Quavers

Hi all,

I recently emigrated to Alberta and I am looking to buy my first car.

As I understand things, a person keeps the same license plate and puts it on whatever car they own. If its your first car however.. how do you get the license plate in the first place?

Any other tips would be welcome

Thanks!

pacepeter

You go to a registry office open late as well look up a local one on google you will need bill of sale for car when it's your first when changing you keep the plates you will also need insurance on the vehicle and you licence which will do as proof of I'd and your address mot only when 12 years old yes a bit crazy I know

scribe123

have a few of these:

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Piff Poff

When you go to register your car you will pay for the plate then too. You will renew the plate in the month corresponding to the 1st letter of your last name so if you are already 6 months into your 12 month period then you only pay six months this year and then when you renew next year you will pay the full 12 months. Clear as mud?

zsrh2002

In Ontario if you are buying the car from a dealer, you can get the dealer to get everything done for you. It saves the hassle and run around. Also at the Ministry of Transport offices there is a separate line for dealers and it is faster for them as they know the process.

Maybe its the same in Alberta?

Quavers

thanks for the responses guys.

Waiting to get hold of a letter from my last UK insurer to prove no-claims then Ill get to experience all this fun stuff

Steve_

I had a real problem with the insurance when I first came here, they use a clearing house in the UK for insurance now to prevent fraud so a letter from your previous insurer may not cut it unless you were using them for years. I had chopped and changed insurance companies for years and I had to go back to each one to get proof of no-claims that insurance companies here would accept, it was a right PITA.

The other thing is that they want proof you were licensed to drive, so make a copy of your DL before you exchange it, although you can use an abstract from the DVLA.

If you buy a new car, they will do the registration for you, otherwise you have to go the registry office and get a plate. Here is a tip - you can get two-year registrations and save $5. They don't seem to tell anyone about it and you cannot renew two-year registrations by mail but it can be done.

Also make sure the dealer gives you a bill of sale that is legible. I know in Nova Scotia they have vehicle titles which is a much better way of doing it imo, because a bill of sale is easy to forge which leads to all kinds of fraud.

Also shop around for insurance - I've seen people quote all kinds of crazy numbers on here.