Buying Car and insurance

[Guest Gohan DBZ]

Is it true that you can have register a car under someone else's name and have the insurance under your name and thereby avoid any problems with osap?

 

Also, is there any suggestions about which insurance company offers best rate to university grads and med students?

[Guest T dawg 2004]

I'm pretty sure you can have someone else OWN the car while you are PRIMARY DRIVER... (for the osap thing).

 

I called Menoche Monnex and got an estimate for London (you need to give them your car model, year, your driver's license number, any previous insurance you've been on - even if it was as an occasional driver)... At Allstate, it was closer to $400 and at MMonnex it was $126.00 . BIG DIFFERENCE!

 

The one thing is - make sure to tell them you are a recent grad, if you are one. That, i think, is the reason for the difference.

 

If you're not graduating (or having graduated within the last 4 years) i'm not sure if you could get them to swing the discount your way...

[Guest aneliz]

Here is the deal:

 

If you are applying for OSAP, you cannot have a car in your name that is worth >$10 000. If your car will be worth less than that, go ahead and put it in your own name. If the car is worth more, you need to find somebody else to 'own' the car for you so that you don't get screwed out of OSAP. (You lose $1 of OSAP for every $1 more than $10 000 that your car is worth). You can use parents, siblings, grandparents, etc.

 

As for insurance... here is the deal: London is one of the most expensive spots in the province for car insurance (second only to downtown Toronto) due to the high number of collision claims. London is not the safest city to drive around! You need to have insurance that 'matches' the ownership to be valid... the person whose name is on the ownership certificate MUST be the person that is listed as 'owning' the insurance policy on the car. That said YOU need to be the principal driver AND 'London' needs to be the 'territory' that the car is insured in. This can be a slight hassle to set up.

 

So, if your Dad is the 'owner' of the car, he also needs to get insurance on the vehicle so the two certificates match (there are potential fines if you get pulled over and they don't match). On the policy itself, you need to be the principal (or only) driver and they need to have a 'risk address' of London...even if dad doesn't live here and the address on the actual pink slip is somewhere else.

 

I would recommend seeing if your parents can add the vehicle to their existing insurance policy for now... likely you can get a far better rate, because they have an existing policy and you have likely been listed as a driver on one of their cars previously. This is what I did... and I am paying <$200 per month for both car and tenant insurance.

[Guest seonagh]

Does anyone know how this applies to married couples. My husband and I jointly own a new Honda CRV (Which if I'm lucky might still be worth more than 10,000 by the time I actually get in LOL). Will this be considered mine for funding reasons? Is there a way to transfer it to him as a sole owner?

Seonagh

[Guest aneliz]

No idea... check with OSAP directly... your spouse's income will definitely factor into your OSAP though...

[Guest mdhopeful23]

seonagh you're in luck. i believe you can transfer a vehicle to your spouses name with little hassle. i transferred mine to my dads name. you will likely need a emissions test and safety done tho...i copied this blurb from the mto website:

 

Tax Exemption

Payment of retail sales tax is not required when a vehicle is a gift and is being transferred between close family members, which only includes a spouse, parent, step-parent, grand-parent, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law or mother-in-law. Only one tax-free transfer per vehicle is allowed every 12 months.

 

A statement sworn before a Commissioner of Oaths will be required for certain transfers, such as gifts between family members and transfers for insurance purposes. Diplomats and Status Indians who qualify will be able to complete a transfer without paying tax by simply showing their identity card.

[Guest youngbookie]

IMPORTANT!!

 

If you own or co-own a car and are planning to transfer ownership, you must do it 16 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE START OF YOUR STUDY PERIOD. If you transfer ownership to a family member within that 16 week window, OSAP will still consider that car yours, and count it as an asset if it costs >$10 000. Even if the MTO recognizes that a transfer has been made, OSAP won't. You must demonstrate that the car was SOLD, not given as a gift for this rule not to apply.

 

I've learned this the hard way as my parent's bought a car for themselves recently and put me as co-owner to get the 'grad rebate'. Even with transfering ownership, OSAP is still counting this car as an 'asset' for this year >: (

[Guest Elaine I]

Hi aneliz,

 

You mentioned that you can have a car worth up to $10,000 without OSAP being affected. Does that mean that universities will give you a letter stating that a car is essential for all years of med school, rather than just your clerkship years?

 

Thanks for the info,

Elaine

[Guest californicator]

Car insurance is a racket... anybody got a good insurance company to recommend?

[Guest aneliz]

Yes... UWO will give you a letter for all of your years if you request one from the office.