FWIW at this point, I picked up a transfer form when I was renewing my insurance yesterday... the section where the seller signs says, "Seller's certification: I/we certify that we are the registered owner(s) of the vehicle described hereon and we are entitled to dispose of same, and the information set out above is true."

If there is a lien against the vehicle, then the seller is not entitled to dispose of it, and if he KNEW there was a lien against the car when he signed that form, then he committed fraud.

Interestingly (going back to another thread), there ISN'T a checkbox or section for the seller to indicate whether there's an outstanding VI on the vehicle.

It used to be in the upper right area somewhere if my memory serves me...

Yeah, that's what I thought, but... nope, unless I'm either blind or stupid.

There are checkboxes for noting damage, (over 20% of purchase price for new, or over $2000 for used cars), whether it has a current or conditional AirCare pass, whether it's been registered outside BC, whether it's Altered/Dismantled/Rebuilt/Salvage, and a section for Odometer reading and whether the odo has been changed... but nothing about outstanding VIs in the Seller's section of the form.

Closest thing is in the "Autoplan Agent to Complete" section, boxes for "VIN inspected and confirmed", "BC Vehicle Inspection Report", and "Transport Canada Vehicle Import Form"... but at that point, if the seller is going to go to ground leaving you with the VI, it's too late...

Be careful here. The Sale of Goods Act applies to new goods. Here, the car was used. Also, the implied conditions and warranties within the act can be contracted out of unless one of the parties fits the description in s.20 (retail seller).

Second, the original poster mentioned that he paid for PARTS from the car, but that the car was a gift. The Sale of Goods Act would not apply to the recipient of a gift - whether new or used.

I'm not saying he would have been out of luck, but this legislation could not help him.

Since there was no term in the verbal contract that governed this situation, you'd have to look to an 'equitable remedy' for help. If you're interested, look up the doctrine of equitable estoppel or promissory estoppel. Those are both tools that a court could use.


Congrats on getting through the bureaucracy.

are the forms different for vancouver and the rest of bc since we dont have aircare over here?

I doubt it. There's only one tiny area with two AirCare-related checkboxes; the cost and logistics of maintaining two forms for different parts of the province would far outweigh the space savings.

But if you wanna check, just drop by any Autoplan agent and grab a form - they're free, and most places you can't swing a dead cat without hitting an Autoplan office.

BTW (back to the original question), on the back of the form, the very first thing it says at the top under COMPLETION OF THE TRANSFER/TAX FORM (APV9T), is:
- The purchaser is advised to check for liens and encumbrances with the Personal Property Registry, Victoria, BC before finalizing the sale.

bump for good info that helped me