How To Buy A Scooter?

[Bazt]

If you read your IDP it should tell you that it is valid for 3 months in the country your driving in, although the permit itself is valid for 12 months.

[commande]

If you read your IDP it should tell you that it is valid for 3 months in the country your driving in, although the permit itself is valid for 12 months.

Yes your correct but if a person is on a 90 day tourist Visa in Thailand, he then leaves to Cambodia and returns to Thailand the clock starts ticking all over again. This is why if you have an IDP in Thailand it is good enough and the BIB don't ask any further questions. They do on occasion though ensure that your IDP states you can drive a motorbike and not just a car which is why it's highly advisable to either get your IDP with a motorcycle authorization code which I think is Class B or when you get to Thailand get a Thai license which I think is more a pain in the but and is only good in Thailand, IDP good just about anywhere in the world.

Edited May 29, 2013 by commande

[biplanebluey]

I walked into a Honda dealer with a 3 month tourist visa, no letter of residence, no motorcycle license, etc.. only my passport. Handed them the cash and drove off with a new bike. It couldn't have been any easier. After a few tickets, i decided to get my Thai bike license, also very easy and did it in a couple hours. No worries..alot of good suggestions on this thread that may be a better approach than my winging it but surely very easy.

Yes I too found it very easy. My m/c licence ran out years ago as I never road one in NZ since my teens but went for my licence and was in and out in a couple of hours in Udon.As for the storage under the seat.Yes its ok for helmet as designed but any shopping gets red hot from the motor.Find the Yamaha Furino perfect for running around.If you want speed ,why look at scooters and if you just want a traffic runabout why do you want a 150!!!!!

[Bazt]

Thanks commande , never thought about the 90 day run.

Edited May 29, 2013 by Bazt

[dotpoom]

A point that may be of interest to some re the above....If you are not living here permanently and staying ..let's say in a hotel or room on a tourist visa ... you can get a letter from the owner or manager of the premises to bring to Soi 5 where you can still get a letter to drive or buy a m/c....only difference is .....you will not get a letter that will cover you for the 5 year license, which you normally get after your 1 year license is due for renewal.

[Shurup]

My first few years in Thailand I used my IDP, was stopped a few times and cops never bothered taking/looking at it, only took my Canadian DL. Not saying OP don't need to get it, just sharing my experience - they're only interested in getting a 100 thb from you which they only go once from me when that stupid book that comes with a red plate wasn't filled...

[louse1953]

Cm

possum1931, on 28 May 2013 - 15:37, said:

greg71, on 27 May 2013 - 13:17, said:

Would you ride a motorbike without a license in your own country?

If ten year olds can ride motorbikes in Thailand, why shouldn't the OP?

Because the BIB generally leave the kids alone but a white faced foreigner they will stop all the time and ask for a license, sometimes taking a little tea money and in some cases taking whatever ID you have available holding it till you get lucky and find the police station to pay the fine.

Pattaya, which is all I can really speak for is they are actually sending you to the police station more than taking tea money now which is a pain and can be very confusing to a new person in Thailand.

Generally in Thailand, you do the right thing and your not messed with, when you try and act like your a Thai and get away with things you pay the price why, your not Thai. Police don't even bother stopping me anymore, they know my helmet now, was told this my a BIB already several times, they know I have a license and all the correct paperwork always on me to include a copy of my passport which is actually a real legal requirement to but rarely enforced but yes it does happen.

Yes, the BIB leave the kids alone because they live in the same town or village as the parents, and they don't want to upset them.

You might want to think of buying the Sym 300 or the new Honda 300. Lots of storage and much more bike all the way around. Costs more, but worth it IMHO. I bought the Sym because it has fold in mirrors like a car to help you get through tight spots. Have had the bike for over a year now and love it. The PCX is a nice bike--also the most stolen bike in Pattaya.

Bought bike for mirrors,dear me.

[enjoybeing]

I walked into a Honda dealer with a 3 month tourist visa, no letter of residence, no motorcycle license, etc.. only my passport. Handed them the cash and drove off with a new bike. It couldn't have been any easier. After a few tickets, i decided to get my Thai bike license, also very easy and did it in a couple hours. No worries..alot of good suggestions on this thread that may be a better approach than my winging it but surely very easy.

This is exactly what happened to the girl that I bought my bike from. She paid in full with cash, and drove off. No problems, except the dealer just kept the bike in his name. She had no ownership. When I bought it from her, we both had to go to the dealer for all of the paperwork, (nothing in her name). The dealer then had to hire an expediter to go to the Land Transport Office with myself and the dealer to straighten it all out. Cost at Land Transport was 800 baht, 10 weeks later I got my new plate and the Greenbook in my name showing ownership. Before you register for Greenbook, make sure that the Serial# on both the engine & frame do match in the Greenbook. Don't ever buy a vehicle without getting the Greenbook. You then own nothing.

well with my experience, the dealer called me when the greenbook was ready, i went and picked it up and that was that.. Maybe you need a more reputable dealer??

[jcnbkk]

Secondly, don't ever buy those IDP's on the internet for 5 years. They are not sanctioned by the US State Department. There are only two businesses in the US authorized to issue IDP's and one is AAA. I can't remember the other business. You don't have to be a member of AAA to get the IDP and when I was in the US it was $15, but may have gone up. You need to bring them two passport ID's and your state license to get the IDP. As someone else said you cannot get the IDP for motorbike unless your state license has a motorbike endorsement on it.

This is an interesting statement can you please provide further information about the DoS (Department of State) sanction, I can't see it anywhere on the DoS website, maybe I missed it. Since I used to work for them this is definitely news to me. I would think if true that all the other IDP license issuers that operate out of the USA would have been shut down for illegal practices and their websites blocked, easy to do in the USA. My IDP is issued from AAIDL and is good for 3 more years, matches the expiration date of my US drivers license and I might add was recommended to me by the US State Department RSO when I worked for State 2 years ago...

I know things change which is why I'm asking so if this question comes up again the correct and current information can be distributed to US Citizens wanting or needing an IDP or IDL as it's sometimes called.

Since you have first hand knowledge I trust your post. And thanks

[suave]

I got the international drives license before leaving the States and it was usless. I went into a Bandkok Land Transportaion office and applied for my drivers license and they would not even look at the international that I had, they just wanted to see my State license and my documents from the immagration.