Need help buying a used car

[pikacha10]

i plan to be buying a used car sometime. i live in vancouver and there are 2 taxes here.

if i buy a used car from a dealership, will i have to pay tax and a tax while registering it?

is it possible to buy the car and register it in alberta after you buy it?

[Mdxtasy]

If you have an Alberta license and address.  Sure.  Otherwise...not legally.  If you search the forum, this was discussed about 3 weeks ago.

[ovr50]

Pikasha10 - if you buy a car in BC from a dealer, you will pay both GST and PST added on to agreed purchase price. Can't avoid it. If you buy used privately, you pay PST when you register it for plates/ins. You can't avoid PST by faking an AB address, if you are a BC resident, you pay PST - period. If you lease, different deal; you pay GST/PST only on the monies paid upfront and on the monthly lease pymt. But you pay the PST/GST on the residual when(if) you pay out the lease at any time.

[pikacha10]

i am a resident of alberta, although i plan to be buying a car soon, the only cars i like seem to be located in vancouver. if i were to buy it privately and have it transported to alberta, can i register it there after getting it inspected and all that crap and just pay 1 tax on it?  

one more thing, if im gonna buy a used car from a used car lot, is it possible to negotiate the price of those cars? 39,000 for a used car just seems alot when the car maybe worth 30,000

[Mdxtasy]

You can negotiate anything you want.  New used....If you live in Alberta...you only pay GST.  You will need it inspected in Alberta before you can register it....I think you have a week from when you purchased it.

[Mdxtasy]

What do you plan on buying?

[inco]

Pika - you can buy the car in BC and drive it home with a temporary licence that you can buy in BC that gives you 10 days to get it moved and tested.  

That's the way it works in Ontario at least.

As for the car being worth only $30 thou instead of $39 - you need to do your homework and make sure that the value is or isn't there.  

Check out www.autotrader.ca

[pikacha10]

i plan to buy a bmw 330i with a few options like the premium package with a manual transmission even though it has about 70,000km on it


what i want to know is that do the used car dealerships frown upon those people that try to negotiate a lower price? i think their asking price is a big too high and my budget isnt exactly that high



for the temp plates which i believe are just plain pieces of paper, how much do they cost?

[pikacha10]

ah... the joys of my dad owning 2 houses i can live in whichever one i want to, rent free. even though im supposed to be in alberta. the only tihng i hate is the insurance which is like a dog biting at your balls if you happen to get hit or hit someone

[pikacha10]

what if i get into an accident with that temp plate? i wouldnt have any insurance on it

[inco]

Your insurance has to be in place before you go to pick up the car. Your broker in Alberta will provide you with a temporary slip to cover the car.

Of course they will have to have proof of purchase that the dealer can send to them with the VIN numbers etc.

[Mdxtasy]

Or you can just ship it up via train.  Then you won't have to worry about getting into an accident.  Your profile says you drive a 330i and a Boxster S....are you getting rid of one 330 for another?

[barrie1]

I went out to BC in 1996 and brought my truck back which was in possesion of my youngest daughter at the time. Because of the laws at that time she sent me the ownership and I registered it here in Ont and took plates with me. I was told at the time that the other provinces don't have to respect the 10 day trip perment and can can pull you in and make you pay it for their province as well. I bought a new truck in BC at the time for her and plated mine for the return trip home. Once home I did the proper safety and already had the truck registered so it was a piece of cake then. Different story when buying from family in another province.

[pikacha10]

thats my dads 330i
i need my own
second vehicle is a joke sorta thing because theres no room for more dream cars


updated my profile to make it less confusing

(Message edited by pikacha10 on September 19, 2004)

[pikacha10]

cant i get a temp plate from bc? or must it be from alberta? and cant i buy like a month of insurance from icbc and drive it back to edmonton?

just curious, ho wmuch does shipping cost in any form?(train, truck.. etc)

[barrie1]

Probably in the area of $600. to $1500. depending on the carrier and the method of transportation used. I would think the faster you want the service will reflect on it as well.

[ovr50]

If you are buying in BC and are an AB resident, you would get the "temporary sticker" from ICBC and it's usually only good for enough days for you to drive your purchase home, say 1 to 3 days. As you are not a BC resident, I think your insurance coverage would come from your AB insurance co and it would a binder to cover you until the vehicle was back in AB and registered there. I doubt they'd give you a month to do that. So, you get the temp sticker in BC and the ins. in AB. I just did the reverse and bought a vehicle in AB; I had an AB temporary sticker good for 2 days and I prearranged ICBC coverage for 10 days to allow me to drive it here, have it inspected by BC licenced inspectors and get it registered in BC.  

OK? Is that what you're after?

[pikacha10]

kinda what im after, i guess


weird because doesnt the broker have to be there to sell you the insurance?

[ovr50]

Well, do a double check on what I said, maybe I'm incorrect with some of it. Call your AB ins. guy and ask him what the process would be - that's what I did here when I knew I was getting a car in AB but I live in BC. It's just a phone call and he/she will know.

[pikacha10]

back to my previously unanswered question now

do dealerships frown upon those people who try and negotiate prices? or do they allow them because i read somewhere that toyota stopped negotiating prices for their newer cars, not sure about their used car section though