The car saga......light at the end of the tunnel?

I can only hope that our new to be car will run for as long as the saga that we have endured in getting it! Fear not, this is not another rant about the supposed inefficiencies of Ontarian bureaucracy, one is enough, just a chronicle of the journey so far.
As avid readers of this blog would know, getting our licenses to drive a car in Ontario has been a tad arduous. Well I am very happy to report that on Friday 26th February at 4.55pm in the Drive Test office, where 'We close at 5pm! If you haven't reached the counter by then you WONT be served', is not a motto it's a statement of fact. Delightedly we parted company and sallied forth into a new Canada armed with our shiny new temporary licenses. So proud were we that we asked a passerby to take our picture with said papers in front of the office of NO.

This was an exciting moment for the both of us until.......Jill let me know that I had to GO BACK to Drive test because my license it wasn't right. "Are you kidding me!?" was my first response, but no in fact there was no joke - my SA drivers license did not show my middle name and therefore my Ontario version was not correct. On this visit however I was met almost immediately by a wonderful lady from Texas who quizzed me with some incredulity about why I would chose to live in Canada rather than Australia. The change made (for free) I was again a legitimately registered Ontarian road driver - yay.

Did I mention a saga? This is where it comes into play - the insurance. We cannot register a car here without taking out insurance too. We asked for an insurance quote on our 2nd hand $7000 car. Oh, that will be $3000 thank you. What!? how come? Well you are considered to have 1 year driving experience and that makes it higher. What can we do to alter that? Easy - get 6 years of insurance records from Australia 9we only showed 5 years) and it will change your to 3 year experienced drivers here. [Make sense? It doesn't to us either]

Well we overachieved and sent the broker 9 years of Rating 1, i.e. no claim, insurance records - that should change the situation. It did - now we pay just over $2000 for our $7000 car for one year. The alternative? No insurance - get caught and face a $22000 fine!

Please remember dear reader that this is not a rant it is simply a resignation to the facts.

The light at the end of the tunnel WAS very close - we were to sign papers and collect the car on Thursday (today being Wednesday that prospect was quite exciting) BUT an email from the broker has extended the tunnel that little bit more - we cannot collect the car until Friday from the dealer. With the way things stand on this car I am praying for NO meteor showers over Thunder Bay, acts of terrorism within Canada on Friday (because you just KNOW where they will happen!) or that this area is not earthquake prone.

Stay tuned for images of our precious new arrival - soon we hope.