Take roommate's car to Canada for a weekend?

August 20, 2022 10:33 AM

Our old car is getting increasingly unreliable. We are heading to Vancouver, BC next weekend - a six hour drive for us in Oregon - and our roommate has offered her newer car for us to borrow. Will that present any problems on either border crossing?

Maybe I've been watching too much of the border crossing show on Youtube, but I have a lot of anxiety about this not working and us having to turn around and come back. I can't seem to find anything on the internet about whether this will be a problem.

posted by MonsieurBon to Travel & Transportation around Canada (23 answers total)

Yes. They will ask to see license and proof of insurance and want to know why the names don’t match. A letter can resolve this.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 10:39 AM on August 20, 2022 [4 favorites]

I have never been asked for proof of insurance at the Blaine/Peace Arch crossings.
posted by Windopaene at 10:49 AM on August 20, 2022

I've also never been asked for car information at Blaine.
posted by Dashy at 10:56 AM on August 20, 2022

We crossed at Eastport/Kingsgate about a month ago, both directions. The only ID they checked was passport.
posted by solotoro at 11:34 AM on August 20, 2022

I would take a letter from the car's owner acknowledging that they know you're taking the car across the border, just in case. I used to take my kids though Canada a lot when visiting friends there, or heading to New England from Michigan, and always carried their birth certificates (to prove they were mine) and a letter from my partner saying he knew I was taking them to/through Canada. I only had to show the letter once out of many border crossings, but it was a small thing to prepare and I was glad to have it when I needed it.
posted by Well I never at 11:55 AM on August 20, 2022 [6 favorites]

I have crossed into Canada by car probably dozens of times (though never out west) by car and have never been asked any questions about the car at all, let alone for proof of insurance or registration or anything like that.
posted by fancypants at 11:56 AM on August 20, 2022

You might consider having your roommate add your name(s) to their insurance in case it makes any difference with coverage. I have done this in Canada (added a visitor to my own car insurance, or had a friend add me to their car insurance so I could drive their car) with just a phone call.
posted by lulu68 at 1:21 PM on August 20, 2022 [3 favorites]

I have once been asked for proof of insurance and ownership of the car at the border. Not at the usual border gate, but when my car was pulled over for a longer inspection on the way back from BC into Washington. I have not been asked for car documentation at the usual border gate, in either direction.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:44 PM on August 20, 2022

NOTE: I am basing my opinion from watching dozens of episodes of "Nothing to Declare: Canada Edition".

It is best to be prepared with a statement from your roommate that you have his/her permission to use the vehicle and/or the insurance covers you, and it lists his/her phone number and/or address, in case you got randomly selected for a longer exam. One thing smugglers do apparently is to "offer" a nicer vehicle to someone going north of the border... but it's hiding stuff somewhere the driver doesn't know about. The K-9 units sniffing got a hit, the car got pulled aside and taken apart, the loot was found, and the driver's hauled off to jail for smuggling while pleading innocence.

And one of the signs Border Protection look for is the car looks too new / too nice for the people driving (and it's not a rental). "A friend lent it to us" will tend to raise their suspicion. But that's probably why you asked us. :D You and I watched the same program on Youtube. :D
posted by kschang at 2:09 PM on August 20, 2022 [2 favorites]

I have several times been asked who owns the car when crossing from Washington to BC, and I'm sure if the answer was "someone else" there would have been many more questions. Bring prepared to explain thoroughly is the best plan.
posted by counterfeitfake at 3:03 PM on August 20, 2022

On the U.S. side, here's the official guidance from CBP:

CBP: Taking / bringing a car / vehicle into or out of the U.S. that belongs to a friend, relative, rental company, etc.

Can't seem to find anything similar from CBSA, but the above would likely be helpful if asked (more likely to happen if you're selected for secondary inspection, which can happen randomly).

My two cents is that following that CBP guidance re: paperwork would just help you feel more relaxed even if it doesn't come up on either side of the border, which is worth it on its own.

Anecdata: The last time I was headed home to Canada from the U.S. at the B.C./WA border by car (about three years ago), I was asked "Is this a rental car?" by the CBSA officer at primary inspection (i.e., right at the gate, not pulled over). It was, and I said so, but I wasn't asked to produce documentation. They clearly knew it was from the plates or something, so make of that what you will.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:27 PM on August 20, 2022

I've occasionally had CBP ask me who owns the (my) car when coming back from Canada, but I don't think I've ever been asked going into Canada (CBSA) except the one time when it actually was a rental, probably because it was plated Virginia or something similarly far away from the crossing I was at. In that case, I answered that it's a rental, and that was the end of the questioning.
posted by tubedogg at 3:59 PM on August 20, 2022

For all of you who haven’t been checked, could this be because the border patrol has access to a database and has confirmed the passport holder is the registered driver? I’ve assumed that they are running my plates as I arrive at the border.
posted by Sukey Says at 4:06 PM on August 20, 2022

could this be because the border patrol has access to a database and has confirmed the passport holder is the registered driver?

No, I’ve driven my wife’s car across the border without her, and nobody cared. We share a last name, but there’s no way to know anything else about our relationship from my passport or her registration. For all they knew, we could have been divorced and I could have stolen her car and kidnapped our daughter as part of a custody dispute.

In all the times I’ve crossed the border (my in-laws live in Buffalo, so we cross the border often), I’ve never been asked anything except “where were you born?”, “what’s the purpose of your visit?”, and “how long do you plan to stay in Canada?”
posted by kevinbelt at 6:56 PM on August 20, 2022

I have been asked about the cars ownership at Peace Arch crossing (going into BC), though the plates were from the east coast which may be why. I answered that I own the car and that was the end of the inquiry. I also assume the border guards have access to the cars DMV information in their booth, but am not 100% sure about that. If I were you I'd be prepared to answer questions/show some documentation but otherwise you'll probably be alright.
posted by carlypennylane at 6:57 PM on August 20, 2022

Never hurts to be prepared. I've found Canadian border guards to be a mite prickly on occasion. And for that matter, American border guards can be right bastards. It probably won't be a problem, but the border ain't an awesome place for uncertainty.
posted by wotsac at 7:01 PM on August 20, 2022 [4 favorites]

Not exactly answering the question, but related: make sure whatever auto insurance you think covers you, does while you're in Canada. This was some kind of a gotcha thing with rental cars and the Southern border in San Diego (which I didn't look much into since I didn't intend to cross the border.)
posted by ctmf at 11:20 PM on August 20, 2022

Best answer: I have done this exact thing at the Blaine crossing. I asked my friend to write me a letter, saying he was loaning me his car, and why (mine was getting repairs). At the border the guard asked me if this was my car, and I explained the whole thing and showed him the letter. He said, "It's good you have a letter."
posted by miles1972 at 11:48 PM on August 20, 2022 [2 favorites]

I’ve entered Canada 5-6 times in a car that was not mine. Most of the time they asked no questions about the car. A couple times they asked whose car it was, and I said “my friend’s car” and that was the end of the questions.

However, it’s a good idea to have a letter just in case.
posted by mekily at 5:49 AM on August 21, 2022

Not only have I been asked to show my car ownership papers (reg AND title) when crossing into Canada, but my vehicle was denied entry while both occupants were fine to cross. We had to turn around and park it in Plattsburgh, then rent a car to go home.
Not at all the same citizenship/car ownership status combo as you, but just to say they DO check sometimes and you're better off having more paperwork than none if they do.
posted by Freyja at 12:03 PM on August 21, 2022

Perhaps I am overly anxious, but I'd have your friend draft up the letter, and then you and your friend sign it in the presence of an Oregon Notary. Then have the Notary stamp it. This can show proof that you both are actually who you say you are, as the Notary will check IDs.

I'm saying this, as a Notary in WA State.
posted by spinifex23 at 8:39 PM on August 21, 2022

I'm late to this but I have been the car-loaner in this situation, and we didn't think to get a letter, but I DID add her to my insurance temporarily and we had proof of that, which was helpful. IIRC they called me from the border to confirm that I'd really loaned them the car and knew it was leaving the country; I wrote a letter for the return trip in case.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 1:29 PM on August 22, 2022

Response by poster: We had our roommate sign a letter and also added the car to our insurance. No one in customs cared going either way. Thanks!
posted by MonsieurBon at 10:16 PM on August 29, 2022