Buying my first car/truck in Canada

scott420p · BRAMPTON, ONT

Buying my first car/truck in Canada

hemi43 · ONTARIO

When you decide on your purchase, you will have to get insurance. Once you have that, you go to the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) with proof of insurance, bill of sale, buyer's package(which the seller should provide) and driver's license.
There, you will have to pay the 13% sales tax on the highest value in the "seller's package".
Once this is done and the vehicle is under your name, you can then get a temporary plate for it. I believe this plate is good for 10 days. One note, is that in order for you to do this, the vehicle must have been "FIT" state on the previous ownership, which more than likely it was.

With all the running you will have to do when you first get here, my recomendation would be to purchase a car from a "reputable" car lot, and have them do all the dirty work for you. This way you just go there, pay for the vehicle and drive away. Let them take care of certification, e-test and licensing. It may cost you a bit more, but it will save you tons of headaches especially if you're not familiar with our system. IMO, I would purchase a car that just came off of a lease at a dealership. These places are less likely to sell you a car that's been rebuilt or has other "known" issues. A dealership will usually give you some type of warranty (maybe 30 days) which is a bit of piece of mind.

Your last option is to just buy new !! They are offering 0% financing on a lot of cars these days, so unless you're paying cash for that used vehicle, you're looking at a car loan with at least 5-6% interest.

-- Edited by hemi43 on Sunday 20th of January 2013 10:42:24 AM

Dave Scott · ANCASTER, ONT

Hey guys.

When we land in March, I'll want to sort out our vehicles as quickly as possible.

I have mentioned a little in earlier posts about the type of cars we want, but I want to concentrate on the actual buying procedure.

You guys will all know what's involved, but it's all new to us, so...

Here's the scenario:

I see a nice truck on Kijiji. I go see the truck, negotiate a price and do the deal.

But perhaps it's not safetied, or e-tested.

If I get insurance, can I drive it to the nearest safety test and E-test centre?

Can I register it without either of those things?

Will I need to hire someone with a trailer to help me get it home?

My wife will have use of her company van for a month, so it's really just for me to get a truck first. After that, I'll know what to do to get her new car.

Thanks for your help as always smile

Dave Scott · ANCASTER, ONT

So it's pretty normal then, to go see a car, buy it, and say "see ya tomorrow".

My budget is around 3K for an old truck. Seen a nice f150 recently that would do the job. But it's unlikely I'd find a dealer with one that cheap, and willing to do the test stuff.

Wife's budget is anywhere between 4K (for a Jeep TJ) and 25K if she's feeling like something new with financing, lol.

Ok, I'll have a good look at that link. First thing is to get our licenses swapped for Ontario licences. (It's a straightforward recipricating deal with Canada and the UK). Just a quick eye test and away we go.

Meanwhile, I'll keep watching Kijiji :)

dualquadpete · BLACKSTOCK, ONT

I's go with the 'dealer" as well as there is some recourse to fall back on. Some of these KIJIJI sellers are what we call "Curbsiders" & have a doz. rebuilt wrecks for sale & once you hand over the $$$ your on your own, try & find them when you find out the car is a "write off" & can't be registered!!!!!

hemi43 · ONTARIO

dualquadpete wrote:
I's go with the 'dealer" as well as there is some recourse to fall back on. Some of these KIJIJI sellers are what we call "Curbsiders" & have a doz. rebuilt wrecks for sale & once you hand over the $$$ your on your own, try & find them when you find out the car is a "write off" & can't be registered!!!!!

Yeah, I agree !! Kijiji used to be great, but now it's full of scammers. Every vehicle I've ever tried to sell on there, I got a call from someone trying to scam me on it.