Free Quebec Odometer Disclosure Bill of Sale
In Quebec an inaccurate odometer is not merely a consumer-protection problem — it is a latent defect. The Civil Code (article 1726) obliges the seller to warrant the vehicle against hidden defects that make it unfit for the use it was sold for, and a rolled-back reading is the archetype: the buyer paid for a car with 90,000 km and received one with 220,000. A written clause can exclude that warranty, but it may not protect a seller who knew about a defect, which makes an accurate written odometer declaration the Quebec seller's single best protection.
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Quebec Odometer Disclosure Bill of Sale — What You Need to Know
Tax Details
The estimated value that floors the 9.975% QST comes from a wholesale price guide, and the SAAQ asks the buyer for the actual odometer reading — an accurate figure keeps the tax bill coherent.
Exemption: Exemption eligibility (related individuals, inheritance) is blind to the odometer — but form VD-80.1-V and the disclosure both belong in the same sale file.
Inspection Requirements
With no mandated inspection on an ordinary sale, Quebec provides no official odometer witness — the buyer's optional mechanical inspection doubles as the only independent check on the reading.
Quebec Odometer Disclosure Sale — Step-by-Step Checklist
- Record the exact reading and its unit (kilometres) at the moment of sale, with the date.
- Declare in writing that the reading is accurate to your knowledge and that the odometer has not been altered or replaced.
- Any doubt at all — a replaced cluster, a period the vehicle was driven with a broken odometer — must be disclosed: a defect the buyer knows about is excluded from the article 1726 warranty.
- Attach the declaration to the bill of sale, and give the buyer the exact reading for the SAAQ transfer.
- Record the vehicle fully: make, model, year, VIN.
- Both parties sign — and note the intended use of the vehicle, which is the yardstick the warranty is measured against.
- Keep copies: the SAAQ transfer and the declaration together are the seller's evidence of good faith.
Common Pitfalls
- Relying on an "as-is" clause: in Quebec an exclusion may not protect a seller who knew about a defect, and a false odometer reading is a classic latent defect.
- Failing to disclose a known odometer replacement — disclosure removes the defect from the warranty; silence keeps it in.
- Giving an approximate reading: precision is the point of the declaration.
- Assuming the SAAQ transfer alone documents the mileage: your written declaration is what certifies it.
Pro Tip
Quebec turns a wrong odometer into a warranty claim, not just a complaint. Write the exact reading, disclose every doubt, and the Civil Code protects the honest seller as firmly as the buyer.