Huge markup on imported foods. Why?

[ricklev]

This ad has been running on all the for sale boards including Thaivisa.

I imagine it would cost at least 70K to get the green book due to emissions testing etc.! Am I wrong?

New Accurate Importation Invoice + Importation Taxs Certificate + New Thai Excises Taxs Certificate + Thai Motorcycle Sales Certificate at The Name of The Buyer + The Original Company Invoices when I purchased it (In English, too) + Plate. There IS all the paperwork to get a Greenbook, but it is only necessary to ride the bike OUT of Thailand, or export it. Otherwise, no reason to bother!

I am an American, working and living in Koh Samui. Come look and ride!

Up for sale is my beautiful Indian Style Vulcan Monster Bike. It is AMAZING! A great runner... strong, great sound, stable, low c.o.g., totally dependable. And the look is absolutely AWESOME! I purchased the bike from a very reputable dealer a few months ago, and I'm DELIGHTED with it.

But, I got the LOVE BUG, and I'm engaged to be married in January-February to a beautiful and charming Thai woman. And we plan to have a family here... so we will be purchasing a car.

I will sell the bike outright with all the paperwork (see below), or TRADE for a nice dependable automobile. Either is fine!

I did a lot of research on the Greenbook Registration deal. It turns out that nearly 80% (+ 5% Mini with False Greenbooks) of the Big Motorcycles Imported and in The Streets in Thailand do not have Greenbook Registration .The Main thing is to have Accurate Importation Invoice + Original Thai Excises Taxs Certificate + Right Frame Number and Engine Number (VIN). This Vulcan was Legally imported by One of the main Big Bikes Factories Importers in BKK from Japan End of Last year as a Full Motorcycle, not in Spare Sparts Rebuilded here!

It comes with all Documentation for Legal Riding In Thailand.

New Accurate Importation Invoice + Importation Taxs Certificate + New Thai Excises Taxs Certificate + Thai Motorcycle Sales Certificate at The Name of The Buyer + The Original Company Invoices when I purchased it (In English, too) + Plate. There IS all the paperwork to get a Greenbook, but it is only necessary to ride the bike OUT of Thailand, or export it. Otherwise, no reason to bother!

I am an American, working and living in Koh Samui. Come look and ride!

[taichiplanet]

i think what he is saying is that with all the paper work you can get away with not having the greenbook. I had a friend who did the same with his bike for 10 years, but it seems times are a changing. Maybe someone can correct me but if a bike/car is not registered and driven it can be confiscated. There is also the issue of insurance.

To get the greenbook with all the papers, as you said, emission test, 70k+ and months waiting.

Edited March 12, 2012 by taichiplanet

[billd766]

For me personally no matter how much I like and want a motorbike I would NEVER buy one without a green book.

If I desperately wanted a bike and the only thing to make it legal was the emission test I would either offer 100,000 baht less than the seller asked and take the time and trouble to get the emissions test done or just walk away.

A couple of years ago I was seriously interested in a Honda Steed 600cc. It was a lovely bike so I went to the Land Transport Department in Khampaeng Phet near where I live and showed them the photos and everybody was impressed and thought it was a good buy until I mentioned no green book.

There was a lot of sharp intakes of breath and when I asked if I could get a green book the answer was not here, only Bangkok and maybe 50, 60 or 70k baht so I binned the idea.

If you can sell the bike without a green book then good for you.

[madjbs]

ThaiVisa classifieds are being used by scammers for sure, especially the motorcycle section. I enquired about a motocross bike which was listed for a very good price and the reply I got screamed scammer. The guy was going on about how the "Honda" (the bike in the photo was a Yamaha), had a greenbook, tax paid, insurance etc.. Which for a track bound Motocross bike, without a numberplate in the photos and without any real possibility of ever having been able to acquire one, was quite funny. The guy also claimed to be a Nat Geo freelance camera man blah blah blah. It was better than the blatantly obvious scams, but only just.

[wana]

i had 1 imported bike that hadnt got a book ,i pay the odd 200 thb fine but thats all

it doesnt have a noisy exhaust ,and it is plated and insured privately

doesnt seem to be much talk of confiscation when i get stopped YET but its not a

policemans dream bike anyway

i saw a dodgy 2008 R1 recently for 200k ,thats the kind of bike i sure would be confiscated

because the police would love a bike like that

id bet the more desirable it is ,the bigger the chance of confisaction is

an old scrapper from 10-20 years you will probably bag your way through with a 200b fine

[madjbs]

Sorry I didn't read the OP properly. I didn't mean to say this guy is a scammer, just relaying a recent experience trying to buy a bike on the classifieds.

In regards to this bike ad, there are rumours abound that new laws are going to be shortly put in place which will make it impossible to register grey imported bikes for road use. Whether that be parts bikes or all grey import bikes is still to become clear. Either way, my advice and opinion is to avoid all road bikes without greenbooks or greenbooks which are in anyway suspect.

[skybluestu]

i think what he is saying is that with all the paper work you can get away with not having the greenbook. I had a friend who did the same with his bike for 10 years, but it seems times are a changing. Maybe someone can correct me but if a bike/car is not registered and driven it can be confiscated. There is also the issue of insurance.

To get the greenbook with all the papers, as you said, emission test, 70k+ and months waiting.

If the bike has the correct invoice papers and proof the 3% excise tax has been paid then it can't (legally) be confiscated. The BIB can fine you for no plate/tax but nothing else. And even then it depends on where you live as to whether you'll even get fined. I ride a unplated bike which has been seen by police numerous times and no fine yet. One even asked me about the engine size, top speed etc and didn't mention no plate. I did get asked to show the excise tax document recently at an untimely coffee stop where five excise tax agents were also taking a break but when they saw the paperwork was in order they left me alone.

Most of the guys in a local group I sometimes meet up with ride bikes without green books and none have had any problems, if you live somewhere where having a bike without a green book isn't a problem then you can get a great bike for the same price as a good one!

[taichiplanet]

i think what he is saying is that with all the paper work you can get away with not having the greenbook. I had a friend who did the same with his bike for 10 years, but it seems times are a changing. Maybe someone can correct me but if a bike/car is not registered and driven it can be confiscated. There is also the issue of insurance.

To get the greenbook with all the papers, as you said, emission test, 70k+ and months waiting.

If the bike has the correct invoice papers and proof the 3% excise tax has been paid then it can't (legally) be confiscated. The BIB can fine you for no plate/tax but nothing else. And even then it depends on where you live as to whether you'll even get fined. I ride a unplated bike which has been seen by police numerous times and no fine yet. One even asked me about the engine size, top speed etc and didn't mention no plate. I did get asked to show the excise tax document recently at an untimely coffee stop where five excise tax agents were also taking a break but when they saw the paperwork was in order they left me alone.

Most of the guys in a local group I sometimes meet up with ride bikes without green books and none have had any problems, if you live somewhere where having a bike without a green book isn't a problem then you can get a great bike for the same price as a good one!

Thanks for the clarification. It is a weird system. I see cars running around without plates and some seem to be a couple of years old!

The problem may occur in future if (and that's a big if) they start to clamp down. Though as you said, some areas are always gonna be a bit more lenient. What do you do about insurance? From what i understand you can still get the government compulsory 3rd party personal insurance but can you get coverage from the insurance companies for 1st/2nd/3rd party property etc?

[BigBikeBKK]

i think what he is saying is that with all the paper work you can get away with not having the greenbook. I had a friend who did the same with his bike for 10 years, but it seems times are a changing. Maybe someone can correct me but if a bike/car is not registered and driven it can be confiscated. There is also the issue of insurance.

To get the greenbook with all the papers, as you said, emission test, 70k+ and months waiting.

If the bike has the correct invoice papers and proof the 3% excise tax has been paid then it can't (legally) be confiscated. The BIB can fine you for no plate/tax but nothing else. And even then it depends on where you live as to whether you'll even get fined. I ride a unplated bike which has been seen by police numerous times and no fine yet. One even asked me about the engine size, top speed etc and didn't mention no plate. I did get asked to show the excise tax document recently at an untimely coffee stop where five excise tax agents were also taking a break but when they saw the paperwork was in order they left me alone.

Most of the guys in a local group I sometimes meet up with ride bikes without green books and none have had any problems, if you live somewhere where having a bike without a green book isn't a problem then you can get a great bike for the same price as a good one!

But you live in Chiang Mai, right? Unplated bikes are tolerated up there, but don't try your luck riding your unplated bike in Bangkok- there's a high risk you'll be walking home...

And ask around Chiang Mai- there was a BIG crackdown a couple years ago where they impounded every single unplated bike they could find and put the burden on the owners to go down and negotiate their release.

It was well documented with pictures on GT-Rider at the time, but the search function on that forum remains useless and I can't find it...

[BigBikeBKK]

Ah- found it- the last big crack down was actually in 2009-2010- they went from city to city and lot of people lost their bikes.

Chiang Mai CityLife magazine interviewed Police Commander Major General Sommai Kongvisaisuk and this is what he said about unregistered bikes:

" As for unregistered bikes he said, 'These are not legal, in the past we weren't sure if by taking the bikes we'd affect tourism, but now we are enforcing this rule.' Chiang Mai police will take all unregistered bikes off the streets, to get them back you'll have to pay the tax which will most likely be more than the bike cost you. 'We will send the bikes to Customs and they will be registered then auctioned off.' He stated that if anyone had an accident on one of these uninsured bikes that it would cause a major problem. All these bikes will be seized."

Google "Chiang Mai Big Bike Police Crackdown"

Edited March 12, 2012 by BigBikeBKK

[pipo1000]

Wasn't there a thread a few weeks ago where was announced that they would stop registering imported bikes?

[wana]

Wasn't there a thread a few weeks ago where was announced that they would stop registering imported bikes?

it will just get a bit more expensive ,there will probably always be imported bikes

and someone taking bribes to make books for them

[skybluestu]

i think what he is saying is that with all the paper work you can get away with not having the greenbook. I had a friend who did the same with his bike for 10 years, but it seems times are a changing. Maybe someone can correct me but if a bike/car is not registered and driven it can be confiscated. There is also the issue of insurance.

To get the greenbook with all the papers, as you said, emission test, 70k+ and months waiting.

If the bike has the correct invoice papers and proof the 3% excise tax has been paid then it can't (legally) be confiscated. The BIB can fine you for no plate/tax but nothing else. And even then it depends on where you live as to whether you'll even get fined. I ride a unplated bike which has been seen by police numerous times and no fine yet. One even asked me about the engine size, top speed etc and didn't mention no plate. I did get asked to show the excise tax document recently at an untimely coffee stop where five excise tax agents were also taking a break but when they saw the paperwork was in order they left me alone.

Most of the guys in a local group I sometimes meet up with ride bikes without green books and none have had any problems, if you live somewhere where having a bike without a green book isn't a problem then you can get a great bike for the same price as a good one!

But you live in Chiang Mai, right? Unplated bikes are tolerated up there, but don't try your luck riding your unplated bike in Bangkok- there's a high risk you'll be walking home...

And ask around Chiang Mai- there was a BIG crackdown a couple years ago where they impounded every single unplated bike they could find and put the burden on the owners to go down and negotiate their release.

It was well documented with pictures on GT-Rider at the time, but the search function on that forum remains useless and I can't find it...

Chiang Rai actually but you're right and, like I said, there are some places you can do it and others where you can't. If I lived in BKK, Pattaya or Phuket then I doubt I'd take a chance but as I don't I'm prepared to up here. And if there is a crackdown I'd hope the fact that a few of the group I sometimes meet with are police themselves would mean little trouble. But who knows!

[wana]

i think what he is saying is that with all the paper work you can get away with not having the greenbook. I had a friend who did the same with his bike for 10 years, but it seems times are a changing. Maybe someone can correct me but if a bike/car is not registered and driven it can be confiscated. There is also the issue of insurance.

To get the greenbook with all the papers, as you said, emission test, 70k+ and months waiting.

If the bike has the correct invoice papers and proof the 3% excise tax has been paid then it can't (legally) be confiscated. The BIB can fine you for no plate/tax but nothing else. And even then it depends on where you live as to whether you'll even get fined. I ride a unplated bike which has been seen by police numerous times and no fine yet. One even asked me about the engine size, top speed etc and didn't mention no plate. I did get asked to show the excise tax document recently at an untimely coffee stop where five excise tax agents were also taking a break but when they saw the paperwork was in order they left me alone.

Most of the guys in a local group I sometimes meet up with ride bikes without green books and none have had any problems, if you live somewhere where having a bike without a green book isn't a problem then you can get a great bike for the same price as a good one!

But you live in Chiang Mai, right? Unplated bikes are tolerated up there, but don't try your luck riding your unplated bike in Bangkok- there's a high risk you'll be walking home...

And ask around Chiang Mai- there was a BIG crackdown a couple years ago where they impounded every single unplated bike they could find and put the burden on the owners to go down and negotiate their release.

It was well documented with pictures on GT-Rider at the time, but the search function on that forum remains useless and I can't find it...

Chiang Rai actually but you're right and, like I said, there are some places you can do it and others where you can't. If I lived in BKK, Pattaya or Phuket then I doubt I'd take a chance but as I don't I'm prepared to up here. And if there is a crackdown I'd hope the fact that a few of the group I sometimes meet with are police themselves would mean little trouble. But who knows!

there is definately some places where the cops dont seem to have been informed of the new rules

in esan you can ride a dirt bike or even a quad and they dont seem be much said

although in rayong i met some young thai bikers and they said the police are taking the (nice ) bikes with no books for themselves

no fines or arguments ,just an out and out robbery if the policeman takes a shine to your bike

[ricklev]

I wonder if the guy that wrote the ad believes what he wrote or is being deliberately deceptive.

How do you get plates for an unregistered bike?

[wana]

I wonder if the guy that wrote the ad believes what he wrote or is being deliberately deceptive.

How do you get plates for an unregistered bike?

probably off another bike like an old honda dream.........

[RED21]

Ah- found it- the last big crack down was actually in 2009-2010- they went from city to city and lot of people lost their bikes.

Chiang Mai CityLife magazine interviewed Police Commander Major General Sommai Kongvisaisuk and this is what he said about unregistered bikes:

" As for unregistered bikes he said, 'These are not legal, in the past we weren't sure if by taking the bikes we'd affect tourism, but now we are enforcing this rule.' Chiang Mai police will take all unregistered bikes off the streets, to get them back you'll have to pay the tax which will most likely be more than the bike cost you. 'We will send the bikes to Customs and they will be registered then auctioned off.' He stated that if anyone had an accident on one of these uninsured bikes that it would cause a major problem. All these bikes will be seized."

Google "Chiang Mai Big Bike Police Crackdown"

Now it doesn't surprise me how a checkpoint cop who stopped me months ago was bragging on about his R1 and how he was planning on getting a Hayabusa to replace it. Sucks to be the guy he stops at the checkpoint with an unplated Hayabusa.

[Kwasaki]

Ah- found it- the last big crack down was actually in 2009-2010- they went from city to city and lot of people lost their bikes.

Chiang Mai CityLife magazine interviewed Police Commander Major General Sommai Kongvisaisuk and this is what he said about unregistered bikes:

" As for unregistered bikes he said, 'These are not legal, in the past we weren't sure if by taking the bikes we'd affect tourism, but now we are enforcing this rule.' Chiang Mai police will take all unregistered bikes off the streets, to get them back you'll have to pay the tax which will most likely be more than the bike cost you. 'We will send the bikes to Customs and they will be registered then auctioned off.' He stated that if anyone had an accident on one of these uninsured bikes that it would cause a major problem. All these bikes will be seized."

Google "Chiang Mai Big Bike Police Crackdown"

Now it doesn't surprise me how a checkpoint cop who stopped me months ago was bragging on about his R1 and how he was planning on getting a Hayabusa to replace it. Sucks to be the guy he stops at the checkpoint with an unplated Hayabusa.

Isn't there a BB in those pictures.