Driving wife's car to Malaysia

[ongengwai]

Hello, I plan to drive my wife's car to Malaysia this Saturday.

I have search this forum extensively and I would like some verifications from you. Could you please verify for me the following are correct ?

1. Prepare my wife's tabien lut (blue car registeration book)

2. Get my wife to give me power of attorney

3. Translate my Thai car number plates into latin alphabet and put the sticker on car

4. Prepare my own Thailand driving license (and my passport)

5. Go to nearest Department of Land Transport to get the blue registeration book translated

6. Drive to Malaysia, once cross the border,

7. Immediately buy insurance

8. Get the car checked and be issued with International Circulation Permit

And I am good.

Am I right in my understanding ?

[ikbenhet]

3. Can also be done at the border i.c. with the insurance.

6. Buy the insurance before crossing the border (3 months is the minimum i think, not expensive)

8. this will also activate your insurance.

Also be sure not to have to dark tinted car windows. They are not allowed in Malaysia.

Edited June 24, 2015 by ikbenhet

[flyingdoc]

Sound advice !

[recom273]

3. Can also be done at the border i.c. with the insurance.

6. Buy the insurance before crossing the border (3 months is the minimum i think, not expensive)

8. this will also activate your insurance.

Also be sure not to have to dark tinted car windows. They are not allowed in Malaysia.

Where do you purchase your insurance before ? I would like to eliminate this hold-up at the border and would gladly purchase 3 months in advance.

[off road pat]

if you go to Malaysia throe Pedang Besar ? there is a Big tax-free Shop on the right side into No Man's Land. in the shop you can buy a insurance. It costed me +/- 700 thb.....for one month and I guess +/- the same for 3 months.....once you get at the Malaysian border you have to show the insurance and pay some small money to use the roads....and from there on you are on a beautiful highway.....Fill up your tank on the first petrol station, petrol is cheaper in Malaysia....

Best regards,...

Edited June 24, 2015 by off road pat

[ikbenhet]

3. Can also be done at the border i.c. with the insurance.

6. Buy the insurance before crossing the border (3 months is the minimum i think, not expensive)

8. this will also activate your insurance.

Also be sure not to have to dark tinted car windows. They are not allowed in Malaysia.

Where do you purchase your insurance before ? I would like to eliminate this hold-up at the border and would gladly purchase 3 months in advance.

When you are real close to the border there are usually several shops where you can buy the insurance.

Just look around for signs and check the prices, getting the insurance and the stickers can take up to an hour or so.

So order the sticker and insurance and go grab a bite or/and a beer somewhere, and come back when ready.

And indeed try to arrive on an almost empty tank and fill up in Malaysia.

Also be aware that there are not that many ATM's around like in Thailand so get some ringgits at the border.

There are several toll roads that need to be paid in ringgits.

Have a good trip.

Edited June 24, 2015 by ikbenhet

[recom273]

3. Can also be done at the border i.c. with the insurance.

6. Buy the insurance before crossing the border (3 months is the minimum i think, not expensive)

8. this will also activate your insurance.

Also be sure not to have to dark tinted car windows. They are not allowed in Malaysia.

Where do you purchase your insurance before ? I would like to eliminate this hold-up at the border and would gladly purchase 3 months in advance.

When you are real close to the border there are usually several shops where you can buy the insurance.

Just look around for signs and check the prices, getting the insurance and the stickers can take up to an hour or so.

So order the sticker and insurance and go grab a bite or a beer somewhere.

Which border is this ?

Thanks - I live pretty close to Padang bezar so like many locals have a permanent sticker as I cross every other month or so.

I don't find the insurance cheap at all, I think we get a short stick compared to Malays coming here - I just wondered if you had a specific company that you found cheaper than the guys at the border, next to the JPJ.

[technologybytes]

I have driven to Malaysia many times, also to Lao, Cambodia and Burma. Malaysia is by far the easiest, your list of documents is correct but it's more than likely you will never be asked for any of them. Ok the insurance office will want to see the blue book so they put the correct details on the insurance, but other than that it's likely nobody will ask.

Also, In my experience a Thai registered car is just waved on at police checkpoints in Malaysia.

The black number plate sticker is available from lots of shops right at the border, often I have not even bothered with this and it's never been a problem.

[Tomtomtom69]

I have driven to Malaysia many times, also to Lao, Cambodia and Burma. Malaysia is by far the easiest, your list of documents is correct but it's more than likely you will never be asked for any of them. Ok the insurance office will want to see the blue book so they put the correct details on the insurance, but other than that it's likely nobody will ask.

Also, In my experience a Thai registered car is just waved on at police checkpoints in Malaysia.

The black number plate sticker is available from lots of shops right at the border, often I have not even bothered with this and it's never been a problem.

When I drove to Malaysia I was told all Thai vehicles MUST have the black number plate sticker and recent reports seem to indicate problems if you don't have one (except maybe in border regions).

Coming from Padang Besar, around 5km inside Malaysia there is a checkpoint where they will check to make sure you've purchased insurance. If not, you will be turned around and directed to the nearest insurance broker located at the border.

At other checkpoints, not sure if the same process is followed. All I know is there are no similar checkpoints on the Thai side, so a foreign registered vehicle could presumably drive into Thailand without ever buying insurance (though this is not a good idea) but I only know one checkpoint that ever asks for Thai insurance for foreign registered vehicles and that is Chong Mek, coming from Laos.

[Tomtomtom69]

3. Can also be done at the border i.c. with the insurance.

6. Buy the insurance before crossing the border (3 months is the minimum i think, not expensive)

8. this will also activate your insurance.

Also be sure not to have to dark tinted car windows. They are not allowed in Malaysia.

Not sure what number 8 means. Please explain.

Only 4 things need to be done if you're the owner of the vehicle, or 5 if you're not, in order to travel to Malaysia in your own car or bike:

1. You will need the original blue book (or green book for motorcycles)

2. You will need to get a translation of the book done at your local Land Transport Department (LTD) (25 Baht)

3. Number plate stickers that are a translation of your number plate/licence plate according to the English translation of your registration. This is not self-explanatory as it sounds as the LTD translates Thai letters according to their position relative to the English alphabet, not according to their sound. So ko kai, ก, becomes "A" rather than "K" as you would expect. Interestingly, the LTD issued international number plates are invalid for Malaysia, they insist on white on black stickers that are a translation of your registration. Problem is the international plates don't have the province of registration but simply say "Thailand". Obviously the LTD didn't consult Malaysia or any other country when they decided to issue these useless plates, that no neighboring country recognizes (Malaysia) or requires (Laos). Funnily enough many Thai cars in Laos put these plates on despite Laos not giving a crap as they aren't required. What a waste of 200 Baht. Anyway, I digress.

4. Malaysian insurance (can be purchased at the border)

5. Power of attorney from the owner authorising you to drive to Malaysia and/or other countries

[recom273]

3. Can also be done at the border i.c. with the insurance.

6. Buy the insurance before crossing the border (3 months is the minimum i think, not expensive)

8. this will also activate your insurance.

Also be sure not to have to dark tinted car windows. They are not allowed in Malaysia.

Not sure what number 8 means. Please explain.

Yeah - you are spot on there.

I think #8 is the Malaysian driving permit sticker from the JPJ - the Malaysian land transport office.

On arrival at Sadao border, you should buy your insurance and then with your new insurance, documents and licence proceed to the office behind and 'exchange' your license for a permit sticker. Your Thai license even tho' it's a 5 year that fine overseas isn't technically valid in Malaysia.

Just another example ( as you mentioned with the plates ) of non-communication between authorities.

It's all rather confusing as Malaysian vehicles simply submit a temporary import form at the border and perhaps buy some cheap insurance ( but we all know this is rarely enforced ) and enter.

Edited August 5, 2015 by recom273

[Tomtomtom69]

3. Can also be done at the border i.c. with the insurance.

6. Buy the insurance before crossing the border (3 months is the minimum i think, not expensive)

8. this will also activate your insurance.

Also be sure not to have to dark tinted car windows. They are not allowed in Malaysia.

Not sure what number 8 means. Please explain.

Yeah - you are spot on there.

I think #8 is the Malaysian driving permit sticker from the JPJ - the Malaysian land transport office.

On arrival at Sadao border, you should buy your insurance and then with your new insurance, documents and licence proceed to the office behind and 'exchange' your license for a permit sticker. Your Thai license even tho' it's a 5 year that fine overseas isn't technically valid in Malaysia.

Just another example ( as you mentioned with the plates ) of non-communication between authorities.

It's all rather confusing as Malaysian vehicles simply submit a temporary import form at the border and perhaps buy some cheap insurance ( but we all know this is rarely enforced ) and enter.

OK so you're talking about a temporary Malaysian driving licence? Well how about if, like me, you possess both a Thai 5 year licence and a licence from a recognised western country such as Australia? I am perfectly happy using an Aussie licence in Malaysia rather than a Thai one, if that reduces the paperwork. Besides, I carry both licences with me at all times. In fact, I even possess a Cambodian licence (though I'm going to need to update it soon as it just expired) and valid Chinese and Vietnamese licences, if they help, but presumably they wouldn't as only the Cambodian and Aussie ones have English on them (apart from the unrecognized Thai one of course).

When I took my Thai car over to Malaysia at Padang Besar some 11 years ago, I don't recall having to do anything other than purchase Malaysian insurance and get the stickers. So is this a new requirement? Not that it sounds complicated, but it would thus certainly increase the amount of time spent getting your car across the border.

Thanks for the heads up though.

Incidentally, I am planning on driving my car down to Malaysia later this year hence my interest in this thread. Perhaps entering at the Satun checkpoint (Wang Prajun national park) and then returning via Sadao. One reason is the window tint issue. Another poster (Phuketrichard) claims that at Wang Prajun they don't have the tint measuring device, but at Sadao they do. My tint is actually fairly light; but as I don't have a measuring device and I don't know where it says what percentage you have (although when I purchased my car just over a year ago I was asked what percentage tint I want and I said "not too dark, it has to comply with what the law says" so I think I have 40% tint, which allows 60% of light to come through the front windscreen) but I read that for Malaysia the front windscreen should be 30% max. tint allowing 70% light to come through? But would they really notice the 10% difference.

BTW a bit off topic but still relevant to the whole AEC and driving across borders thing. Around this time last year, Thai authorities banned Malaysian and Singaporean tour buses from driving beyond Songkhla, in a spat that was a retaliation of Malaysian treatment of Thai cars related to window tinting and the need for number plate stickers, meanwhile Malaysian vehicles weren't required to have any stickers. A couple of months back though, I noticed a Malaysian car driving near Prachuab Khiri Khan which DID have a Thai sticker, which was a translation of the latin number plate into Thai! It said something like "กดท 555 มาเลเซีย", which is a transliteration of "KDT 555 Malaysia" if the Thai characters are expressed based upon the sound of the English. My question is has the ban on tour buses that they proposed last year been lifted, as I remember reading articles about the ban being put into place, with a remark the authorities would test it's effect on tourism and see what they should do after 2 months, or have the Thais and Malays now reached a concensus? Perhaps the latest requirement for Malaysian cars to have a Thai translation of their number plates is now seen as being equivalent to Malay requirements on Thai vehicles and thus the tour bus ban might have been recinded? I have tried to find articles about a lifting of the ban but have found nothing - perhaps they just lifted the ban without announcing it though, that could be.

[recom273]

3. Can also be done at the border i.c. with the insurance.

6. Buy the insurance before crossing the border (3 months is the minimum i think, not expensive)

8. this will also activate your insurance.

Also be sure not to have to dark tinted car windows. They are not allowed in Malaysia.

Not sure what number 8 means. Please explain.

Yeah - you are spot on there.

I think #8 is the Malaysian driving permit sticker from the JPJ - the Malaysian land transport office.

On arrival at Sadao border, you should buy your insurance and then with your new insurance, documents and licence proceed to the office behind and 'exchange' your license for a permit sticker. Your Thai license even tho' it's a 5 year that fine overseas isn't technically valid in Malaysia.

Just another example ( as you mentioned with the plates ) of non-communication between authorities.

It's all rather confusing as Malaysian vehicles simply submit a temporary import form at the border and perhaps buy some cheap insurance ( but we all know this is rarely enforced ) and enter.

...

Thanks for the heads up though.

Sorry, I can't give you much advise on the Wang Prajun crossing ..

Apparently you can buy insurance there, its been said that the place is on the Thai side, before the checkpoint.

I wouldn't worry too much about the delay in JPJ ( look for a usually blue sign, Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan ) .. especially at Satun. It's pretty much a matter of presenting your insurance, your translation and letting the guy completing the form for you.

I tried to look for a page on the JPJ website with no luck, so i am unsure if you need to exchange your IDP for other countries or if its just exclusive to Thai licences, and yes, it is required if you have a 5 year Thai license. The whole thing is ridiculous - Where is the route map to bring all the transport departments into line for the AEC ? ( but then isn't the reasons for the temporary Thai license just as much of a joke )

There is a JPJ office at every border crossing, I don't know if its a recent requirement, in Padang Bezar its just on your left after you stamp into Malaysia.

Yes, the standoff didnt last long - It wasn't just Malay coaches being restricted to Songkhla province, the Malays wouldn't allow Thai vans into Malaysia, i'm not too sure about the window film, there were reports in the Southern forum, it was quite a while ago.

I live in Hat Yai, so I heard the shock stories that no one could travel to Penang, but it only lasted 3 weeks or so before the Penang transits were up and running.

Have a safe trip, you sound like you won't have any problems, you have everything sorted already - I do the trip quite often on a bike, just drop into Malaysia for a scoot around - I enjoy the fact that roads are sometimes nicer, people don't just flash and pull out into out coming traffic, the Malaysians stop at red lights, etc. The whole border process is nothing to worry about.