Green Book Copy

[KillingTime]

I'm looking to buy a Nouvou Elegance from a shop in Bangkok. The bike has a copy of the green book, but not an original (that i've seen at least) It's a small family business near my house and the people are especially pleasant, from my limited experience with them.

I do not have a work permit so my missus from Ireland who has one will be putting the bike in her name. They've told me it will take 2-3 weeks to have it all signed over to us, but we can ride it in the meantime.I've put down a 1000 baht deposit and am going back tomorrow to seal the deal.

Does this all sound Kosher, or do i need to be concerned that i haven't seen the actual Green Book?

Cheers

[submaniac]

Why would you buy any bike without the green book? To answer your question, no, it doesn't sound Kosher. It's not hard to alter a photocopy. For all you know the bike could have been stolen. They seem nice? Great. Most con artists appear to be the nicest people you have ever met.

[Richard-BKK]

A greenbook for a Yamaha Nouvo (115cc or 135cc) should not generate the problems you read elsewhere on this forum regarding big bikes and greenbooks. So seriously, if a small bike has no original greenbook move yourself with WARP SPEED to another motorcycle dealer...

[JanKlaasen]

First of all, you don't need a work permit to register a vehicle in foreign name,any visa will suffice.

The fact that they don't have the original book might be because the are only the reseller and the book is with the owner, or the bike is still under finance.

[KillingTime]

Thanks for the quick replys. I have just spoken to a Thai friend who owns a M/C shop and she said the same thing. She will call them this afternoon and see what the deal is. I guess the worst that can happen is i lose 1000 baht as i walk away, but hopefully they have the original somewhere. I only saw the copy as they had it under the seat, where i know many riders keep copys of their paperwork. I'll post back later when i've found out what's happening.

[submaniac]

As Richard said, this is not a big bike. It's a small cheap bike that is fairly new. There should be no LEGITIMATE reason for not having the greenbook. If the original was lost, you can have it replaced. (The bike is still in the Land Transport Dept's computers because it should be fairly new.) If the book is with the owner, why didn't he just give it to the shop in the first place? If it's with a finance company, then it is the finance company's bike and you don't own it. Just walk away. There are plenty of reputable Nuovos for sale.

[SamuiHomemadeFood]

I've just sold 5 of my ex rental bikes. The shop selling them only had a copy of the book to show the customer. when someone said they wanted the bike I simply took the original book to the shop and left with my cash. The seller may not be the shop so the owner is just covering his own back. If you go to purchase the bike and there still is no green book then don't hand over any cash till you have it. You can also take a copy of the green book to the transport department to check as well.

[KillingTime]

Prior to finding the elegance, i went to see a couple of spanish lads with several Mio's and Scoopy's. None had original green cards - just copies - and they told me straight that all the bikes were ex finance but were paid for. They could get the legal docs within two days and didn't ask for a deposit. I said i'd look into it and get back to them.

So, what is the deal with ex finance bikes in Thailand? Are they legal? Is it possible to get an original green card? What's the point of the finance company selling them on if they are illegal and cannot be legalised?

[vel_tins]

Smells somehow..

IF the bikes were legally bought from a finance company (more likely an auction), they should have the books and many additional documents, like bills, passport copies, documents for the transfer, etc. pp.

When I have bought bikes from an auction, I received a bill from the auction company, the same day.

Green book and all paper were provided ~2 weeks later.

Fazit: No book, no deal.

But it's not only the book, a lot of documents have to be provided by the seller, to transfer the bike into your name!

Edited August 28, 2012 by vel_tins

[KillingTime]

Smells somehow..

IF the bikes were legally bought from a finance company (more likely an auction), they should have the books and many additional documents, like bills, passport copies, documents for the transfer, etc. pp.

When I have bought bikes from an auction, I received a bill from the auction company, the same day.

Green book and all paper were provided ~2 weeks later.

Fazit: No book, no deal.

But it's not only the book, a lot of documents have to be provided by the seller, to transfer the bike into your name!

So my Thai friend rang. All is fine, and they have the green book.

Thought i'd stop by and see it with my own eyes and it seems they don't actually have it, but i have to wait 2/3 weeks for it to be put into my name. You did say "Green book and all paper were provided ~2 weeks later" in your above post, so perhaps this is what you were referring to?

Slightly confused now.

[JanKlaasen]

Smells somehow..

IF the bikes were legally bought from a finance company (more likely an auction), they should have the books and many additional documents, like bills, passport copies, documents for the transfer, etc. pp.

When I have bought bikes from an auction, I received a bill from the auction company, the same day.

Green book and all paper were provided ~2 weeks later.

Fazit: No book, no deal.

But it's not only the book, a lot of documents have to be provided by the seller, to transfer the bike into your name!

So my Thai friend rang. All is fine, and they have the green book.

Thought i'd stop by and see it with my own eyes and it seems they don't actually have it, but i have to wait 2/3 weeks for it to be put into my name. You did say "Green book and all paper were provided ~2 weeks later" in your above post, so perhaps this is what you were referring to?

Slightly confused now.

And that is if you're lucky.

I also bought a bike this way, dealer who bought it at an finance auction, and waited almost 2 months for the book to arrive.

Basically there is nothing to worry about, but the dealer you buy from is depending for the book on the company who organizes the auctions nationwide for the finance companies, and they can't be bothered much to speed up things as they got their money already.

[SumetCycle]

They may have been in the process of transferring ownership, in which case the Land Transportation Department would have the actual green book until this is complete. Also, when a bike is financed, the finance company keeps the green book until the bike is paid off. The person financing only receives a copy while making payments.

[vel_tins]

They may have been in the process of transferring ownership, in which case the Land Transportation Department would have the actual green book until this is complete

I don´t know about other DLT's, but in Chonburi you'll never wait more than 3-4 days, to have your book back.

The complete process of transfer of ownership, takes about 8-10 days in Chonburi, if the bike was registered in a foreign province before.

BUT: if an office/agency does it for you, you may wait 4 weeks or more, because the office will collect 10-20 customers first, before they start the process.

Edited August 28, 2012 by vel_tins

[BSJ]

They may have been in the process of transferring ownership, in which case the Land Transportation Department would have the actual green book until this is complete

I don´t know about other DLT's, but in Chonburi you'll never wait more than 3-4 days, to have your book back.

The complete process of transfer of ownership, takes about 8-10 days in Chonburi, if the bike was registered in a foreign province before.

BUT: if an office/agency does it for you, you may wait 4 weeks or more, because the office will collect 10-20 customers first, before they start the process.

That's about the strength of it! If in doubt get the numbers off the bike and go to DLT and check.

[KillingTime]

Still confused about the whole business. The lady at my nearest scooter shop who speaks English now says i should walk away since i told her they didn't actually have the green book for me to see. I took a snap of the back plate on my phone and she says its a Rayong plate. Her Dad - the shop owner - had a look too and shook his head doubtfully. Of course these guys want to sell me a bike too, so not exactly impartial observers, but friends of mine have bought bikes from them before and they are 100% trustworthy.

So i start taking an interest in a nice little 8 month old Mio 125 with 2k km's on the clock for 37K baht, which is what i've agreed to pay for the year old elegance with 4K km's on the clock. Both are nice bikes, except the Elegance 135 is quite a bit cheaper than similar bikes that are usually around 45K. Whereas the Mio is priced at a fairly standard dealer price. Clearly the Elegance is the better deal, but where is the Green Book?

Then i find out that if i buy the Mio i still have to wait 2 or 3 weeks for the green book. Hang on! isn't that why i'm being told not to buy the Elegance?

Can someone explain <deleted> this Green Book malarkey is all about, and why it makes any difference where the current plates are from?

[vel_tins]

To stop this fruitless discussion, just look for a serious seller, who has the green book and everything is fine.

Nobody here can tell you whats wrong with your mentioned bikes or books.

Even a "crystal ball" won't help.

One More time:

NO BOOK = NO DEAL

[martindavies]

Why don't you save your self the headache and just buy new? Your not looking at that much more money.

[KillingTime]

Why don't you save your self the headache and just buy new? Your not looking at that much more money.

37K for an as good as new bike, versus 58K for a new one.

Not exactly small change Martin.

[marstons]

Seems like your intent on buying either way so go ahead and keep us informed, never sold a bike or purchased a bike without green book being shown to a sellor or me as a buyer.

To stop this fruitless discussion, just look for a serious seller, who has the green book and everything is fine.

Nobody here can tell you whats wrong with your mentioned bikes or books.

Even a "crystal ball" won't help.

One More time:

NO BOOK = NO DEAL

Its that simple all that needs to be understood, so many about where green book can be shown instantly why the bother about one where no green book seems available. If it seems to good to be true it usually is.

[JanKlaasen]

The reason that the Elegance is cheaper is because it has been purchased from auction, and that is also the reason you may have to wait a few weeks up to maybe 2 months to receive the book.They will also only start the process after they have a buyer to save on the transfer cost.

When I bought a similar bike under similar conditions a few years ago, I made a deal with the dealer that I witheld 5000 Baht untiull I received the green book.

Anyway I shouldn't worry too much, as this is not similar to imported big bikes without green book.

[billd766]

They may have been in the process of transferring ownership, in which case the Land Transportation Department would have the actual green book until this is complete

I don´t know about other DLT's, but in Chonburi you'll never wait more than 3-4 days, to have your book back.

The complete process of transfer of ownership, takes about 8-10 days in Chonburi, if the bike was registered in a foreign province before.

BUT: if an office/agency does it for you, you may wait 4 weeks or more, because the office will collect 10-20 customers first, before they start the process.

I bought my Honda Phantom second hand from a farang in Nakhon Si Thammarat and that took about 2 hours as I needed to get a registered address for the DLT people. I then re-registered it in my name in Khampaeng Phet province where I live and that was only a couple of hours as they had to make a new numberplate as well.

When I bought my Yamaha Virago in Bangkok last year it took about 4 hours at the DLT in Chatuchak as it was previously owned by a diplomat and was on diplomatic plates. On that purchase the previous owner "lent" me a guy to do all the grunt work for which I was very grateful.

Granted that in each case I had the green book to start with which made it much easier but personally I would never buy ANY bike without a green book to look at to start with.

[KillingTime]

Just to conclude this thread, i went ahead and bought the Elegance, and as promised the green book and new plates etc, arrived when the seller said they would. The bike was ex finance so they had to get it off the finance company.

The bike is great, and easily out runs most other bikes here in Bangkok. The mirrors are a bit crap, and i may replace them at some point. I have bought a nice Sonjin seat to make it my own, and it's a little comfier than stock.

While the dual shock suspension is preferable to single, i might be tempted to upgrade them at some point due to the ever proliferating number of pot holes and speed bumps where i live. If anyone has any suggestions i'd be interested to hear?

Anyway, very happy with the bike, and the seller who did exactly what they said they would do, which is not to say people shouldn't be careful when buying without a green book, as there are plenty of people who've been ripped off, but in my case it's worked out pretty good.