Buying a new car and paying by cash

[astralman]

I am going to buy a new car with full cash payment at the end of this month.

I have some questions and hope someone would help me on that. Thank you very much

The salesman told me I can him over the cashier order to me on the day of collection. But as for the paperwork, will I get the bluebook on the day of collection ? If not, what document will I receive as a proof of ownership ?

I understand that it will be a red plate at first and it takes time to convert it to the normal white plate. Question is during this waiting period, will the car be registered under my name ? What if the dealer do not do the transfer for me ?

By the way, they have already got the cash from me.

Please advise on the full procedure as I am new to this

Many thanks

[bino]

The blue book is issued in your name when white plates are issued.

Red plates belong to the dealer, and technically it is still registered in their name while you drive with red plates.

It is in the dealers best interest to register the car to you as soon as possible. If they don't, they are responsible for your driving activity while you are driving with their red plate... IE you are involved in a hit and run accident or kill someone. Furthermore, they would be run out of business by the (majority) Thai customers if they are selling cars and not providing the paperwork and transfer of ownership as required.

Go along with what the dealers tell you, urge them to get the white plate as soon as possible, and do not be overly paranoid.

[NanLaew]

You have already paid in full? Usually you drop a nominal 5k or 10k baht to 'hold' the car while the dealer gets the paperwork in order. Then there's the option of a more substantial down-payment to really get them on the ball.

Depending on where you are and how earnest the dealer is and the efficiency of the local LTO handling the registration paperwork, it would be possible to have the everything but the plates and blue registration book at the time you get the keys. I received a letter on dealership letterhead that stated the car was mine while all the paperwork caught up with me which took almost 3 months. That was over two years ago when there was a major shortage of registration plates due to bad paint being used at the plate factory. This also meant a shortage or red plates which are only valid for 30 days anyway. However, you should theoretically have paperwork and plates within the 30-day period but once again, it all depends on things that you really have no control over. Buy the dealer dinner or a night at a karaoke to keep him focused maybe?

Edited May 27, 2014 by NanLaew

[colin123]

You get a receipt of payment for the vehicle.

Red plates 1-3 months until the white plates and book come.

You sometimes get a receipt for tax to show the police if they ask about tax.

Also you have the insurance documents with the vehicle details and your details.

Normally not an issue using red plates in your own province.

However when I drove to issan the other day they collared me twice for not filling out some book.

Its all in Thai but apparently you have to fill it out on your driving trips.

[astralman]

The blue book is issued in your name when white plates are issued.

Red plates belong to the dealer, and technically it is still registered in their name while you drive with red plates.

It is in the dealers best interest to register the car to you as soon as possible. If they don't, they are responsible for your driving activity while you are driving with their red plate... IE you are involved in a hit and run accident or kill someone. Furthermore, they would be run out of business by the (majority) Thai customers if they are selling cars and not providing the paperwork and transfer of ownership as required.

Go along with what the dealers tell you, urge them to get the white plate as soon as possible, and do not be overly paranoid.

Hi bino, thanks for your reply

[astralman]

You have already paid in full? Usually you drop a nominal 5k or 10k baht to 'hold' the car while the dealer gets the paperwork in order. Then there's the option of a more substantial down-payment to really get them on the ball.

Depending on where you are and how earnest the dealer is and the efficiency of the local LTO handling the registration paperwork, it would be possible to have the everything but the plates and blue registration book at the time you get the keys. I received a letter on dealership letterhead that stated the car was mine while all the paperwork caught up with me which took almost 3 months. That was over two years ago when there was a major shortage of registration plates due to bad paint being used at the plate factory. This also meant a shortage or red plates which are only valid for 30 days anyway. However, you should theoretically have paperwork and plates within the 30-day period but once again, it all depends on things that you really have no control over. Buy the dealer dinner or a night at a karaoke to keep him focused maybe?

I was only asked to pay 10k baht as a deposit and then the balance at the end of the month when I collect the car.

As I am buying from the showroom, I hope they will be honest

Thanks for the reply

[astralman]

You get a receipt of payment for the vehicle.

Red plates 1-3 months until the white plates and book come.

You sometimes get a receipt for tax to show the police if they ask about tax.

Also you have the insurance documents with the vehicle details and your details.

Normally not an issue using red plates in your own province.

However when I drove to issan the other day they collared me twice for not filling out some book.

Its all in Thai but apparently you have to fill it out on your driving trips.

Hi colln123,

Thanks for your reply

I think the receipt of payment and the insurance details may suffice while waiting for the actual transfer

[JAS21]

You get a receipt of payment for the vehicle.

Red plates 1-3 months until the white plates and book come.

You sometimes get a receipt for tax to show the police if they ask about tax.

Also you have the insurance documents with the vehicle details and your details.

Normally not an issue using red plates in your own province.

However when I drove to issan the other day they collared me twice for not filling out some book.

Its all in Thai but apparently you have to fill it out on your driving trips.

Hi colln123,

Thanks for your reply

I think the receipt of payment and the insurance details may suffice while waiting for the actual transfer

That sounds okay ... just ensure that you get a book to fill in journey details ... the dealer asked us to write with a pencil so it could be rubbed out ... makes the book last longer. Only fill it in if driving outside the province of the red plates.

Best to get white plates asap ...some dealers like to hang on as they dont pay for the car until the white plates are issued ... 3 weeks is about the norm.

[Seastallion]

You get a receipt of payment for the vehicle.

Red plates 1-3 months until the white plates and book come.

You sometimes get a receipt for tax to show the police if they ask about tax.

Also you have the insurance documents with the vehicle details and your details.

Normally not an issue using red plates in your own province.

However when I drove to issan the other day they collared me twice for not filling out some book.

Its all in Thai but apparently you have to fill it out on your driving trips.

Hi colln123,

Thanks for your reply

I think the receipt of payment and the insurance details may suffice while waiting for the actual transfer

That sounds okay ... just ensure that you get a book to fill in journey details ... the dealer asked us to write with a pencil so it could be rubbed out ... makes the book last longer. Only fill it in if driving outside the province of the red plates.

Best to get white plates asap ...some dealers like to hang on as they dont pay for the car until the white plates are issued ... 3 weeks is about the norm.

Interesting. I first noticed the red plates when my neighbour bought a new car 2 weeks ago. Since then, I have noticed a few. The thing is, all the white plates are Songkhla plates, but all the red ones are Krungthepmahanakhon (BKK) plates. I was struck by your comment about out-of-province.

[astralman]

You get a receipt of payment for the vehicle.

Red plates 1-3 months until the white plates and book come.

You sometimes get a receipt for tax to show the police if they ask about tax.

Also you have the insurance documents with the vehicle details and your details.

Normally not an issue using red plates in your own province.

However when I drove to issan the other day they collared me twice for not filling out some book.

Its all in Thai but apparently you have to fill it out on your driving trips.

Hi colln123,

Thanks for your reply

I think the receipt of payment and the insurance details may suffice while waiting for the actual transfer

That sounds okay ... just ensure that you get a book to fill in journey details ... the dealer asked us to write with a pencil so it could be rubbed out ... makes the book last longer. Only fill it in if driving outside the province of the red plates.

Best to get white plates asap ...some dealers like to hang on as they dont pay for the car until the white plates are issued ... 3 weeks is about the norm.

Thanks again for the advice

[JAS21]

You get a receipt of payment for the vehicle.

Red plates 1-3 months until the white plates and book come.

You sometimes get a receipt for tax to show the police if they ask about tax.

Also you have the insurance documents with the vehicle details and your details.

Normally not an issue using red plates in your own province.

However when I drove to issan the other day they collared me twice for not filling out some book.

Its all in Thai but apparently you have to fill it out on your driving trips.

Hi colln123,

Thanks for your reply

I think the receipt of payment and the insurance details may suffice while waiting for the actual transfer

That sounds okay ... just ensure that you get a book to fill in journey details ... the dealer asked us to write with a pencil so it could be rubbed out ... makes the book last longer. Only fill it in if driving outside the province of the red plates.

Best to get white plates asap ...some dealers like to hang on as they dont pay for the car until the white plates are issued ... 3 weeks is about the norm.

Thanks again for the advice

Sorry, a little error, Ms Google has just informed me that we 'should' have filled in 'the book' every time that we went out. Make sure that you get the book associated with the red plate else the red plate may be a fake.

Pester the dealer for the white plates. There is now no shortage like a couple of years ago. Many like to drive on red plates .. it says 'look I have a new car'. Some drive for a year!!

[Johnnie99]

I paid cash too - Bentley and there were no problems at all.

It seems that if one has cash, things go very smoothly here.

[JacChang]

Sorry, a little error, Ms Google has just informed me that we 'should' have filled in 'the book' every time that we went out. Make sure that you get the book associated with the red plate else the red plate may be a fake.

Pester the dealer for the white plates. There is now no shortage like a couple of years ago. Many like to drive on red plates .. it says 'look I have a new car'. Some drive for a year!!

LOL

That happened to me. I bought a new car with cash and drove around with the red plate for like 3 months or so. Kept checking with the dealer, white plates never came. Someone pointed out the paint problem causing the plate shortage, so now I know the reason I bought it about 2 years ago as well.

But then something interesting came up, police stopped me and gave me a ticket. Saying my red plates was fake, confiscated my international driving permit and will give it back only when I pay. I went down, talked with the police, argued, saying how is it my fault, blah blah blah. He told me, real red plates would be similar to white plates, if you look closely enough, you will see a "stamp" that was forced into the plate, causing the metal to distort and form a thai symbol. Evidently my fake red plate was smooth. Then I gave it to the dealers to pay the fee and etc. None of the sales wanted to offer help, all of them are not interested, saying nothing could be done. Useless worthless low level staffs. Luckily the manager walked pass, and immediately took care of it. Of course, it's the dealer's problem, you ran out of plates and still wanted to sell the car so bad, you must take responsibility, why should the customer have to deal with this?

And yea, they told me, the other customers didn't want to return the real red plates even though their white plates are out. They like to drive around in red Sales told me the customers have been driving the real red plate for over 6 months already haha.

Just a tip for some people, red plates have a time restriction on them, I forgot if curfew was 6pm or 10pm. Which means no driving red plates at night.

To the OP, remember to get any deposit back. I remember I paid 800-2000baht for the "borrowing" of the red plates. When you get the white plates, most people just forget because they are so excited about the new white plates, they just want to quickly drive it away. And the sales WILL NOT remind you. You have to be assertive and demand the refund of the deposit. Usually they will take your bank account down and deposit in 7 days.

Good luck! and have fun with your new car.

[JimMagee]

There are a lot of restrictions driving with a red plate. Such as can't drive at night, can't leave your province, must document everything in the book, etc. You may want to research this more. I bought a new truck and drove for 3 months without any type of a plate. I was waived through several police check points, one time I was stopped and I showed the receipt from the dealer, no problem. After 3 months you need to have the white plate.

[MonkeyLoo]

Ive just got my white plates after 5 Months. All kinds of problems but nothing too serious.

1- The dealer didnt give me the book that i was supposedto have to log journeys. So i got stopped twice by the cops and fined 200 baht each time. Having said that i was in another province. In the province where i got the car they just seemed to look at the plate and wave me through.

2 - The dealer called after a few months telling me i need a residency certificate to register it in my name.

I got one from immigration, cost 800 baht.

I paid cash too but wasnt aware i paid a deposit for the plates? is that true for all red plates?

[wabothai]

My experience a couple of weeks ago, cannot put in your name.

[MonkeyLoo]

My experience a couple of weeks ago, cannot put in your name.

Why not?

If you pay in full in cash ?

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[shaurene]

Hi I bought new BT-50 Mazda 2 yrs ago in Khon Kaen paid cash, I got sales document and insurance cert from them, red plate all no problem, that week end drove down to Pattaya with the wife stopped 2 times on the way checked my docs no problem. If you useing good top car dealer should be ok. I got my black plates and official book 2-3 weeks later.

[shaurene]

My experience a couple of weeks ago, cannot put in your name.

Why not?

If you pay in full in cash ?

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

If you have yellow house book you can, I did or acceptable document you have resident address, there were no questions asked.

[shaurene]

There are a lot of restrictions driving with a red plate. Such as can't drive at night, can't leave your province, must document everything in the book, etc. You may want to research this more. I bought a new truck and drove for 3 months without any type of a plate. I was waived through several police check points, one time I was stopped and I showed the receipt from the dealer, no problem. After 3 months you need to have the white plate.

Hi Jim. I bought my BT-50 in Khon Kaen had my red plates and my book to log my journeys drove down to Pattaya got stopped 2 times showed them the book and the car dealer docs I had no problem out of state. That journey log book is important to fill in.

[nongsangcity]

red plates and you will get a brown book.....you must fill in the brown book everytime before you make a journey....even if going 1 km....if not filled in you will get a 200 bht fine......on my Honda my white plates took 4 weeks ....you give back your red plates and brown book and you get you money back from your red plates ....around 3000 bht.......so simple......

[movsrus]

We bought a new Mitsubishi Mirage from a dealer in Chiang Mai. After we agreed on the price, I paid 10,000 baht as a deposit and told them it would be 7-10 days for funds to be transferred from the US to Thailand and I would then pick up the car (expect to do it on Saturday). The sales lady said the dealership wanted a 3000 baht deposit for the red plates which was to be refunded when the white plates arrived.

I will ensure we get the "book" or whatever it is to document travels when we have the red plates. Do you have to document every trip you take prior to getting the white plates or only those trips that go outside the province? Can I drive in Chiang Mai at night with red plates? If not, at what time does the car have to be off the road?

The car will not be in my name as I have a tourist visa and can't buy a car however I did buy a motorcycle last week and only had to supply a Certificate of Residence from Immigration. Why can a farang buy a motorcycle but not a car? Any clues?

Just saw the prior post from nongsangcity which answered one of my questions about how often you have to fill in the brown book. Thanks. Any idea about why I can buy a motorcycle but not a car on a tourist visa?

Edited May 28, 2014 by movsrus

[shrimpythailand]

red plates until you get the white plates - you have to write down every trip... also I was told not to drive on the red plates after 8 pm 5 5 5 I got pulled over once and had the book with a few trips written in on it and was no problem - no fine....also - with the don't drive over 100 km/h on the first 5000 kms on a new vehicle while letting the engine wear in - you can tell who is going to be blowing black smoke on his piston rings when the pick up truck or vehicle with red plates passes you at 160-180 kms ar ar ar

[MonkeyLoo]

We bought a new Mitsubishi Mirage from a dealer in Chiang Mai. After we agreed on the price, I paid 10,000 baht as a deposit and told them it would be 7-10 days for funds to be transferred from the US to Thailand and I would then pick up the car (expect to do it on Saturday). The sales lady said the dealership wanted a 3000 baht deposit for the red plates which was to be refunded when the white plates arrived.

I will ensure we get the "book" or whatever it is to document travels when we have the red plates. Do you have to document every trip you take prior to getting the white plates or only those trips that go outside the province? Can I drive in Chiang Mai at night with red plates? If not, at what time does the car have to be off the road?

The car will not be in my name as I have a tourist visa and can't buy a car however I did buy a motorcycle last week and only had to supply a Certificate of Residence from Immigration. Why can a farang buy a motorcycle but not a car? Any clues?

Just saw the prior post from nongsangcity which answered one of my questions about how often you have to fill in the brown book. Thanks. Any idea about why I can buy a motorcycle but not a car on a tourist visa?

Im only on a tourist visa and was allowed to buy a new truck.

My Thai girl was with me and they took a copy of her ID. I dont know if or why that would make a difference. Its in my name for sure.

The guy at immigration asked me to put it in my girls name as he said it was easier!

Yeah right......

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[JacChang]

Since we are on the subject of buying new cars, I want to bring up the pricing I know sales will hate me, but I hate sales even more.

As a general rule, and it applies to most cars regardless of brand and price range.

Most people have no idea how much discount they can get, and that's exactly how the sales wants you to think. That they are doing you a favor by discounting 10,000-20,000. That number there is a slap on your face.

First walk in, and ask about what you can get and what things will be given to you. Reason is, if you negotiate price first, things start disappearing.

Of course, the magical number everyone wants is 7-8% off the sticker price. The extreme, to the extent the sales gets almost no monetary gain, but only sales quantity gain to get his/her bonus is 10% usually. Like if he/she needed to sell 4 cars per month in order to get that bonus, the sales might be willing to sell the last car desperately for no monetary gain but just to reach the quota.

Those who know this, will always do this for life, and the attitude shows when negotiating. The sales starts getting nervous when you laugh at the discount he gives you. When you know the true number, how long can they go on lying? Sure, "ask the manager", and bring the manager out, not once, twice or three times if needed. We know the game. Start discounting even more by saying, no tinting windows, we'll give you another thousands of discount, and so on.

Cheers

[balo]

The car will not be in my name as I have a tourist visa and can't buy a car however I did buy a motorcycle last week and only had to supply a Certificate of Residence from Immigration. Why can a farang buy a motorcycle but not a car? Any clues?

Just saw the prior post from nongsangcity which answered one of my questions about how often you have to fill in the brown book. Thanks. Any idea about why I can buy a motorcycle but not a car on a tourist visa?

You have been misinformed . No problems to buy a car even if you're on a tourist visa, just like with condos, cars and bikes can be owned by foreigners .

But you need to show them a proof of residence. Doesn't matter what kind of visa you're on .

And you do not have to fill in the brown book if you do daytime driving in your own province. Only after 6 pm or if you leave your province you have to use the brown book.

[Anon999]

You have already paid in full? Usually you drop a nominal 5k or 10k baht to 'hold' the car while the dealer gets the paperwork in order. Then there's the option of a more substantial down-payment to really get them on the ball.

Depending on where you are and how earnest the dealer is and the efficiency of the local LTO handling the registration paperwork, it would be possible to have the everything but the plates and blue registration book at the time you get the keys. I received a letter on dealership letterhead that stated the car was mine while all the paperwork caught up with me which took almost 3 months. That was over two years ago when there was a major shortage of registration plates due to bad paint being used at the plate factory. This also meant a shortage or red plates which are only valid for 30 days anyway. However, you should theoretically have paperwork and plates within the 30-day period but once again, it all depends on things that you really have no control over. Buy the dealer dinner or a night at a karaoke to keep him focused maybe?

Bought a new car in BKK a month ago and having paid the deposit they ordered the car with all the agreed extras from the factory. Once it was delivered to the dealer they checked it over and ask me to pay the balance by bank transfer. When that was completed they emailed a receipt and shipped the car to Khon Kaen ready for me to collect. Checked it over and signed the relevant paperwork after being given all the car docs.

As I want to choose the number they are also transferring the documents from BKK so I can do that at my local transport office.

No problems and very straightforward.

[natway09]

You should only pay around 10,000bht deposit until delivery.

Get all worked out, on delivery day just give them a bank cashiers cheque for remainder preferably they arrange full comprehensive

insurance. They will call when your plates are ready when will give you a refund on the reds.

Yes, of course can be in your name.(if you are legally in the country)

I have done it 3 times without a hitch.

Enjoy your freedom

[NanLaew]

The car will not be in my name as I have a tourist visa and can't buy a car however I did buy a motorcycle last week and only had to supply a Certificate of Residence from Immigration. Why can a farang buy a motorcycle but not a car? Any clues?

Just saw the prior post from nongsangcity which answered one of my questions about how often you have to fill in the brown book. Thanks. Any idea about why I can buy a motorcycle but not a car on a tourist visa?

You have been misinformed . No problems to buy a car even if you're on a tourist visa, just like with condos, cars and bikes can be owned by foreigners .

But you need to show them a proof of residence. Doesn't matter what kind of visa you're on .

And you do not have to fill in the brown book if you do daytime driving in your own province. Only after 6 pm or if you leave your province you have to use the brown book.

Legally, you have to log EVERY daylight road trip in the brown book when the vehicle is on red plates.

A red plated vehicle cannot legally be driven between 18:00 and 06:00, so there's no logging of night drives (since you should not be driving at night).

Red plates have a maximum legal validity of 30-days after which you may be fined regardless if your white plates are not ready.

The overriding caveat to all of the above? Regarding what is deemed legal, illegal and/or punishable is totally at the professional discretion whim of the traffic cop stopping you.

[balo]

The car will not be in my name as I have a tourist visa and can't buy a car however I did buy a motorcycle last week and only had to supply a Certificate of Residence from Immigration. Why can a farang buy a motorcycle but not a car? Any clues?

Just saw the prior post from nongsangcity which answered one of my questions about how often you have to fill in the brown book. Thanks. Any idea about why I can buy a motorcycle but not a car on a tourist visa?

You have been misinformed . No problems to buy a car even if you're on a tourist visa, just like with condos, cars and bikes can be owned by foreigners .

But you need to show them a proof of residence. Doesn't matter what kind of visa you're on .

And you do not have to fill in the brown book if you do daytime driving in your own province. Only after 6 pm or if you leave your province you have to use the brown book.

Legally, you have to log EVERY daylight road trip in the brown book when the vehicle is on red plates.

A red plated vehicle cannot legally be driven between 18:00 and 06:00, so there's no logging of night drives (since you should not be driving at night).

Red plates have a maximum legal validity of 30-days after which you may be fined regardless if your white plates are not ready.

The overriding caveat to all of the above? Regarding what is deemed legal, illegal and/or punishable is totally at the professional discretion whim of the traffic cop stopping you.

Maybe different rules depending where you live ? In Chonburi I was told by the dealer to only log in the brown book if I was driving outside of Chonburi during the daytime. And not drive after 6 pm.

Sent from my SM-P601 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app