Space-geek musician trying to buy notorious Star Trek van 

"Bob LeDrew" (bobledrew1) 02/11/2015 at 19:08 • Filed to: spacelopnik, star trek, vans, danny michel, canada

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Remember !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ? Yeah, the one Torchinsky wrote about earlier this month. With Spock, and boobies. Well, the story got a lot more interesting today.

Danny Michel is not only a Canadian indie musician, but a certified space geek. He's written a bunch of songs about science-fictiony topics, he's played with and interviewed Chris Hadfield at folk festivals... and now he wants to buy the Star Trek van and tour with it.

According to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , Michel is trying to work his way through the bureaucracy of touring a British Columbia-based van back into Ontario and certified.

I had this great idea to tour back and film a travelling web based music show in it. Like "School Night Mondays" on the road…from a Star Trek van. (and yes I had some amazing guests already). But…I have to get an appraisal and safety IN Ontario. Since the van is out west and a BC appraisal and safety don't qualify you get a 10 day travel permit. This is fine but makes it impossible to take my time touring back and filming this show. They calculate your KM and give you just enough days to make it. If I buy the van in BC (which I don't think I can without a BC license and residence) I have to get a BC appraisal, safety, insurance, plates and pay BC tax on it. After I drive it back to Ontario, I have to get an ON appraisal, safety, insurance, plates and pay red book value ON tax on it I again (even though no money has changed hands). Remember, this is all in the same country! I

Is there a Jalop out there who can help Danny Michel slash through the red tape? I'm sure he'd slip you a few comps if he's playing in your area.

And for your listening pleasure, a little "Into the Light":

DJBolivia > Bob LeDrew 02/12/2015 at 23:14

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Buy the van in BC and register it in BC, using whatever address in BC you would most likely live at or visit. Perhaps a friend can add you to their lease for several months and let you get mail sent there. When the people at ICBC ask about your license, tell them that you're not switching it over yet because you're moving back to Ontario in a month's time for four more months of work before you come to BC permanently, and you will need to retain your Ontario license during that period. You are not required to switch to a new provincial driver's license (either direction) until you've been in the province for 90 days. Make sure when registering/insuring the van in BC you do it for "Territory Z" which is the territory which includes out-of-province travel & use. If you're using it for business purposes (as a band vehicle) you should register it as a business vehicle, because otherwise, if you have an accident, your insurance may be voided. Let them know that the van will be used temporarily out of province but that in the long term, it's staying in the province. If you eventually decide to move the van permanently to Ontario and register it there, you won't have to pay sales tax if you've owned it for at least 181 days. It's a complicated situation, but the above is all legal. I work/live in four different provinces depending on the time of year, and have vehicles parked and registered in each side of the country (with a couple of them frequently leaving BC to travel in Alberta, or leaving New Brunswick to travel in Nova Scotia), so I've had to deal with similar situations myself.

Bob LeDrew > DJBolivia 02/13/2015 at 15:01

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I've passed on your message to the man himself — maybe we'll get some comp tickets if it works.