HaMa

hi

i needed a little bit of advice, i will be in canada for a period of 4-5 months on a visitors visa, and will need a method of transport as i will be travelling between toronto and waterloo/kitchener alot,
i dont think it will be fease to get the train or bus,
the questions i have are,

1. does anyone know of any good rental places that offer cheap long term rental on vehicle, because if i rent from a normal place at $50 a day by 30 days a month * 5 months = alot of money, will be cheaper to get a small used car.

2. can i purchase a vehicle in canada or do i need to be a PR or citizen?? ( in the UK you can buy a car and register it in any name u wish at any address upto lately, and i dont think u needed to be living there).

3. what options are there for insurance on non rental vehicles if any?

4. are there any options available to me?

thanks in advance to anyone who provides some advice,

HaMa

Tiaribbon

Buying a car would be the most cost efficient way of doing it .... however you will need a Canadian drivers licence to insure it, and you may have a lot of trouble insuring it! We were really lucky with our insurance as we put the truck on our farm insurance and ended up paying a pittance for it, but most people on here have been quoting anything between $2,000 and $4,000 per year for insurance. Perhaps you can get the rental car cheaper if you say that you want it for 4 months rather than paying a per day price?

sukhy2

Does anybody know of any websites where I can get instant online quote for
motor insurance. I want to get a feeling of the kind of price I would have to pay

wizzard

You know it might be cheaper to rent the car. If you end up paying $50/day then 5 months would be about $7500. This car would then be fully insured and also would have full breakdown cover and if anything serious happens to it you just get another rental one. Of course with that kinda price plus aby deposits etc. you just need a lot of free space on yoru credit card.

If you buy a sedcond hand car you are going to need to pay enough to get a car that will actually make it to kitchner/wateroo from Toronto (which is a reasonable drive) so you will need to spend at least 3 or 4 thousand bucks, plus you'd need to register the car and all that and don't forget all the taxes. Then you need to insure it. You won't be able to get an Ontario licence unless you can prove you are residing permanently in Ontario and not just visiting. Either way as a new driver with no insurance history you are going to be paying several thousand dollars in insurance. Then you'd need some sort of coverage for if it boke down if you were buying an old car to drive a reasonable distance.

Both will of course need gas and a new rental should theoretically get better mileage than an old car that you would get for a few thousand bucks.

I am sure you can get a special long term rental price that would lower your cost. Try calling the various companies. A good one in Canada is Discount car and truck rental. I've used them twice and they were good and reasonably priced. Also maybe try smaller hire companies within the city that might be in a better position to negotiate a price than a larger national company.

Drew

HaMa

thanks for the info guys,

i actually had a look at used car price on autotrader.ca and have also spoken to a few friends, i can probably pickup a chrysler neon for less than $6000 being a year 2001 or 2002, which isnt old, im sure that should be up for the toronto - waterloo/kitchener trip.

i understood that i cant get insurance or purchase a car in ontario, unless i am resident? and have a ontario driving license?

if i get the car in my fiance's name she being a canadian citizen, could i be added as an addtional driver or not?

can i use insurance from abroad? or is that not allowed in canada?

if anyone can confrim these for me i would be grateful

HaMa

Tiaribbon

The information below is for definite as we do not hold PR status and we own a truck and got insurance on it:

You can get an Ontario license without being a PR, you have to hand over your UK(if you are a UK citizen....don't know about other nationalities) one and they exchange it for an Ontario one.

You will need to register the vehicle at a Canadian address, your fiance's will do just fine.

You can get insurance without being a PR however be prepared for a hefty sum ..... $2,000 - $4,000 p.a. It may work out cost-effective to register the car in your girlfriends name and she can get the insurance at a cheaper cost with you as a named driver???

Not sure about foreign insurance....wouldn't think this would be allowed but you will have to check this.