How to buy a car in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Car is a must in Canada especially when you living with family. I decided to buy my first car before the winter so that shopping during winter will be easy. My conditions,
- accident free. ( Check the Carfax report for accidents)
- budget: $10-15k
- year: 2014+
- km : below 120k
- transmission: automatic
I had following models in my mind -Toyota Corola, Camry, MiniCooper, Honda Civic, HRV, CRV, Nissan Rogue. Many of my friends were using Toyota Corolla, very old model, still they were reliable.
I have started my search in Facebook market place and Kijiji. Initially I just replied to ad and never went to see the vehicle. It became habit, and one day I went out to see a vehicle. It was a Nissan Rogue 2014 model which I didn't like because it looked very old even though in picture it looked good. Many of my friends recommended SUV because it will be convenient for trips and moving items.
After that every weekend I rented car and went out to see different vehicles. Honda Civic and CRV at Precision Honda. I didn't like Civic because some sound was coming from the vehicle. Toyota Corolla, Camry at Attrel Toyota. Corolla was good but expensive. There were showrooms of almost every auto company near by Attrel Toyota, Brampton. We have explored maximum there. Every time I found some problem or the car value was out of budget.
I have created custom filters kijiji auto. Also started looking at other sites - Carguru, autotrader,... One day I went to see a VW Jetta - 2017 model. It was a good vehicle and cheap. It was almost closed the deal. Then I figured out that resale value of Jetta is very low, don'y know why it is so. Another day, we found one of our neighbour has listed their MiniCooper in Kijiji. It was really a good car. We were confirmed to buy it. But unfortunately they changed their mind and they didn't sell their car.
Finally, fall already started, I found Nissan Rogue from a private seller in Kijiji. Even though vehicle is old, the owner explained everything well which I really liked. The vehicle looked in great condition. Also he provided winter tire. He did safety and did everything for registration. I just needed to arrange the draft on his name and Insurance proof.
Insurance
Insurance is expensive in Canada. Also it is mandatory and required for registration. I have took quotes from different companies in the weekend and started calling different insurance companies early Monday morning. Took quote from TD Insurance, RBC, Allstate, Cooperators, Aviva etc. The insurance company will ask for the description of the vehicle. All the information will be available in the CARFAX report. if VIN is available we can take the carfax report. TD gave the cheapest quote so bought it.
Registration
Need to arrange following for changing ownership from Service Ontario,
- The Used Vehicle Information Package - Need to fill.
- A signed Bill of Sale with your name, the buyer’s name and address, the date and purchase price .
- A completed and signed Application for Transfer — this is found on the back of an ownership permit, under the vehicle portion.
- A certificate that verifies the vehicle meets safety standards.
- Proof of insurance in your name for the vehicle.
Here are the links that I found helpful:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/buy-or-sell-used-vehicle-ontario#section-1
https://www.ontario.ca/page/safety-standards-certificate
https://www.ontario.ca/page/register-vehicle-permit-licence-plate-and-sticker#section-2