I am weighing renting a van vs hiring one to move myself and a bunch of stuff to Cambodia. The other alternative is to use a shipping company (It's a bedroom worth of stuff, no furniture though).

 

If I drive myself, how is insurance handled between cars from Thailand to Cambodia?

 

 

 

I drove my car from Pattaya to the Kampot area two years ago. The vehicle has to be in your name or the owner has to be in the car. A rental has to have permission of the rental agency and power of attorney from them to allow the car/van to leave Thailand. Cambodian car insurance was not available at the Hat Lek/Cham Yeam crossing where Highway 3 ends at the Cambodian border.

 

I have a Cambodian drivers license which, according to recent articles in the Khmer news, is being enforced, else the vehicle is confiscated.

 

Good luck. PM me if you need more information.

Edited August 3, 20187 yr by Benmart

You can't take a rental car out of Thailand

I just drove into Cambodia with my thai car, (entered at Osmach ,south of surin) one of ONLY 2 borders u can drive in without advance permission ( the other is Koh Kong) 2 weeks ago.
your thai insurance is NOT valid and you cant buy any.

BUT, as you cant take a rental car/van out, it really doesn't matter.

 

entering Laos or Malaysia,  you can buy insurance at the border.

 

Quote

I have a Cambodian drivers license which, according to recent articles in the Khmer news, is being enforced, else the vehicle is confiscated. 

not true, all ASEAN licenses are accepted.
BUT in reality if ur stopped , you will pay a small fine  ?

Edited August 3, 20187 yr by phuketrichard

57 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

I just drove into Cambodia with my thai car, (entered at Osmach ,south of surin) one of ONLY 2 borders u can drive in without advance permission ( the other is Koh Kong) 2 weeks ago.
your thai insurance is NOT valid and you cant buy any.

BUT, as you cant take a rental car/van out, it really doesn't matter.

 

entering Laos or Malaysia,  you can buy insurance at the border.

 

not true, all ASEAN licenses are accepted.
BUT in reality if ur stopped , you will pay a small fine  ?

I also took my Thai car into Cambodia via Osmach about 4 weeks ago. Went to Siem Reap for a week, then back to Thailand at Osmach. When I entered Cambodia they kept my blue book at the custom office and gave me a receipt, so I had to to take the car back out through the same border crossing in order to get my blue book back. I think in the past some people were driving in at one border crossing and departing by some other. 

 

No insurance so drove very very carefully.

LOL;

i always follow a Cambodian car thru the arch and have never been stopped, so never give up my blue book.  Will exit at Koh Kong

Have exited all the Thai /Cambodian borders many times now ?

1 hour ago, phuketrichard said:

LOL;

i always follow a Cambodian car thru the arch and have never been stopped, so never give up my blue book.  Will exit at Koh Kong

Have exited all the Thai /Cambodian borders many times now ?

Because you may have "slipped through", doesn't guarantee you will never be stopped and hit hard for it.

2 hours ago, TSF said:

I also took my Thai car into Cambodia via Osmach about 4 weeks ago. Went to Siem Reap for a week, then back to Thailand at Osmach. When I entered Cambodia they kept my blue book at the custom office and gave me a receipt, so I had to to take the car back out through the same border crossing in order to get my blue book back. I think in the past some people were driving in at one border crossing and departing by some other. 

 

No insurance so drove very very carefully.

Yes, the same experience for me. The poster who seems pleased with himself going in and out, without formalities, is setting himself up for a great deal of grief when he is caught.

3 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

I just drove into Cambodia with my thai car, (entered at Osmach ,south of surin) one of ONLY 2 borders u can drive in without advance permission ( the other is Koh Kong) 2 weeks ago.
your thai insurance is NOT valid and you cant buy any.

BUT, as you cant take a rental car/van out, it really doesn't matter.

 

entering Laos or Malaysia,  you can buy insurance at the border.

 

not true, all ASEAN licenses are accepted.
BUT in reality if ur stopped , you will pay a small fine  ?

My post did not mention ASEAN drivers license, but you seemed to have cleared that up. That being said, if the poster is other than an ASEAN drivers license holder, he may have problems as did many Chinese did in recent months.

4 hours ago, jackdd said:

You can't take a rental car out of Thailand

A Power of Attorney, executed by the owner of the car; or by the rental company may work to get the exit permission from Thai customs. Getting a rental company to do so is near impossible because the car is uninsured in Cambodia, and no quarantee it win't be stolen or sold there.

2 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

LOL;

i always follow a Cambodian car thru the arch and have never been stopped, so never give up my blue book.  Will exit at Koh Kong

Have exited all the Thai /Cambodian borders many times now ?

Hi Richard, dunno if I'd do that, sounds to me like the car would be illegally in Cambodia,  so any sort of check or run in with the cops and they could, and no doubt would, confiscate or impound the car. In my own case returning back through Osmach was not a problem as we live in Korat, so going back home via Surin was the shortest route. When I entered Cambodia they did ask me if I was returning that way and I said I was, I got the feeling if I wanted to exit at another border crossing, like Koh Kong, then that could be organized too.

2 hours ago, Benmart said:

Yes, the same experience for me. The poster who seems pleased with himself going in and out, without formalities, is setting himself up for a great deal of grief when he is caught.

so u had advance permission /Permit from PP?
if not, than u came in, " illegally" same as me.

Just cause u left ur book at customs does NOT make ur car in Cambodia Legal!!

 

I have also entered a few times at Koh Kong, leaving my temp doc papers from Thailand and exited there.

Been doing in an out of Cambodia for over 12 years and have been stopped an fined a few times, average was $5 and most was $20, cause he had to share the $$ with his 3 friends, ( $5 each)  LOL

 

PS; a few friends of mine also do as i do and just enter at Osmach without leaving their book an exit elsewhere.

Enter at Koh Kong, pay 100 baht/day.

Edited August 3, 20187 yr by phuketrichard

2 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

so u had advance permission /Permit from PP?
if not, than u came in, " illegally" same as me.

Just cause u left ur book at customs does NOT make ur car in Cambodia Legal!!

 

I have also entered a few times at Koh Kong, leaving my temp doc papers from Thailand and exited there.

Been doing in an out of Cambodia for over 12 years and have been stopped an fined a few times, average was $5 and most was $20, cause he had to share the $$ with his 3 friends, ( $5 each)  LOL

 

PS; a few friends of mine also do as i do and just enter at Osmach without leaving their book an exit elsewhere.

Enter at Koh Kong, pay 100 baht/day.

 

But now the cops at Sihanoukville stop drivers without Khmer license and keep the car...

 

 

5 hours ago, gaff said:

 

But now the cops at Sihanoukville stop drivers without Khmer license and keep the car...

 

 

 

Actually, with regard to the Chinese that were stopped, the vehicles were impounded because they had neither a local driving license nor an international driving permit.

 

The Phnom Phen Post was quite clear on this.

 

1 hour ago, Monomial said:

 

Actually, with regard to the Chinese that were stopped, the vehicles were impounded because they had neither a local driving license nor an international driving permit.

 

The Phnom Phen Post was quite clear on this.

 

 

Yes but as Cambodia does not accept any international license, how to you explain this ?

And if Chinese people from a country that owns Cambodia and its prime minister now have problem, what could happen to a foreigner driving a Thai car without Cambodia license ?!

 

 

6 hours ago, gaff said:

 

Yes but as Cambodia does not accept any international license, how to you explain this ?

And if Chinese people from a country that owns Cambodia and its prime minister now have problem, what could happen to a foreigner driving a Thai car without Cambodia license ?!

 

 

Yikes...I didn't know about this story, makes me think twice about taking my car there again.

Meaning they wouldn't have impounded the car if a proper international permit was provided, because it technically would not have been illegal. This is simply a scam the police have run for ages. The serious problem was because they were actually doing something against the law -- driving without a license...any license.

 

23 minutes ago, Monomial said:

Meaning they wouldn't have impounded the car if a proper international permit was provided, because it technically would not have been illegal. This is simply a scam the police have run for ages. The serious problem was because they were actually doing something against the law -- driving without a license...any license.

 

 

No. Cambodia doesn't recognize any international license. Scam or not, what do you do if your millions baht car is stop and they asked you thousands $ to get it back ?! you pay or cry. I drove before to Cambodia but won't take the risk anymore with an expensive car.