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I just need some clarification. Is there sales tax on a used vehicle? Both taxes or one? Only sales tax on used vehicles sold from car lots? No taxes on used vehicles from private sellers?

you pay both taxes when buying from a dealer.  
 
When you buy privately you pay G.S.T., but when you go to register the car, the insurance company has a value for what your car would be worth and you will have to pay P.S.T. at that time.  
 
I bought privately, paid only $5400, I had to pay P.S.T. on the value of $7000 as that was the book value of the vehicle I bought. So, if you bought a car privately and the person selling it to you wrote a receipt out for $1, you won't get away with paying P.S.T. on $1.  
 
Sucks - P.S.T. paid for when vehicle sold new, paid again and again every time the vehicle is sold and insured.

Brenda said "you pay both taxes when buying from a dealer.     When you buy privately you pay G.S.T., but when you go to register the car, the insurance company has a value for what your car would be worth and you will have to pay P.S.T. at that time.     I bought privately, paid only $5400, I had to pay P.S.T. on the value of $7000 as that was the book value of the vehicle I bought. So, if you bought a car privately and the person selling it to you wrote a receipt out for $1, you won't get away with paying P.S.T. on $1.     Sucks - P.S.T. paid for when vehicle sold new, paid again and again every time the vehicle is sold and insured. "

There''s no GST on a vehicle if it''s a private sale.  
 
In a private sale, you will pay PST on the greater of the value according to MPI and the amount you actually paid for the vehicle. If MPI values it at 1000, and you paid 2000, you pay PST on 2000.  
 
Edited by Classified, 2017-06-11 20:46:35

But if you paid $7000 for the car and Auto Pac`s book value is $5000, you will pay tax on $7000. Then if its written off;you are only insured for the $5000. Seems fair enough !!!

It's not an ideal situation that's for sure.  
 
As many others have said you pay PST on a private sale when you go to register the vehicle. If you buy from a dealership you'll pay both GST and PST. When you go to license the vehicle the dealership will give you a paper stating the taxes had been paid already so MPI doesn't collect again.  
 
If you sell your old vehicle privately within 6 months you can get back some of the PST. Your Autopac agent should have the paperwork for you to do that.

Welcome to MPIC. Yet another faction of the provincial government which, call it as it is, is a monopoly. Just like gambling, booze, hydro, tobacco and at one point was the telephone system. Let's keep in mind that a monopoly is illegal... unless of course the government does it.

they are just the collection agency, just like any store in the mall they collect and send on to the Gov't.  
 
as far as paying more than book value for the vehicle, that is not MPI's fault. if the car has some other material value that goes above and beyond normal,maybe like a rebuilt or a collector as long as you can prove it there is a process to increase your value. least there used to be.  
 
the only province to not have pst is Alberta I believe and just watch that change soon.

But as far as I know Manitoba is the only province to collect PST multiple times on the same product.  
 
Saskatchewan for example only collects PST when a vehicle is purchased new. From there on there is no PST on a vehicle purchase.

Trevor said "But as far as I know Manitoba is the only province to collect PST multiple times on the same product.     Saskatchewan for example only collects PST when a vehicle is purchased new. From there on there is no PST on a vehicle purchase. "

The laws have changed recently for taxes on used vehicles in Saskatchewan.  
 
this is just another way the government has his hands in our pockets. wait till carbon tax comes. I wonder when I can raise my hourly wage to balance all this added cost of living.

There are ways around it

Not sure if it still applies but you used to be able to reclaim the PST that would be applicable for a vehicle that was disposed within a 12 month window of the current purchase.  
 
As an example if you bought a vehicle for $10000 you pay 8% or $800 PST. If you sold a vehicle for $8000, the purchases would pay 8% or $640. You could claim a rebate of $640, which meant you paid $160 in net PST. If the vehicle you sold was worth more than the vehicle purchased the PST rebate was capped to 8% of the lower amount.  
 
Also I believe that dealers collect GST on the entire sale amount and PST on the difference paid if there is a trade in.  
 
These policies may have changed.  
 
It''s been a long time since I bought a vehicle with a trade.  
 
Here is a link to the Manitoba Government's Department of Finance information page regarding PST on vehicle purchases.  
 
https://www.gov.mb.ca/finance/taxation/pubs/bulletins/vehicle.pdf  
 
Edited by beefer39, 2017-06-27 14:06:57

Before I offer these thoughts, let me be clear that I am not saying I agree with what the government does, nor that I am an expert. However, my understanding of this is that the government isn't so much taxing the thing, as they are taxing 'economic activity'. Yes, tax was paid on the vehicle when it was new. But 8 years later, when someone else buys it, this is a new transaction in the economy this year. So the government is taxing the transaction - economic activity. It represents trade and money was exchanged. It is part of the total expenditures people made this year. Etc etc. Gov't revenue, via taxes, are meant to be proportional to the size of the economy, represented by purchases in a given year. This is why you will get some rebate when you buy and sell within the same year. Your purchase was in effect partly cancelled by a sale. Ie. your contribution to the economy was only part of the two transactions, because the person who bought your other car has now paid that PST in full. Kind of presumes that you sold the second car because you bought the first.  
 
Of course, the government can't do this for everything anybody ever buys (garage sales and a million other things don't get hit this way). But cars are fairly large single transactions, and the government has a pretty easy way to track them and implement this tax.  
 
Again, not saying I like or agree with it, but I think this is why it happens.

I work for an Autopac agent.  
Buying used from dealer you pay both taxes. Buying used privately you pay PST only when you register and insure it. The amount you pay is the higher of: the bill of sale or Gold book value.  
 
IF you buy AND sell a vehicle within 6 months, you can claim back the LOWER amount of PST. So if you buy a vehicle for $10,000 and sell one for $5,000, you can get back $400 (amount from $5,000 vehicle).

Not if you want to LEGALLY drive the vehicle on roads. The only way you can buy a vehicle and NOT pay PST is if you never register/insure it. And basically the only time that happens is with an Off Road Vehicle, which is still taking chances with no liability coverage.

Vegasking said "Not if you want to LEGALLY drive the vehicle on roads. The only way you can buy a vehicle and NOT pay PST is if you never register/insure it. And basically the only time that happens is with an Off Road Vehicle, which is still taking chances with no liability coverage. "

i bought my car off the lot used, and never paid any tax. i got the dealership to eat the tax as i paid cash, and they did.

countryboy 84 said "    Reid said "    Vegasking said "Not if you want to LEGALLY drive the vehicle on roads. The only way you can buy a vehicle and NOT pay PST is if you never register/insure it. And basically the only time that happens is with an Off Road Vehicle, which is still taking chances with no liability coverage. " i bought my car off the lot used, and never paid any tax. i got the dealership to eat the tax as i paid cash, and they did. " You may not have paid the tax as you claim, but it will have been built into the sale price and would show so on your bill of sale, otherwise you would have paid it when it was registered. Either that or the dealer somehow paid it for you, either way, it was paid on the purchase price. There is no way around the PST on vehicles as stated before. Anyone that says otherwise id like to see exactly how its done....     Edited by countryboy 84, 2017-06-30 19:49:22"

i paid less than the sticker price, and no i did not pay the taxes the dealership did. Im only responding to the wording "you pay the taxes" and i did not! The dealership paid them for me, as i was paying cash they also lowered the sticker price. Im not saying that they lowered it even more and i:ncluded it technically ..... im saying that on paper they paid and i did not.

Tax if vehicle was gifted to you either.

Reid said "    countryboy 84 said "    Reid said "    Vegasking said "Not if you want to LEGALLY drive the vehicle on roads. The only way you can buy a vehicle and NOT pay PST is if you never register/insure it. And basically the only time that happens is with an Off Road Vehicle, which is still taking chances with no liability coverage. " i bought my car off the lot used, and never paid any tax. i got the dealership to eat the tax as i paid cash, and they did. " You may not have paid the tax as you claim, but it will have been built into the sale price and would show so on your bill of sale, otherwise you would have paid it when it was registered. Either that or the dealer somehow paid it for you, either way, it was paid on the purchase price. There is no way around the PST on vehicles as stated before. Anyone that says otherwise id like to see exactly how its done....     Edited by countryboy 84, 2017-06-30 19:49:22" i paid less than the sticker price, and no i did not pay the taxes the dealership did. Im only responding to the wording "you pay the taxes" and i did not! The dealership paid them for me, as i was paying cash they also lowered the sticker price. Im not saying that they lowered it even more and i:ncluded it technically ..... im saying that on paper they paid and i did not. "

By law i believe they must collect the tax. However, they can give you a discount equivalent to what you pay in taxes. That's generally how no tax deals work.