New car registration and insurance formalities

[tutsiwarrior]

I want to buy a new car in Thailand with cash and register it in my name. Two weeks after the purchase I'll head back to work outside of Thailand and want to have the car available for the wife to use while I'm away. Some questions that hopefully folks can help me with:

• do the car registration formalities conclude at the car dealership or is a trip to the land transport office required? Documentation requirements?
• if registration is not immediate with car purchase can all registration formalities be concluded within two weeks including the issue of the number plates?
• can a valid Thai driver's license with home address, passport with visa extension and the presence of my wife with tabien baan suffice for proof of residence?
• can the car insurance arrangements be concluded simultaneously with the registration?

any observations regarding having everything done in the wife's name instead?

thanks in advance...

[watcharacters]

.

Is it correct to assume you want to have the car in your name?

I only know I had to deal with my residence paper twice in Issan as the local Imm. office refuses to offer the address for longer than a 30 day time frame. It takes 40 days for the plate registration office to complete their part of the process.

Another 500. THB went to the pocket of the lady at Imm office for a second address verification.

I'd still get it in my name however even when the car goes to my wife in my will.

[tutsiwarrior]

yeah...I want the car in my name but, if there are problems like having to hang around for months to complete the registration process (number plates, etc) then OK for the wife to do the business...also curious to know if a driver's license is good for proof of residence for land transport office purposes...

not many replies...the car registration process must've been discussed on previous threads but I've done a search and can't find none...anybody got a link (louisiana hot link? missing link? etc)?

[stevenl]

"also curious to know if a driver's license is good for proof of residence for land transport office purposes"

No. Proof is workpermit, yellow housebook or obtained from immigration or embassy.

[tutsiwarrior]

rats...one goes down to the embassy to get the residence letter to get the driving license then tries to use it to verify residence with the people that issued it and cannot...

anyway, what about the registration process when all documents are in order? how long does it take including obtaining number plates and does one have to present oneself more than once to complete the process?

[stevenl]

Just once, should take about 1 month to receive the plates.

[petewan]

I bought a new car in bangkok because the waiting list in patts was a year . I paid cash which included everything plates insurance extras ,i was told the car would be registered in about two month. Well i bought it 8th march 2013 and i still have red number plates also i never recieved an insurance policy or a renewel letter.

I have asked till i am blue in the face when will the car be registered to no avail. So i sent an E Mail and got a reply (we will try to fix) so i made copys and am now in the process of waiting for the dealer head office to sort this out.. If no joy then i will try consumer protection . the insurance is a worry as i wonder if i have been driving for a year with no cover. I have the reciept for the cash i paid and insurance is included. The car is exelent and no problems but i have learnt a lesson which is buy local in case of problems so you can harass them till its sorted because here the customer is always wrong and once you pay your on your own.

[tutsiwarrior]

lordy, what a tale of woe...yeah, I hope to make the purchase at a dealer close to home so that if the registration documentation doesn't arrive when it's supposta then the wife can go down and rag their azzez...

what's the story with the red plates? do they come with an expiry date that the cops can use to impose an on the spot fine?

[petewan]

I dont know how long you can drive on red plates but i have never been stoped in the year i have had them and i have been to bangkok five times from pattaya .

Thai like to to have red plates as it shows everyone they have a new car, I cant fathum the reason for not getting the car registered in my case as its paid for in full.

[stevenl]

I dont know how long you can drive on red plates but i have never been stoped in the year i have had them and i have been to bangkok five times from pattaya .

Thai like to to have red plates as it shows everyone they have a new car, I cant fathum the reason for not getting the car registered in my case as its paid for in full.

The dealer has to pay for it when registered. The longer they postpone, the longer they can keep the money in their pockets.

[tua2kee]

I think something fishy. Better make sure it is properly registered.

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[tutsiwarrior]

the dealer pays for the vehicle registration? where I come from in the US tax and registration for a new vehicle is a significant amount that is paid by the purchaser...sounds like a good deal in Thailand when there are no delays by the dealer...

so, if one years' insurance is usually a freebie and the dealer pays for the registration what additional charges are there on top of the list price at the showroom?

Edited March 19, 2014 by tutsiwarrior

[Aldebaran1981]

dear all,

if i do not have a valid thai driver's licence, can i register a car(new or used) under my name?

Can I use my Singapore Driver's licence to get validity to register the car for insurance as well or do I need to do some conversion first before I can own a vehicle?

I'll most probably be holding an ED Visa by the time I want to purchase a car.

[Kwasaki]

the dealer pays for the vehicle registration? where I come from in the US tax and registration for a new vehicle is a significant amount that is paid by the purchaser...sounds like a good deal in Thailand when there are no delays by the dealer...

so, if one years' insurance is usually a freebie and the dealer pays for the registration what additional charges are there on top of the list price at the showroom?

None only what you want as extra's whether they are bought from the dealer or an after market outlet.

[Kwasaki]

dear all,

if i do not have a valid thai driver's licence, can i register a car(new or used) under my name?

Can I use my Singapore Driver's licence to get validity to register the car for insurance as well or do I need to do some conversion first before I can own a vehicle?

I'll most probably be holding an ED Visa by the time I want to purchase a car.

You can purchase a car in Thailand if you have all the correct requirements my guess is it's best to ask where you want to buy the car.

With most foreign licences having a Photo of you and written in English you can drive up to 90 days after that you need to get a Thai driving licence.

Anybody staying in Thailand and wanting to drive the most approved way is to go and get a Thai driving licence.

[Aldebaran1981]

dear all,

if i do not have a valid thai driver's licence, can i register a car(new or used) under my name?

Can I use my Singapore Driver's licence to get validity to register the car for insurance as well or do I need to do some conversion first before I can own a vehicle?

I'll most probably be holding an ED Visa by the time I want to purchase a car.

You can purchase a car in Thailand if you have all the correct requirements my guess is it's best to ask where you want to buy the car.

With most foreign licences having a Photo of you and written in English you can drive up to 90 days after that you need to get a Thai driving licence.

Anybody staying in Thailand and wanting to drive the most approved way is to go and get a Thai driving licence.

understood! so i can just take a test to get a thai licence or?

sorry for the dumb question

[Kwasaki]

dear all,

if i do not have a valid thai driver's licence, can i register a car(new or used) under my name?

Can I use my Singapore Driver's licence to get validity to register the car for insurance as well or do I need to do some conversion first before I can own a vehicle?

I'll most probably be holding an ED Visa by the time I want to purchase a car.

You can purchase a car in Thailand if you have all the correct requirements my guess is it's best to ask where you want to buy the car.

With most foreign licences having a Photo of you and written in English you can drive up to 90 days after that you need to get a Thai driving licence.

Anybody staying in Thailand and wanting to drive the most approved way is to go and get a Thai driving licence.

understood! so i can just take a test to get a thai licence or?

sorry for the dumb question

Not really !! You should not have to take a full test if you have a valid full driving licence from your own country with the vehicles you are enabled to drive listed on your driving licence.

The main consensus in general with being a driver in Thailand is that the best thing to do is to go to your nearest DLT a get a Thai driving licence.

[KittenKong]

I was on red plates for more than 6 months, but that was during the great Thai number plate penury of a couple of years ago. Maybe things have improved since then.

Either way no trip by me to the LTO was ever required. The dealer did it all and fitted the new plates when they arrived and gave me the finished paperwork. I did actually buy locally but had I bought from a Bangkok dealer then I would imagine that they would also have handled all the paperwork, though of course I would have had to drive back there once to get the red plates replaced and the pick the finished paperwork up. Unless one could talk them into sending a bloke out to do it.

[tutsiwarrior]

^^ that's great and what I wanted to hear as I'll only be around to initiate the registration process in my name and pay for the car when I have to go back overseas to work...

the wife who is handy with all things local can finish the process while I'm away like pick up the permanent plates from the dealer and etc...

cheers...