Apparently Canada does not have titles on vehicles. I believe the title and registration is connected to the insurance. At least that is how I'm told its done on later vehicles. I am looking at a car in a vintage auction and all it states is that a bill of sale will be issued from the auction house. My state requires a title or MSO. Any knowledge or experience would be appreciated.
what province? all cars on the road in Canada are at least registered and have provincial document..... it may be this one is to old and the reg is lost. that case...same as in the US BOS only and new buyer hopes to get a reg/title there. BOS cars coming into Canada are not allowed......but you can bring them in as "parts" then try to get it officially reg'd. this help?
Every car I've ever owned here in Ontario has had to be titled. I'd also like to know which province you're dealing with. Titles do get lost and lots of cars are floating around up here without titles just like down there.
In Alberta we don't have "titles" if a vehicle is off the road more than 15 years it requires an "out of province" inspection in order to get insurance, and you need insurance in order to get registration. We generally just use bills of sale here for proof of ownership to get insurance. That is all I've ever used to buy and sell vehicles regardless of age. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Interesting that this thread has just popped up today. What is the current fees to get a car into the States from Canada. Value added tax and others? I"m gonna search some more. Oldmics
Totally depends on the Province. In British Columbia, the registration & insurance are tied together thru a government agency called ICBC. In Alberta (I believe we have it best), we don't have "titles" as such. You buy your insurance thru the normal channels, then take you proof of insurance, drivers licence, and a bill of sale to the registries office and get your registration. As wheeler t. notes you may have to get an inspection, but it's no big deal. Getting a car legal here is way easier than it is pretty much anywhere else. The bill of sale can be written on a scrap of paper, so long as it's signed you're good to go. In some other provinces (like Ontario, as above) the title process is more like it is in the US. Interesting (or not, I guess it depends); here in Alberta, when you register a car you are basically buying the licence plate. Sell the car and you keep your plates to transfer to your next car. I think(?) that in places like the US where the cars are titled, the plate stays with the car.
One other thing about registering a car in Alberta, especially one that's been off the road for a while: I've never ever heard of anyone at a registries office who checked the "sellers" info on a bill of sale. I'm not saying that anyone would have a "friend" write a "bill of sale".....but I'm just saying.... As noted above, you may have to get an out of province insp. That's done by the police, not a mechanic (or at least it used to be that way). The cops will look at a car to see if it looks general roadworthy, but what they really care about is checking the VIN to confirm the car hasn't been reported stolen in another province. If your car has ever been reported stolen in Alberta, you likely won't know until the cops show up to ask you questions at the registries office...
Well you can get 3rd party info from someone whose second cousins brother imported a car 10 years ago or phone the nice folks down at US Customs,,,they are just a wealth of first hand information. If a vehicle states there is only a bill of sale at least you have fair warning and may not be able to export without title/registration..plenty of variables
are you looking at the auction thats going to be happening at olds college in alberta? there are a ton of classics going up mostly unreserved
To Import a car to the US you have to have a clear title. You have to register it ahead of time. 72 hours advance notice. You need a bill of sale. You don't need to pay any tax until you register it in your state. That is how it is at Customs at the Detroit border.
Start here with your Border Control buddies, they have all the answers. http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/basic_trade/importing_car.xml
Call one of the government agencies and get the info, as well as the name of the person giving it out. When I imported my Anglia from Canada, I also had to pay an excise tax because the car was actually manufactured in the U.K.
Thanks, lots of good information. I called the the local DMV, got one story. Called Anchorage and got another. Called Anchorage again and got a third. Tried calling customs and was on hold for over 10 minutest while they looked for someone who knew. Finally hung up on that one. I guess I will probably just stick to cars in the states unless I find something I really like from a friend.
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