The short answer
For a private sale in Manitoba you need a lien search, a signed Transfer of Ownership Document and bill of sale from the seller, a valid Certificate of Inspection to register the car, and you pay retail sales tax at the Autopac agent when you register, based on the price or the vehicle’s book value, whichever is higher. Before any of that, have the car inspected by a shop that has no stake in the sale.
Before you look at the car
- Ask for the VIN and run a history report. Check for accident history, previous provinces and whether it was ever a salvage or rebuilt vehicle, which needs a different inspection to register in Manitoba.
- Do a lien search through the Manitoba Personal Property Registry. A car with a loan on it stays the lender’s security even after you pay the seller.
- Ask why they are selling, how long they have owned it and whether the service records exist. Vague answers are information.
- Check that the name on the registration matches the person selling it.
The inspection, before the money
Every Winnipeg car has done winters on salted roads. Shiny paint tells you nothing about the brake lines, rockers or subframe. Arrange a pre-purchase inspection at an independent shop and have the seller bring the car cold, so cold-start noises and smoke show up. If the seller will not allow an independent inspection, walk away; there is always another car.
The inspection should give you a written list: what is good, what is marginal, what needs money now. Use it to negotiate or to decide.
The paperwork
- Transfer of Ownership Document (TOD): the seller fills in and signs the TOD section of their registration, or a separate TOD form, and gives it to you. You cannot register without it.
- Bill of sale: the date, price, VIN, year, make, model, odometer and both parties’ names and signatures. Keep a copy.
- Certificate of Inspection (COI): required to register a vehicle that changes hands, with exemptions such as transfers between close family. If the car has no valid COI, you tow it or get a permit to drive it to an inspection station.
- Insurance and registration at an Autopac agent, with your driver’s licence, the TOD and the COI.
Sales tax on a private sale
Manitoba charges retail sales tax on private vehicle sales, and you pay it when you register the vehicle, not to the seller. The tax is calculated on the greater of the purchase price and the vehicle’s published book value, so an unrealistically low price on the bill of sale does not reduce the tax. If the car is genuinely worth less than book value because of its condition, an appraisal can be used instead. Confirm the current rate and rules with Manitoba Finance or your Autopac agent.
Red flags that cost Manitoba buyers
- Fresh, thick undercoating on an older car. It can hide rot rather than prevent it.
- A COI issued many months ago, or by a station far from where the car lives.
- Mismatched or brand-new budget tires on a car that is otherwise neglected.
- A check engine light that has been “cleared” recently. Scan tools show readiness monitors that reveal it.
- A seller who wants to meet in a parking lot and will not show the registration.
- Any curbsider pattern: the same person selling several cars on Kijiji or Marketplace, each “for a friend.”
If you have not found the car yet
Garage 46 inspects used cars for buyers across Winnipeg and the northeast, and sources specific vehicles for customers who know what they want. Either way the car goes on our lift before you commit, and you get the honest list.