REVscene Automotive Forum - View Single Post - Importing Vehicle Information Canada/USA / Buying from Out-of-Province

j5ive · 05-08-2006, 03:38 PM

Hello All,

I don't post here much because my current car is not really worthy of RS, but I do lurk here just to get some vicarious satisfaction for my car-mod cravings.

While looking for yet another one of my many "that would be cool" cars to buy, I found a couple that were located outside of BC. There's already a sticky about importing a car from the US, but I didn't know much about cars from other provinces. So I started searching through RS to see what information I can dig up on how to go about bringing in an out-of-province car. Sure enough, I was able to find much of the info and references I was looking for. However, the information was scattered through a number of different posts. So I figured I would compile my findings into a single post so that if anyone else here needed the info later, it would be easier to find.

The first thing you should do after you find a car advertised in another province is to do a claims and lien check. You can not do this through ICBC because they would only have information about vehicles already registered in BC, or has a lien registered in BC. So get the VIN and contact CSRS, who can check registration and liens in all ten provinces and three territories. If the car doesn't check out, there's no point contacting the out-of-province seller or to arrange a trip there.

If the records check out, then you can try to work out some initial numbers with the seller. Again, if you can't come to a price you feel is worth the trouble, then there's no point continuing. However, if the numbers sound good, the condition of the car sounds and looks good, and the seller seems trustworthy, then arrange a flight there to see the car in person.

Once there, confirm that everything that has been said about the car is true, then, unless you already know a garage in that area very well, take the car to a dealer of the same make for an inspection. If everything is well, then congratulations, you're signing on the dotted line and is now the proud new owner of this car. note: Ask the seller to provide you with the vehicle registration from the vehicle's home jurisdiction, and sign it naming you as the new owner. If the seller has lost or misplaced the document, the seller must replace it from the vehicle's home jurisdiction. You might need this when you want to register the vehicle again in BC.(If the vehicle is from Nova Scotia, you'll need the Certificate of Title.)

From here you've got two options. You can either drive the car back home, or have the car shipped back to BC. If you are going to ship the car back, via rail or container, then all you need for now is to arrange some type of "cargo" insurance while your vehicle is in transit. If you are driving the vehicle back to BC, then you will need to get a Temporary Operation Permit from the jurisdiction where you bought the vehicle or a Binder for Owner's Interim Certificate of Insurance. It allows the vehicle to be driven back through Canada and provides insurance coverage for the vehicle only.

Once the vehicle has arrived at your destination in BC, you must immediately contact an Autoplan broker and purchase a Temporary Operation Permit and Owner's Certificate of Insurance to move the vehicle for inspection or registration and licensing purposes. When you've got the Temporary Permit, you need to take the car to a Designated Inspection Facilities for vehicle inspection. Once the vehicle gets a "pass", you can take the Inspection Report, the signed and dated bill of sale, and possibly the registration from the vehicle's previous jurisdiction, pay the PST, and register the car in BC. When that's done, you can just license and insure the car as usual.

Well, I think that's it... Oh, actually, I couldn't find if you needed to do AirCare as well. I doubt for registration, but like most other BC cars, you might need AirCare to insure it.

A final note, unless the vehicle is very rare, such as the one I was looking for, I would discourage you from purchasing from out-of-province. Keep in mind that even though you made sure you got a good car with no questionable history, to the next buyer, it will still be just some out-of-province car someone else imported. So even if you can get a real steal on a out-of-province car, when it comes time to sell, you're still have to sell cheaper. So you're not making more money, but you still had to do all this extra work.

I hope this will be helpful to some of you.

05-08-2006, 03:38 PM	#11
j5ive I am Hook'd on RS Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vancouver Posts: 66 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Failed 0 Times in 0 Posts	Buying and importing an out-of-province vehicle into BC Hello All, I don't post here much because my current car is not really worthy of RS, but I do lurk here just to get some vicarious satisfaction for my car-mod cravings. While looking for yet another one of my many "that would be cool" cars to buy, I found a couple that were located outside of BC. There's already a sticky about importing a car from the US, but I didn't know much about cars from other provinces. So I started searching through RS to see what information I can dig up on how to go about bringing in an out-of-province car. Sure enough, I was able to find much of the info and references I was looking for. However, the information was scattered through a number of different posts. So I figured I would compile my findings into a single post so that if anyone else here needed the info later, it would be easier to find. The first thing you should do after you find a car advertised in another province is to do a claims and lien check. You can not do this through ICBC because they would only have information about vehicles already registered in BC, or has a lien registered in BC. So get the VIN and contact CSRS, who can check registration and liens in all ten provinces and three territories. If the car doesn't check out, there's no point contacting the out-of-province seller or to arrange a trip there. If the records check out, then you can try to work out some initial numbers with the seller. Again, if you can't come to a price you feel is worth the trouble, then there's no point continuing. However, if the numbers sound good, the condition of the car sounds and looks good, and the seller seems trustworthy, then arrange a flight there to see the car in person. Once there, confirm that everything that has been said about the car is true, then, unless you already know a garage in that area very well, take the car to a dealer of the same make for an inspection. If everything is well, then congratulations, you're signing on the dotted line and is now the proud new owner of this car. note: Ask the seller to provide you with the vehicle registration from the vehicle's home jurisdiction, and sign it naming you as the new owner. If the seller has lost or misplaced the document, the seller must replace it from the vehicle's home jurisdiction. You might need this when you want to register the vehicle again in BC.(If the vehicle is from Nova Scotia, you'll need the Certificate of Title.) From here you've got two options. You can either drive the car back home, or have the car shipped back to BC. If you are going to ship the car back, via rail or container, then all you need for now is to arrange some type of "cargo" insurance while your vehicle is in transit. If you are driving the vehicle back to BC, then you will need to get a Temporary Operation Permit from the jurisdiction where you bought the vehicle or a Binder for Owner's Interim Certificate of Insurance. It allows the vehicle to be driven back through Canada and provides insurance coverage for the vehicle only. Once the vehicle has arrived at your destination in BC, you must immediately contact an Autoplan broker and purchase a Temporary Operation Permit and Owner's Certificate of Insurance to move the vehicle for inspection or registration and licensing purposes. When you've got the Temporary Permit, you need to take the car to a Designated Inspection Facilities for vehicle inspection. Once the vehicle gets a "pass", you can take the Inspection Report, the signed and dated bill of sale, and possibly the registration from the vehicle's previous jurisdiction, pay the PST, and register the car in BC. When that's done, you can just license and insure the car as usual. Well, I think that's it... Oh, actually, I couldn't find if you needed to do AirCare as well. I doubt for registration, but like most other BC cars, you might need AirCare to insure it. A final note, unless the vehicle is very rare, such as the one I was looking for, I would discourage you from purchasing from out-of-province. Keep in mind that even though you made sure you got a good car with no questionable history, to the next buyer, it will still be just some out-of-province car someone else imported. So even if you can get a real steal on a out-of-province car, when it comes time to sell, you're still have to sell cheaper. So you're not making more money, but you still had to do all this extra work. I hope this will be helpful to some of you.