Buying a motorcycle in Quebec but live in Ontario.

[PrivatePilot]

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I bought one of our previous EV's in Quebec from a dealer. They were well versed in selling to Ontario residents and handled the process of getting the Quebec sales taxes refunded, and they even issued us a QC temp plate to drive the car home. It was a great experience all around and we saved probably $5K vs buying the same car here.

We bought my wife's current Spyder also in Quebec, private sale. Definitely check the ownership to make sure it's not listed as branded/salvage/rebuilt, as others mention, as that can be done in QC, but you'll never be able to put it on the road here as Ontario does not allow rebuilt status on motorycycles. The process is dead easy though, you buy the bike, get it home somehow (in our case I borrowed a friends enclosed snowmobile trailer which fit it perfectly with the windshield removed), get it safetied here in Ontario, and then just go to Service Ontario with the Quebec ownership, the safety, your bill of sale, and collect your new Ontario ownership and plates, done deal. No taxes paid in Quebec since you don't even visit their offices, you just get your receipt and depart the province, that's it.

Quebec does have a lot of issues with crashed cars being rebuilt and odometers being rolled back etc, so yeah, due dilligence is necessary. Buy from reputable places/dealers/people. Our dealer experience was reputable. Our private seller experience was literally original owner of the Spyder since day 1, with proof, so no worries there either.

 

[xrljoel]

I bought one of our previous EV's in Quebec from a dealer. They were well versed in selling to Ontario residents and handled the process of getting the Quebec sales taxes refunded, and they even issued us a QC temp plate to drive the car home. It was a great experience all around and we saved probably $5K vs buying the same car here.

We bought my wife's current Spyder also in Quebec, private sale. Definitely check the ownership to make sure it's not listed as branded/salvage/rebuilt, as others mention, as that can be done in QC, but you'll never be able to put it on the road here as Ontario does not allow rebuilt status on motorycycles. The process is dead easy though, you buy the bike, get it home somehow (in our case I borrowed a friends enclosed snowmobile trailer which fit it perfectly with the windshield removed), get it safetied here in Ontario, and then just go to Service Ontario with the Quebec ownership, the safety, your bill of sale, and collect your new Ontario ownership and plates, done deal. No taxes paid in Quebec since you don't even visit their offices, you just get your receipt and depart the province, that's it.

Quebec does have a lot of issues with crashed cars being rebuilt and odometers being rolled back etc, so yeah, due dilligence is necessary. Buy from reputable places/dealers/people. Our dealer experience was reputable. Our private seller experience was literally original owner of the Spyder since day 1, with proof, so no worries there either.

Thanks for explaining the potential transaction in simple terms.

Opens up some extra options for my flights of fancy.

I'd go to inspect/pick it up, accepting that I may come home without the bike.

 

[PrivatePilot]

accepting that I may come home without the bike.

Being prepared to come home empty handed is a good way to go into things, no pressure to buy something that might be a poor decision in hindsight that way.

 

[nyx]

I bought one of our previous EV's in Quebec from a dealer. They were well versed in selling to Ontario residents and handled the process of getting the Quebec sales taxes refunded, and they even issued us a QC temp plate to drive the car home. It was a great experience all around and we saved probably $5K vs buying the same car here.

We bought my wife's current Spyder also in Quebec, private sale. Definitely check the ownership to make sure it's not listed as branded/salvage/rebuilt, as others mention, as that can be done in QC, but you'll never be able to put it on the road here as Ontario does not allow rebuilt status on motorycycles. The process is dead easy though, you buy the bike, get it home somehow (in our case I borrowed a friends enclosed snowmobile trailer which fit it perfectly with the windshield removed), get it safetied here in Ontario, and then just go to Service Ontario with the Quebec ownership, the safety, your bill of sale, and collect your new Ontario ownership and plates, done deal. No taxes paid in Quebec since you don't even visit their offices, you just get your receipt and depart the province, that's it.

Quebec does have a lot of issues with crashed cars being rebuilt and odometers being rolled back etc, so yeah, due dilligence is necessary. Buy from reputable places/dealers/people. Our dealer experience was reputable. Our private seller experience was literally original owner of the Spyder since day 1, with proof, so no worries there either.

Thank you for the detailed reply.
I’m looking at a bike on Facebook marketplace. Not seeing many options I’m very interested in nearby, thats how ended up with Quebec.

does the seller provide bill of sale?

I’ve been searching online for vin checkers but they all seem to be based outside Quebec, and the car fax one is silly for $80.
I was planing on trying to get to SAAQ to buy their $10 one before seeing the bike, possibly next week.
I have 2 or 3 calls left with CAA, one at 300km, and my year ends October or November. If I can’t ride it back, though insurance is ready for the 30 day temporary transfer, and got plate from old bike.

 

[voyageur]

I believe @matt365 bought a used motorcycle recently from Montreal or at least he went to take a look at from what I remember.

 

[MacDoc]

I bought my dearly missed CBF1000 from a Quebec cop and we met at a Canada Tire in Montreal to get the safety and he guided me through the paperwork for ownership. Pretty bike. That was a very chilly ride home in late October. Forgot my heated gloves.

 

[PrivatePilot]

does the seller provide bill of sale?

I’ve been searching online for vin checkers but they all seem to be based outside Quebec, and the car fax one is silly for $80.
I was planing on trying to get to SAAQ to buy their $10 one before seeing the bike, possibly next week.
I have 2 or 3 calls left with CAA, one at 300km, and my year ends October or November. If I can’t ride it back, though insurance is ready for the 30 day temporary transfer, and got plate from old bike.

Yes, seller provides bill of sale.

I wouldn't put much faith in any VIN checkers aside from Carfax honestly, but in the grand scheme of things, $80 might be worth it for the peace of mind.

You can google "CPIC vin check" and run the vin through the CPIC system to at least confirm that the VIN doesn't come up as stolen, as well. That's free for any vehicle.

I bought my dearly missed CBF1000 from a Quebec cop and we met at a Canada Tire in Montreal to get the safety and he guided me through the paperwork for ownership.

Did Ontario accept the safety through some reciprocity program? I was under the impression that service ontario recognized zero quebec paperwork short of the ownership - when we bought our Ioniq there (the only vehicle we've ever bought there that we actually drove home versus trailered back) we had to get a safety done here again.

 

[Relax]

Register an out of province vehicle in Ontario

Learn how to register your out of province vehicle in Ontario.

www.ontario.ca

Write/print your own bill of sale template to save you from going back to the seller for another one if you missed anything. At a minimum, you need the date, VIN, description, price, and names and signatures of seller and buyer.

Also, there should be a "transfer" section on the permit/ownership/title that needs to be signed over to you.

 

[nyx]

Yes, seller provides bill of sale.

I wouldn't put much faith in any VIN checkers aside from Carfax honestly, but in the grand scheme of things, $80 might be worth it for the peace of mind.

You can google "CPIC vin check" and run the vin through the CPIC system to at least confirm that the VIN doesn't come up as stolen, as well. That's free for any vehicle.



Did Ontario accept the safety through some reciprocity program? I was under the impression that service ontario recognized zero quebec paperwork short of the ownership - when we bought our Ioniq there (the only vehicle we've ever bought there that we actually drove home versus trailered back) we had to get a safety done here again.

I haven’t seen the bike yet in person, not sure it’s worth the $80 check. If I’m in Québec during office hours, it’s $10 at their vehicle office. Other $70 can go towards the gas there.

They also do the snail mail paperwork, so I can look at it next season lol

If this bike was at the dealership though, I would put money down on it now.

Might be good direction to take my search for the FZ1 or MT09/10 other than Facebook marketplace.

 

[nyx]

After posting, found this at one of the Quebec Yamaha dealerships. Seems I need to look at more websites.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Keep in mind that buying at a dealership vs private sale in Quebec means that you’ll almost certainly have to pay the taxes and then apply for a refund, unless you happen to find a dealer willing to handle that for you which is very unlikely. The refund may take some time, and in the meantime you’ll be paying the taxes *again* in Ontario at service Ontario when you go to get your plates and ownership.

We were lucky the car dealer did so for us, but we still had to pay them but they cut us a cheque for the equivalent amount after we signed the papers. Most dealers aren’t willing to jump through these hoops for people from Ontario.

 

[MacDoc]

Private Pilot ...Did Ontario accept the safety through some reciprocity program? I was under the impression that service ontario recognized zero quebec paperwork short of the ownership

The safety was done in Ottawa ...the Quebec cop guided me through the entire process..

 

[nyx]

Keep in mind that buying at a dealership vs private sale in Quebec means that you’ll almost certainly have to pay the taxes and then apply for a refund, unless you happen to find a dealer willing to handle that for you which is very unlikely. The refund may take some time, and in the meantime you’ll be paying the taxes *again* in Ontario at service Ontario when you go to get your plates and ownership.

We were lucky the car dealer did so for us, but we still had to pay them but they cut us a cheque for the equivalent amount after we signed the papers. Most dealers aren’t willing to jump through these hoops for people from Ontario.

You guys got lucky.

I did go through this before; bought bike in BC. Had to send a mini novel to BC government to get tax refund. They also wanted extra $1200 to plate it with ICBC (while at dealership), we settled for a temporary plate $20/day.

My bike was new though so I didn’t have to think safety, or titles.

 

[nobbie48]

Welcome!

This topic has been covered before more than once. I'd encourage you to read over some of the previous threads. You can use the search function located in the top right of the page.

For example; Buying a bike in Quebec to license in Ontario

If you want the cliff note version;

1. You will pay taxes when registering it in Ontario. If you paid taxes in Quebec (say buying at a dealership), you will have to seek recovery of those monies from the government after showing proof of paying Ontario taxes as well
2. Mileage tampering has been an issue in the past
3. Quebec allows branded/salvage titles on the road, we do not check the registration carefully
4. Lots of vehicles from flooded areas of the US make it to Quebec
5. Transporting a motorcycle in Quebec on say the back of a truck requires it to be legally plated

Good luck!

A friend's son bought a car out of Quebec then totaled it here. Insurance tracked it back and found it was branded and seriously reduced the payout.

 

[GreyGhost]

A friend's son bought a car out of Quebec then totaled it here. Insurance tracked it back and found it was branded and seriously reduced the payout.

On the flip side, the branding should have shown on the ownership and the son should have bought it for much less than a clean car.

 

[nobbie48]

On the flip side, the branding should have shown on the ownership and the son should have bought it for much less than a clean car.

I think they put bleach in the Ottawa river to wash out undesirable stains.

The kid came out OK as he got a good deal on the car and negotiated a reasonable deal after the write off.

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