Buying a car out of province?
 

I'm about to buy a used car in Alberta and drive it back home to Ontario. I know Alberta offers an "in transit" permit to move a car out of Alberta to another point in Canada for 7 days. My question is: are these like Ontario trip permits where you get a legit metal plate with a "T" sticker? Or will I be ripping it across the country in an unplated car with a piece of paper stuck to the windshield just asking to be pulled all the time?

Any other insight from anyone who has done this before?

THANKS!

No, car needs an out of province inspection and safety and etest in order to be registered to an Ontario plate. I need to use an Alberta trip permit to get it here first, which I know I can get. Question was more what to expect. Is it a plate, or a paper, or what... Thanks! :)

ServiceOntario don't give out temp papers anymore. You must pay for a plate with a T sticker before getting safety/emission.

I was contemplating it with a car from Quebec. The out-of-province transit permit doesn't allow you to drive the car in Ontario (and I have no idea about other provinces). You would need to leave the car at the provincial border, get a temporary Ontario permit (plate with a T sticker), put that on and then drive that until you get it certified and e-tested. Easier to just rent a trailer and tow it back, which is what I ended up doing.

not quite as far, but in 2009 I drove my Boxster home (Heidelberg, ON) from Chicago without plates overnighted in Ann Arbor - a few weird looks from the the border people on both the US and Cdn side... I had insurance, and all the sales paperwork...

Didn't get stopped by the police....

Apparently they don't give out temp tags to out of staters in Illinois.

Why do they make it so complicated to buy a car from another Province in the same Country?

Interesting, this is the first I've heard of this. The in transit permit states that it is valid across Canada but not USA. If the case was true about Ontario, they would mention that I would imagine. It clearly states point A to point B with the purpose to move an unregistered car from Alberta to anywhere in Canada. I'll call Ontario Ministry tomorrow to double check this... Thanks for the heads up..this will put a damper on the plans big time if true...Also there are no Etest stations in Northern Ontario since it's not even a thing there... lmao.

NICE! Yeah, I'm hoping for smooth sailing.

I know right?! Ridiculous!

Thanks! :)

How else are the provincial governments going to make money?

Don't keep us in suspense! Which car?

I bought a car in AB and drove it back to BC about a year ago. The temporary permit is a piece of paper that sticks to the windshield. I got a few weird looks on the highway for sure. That combined with temporary insurance from BC made legal to drive it through both AB and BC, although I was supposed to go "straight to my destination" with no significant detours. Can't speak to other provinces. I would guess your insurance company in ON might have that info though. (The insurance broker here in BC is who told me about the Alberta transit permit thing.)

Same as others - I bought my 993 from AB and drove it back with temp insurance to MB. The sticker on the windshield deal. Didn't get pulled over.
Reach out if you drive through winnipeg and feel like a beer.

I bought my car in Quebec, and the dealer I bought it from handled the temporary Quebec permit.

It was simply a piece of paper that was stuck to the rear window and hand written with mine & the cars info. There was no issue driving it back from Montreal to Toronto, and I even drove the car for about half a week here in the GTA while I got it safetied and registered. As far as I recall it was valid across Canada for a certain period of time from the issue date (a week?).

And ... I agree, what car?! Will you be documenting the road trip on 911%?

You will be fine if they give you a sticker.
I purchased my Z06 in New Brunswick. They gave me a temp. sticker inside the front window. I drove back through the States. I had no issues whatsoever. When crossing into the States the border guard noticed the lack of plates. I showed him the dealer invoice and told him I was just passing through to Canada. He let me go.
Along the way I passed numerous State troopers, they never gave me a second look.
I drove around with the temp. sticker for a few days until I got the car certified, and my new ownership from MOT