Passport as a deposit for a motorcycle

[samuijimmy]

More from the OP:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/681124-holding-an-alien-passport-illegal-how-do-i-prove-it/

I'm guessing he's used his passport (had done so prior to posting), 'bent' a motorbike & is now looking for a top hat / white rabbit re getting it back.

no, my main man!

I asked the same question at russian thai forum and their guess was exactly the same as yours. But they also gave me a very useful link, however.

In that case please give this a try...

A Bout of Insanity - Blackadder - BBC - YouTube

.... Finally something sensible on this thread.... well done evadgib......

[BigC]

If don't want to rent using a passport but you cannot find anywhere that only accepts passports

Then get a taxi driver get his business card then that's that but it is expensive

It is what it is

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Razzler1973]

The rental car company here blocks X dirhams on my credit card if I want to rent a car

All the people saying 'go to the next place' but on the islands there seems no one that will rent a bike without a passport

What if you're staying at the hotel and rent from them, they have access to your room and possibly passport in the safe too without technically 'giving it to them' they could take it or lock you out of your room, etc

I always get amused with these threads, always descend into an argument about 'OMG don't give your passport to anyone/it's not yours'

[transam]

The rental car company here blocks X dirhams on my credit card if I want to rent a car

All the people saying 'go to the next place' but on the islands there seems no one that will rent a bike without a passport

What if you're staying at the hotel and rent from them, they have access to your room and possibly passport in the safe too without technically 'giving it to them' they could take it or lock you out of your room, etc

I always get amused with these threads, always descend into an argument about 'OMG don't give your passport to anyone/it's not yours'

Gawd, another one who knows nothing about his passport.................

[BigC]

The rental car company here blocks X dirhams on my credit card if I want to rent a car

All the people saying 'go to the next place' but on the islands there seems no one that will rent a bike without a passport

What if you're staying at the hotel and rent from them, they have access to your room and possibly passport in the safe too without technically 'giving it to them' they could take it or lock you out of your room, etc

I always get amused with these threads, always descend into an argument about 'OMG don't give your passport to anyone/it's not yours'

Gawd, another one who knows nothing about his passport................. alt=coffee1.gif width=32 height=24>

Asnwered his own question. The choice is yours if you want to rent a bike and places only accept passports then you have a choice, rent the bike with passport or steel it. I am sure steeling the bike shall get you into more trouble.

i suggest looking for a place with a good reputation

[Bmouthboyo]

http://www.locationautomotosamui.com/car-and-motorbike-rental-koh-samui-6.html

Is this company not advised? I couldn't tell if that was a recommendation or a joke?

[John 1]

http://www.locationautomotosamui.com/car-and-motorbike-rental-koh-samui-6.html

Is this company not advised? I couldn't tell if that was a recommendation or a joke?

If this company can construct an excellent web site why would it be a joke? At least it has all the information you require and a phone number or e-mail to ask for more information. Let us know how you get on.

[Bmouthboyo]

thats what i thought, its just someone then quoted the link with a sarcastic response. thanks for advice anyway

[monkeycountry]

So what is acceptable deposit for a motorbike ? Copy of a passport ? What if the person crashes and just clears off, they could be gone before you know it. The Police are not going to actively go around looking for the person are they ? Claim on the Insurance ?

Most bikes start around the 50,000 baht mark nowadays, so that is a lot of money to entrust to a stranger. I fully understand somebody requiring proper security from me, as I would have their motorbike. As I understand a lot of Russians leave their Russian passport as security, it is just trying to find a mutually acceptable deposit, whether financial or documents.

I have always wondered, what if somebody rented a bike, no deposit (passport) and killed somebody by running them over. Then promptly left the Island/Thailand, would the owner of the bike(person who rented out the bike) be liable ? Surely somebody would have to pay compensation somewhere down the line.

Yes, 50k is a,lot to entrust a stranger, yet all the major car rental companies such as Hertz, Budget, Avis etc. have no problem renting you a car worth a million baht or more, and they don't ask you to leave your passport, drivers licence or similar. If I recall correct, they do ask for a small deposit though, something like a couple of thousand baht, probably to cover own risk on the insurance.

The reason is probably that they have proper insurance that covers the various events you mentioned, so they do not worry if the car is damaged, stolen, involved in an accident or similar.

As for liability in case the driver flees, it is covered by the insurance company, not by the driver nor the car owner. In case of a criminal act such as a drunk driving accident, obviously the driver is liable, and if he/she flees, no compensation is payable by anyone. (Yes, the damaged party may try to intimidate the car rental company or the insurance company, but this is illegal, and usually does not work against big companies.

I am guessing most stand alone motorbike rental places are small time amateurs, and for that reason alone I would stay away. To the OP, most hotels have motorbike rental service, and they do not require any documents, at least not if you are staying at the hotel as in that case they already have a copy of your passport, which is apparently sufficient for them.

[carmine]

So what is acceptable deposit for a motorbike ? Copy of a passport ? What if the person crashes and just clears off, they could be gone before you know it. The Police are not going to actively go around looking for the person are they ? Claim on the Insurance ?

Most bikes start around the 50,000 baht mark nowadays, so that is a lot of money to entrust to a stranger. I fully understand somebody requiring proper security from me, as I would have their motorbike. As I understand a lot of Russians leave their Russian passport as security, it is just trying to find a mutually acceptable deposit, whether financial or documents.

I have always wondered, what if somebody rented a bike, no deposit (passport) and killed somebody by running them over. Then promptly left the Island/Thailand, would the owner of the bike(person who rented out the bike) be liable ? Surely somebody would have to pay compensation somewhere down the line.

Yes, 50k is a,lot to entrust a stranger, yet all the major car rental companies such as Hertz, Budget, Avis etc. have no problem renting you a car worth a million baht or more, and they don't ask you to leave your passport, drivers licence or similar. If I recall correct, they do ask for a small deposit though, something like a couple of thousand baht, probably to cover own risk on the insurance.

The reason is probably that they have proper insurance that covers the various events you mentioned, so they do not worry if the car is damaged, stolen, involved in an accident or similar.

As for liability in case the driver flees, it is covered by the insurance company, not by the driver nor the car owner. In case of a criminal act such as a drunk driving accident, obviously the driver is liable, and if he/she flees, no compensation is payable by anyone. (Yes, the damaged party may try to intimidate the car rental company or the insurance company, but this is illegal, and usually does not work against big companies.

I am guessing most stand alone motorbike rental places are small time amateurs, and for that reason alone I would stay away. To the OP, most hotels have motorbike rental service, and they do not require any documents, at least not if you are staying at the hotel as in that case they already have a copy of your passport, which is apparently sufficient for them.

My experience is that hotel owned motorbikes very rarely get maintenance or servicing, whereas your so called "small time amateurs probably take much greater care of their bikes because its "their business" rather than hotels playing at being "amateurs in "sometime else's line of business"

[AlfGarnett]

So what is acceptable deposit for a motorbike ? Copy of a passport ? What if the person crashes and just clears off, they could be gone before you know it. The Police are not going to actively go around looking for the person are they ? Claim on the Insurance ?

Most bikes start around the 50,000 baht mark nowadays, so that is a lot of money to entrust to a stranger. I fully understand somebody requiring proper security from me, as I would have their motorbike. As I understand a lot of Russians leave their Russian passport as security, it is just trying to find a mutually acceptable deposit, whether financial or documents.

I have always wondered, what if somebody rented a bike, no deposit (passport) and killed somebody by running them over. Then promptly left the Island/Thailand, would the owner of the bike(person who rented out the bike) be liable ? Surely somebody would have to pay compensation somewhere down the line.

Yes, 50k is a,lot to entrust a stranger, yet all the major car rental companies such as Hertz, Budget, Avis etc. have no problem renting you a car worth a million baht or more, and they don't ask you to leave your passport, drivers licence or similar. If I recall correct, they do ask for a small deposit though, something like a couple of thousand baht, probably to cover own risk on the insurance.

The reason is probably that they have proper insurance that covers the various events you mentioned, so they do not worry if the car is damaged, stolen, involved in an accident or similar.

As for liability in case the driver flees, it is covered by the insurance company, not by the driver nor the car owner. In case of a criminal act such as a drunk driving accident, obviously the driver is liable, and if he/she flees, no compensation is payable by anyone. (Yes, the damaged party may try to intimidate the car rental company or the insurance company, but this is illegal, and usually does not work against big companies.

I am guessing most stand alone motorbike rental places are small time amateurs, and for that reason alone I would stay away. To the OP, most hotels have motorbike rental service, and they do not require any documents, at least not if you are staying at the hotel as in that case they already have a copy of your passport, which is apparently sufficient for them.

Most bikes I have seen from Hotels are the worst, they have business from rentals as the guests hire from them due to ease. They don't usually require original passport, as they often have a holding amount on a credit card and would see you trying to check out (do a runner ) if something did happen. Wonder what the attitude would be if you moved to another hotel but wanted to continue the rental? They would almost certainly need some kind of deposit/guarantee. One LARGE rental company in Lamai offers a choice, passport or 10,000 baht deposit for motorbike. Now if I rented the bike and it got stolen, by their contract I have to replace the bike, say 40k, or would I just leave the 10k deposit and clear off? My friend (English) has a rental shop, no passport no vehicle policy. Honest and straight, people don't seem to have a problem with leaving their passport with him. If customers don't want to they are free to go elsewhere, which 90% of the time they don't.

Large Car rentals can hold a deposit electronically on you Credit Card and have Insurance, so comparing motorbike rental shops with these is not a fair comparison.

[carmine]

So what is acceptable deposit for a motorbike ? Copy of a passport ? What if the person crashes and just clears off, they could be gone before you know it. The Police are not going to actively go around looking for the person are they ? Claim on the Insurance ?

Most bikes start around the 50,000 baht mark nowadays, so that is a lot of money to entrust to a stranger. I fully understand somebody requiring proper security from me, as I would have their motorbike. As I understand a lot of Russians leave their Russian passport as security, it is just trying to find a mutually acceptable deposit, whether financial or documents.

I have always wondered, what if somebody rented a bike, no deposit (passport) and killed somebody by running them over. Then promptly left the Island/Thailand, would the owner of the bike(person who rented out the bike) be liable ? Surely somebody would have to pay compensation somewhere down the line.

Yes, 50k is a,lot to entrust a stranger, yet all the major car rental companies such as Hertz, Budget, Avis etc. have no problem renting you a car worth a million baht or more, and they don't ask you to leave your passport, drivers licence or similar. If I recall correct, they do ask for a small deposit though, something like a couple of thousand baht, probably to cover own risk on the insurance.

The reason is probably that they have proper insurance that covers the various events you mentioned, so they do not worry if the car is damaged, stolen, involved in an accident or similar.

As for liability in case the driver flees, it is covered by the insurance company, not by the driver nor the car owner. In case of a criminal act such as a drunk driving accident, obviously the driver is liable, and if he/she flees, no compensation is payable by anyone. (Yes, the damaged party may try to intimidate the car rental company or the insurance company, but this is illegal, and usually does not work against big companies.

I am guessing most stand alone motorbike rental places are small time amateurs, and for that reason alone I would stay away. To the OP, most hotels have motorbike rental service, and they do not require any documents, at least not if you are staying at the hotel as in that case they already have a copy of your passport, which is apparently sufficient for them.

My experience is that hotel owned motorbikes very rarely get maintenance or servicing, whereas your so called "small time amateurs probably take much greater care of their bikes because its "their business" rather than hotels playing at being "amateurs in "sometime else's line of business"

I did mean "someone" else's line business

[monkeycountry]

So what is acceptable deposit for a motorbike ? Copy of a passport ? What if the person crashes and just clears off, they could be gone before you know it. The Police are not going to actively go around looking for the person are they ? Claim on the Insurance ?

Most bikes start around the 50,000 baht mark nowadays, so that is a lot of money to entrust to a stranger. I fully understand somebody requiring proper security from me, as I would have their motorbike. As I understand a lot of Russians leave their Russian passport as security, it is just trying to find a mutually acceptable deposit, whether financial or documents.

I have always wondered, what if somebody rented a bike, no deposit (passport) and killed somebody by running them over. Then promptly left the Island/Thailand, would the owner of the bike(person who rented out the bike) be liable ? Surely somebody would have to pay compensation somewhere down the line.

Yes, 50k is a,lot to entrust a stranger, yet all the major car rental companies such as Hertz, Budget, Avis etc. have no problem renting you a car worth a million baht or more, and they don't ask you to leave your passport, drivers licence or similar. If I recall correct, they do ask for a small deposit though, something like a couple of thousand baht, probably to cover own risk on the insurance.

The reason is probably that they have proper insurance that covers the various events you mentioned, so they do not worry if the car is damaged, stolen, involved in an accident or similar.

As for liability in case the driver flees, it is covered by the insurance company, not by the driver nor the car owner. In case of a criminal act such as a drunk driving accident, obviously the driver is liable, and if he/she flees, no compensation is payable by anyone. (Yes, the damaged party may try to intimidate the car rental company or the insurance company, but this is illegal, and usually does not work against big companies.

I am guessing most stand alone motorbike rental places are small time amateurs, and for that reason alone I would stay away. To the OP, most hotels have motorbike rental service, and they do not require any documents, at least not if you are staying at the hotel as in that case they already have a copy of your passport, which is apparently sufficient for them.

My experience is that hotel owned motorbikes very rarely get maintenance or servicing, whereas your so called "small time amateurs probably take much greater care of their bikes because its "their business" rather than hotels playing at being "amateurs in "sometime else's line of business"

I meant amateurs in terms of running a business, setting things up legally, having proper insurance, permits etc. I have no doubt that they are good at repairing/maintaining bikes. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[monkeycountry]

So what is acceptable deposit for a motorbike ? Copy of a passport ? What if the person crashes and just clears off, they could be gone before you know it. The Police are not going to actively go around looking for the person are they ? Claim on the Insurance ?

Most bikes start around the 50,000 baht mark nowadays, so that is a lot of money to entrust to a stranger. I fully understand somebody requiring proper security from me, as I would have their motorbike. As I understand a lot of Russians leave their Russian passport as security, it is just trying to find a mutually acceptable deposit, whether financial or documents.

I have always wondered, what if somebody rented a bike, no deposit (passport) and killed somebody by running them over. Then promptly left the Island/Thailand, would the owner of the bike(person who rented out the bike) be liable ? Surely somebody would have to pay compensation somewhere down the line.

Yes, 50k is a,lot to entrust a stranger, yet all the major car rental companies such as Hertz, Budget, Avis etc. have no problem renting you a car worth a million baht or more, and they don't ask you to leave your passport, drivers licence or similar. If I recall correct, they do ask for a small deposit though, something like a couple of thousand baht, probably to cover own risk on the insurance.

The reason is probably that they have proper insurance that covers the various events you mentioned, so they do not worry if the car is damaged, stolen, involved in an accident or similar.

As for liability in case the driver flees, it is covered by the insurance company, not by the driver nor the car owner. In case of a criminal act such as a drunk driving accident, obviously the driver is liable, and if he/she flees, no compensation is payable by anyone. (Yes, the damaged party may try to intimidate the car rental company or the insurance company, but this is illegal, and usually does not work against big companies.

I am guessing most stand alone motorbike rental places are small time amateurs, and for that reason alone I would stay away. To the OP, most hotels have motorbike rental service, and they do not require any documents, at least not if you are staying at the hotel as in that case they already have a copy of your passport, which is apparently sufficient for them.

Most bikes I have seen from Hotels are the worst, they have business from rentals as the guests hire from them due to ease. They don't usually require original passport, as they often have a holding amount on a credit card and would see you trying to check out (do a runner ) if something did happen. Wonder what the attitude would be if you moved to another hotel but wanted to continue the rental? They would almost certainly need some kind of deposit/guarantee. One LARGE rental company in Lamai offers a choice, passport or 10,000 baht deposit for motorbike. Now if I rented the bike and it got stolen, by their contract I have to replace the bike, say 40k, or would I just leave the 10k deposit and clear off? My friend (English) has a rental shop, no passport no vehicle policy. Honest and straight, people don't seem to have a problem with leaving their passport with him. If customers don't want to they are free to go elsewhere, which 90% of the time they don't.

Large Car rentals can hold a deposit electronically on you Credit Card and have Insurance, so comparing motorbike rental shops with these is not a fair comparison.

I do not know who maintains their bikes better, so will take your word for it.

Honest and straight people and everyone else for that matter do not know if your english friend is also honest and straight, which is why it is not smart to give him their passport.

Yes the car companies may get a deposit by credit card, but then that deposit is usually limited when the deposit is made. They can't just empty the card. Deposit by cash is usually also an option, which eliminates the credit card issue. Further, even if they could empty the credit card, most peoples credit line is usually much less than the value of a car.

Yes, obviously the major car rental companies have full insurance, does anything prevent the motorbike rental shops from having insurance?

Therefore the comparison between care and bike rental is completely reasonable.

Edited December 28, 2013 by monkeycountry

[pokerspiv]

So what is acceptable deposit for a motorbike ? Copy of a passport ? What if the person crashes and just clears off, they could be gone before you know it. The Police are not going to actively go around looking for the person are they ? Claim on the Insurance ?

Most bikes start around the 50,000 baht mark nowadays, so that is a lot of money to entrust to a stranger. I fully understand somebody requiring proper security from me, as I would have their motorbike. As I understand a lot of Russians leave their Russian passport as security, it is just trying to find a mutually acceptable deposit, whether financial or documents.

I have always wondered, what if somebody rented a bike, no deposit (passport) and killed somebody by running them over. Then promptly left the Island/Thailand, would the owner of the bike(person who rented out the bike) be liable ? Surely somebody would have to pay compensation somewhere down the line.

Yes, 50k is a,lot to entrust a stranger, yet all the major car rental companies such as Hertz, Budget, Avis etc. have no problem renting you a car worth a million baht or more, and they don't ask you to leave your passport, drivers licence or similar. If I recall correct, they do ask for a small deposit though, something like a couple of thousand baht, probably to cover own risk on the insurance.

The reason is probably that they have proper insurance that covers the various events you mentioned, so they do not worry if the car is damaged, stolen, involved in an accident or similar.

As for liability in case the driver flees, it is covered by the insurance company, not by the driver nor the car owner. In case of a criminal act such as a drunk driving accident, obviously the driver is liable, and if he/she flees, no compensation is payable by anyone. (Yes, the damaged party may try to intimidate the car rental company or the insurance company, but this is illegal, and usually does not work against big companies.

I am guessing most stand alone motorbike rental places are small time amateurs, and for that reason alone I would stay away. To the OP, most hotels have motorbike rental service, and they do not require any documents, at least not if you are staying at the hotel as in that case they already have a copy of your passport, which is apparently sufficient for them.

My experience is that hotel owned motorbikes very rarely get maintenance or servicing, whereas your so called "small time amateurs probably take much greater care of their bikes because its "their business" rather than hotels playing at being "amateurs in "sometime else's line of business"

I meant amateurs in terms of running a business, setting things up legally, having proper insurance, permits etc. I have no doubt that they are good at repairing/maintaining bikes. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Most rental companies have insurance, the real issue is the deductible. Most insurance policies have a deductible of around 10k baht that has to be paid for any claim. Large rental companies like Hertz allow for this by taking a credit card number as a deposit and charging it if you damage the vehicle. Smaller operators often do not have credit card processing capabilities, so need some other form of guarantee.

[monkeycountry]

Most rental companies have insurance, the real issue is the deductible. Most insurance policies have a deductible of around 10k baht that has to be paid for any claim. Large rental companies like Hertz allow for this by taking a credit card number as a deposit and charging it if you damage the vehicle. Smaller operators often do not have credit card processing capabilities, so need some other form of guarantee.

I do not recall it being that much, but even if it is, then a cash deposit of 10k at any motorbike rental shop should solve the problem, and no passport deposit is needed.

Edited December 29, 2013 by PoorSucker
removed extra quotes

[Rooo]

Post quoting a prohibited source & reply quoting it deleted.

[evadgib]

Something of interest to Byclists:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25420858

[PattayaPhom]

Never. No way. Not a chance.

The benefit to risk ratio is appalling. Think about what happens if, through zero fault of your own, someone damages or steals the bike? It does happen.

Plenty of places only ask you to partially fill out a form, if that's not acceptable, walk away.

What's legal is irrelevant, but I can't imagine there is any Thai law that authorizes or requires them to demand it. Passports aren't even the property of the "holder," so why would you give it to a shopkeeper you've never met before, and trust them not to lose it, or allow it to be stolen?

Through not fault of his own but the owner looses money. The renter is responsible for the bike regardless whose fault. I certainly wouldnt let someone take a 100k bike with a measly 5k deposit. The only reason nit to leave passport is he must be worried he will damage the bike and dosnt want to pay

Sent from my ST27a using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited January 5, 2014 by PattayaPhom

[seedy]

Just got back from VTE.

No way to rent a small bike unless passport is left behind, and sign a form that if bike written off or stolen will cost you $1500 USD

[samuijimmy]

This subject will never end, until TAT or the government comes up with some kind of standard... (probably not likely to happen any time soon)

As already stated, these shops do not use credit cards... to hold a deposit... (that is what they do in Malaysia, but bike rental places are few and far between).

There is a shop near me, that never took Passports....they trusted people... but this last year he's lost four bikes... the last one a short while ago, the renter died in an accident... Police had the shop owner go to Nathon on two occasions to help sort things and give the passport over to the police... No one from the family claimed the body... and it was sent to BKK... presumably for the Embassy to sort out!... ???

I saw pictures of the bike and it was beyond repair...

In one year this shop owner has lost over 200,000 baht... with losing those bikes ... These shops cannot insure the bikes... or if they could the rental rates would go up... So what choice do they have?

I suggested to him that perhaps taking the Airport departure card, rather than the passport... he thought that could be a good idea... it would be interesting other people views on that...

Even the other day when I was on KP., .... the shop I have used for several years, now insists on everyone, leaving their drivers license ... these shops have had enough of being ripped off by tourists who don't give a hoot...

[seedy]

I can see the rental operators point of view.

Some tourist does a runner, or smashes the bike up and just jumps on the bird leaving them holding the bag. My favorite place in Jomtien - been using her for years - had to go to Koh Chang and retrieve a PCX that some yahoo left there.

Departure card - just say you lost it and get another.

Only sure way is to leave a big enuf deposit to cover the write-off costs, but this opens another issue with bogus damage claims by rental operators. Altho' this can be documented via foto before taking the bike I guess.

Tuff one.

[samuijimmy]

I can see the rental operators point of view.

Some tourist does a runner, or smashes the bike up and just jumps on the bird leaving them holding the bag. My favorite place in Jomtien - been using her for years - had to go to Koh Chang and retrieve a PCX that some yahoo left there.

Departure card - just say you lost it and get another.

Only sure way is to leave a big enuf deposit to cover the write-off costs, but this opens another issue with bogus damage claims by rental operators. Altho' this can be documented via foto before taking the bike I guess.

Tuff one.

Yep a tough one... the thing is with this business who lost the bikes, is that he was / is always fair in fixing repairs if needed if an accident occured..... It's the operators of shops who do rip off the clients, that cause part of the problem..

Is it that easy to get a new departure card?.... I am really not sure....

[mopar71]

Just got back from VTE.

No way to rent a small bike unless passport is left behind, and sign a form that if bike written off or stolen will cost you $1500 USD

I had a neighbor who rented a bike which was later stolen. He was convinced the locals he rented it from came back with the master key, took the bike, then wanted him to pay for it.

Edited January 6, 2014 by mopar71

[PoorSucker]

Is it that easy to get a new departure card?.... I am really not sure....

You just tell you lost it and you have to fill in a new one at departure.

[Tropicalevo]

Just got back from VTE.

No way to rent a small bike unless passport is left behind, and sign a form that if bike written off or stolen will cost you $1500 USD

I had a neighbor who rented a bike which was later stolen. He was convinced the locals he rented it from came back with the master key, took the bike, then wanted him to pay for it.

I have heard of this happening as well.

[funkyronster]

My Experience after 5 winters on Phangan hiring bikes for months at a time.

I always left my passport - didn't think about too much, because if I was the hirer, how else would I ensure bike return and good behaviour. Some visitors are animals!

I heard the horror stories, but never happened to anybody I knew - minor damage was always sorted amicably, but I never really damaged a bike.

Gradually as I socialised, I got recommendations for bike hire. The last 2 years I got to know a Thai guy so well, he hired me bikes, no passport, no contract, just trust.

Many people use hire firms that have a reputation for not charging crazy money, it's not hard to ask around and find a recommended honest firm.

Finally he said - Ron you should really buy a bike, you will save money. So I did, for 10,000 baht, a nice little 5 yr old runabout. He helped me with the green book.

Now I have my own bike at my own risk, with proper govt papers. Next step, for total legality is to get my Thai driving licence.

Anybody who is staying long term should buy their own bike, it's not hard.

But it's almost impossible for a newcomer to hire without a passport. Best bet is to hire a clunker, and agree it's total value, and write into the contract, a friendly hire firm will do this. The other way to look at it is is this. A brand new Honda is about 60,000, most hire bikes are worth less than half. It is very rare that you will totally write off a bike, and if you do, chances are that the bike is the least of your worries.

The commonest scam is these contracts with fixed price replacement prices at rip off prices - they used to really annoy me, but on the other hand, if the damage is minor, this can work in your favour because it's there in black and white and you can just pay up and walk away with your passport.

Finally - the last thing I would like to say is this. Bad news travels fast on the internet, good news not so much. In five years of 6 month winters on Phangan, I have only seen 2 accidents, both minor. I have seen 2 wrecked bikes by the side of the road. I have seen quite a few people with bandaged legs, but by no means a huge number in proportion to the number of uninjured folk. I have met hundreds of friends and had a thousand conversations about life the universe and everything, but never have I been told any of the horror stories, that have happened to friends or friends of friends or even gossip. I have a theory that very occasional bad stories propagate very quickly and become pseudo fact and urban myth.

For sure the statistics don't lie, but statistics can be misleading. It IS more dangerous here on the roads, but even allowing for the statistics, generally it is quite safe for sensible people.

I have found the Thai people good to deal with, even the surly ones! I have never been ripped off.

Hope this helps someone with background information.

Edited February 3, 2014 by funkyronster

[Maramook]

I never left my passport. Not even for a big bike. Yes, I rented an absolutely new big bike without a passport (it had only 9 km when I took it). There is more, they (particular rentals) didn't ask me for the deposit because they trusted me. Last time I even didn't fill out the document (what's it called?), I just paid 200 baht and that was it.

Beware of the rentals that offer you nothing but a sorry-ass motorbike and ask you to leave your passport. Many, I'd say all, farang rentals tend to do that nonsense. Although, I know some russian rental who doesn't. Why doesn't he do that? Because Russia is number one. And I'm Russian .

Edited March 3, 2014 by Maramook

[evadgib]

I hope they checked you could ride it before allowing you on the road...

http://biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=41302%2a%2a%2a%2a

Edited March 4, 2014 by evadgib

[BigC]

I only give my credit cardand PIN number as a deposit

And my gold bars and all my land papers

Plus the deed to me house

If that is not accepted I give them my life

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app