Buying a car in Canada

You may find some info here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/after-transportation-driving.asp#Buying

not having done that myself. but as for vehicle purchase all sellers are interested in is the money. your major obstacle would be getting it plated. ? usa and Canada auto specs are not the same. once plated insured ,etc your done go where you want. its the insurance you have to deal with. no ins no plates.
glk.
that model Toyota is very costly. had a 1990 one. great vehicle.

any particular reason for opting for the 4 runner. sure its a great vehicle. but in our trip ( 3 brothers ) which include driving to Clayquote sound to view the utter devastation left behind by lumber co. who clear cutted. never had need for the 4 wd. especialy when we carried on to Vegas. grand canyon then on to boston cape cod. then over to the maritimes on canadas east coast ( cabot trail u have to do ) nova scotia, cape Breton, P.E.I. Gaspe in quebec not to be overlooked. I rather enjoyed time in quebec city. you know if travelling solo a smallish outside poles 3 person tent might come in handy more than once. ( plenty of bush thataway just make sure you have spare gas and water. join the C A A best deal going. I have the 200km free towing package used it twice as kids drive clunkers. lol. one tow can set you back min. $350.00

personaly as I do not look for trouble, I would exchange Africa, asia for Australia, new Zealand in a heartbeat

I already travelled in Australia and New Zealand, if I want a 4X it is mostly because of the road conditions I shall meet in Africa and Central Asia, I never used one before and I think Canada and the USA will be a good place to get acquainted with it and learn about all its possibilities before reaching the real road!
I have a French insurance for my old car, they may consider insure me in Canada.
Poppageorge, do you have a blog of your trips in Canada ?
Thank you all for your answers.

Basically the answer is that if you aren't a Canadian resident or have a long term visa, buying a car is tricky to impossible. To buy a car, you need to title/register the car and get insurance - that requires a residential address and proof that you are resident in the province where you register the car. You also generally need to switch your license to one from your resident province within a few months or the insurance is no longer valid. The rules are different in each province/territory/state.

If you don't have any insurance history in the US or Canada, it will be difficult and expensive to get insurance here - especially for a 4x4. Again it requires you have a residential address where you can receive mail and proof of residence in the province where you are getting the insurance. If you are outwith the province for more than a few months, you have to reinsure/retitle the car in your new province.

Also note that if you are going to buy a car in Canada, and then take it outside and not return to Canada, you must go through the full export paperwork. That includes substantial fees/duties/taxes, lots of paperwork and possibly having to make changes to the vehicle to meet standards in other countries.

You'd be better renting or leasing a car in Canada which removes the insurance/registration headaches. Do the same in the US and abroad. A 4x4 is totally unnecessary in the US and Canada unless you plan going to some pretty remote areas off road. Even in the winters, a regular sedan with good snow tires works just fine 99% of the time. A 4x4 will cost a lot in gas, insurance fees and upkeep.

Also remember that in the US and Canada, particularly in Canada, there really isn't much free camping. You have to camp in private or park campgrounds or on crown land. You can't just pull over to the side of the road or in most parking lots. So you probably don't want to outfit a vehicle with rooftop tent etc (kills your gas mileage) until you go to Asia/Africa. It won't be terribly useful in North America - especially in our winters.

Easy enough for foreigners to buy, title, register and insure cars in certain US states. Washington (state), California, Florida, parts of Arizona, plus a couple of others are commonly used this way. Research carefully, including by Googling each state's requirements--don't trust vague generalizations offered on the internet. I'd suggest doing a search on horizonsunlimited.com for more accurate information. The question is asked and answered there frequently.

Canadian and American standards are slightly different, but for your purposes that matters not at all. You don't need to import or export between the States and Canada--you just drive wherever you want using whatever documents you've got.

Ignore the post above about exporting vehicles--that's irrelevant. Your real issue would involve importing the vehicle into a country in Latin America, Asia, or Africa should you decide to go that route. Temporary imports are mostly pretty easy, but permanent imports are generally costly, sometimes impossible.

There is also plenty of free camping in the US and Canada. Same deal: research, and don't take anyone's word for it. Roof tents are not common, but they're available. And 4x4 is handy at times, though seldom essential--same as in most of the rest of the world.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

years ago I had gm / Plymouth muscle cars. so natch was in car clubs. was talking with a guy who imported old cars from uk. I asked how he does it? simple. he takes doors , hood off puts themj inside the car then its shipped as auto parts. just keep in mind on African continent 1 wheel assembly of the 4x4 represents many months of labour for locals. moneywise. saw one time in Chicago a car stripped in 30 mins. side of the road. catalytic converta takes 1min to cut off.

If you are traveling in Canada then headed to the US and not returning (or vice versa), the comments about exporting the car are very relevant. Especially if you aren't a US or CAN citizen - and it's not at all clear where the original poster is from.
If you cannot prove that you will be taking the car back into Canada (or the US) - which can be very tricky if you're not a resident of either country and/or don't have a visa/proof of a job and/or return ticket - you are going to have go through the export paperwork/process. Certainly you can drive back and forth - you just can't take a vehicle permanently from one country to another, or use insurance from one province long term in another province (some exceptions - students, snowbirds, persons with two legit residences etc.).

While foreigners can certainly register and insure cars in Canada, it's very tricky if you are not a RESIDENT of Canada. In other words, you need to have proof of residency in the province/territory to get the paperwork started. Valid proof of residency varies by province, but it's generally a driver's license or something along the lines of a hydro/credit card statement in your name with a residential address. For foreigners, you'd be expected to show a valid visa or permanent resident card.

And no, at least in Western Canada, there is not much free camping at all. You can free camp on crown land, but you had better be sure you are on crown land. Also a few malls and WalMarts allow RVs to park overnight. Otherwise you run a strong risk of having police or park officials (or the landowner) knocking on your door and ensuring that you leave the area.