Buying a car in BC as a newcomer

[Westerburg]

Hi All

I wondered if anybody had some recent experience of buying a car in BC as a newcomer?

I will be traveling to Vancouver on the 2nd December with my COPR. I'd like to buy a car in the first week and wondered what documentation I need. Specifically;

1. I will buy the car from a dealership - do most dealerships arrange the sale, insurance, licensing and registration or do I need to do that stuff elsewhere?
2. What documents will I need to do all of the above? I won't have my PR card or a BC driving licence yet. I have a UK licence, proof of 2 years driving experience, a U.K. passport and my COPR (or whatever they give me at immigration when I land)
3. Can I get a BC driving licence without my PR card? What documents do I need to get a BC licence?

Thanks very much for any help. I've tried researching this online but am not that clear - hoping that someone who has actually done it can help.

 

[bafonso]

1. Dealers normally will license and register a car. You need to deal with insurance, it's in your best interest
2. You need a Canadian license to register a car so you need to deal with that first. Anyone can buy a car, but to put a Canadian license on it you need a province license. To get a plate you need to show you have insurance, a legal requirement.
3. Pretty sure you can get a license with a coPR. Call BC DMV, they will tell you what you need. Sometimes you need to make an appointment to exchange licenses, if you're eligible. If you don't want to exchange you will need to pass all tests, etc.

I suggest you to land and get a rental for 1-2 weeks. You can lookup on autotrader and see some dealers and give them a heads up. IN the first week you deal with getting a Canadian license and hope you can get reasonable insurance... it will take a few days for the dealer to process the car, if they have it in the lot.

You should call BC DMV since if you need to make an appointment it may delay the whole things several weeks.

 

[PMM]

Hi

1. Dealers normally will license and register a car. You need to deal with insurance, it's in your best interest
2. You need a Canadian license to register a car so you need to deal with that first. Anyone can buy a car, but to put a Canadian license on it you need a province license. To get a plate you need to show you have insurance, a legal requirement.
3. Pretty sure you can get a license with a coPR. Call BC DMV, they will tell you what you need. Sometimes you need to make an appointment to exchange licenses, if you're eligible. If you don't want to exchange you will need to pass all tests, etc.

I suggest you to land and get a rental for 1-2 weeks. You can lookup on autotrader and see some dealers and give them a heads up. IN the first week you deal with getting a Canadian license and hope you can get reasonable insurance... it will take a few days for the dealer to process the car, if they have it in the lot.

You should call BC DMV since if you need to make an appointment it may delay the whole things several weeks.

1. In BC you can only buy basic insurance from ICBC. If you want to receive the safe driver's discount, you need a letter from your previous insurer(s) in the exact format as here: http://www.icbc.com/autoplan/moving-insurance/Pages/Insurance-discount-for-new-residents.aspx

 

[barch88]

Hi All

I wondered if anybody had some recent experience of buying a car in BC as a newcomer?

I will be traveling to Vancouver on the 2nd December with my COPR. I'd like to buy a car in the first week and wondered what documentation I need. Specifically;

1. I will buy the car from a dealership - do most dealerships arrange the sale, insurance, licensing and registration or do I need to do that stuff elsewhere?
2. What documents will I need to do all of the above? I won't have my PR card or a BC driving licence yet. I have a UK licence, proof of 2 years driving experience, a U.K. passport and my COPR (or whatever they give me at immigration when I land)
3. Can I get a BC driving licence without my PR card? What documents do I need to get a BC licence?

Thanks very much for any help. I've tried researching this online but am not that clear - hoping that someone who has actually done it can help.

Are you financing? You may need to establish Canadian Credit first.
Go get your BC drivers license at a Service Canada, all you need is your COPR. Not sure how UK works but for the US all I provided was 5 years of driving history from WA state and they gave me a normal BC license.
Get a record of insurance and no accidents for as long as you can so you get a discount on ICBC. I went from $225/month down to $75/month with my letter (also helped that I moved out of the lower mainland, insurance rates are insane!)

 

[bafonso]

Hi



1. In BC you can only buy basic insurance from ICBC. If you want to receive the safe driver's discount, you need a letter from your previous insurer(s) in the exact format as here: http://www.icbc.com/autoplan/moving-insurance/Pages/Insurance-discount-for-new-residents.aspx

Thanks for the correction, it's amazing how different provinces are

 

[NetMecca]

Hi All

I wondered if anybody had some recent experience of buying a car in BC as a newcomer?

I will be traveling to Vancouver on the 2nd December with my COPR. I'd like to buy a car in the first week and wondered what documentation I need. Specifically;

1. I will buy the car from a dealership - do most dealerships arrange the sale, insurance, licensing and registration or do I need to do that stuff elsewhere?
2. What documents will I need to do all of the above? I won't have my PR card or a BC driving licence yet. I have a UK licence, proof of 2 years driving experience, a U.K. passport and my COPR (or whatever they give me at immigration when I land)
3. Can I get a BC driving licence without my PR card? What documents do I need to get a BC licence?

Thanks very much for any help. I've tried researching this online but am not that clear - hoping that someone who has actually done it can help.

1. Registration and licensing (getting a plate) is usually handled by the dealership. Most of the bigger dealerships also have a connection to, or even a broker on premises that can help you with insurance. Insurance is your responsibility and auto insurance is provided by ICBC (provincial crown corporation) Finance may be a problem with no credit history in Canada. Will likely have to pay cash. Though if you have proof of income (letter from an employer) and you have proof of PR, might be possible but with a high interest rate.

2. Any form of identification will work. I purchased a car whilst only on a work permit. Used my passport as my ID. My passport had a copy of my work permit as well. Claims history from another insurer (even a foreign insurer) will prove helpful for possible discounts on your insurance (no claim bonus). Chances are you will get very little or none anyway.

3. I got a drivers license on my work permit. Proof of driving history is important if you are getting a full drivers license. Otherwise you may get stuck with a learners. You may be able to just convert your UK license straight to a Canadian one. Might be worth getting an international license in case you are not sure about conversion and to allow you to drive for a bit (up to 3 months after arrival) before converting.
http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/consular_services_consulaires/driving-conduire.aspx?lang=eng

Good luck

 

[Binabik]

Something you may want to know, is that the ICBC insurance is pretty expensive. The basic insurance along with the maximum discount (-43%) will cost you around $CA 1000 a year. So as said above make sure you have all the required documents to get that discount...

Unfortunately the mandatory, basic auto insurance is only available through ICBC.

 

[steaky]

Unfortunately the mandatory, basic auto insurance is only available through ICBC.

Good thing is no need to shop around!

 

[Binabik]

Good thing is no need to shop around!

True, you can exchange your foreign license, register your car, get your plates and get your insurance all at once

 

[steaky]

Hi.. I just moved from Toronto to Vancouver a month back. Car insurance is so much higher in Vancouver. I paid 200 in Ontario whereas here I'm not getting a lesser quote than 450!! Also getting insurance is so confusing here. I miss toronto like anything. Have no friends here too. It's so hard. If there is anyone in a similar situation u can msg me. It's good to have friends in a new city

Drive and move back.

 

[doylia]

Drive and move back.

Thanks

 

[bafonso]

Can't get same quality of sushi (or fish) in Toronto though

 

[MDev]

Just chiming in with my experience as I've also done this fairly recently on a working holiday visa.

1. Insurance is done at ICBC. There are tonnes of insurance places but I have always used the one at Canadian Superstore as they are open until 9pm. You do not need a Canadian licence to get insurance. I was insured for 9 months on a UK licence BUT your insurance is not valid if you don't switch to a Canadian licence after 3 months. I didn't realise this and assumed because ICBC insured me that it was ok.

2. As others have said, if you're in lower mainland area insurance is expensive so make sure you get the letter for proof of no claims. You can claim up to 8 years. Luckily I stayed with the same insurers the whole time but I know this isn't usual in the UK. It really is worth the effort though. I now have 9 years and get 42-45% off(I can't remember the exact %)

3. To get your Canadian licence, you need to go to an ICBC licensing office. There are about 5-6 of these in the lower mainland and they are mainly open Monday-Friday 9am-4pm. You need your passport, secondary ID(credit card, Health Card-this is why you have 3 months to switch over your licence so you can get established in Canada with stuff like this, but I don't think it would be an issue to present a UK credit card)and in my case I showed them my work permit. I assume you will have some paperwork when you land and this should be enough. I think the PR card is to allow you to travel, not to do with your eligibility in Canada(I am very new to PR so could very well be wrong on this). On the back of your UK photocard licence, is a date that shows when you passed your test. I pointed this out which was fine. I also gave them the paper part of my licence too seen as I wouldn't need it anymore. They gave an eye test and asked me some questions which I admit, were confusing as they are not the same as the UK Highway Code. I was asked what does a flashing green light mean and who has right of way if two cars pull up to a stop sign at the same time.

I also wrote this blog on car buying a couple of years ago which is still relevant for some of the basic steps.

https://roadtobc.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/how-to-buy-a-car-in-bc/