Advice On Green Book Please.

[Jimbob1]

I am coming to Thailand in 2 weeks and have been looking at buying a bike from a bloke in Puket .....

He has the Green Book and paperwork and the book has not been transfered from the person he bought it from and has assured me he took all to the registry and they said it was all OK ...

Now that I am buying the bike from him would I just transfer to my name ....

I will be taking the bike to Korat so what would be the best thing to do about the plates?

The bike is a 750cc so what sort of money am I looking at to get rego / insurance / transfer ??

Thanks...

[marstons]

so the books in the name of th eprevious owner not the guy you are buying off, if thats the way i read it the guys whos name is in th egreen book is still the owner. Changing plates, well not without the guy whos name is in the green book. If it has not been transfered from the previous owner as you state forget it.

[soi41]

If the guy selling the bike to you doesn't have his name in the green book, he is not the owner of the bike, meaning he cannot sell it ! I smell a rat

As there still are 2 weeks before your arrival, ask the seller to transfer it to his name. Do not believe the story about the "registry" (DLT) said that everything was ok, just not true. Many big bikes in Thailand are here on no papers/fake papers, meaning that if you not are very careful, police/customs can take the bike off you.

You can easily find a big bike in Korat. Do that and don't make any payments before the local DLToffice has confirmed, that all the paperwork regarding the bike is 100% kosher.

[thaicbr]

OP. IF the seller has the transfer and Power of attorney form filled out from last owner also copy of last owners passport with upto date visa(or Id card) then OK. IF not. No chance

sent from my Wellcom A90+

Edited June 30, 2012 by thaicbr

[yankee99]

no money until the transfer to your name at the transport office!

[marstons]

i have lived here 10 years and would walk away from a deal like this right now. Plenty of bikes around now for sale. I just sold and purchased a couple of bikes, i did nothing reguards changing names in last book as i signed power of attorney and had proof of address from Immigration,and gave to purchaser who has 75 rental bikes. as a sellor and a buyer you need this, letter from immigration that is. Really dont touch it unless the office agree to put into your name and from what you say its loking slim. Dont part with 1 baht until then. If its not in his name its not his to sell and you dont want to go there.

Edited June 30, 2012 by marstons

[Jimbob1]

OP. IF the seller has the transfer and Power of attorney form filled out from last owner also copy of last owners passport with upto date visa(or Id card) then OK. IF not. No chance

sent from my Wellcom A90+

no money until the transfer to your name at the transport office!

Yes, I have no reason to believe that this is a shonky deal and the seller assures me he has all the right paperwork so I might ask that he takes it now to the transport office and gets it transfered into his name.

That way it will make it easier when I get there ...

Is all this just able to be done in fronting up to the counter and doing it in the same day?

I guess I would need to put the bike in my wife's name as we live in Australia for now and I don't have a fixed address in Thai as she does with her parents place and Thai ID / passport....

Once I have the green book ... If all goes OK then what is the cost ?

Do I keep the Puket numberplate untill I get to Korat ??? ....

Thanks so far for the advice ....

[marstons]

suprised he has not done that aready, the proof of address letters have limited date on them, not long. Seems your determined to go ahead despite what many of us here with years of experience would run a mile from. Transportation will require a copy of the green book in your name in case police enquire who is owner on the way to Korat.

You should still be able to tax in Korat on a Phuket plate. If you want to change it will have to be done at Korat office and takes a while for the number plate to come. Somebody is sellig a bike without their name in the Green unless power of attorney from previous owner along with copy passports signed, copy in date visa signed and in date proof of address from previous owner he will never be the legal owner nor will your wife. Still go ahead and see. One queston to ask him is how long he has had the bike if its over a few months dont see how he can get name changed with out going back to previous owner.Plenty of bikes out there with out correct names,but sell for half value those with names. Its really important your wife's name is put on the book in the office, along side him.

[silsburyhill]

Seems your determined to go ahead despite what many of us here with years of experience would run a mile from

I agree. This bike has obviously been stolen. What documents this seller purports he has? Many farang here do not understand that transfer of ownership requires a copy of the tabien baan (house registration), valid copy of ID card/Passport, together with a copy of the Death Certificate if the previous owner is deceased, not just the registration book as in our countries. You should also be made aware that a Power of Attorney can be falsified by one of the many dodgy lawyers here for a few baht, so that's no guarantee.

But it does seem as though you are determined to go ahead, just as a potential buyer of my house was even though I'd managed to contact him whilst I was in hospital to inform him the sale was fraudulent. Having sniffed his sale of the century go down the drain, he rounded on me! He still posts on here by the way ...

And I never did get the bike back. Stupid farang thief wasn't aware of necessary docs here either.

.

[Jimbob1]

Seems your determined to go ahead despite what many of us here with years of experience would run a mile from

No... that isn't true ... YES I am really wanting this bike but I am weighing everything you knowledgeable people are saying ....

I think my best action is that I ask him first to get the green book transferred into his name .... if that is done then I will fly to Puket with my wife and along with the seller go to the Transport Office and get it transferred to my wife ...

If that can't be done then no payment will take place....

I am not an idiot ( I just look like one ) .....

I do appreciate all your advice and please keep it coming ...

Thanks so much ....

[floridaguy]

How is the bike "obviously stolen" and the deal dodgy? OP doesn't state who owned it previously but everyone assumes it was a foreigner. OP doesn't state what the seller says he has for docs. Maybe he has all the required docs. I agree I wouldn't just transfer the money, the OP seems smart enough not to do that.

I have purchased 3 big bikes in Thailand in the last couple of years where all previous owners were Thai, the seller had NOT transferred the books into their name, and all transfers into my name went smooth at the DLT. People don't do the transfer because for a bike like the one in question it will cost 2000-3000 baht to transfer. There is no reason to automatically not consider these kinds of deals.

If you insist he transfer the book to his name first, he may ask you to pay the fees. Ask him to add it to the agreed sale price. It will take him 1-2 weeks to get it done so keep that in mind. If he asks for a deposit for the bike or asks you to pay for the transfer into his name before you buy, pass on the deal. He should have done this already himself. There are plenty of other bikes.

Edited July 1, 2012 by floridaguy

[Jimbob1]

How is the bike "obviously stolen" and the deal dodgy? OP doesn't state who owned it previously but everyone assumes it was a foreigner. OP doesn't state what the seller says he has for docs. Maybe he has all the required docs. I agree I wouldn't just transfer the money, the OP seems smart enough not to do that.

I have purchased 3 big bikes in Thailand in the last couple of years where all previous owners were Thai, the seller had NOT transferred the books into their name, and all transfers into my name went smooth at the DLT. People don't do the transfer because for a bike like the one in question it will cost 2000-3000 baht to transfer. There is no reason to automatically not consider these kinds of deals.

If you insist he transfer the book to his name first, he may ask you to pay the fees. Ask him to add it to the agreed sale price. It will take him 1-2 weeks to get it done so keep that in mind. If he asks for a deposit for the bike or asks you to pay for the transfer into his name before you buy, pass on the deal. He should have done this already himself. There are plenty of other bikes.

Thank you .... good advice ... I also have to give the bloke at least a bit of lea-way and not assume it is stolen as previously mentioned ....

I may have to insist he gets the bike into his name if you say 1-2 weeks for a Green Book transfer then it should happen quick to avoid any hick-up ....

If I rely on things just being OK to do when I get to Puket in a few weeks it could fall over and leave me out of pocket as I fly in from Oz to Bangkok and then fly to Puket with my wife it will cost me 8K Bht in fares so the 2-3K he might spend now will assure me the book can be transferred and assure a smooth transaction ... ( if anything actually happens smoothly with transactions like this ) ..

[wana]

my last bike i bought off a thai guy and he hadnt bothered changing it to his name either

he had the POA form filled in and a copy of the original owners id card and it was easy to transfer

into my name

no need to assume its been stolen just because of that

[JeffreyMcCollum]

no money until the transfer to your name at the transport office!

Twice I have gone to the DLT to transfer a bike and all the papers were not in order and I had to track down an old owner that I could not. Have the seller go with you, Have the money on hand, and once it is transfered into your name hand over the money. If he won't do that than I would run

[marstons]

Seems your determined to go ahead despite what many of us here with years of experience would run a mile from

No... that isn't true ... YES I am really wanting this bike but I am weighing everything you knowledgeable people are saying ....

I think my best action is that I ask him first to get the green book transferred into his name .... if that is done then I will fly to Puket with my wife and along with the seller go to the Transport Office and get it transferred to my wife ...

If that can't be done then no payment will take place....

I am not an idiot ( I just look like one ) .....

I do appreciate all your advice and please keep it coming ...

Thanks so much ....

are you buying off a Thai guy or a farang, was previous owner Thai or farang. if a Thai was involved guess that would do away with proof of address from immigration and visa. Proof of address lasts as long as visa is valid for so max would be 3 months. not trying to push you either way its just after a few years a bike with gren book not in owners name is an instant walk away, but not nessacaraly a wrong deal its just an instant no no as there is no reason not to. Personally i usually only deal with farang previous owners, but thats no reason for others to think same. If you check through classifieds it normally says have green book in owners name as its important. Even my removal man would not move my bike from samui to pattaya without a copy of green book in my name and copy of my passport in case police stopped him. Just trying to make sure you dont get stung.

[Jimbob1]

Yes, the bloke I am buying off is German farang and he said he bought it from a woman (not sure what nationality? ) I suspect would be Thai (as I would myself be putting it in my wife's name as I don't have a permanent Thai address yet ) and not a lot of women riding 750's ..

Just trying to make sure you don't get stung.

Thanks Marstons, I also am looking out for myself as best I can. I do appreciate the advice as I haven't bought any vehicle in Thailand yet or had anything to do with the Thai DLT system but well understand the Thai way when it comes to any bureaucratic service here in LOS ...

15 days before I fly into BKK ... better get cracking

Is that right that the Green Book takes 2 weeks? They don't just do it over the counter on the day?

Edited July 2, 2012 by Jimbob1

[PoolHustler]

Name change in about 2 hours in Pattaya...........as long as all the paperwork and the bike is in order

[roban]

Name change in about 2 hours in Pattaya...........as long as all the paperwork and the bike is in order

well, but only if the bike is registered in Chonburi already, otherwise....

[soi41]

Name change in about 2 hours in Pattaya...........as long as all the paperwork and the bike is in order

well, but only if the bike is registered in Chonburi already, otherwise....

Exactly. As I mentioned before, make sure that the seller transfer the bike into his name. That done, you will copies of the sellers passport (main page+VALID visa+VALID 3months extension), confirmation of sellers adress from immigration or embassy and a power of atterney from the seller allowing you to transfer the bike without him being psysically present. The POA are three pages that you will be able to get at the DLT office. With all those papers+copy of wifes IDcard+copy of wifes tabien baan (bring the originals!) you go to your local DLToffice in Korat and change it to your wifes name. As it is from another province, you will have to wait a couple of weeks before getting the green book and the new numberplates. You can choose to keep the Phuket-plates, but I am afraid it will cost you a lot of teamoney, driving in/around Korat with a bike with Phuketregistration. Last make sure that the sellers extension of his visa is still VALID when you go to the local DLToffice. Good luck.

[wana]

Name change in about 2 hours in Pattaya...........as long as all the paperwork and the bike is in order

well, but only if the bike is registered in Chonburi already, otherwise....

Exactly. As I mentioned before, make sure that the seller transfer the bike into his name. That done, you will copies of the sellers passport (main page+VALID visa+VALID 3months extension), confirmation of sellers adress from immigration or embassy and a power of atterney from the seller allowing you to transfer the bike without him being psysically present. The POA are three pages that you will be able to get at the DLT office. With all those papers+copy of wifes IDcard+copy of wifes tabien baan (bring the originals!) you go to your local DLToffice in Korat and change it to your wifes name. As it is from another province, you will have to wait a couple of weeks before getting the green book and the new numberplates. You can choose to keep the Phuket-plates, but I am afraid it will cost you a lot of teamoney, driving in/around Korat with a bike with Phuketregistration. Last make sure that the sellers extension of his visa is still VALID when you go to the local DLToffice. Good luck.

it doesnt cost tea-money to drive a bike from another province

I drove my er6n for year in bangkok and never paid anything for the plates stating rayong

[phl]

OP. IF the seller has the transfer and Power of attorney form filled out from last owner also copy of last owners passport with upto date visa(or Id card) then OK. IF not. No chance

sent from my Wellcom A90+

must also have WP or residency certificate.

There should also be a form signed by the bike owner(person whose name is in green book) and owner must also sign the green book itself.

IN Thailand, i would not trust power of attorney paper, to easy to fake it, just type whatever in Thai, and Op would not know the difference.

The whole deal actually sounds little fishy to me.

I would not pay any money until the bike is transferred into OP name and he has the book in his hands with his name in it as the owner.

[marstons]

Name change in about 2 hours in Pattaya...........as long as all the paperwork and the bike is in order

well, but only if the bike is registered in Chonburi already, otherwise....

Exactly. As I mentioned before, make sure that the seller transfer the bike into his name. That done, you will copies of the sellers passport (main page+VALID visa+VALID 3months extension), confirmation of sellers adress from immigration or embassy and a power of atterney from the seller allowing you to transfer the bike without him being psysically present. The POA are three pages that you will be able to get at the DLT office. With all those papers+copy of wifes IDcard+copy of wifes tabien baan (bring the originals!) you go to your local DLToffice in Korat and change it to your wifes name. As it is from another province, you will have to wait a couple of weeks before getting the green book and the new numberplates. You can choose to keep the Phuket-plates, but I am afraid it will cost you a lot of teamoney, driving in/around Korat with a bike with Phuketregistration. Last make sure that the sellers extension of his visa is still VALID when you go to the local DLToffice. Good luck.

it doesnt cost tea-money to drive a bike from another province

I drove my er6n for year in bangkok and never paid anything for the plates stating rayong

i came to Pattaya with a Phitsonoluk reg vigo and a surrathani phantom. Stopped regular and 200 baht fines paid on the spot. changed to Chon Buri plates on both so far so good. So in Pattaya for me did make a difference.

[Jimbob1]

The seller has sent an email saying this ....

the bike is in a thailadies name and i have all the necessary papers.around a month ago i went to my insurance [ which also for a fee changes the book in your name.i used this service already ]and showed them all to confirm that i have it.yes,i do.they deal with that every day,so they know.the same goes for you.you take the papers and in korat you change the book in your or your wifes name.when you come here we can go there together to assure you.100% no problem

Would it be unreasonable to say I would like to ...

1. Have Green Book in sellers name before anything ...( still in Thai lady's name for now now )

2. Go to Phuket DLT with the seller and wife and get the book in her name... and leave with book...

3. Take the bike to Korat and register for plates there ...

Am I being too simplistic here ??

Thanks.

[phl]

The seller has sent an email saying this ....

the bike is in a thailadies name and i have all the necessary papers.around a month ago i went to my insurance [ which also for a fee changes the book in your name.i used this service already ]and showed them all to confirm that i have it.yes,i do.they deal with that every day,so they know.the same goes for you.you take the papers and in korat you change the book in your or your wifes name.when you come here we can go there together to assure you.100% no problem

Would it be unreasonable to say I would like to ...

1. Have Green Book in sellers name before anything ...( still in Thai lady's name for now now )

2. Go to Phuket DLT with the seller and wife and get the book in her name... and leave with book...

3. Take the bike to Korat and register for plates there ...

Am I being too simplistic here ??

Thanks.

No you been smart.

The Thai ladies name could be genuine, however from past experience i had, it usually is not.

If it is indeed in Thai ladies name, she should be present with her ID.

The only problem is you do not know because can not read what the name is in the book and the girl present. The problems i encountered a few times, those taking the paperwork sometimes do not even check themselves, just make the copies and pass it on.

If i were you, i would insist on making a small deposit, no more than 2000-3000 baht and paying the rest once bike is in your name.

You can even agree to let him keep it until then or store it somewhere.

I think better be safe and may be loose 2000 baht, then sorry and loose 200 000

[TommoPhysicist]

I have purchased 3 big bikes in Thailand in the last couple of years where all previous owners were Thai, the seller had NOT transferred the books into their name, and all transfers into my name went smooth at the DLT. People don't do the transfer because for a bike like the one in question it will cost 2000-3000 baht to transfer. There is no reason to automatically not consider these kinds of deals.

You bought the bikes from a Thai dealer, the dealers never put the bikes in their name but they have POA and signed ID + house book from the owner, and usually don't pay the owner until they sell the bike.

About the OP deal.

Probably stolen, don't buy it, if not stolen it will be an illegal import with a fake book, it'll never be yours cos the paperwork is iffy. The other game is foreigner buys bike in Thai gfs name (that makes it her property), they break up, he steals her bike then tries to sell it as his ......... stolen from his ex-gf.

You shouldn't be registering a vehicle in someone else's name anyway, easy to do it properly in your own name, even if you are staying in a hotel on a tourist visa.

Edited July 3, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[floridaguy]

I have purchased 3 big bikes in Thailand in the last couple of years where all previous owners were Thai, the seller had NOT transferred the books into their name, and all transfers into my name went smooth at the DLT. People don't do the transfer because for a bike like the one in question it will cost 2000-3000 baht to transfer. There is no reason to automatically not consider these kinds of deals.

You bought the bikes from a Thai dealer, the dealers never put the bikes in their name but they have POA and signed ID + house book from the owner, and usually don't pay the owner until they sell the bike.

About the OP deal.

Probably stolen, don't buy it, if not stolen it will be an illegal import with a fake book, it'll never be yours cos the paperwork is iffy. The other game is foreigner buys bike in Thai gfs name (that makes it her property), they break up, he steals her bike then tries to sell it as his ......... stolen from his ex-gf.

You shouldn't be registering a vehicle in someone else's name anyway, easy to do it properly in your own name, even if you are staying in a hotel on a tourist visa.

I did NOT buy these bikes from a dealer. I bought each one from an individual. Don't assume.

[floridaguy]

The seller has sent an email saying this ....

the bike is in a thailadies name and i have all the necessary papers.around a month ago i went to my insurance [ which also for a fee changes the book in your name.i used this service already ]and showed them all to confirm that i have it.yes,i do.they deal with that every day,so they know.the same goes for you.you take the papers and in korat you change the book in your or your wifes name.when you come here we can go there together to assure you.100% no problem

Would it be unreasonable to say I would like to ...

1. Have Green Book in sellers name before anything ...( still in Thai lady's name for now now )

2. Go to Phuket DLT with the seller and wife and get the book in her name... and leave with book...

3. Take the bike to Korat and register for plates there ...

Am I being too simplistic here ??

Thanks.

No you been smart.

The Thai ladies name could be genuine, however from past experience i had, it usually is not.

If it is indeed in Thai ladies name, she should be present with her ID.

The only problem is you do not know because can not read what the name is in the book and the girl present. The problems i encountered a few times, those taking the paperwork sometimes do not even check themselves, just make the copies and pass it on.

If i were you, i would insist on making a small deposit, no more than 2000-3000 baht and paying the rest once bike is in your name.

You can even agree to let him keep it until then or store it somewhere.

I think better be safe and may be loose 2000 baht, then sorry and loose 200 000

The Thai lady does NOT need to be present. As long as her Thai ID card has not expired, which you can see on the photo copy of her ID card, and you have a copy of the ID card and house registry and the POA, then the transfer will be fine.

Don't trust his own insurance company. Just a word of caution. I have also in the past used my insurance company to transfer books into my name. They are the ones with connections that can make things happen by paying small bribes, but this is HIS insurance company, not yours. They will not be doing the transfer for you, and they may say anything he asks them to say. He seems to not want to transfer into his name. This is pure laziness on his part. This is your first sale, you want to be cautious (understandably), so I would recommend you insist he transfers it into his name first if he wants to make the sale. If he won't then there must be a reason, other than laziness. He could do it simply by taking all his papers and the bike to his insurance company and they would take care of all of it for him and have it back in a few days as long as the bike is registered in his province. It only takes a week or 2 if it is registered out of the province, since they would ship the green book to the province where it is registered for verification before sending it back.

If he doesn't do the transfer, then it is up to you to decide if you want to proceed with the deal. There is a small chance that all the fears of the previous posters are true, that it is stolen or fake or a junk bike. Transferring green books into a new owner's name clears all this up and puts the responsibility of certifying that it isn't stolen or fake on the DLT. They are good at what they do, and are thorough enough to spot a fake or stolen bike.

Hope this helps.

BTW, there are plenty of 750cc bikes up your way if you pass on this deal. Korat has a huge biker community and one of the bigger bike weeks in Thailand. I see many for sale in your province and also in Bangkok, which would only be a 5 or 6 hour drive from Korat.

[TommoPhysicist]

I have purchased 3 big bikes in Thailand in the last couple of years where all previous owners were Thai, the seller had NOT transferred the books into their name, and all transfers into my name went smooth at the DLT. People don't do the transfer because for a bike like the one in question it will cost 2000-3000 baht to transfer. There is no reason to automatically not consider these kinds of deals.

You bought the bikes from a Thai dealer, the dealers never put the bikes in their name but they have POA and signed ID + house book from the owner, and usually don't pay the owner until they sell the bike.

About the OP deal.

Probably stolen, don't buy it, if not stolen it will be an illegal import with a fake book, it'll never be yours cos the paperwork is iffy. The other game is foreigner buys bike in Thai gfs name (that makes it her property), they break up, he steals her bike then tries to sell it as his ......... stolen from his ex-gf.

You shouldn't be registering a vehicle in someone else's name anyway, easy to do it properly in your own name, even if you are staying in a hotel on a tourist visa.

I did NOT buy these bikes from a dealer. I bought each one from an individual. Don't assume.

All the smaller dealers will let you think they are private sellers, how would YOU know the difference, they have POA for the real owners.

[floridaguy]

I have purchased 3 big bikes in Thailand in the last couple of years where all previous owners were Thai, the seller had NOT transferred the books into their name, and all transfers into my name went smooth at the DLT. People don't do the transfer because for a bike like the one in question it will cost 2000-3000 baht to transfer. There is no reason to automatically not consider these kinds of deals.

You bought the bikes from a Thai dealer, the dealers never put the bikes in their name but they have POA and signed ID + house book from the owner, and usually don't pay the owner until they sell the bike.

About the OP deal.

Probably stolen, don't buy it, if not stolen it will be an illegal import with a fake book, it'll never be yours cos the paperwork is iffy. The other game is foreigner buys bike in Thai gfs name (that makes it her property), they break up, he steals her bike then tries to sell it as his ......... stolen from his ex-gf.

You shouldn't be registering a vehicle in someone else's name anyway, easy to do it properly in your own name, even if you are staying in a hotel on a tourist visa.

I did NOT buy these bikes from a dealer. I bought each one from an individual. Don't assume.

All the smaller dealers will let you think they are private sellers, how would YOU know the difference, they have POA for the real owners.

Well I would know because I have been to their houses. Why don't we let this point go.

[TommoPhysicist]

Well I would know because I have been to their houses. Why don't we let this point go.

You first!

But OK, if you previously knew them, not dealers.

If you didn't, they are dealers working from home ....... my next door neighbour does it.