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Buying car with international driving license

calvin

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Jul 23, 2009
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Can I buy a car with an international driving license? I am from Singapore, no direct conversion to BC license according to rule.
 

PMM

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Jun 30, 2005
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calvin said:
Can I buy a car with an international driving license? I am from Singapore, no direct conversion to BC license according to rule.
1. Sure the dealer doesn't care as long as he gets your money.
2. Where you will run into problems is continuing to drive it after 6 months and getting insurance from ICBC without a driver's license.
 

abelkwh

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Jul 30, 2009
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calvin said:
Can I buy a car with an international driving license? I am from Singapore, no direct conversion to BC license according to rule.
Singapore licence does not have reciprocal agreements with all the provinces as far as i know, so u can buy a car with an international licence or any driving licence as long as u have one but u will need to convert and get a BC licence or any other province for sure, after the 90 days period or 6 mths period after u land to be able to continue to drive regardless if its yr own vehicle or any vehicle.
 

qorax

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calvin said:
Can I buy a car with an international driving license? I am from Singapore, no direct conversion to BC license according to rule.
U can't buy a car with IDP/IDL, 'coz u can't register it w/out an insurance, & u don't get an auto insurance w/out a Canadian DL.

I had run into the same trouble & had to wait 4 days before I got my license here.

Qorax
 

abelkwh

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qorax said:
U can't buy a car with IDP/IDL, 'coz u can't register it w/out an insurance, & u don't get an auto insurance w/out a Canadian DL.

I had run into the same trouble & had to wait 4 days before I got my license here.

Qorax
apologise for the misleading information then, calvin, cause i thought IDP is useable in Canada for a period of time and i have never done it before using IDP. Qorax must be right in this aspect since he has experience in this area.
 

PMM

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quote author=qorax link=topic=50656.msg399967#msg399967 date=1282715341]
U can't buy a car with IDP/IDL, 'coz u can't register it w/out an insurance, & u don't get an auto insurance w/out a Canadian DL.

I had run into the same trouble & had to wait 4 days before I got my license here.

Qorax
[/quote]

Lots of visitors to Canada buy cars in Canada for traveling around and they don't have provincial licenses. For BC read the rules for insuring cars. Note that the IDL is not a license, it is just a translation of your home license.
 

singh092120

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qorax said:
U can't buy a car with IDP/IDL, 'coz u can't register it w/out an insurance, & u don't get an auto insurance w/out a Canadian DL.

I had run into the same trouble & had to wait 4 days before I got my license here.

Qorax
Sir,
Is it necessary to have surname in your documents for issuance of driving license?
thanx.
 

qorax

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singh092120 said:
Sir,
Is it necessary to have surname in your documents for issuance of driving license?
thanx.
Not necessary. But, probably if your name is Jaspreet Singh Ghuman, u'd be issued your PRV as GHUMAN (Surname) JASPREET SINGH (First name). And that'd suffice.
 

martha marita

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Aug 1, 2007
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You can buy a car without a licence, but you will have problems getting plates and you will need insurance, to get plates from the ministry of transportation. Thats where hiccups begin, getting insurance with a foreign license is so sos expensive, live alone just have a G1, so would advice to sort out your licence, and speak to insurance advisors before getting in buying a car.
 

steaky

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I just spoken to an autoplan salesman and he said I can get the car insurance with my home country driver license, although the premium would be higher than most BC driver license holders.

PMM said:
Hi

1. Sure the dealer doesn't care as long as he gets your money.
2. Where you will run into problems is continuing to drive it after 6 months and getting insurance from ICBC without a driver's license.
 

steaky

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Here is a website that tells you how to get your car license plate, insured and registered in Alberta. It should be similar to BC.

http://www.insuranceab.com/how-to-get-car-insurance-quotes-in-alberta.html
 

Suin

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PMM said:
Lots of visitors to Canada buy cars in Canada for traveling around and they don't have provincial licenses. For BC read the rules for insuring cars. Note that the IDL is not a license, it is just a translation of your home license.
true. we have friends here who arrived just 2 weeks ago and they bought a car last week without any problems.
 

Suin

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martha marita said:
You can buy a car without a licence, but you will have problems getting plates and you will need insurance, to get plates from the ministry of transportation. Thats where hiccups begin, getting insurance with a foreign license is so sos expensive, live alone just have a G1, so would advice to sort out your licence, and speak to insurance advisors before getting in buying a car.
insurance for G1 driver is around $5000 a year in Ontario. maybe it's better to pass exam for a full G license if one is an experienced driver with full license from another country.
 

steaky

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Suin said:
true. we have friends here who arrived just 2 weeks ago and they bought a car last week without any problems.
True. if you have letter of driving experience from your home country, the insurance premium can be lower.