Alberta is a bill of sale province. There is no title system, although the
seller is expected to sign over the registration slip to the new owner. The
transfer section is on the reverse of the paper . The province does keep
registration records on their computers for eight years, though.
When you register a vehicle in Alberta, you will need proof of insurance
first. The insurance company may ask for a mechanical inspection report by
a licensed mechanic before insuring the
vehicle.
With the proof of insurance, and your bill of sale, you can proceed to the
local registration office to register the car. Registration in Alberta is
basically giving you a rear license plate for your car along with a
registration slip. You pay the office the government's registration fee,
the office's services fee, plus GST. And you are done.
I lived in Alberta from 1981 to 1994, and had no problems registering a
vehicle. I bought a 1963 Valiant in 1989 and took it in for a mechanical
inspection, as per the insurance company. The mechanic said it needed tie
rod ends and an idler arm. The insurance agent asked if I planned on
replacing those parts. I replied in the affirmative and they insured the
car. Drove that car all over Alberta and even to Vancouver, finally laying
the car to rest in 1991 (rust). Never did replace the parts in question
and the insurance company never asked for proof that I did whenever I
renewed the policy.
The car was insured with proof of insurance plus the bill of sale, and no
registration slip from the previous owner. The registration office asked if
it had been registered in Alberta before, to which I replied yes (which was
true - just not in the past three years). They
registered the car in my name.
The BC system may seem a pain, but consider the situation where you are
registering a vehicle stolen some years before. Guess whose system will
catch the stolen vehicle? I will take the BC system over Alberta any day.
As to the registered name, the insurance company will take care of that. My
1963 Valiant was entered on the bill of sale as "Valiant" but the insurance
company put "Plymouth Valiant" on their paperwork. The 1960-66
Canadian-market Valiants were not Plymouths, being sold at Dodge dealers as
well. But, big institutions do not listen to anyone other than the
publishers of their data books.
My own 1983 Imperial was an Alberta car owned by a friend's mother in
Calgary. The car was registered in Alberta as a Chrysler Imperial. And
is now registered in B.C. as a Chrysler Imperial. When you do parts
searches on the internet you will also find 1981-83 Imperials listed under
"Chrysler".
B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec all have government-owned insurance
companies. Having lived in Manitoba, Alberta and B.C., give me ICBC any
day over private insurance. They are cheaper (even though Alberta auto
insurance is subsidized by Ontario) and cannot cancel your insurance.
Bill
Vancouver, BC
----- Original Message -----
From: "A. Foster" <monkeypuzzle1@xxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2003 1:59 PM
Subject: Re: IML: 81-83- Is it a Chrysler? Imperial? Both?
> William;
> Papers? Title? I thought that Alberta was a bill of sale province? I was
> told that all that you needed was a bill of sale and the car's last known
> registration, no title search nonsense like what we have in B.C. As for
what
> the car is called in your vehicle registration I don't think that it
matters
> since they main thing that they want is the VIN, or serial number, before
> they give you the plates. The insurance company would likely try to write
> off your car if it got into an accident because of its age, regardless of
> what its officially called.
> In B.C they make you do a title search on a car that's 80 years old, of
> course if its built out of parts it can be defined as being salvaged (no
> title). The ironic part is that they only keep track of registrations, not
> title, for ten years or so, then it falls out of the computer. But then
> again B.C continues to have socialised auto insurance while most communist
> regimes have ceased to exist.
> Best Regards
> Arran Foster
> 1954 Imperial Newport
> Needing A Left Side Taillight Bezel and other trim parts.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "William" <mopar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 8:56 PM
> Subject: IML: 81-83- Is it a Chrysler? Imperial? Both?
>
>
> > Good day everyone,
> > It has come time for me to register my 83 Imperial. I bought the car
with
> no
> > title or papers, so I am starting from scratch with the registry (VIR
came
> > up clean). Can I register this car as an Imperial Coupe, instead of a
> > Chrysler Imperial? The VIN would seem to support registering it as an
> > Imperial; indeed an Imperial Imperial (Make, Car Line). I know this has
> been
> > done with older vehicles, but has anyone done it with an 81-83? Are
there
> > any insurance repercussions? Thanks for the input.
> > William
> > Edmonton, Canada
> >
> >
> >
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