Is it legal to drive a car home after buying it?(without insurance)

[heero78]

hi guys
I never buy used cars before.
I am thinking about buying one right now.
Seller and I are close to agree on a deal.
However, I am not sure what to do after i buy it.
I know when you buy a brand new car or used car from dealerships, they do the insurance stuffs for you so you can drive it home instantly.
What about used cars from private owners?
Am I allowed to drive the car home without insurance after I get the transfer documents etc from the seller?Is there a grace period? like few hours?

and no I am not switching my current plate on my car to this used car which I am thinking to buy. So the 10 days period stated on ICBC does not work.

thanks in advance.

[mb_]

It's illegal 100% of the time to drive without insurance

[satek]

Buy 1 day insurance for $27.

[illicitstylz]

here is what you do.

1. buyer and seller meet at autoplan agent
2. autoplan agent will ensure documentation for both buyers and sellers are correct and proper
3. buyer pays seller, keys are exchanged
4. car buyer arranges insurance on the spot with the autoplan agent
5. drive away with your new vehicle.

[jlenko]

When you buy the car.. the previous owner gives you the signed transfer/tax form along with the bottom piece of the registration, which they also have to sign (if it's not already). You take those two to the Autoplan agent of your choice... transfer the car into your name... pay the taxes, transfer fees, etc.. then you get plates or a temporary tag in order to take the car home.

How you do it depends on the seller. I personally will meet up with the buyer at a mall or something... complete the financial stuff at the bank first, then hit up the autoplan agent. Then I can cancel my old plates at the same time. Nice convenience for the buyer and seller to just go together in case there is anything wrong.

However... once you've done it a few times, you know the process, you don't need the seller there at all.. as long as you have all the right paperwork, you're golden. If you're not sure.. ask them to accompany you to the Autoplan place.

EDIT: Looks like illicitstylz and I were typing at the same time

[heero78]

thanks guys!

[johny]

Originally Posted by heero78

and no I am not switching my current plate on my car to this used car which I am thinking to buy. So the 10 days period stated on ICBC does not work.

thanks in advance.

this only works if you sell your car first. and only have the new car. you can't just take plates from one car and put them onto the new one.

[ninjatune]

^Wouldn't that be nice if that's how it worked...

I would definately put insurance on it, even just to drive it home.

Drive without insurance is a $598 fine and is actually an arrestable offence under the MVA! On top of the fine your vehicle gets towed and impounded which will also cost $$$

[c32]

no

[netfreak]

I often finish the deal at the seller's place, take the papers to the agent, then get someone to drive me back to the car with the plates so I can drive it home. Or on one occasion I towed the car.

[bikerman]

You can drive your "new" vehicle using the licence plates from your old one for 10 days from the date of purchase if all of these conditions are met:

• The vehicle you're switching plates to is registered in B.C. (or was purchased from a licensed B.C. auto dealer).
• You have sold or otherwise disposed of your old vehicle.
• Both vehicles are the same type (for example, passenger vehicles).
• The licence plates are valid B.C. plates.

Source: http://www.icbc.com/registration-lic...sfer-ownership

i did this when i got my new car simplifies the process a little so you can take the car from the guys house where you bought it back to your preferred auto plan agent in your neighborhood.

[zulutango]

Onje vitally important thing you missed above...the complete paperwork...the tax & transfer must be 100% filled out and that means everything...speedo reading, date, complete owner and seller info...and you must have the regsitration from the old vehicle and the regsitration from the new vehicle and present it to the Police if you are asked to do so. Fail to do so means you are driving an uninsured and unlicenced vehicle and you get $598 ticket & tow. Too easy to get the seller to blank sign the T&T form and the new wanna-be "owner" drives it for months without completing the paperwork. Your T&T form gets seized for evidence, your own plates get seized for misuse and you arein do-do. On top of the fines and tow bill, you now have to go back to the original owner and get a new valid set of paperwork....and of couerse your car sits until you do.

[netfreak]

Originally Posted by zulutango

Onje vitally important thing you missed above...the complete paperwork...the tax & transfer must be 100% filled out and that means everything...speedo reading, date, complete owner and seller info...and you must have the regsitration from the old vehicle and the regsitration from the new vehicle and present it to the Police if you are asked to do so. Fail to do so means you are driving an uninsured and unlicenced vehicle and you get $598 ticket & tow. Too easy to get the seller to blank sign the T&T form and the new wanna-be "owner" drives it for months without completing the paperwork. Your T&T form gets seized for evidence, your own plates get seized for misuse and you arein do-do. On top of the fines and tow bill, you now have to go back to the original owner and get a new valid set of paperwork....and of couerse your car sits until you do.

A buyer for my dad's old vehicle did this but since my dad works for ICBC he made sure to put all the details on the paperwork including the purchase date. They called him up like a year later asking if he would sign a new transfer paper. Obviously he refused. They got screwed for trying to scam the system.

[zulutango]

When I sold a car I filled the details in and went directly with the buyer to ICBC & completed the transaction there. Have checked vehicles and found that the current owner was only one of several since the buyer sold it. The buyers just kept passing the car along with nobody doing the paperwork. The neat thing is that the owner of record ( the guy who first sold the car) is held to be the owner until the transfer is actually done...and is lgeally liable for parking tickets, red light tickets, tow charges if it is abandoned...but they never think that far. When you confront them with the charges they cannot tell you who they sold it to...too bad...they are on the hook because they didn't follow the rules. If you sell a vehicle make sure you get a copy of the completed tax & transfer form for your own safety and protection.

[bikerman]

Originally Posted by zulutango

Onje vitally important thing you missed above...the complete paperwork...the tax & transfer must be 100% filled out and that means everything...speedo reading, date, complete owner and seller info...and you must have the regsitration from the old vehicle and the regsitration from the new vehicle and present it to the Police if you are asked to do so. Fail to do so means you are driving an uninsured and unlicenced vehicle and you get $598 ticket & tow. Too easy to get the seller to blank sign the T&T form and the new wanna-be "owner" drives it for months without completing the paperwork. Your T&T form gets seized for evidence, your own plates get seized for misuse and you arein do-do. On top of the fines and tow bill, you now have to go back to the original owner and get a new valid set of paperwork....and of couerse your car sits until you do.

I just copied and pasted that from ICBC website. Is the site wrong?

[underscore]

Originally Posted by ninjatune

^Wouldn't that be nice if that's how it worked...

I would definately put insurance on it, even just to drive it home.

Drive without insurance is a $598 fine and is actually an arrestable offence under the MVA! On top of the fine your vehicle gets towed and impounded which will also cost $$$

Where does it say arrestable? I screwed up and forgot to renew (was very sick when the letter came in) and got pulled over, ticketed, and towed. Same thing happened t a friend 2 weeks later, but neither of us were arrested.

[zulutango]

No insurance, hit & run and derive while prohib are the 3 things you can actually be arrested for under the MV Act. Do a search under the penalties section of the Act. I never physically arrested for no insurance but told the driver I would if he insisted on driving away. Actually had the cuffs out for one guy and he finally backed down. He said he was only about a mile from his house and was going to drive it there. He also had a stolen Val Tag with a scratched out serial number on the plate too. Said he had no idea how the tag got there. Right! When I called the tow truck and backup and removed his plates he finally backed down. Major attitude problem that pre-existed any contact I had ever had with him.

[sho_bc]

Originally Posted by bikerman

I just copied and pasted that from ICBC website. Is the site wrong?

No, that information is still correct. However, at the very top of the transfer papers is a box explaining that unless everything is filled out completely/properly, it invalidates the insurance.

[ninjatune]

Originally Posted by underscore

Where does it say arrestable? I screwed up and forgot to renew (was very sick when the letter came in) and got pulled over, ticketed, and towed. Same thing happened t a friend 2 weeks later, but neither of us were arrested.

We have the power of arrest under those 3 BCMVA offences (prohib driver, drive without insurance, hit and run) however most of the time discretion is used.

eg: We stopped a pickup with insurance expired 3 days prior. The driver was not the criminal type, just forgot to renew. Rather than issue a $598 VT and impound the vehicle, we had the driver pay for a private tow to their residence just a few blocks away.

Now if the driver was a complete criminal with previous similar MVA/criminal offences, you bet I'd impound and issue the VT!

[sho_bc]

Always, at the minimum, seize the plates for no insurance. There is nothing stopping them from continuing to drive once you're out of sight if you leave them with the plates. Thats YOUR rear on the line if anything happens, and there is records of you dealing with them on CPIC. I can't even count the number of times I've heard "but I'm only a block from home".

[zulutango]

Originally Posted by bikerman

I just copied and pasted that from ICBC website. Is the site wrong?

No..you are correct...but Here is what the entire website page says..

http://www.icbc.com/registration-lic...sfer-ownership


the things I mentioned are explained there..just read the entire bit...

[zulutango]

Originally Posted by underscore

Where does it say arrestable? I screwed up and forgot to renew (was very sick when the letter came in) and got pulled over, ticketed, and towed. Same thing happened t a friend 2 weeks later, but neither of us were arrested.

Arrest without warrant
79 An officer or constable of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or of the police department of a municipality may arrest without warrant ( may...not shall)

(a) a person who the officer or constable finds driving a motor vehicle, and who the officer or constable has reasonable and probable grounds to believe was driving in contravention of section 95 or 102,

(b) a person driving a motor vehicle who the officer or constable has reasonable and probable grounds to believe is not insured as required by this Act or does not hold a valid and subsisting motor vehicle liability insurance card or financial responsibility card, and

(c) a person who the officer or the constable has reasonable and probable grounds to believe has contravened section 68,

and may detain the person arrested until he or she can be brought before a justice to be dealt with according to law.