Selling and buying a used car in Québec

We are gearing up to provide our services in your province.  In the meantime, here is the information on what you need to do to sell or buy a car in Québec if you don’t want to do it through a used car dealer. 

Recommended steps:

• Check the Registre des droits personnels et réels mobiliers (Register of personal and movable rights — in French only) to make sure the car is free of debt.
• Obtain a copy of the vehicle record from the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) from one of the service outlets or submit the Vehicle Record Request online form.
• You can also purchase a car history report for any Canadian car here.

Registering the car:

• The buyer and the seller must be present to transfer the vehicle’s ownership and registration at SAAQ service centre OR a licensing agent.
• Parties can proceed with a proxy, which allows the vendor or the purchaser to avoid travelling. 
• Documents required by SAAQ when registering the car:
  • Driver’s licence
  • Insurance
  • Sales Contract
  • The registration certificate signed by the former owner 

• If the registrant cannot go in person, the person registering the vehicle on the buyer’s behalf will need to provide the completed original Power of Attorney. 
• If the vehicle is from outside Québec there are further documents that need to be  provided.
• The vehicle cannot be registered if the buyer or the seller has an unpaid fine for an offence under the Highway Safety Code or under a municipal traffic or parking bylaw.  To check whether the vehicle can be registered, the province provides online service in exchange for a fee.

FEES and TAXES: To register a car costs between $175 and $272. The purchaser must pay the Quebec sales tax (QST) (9.975%) calculated on the declared selling price for vehicles that are over 10 years old.  The taxes for vehicles less than 10 years are based on prices listed in the Guide d’évaluation des automobiles (Car evaluation guide).  The buyer paying less than the listed price will still need to pay the QST on the price indicated in the guide, from which $500 will be subtracted.