Nova Scotia vehicles more expensive to register in New Brunswick
Many drivers across the Maritimes cross provincial borders to get a good deal on a new or used car, but one New Brunswick man says anyone travelling to Nova Scotia for a vehicle should read the fine print when returning home.
Jason Young couldn't find the SUV he wanted in New Brunswick, so he drove four hours to Nova Scotia to strike a deal and brought his Honda Element back home to Fredericton to register it.
"Paid the vehicle registration and transferred new plates," Young said. "It totalled about $280 which struck me as quite high."
After leaving Service New Brunswick, he checked the registration form.
"The registered mass said 14,600 kilograms, and being a bridge engineer, I said, 'Jeez, that seems really heavy,'" he said.
To put it in perspective, a John Deere front loader doesn't even weigh as much as 14,600 kilograms.
Young returned to Service NB and told them his SUV weighed just a fraction on the weight on the registration.
Uniform weight of 14,600
"She wasn't sure how to refund me my money," he said. "She called the help desk and they informed her that all vehicles coming from Nova Scotia are given a uniform number of 14,600 kilograms."
All private passenger vehicles in New Brunswick over 2,200 kilograms pay $177 per year. Young should have only paid $155 for his Honda.
He eventually was given a $62 refund, but can't stop thinking about another man who was next to him at Service NB, who was also transferring a vehicle from N.S.
"I wish I knew what that guy's name was. I would have called him," Young said.
He wonders how many more N.B. drivers are paying too much for vehicles brought in from Nova Scotia.
"At Service New Brunswick they should be diligent realizing that in Nova Scotia there is this issue," Young said.
Service NB told CBC News they would look into the issue and respond as soon as possible.
