Registering a used car

Q: I'm thinking of buying a used car in another city.

My insurance company says I'm covered for 14 days on any newly acquired car, so would presenting my current insurance card suffice for registration?

Or would I have to somehow get a new insurance card, listing the newly bought vehicle, emailed or faxed to me in the other city just to get plates?

I can't get an insurance card beforehand since I don't know the VIN (vehicle identification number) or even if I'll buy or not.

A: Ontario Transportation Ministry spokesperson Bob Nichols replies:

Vehicle insurance in Ontario is privately operated. By law, drivers are required to provide the ministry with evidence of a valid insurance policy on a vehicle being plated or when applying for a temporary registration and validation sticker.

A temporary vehicle registration, with "T" validation sticker, allows a vehicle to be operated for 10 days from the date of issue. The owner will be required to transfer/register the vehicle into their name and pay any applicable retail sales tax at the time of their initial transfer/ registration of the vehicle.

The "T" validation is only issued to "Fit" vehicles. The driver is required, within six days after purchase, to permanently register the vehicle and obtain validation.

In this case, since the prospective buyer has made arrangements with his insurance company and was advised that "he is covered for 14 days on any newly acquired car," he may provide the ministry with his current insurance policy number and company name when applying for temporary vehicle registration and validation.

Eric Lai adds:

As your insurer covers newly acquired vehicles, you may have another option for getting your used car purchase home.

Under Ontario Regulation 628, section 10, temporary use of number plates (that is, attaching plates from your former auto to your newly bought vehicle prior to notifying the ministry) is permitted for six days after purchase where:

A current validation sticker is affixed on the rear plate.

The permit vehicle portion ("ownership"), with the transfer application on the rear signed by the named owner(s) and the buyer, is carried in the vehicle.

The permit plate portion for the affixed plates, from the vehicle you no longer own or lease, is carried in the vehicle.

For a used vehicle, a safety standards certificate issued within the past 36 days must also be carried; except where one wouldn't be required by the ministry to obtain a permit other than an "unfit" permit.

For the first buyer or lessee of a new vehicle, in lieu of the vehicle portion of the permit, the plate holder may present a dealer's bill of sale or other document establishing ownership, or a dealer's bill and the signed lease agreement.

All of the above documents must be carried in the vehicle and shown to police, if requested.

Q: Under provincial liquor laws, it's an offence to "have care or control of a motor vehicle with liquor readily available."

So what happens if you're driving a vehicle without a separate trunk (SUV, wagon, minivan) where you'd have to transport liquor home from the store inside the passenger compartment? Arguably, it would be accessible to anyone inside the automobile.

A: Sgt. Tim Burrows of Toronto Police Traffic Services replies:

Any liquor that is being transported in a motor vehicle has to be in its original container, with an unbroken seal and unopened, or is packed in baggage that is fastened closed, or is not readily available to any person in the vehicle. Common sense goes a long way in this situation.

Email your non-mechanical questions

to Eric Lai at wheels@thestar.ca.

Please include year, make, model and

kilometres of autos cited, plus your name, address and telephone number.

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