312mm front brake rotors from the Audi A8 (288mm currently) while retaining the stock calipers, pads and lines. They will be put in at the next brake replacement interval.

I haven't update my Fuelly profile in quite some time - being married with a baby leaves me with more pressing priorities, but I still consistently get 6L/100km ex-winter for my short in-city commutes to work (a fill-up now lasts at least 6 weeks). I can get as low as 5.2 on roadtrips (which in BC inevitably means some mountain pass traversing), and have done 1800 km before having to refuel between a brim-full vented tank plus 24 litres in a nominally 20L yellow Jerry can.

Next im going to upgrade the interior with post-facelift center console, dash trim and door cards that I'm picking up. Will most likely buy and install an Android-based touchscreen radio/media player with backup camera to replace the original cassette tape deck and practically non-existent radio reception.

Have I said that I adore this car?

 

[andy2]

Haven't posted an update in a log time, but happy to report that all has been well. Life has been going on; I moved to the western Canadian province of British Columbia but only recently titled and plated my car in the province after the mandatory inspection.

I haven't update my Fuelly in quite some time - being married with a baby leaves me with more pressing priorities

Cool,Happy for you man ! Also Glad to hear that the car is still plugging away.

 

[TDIMeister]

Thanks Andy!

 

[Alcaid]

So when will it see a dual electronic VNT sequential compound setup?

 

[Eivind]

So good to hear! I've been following this all along.


I do also adore my Audis, especially the B5 with around 520k on the chassis.
Really nice to hear people taking good care of these!

 

[tomo366]

Hey Dave!! I still have my 2015 SEL TDI bit it is my Wifes daily Driver!! and I drive a Super sweet 2014 BMW 328D Xdrive!!I still remember the good old days though!!

 

[JFettig]

Great to hear David! What part of BC are you in?

So when will it see a dual electronic VNT sequential compound setup?

I've been dreaming about this for no good reason recently...

 

[TDIMeister]

So when will it see a dual electronic VNT sequential compound setup?

Probably never in this car, unfortunately. I'm just enjoying it too much as a daily driver and fatherhood leaves little opportunity for ambitious projects and toys. See bottom of this post though!

So good to hear! I've been following this all along.


I do also adore my Audis, especially the B5 with around 520k on the chassis.
Really nice to hear people taking good care of these!

Yes, any well sorted out car taken care of and up-to-date with maintenance will last a good long time. I'd like to put a lot fewer km per year (not to mention keep it away from winter's snow), and keep this for another 4 years I reckon.

Hey Dave!! I still have my 2015 SEL TDI bit it is my Wifes daily Driver!! and I drive a Super sweet 2014 BMW 328D Xdrive!!I still remember the good old days though!!

Love the 328d xDrive too (in Touring flavor)! But in my dreams I'd like an X5 35d for myself and 40e PHEV for my wife.

Great to hear David! What part of BC are you in?

Almost smack in the middle of the province, in Prince George.

I've been dreaming about this for no good reason recently...

Let's do it! Your 98 Passat is a platform and mechanical twin to mine. GTD1752VRK HP and GTB3576KLNRV LP with water-to-air interstage and after-coolers, the latter integrated to the intake manifold using 068129713A!

 

[JFettig]

Let's do it! Your 98 Passat is a platform and mechanical twin to mine. GTD1752VRK HP and GTB3576KLNRV LP with water-to-air interstage and after-coolers, the latter integrated to the intake manifold using 068129713A!

Your sizing is pretty spot on! That intake sadly won't fit under the hood, there are height restrictions. Passat is kicking butt currently. If I ever make any major changes, I might as well start with the built PD motor I have on the shelf