This is the issue I ran into when we bought the truck. It took me 5 minutes to buy the vehicle, but it took me weeks to get it completely licensed and insured. In fact, I was using temporary permits on the truck all the way until Sault Ste. Marie, where I finally got an emission test done in the hotel parking lot and then went to the MTO office to get my plates. All the tests, inspections and licensing fees came to about $350, if you include the cost of two temporary permits.
Now we are going through a similar process in Alberta. When we rolled into town, we were handed two sets of keys: house keys and car keys. We bought a house without ever seeing it, and we did much the same thing with our car. I gave my brother-in-law a wish list for a car and he had one sitting on the driveway when we arrived. We drove it a few blocks and the deal was done -- another 5 minute transaction.Unfortunately, the rest of the arrangements are not as easy.
When you move to a different province in Canada, you can't take your insurance policy with you. So, even if we use the same company, we have to start a new profile with them and provide evidence of our clean driving record. I was going to get copies of our driver's abstracts before I left Ontario, but I forgot (we were busy), so I had to order them. Also, to get the best insurance rates, you have to have an Alberta driver's license. We went in to take care of that yesterday, but we forgot to bring proof of residence, so we had to go find the purchase agreement for our house. I knew exactly where it was -- buried somewhere deep in the back of the truck.
Luckily, I had an electronic copy that I could print off the computer. The printer is also buried deep in the truck. We ended up visiting another brother-in-law's office to print it. He works only 2 blocks away.
We changed the licenses, but it cost us $70 each. We had just paid $45 each in July to renew our Ontario licenses, so we're hopeful that Ontario will give us some sort of refund. The lady at the registry office told us that was likely, because that's what they do in Alberta.
Thankfully, the license and insurance issues are the extent of our registration woes, since we are now working under the Alberta guidelines. Had we been in Ontario, we would have had to do a safety inspection, an emissions test and then pay 8 percent sales tax before registering the vehicle.
To conclude, here's a shot of Scott "hitting the sack". My mom gave us this sleeper which is shaped like a sack. It's very cozy for him and convenient for us (diaper changes are a breeze).
7 comments:
Oh, the woes of vehicles ! When we moved to Colorado we headed in to register our (fleet) of cars and motorcycle. In Alberta it had cost us about $50/yr per vehicle, so we thought Colorado would be similar. NOT !!! You have to pay according to the value of the vehicle each year. We were both in shock when they told us the total. Makes me wonder why mass transit is not more popular out there.
Love to see Scott in his bag. Loved those when you were kids.
You certainly have a great brother-in-law. Does he hire out to other relatives in other countries?
I loved the sacks with my kids too. Great to use in strollers and you don't have to keep the blanket from getting kicked off. You need the newer ones though that have a slit for the straps to go through. Then you can use them in car seats as well. Heard an interview with someone who talked about growing up in such poverty that all they had to sleep in, and wear, as children was the "sack". No clothes to change into so the sack was what they wore 24/7. Instead of learning to walk, he learned to jump around the house. Was probably really good at sack or 3 legged races!
Congratulations on the successful journey! It was a very enjoyable read. Your car looks pretty sweet. Is it a Subaru? Never seen one like that before.
You know I was loving the lack of taxes and bureaucracy on the car registration. That Colorado business got me freaked out though. Score one for Ontario I guess.
Scratch that, it's a Mazda isn't it?
Yeah, it's a mazda protege.
All I care about cars is that they run and have a glue on the back that sticks the offending driver to me when they rear-end me until I can be sure to get all the insurance info I need!! I've learned by experience, but the last driver did not run away! And car, at her expense, got fixed beautifully, and my ER, doctor bills, and massages for my neck, also paid for by her insurance, are helping there, too.
Hey D,
Jon Gilchrist here.... First Welcome back to Calgary.
2nd... About Insuranace Prices... Im not sure who you are using... but you should reallyl check out Canadian Western Direct. I changed to them 2 years ago.. and have never looked back. their rates were cheaper for me and Jen, My Bro Ryan and my parents as well. You can get an actual quote online.. and get discounts of 5% for getting it online, and another 10% or something if you also do your home insurance with them.
Just though you should know.
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