Local Repair shop vs Dealership
I found a local auto repair shop that specializes in hybrid battery repairs and replacements. According to the website getting a Toyota Rav4 battery replaced at the dealership would be approximately $5000. However, if you get it replaced at their shop you would save approximately $1000. This is cheaper than what I expected which is always good. It is also nice to know that there are options. Follow the link below to read up more on the Cowichan Auto Repair shop!
Hybrid Battery Replacement and Reconditioning
However…. will I even be living in BC in a year?
In a wild chain of events, we will be finding out if my husband got a job in Ottawa shortly.. At this point in our discussions, if he is offered the job he will be accepting it. My husband (Matt) is from Ottawa, and with the cost of living in BC getting more outrageous by the day, it seems like the best decision. Because of this, I will be pivoting slightly in my inquiry to look at the process of transferring insurance/license to Ontario. This will impact if my husband will drive our Jeep Cherokee to Ontario and I will order a new Rav4 Hybrid, or will I keep the jeep and he will order the new Rav4 to reduce transfer fees, etc.
New residents-https://www.ontario.ca/document/official-mto-drivers-handbook/vehicle-insurance-and-registration
Information copied and pasted from website-New Ontario residents have 30 days to register their vehicles. To get a permit and Ontario licence plates, go to a ServiceOntario centre. You must bring along:
- A safety standards certificate
- Proof of insurance
- Vehicle Import Forms, if you have brought the vehicle in from another country
- The vehicle permit, or ownership, from where you used to live
With this information, I will now look into how much it costs to have a vehicle safetied in Ontario. As well if there is a transfer tax fee, as currently, the Jeep is in my Husbands name. So it may be better if it stays in his name. My husband (Matt) would be moving to live with his parents or sister while I finish school, or when it makes the most sense to sell our house here and buy a new house in Ottawa, but that’s a whole other discussion!! It is applicable though because neither of us can be without a vehicle and with the vehicle shortage right now it takes approximately two months to get a new vehicle if you order from the factory. So in theory it makes the most sense for me to keep the Jeep in BC and for Matt to borrow a family member’s vehicle while he waits for the Rav4 to come in. OR my most recent thought is that he could borrow a family member’s vehicle, I would keep the Jeep, order the Rav4 to Victoria, and then in our school break in June, I could drive the Jeep and our dog to Ottawa as we would prefer our dog not to fly. As you can see there are many factors in this inquiry. The largest factor at the moment is that Matt has not even been interviewed for the job yet, however they reached out 3 months ago asking him if he would like the job when it was posted. The posting closes on March 10th, with the earliest start date being April 1st, so we will have answers/decisions to make in the next few weeks.
Costs to transfer Registration from BC to Ont
According to google, a safety inspection costs $60-$90. This is assuming there are no repairs needed on the vehicle. The below link gives a list of everything they check the vehicle for. https://www.ontario.ca/page/safety-standards-certificate#section-5
I have not been able to find any information on transfer tax yet. My fingers are crossed that this means you do not have to!
