Nova Scotia Used Car Regulations Behind the Times
When it comes to purchasing a used car in Nova Scotia, the term “buyer beware” takes on a little extra meaning: the province has some of the loosest consumer protections in the country, according to a recent CBC survey. Where provinces like Ontario, BC and Alberta regulate used car dealers and enforce a strict code of conduct among sales staff, Nova Scotia car buyers are left pretty much on their own.
What’s more, Nova Scotia’s lax used-car-market regulation comes despite the fact that the Atlantic Better Business Bureau lists used car sales as the number 1 complaint in the region.
And unlike most other jurisdictions, dealers in Nova Scotia don’t even have to submit to a criminal record check or take ethics training.
Nova Scotia transportation minister Geoff MacLellan thinks used-car market regulation is largely unnecessary:
"The vast majority of used car dealers are honest operators; however, as in any business of any kind, there can be dishonest people for whom no amount of regulation would be a deterrent," he said in a recent email to the CBC.
Ontario, by contrast, has a robust set of used car market regulations that both buyers and sellers seem to agree do a good job of injecting transparency and trust into the transaction. For example, used car dealers must abide by a code of conduct and make a variety of disclosures to the seller before making a sale. These disclosures include the vehicle’s mileage, make, model, and year, and whether the vehicle was used in a rental fleet or as a taxi, limo, or emergency services vehicle.
And Ontario’s regulations have real enforcement mechanisms too: in cases where a dealer does not make the required disclosures, the buyer can seek financial remedy through a $7 million Dealers Compensation Fund. In certain situations, an unsatisfied buyer can even cancel the sale entirely and get a full refund within 90 days of purchase.
OMVIC has also built a robust mechanism for investigating complaints and resolving the various issues that tend to come up between dealers and buyers.
It’s a system that Ontario car buyers rely on more and more: OMVIC processes over 1,000 complaints per year.
As for Nova Scotia, used car buyers will have to keep waiting for a similar regulatory regime to take shape in their province.