Canadian Mopars on the street.

dadsbee said
Yep.. anything older than 20 years was always tax on the highest, bill of sale OR appraisal. They have now added OR your insured replacement value! So in years past you'd get a bill of sale for 5 grand on the 20 grand car you just bought. The local MTO here tells you what body shop will do an appraisal for you "and just tell him what you want on it and we'll take his certified appraisal as gospel". Now they've added the insured replacement value to the mix.. so if your initial registration is for a "Fit vehicle" you have to show proof of insurance to get that and your plates. They also now have pretty easy access it would seem to look up that you had Hagerty put 45 grand insurance on it and come looking for you for tax on that amount. I may have my tinfoil hat on, but wasn't taking my chances on the '66 HP2. Check Hagerty for valuation on a #1 car.... :eek:

Before I tell my story, can we all agree that the government putting their hand in your pocket to collect tax on a used car is double-dipping thievery? I mean, they collected tax on the car when it was sold new, and they collect tax on that same car every time it changes hands. Why? Just because the government is involved in the registration of the car? Besides used vehicles I can't think of any other item we have to pay tax on when we buy it in used condition from a private party.

I'm in Ontario and bought a vintage car back in June (85 Toyota Celica Supra, in case anyone cares). I went through process you described, and it's totally insane. The appraisal company did the appraisal VIRUALLY, meaning they never saw the car in person. I just sent a few pics, paid my $90, and they sent me an appraisal for the car in the amount that I asked them to appraise it for. Then I ended up paying tax on that amount.

Hagerty doesn't really care about the appraisal unless you want to pay insurance based on that appraised amount, either higher or lower. I'm sure the government could find out how much I have the car insured for, but if they come after me I would simply tell them I have more insurance on the car than what the appraised value is. And I would also say when I bought the car it wasn't running and I put a lot to time and effort into getting it going, so now it's worth more than the original appraised value.

It's all just a bunch of stupid hoops to jump through so the government can get their pound of flesh.