Driving across Canada......legal?

[knowslepizruff]

Hi,

Here is my situation. I have imported a car from Japan to Vancouver, but I live in Ottawa. I am in Vancouver now and want to know how/if it is possible to drive the vehicle across Canada instead of sending it with a shipping company like Searail or Hansens's.

I read the posts about those companies in previous threads and they pretty much scare me silly.

The car is through customs but not yet registered. What would i have to do to make it legal to drive to Ontario, where I would then register it with Ontario plates as the end destination.

Any help you could provide would be appreciated. If it is not possible please tell me why.

Thanks

[D911]

I am fairly certain you can get temp-insurance/registration to get it from A to B, after buying a car, from a registry office.

Someone probably knows more than me on the subject though.

[Jynx]

Best bet would be to call either the local registry or your insurance company and see what they say..

[The Cosworth]

I would think either get temporary registration and insurace (although I doubt it would be ok for that far a drive) or get registration and insurance from ontario but they may want an OOP or something along those lines, which would be tough.

You may just end up having to get it shipped

[modded46]

I would think you'd have to register it in BC then drive it to Ontario and register a transfer there.. But again, call the Ontario Gov. and ask them.

[Redlyne_mr2]

You can get registration right away, call you insurance company with the VIN, year, model etc get it insured. Then head down to registries and get a 14 day transfer permit or have many days they allow you in Ontario. Youre good to go after that.

[Crymson]

I don't know if i would want to drive an unseen JDM car 4000 km's.

[soupey]

thats quite the drive ur planning with a car uve never had a chance to drive b4....u dont know if its reliable enough to go from west to east....i guess u can test your luck and do it...but getting it shipped might be the better option...

[94teg]

I just drove from Labrador to Banff last week in my integra, and Im lucky if i remembered seeing 10 police along the whole trip.

[acura_el]

i'm not really sure, but i think your best bet would be to register in van and then drive out to ontario and transfer.

check with the van transportation office or whatever the hell they call it. i'm sure they'll be able to help u out

[SilverBoost]

Ship the car out, unless you know it's mechanicaly sound. If you haven't had at least a few weeks of driving this car around (which you obviously haven't gievn you are asking abuot registration) then don't take a chance on that far of a drive. I've driven from one end of Canada to the other almost half a dozen times. It's not the knd of drive you do in a vehicle you will have a harder time finding parts for if it breaks.

/2 cents

[TC2002]

I wouldn't personally take my car for that long of a drive right off the bat. Would you be staying around Vancover for a while? Have a chance to drive it around for a while before you go back?

[2002civic]

if you do decide to drive youll get a temporary in transit registrayion form ontario(well at least you do this in alberta) and you can drive for 1 day per province with it, youll also need temp insurance but you wont need any plates, just a piece of paper that goes in your window

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by acura_el
i'm not really sure, but i think your best bet would be to register in van and then drive out to ontario and transfer.

check with the van transportation office or whatever the hell they call it. i'm sure they'll be able to help u out

Why do people post when they dont know what theyre talking about????
You cant register it in Van unless you have a BC license which he doesnt. And why would it be easier to register it in BC first hand? Thats just one more OOP he has to pay for. :nut:

[acura_el]

^^ur right, ignore my post...i didn't think about the licence issue - i figured you'd be able to do it

[knowslepizruff]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I have acctually driven the car before, I had it in Japan and brought it back with me so I am not worried about it being mechanically sound or anythign like that.

I was more worried about cops pulling me over and harrasing me with cavity searches and what not.

I suppose in the end it comes down to how much hassle i want to deal with. Hansens quoted 1500 bucks to ship it plus i would need a Tango flight to Ottawa. So we are up around near 2000 dollars. I figure I could drive it cross country for cheaper.

[frozenrice]

How about renting a Uhaul one way and towing it back yourself?

[Hash_man]

If you used to have the car in japan and know the car, then I'd say go for it, and drive it home. But like others said, get temp insurance from your company, then get an in transit sticker or temp registration from a registry.

[knowslepizruff]

U-haul is not a bad idea, it is 310 CAD to get a trailer for it to sit on but I am still stuck with the problem of not having a vehicle to pull the trailer. Once I get into renting a car to do that job the costs start to exceed having it shipped so you see why this isnt really a viable option.

[JAYMEZ]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
You can get registration right away, call you insurance company with the VIN, year, model etc get it insured. Then head down to registries and get a 14 day transfer permit or have many days they allow you in Ontario. Youre good to go after that.


Your answer is right here. It doesnt matter if its a Jap car or american car , all the same rules.

[FiveFreshFish]

That's a one long drive to do solo. Consider this when you drive cross-country. It's not all about gas money only.

It's 4800 km Vancouver to Ottawa if you go through the US. Driving all the way in Canada is a lot further. Either way, that's a lot of km to put on your newly acquired car in such a short time. That's 4800 km of wear and tear you have to factor into your costs. You'll also have to worry about state troopers who aren't familar with a Canadian transfer permit and they could cause you some unanticipated problems.

You'll spend about $500 in gas assuming your car gets 10 L/100km and gas prices average a buck a litre over the entire trip through Canada and the US. Your mileage may vary.

It'll take at least 4 days for your trip if you can average 1200 km per day. At 100 km/h, that's 12 hours of driving plus rest and food stops. It would be crazy to drive longer hours and/or faster. Budget for good meals because you don't want shitty food sitting in your stomach when driving. I would say at least $25 per day for food. Might be able to save some money if you buy food at a supermarket.

Are you willing to sleep in your car? You can find showers at truck stops but I have no idea what they charge for this. If you can't find a truck stop, go to the local gym and pay a few bucks for a day pass to use the shower. If you don't want to sleep in the car, budget about $50 per night at a motel.

One little incident can blow your budget or make you wish you would have shipped the car. How will one mechanical breakdown affect your budget? What about an accident? A speeding ticket? What if someone breaks into your car when you're parked for the night or having dinner?

Keep in mind that each day you're on the road, you aren't making money. That's okay if you're not employed. If you are, these are days you're not getting paid or they're vacation days used. Yes, this is a cost and a lot of people forget to account for it.

Crunch the numbers and see if it's really worth driving yourself.

[knowslepizruff]

Thanks for playing devil's advocate, i do appreciate it.

I am unemployed having just returned from Japan myself and I wouldnt do it solo. I have a friend who would do it with me. Also, I am not under any time constraint so wouldnt need to drive 1200kms a day either.

I would stay in Canada for the whole trip to avoid headaches with the states.

Finally, it is also about the adventure. I Have never driven acoss Canada and have always wanted to.

Ive been doing some research about Ontario trip permits and it doesnt say they can be used outside of Ontario. It doesnt say they cant be used outside of Ontario either.

Its a bit of a pain and I was wondering if someone from Ontario has done something like this before. Im not sure how the provincial govts differ and want to cover my ass is all.

[A790]

Originally posted by FiveFreshFish
That's a one long drive to do solo. Consider this when you drive cross-country. It's not all about gas money only.

It's 4800 km Vancouver to Ottawa if you go through the US. Driving all the way in Canada is a lot further. Either way, that's a lot of km to put on your newly acquired car in such a short time. That's 4800 km of wear and tear you have to factor into your costs. You'll also have to worry about state troopers who aren't familar with a Canadian transfer permit and they could cause you some unanticipated problems.

You'll spend about $500 in gas assuming your car gets 10 L/100km and gas prices average a buck a litre over the entire trip through Canada and the US. Your mileage may vary.

It'll take at least 4 days for your trip if you can average 1200 km per day. At 100 km/h, that's 12 hours of driving plus rest and food stops. It would be crazy to drive longer hours and/or faster. Budget for good meals because you don't want shitty food sitting in your stomach when driving. I would say at least $25 per day for food. Might be able to save some money if you buy food at a supermarket.

Are you willing to sleep in your car? You can find showers at truck stops but I have no idea what they charge for this. If you can't find a truck stop, go to the local gym and pay a few bucks for a day pass to use the shower. If you don't want to sleep in the car, budget about $50 per night at a motel.

One little incident can blow your budget or make you wish you would have shipped the car. How will one mechanical breakdown affect your budget? What about an accident? A speeding ticket? What if someone breaks into your car when you're parked for the night or having dinner?

Keep in mind that each day you're on the road, you aren't making money. That's okay if you're not employed. If you are, these are days you're not getting paid or they're vacation days used. Yes, this is a cost and a lot of people forget to account for it.

Crunch the numbers and see if it's really worth driving yourself.

Absolutely correct. I drove from Calgary to Toronto, and at 10pm on the final night of driving I hit a deer (albeit very lightly and only cosmetically). I was lucky enough that the damage was only minor cosmetic stuff that was easily repaired, so I was able to drive the rest of the way. But, if it hadn't been juts the fender, I would have been in a whole world of hurt.