Importing Cars

[deadman]

after reading an old thread about the impracticality of farangs importing cars, i was left wondering if thai's fare any better with the crooks at customs. And what about dealers, obviously there are a lot of imported cars here both new and 2nd hand here, it's hard to imagine that every dealer has connections with senior customs officials. So how do these guys get cars imported without being taken to the cleaners by customs?

cheers

DM

[stingray]

If you pay the import tax, you are beable to import a car. Therefore a new Dodge Challenger or Camaro cost 6 Mill. Baht in LOS. It's all possible, just a matter of how much you have to pay. 300% on the price the custom will estimate or new price. So easy calculate: if a Camaro for example cost 30'000 US (not the floormodel), you ad 300% Tax, that's mean 90'000 USD, so the car cost now 120'000 USD (close to 4 million Baht) if you import it by your self, The dealer will mark up his profit, therefore resulting the 6 Million, but if you import it by your self you could have the car for 4 Million instead of 6 Million.

[givenall]

Most of car dealers are owned by only a few people. And yes they do not pay the same import tax as you for importing cars. I have to say they are able to import cars with a lot less expenses

[Kaptainstingray]

You cannot import a 2nd hand car into thailand if you are a farang....period

For instance .a Porsche Turbo 2010 in Thailand is over 20 million baht. In Seattle USA it is around $100,000 US =3 million baht.

Give or take a few stang.

The way crooked elite get round things

They bring the car in ..get it conficated...get invited as the only player in a mock auction ...pay the bribe and get the car with lovely red plates

Alternatively. Thai people who live in a country and own a car for 18 months can import 1 car.

Rich peples children who regularly are educated abroad (europe or US) are used to bring cars in.

You can get the sliding scale of tax from the excise revenue dept.

Really the only way a farang can import a car is to completely dismantle it. It then is imported as CKD(complete knock down) and taxed at a flat rate.

Or a kit car .

I told my dentist when he told me he was paying 6,000,000 baht for a Porsche Cayman ....

for 6 million baht go to USA buy one there and live there on holiday for 3 years....get it out of your system ...sell it ..and come back and buy a Honda rubbish jazz.yuk

This situation is one of the growing list of reasons that will eventually cause me to leave Thailand.

Edited April 25, 2010 by Kaptainstingray

[stingray]

You cannot import a 2nd hand car into thailand if you are a farang....period

For instance .a Porsche Turbo 2010 in Thailand is over 20 million baht. In Seattle USA it is around $100,000 US =3 million baht.

Give or take a few stang.

The way crooked elite get round things

They bring the car in ..get it conficated...get invited as the only player in a mock auction ...pay the bribe and get the car with lovely red plates

Alternatively. Thai people who live in a country and own a car for 18 months can import 1 car.

Rich peples children who regularly are educated abroad (europe or US) are used to bring cars in.

You can get the sliding scale of tax from the excise revenue dept.

Really the only way a farang can import a car is to completely dismantle it. It then is imported as CKD(complete knock down) and taxed at a flat rate.

Or a kit car .

I told my dentist when he told me he was paying 6,000,000 baht for a Porsche Cayman ....

for 6 million baht go to USA buy one there and live there on holiday for 3 years....get it out of your system ...sell it ..and come back and buy a Honda rubbish jazz.yuk

This situation is one of the growing list of reasons that will eventually cause me to leave Thailand.

Yes, peaple allways wining about the car prices in Thailand. I hear and read those stories now for 16 years. But that the insurance, roadtax, speed and parking tickets, labour and repairs, hotels, rooms, food, beer, girlies, etc, etc is very cheap overhere, they forget about. There is no place on earth where everithing is cheap. Did you ever consider the car prices in Danemark, Paraguay, Urugay, Norway, Finland, etc.? More than here!

Should be happy to drive here a car (more expesive than in your homecountry), without the hassles of the dam cops behind your neck.

BTW used cars can not be imported in parts and assembling together. That's a very "Old" one and the custom knows. There is no registration possibile for such kind of cars.

I also would like to drive a new Camaro instead of a old Oldsmobile, wich i drive here currently.

If i want the camaro, i have to living in the US. But in US me wife would be 50 year old (because i'm in the late forties). In LOS my wife is in the early twenties. so better i stay here, living with a young wife and driving a old car (wich cost me 100 USD only for inurance per year and almost nothing for repairs)!

BTW, what do you want with a new Porsche, between all that hevy traffic where hunderts of Ladybikes surrounds you on a Traffic redlight? It would be a nightmare when getting scratched.

Below ,just a litte example what junk you can buy in Urugay for big money:

http://uruguay.lapapa.com.uy/cva/15278549_Opel_Ascona.html

So LOS isn't that bad!

Edited April 25, 2010 by stingray

[basjke]

I don't know about car import but I have some experience with bike import and I guess it all works the same.

No the dealers don't have connections at the customs.But there are a few people who have those connections,and which are very rich,and the Thai dealers go trough a middle man who knows those people.

As for the very luxury cars,I know for a fact that it works the way Captainstingray explained.Probably those people are the same as the ones that get contacted for importing of a lower category car.Isn't Thailand a lovely country

[BlackArtemis]

And don't get any ideas about having your Thai wife bring over your car. I have heard stories of "regular" people trying to do that and it not working. As much as I would love to bring my mustang back with me, I won't bother...