New Car, No Licence Plate, Ok To Drive ?

[Nakonamath]

Hi we just picked up our new car, paid in cash, but the dealer didnt have numberplate for us, they told us we could drive home with it without any problems, aslong as the plates where ordered.

Anyone have any experience in this ?

Jack

[transam]

They should have supplied red plates, owned by the garage, for use up to 30 days. If you don't have your white plates by then the cops can ticket you.

[Nakonamath]

yes thats what i think too.

however the car dealer said, no worry, aslong you have the papers, and the plates are ordered, is no problem.

i dont want to have the car impounded or some stupid blackmail scam somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

Jack

[transam]

yes thats what i think too.

however the car dealer said, no worry, aslong you have the papers, and the plates are ordered, is no problem.

i dont want to have the car impounded or some stupid blackmail scam somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

Jack

My chum had the same problem cos the garage run out of reds, like it for 2 months, but he never got stopped.

[Kwasaki]

yes thats what i think too.

however the car dealer said, no worry, as long you have the papers, and the plates are ordered, is no problem.

i dont want to have the car impounded or some stupid blackmail scam somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

Jack

Yep as said you are OK to drive but make sure you get your new plates before the 30 days ends, I think I am right in remembering on other threads like this it is the companies responsibility to make sure you are provided with them, so don't take no for an answer.

The police in Pattaya I find are more strict than say northern central areas.

Enjoy your new motor.

[stevenl]

Not allowed, but you will probably be ok.

I lost one plate some time ago and ordered a new one the official way. Was not stopped for the 3 months it took to get a new plate.

[John 1]

When you get fined for driving from Khon Kaen to pattaya without any plates let us know and how much was the fine.

[Nakonamath]

Lets see, soon we know hehe

[wprime]

I drove for months without a front number plate, I got stopped by the police once at the BKK end of the elevated Bang Na Trat, I just explained what happened (motorbike clipped my plate while filtering in front at a light) and they let me off.

Still haven't gotten around to re-attaching my plate.

[NanLaew]

I bought a car in November and the dealer explained that they were out of red plates as they are only allocated a set amount for the year and Thai's are notorious for taking their time to come and get their white plates. Something to do with the perception of having a new car. Anyway, we waited about 6 or 7 months for the white plates and never had any issues driving locally. May have been different if I had taken a drive to Bangkok or out of province.

I have noted from some threads that there are dealerships that will call you and arrange to bring your new white plates to your home and fit them there. That way they get their red plates back quicker for the next new customer. However, I think those dealerships would probably be in the minority as that is 'after-sales service' as far as they are concerned and not a priority.

[transam]

I bought a car in November and the dealer explained that they were out of red plates as they are only allocated a set amount for the year and Thai's are notorious for taking their time to come and get their white plates. Something to do with the perception of having a new car. Anyway, we waited about 6 or 7 months for the white plates and never had any issues driving locally. May have been different if I had taken a drive to Bangkok or out of province.

I have noted from some threads that there are dealerships that will call you and arrange to bring your new white plates to your home and fit them there. That way they get their red plates back quicker for the next new customer. However, I think those dealerships would probably be in the minority as that is 'after-sales service' as far as they are concerned and not a priority.

After 30 days it's the BUYERS problem. Big fine. If you do not get your plates from the dealer then go to the gov office and complain.

[stevenl]

I bought a car in November and the dealer explained that they were out of red plates as they are only allocated a set amount for the year and Thai's are notorious for taking their time to come and get their white plates. Something to do with the perception of having a new car. Anyway, we waited about 6 or 7 months for the white plates and never had any issues driving locally. May have been different if I had taken a drive to Bangkok or out of province.

I have noted from some threads that there are dealerships that will call you and arrange to bring your new white plates to your home and fit them there. That way they get their red plates back quicker for the next new customer. However, I think those dealerships would probably be in the minority as that is 'after-sales service' as far as they are concerned and not a priority.

After 30 days it's the BUYERS problem. Big fine. If you do not get your plates from the dealer then go to the gov office and complain.

Potentially big fine I would say.

[Woodsie888]

I bought a car in November and the dealer explained that they were out of red plates as they are only allocated a set amount for the year and Thai's are notorious for taking their time to come and get their white plates. Something to do with the perception of having a new car. Anyway, we waited about 6 or 7 months for the white plates and never had any issues driving locally. May have been different if I had taken a drive to Bangkok or out of province.

I have noted from some threads that there are dealerships that will call you and arrange to bring your new white plates to your home and fit them there. That way they get their red plates back quicker for the next new customer. However, I think those dealerships would probably be in the minority as that is 'after-sales service' as far as they are concerned and not a priority.

After 30 days it's the BUYERS problem. Big fine. If you do not get your plates from the dealer then go to the gov office and complain.

Potentially big fine I would say.

According to the news, there is a problem with the quality of the current supplier's white plates which have been discolouring so much they are illegible after only a short while. In the mean time they are not issuing white plates. Apparently most dealers have run out of red plates and the Govt. is calling tenders for a new supplier once again. Something about the current ones not being produced to the agreed spec. How surprising , I would never have thunk it!

Edited April 16, 2012 by Woodsie888

[NanLaew]

I bought a car in November and the dealer explained that they were out of red plates as they are only allocated a set amount for the year and Thai's are notorious for taking their time to come and get their white plates. Something to do with the perception of having a new car. Anyway, we waited about 6 or 7 months for the white plates and never had any issues driving locally. May have been different if I had taken a drive to Bangkok or out of province.

I have noted from some threads that there are dealerships that will call you and arrange to bring your new white plates to your home and fit them there. That way they get their red plates back quicker for the next new customer. However, I think those dealerships would probably be in the minority as that is 'after-sales service' as far as they are concerned and not a priority.

After 30 days it's the BUYERS problem. Big fine. If you do not get your plates from the dealer then go to the gov office and complain.

LOL! Wait.... you are serious?

The dealer doesn't have any red plates because 1) the government office has handed out ALL their allocation and 2) because Thai's are reluctant to lose the social cache of a red plated car, even though it's more than 6 months old!

Really, life is way too short and way too much fun to go banging my pretty farang head up against Thai petty bureaucracy and 'culture'.

[NanLaew]

I bought a car in November and the dealer explained that they were out of red plates as they are only allocated a set amount for the year and Thai's are notorious for taking their time to come and get their white plates. Something to do with the perception of having a new car. Anyway, we waited about 6 or 7 months for the white plates and never had any issues driving locally. May have been different if I had taken a drive to Bangkok or out of province.

I have noted from some threads that there are dealerships that will call you and arrange to bring your new white plates to your home and fit them there. That way they get their red plates back quicker for the next new customer. However, I think those dealerships would probably be in the minority as that is 'after-sales service' as far as they are concerned and not a priority.

After 30 days it's the BUYERS problem. Big fine. If you do not get your plates from the dealer then go to the gov office and complain.

Potentially big fine I would say.

More like potentially a few hundred to the concerned policeman's welfare fund. I am sure he really wants to waste his time on behalf of an incompetent LTO.

[Nakonamath]

Allright,

so we took the car to pattaya in songkran time. we got stoppede once, but no problems, but then yesterday we got stopped in a local roadblock, and they wanted 400 ( in cash ) as i raised my voice they said i should pay at the police station instead, so we went there, and had to pay 200 instead. however, they said, it is not legal to drive without, no matter if the shop give the plate or not, the car need to be fittede with numberplate, they then pointed us to a car dealer who should fit numberplates right away.

thats all.

jack

[luwahn]

Alright,

so we took the car to Pattaya in Songkran time. we got stopped once, but no problems, but then yesterday we got stopped in a local roadblock, and they wanted 400 ( in cash ) as i raised my voice they said i should pay at the police station instead, so we went there, and had to pay 200 instead. however, they said, it is not legal to drive without, no matter if the shop give the plate or not, the car need to be fitted with numberplate, they then pointed us to a car dealer who should fit number plates right away.

thats all.

jack

Did you have to go 'directly' to that car dealer and did they immediately fit your car with number plates?

[LeCharivari]

I bought a car in November and the dealer explained that they were out of red plates as they are only allocated a set amount for the year and Thai's are notorious for taking their time to come and get their white plates. Something to do with the perception of having a new car. Anyway, we waited about 6 or 7 months for the white plates and never had any issues driving locally. May have been different if I had taken a drive to Bangkok or out of province.

I have noted from some threads that there are dealerships that will call you and arrange to bring your new white plates to your home and fit them there. That way they get their red plates back quicker for the next new customer. However, I think those dealerships would probably be in the minority as that is 'after-sales service' as far as they are concerned and not a priority.

After 30 days it's the BUYERS problem. Big fine. If you do not get your plates from the dealer then go to the gov office and complain.

Potentially big fine I would say.

According to the news, there is a problem with the quality of the current supplier's white plates which have been discolouring so much they are illegible after only a short while. In the mean time they are not issuing white plates. Apparently most dealers have run out of red plates and the Govt. is calling tenders for a new supplier once again. Something about the current ones not being produced to the agreed spec. How surprising , I would never have thunk it!

Correct. According to Thai news there is a problem with the white plates, etc, but there is no shortage of red plates - the problem is that some dealers don't want to pay for more or can't be bothered to ask for them.

[Nakonamath]

Alright,

so we took the car to Pattaya in Songkran time. we got stopped once, but no problems, but then yesterday we got stopped in a local roadblock, and they wanted 400 ( in cash ) as i raised my voice they said i should pay at the police station instead, so we went there, and had to pay 200 instead. however, they said, it is not legal to drive without, no matter if the shop give the plate or not, the car need to be fitted with numberplate, they then pointed us to a car dealer who should fit number plates right away.

thats all.

jack

Did you have to go 'directly' to that car dealer and did they immediately fit your car with number plates?

THey just pointed us to the dealer who could fit it right away. they called some places to check if they where in stock.

we drowe our self there

No drama :-)

Edited May 1, 2012 by Nakonamath

[NanLaew]

THey just pointed us to the dealer who could fit it right away. they called some places to check if they where in stock.

we drowe our self there

No drama :-)

Now that is a first for Thailand; the cops, after correctly fining your for the not having a red plate, actually called up a dealership that was happy to give you red plates even though it was not the dealer you bought the car from. That gives the buyer a bit of new found leverage where they can demand red plates and they can come from ANY dealer if the selling dealership is out of stock.

I just got my new Ranger XLT yesterday and guess what? NO red plates 'for about a month' according to the dealer. Unlike a few years back when similar happened when I bought the CR-V, I wasn't planning any out of town trips so it was never an issue. However, the new truck is destined for a road trip to Samui next week. I have bolted on my 1994 Texas plates (from my old T-bird) in the meantime so let's see how that works.

[Nakonamath]

THey just pointed us to the dealer who could fit it right away. they called some places to check if they where in stock.

we drowe our self there

No drama :-)

Now that is a first for Thailand; the cops, after correctly fining your for the not having a red plate, actually called up a dealership that was happy to give you red plates even though it was not the dealer you bought the car from. That gives the buyer a bit of new found leverage where they can demand red plates and they can come from ANY dealer if the selling dealership is out of stock.

I just got my new Ranger XLT yesterday and guess what? NO red plates 'for about a month' according to the dealer. Unlike a few years back when similar happened when I bought the CR-V, I wasn't planning any out of town trips so it was never an issue. However, the new truck is destined for a road trip to Samui next week. I have bolted on my 1994 Texas plates (from my old T-bird) in the meantime so let's see how that works.

hehe Interresting, hopefulyl it will work out, have a good trip,

talking about roadtrip, we have been driving Koh chang thin, how is Samui to drive on ?, koh chang is really steep hills like 45 angles and not road light

[JAS21]

There is some problem with the white plates ... my wife was told that Bangkok sent them all back to the supplier as they were sub-standard (sub standard, in Thailand).

We have had our red plates on for quite a few weeks now. We were given The Book with our allocated number after about a month. Got stopped 100s of Kms from BK at aroad block, showed the book, no problem. Now we have the tax disc with our allocated number on it, but no white plate. So runing around on a red plate showing a different number to the Tax Disc.

Dealers must be running out of Red Plates by now. Yesterday I saw a newish minibus with a white paper number plate ...looked to be made on a home computer. Hope it didn't rain for him as it didn't look to have been laminated.

[NanLaew]

THey just pointed us to the dealer who could fit it right away. they called some places to check if they where in stock.

we drowe our self there

No drama :-)

Now that is a first for Thailand; the cops, after correctly fining your for the not having a red plate, actually called up a dealership that was happy to give you red plates even though it was not the dealer you bought the car from. That gives the buyer a bit of new found leverage where they can demand red plates and they can come from ANY dealer if the selling dealership is out of stock.

I just got my new Ranger XLT yesterday and guess what? NO red plates 'for about a month' according to the dealer. Unlike a few years back when similar happened when I bought the CR-V, I wasn't planning any out of town trips so it was never an issue. However, the new truck is destined for a road trip to Samui next week. I have bolted on my 1994 Texas plates (from my old T-bird) in the meantime so let's see how that works.

hehe Interresting, hopefulyl it will work out, have a good trip,

talking about roadtrip, we have been driving Koh chang thin, how is Samui to drive on ?, koh chang is really steep hills like 45 angles and not road light

The steepest gradients I have experienced on Samui are on the north side headed to/from Nathon to Bophut and headed south just out of Chaweng and Rawai. There's some short steep narrow roads on the back roads around the airport. I am sure there's steeper rural roads but for the main 'ring' road, it's not too bad. Like anywhere else in Thailand try and avoid the morning and late afternoon rush-hours. There's also more minibuses than the mainland and I always give way to those eedjits or pull over and let 'em pass before they kill everyone.

[Woodsie888]

There is some problem with the white plates ... my wife was told that Bangkok sent them all back to the supplier as they were sub-standard (sub standard, in Thailand).

We have had our red plates on for quite a few weeks now. We were given The Book with our allocated number after about a month. Got stopped 100s of Kms from BK at aroad block, showed the book, no problem. Now we have the tax disc with our allocated number on it, but no white plate. So runing around on a red plate showing a different number to the Tax Disc.

Dealers must be running out of Red Plates by now. Yesterday I saw a newish minibus with a white paper number plate ...looked to be made on a home computer. Hope it didn't rain for him as it didn't look to have been laminated.

Plenty of dealers ran out of red plates weeks ago as I mentioned a previous post, however it has been well publicised that there is a problem with the white plate production.

It has also been well publicised that you can still register your car and get a receipt for this which is totally acceptable to the Police.The white plate will arrive in due course. However driving on Red plates over the time/distance limit or no plates without the receipt from Land Transport is not.

[JAS21]

There is some problem with the white plates ... my wife was told that Bangkok sent them all back to the supplier as they were sub-standard (sub standard, in Thailand).

We have had our red plates on for quite a few weeks now. We were given The Book with our allocated number after about a month. Got stopped 100s of Kms from BK at aroad block, showed the book, no problem. Now we have the tax disc with our allocated number on it, but no white plate. So runing around on a red plate showing a different number to the Tax Disc.

Dealers must be running out of Red Plates by now. Yesterday I saw a newish minibus with a white paper number plate ...looked to be made on a home computer. Hope it didn't rain for him as it didn't look to have been laminated.

Plenty of dealers ran out of red plates weeks ago as I mentioned a previous post, however it has been well publicised that there is a problem with the white plate production.

It has also been well publicised that you can still register your car and get a receipt for this which is totally acceptable to the Police.The white plate will arrive in due course. However driving on Red plates over the time/distance limit or no plates without the receipt from Land Transport is not.

Due course was yesterday with me, so guess that the proble is now sorted.

[digger70]

On 4/13/2012 at 11:08 AM, Nakonamath said:

we could drive home with it without any problems, aslong as the plates where ordered.

We got a new car 2013 , Didn't put red plates on .But the Dealer put a Sticker on the Window saying that it was Registered . 

They just ordered the white plates. 

Got the car for a week.Parked in the wrong spot "Red and white blocks" Got the wheel Clamped 

Went to the Cop Shop Paid the fine THB500 and they said nothing about not having a numberplate . they went to the car and took the wheel clamp of. No Probs.

Had to drive around for just over 3 months before we got the white plates.

[transam]

1 minute ago, Jakob Clements said:

The new car will have a red license plate when it leaves the factory, but the license plate must be replaced as soon as possible (within 30 days)

No it doesn't....????