Whose side would you be on? UPDATE page 17 (?!?)

[ronandannette]

Yes there is. It's called "fraud." OP wants to say the car is "hers" but she does not want to go through the necessary steps to make it hers.

Theoretically, morally, intuitively? Maybe. But from a strictly legal point of view in the OP’s jurisdiction - no.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Nothing wrong with that aspect of it, technically. The car was legally registered and insured. There is no requirement for periodic inspections to verify roadworthyness except if the title is transferring and a new registration and insurance application is being made.

Yeah, I don't know anything about Canadian traffic laws. Pennsylvania requires yearly inspections. If you cause an accident with a car that's uninspected, though, I think it depends on your insurance policy whether the company will cover the cost of repairs to the victim's car...

 

[ronandannette]

Didn't you say his license would probably go from $40 last year to $100 this year as a result? $60?? We also have No Fault insurance in Michigan. I'd take a $60 increase if I had an accident and do a happy dance. Even losing out on the money for the car, you're coming out thousands of dollars ahead of where I'd be after an accident. I'd still be dancing if it was only costing me $1,060.

Just curious and not sure the OP will respond but maybe @CdnCarrie will: In round numbers, how much would insurance on a vehicle like the one we’re talking about cost? Here in Alberta I’m paying about $150/month free-market for liability and fire/theft only on a 13 y.o. beater. Our 21 y.o. DS had to be declared the primary driver because we have 3 vehicles and 3 licensed drivers in the household. He’s accident free, but the cost would be prohibitive if he ever had an at-fault claim; the vehicle also has less than $1,000 blue book value.

 

[MommyinHonduras]

OP I guess you did ask for people to take sides, but gosh this is ugly. I understand that having just been in an accident and you lose your car, its hard. Since the car was a total write off any money would go to you as for all practical purposes you have had the car for years. I also guess that you knew what was coming since you said you asked your BIL point blank who will get the check. I would say just move forward with your life and you no longer need to feel tied to your BIL because this car seemed to be the only thing keeping you talking with him the past several years.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Just curious and not sure the OP will respond but maybe @CdnCarrie will: In round numbers, how much would insurance on a vehicle like the one we’re talking about cost? Here in Alberta I’m paying about $150/month free-market for liability and fire/theft only on a 13 y.o. beater. Our 21 y.o. DS had to be declared the primary driver because we have 3 vehicles and 3 licensed drivers in the household. He’s accident free, but the cost would be prohibitive if he ever had an at-fault claim; the vehicle also has less than $1,000 blue book value.

It would be less than a $100 a month unless BIL had a really ugly driving record. I insure 2 SUVs under my name and pay $270 a month. But i had almost the full amount of merits to my name which bought down the cost of registration. Sadly it will increase on my next renewal as I bumped into a fence and damaged my vehicle. Need to get some body work done.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Who forced them to skirt the rules?
If anything, I'd say if the brother felt pressured into skirting the rules, because they chose not to do the proper repairs and therefore had to have him remain on the title and insurance, the never truly accepted it as a gift and just used it as a long term loan anyway.


Given that the OP says they requested no gifts and that the brother had given them a BBQ already anyway, I imagine the "wedding gift" was just a one off comment (in one text message apparently!) meant to make offering the continued use of the car feel less like charity to OP's husband.
Along the lines of "we can't keep imposing on you like this. I feel awful. We don't have another car, but we need to be grown ups and figure it out"
"nah, I don't use the car anyway. If you need it, keep it--call it a wedding gift"

There are no "titles" here. People keep talking about the OP and BIL switching the title. There is no such thing as a title here.

And exactly how I think the text exchange went too. The OP was a single mom on disability. Not sure why her husband didn't own his own vehicle. But the BIL was nice enough to give them a car when they needed one.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

There are no "titles" here. People keep talking about the OP and BIL switching the title. There is no such thing as a title here.

Well then you need to tell the OP that in her own area there is no such thing as a title..as I already mentioned the OP is the one who said title:

The car is registered to bil because it wouldn’t pass a safety inspection to have the title transferred. So, when the cheque is written it will go to him. That’s his reasoning for keeping the money, legally it’s his car.

It was in the very first post of this thread.

 

[cabanafrau]

I'm more than a little surprised to read that OP is so upset about a situation she herself admits she doesn't actually have first person information about -- the "gifting" of the car. You can't claim both ignorance of the actual text and complete understanding of the agreement made. And yet the plan is now to, very politely I'm sure, excuse herself from her BIL's presence. If I understand correctly this is the only family her husband has left. He sounds like a complete monster, what with the gifting of the car, being understanding about not stepping up to get the insurance transferred and the giving of BBQs.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Just curious and not sure the OP will respond but maybe @CdnCarrie will: In round numbers, how much would insurance on a vehicle like the one we’re talking about cost? Here in Alberta I’m paying about $150/month free-market for liability and fire/theft only on a 13 y.o. beater. Our 21 y.o. DS had to be declared the primary driver because we have 3 vehicles and 3 licensed drivers in the household. He’s accident free, but the cost would be prohibitive if he ever had an at-fault claim; the vehicle also has less than $1,000 blue book value.

I think what the poster was saying is that in their area (Michigan) an accident would be costing them far more than $50/$60 that has been mentioned would be an increase on the license--and that is especially true of an at-fault accident here.

I've seen policies increase $800-$1,000 for a 6 month policy due to an at-fault accident sometimes more and that accident typically is charged on a policy for 3 years. Increase due to an accident is not based on the vehicle nor the vehicle's worth here so that would be because it was the driver's fault (your initial rates or rate increase the company takes may be due to the vehicle as far as how expensive it may be to repair, what damage it causes if it was in an accident, your driver activity, etc, but it wouldn't be based on the actual blue book value of the car unless the vehicle is an antique, etc).

So the other poster was saying the increase an individual, who was at-fault in an accident, would incur is likely to be more than $50/$60 thus the OP is coming out ahead monetarily speaking in regards to the financial consequences of an at-fault accident compared to their area (Michigan) though it is the truth in many other places here in the U.S.

 

[Kellykins1218]

If it was a wedding gift, you should have put it in your name. If the title wasn't in your name, it wasn't your car.

 

[Kellykins1218]

I want to know what kind of 20 yr old rustbucket is worth $1000

 

[Liberty Belle]

A gift is a gift and you should get the check. Since you're family, though, we'd probably decide just to give it to whoever needs it the most. If no one really "needs" it or if you're in the same financial boat, I definitely think you should get it.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Legally, yes it is. I’m not disputing that. It’s the fact that he gave us the car as a wedding present..not as a loaner; as a keeper. If it was ‘his car’ he should have been paying for all the repairs, no?

Now here's where I don't agree. Even if it was "his" and he was loaning it to you, since you're driving it, not him, you should pay for all the repairs.

 

[NHdisneylover]

There are no "titles" here. People keep talking about the OP and BIL switching the title. There is no such thing as a title here.

And exactly how I think the text exchange went too. The OP was a single mom on disability. Not sure why her husband didn't own his own vehicle. But the BIL was nice enough to give them a car when they needed one.

as a pp pointed out I used the terminology the OP did-----regardless of what it is called, the OP and her husband did not accept the car as truly theirs and do whatever is required in Manitoba to register it to themselves. They did not do this so they could use a loophole to avoid paying for repairs that would make the car safe enough to be roadworthy.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I want to know what kind of 20 yr old rustbucket is worth $1000

Most of us want that information too.

I actually feel sorry for the insurance company that has to pay out on a 20 year old rust bucket that couldn't pass inspection.

 

[CdnCarrie]

as a pp pointed out I used the terminology the OP did-----regardless of what it is called, the OP and her husband did not accept the car as truly theirs and do whatever is required in Manitoba to register it to themselves. They did not do this so they could use a loophole to avoid paying for repairs that would make the car safe enough to be roadworthy.

True. We have done this in a way too. Decided it would be cheaper to register husband's car under my name but when we got it safetied it needed one or two things done to it that worth repairing. Don't remember now what they were but they weren't anything major. So we left the car in his name without fixing it until we traded it in on a new vehicle.

 

[sam_gordon]

There are no "titles" here. People keep talking about the OP and BIL switching the title. There is no such thing as a title here.

So the OP didn't accurately portray how things work in her province? I thought (according to some here) that she would be the "expert" and we shouldn't question what she claims.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I had a car in college, also a freebie, that was so rusty, when I went to put the high beams on (with a foot switch that used to be on the left side of the floor, for those who haven't ever seen that), my foot went right through the floorboard and all the lights went out! Because I was an a weekend camping trip out in the woods at night, I had to follow a friend's car in front of me, for which I was pulled over, ticketed, and wound up with a lot of legal headaches. Fortunately nobody was hurt.

Driving an old, rusty car can definitely be unsafe, and there's a reason why we have vehicle inspections today.

I also thought a title to a car was universal, and connotes ownership. Doing a little searching around (because there seems to still be questions about it here, and I am still confused myself), apparently that's not true in Canada.

From a discussion board like this one, which seemed to give the best explanation that I could find:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/canada/498688-certificate-title-canadian-vehicles.html

 

[Pea-n-Me]

So the OP didn't accurately portray how things work in her province? I thought (according to some here) that she would be the "expert" and we shouldn't question what she claims.

And FWIW, I didn't see you as arguing a point (with your links), just trying to ascertain some information.

 

[SharonZ]

He still "owns" the car, you've been paying maintenance and insurance for the privilege of driving that 20 year old rustbucket, for the past three years. The insurance check will be sent to him, it's his choice as to whether he passes part or all of it on to you. Honestly, I'd move on.