OMVIC fines Rite Price Auto Sales $8,000 over two total-loss vehicles sold without disclosure

OMVIC’s Discipline Tribunal fined Rite Price Auto Sales Inc. $8,000 on May 27, 2026, with $1,000 fines for General Manager and Person in Charge Thulfiqar Oush and salesperson Mahdi Shakir. The case turns on two vehicles the dealer bought at wholesale from insurers, knowing each had been written off, and then sold to consumers without putting that history on the buyer’s bill of sale. One was even advertised as a clean car with no damage.

The dealer had been reminded of its disclosure obligations twice, during a June 2021 remote inspection and again during a May 2024 inspection, both times pointing to the retail bill-of-sale disclosure rules in s. 42 of O. Reg. 333/08. The transactions below happened after those reminders.

A “clean car” that was a total loss

The dealer bought a 2014 Ford Fusion from another dealer selling on behalf of an insurer. The wholesale bill of sale spelled it out: declared a total loss, manufacturer’s warranty cancelled, two glass-damage records, and a repair estimate of $8,474.01. There was also an accident claim of $12,239. Shakir then advertised the car online at $7,999 as a “clean car” that “has no issues at all” and “no damage.” When a buyer asked, he mentioned only a glass report. The car sold for $7,600 plus an extended warranty, and the buyer’s copy of the bill of sale disclosed none of the history.

Describing a written-off car as clean is a direct breach of the duty to be clear and truthful about a vehicle under s. 4(1) and s. 4(2) of the Code of Ethics. The same undisclosed-history pattern drove the Hot Wheels Car Sales case and the Yorkdale Fine Cars case.

The “we stamped our own copy” defence

When the buyer complained, the dealer told OMVIC it had stamped its own copy of the bill of sale with the disclosures and had given the buyer a separate disclosure statement. The buyer’s copy showed neither. The Tribunal treated the obligation as what it is: the disclosure has to be in writing on the consumer’s bill of sale, not on the dealer’s file copy. A 2017 Ford Escape, also a total loss with a $15,121.18 repair estimate and an $18,426 accident claim, ran the same way: undisclosed on the buyer’s copy, complaint filed, vehicle eventually bought back.

The required contract disclosures live in s. 40(2) and s. 42 of O. Reg. 333/08, which between them require statements about prior total-loss status, a cancelled manufacturer’s warranty, and repair costs over $3,000. Failing to put them on the buyer’s copy engaged s. 7(1) (documents must comply with the law), s. 9(1), and s. 9(3) of the Code of Ethics.

Registering the cars months late

There was a second, quieter breach. A dealer must register a vehicle it buys with the Ministry of Transportation within six days. The dealer registered the Fusion more than two months after purchase and the Escape more than four months after, contrary to the Highway Traffic Act and the dealer’s own Terms and Conditions of Registration. Late title transfers obscure who owned a car and when, which is part of why OMVIC treats the six-day rule as more than paperwork.

Who breached what

The Reviewing Panel (Sherry Darvish, Joe Malfara, Chris Pinelli) found the dealer breached s. 4(1), s. 4(2), s. 7(1), s. 9(1), s. 9(3), and s. 9(4) of the Code of Ethics. Oush breached s. 6(2) and s. 9(3); Shakir breached s. 4(1), s. 4(2), s. 6(2), and s. 9(3). Oush and Shakir must each complete the MVDA Key Elements Course, and the dealer must offer to fund the Automotive Certification Course for its salespeople.

What to learn

• Disclosure lives on the buyer’s copy. A stamp on your file copy is not disclosure. Under s. 42, total-loss status, a cancelled warranty, and repair costs over $3,000 must be written on the bill of sale the consumer takes home.
• The wholesale bill of sale tells you what to disclose. When you buy from an insurer’s seller, the write-off and the repair estimate are already on the wholesale paperwork. Carry them forward; do not advertise the car as clean.
• Register within six days. The six-day Ministry of Transportation registration rule is a condition of doing business, and a months-late transfer is its own breach.