Hi everyone,

I lost my old account so I've created a new one.

I had a 1997 FIAT Coupe 20VT in the UK which I imported into Canada in 2005 (http://www.tipo16v.co.uk/coupe/coupe.html)
I moved to Houston in 2011 and left my car in storage in Canada.

Now it's 25 years old so I'm trying to import it into the USA. It would be easy if it was drivable because I could simply drive it over the border. However it's not be run for 10 years so I'm having to have it transported and using a broker.

It's not turning out to be very easy. Trying to determine a valuation is the first hurdle. I'll be charged 3% tax for an Italian car so I don't want to use the insurance valuation I had in Canada. It'll also need a 3x valuation bond from the broker. US customs typically expect you to have purchased the vehicle in Canada and have bill of sale with a CAD$ value.

The other issue is the VIN which they will need to confirm the build year of the vehicle.

My VIN is ZFA175000P******* where the last 7 * are the serial number. I tried to search for Coupe VIN numbers online and from what I could see they were all the same apart from the serial number.

I'm getting mixed results if I try and use various online VIN decoders. Some say it's 1993, some 1994, some a convertible etc. I have more success with UK sites than USA sites.

I think it's the "P" that's throwing them off. This is usually the model year and P means 1993, certainly using the USA VIN decoders such as https://www.autozone.com/vin-decoder

I have the Canadian and UK registration documents which should it as a 1997 which may help confirm it's age.

Cheers

John

Hi and welcome back, good luck with the paperwork!

Are you by any chance Tipoboy (?) that moved across the pond years ago, and documented it on here?

Yes :-)

I used to have a 1993 FIAT Tipo Sedicivalvole hence the old forum name

Fascinating, what a comeback!

A couple of mates and myself have been attempting to rescue an abandoned 20vt which hadn't run for 13 years when we bought it, different issue to yours but it's still fighting its corner

You can't use the normal VIN decoders since it's not a normal VIN. Coupes of all years have the "P" so it's meaningless. It should be replaced by a zero and then input into ePer, which if you're lucky will give a date of manufacture, but for most Coupes it will be a month/year, and for early Coupes just the year.

However if you need more "proof" you could contact the homologation department at Fiat UK and for a small fee they will provide a letter confiming what you already know, but useful for sending off to the "authorities"

On the door or door pillar is there a sticker showing the tyre pressures, vehicle weight, load capacity etc.

I don't remember there being one. This is required on US vehicles, I'm not sure if it's common on all new vehicles.

Thanks

John

Nothing to add but Good to see you are still about.

Was actually thinking about you the other day as well oddly enough