Hi guys,
My final two cents on this one.
First cent - When you sell a vehicle, whether you are a dealer or a private seller, you don't want that vehicle to go down the road (in Ontario or out of it) while it is still in your name - trust me on this. Not only could you be charged (as the registered owner) if some illegality is noted by the police etc., but if there is an accident and, god forbid, someone is hurt or killed it is a matter of course that the insurance companies engaged in lawsuits over damages will name the registered owner of the vehicle in the lawsuit. I see this all the time. Yes, you can argue you sold the vehicle and, yes, you will probably avoid liability at the end of the day, but you get to defend a lawsuit and pay a lawyer, often, for the privilege of making those arguments.
Second cent - when the vehicle is registered, here in Ontario, to the buyer's name it must have a safety standards certificate or the vehicle will go into the buyer's name "unfit" and a trip permit cannot be obtained. The suggestion that a vehicle can be sold "as is" without a safety and have a trip permit issued is based on the fact that the vehicle remains in the name of the seller in a "fit" condition and, as I have said above, no seller should be comfortable with that.
This thread is a very good discussion because, in my experience, it is an issue that causes much confusion and has come back to bite people more than once.