Car Import Update

[Dave the Dude]

I'm surprised girls would know what it is, looks like a TR7 to me.

What a red TR7 looks like

Somethings got lost in translation here..

The TR7 I know came in 2 litre only (TR8 had Rover V8 3500cc)

and looked like this. Either one looks a lot less sexy than the Daytona IMHO

Edited July 26, 2009 by Dave the Dude

[ignis]

TR8 in red

[wordchild]

For what its worth i have just imported my right hand drive ,high-end German car from the Uk,cost a fair bit but nothing like as much as the "official" price,and saved me a great deal on buying a new equivalent here .It can be done.first in my case i was lucky, one of my Thai business partners knew someone very high up in Thai customs who helped, what i learned though may be relevant to others which is why i am posting this. -at the moment i believe the customs department is keen to gain a bit of extra revenue so they have some flexibility around the determination of the cif or import value from which the level of all other taxes are determined,approached in the right way (before you ship) they are prepared to negotiate. to be honest i think this flexibility is usualy extended to returning Thais, diplomats, or to others who are introduced who they believe they can trust but the senior customs guy i dealt with said he had no problems in dealing with indevidual farangs. they will not give any concessions to dealers or Auto import companies because as he said if you help one the word spreads and they will all expect it. it helps a lot if your particular model ie engine type (as in my case) is not available in Thailand . they will put a "no onward .sale" restriction on the car for 3 years which was no problem for me . this is not a way of getting a car in through the back door avoiding any duty,it was all "official " and still expensive. i estimate i paid a total cost of 40% of the full official import price ,it cost me 2.5mil + bt still a lot of money. of this around 10% was in cash "tea money" with the rest a cashiers cheque to Thai Govt. i am not going to give too much more in details as i promised i would not, but all went very smoothly once all had been agrred. i picked up the car the day after it arrived in Bangkok and after i had paid over the money, the Thai customs guy had arranged red plates so i could drive it away and also for "a friend " to meet me at the land transportation office a couple of days later to take me through the registration formalities ,get the new plates govt insurance etc . the registration book arrived a couple of weeks later. sorry i have to be a bit vague on the details and will not respond to follow up questions but i post this to show it is possible to import a car into this country for a semi-reasonable price despite so many negative comments on this, however i do also aknowlege i was lucky in getting the right intro to customs but as i said on an indevidual basis they seem open.one final strong hint i got was deal with customs at PAT ie bangkok not chonburi.

Edited August 6, 2009 by wordchild

[INTJ]

For what its worth i have just imported my right hand drive ,high-end German car from the Uk,cost a fair bit but nothing like as much as the "official" price,and saved me a great deal on buying a new equivalent here .It can be done.first in my case i was lucky, one of my Thai business partners knew someone very high up in Thai customs who helped, what i learned though may be relevant to others which is why i am posting this. -at the moment i believe the customs department is keen to gain a bit of extra revenue so they have some flexibility around the determination of the cif or import value from which the level of all other taxes are determined,approached in the right way (before you ship) they are prepared to negotiate. to be honest i think this flexibility is usualy extended to returning Thais, diplomats, or to others who are introduced who they believe they can trust but the senior customs guy i dealt with said he had no problems in dealing with indevidual farangs. they will not give any concessions to dealers or Auto import companies because as he said if you help one the word spreads and they will all expect it. it helps a lot if your particular model ie engine type (as in my case) is not available in Thailand . they will put a "no onward .sale" restriction on the car for 3 years which was no problem for me . this is not a way of getting a car in through the back door avoiding any duty,it was all "official " and still expensive. i estimate i paid a total cost of 40% of the full official import price ,it cost me 2.5mil + bt still a lot of money. of this around 10% was in cash "tea money" with the rest a cashiers cheque to Thai Govt. i am not going to give too much more in details as i promised i would not, but all went very smoothly once all had been agrred. i picked up the car the day after it arrived in Bangkok and after i had paid over the money, the Thai customs guy had arranged red plates so i could drive it away and also for "a friend " to meet me at the land transportation office a couple of days later to take me through the registration formalities ,get the new plates govt insurance etc . the registration book arrived a couple of weeks later. sorry i have to be a bit vague on the details and will not respond to follow up questions but i post this to show it is possible to import a car into this country for a semi-reasonable price despite so many negative comments on this, however i do also aknowlege i was lucky in getting the right intro to customs but as i said on an indevidual basis they seem open.one final strong hint i got was deal with customs at PAT ie bangkok not chonburi.

Whoa ! You can't just claim you imported a car. This site requires you to show a clear photo of yourself holding todays BKK post with the alleged vehicle visible in the background, and there should also be a clearly identifiable Thai landmark in the picture such as a temple or scabby dog taking a dump next to a noodle stall.

Cheers

[Benjie]

TR8 in red

Ok, Sorry it looks like a TR8.

[basjke]

For what its worth i have just imported my right hand drive ,high-end German car from the Uk,cost a fair bit but nothing like as much as the "official" price,and saved me a great deal on buying a new equivalent here .It can be done.first in my case i was lucky, one of my Thai business partners knew someone very high up in Thai customs who helped, what i learned though may be relevant to others which is why i am posting this. -at the moment i believe the customs department is keen to gain a bit of extra revenue so they have some flexibility around the determination of the cif or import value from which the level of all other taxes are determined,approached in the right way (before you ship) they are prepared to negotiate. to be honest i think this flexibility is usualy extended to returning Thais, diplomats, or to others who are introduced who they believe they can trust but the senior customs guy i dealt with said he had no problems in dealing with indevidual farangs. they will not give any concessions to dealers or Auto import companies because as he said if you help one the word spreads and they will all expect it. it helps a lot if your particular model ie engine type (as in my case) is not available in Thailand . they will put a "no onward .sale" restriction on the car for 3 years which was no problem for me . this is not a way of getting a car in through the back door avoiding any duty,it was all "official " and still expensive. i estimate i paid a total cost of 40% of the full official import price ,it cost me 2.5mil + bt still a lot of money. of this around 10% was in cash "tea money" with the rest a cashiers cheque to Thai Govt. i am not going to give too much more in details as i promised i would not, but all went very smoothly once all had been agrred. i picked up the car the day after it arrived in Bangkok and after i had paid over the money, the Thai customs guy had arranged red plates so i could drive it away and also for "a friend " to meet me at the land transportation office a couple of days later to take me through the registration formalities ,get the new plates govt insurance etc . the registration book arrived a couple of weeks later. sorry i have to be a bit vague on the details and will not respond to follow up questions but i post this to show it is possible to import a car into this country for a semi-reasonable price despite so many negative comments on this, however i do also aknowlege i was lucky in getting the right intro to customs but as i said on an indevidual basis they seem open.one final strong hint i got was deal with customs at PAT ie bangkok not chonburi.

2.5 million in import duty and you estimate that this is only 40% of the required sum.Can you tell us what car you imported.

[wordchild]

sorry i dont want to get into details as i said above,there is plenty of info on this site as to how the various charges/taxes are calculated as everyone agrees its an expensive business esp for larger engined motors

[Rdrokit]

TR8 in red

Ok, Sorry it looks like a TR8.

Yea, I can kinda see where a TR8 looks like a Daytona................NOT

[getithere328]

For what its worth i have just imported my right hand drive ,high-end German car from the Uk,cost a fair bit but nothing like as much as the "official" price,and saved me a great deal on buying a new equivalent here .It can be done.first in my case i was lucky, one of my Thai business partners knew someone very high up in Thai customs who helped, what i learned though may be relevant to others which is why i am posting this. -at the moment i believe the customs department is keen to gain a bit of extra revenue so they have some flexibility around the determination of the cif or import value from which the level of all other taxes are determined,approached in the right way (before you ship) they are prepared to negotiate. to be honest i think this flexibility is usualy extended to returning Thais, diplomats, or to others who are introduced who they believe they can trust but the senior customs guy i dealt with said he had no problems in dealing with indevidual farangs. they will not give any concessions to dealers or Auto import companies because as he said if you help one the word spreads and they will all expect it. it helps a lot if your particular model ie engine type (as in my case) is not available in Thailand . they will put a "no onward .sale" restriction on the car for 3 years which was no problem for me . this is not a way of getting a car in through the back door avoiding any duty,it was all "official " and still expensive. i estimate i paid a total cost of 40% of the full official import price ,it cost me 2.5mil + bt still a lot of money. of this around 10% was in cash "tea money" with the rest a cashiers cheque to Thai Govt. i am not going to give too much more in details as i promised i would not, but all went very smoothly once all had been agrred. i picked up the car the day after it arrived in Bangkok and after i had paid over the money, the Thai customs guy had arranged red plates so i could drive it away and also for "a friend " to meet me at the land transportation office a couple of days later to take me through the registration formalities ,get the new plates govt insurance etc . the registration book arrived a couple of weeks later. sorry i have to be a bit vague on the details and will not respond to follow up questions but i post this to show it is possible to import a car into this country for a semi-reasonable price despite so many negative comments on this, however i do also aknowlege i was lucky in getting the right intro to customs but as i said on an indevidual basis they seem open.one final strong hint i got was deal with customs at PAT ie bangkok not chonburi.

So let me get this right, unless you have a friend of a friend who is high up in Thai customs who also has a friend to help you register your car, your screwed! Wow what a system.

[LivinLOS]

at the moment i believe the customs department is keen to gain a bit of extra revenue so they have some flexibility around the determination of the cif or import value from which the level of all other taxes are determined,approached in the right way (before you ship) they are prepared to negotiate. to be honest i think this flexibility is usualy extended to returning Thais, diplomats, or to others who are introduced who they believe they can trust but the senior customs guy i dealt with said he had no problems in dealing with indevidual farangs. they will not give any concessions to dealers or Auto import companies because as he said if you help one the word spreads and they will all expect it.

It was my understanding that the customs office are quite happy to quote (low) but then once the vehicle arrives they are not bound by their quote at all.

If you paid 2.5m in tax, could you give us a hint of the vehicles model and true value outside Thailand ??

[wordchild]

i can only say that my experience was not like that at all.there was some negotiation upfront before i had shipped the car from the uk,they requested copies of all the usual documentation,reg document,original invoice,chassis and engine number,passport ,work permit etc. i was then quoted an all in price to import the car which i rejected and had given up on the whole idea and was about to sell the car in the uk when they came back (all this via my Thai business partner) with a much lower price (with a portion to be paid in cash) which i agreed to.from then on everything went amazingly smoothly,i shipped the car once i had confirmed permission to import,the shipment took just under 3 weeks in container and as i said above i paid over the money and collected the car the day after it arrived at PAT bangkok,the price did not change 1 cent. i dont know if its significant but from the start i was told only to deal with customs at port authority thailand ie bangkok and to make sure the car was shipped there and not to laem chabang,the customs guy i dealt with at one point seemed to imply laem chabang customs could not be trusted ,but then he could have just been trying to protect his tea money!as to the cars price as i said above my model variant and engine size is not available in thailand the nearest equivalent and much lower spec, costs a multiple of the price i have paid to import mine,so,while its a big sum for me its been well worth it,

[wordchild]

as to the value in the uk ,as i said i was close to selling and in a filthy market was looking to get a fairly similar (say 15% lower) price to the import cost that i in the end paid

Edited August 12, 2009 by wordchild

[steelepulse]

worldchild, so if someone wanted to get the name of your helpful customs agent, I would assume you would do that via a pm to anyone serious about bringing in a nice car, is this correct? I've wanted a certain sedan, but at 12 million thb here I've stayed away.

[wordchild]

no sorry cant do that,part of the deal was it was all on a no names basis, they seem to be very sensitive to the idea that they get approaches from people quoting "favours" that they have done for others. thats why the senior guy said they wont do deals for auto importers or they will all expect it, having said that my impression was these sorts of deals are being done on a case by case basis, a direct approach might be worth a shot

[yeesipha]

For what its worth i have just imported my right hand drive ,high-end German car from the Uk,cost a fair bit but nothing like as much as the "official" price,and saved me a great deal on buying a new equivalent here .It can be done.first in my case i was lucky, one of my Thai business partners knew someone very high up in Thai customs who helped, what i learned though may be relevant to others which is why i am posting this. -at the moment i believe the customs department is keen to gain a bit of extra revenue so they have some flexibility around the determination of the cif or import value from which the level of all other taxes are determined,approached in the right way (before you ship) they are prepared to negotiate. to be honest i think this flexibility is usualy extended to returning Thais, diplomats, or to others who are introduced who they believe they can trust but the senior customs guy i dealt with said he had no problems in dealing with indevidual farangs. they will not give any concessions to dealers or Auto import companies because as he said if you help one the word spreads and they will all expect it. it helps a lot if your particular model ie engine type (as in my case) is not available in Thailand . they will put a "no onward .sale" restriction on the car for 3 years which was no problem for me . this is not a way of getting a car in through the back door avoiding any duty,it was all "official " and still expensive. i estimate i paid a total cost of 40% of the full official import price ,it cost me 2.5mil + bt still a lot of money. of this around 10% was in cash "tea money" with the rest a cashiers cheque to Thai Govt. i am not going to give too much more in details as i promised i would not, but all went very smoothly once all had been agrred. i picked up the car the day after it arrived in Bangkok and after i had paid over the money, the Thai customs guy had arranged red plates so i could drive it away and also for "a friend " to meet me at the land transportation office a couple of days later to take me through the registration formalities ,get the new plates govt insurance etc . the registration book arrived a couple of weeks later. sorry i have to be a bit vague on the details and will not respond to follow up questions but i post this to show it is possible to import a car into this country for a semi-reasonable price despite so many negative comments on this, however i do also aknowlege i was lucky in getting the right intro to customs but as i said on an indevidual basis they seem open.one final strong hint i got was deal with customs at PAT ie bangkok not chonburi.

Whoa ! You can't just claim you imported a car. This site requires you to show a clear photo of yourself holding todays BKK post with the alleged vehicle visible in the background, and there should also be a clearly identifiable Thai landmark in the picture such as a temple or scabby dog taking a dump next to a noodle stall.

Cheers

Yep have to agree ,pictures please.

[wordchild]

this issue comes up from time to time; cf another thread re a "ferrari" import.

[basjke]

this issue comes up from time to time; cf another thread re a "ferrari" import.

Think some people are still waiting for the pictures.

[BBarghout]

Hi Guys,

I was interested in reading this thread as I have a 12 year old Merecedes in the UK, which is in very good condition and only has about 50,000 Miles on it.

I only drive it while I'm in the Uk so about 3000 milers per year max, and it's a burden to me as I usually have to buy a replacement battery each year, and MOT it, tax etc.

I tried to sell it and was offered about 800 quid for it, just because of the age. The garage didn't care about the condition, and actually didn't even want it anyway.

So, I was thinking of importing it, as actually its still as good as the day I got it and paid 40,000 for it.

The question is, what value would the thai excise office put on the car, the value I'd get if I tried to sell it in the UK, or some made up nonsense off the top of their head, based on their opinion only.

It's a lovely car, and would be great to have in Thailand as I'm sure running it here would be cheaper than in the UK.

Finally, I don't work in Thailand but I expect to have a retirement Visa in the very near future. Does that prevent me from importing the car.

For background, I've been in Thailand now about 8-9 years using Mulitiple entry Business Visa, I think it's referred to as Non O.

Would be interested in your advice.

Regards to all

[katabeachbum]

Hi Guys,

I was interested in reading this thread as I have a 12 year old Merecedes in the UK, which is in very good condition and only has about 50,000 Miles on it.

I only drive it while I'm in the Uk so about 3000 milers per year max, and it's a burden to me as I usually have to buy a replacement battery each year, and MOT it, tax etc.

I tried to sell it and was offered about 800 quid for it, just because of the age. The garage didn't care about the condition, and actually didn't even want it anyway.

So, I was thinking of importing it, as actually its still as good as the day I got it and paid 40,000 for it.

The question is, what value would the thai excise office put on the car, the value I'd get if I tried to sell it in the UK, or some made up nonsense off the top of their head, based on their opinion only.

It's a lovely car, and would be great to have in Thailand as I'm sure running it here would be cheaper than in the UK.

Finally, I don't work in Thailand but I expect to have a retirement Visa in the very near future. Does that prevent me from importing the car.

For background, I've been in Thailand now about 8-9 years using Mulitiple entry Business Visa, I think it's referred to as Non O.

Would be interested in your advice.

Regards to all

the value for 80% importduty is thai market value, 800-2mill baht. depending on which Benz model

excise tax depends on engine cc and hp

let us know what car you have and i m sure someone will make you a rough calculation

[BBarghout]

the value for 80% importduty is thai market value, 800-2mill baht. depending on which Benz model

excise tax depends on engine cc and hp

let us know what car you have and i m sure someone will make you a rough calculation

Hi katabeachbum,

Thanks for your reply, I called home and asked my mother to check my Log Book for the details and they are:

Mercedes Benz E Class 4 Door Saloon, Avantguard

Engine Size 2400 CC

Year of 1st Registration 23/04/1999

So it's older than 11 years already and will be 12 years old by April 2011. Someone mentioned something about Import taxes being low for cars older than 10 years?

Looking forward to your reply very much.

Best regards

Brian

[philip500]

Dear All,

Having lived here in Thailand these past 20 years, i've got a S type 3 litre jaguar parked up in Cardiff, and would like to import back here to Thailand. i paid 6,000 quid for it in 2007. Although the wife and i had 6 month in 2009 and 4 month holiday this year driving it around Europe; it would be good to bring it in to Bangkok.

It's an April 1999 model, in excellent conition, but worth bladders if i sold it in the U.K. I also would be interested in importing it if the importt tax is low on a 11 year old model.

[LivinLOS]

The import taxes are not low on a 10 year old car.. And it really doesnt matter what the rules say, they just make them up as they go along and ransom it back to you.. Go back to the start of the thread and read how the guy was going to import his low value but cherished car.. and the sad sorry saga of it being stolen off him by corrupt customs.

Learn from others pain..

[katabeachbum]

the value for 80% importduty is thai market value, 800-2mill baht. depending on which Benz model

excise tax depends on engine cc and hp

let us know what car you have and i m sure someone will make you a rough calculation

Hi katabeachbum,

Thanks for your reply, I called home and asked my mother to check my Log Book for the details and they are:

Mercedes Benz E Class 4 Door Saloon, Avantguard

Engine Size 2400 CC

Year of 1st Registration 23/04/1999

So it's older than 11 years already and will be 12 years old by April 2011. Someone mentioned something about Import taxes being low for cars older than 10 years?

Looking forward to your reply very much.

Best regards

Brian

Importduty is 80%

the 2,4 is less than 220 hp, placing it in 40% excicetax bracket. excicetax is calculated on cars value, shipping cost and duty. then ad 7% vat on it all.

the question is what value they set on your car before import. the 2,4 V6 is considered a luxury car here, and would cost approx 5,5 mill baht new. it is not likely this car will cost you less than to buy a similar car on thai plates already here

sorry I cant provide more exact info, since your importbill totally depends on customs value estimate before duties/taxes

[wallcracks]

Has anyone heard about that all Cars with Hybrid Engine and or a Engine which is able to burn E20 Fuel is Import Tax Free!!!!????

Edited January 17, 2011 by wallcracks

[TimTang]

When I moved from Singapore to Bangkok I shipped my furniture and things through a logistics company that quoted about $1,500 US from door to door.

My contents were typical of a 1 bedroom apartment but with no major appliances, in other words, not a heck of a lot.

When my possessions arrived, Thai customs refused to release them without a 28,000 baht bribe, and that was negotiated by a Thai that was contracted by our company specifically to handle customs affairs. So much for "door to door!"

Fortunately for me the company paid all my moving expenses, so it didn't cost me anything.

I decided at that time I would never import anything into this country if I had to cover the tab myself.

The company I worked for even had to pad their products with about 20% to cover bribes at customs on top of the 35% duty the government already charged. Needless to say they're not operating here any more.

Edited January 17, 2011 by TimTang

[HardenedSoul]

Is there a bigger discount for a 20yr old car like my BMW Z1 which is back in Blighty being pampered in a nice, heated storage facility after years of having its engine sing for its supper as its maker intended.