Car ownership options for Vancouver

[MuttWagon]

Hi,

I'm immigrating to Vancouver this summer and I'm working through the car options as you do for a 2 car garage. Having a bit of local insight would be greatly appreciated so I can establish if buying or leasing works out better.

If there are some decent lease deals I would be tempted to go down this route.

How does car leasing compare to the UK? Does anyone has details of any good websites of brokers they recommend. I can only find sites taking over other peoples leases.

What are the best sites for looking for used cars? I've been on autotrader.ca which is ok.

Any other useful insight to car ownership would be great!

[Rich_AR]

Not sure about lease options (as I've not done it), but check out: https://www.leasecosts.ca/en/lease-takeover-vancou... Some dealers have good sales on with leasing options and also some have very low finance rates as well (again, not done either), but check the dealers websites. 'Sales' come and go it seems.

Secondly, be prepared to factor in tax (even when buying new, used or leased) and HIGH insurance costs here in BC, especially in Vancouver.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/taxes/sales-taxe...

Autotrader.ca seems to be the standard go to.

If you're buying/moving into a house with a garage all good, but not all condos come with two allocated parking spaces, unless its 3+ bedroom.

Edited by Rich_AR on Friday 19th March 22:47

[britinbc]

i moved to Vancouver three years ago i would say come over here and buy a cheaper car and figure out what you want a car for as it all depends on what you do in your spare time and what you commute is like traffic can be brutal!


i bought a Subaru legacy when i first moved here but I purchased i new ram truck six months later as it allowed me to explore the forest service roads and the mountains in the winter its been driven down to Mexico and all over north Yukon i also got back into mountain biking and camping.if you do buy you do the deal and drive home the same day such an easy way of buying a car

insurance is ran by ICBC basically the provincial government you get a price and that's what you have to pay i pay $2k a year for my truck your no claims won't transfer unless you get a written letter from your insurance company in the UK it has to be written a specific way and if you have had various insurance companies in the UK each one has to write the letter

petrol is cheaper than in the UK the but prices fluctuate daily and the further out of Vancouver you go the cheaper it is

there's no MOT or car testing and no car tax

in my experience people here buy cars/trucks for what they need rather than the badge(but that depends on what circles you move in i guess) you see a lot of older cars parked in front of $2/3 million homes though

i know a few people who have leased and they say its more dealer specific rather than being online its best to go in and talk you'll find that with a lot of things over here



if you need any info just ask

[Rich_AR]

britinbc said:

i moved to Vancouver three years ago i would say come over here and buy a cheaper car and figure out what you want a car for as it all depends on what you do in your spare time and what you commute is like traffic can be brutal!


i bought a Subaru legacy when i first moved here but I purchased i new ram truck six months later as it allowed me to explore the forest service roads and the mountains in the winter its been driven down to Mexico and all over north Yukon i also got back into mountain biking and camping.if you do buy you do the deal and drive home the same day such an easy way of buying a car

insurance is ran by ICBC basically the provincial government you get a price and that's what you have to pay i pay $2k a year for my truck your no claims won't transfer unless you get a written letter from your insurance company in the UK it has to be written a specific way and if you have had various insurance companies in the UK each one has to write the letter

petrol is cheaper than in the UK the but prices fluctuate daily and the further out of Vancouver you go the cheaper it is

there's no MOT or car testing and no car tax

in my experience people here buy cars/trucks for what they need rather than the badge(but that depends on what circles you move in i guess) you see a lot of older cars parked in front of $2/3 million homes though

i know a few people who have leased and they say its more dealer specific rather than being online its best to go in and talk you'll find that with a lot of things over here



if you need any info just ask

Agree, buying a car is fast here in BC, everything is done on the spot at the dealership and you drive away.

You do need to have the car inspected once if you buy out of province (before you can register and properly insure it) e.g Alberta car registering in BC etc.

Note on the NCB, the rules changed in BC in Sept 2019 when they introduced the 'driver factor' rating. ICBC no longer look at previous insurance history or NCB, they look at how long you've have held your licence for. However, for the first 3 years they apply 'new driver to BC' rates on top of your insurance. If you have over 15 years driving experience, they will only honour the maximum of 15 years on your new BC licence. You will also have to handover your UK licence as well.

Edited by Rich_AR on Monday 22 March 16:17

[MuttWagon]

Thanks guys this is all really helpful. Nice to know there are PistonHeads out there!

As you say its difficult to know how we will use a car so I think we will be cautious before taking a plunge. I was an old X5 to be practical for biking and getting out in the wild with the dog.

With the taxation on used cars, does it make it harder to sell a car privately?

[Rich_AR]

MuttWagon said:

Thanks guys this is all really helpful. Nice to know there are PistonHeads out there!

As you say its difficult to know how we will use a car so I think we will be cautious before taking a plunge. I was an old X5 to be practical for biking and getting out in the wild with the dog.

With the taxation on used cars, does it make it harder to sell a car privately?

Tax on used car sales is collected when you register it in your name and insure it. They go off the 'bill of sale' price. They won't question the value, unless its suspiciously low for the car & market. So no, I'd say it doesn't make it harder. However, people often prefer to trade cars in with the dealer, as you only then pay tax on the difference between the trade-in and the value of the new car you buy. e.g $25k trade-in on a $50k car, you only pay tax on the $25k difference. However private sale, you would pay on the full value.

One thing I've noticed is that roof racks are silly expensive compared to the UK! Same goes for bike racks etc. The demand is high, so prices are as well.

[MuttWagon]

Rich_AR said:

Tax on used car sales is collected when you register it in your name and insure it. They go off the 'bill of sale' price. They won't question the value, unless its suspiciously low for the car & market. So no, I'd say it doesn't make it harder. However, people often prefer to trade cars in with the dealer, as you only then pay tax on the difference between the trade-in and the value of the new car you buy. e.g $25k trade-in on a $50k car, you only pay tax on the $25k difference. However private sale, you would pay on the full value.

One thing I've noticed is that roof racks are silly expensive compared to the UK! Same goes for bike racks etc. The demand is high, so prices are as well.

Ok cool. Yes I can see that tax structure being attractive on the trade in cars. Looking at the classifieds there seems far less private sales than here in the UK.

I'll make sure I include the roof box when I ship everything over.

Thanks!

[Rich_AR]

MuttWagon said:

Ok cool. Yes I can see that tax structure being attractive on the trade in cars. Looking at the classifieds there seems far less private sales than here in the UK.

I'll make sure I include the roof box when I ship everything over.

Thanks!

In general certain cars are few and far between or the other side of the country. Just look on the autotrader.ca at how many manual Porsche 911's there are compared to autotrader.co.uk. Over twice as many. Then again, the population is smaller and maybe the taste for these cars are slightly different. Another example is I picked up a 2007 Impreza WRX estate (aka wagon) last year and at the time, there was only one other 2006-2007 WRX estate for sale on autotrader.ca.

There are some bargains to be had if you buy private as well.

I shipped my Thule roof rack (which I had on my old 911) in my ski bag when I moved here and bought the feet/fitting kit for the Porsche Macan I'd arranged to buy before landing in Canada.

Edited by Rich_AR on Thursday 25th March 14:49