WalterWhite

If I buy a car in Ontario I understand I must register it in 6 days and I must have insurance to register it.

I am a little confused about the plate belonging to the driver and not the car thing. So the plate is the driver's for life? Then this would mean that the seller takes their plates (or plate as I think you only need one on the back in Ontario??) yet I don't have a plate as I have never driven or owned a car in Canada.

How do I get insurance when the car is not registered or has no plates? I hear I need to shop around for insurance but this takes time. Can I or someone else with insurance on another car drive it away for me?( like 3rd party for other cars in the UK on a comprehensive policy). Surely I can't be expected to decide on a full years insurance there and then.

So after the papers are transferred how do I legally drive away?

dbd33

I don't know how you would do it legally, I've always either driven the car away on the previous owner's plates and returned them later or taken plates I had hanging around and screwed those on temporarily. You do need two in ON, btw. Like most people I have a pile of plates because it's usually easier to get a new plate for a new car than to change the plate/car association with the government.

Piff Poff

Strangely enough, we do the same in Alberta Can you not get a temporary in transit permit thingy? I think they are about $50 and you can use them to get from a-b with a new to you car, to give you a chance to get any inspections and licensing done (I think)?

club_biscuit

if you buy it at a dealership they will get the car plated for you. I think there are websites where you can compare insurance to some extent, but it doesn't really take that long to call a couple of companies (there aren't that many, in actuality) and get an estimate. they will fax you or the dealership a rider and away you go.

it is different if you buy privately - I've also just attached old plates to the new car and sorted it out in the next day or two - might be a bit trickier for your first purchase?

wizzard

I bought mine from a dealer, just seemed easier and prices are pretty comparable currently and you get more peace of mind if it is a reputable dealer who has inspected the car etc. Avoiding curbsiders etc.

I had not owned a car before in Ontario so had no plates. I basically got quotes etc from various insurance places, once I had narrowed down my prospective car choice, and then went and found the car, test drive etc. abd purcahsed it. I had to then provide them with proof of insurance which I finalized after purchasing the car and then they faxed over insurance confirmation to the dealer. As I had no plates they just got new ones for me and so when I went to pick it up it was plated and ready to go.

Usually there is a period inbetween buying the car and picking it up. We left a deposit when we bought it and brought the balance in a draft when we picked it up, and they cleaned it and all that inbetween, so I suppose you could have gone and registered the car at that point and got new plates if you needed them.

JB0591

Firstly in Ontario you have plates front and rear.

To get insurance you need the VIN, that is what the insurance will ask for, not the plate details. Here the VIN is quoted on all paperwork. The insurance will issue you with the pink slip, e.g. proof of insurance.

When you buy the car, the seller will provide you with the Used Vehicle Information Package UVIP (see below for description)...you take that paperwork and the insurance details to the Service Ontario office and pay the HST fee which is based on the selling price (they check against industry valuation against the selling price, to ensure you pay tax on going rate). They will then issue you the plates....you take them to the car and put them on, then drive it away.

That is how we did it. The seller is responsible for the paperwork, the UVIP comprises a saftey certificate, emmissions certificate and the transfer paperwork.

This is a link to more informatio non UVIP:

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dan...=UVIPStartPage


I think there is a temp plate procedure but to be honest I think you have to do much the same.

WalterWhite

Thanks for all the replies. I was a bit sceptical about buying from a dealer (still am tbh) as I have heard bad things about them on this forum and in the UK I have always bought privately although a dealer is probably easier for my first purchase as club_biscuit pointed out.

I haven't got to Canada yet but am trying to find out as much as I can as I will definitely need a car as I am staying with friends in a rural area and would otherwise be reliant on them giving me a lift to get anywhere. I'm concerned about the prices from dealers which is why I was looking to buy privately. I was hoping not to have to spend more than $3000 on a car factoring in tax and the apparently crazy insurance prices even though in the UK I have 8 years no claims and a clean license.

Is there a reasonable chance I can find a decent runner for under $3000 before tax (HST being 13% in Ontario)? All I need is a car that is legal and will get me from A to B. A lot of the cheaper ones I have seen advertised (even from dealers) seem to be sold as unfit. I can't afford to buy something then find out it needs a small fortune spent on it for repairs.

JB0591

If you have not done so have a look on www.Kijiji.ca p.s. you cant email via the site unless you have a .ca address so if you do want to contact a seller to ask questions get yourself a yahoo.ca address. It wont tell you that a .com or.co.uk address is not acceptable it just wont get sent.

in the woods

I use a .com email and have had no problems contacting people via kijiji but i am in canada so don't know about from the uk

JB0591

Yeah could be an IP address/location issue but Yahoo.ca worked from UK

WalterWhite

Looks like a good site thanks. I will check out what's available.

dakota44

I spent 30 years in the business and here is some advice.

First, be very cautious buying private. It is much riskier than buying from a registered dealer (not some small fly by night operator) who is licensed by the province. If the dealer misrepresents the car, mileage etc., you have recourse through OMVIC the governing body of dealers. If the car turns out to have an existing lien, the dealer is on the hook, not you. If the car was an accident and repair and not declared as such, with accurate details of the amount of damage, the dealer is liable. When you buy private you have no recourse except the courts and good luck there. If there is a lien, they take the car and you are stuck suing the seller. If it was an accident and repair, again the only recourse is a lawsuit.

There are a lot of curbsiders, people who pretend to be private sellers but who in fact buy damaged cars, cars with altered odometers, flood damaged cars etc and sell them. Buyer beware. That said, there are honest people selling privately and there are ways to check up on them. All used vehicles sold privately in Ontario have to have a sellers kit that includes names of registered owners, any reported accident and repair (although not all are reported) and mileage, assuming it has never been altered by a previous owner. Of course, if the car came from the U.S. at some point, or Quebec, god help you on the Quebec thing, the sellers kit is not much use. You can also use any of a number of websites to track a vin for the ownership history and accident and flood damage and write offs etc. It costs a few bucks but can save you plenty. Criminal action is also possible, but that gets satisfaction but no money.

Plating, if you buy from a dealer, as was mentioned, that will be taken care of as long as you provide insurance info. if you buy private, again as has been mentioned, you do the plating yourself with the bill of sale, a valid mechanical certification certificate and insurance info and pay the tax. If there is a disagreement between what the Province says the car is worth and what you paid, assuming the Province says it is worth more,l there is a form that can be taken to a registered dealer and filled out to explain why the car has a lesser value, for example body damage, burns oil high mileage or some other issue. If plating the car in Southern Ontario you will also need an emissions check, unless they finally got rid of that. Been gone for a few years, so not certain.

A temporary tag can be obtained to move a car but it still requires that it be insured, so not much help. Dealers use them more than anyone because every car on their lot is insured under their general policy.

As for dealers, stay out of the big city stores and get to a smaller community where the dealer lives and dies by reputation. Not a guarantee, but certainly better. Hope this helps, and feel free to ask any questions you might have.

By the way, $3,000 will get you next to nothing in a decent car. In fact, pretty much nothing. Almost exactly nothing. Unless you are very very lucky. They usually fall in the looks good from far but is far from good category. It is also the money range of the fly by night dealers and curbsiders. Stick to a make that has a solid reputation and avoid most domestics in that range. Good luck.

WalterWhite

Thanks for the advice dakota44. Will a dealer have insurance so that I can test drive a vehicle? I understand I must sort out my own after I have bought it which is not a problem as I will just leave it on the lot for a day or 2.

iaink

As a rule of thumb you wont generally find anything with safety and etest, (ready to register as it were), for much less than $1500 in a private sale.

Buyer beware applies here just as much as anywhere else.

The advantage of a cheap domestic is although it may have issues (and so will old imports too), parts and mechanical knowledge will be cheaper to keep it on the road. Old imports cost a lot to keep going once past 10 or so years old.

Major car killer here isnt the miles as much as physical years of exposure to the winter salt. Rust kills.

Dealers will have insurance for test drives, but may want to see a license first.

I sold a car at the end of my drive and the buyer got a temp tag for it to take it away so it does happen...

lmartin999

I have bought two excellent used cars from private sellers. It's not hard to decide whether someone is genuine. Dealers never seemed to understand my question about a FSH - which to me is paramount when buying a used car. I want to see every receipt from new (ideally I would like a fully stamped service book, but for some reason that seems impossible to find here).

I've owned about 30 plus cars in the last 20 odd years. The only bad ones have been those with no history whether in Canada or the UK.