Kit Car Manufacturer In Thailand

[Ground Engineer]

I would like to manufacture and sell a Lotus 7 type kit car in Thailand. Does anyone know if this would be possible or are there any restrictions to letting foreigners do this type of business in Thailand

[mraitchison]

I don't think they are allowed.

Something strange about not having doors means they cannot be used on the road.

My friend has explained it before to me.

[sbkpeterpan]

I don't think they are allowed.

Something strange about not having doors means they cannot be used on the road.

My friend has explained it before to me.

I have two running around Pattaya, a red one (brand unknown) and a yellow Caterham, also seen a Fraser in Bangkok (NZ lotus 7 style kit car) Talked to the owner, it was running a well modified (HKS gear) Toyota 5AGE motor. He assembled it himself in Bangkok, no problems getting it regsistered that I know of.

[mraitchison]

How much did it cost to get the Caterham in?

Gharknes just mashed up his Blackbird so he might sell you the ngine from it.

[Ground Engineer]

How much did it cost to get the Caterham in?

Gharknes just mashed up his Blackbird so he might sell you the ngine from it.

How much does he want for the engine. I might be interseted in it.

I don't think they are allowed.

Something strange about not having doors means they cannot be used on the road.

My friend has explained it before to me.

I have two running around Pattaya, a red one (brand unknown) and a yellow Caterham, also seen a Fraser in Bangkok (NZ lotus 7 style kit car) Talked to the owner, it was running a well modified (HKS gear) Toyota 5AGE motor. He assembled it himself in Bangkok, no problems getting it regsistered that I know of.

Do you know if it would be difficult to get a RWD donor car in Thailand ie an old toyota corolla AE86.

[gondarman]

How much did it cost to get the Caterham in?

Gharknes just mashed up his Blackbird so he might sell you the ngine from it.

How much does he want for the engine. I might be interseted in it.

I don't think they are allowed.

Something strange about not having doors means they cannot be used on the road.

My friend has explained it before to me.

I have two running around Pattaya, a red one (brand unknown) and a yellow Caterham, also seen a Fraser in Bangkok (NZ lotus 7 style kit car) Talked to the owner, it was running a well modified (HKS gear) Toyota 5AGE motor. He assembled it himself in Bangkok, no problems getting it regsistered that I know of.

Do you know if it would be difficult to get a RWD donor car in Thailand ie an old toyota corolla AE86.

Plenty of those cars available. You might also consider Toyota Crown if you want a more powerful engine. It has similar dimensions as the Fords they use in the UK for the 7 replicas. Look at these links and you will get a good idea about what is available: www.thaisecondhand.com and www.one2car.com

Ground Engeneer I will PM you with some other info.

[Skyline]

If you mean a Toyota AE86 as in the Trueno,these are hard to come by now and fetching high prices too.One for sale near here last month for 180k without Tabian registration!!!There are lots of DX toyotas but not sure about the engine specs.

Lots of donor engines/drivetrains available at Cheng Kong on Bangna Trat Rd.

[chonabot]

AE86 , great drift/track cars , something of a cult following worldwide.

[Skyline]

I agree Chonabot,great cars and huge following worldwide after the Initial D cartoons and movie.Saw a nicely restored AE86 in a bar near Ramintra..full Initial D paint and it looked great!..2 students had bought it and they had spent over 200K just on parts!

Sky.

[Ground Engineer]

Yeah the Trueno is an iconic lightweight drift beast. But what about the S body (Nissan 200SX S14a). THis is what I drive and is the car of choice for most drifters in Japan. Would love to own one in Thailand but I think it would be cheaper to build me own Lotus 7 car which also drift very nicely especially if you lock the diff or install an LSD.

[micheal]

not sure if this was answered privately elsewhere...but

Did (or does) anyone know of kit car manufacturers (or importers)...

It doesnt HAVE to be Caterham type...but i would prefer it...but there are a lot of others that i might be interested in.

[LivinLOS]

100's if not 1000's of kits online..

Did anyone get further or know anything about how the registration angle works ??

If I could be assured of getting simple and cheap registration I would love to get someone to build me up a nice kit.. Just had a jeep refurbed back to bare metal and all in all you get ok work and cheap..

[SnakeBite]

I am working with some guys to get parts made from fiberglass and kevlar. If anyone would like to know more information, please let me know. They manufacture parts for Porsche and other car companies. Currently they are working on Thailands first Super Car to be sold in the US and Canada and should be out around 2007. They also do restoration work in one of their smaller shops.

[razzman]

I’m in the process of considering bringing in a kit car and all the spares required to complete the kit car build into Thailand. I’m on a mission to keep busy. Anybody know if I can do this or what steps I should take. I’ve heard various answers, each one different. Would really like a way forward. I've contacted the guys in the uk, they are prepared to ship all parts required.

[daleyboy]

Just wondering, if you ship the parts from the U.K, will you not be stung for import duty? Or will the customs guys not know what they are looking at?

[LivinLOS]

I am under the understanding that car parts are still taxed import duty but nothing like the duty on importing a car..

Also whats to stop you shipping the container into Sing etc and overlanding the parts in to the country.. hel_l whats to stop you trailering in an entire car and then it appearing here fully built ??

Doing the numbers you could make a seriously slick 427 Cobra..

[razzman]

I assumed, maybe wrongly, that if they are parts and not a complete car, import tax is marginal. I'm trying to contact someone from Customs but no luck up to now. I tried to import a Lexus RX300 but found out it was nearly 2 million to pick it up at Bangkok customs.

I fancy the Dodge Viper kit, The Venom Roadster, open top, what more could you want.

Edited May 15, 2006 by razzman

[sbkpeterpan]

I’m in the process of considering bringing in a kit car and all the spares required to complete the kit car build into Thailand. I’m on a mission to keep busy. Anybody know if I can do this or what steps I should take. I’ve heard various answers, each one different. Would really like a way forward. I've contacted the guys in the uk, they are prepared to ship all parts required.

The basic rate of tax on CKD kit is 30% of the CIF plus vat, Douht wether a private importer would get that low tho'. Then to get it registered you have to get enginnering and emisssions approval from the Soc Of Thai auto enginners, all up that process can be quite expensive, prob 100K+ depending on engine size etc.

[LivinLOS]

You sound as though you have done this or know about it ??

What does CKD stand for ?? Is auto parts not auto parts until its made into a working car ??

Soc of Thai auto engineers.. BKK location only ??

How can I find out about emissions requirements etc.. Large block US engines ??

Thanks for any info.

Found this

Thai Society of Automotive Engineers

Chulalongkorn University, Phya Thai Road

10330, Bangkok

THAILAND

tel: +66 (2) 218 6636

fax: +66 (2) 214 1919

Internet URL: http://www.tsae.or.th

Internet e-mail: [email protected]

[sbkpeterpan]

You sound as though you have done this or know about it ??

What does CKD stand for ?? Is auto parts not auto parts until its made into a working car ??

Soc of Thai auto engineers.. BKK location only ??

How can I find out about emissions requirements etc.. Large block US engines ??

Thanks for any info.

Found this

Thai Society of Automotive Engineers

Chulalongkorn University, Phya Thai Road

10330, Bangkok

THAILAND

tel: +66 (2) 218 6636

fax: +66 (2) 214 1919

Internet URL: http://www.tsae.or.th

Internet e-mail: [email protected]

I don't actually know what the emissions standards are, guess I will find out later.

CKD stands for completely knocked down. Ie parts only, not an assembled car.

Re Duty, found out the hard way, "In theory" it should be 30% but when I imported a Torque Biasing Differential From Taggart performance in the US the cost went from 3500 USD ex fact US to 5400 landed here duty paid. Since that time I get the parts I need sent to Singapore and then carry them back here. If they charged me the listed Duty, I wouldn't bother I would just bring them here.

[LivinLOS]

Thats kind of what I am thinking.. Crated to Sing and overland up through Sadao..

its the registration side I am most concerned about..

[Hog Head]

I have been looking into this for a while, and while it is easy to import either parts or a CKD or SKD kit, registration is the big issue.

The procedure is that one needs a safety test, pass emissions testing, and trot down to the Land Transp Dept with these two documents and all the customs import documents and they will issue you a new book.

Getting a Professional Engineer to certify the construction is not a big deal and can be done easily enough.

One then writes a letter to the Thai Standards Institute, requesting that they test the car. You then wait for an acceptance letter, and are given a date. For my bike this took almost a year. The problem lies in passing Tier II emissions testing done only by the Thai Standards Institute in Bangkok. Fee is 30,000B and test data is not released, just a pass or fail grade.

One could easily build a 7 type, Cobra, or any other kit car using a current Euro II engine, and pass the engineering test. The Engineer tells me that no matter how clean my car is, I will never pass the emissions test and do not even try.

Grey market importers seem to be able to get by the emissions testing, even on vehicles that are not Euro II. Perhaps therein lies the problem?

Anyone got a car through TSI emissions testing?

[Lacoste]

Why not have the car fully assembled in the UK or States? crate it to Singapore and then transport it overland to Thailand, the chances of being stopped are extremely minimal and then you can register it here as though it was built here.

Anyone thought about this? I have just started looking in to the 7 kits.

[LivinLOS]

Why not have the car fully assembled in the UK or States? crate it to Singapore and then transport it overland to Thailand, the chances of being stopped are extremely minimal and then you can register it here as though it was built here.

Anyone thought about this? I have just started looking in to the 7 kits.

Your thought is not especially unknown thoughj I wouldnt have written it like that directly.

But if we are never going to get a car through emissions then its moot.. Its the registration part thats the block.

[Hog Head]

The engineering inspection and emissions testing procedure I wrote about relates to a "kit" car.

It is possible to circumvent the emissions testing procedure by importing a car directly from the manufacturer that has valid Euro II testing certificates. The disadvantage is the almost 300% duty, taxes and fees on the CIF BKK price.

I for one do not want to give the Thai government 60 - 120K USD in fees.

The other problem is buying insurance. I could not find an insurance company to issue cover, and you just know some cretin without a pot to piss in will hammer into you.

Hence I have given up on the idea to build a bit car.

OTOH if someone has personal experience with getting through emissions testing then I would give it a go.

[mraitchison]

You are all going down the legal route.

With bikes you can quite often buy a transfered book. They will re-issue a book with your bikes details in it.

Costs about 50,000 B in total.

Why don't you just do that then?

[tuky]

Why don't you just do that then?

Because it is illegal, and none of us want to do anything illegal right?

or...condone illegal dealings here on thaivisa.

thanks

[mraitchison]

I take it you make this comment every time somebody mentions bribing the police then? Riding without helmets or drink driving here?

Edited July 5, 2006 by mraitchison

[INTJ]

Toycars up around Suk 103 (BKK) have a Westfield with a Rover V8 for 1.5 mil, registered. The car is an import from UK (still has UK plates under the Thai ones). Also a Morgan for 2.5 mil. The cars have been sitting there for well over a year now.

INTJ.

[hughden]

Westfield are now offering cars and kits for sale in Thailand:

http://www.westfield-sportscars-thailand.com/