Omvic – Declaration Regulations

According to OMVIC, the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, there need to be certain declarations to a customer when he or she purchases a vehicle.  OMVIC regulates sales regarding motor vehicles from dealerships.  They also enforce the Motor Vehicle dealers act.  The goal of the organization is to “maintain a fair, safe and informed marketplace in Ontario.”  As a result, they have created laws to make sure that customers are being treated fairly and that car dealerships maintain a level of professionalism. 

Through OMVIC’s regulatations, customers can be sure that car dealerships will tell them everything that they know about certain vehicles.  Consumers have the right to cancel contracts, if they aren’t told all the truthful information that they need to know about a car.  Also the way car advertisements work has changed for the better due to OMVIC.  Ads must include the “all-in price.”  This means that they can’t leave out hidden fees to make the total cost of the car appear to be lower. 

So what kinds of disclosures are car dealerships in Ontario required to provide?  They must tell customers about body parts that have been replaced.  Additionally, if airbags or automatic breaks don’t operate, they are required to tell the customer.  Further, often in the past, car dealerships didn’t tell customers when there was past damage to the car.  However, now due to OMVIC’s regulations, dealers must tell customers when there has been over $30000 of damage due to accidents.  Similarly, if past repairs have been made to the various systems of the car, the dealerships must also disclose this information to the customers. 

If you buy your car from a private party in Ontario, of course, you won’t receive this type of protection.  However, when you see the decal of a licensed dealership, you can be confident that their vehicles are properly represented.  If you are ever not sure if a dealer is licensed or unlicensed, just look for the orange and blue decal that says, “Ontario registered dealer.”  When you buy from a “curbsider,” or unlicensed dealer, your purchase is not covered by this valuable consumer protection legislation.

Sep 8th, 2010