Risks with buying an out-of-province car

[flameboy54]

Hey guys, I need some quick replies on the risks of buying an out of province car. Here's the story:

- Couple buys a 02 Civic from dealer in 06
- Drive it for 3 years, fine, no problems
- Plan to sell it so they post it on CL and I reply
- I check out the car there's obvious rust in the engine bay, undercarriage seems fine.
- I run an Autocheck report to find out it's an out of province.

Event Date Event Location Odometer Reading Data Source Event

Detail
08/12/2002 DORION VAUDREUIL, QC Motor Vehicle Dept. CANADIAN RENEWAL
07/05/2006 BOUCHERVILLE, QC Motor Vehicle Dept. CANADIAN RENEWAL
08/11/2006 CANADA 100,112km Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
08/31/2006 RICHMOND, BC Motor Vehicle Dept. CANADIAN RENEWAL
09/01/2007 BURNABY, BC Motor Vehicle Dept. CANADIAN RENEWAL
08/30/2008 VANCOUVER, BC Motor Vehicle Dept. CANADIAN RENEWAL
09/05/2009 VANCOUVER, BC Motor Vehicle Dept. CANADIAN RENEWAL

Found this from an old 06 thread

Here is the problem with out of province cars (this was explained to me a by a good friend in the business)

A car that is either out of province OR a rebuild needs to have a declaration. This means that you only need to declare one of the above. Most dealerships (usually the shady ones) will tell you its 'an Ontario car' and thats all he has to say even if it has been rebuilt. Kinda scary but I'm pretty sure that is correct. Of course Carfax should tell you if it has been written off but thats not always too accurate.

Any truth behind this? What risks am I looking at buying an out-of-province car? Would you buy it? Why? Why not? Please let me know since we settled on a price and currently pending a pre-purchase inspection. Thanks.

[Rich Sandor]

Absolutely WRONG.

If the dealer knows it's a rebuild, it MUST be declared as a rebuild, even it's it from another province. You can call the MVSA if you have any questions regarding what dealers are required to disclose, but IN GENERAL the 'provincial motor dealer acts', and the 'MSVA' require that dealers are completely HONEST and UP FRONT about the history of a vehicle. If a dealer intentionally withholds relevant information that may seriously affect the value of the vehicle, it is illegal.

There is no inherent risk or problem with an out-of-province vehicle. Anything that can be checked via ICBC for a BC vehicle can be checked on an out-of-province vehicle by the insurance agency from the province it came from. It's not that hard at all to do it, and "carproof" works really well too.

As far as a used vehicle goes, the fact that it's out-of-province does not really affect the resale value much at all, maybe $500 MAX.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by Rich Sandor

As far as a used vehicle goes, the fact that it's out-of-province does not really affect the resale value much at all, maybe $500 MAX.

I wouldn't agree with that, maybe on a newer vehicle, yet anything 5+ years old from anywhere outside of the lower mainland is going to be showing signs of rust. I see cars here from the 90s with no rust, while my 2003 is rusting from Ottawa winters.

[Rich Sandor]

^ That's very true - except you don't have to declare that a car is from outside of the lower mainland. You can buy a virgin BC car (from up north or in the kootenays) that has gone through worse winters than anything a random Ontario car would see.

Any used car needs to be assessed on an individual basis. We have ex-rentals from Calgary with $2000 hits that are in far FAR better shape than some local cars with no decs whatsoever.

[Uncle Benz]

Originally Posted by taylor192

I wouldn't agree with that, maybe on a newer vehicle, yet anything 5+ years old from anywhere outside of the lower mainland is going to be showing signs of rust. I see cars here from the 90s with no rust, while my 2003 is rusting from Ottawa winters.

Ontario and most east coast cars are more prone to rusting but it does not mean everything coming from the east will be a rust bucket compared to a similar year car local car in BC. My 1998 from Toronto has absolutely zero rust on it and it was the previous owner's daily driver and got driven all year long. A lot of owners in Ontario and Quebec get their cars rust proofed every winter or every other winter. The ones that don't, well obviously that shows on the car itself.

To the OP if you are considering the car, have the car inspected at a shop and you will have a better idea of the condition of the car. Also, like Rich said you can't go wrong with the Carproof report. If you think it's too risky buying this out of province car then just simply walk away. There are plenty of 02 Civics out there.