Importing a Car to Thailand

[Howard]

We are planning to come to Thailand to live late next year. My wife is Thai and we will be bringing personal effects with us. I understand she can bring them in without paying duty/taxes or at least pay a discounted rate. Does this include a car?

[pgrahmm]

Why isn't this a pinned topic.....?

 

With your missus you might be about the only one with a shot of a happy ending....Up to now it's been a perfect 100% failure rate....Including my own.....

[khunano]

Don't bother, with the money you would be spending on importing that (2nd hand car?) you can buy a new one in Thailand.

[catman20]

dont bring the car......................you will live to regret that

[The Deerhunter]

Don't do it.  This has been done to death.  They will charge 200 or 300 percent interest on THEIR valuation of the car and you will have to abandon it and they will be delighted you did.

[snowgard]

You can find the most information here: Used Household items

 

and car import

 

[PeeJay1959]

I have read many tales of woe re cars!! I'd avoid it, shame look my Avatar, never seen one in LOS!!

[tryasimight]

There was a police order 2 or 3 years ago that banned the import of all second hand vehicles, motorbikes etc.

Presumably that is still in force.

[steve187]

forget the car and put all the docs re importing your belonging in the wife's name

[Techno Viking]

1 hour ago, PeeJay1959 said:

I have read many tales of woe re cars!! I'd avoid it, shame look my Avatar, never seen one in LOS!!

Plenty here, they were imported as CKD for many years.

[JAS21]

3 hours ago, steve187 said:

forget the car and put all the docs re importing your belonging in the wife's name

and when you list what is in each box write in Thai only ... even number the boxes in Thai

[ignis]

5 hours ago, PeeJay1959 said:

I have read many tales of woe re cars!! I'd avoid it, shame look my Avatar, never seen one in LOS!!

 not been out much ?

For Sale at moment  https://www.one2car.com/รถ-สำหรับ-ขาย/alfa-romeo

 

seen a few about and much older ones, believe there is a owners club and owner meetings here.

[JaseTheBass]

A friend used to drive a new Alfa here (about 14 years ago). So there were here at one point.

Sent from my Cray II supercomputer

[minikev]

If the car has been registered in your wife's name in the country you are bringing it from for a good period of time she can bring it with all documents to prove so. The time is vague some say 18 months and others 3 years. Maybe down to the discretion of the customs officer?

If it hasn't forget it it's close to impossible and is likely to be impounded and auctioned. 

[StevieAus]

6 minutes ago, minikev said:

If the car has been registered in your wife's name in the country you are bringing it from for a good period of time she can bring it with all documents to prove so. The time is vague some say 18 months and others 3 years. Maybe down to the discretion of the customs officer?

If it hasn't forget it it's close to impossible and is likely to be impounded and auctioned. 

Six years ago we were officially advised that in order to avoid import tax/ duty the car had to have been owned by my wife for 2 years but as with many other issues it can probably vary from province to province

I would have thought that unless the car has some special value or interest it would be easier to buy one here

[Lamkyong]

if they cannot even import  a load of buses from wherever   what chance have you got ??

sorry no can do  and the buses were a government project     oh do not forget the fire service vehicles

[Techno Viking]

Just now, Lamkyong said:

if they cannot even import  a load of buses from wherever   what chance have you got ??

sorry no can do  and the buses were a government project     oh do not forget the fire service vehicles

When you are importing buses the process goes a lot smoother if don't falsify the country of origin to skip out on taxes.

[JayBird]

Based on the posts I've seen I think if you must import the car your best bet is to plan years in advance, including making friends with customs or government officials through your wife or their family.

 

Arrange compensation, etc. for their efforts and of course make sure they are either well placed or highly positioned.

 

As I think it's common in Thailand, most families are two or three relations away from someone in power (police, military, government)

[JAS21]

After the car leaves your shores ... the next time you will see it is when some customs somchai drives past whilst you are standing at a bus stop ...

[peergin]

15 hours ago, JAS21 said:

After the car leaves your shores ... the next time you will see it is when some customs somchai drives past whilst you are standing at a bus stop ...

Very true. It happened to me. Don't do it!!!!!!!!!!

[Howard]

The car is a Vietnam war M151A2, best described as an updated WW2 Jeep, that I restored. There are some privately owned ones running around in Thailand and there are parts suppliers. I guess they were used by the Royal Thai Army at one time.

 

I also have a Ferret Armoured Scout Car but I can't imagine that would ever be allowed in private hands in Thailand!

[Damrongsak]

40 minutes ago, Howard said:

The car is a Vietnam war M151A2, best described as an updated WW2 Jeep, that I restored. ...

I can see your attachment.  A guy near me has one he restored to "showroom new" after importing a bullet-ridden shell from some South American jungle.  Only way he could get title to the unibody frame.  Had to sent all the nuts and bolts out of the country to get them re-plated with Cadmium.

 

I want a Unimog.  I think the Thai military has some.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Damrongsak

[pgrahmm]

2 hours ago, Howard said:

The car is a Vietnam war M151A2, best described as an updated WW2 Jeep, that I restored. There are some privately owned ones running around in Thailand and there are parts suppliers. I guess they were used by the Royal Thai Army at one time.

 

I also have a Ferret Armoured Scout Car but I can't imagine that would ever be allowed in private hands in Thailand!

Mine was a 4x4 I'd rebuilt from the ground up.....Somebody else has it now here in Thailand.....Don't try it....

[minikev]

3 hours ago, Howard said:

The car is a Vietnam war M151A2, best described as an updated WW2 Jeep, that I restored. There are some privately owned ones running around in Thailand and there are parts suppliers. I guess they were used by the Royal Thai Army at one time.

 

I also have a Ferret Armoured Scout Car but I can't imagine that would ever be allowed in private hands in Thailand!

There are loads of M151A1 and A2"s in Thailand many with registrations for road use start at about 200,000 baht to about 500,000 baht I used to have an A1 bought for 100,000 about 10 yrs ago although converted to a Toyota engine. I know of 4 close to me that are been broken for spare parts including original engines and gearboxes. Also the same place has a large stock of dusty old boxes full of original parts.

The M151 was widely used in the Vietnam war and therefore many around U Tapao airport.

Bringing one here is like taking coals to Newcastle.

[Lamkyong]

have heard the saying  but does Newcastle   have a coal industry nowadays 

[VocalNeal]

On 7/12/2017 at 1:58 AM, PeeJay1959 said:

shame look my Avatar, never seen one in LOS!!

You have to get out more? They used to make them here! just surf for 159 Thailand. Those and the ones owned by members of the Thai Alfa club.

 

 

 

[natway09]

Unless you work for an Embassy or the car is of massive intrinsic value, sell it & buy here once settled.

It is just not worth the hassle. You will get   a heart attack at each step    ,,,, freighter,, importer rep. customs,rego.

relicensing, warrant of fitness    forget it

[Sebb98]

Dear all

I have done about 3 years of research on importing second hand cars into Thailand.  During the course of my research I have found very helpful websites, such as this one, underlining experiences of expats who have tried to import vehicles into Thailand.  I would like to share my experiences (to the extent they can be shared publicly).

 

1. The public government information that you can find on the ministry of commerce or from the shipping companies only tell you 5% of the entire process.  It works quite different in reality.

2. If you come from a developed country and you expect this process to work the way it works in your home country (ie. Australia, US, UK, Germany), it doesn't.  Words can't describe what you are about to go through if you do decide to go all the way with the import.  Try Netflix and watch Narcos or el Chapo.  If you are from a developing country then you will be less surprised :)

3. There are a couple of different taxes you need to pay.  If you are thinking of importing a vanilla vehicle (normal retail V4 car no matter what age), abandon your plan.  It is not worth it.  It is most likely cheaper to buy it second hand or new in Thailand.

4.  It is possible to make a spread / gain out of this process.  You need to pick the right model and it needs to be one that will result in a higher net price after importing (it needs to be a fairly rare vehicle but one that already exists in Thailand, you will have more problems if you are importing a first of a kind).

5.  It is absolutely correct that the valuation is very random.  Custom officers have a wide discretion.

6.  Do not even think about doing this unless you have a trustworthy reliable customs broker in Thailand.  Also, if you are a non Thai speaking fresh off the boat foreigner, prepare to be ripped off in the same manner that you have been when you first came to Thailand :)

7. Do not think that you have surpassed 5% of the process just because you got yourself an import permit from the ministry of commerce.  That was the easiest part for me. :)  All the fun starts when your car is stuck in the holding warehouse and customs are assessing the value at 5x the price of what you purchased it for.  This is where you put your shipping agent to the test.  A good agent will have a solution for you and a good track record.

8. Are you a guy who wants to do everything the proper way with contracts?  If so, do not import.  You will have to do a lot of things the unconventional way to get the most optimal outcome.

9. Always be prepared to lose your car.  If you are not, then do not import it.

10. Always be prepared to ship your car back if you have a run in with another official.

11. Be prepared to threaten people.  I know this will be hard if you are a FOB foreigner without Thai contacts.  Saying that you will complain to your consulate is not really a threat :)

12. There are lots of potential people intervening in the chain that can rip you off.  You just have to look out for yourself.

13. You need to have a good balance between pulling connections from higher rank and lower rank.  This is hard to explain.  If you pull strings too high, you are removing flexibility.  Do not pull the high card on the outset.  Use the low card first.  If you do not understand what this means, you should not attempt to import :)

Conclusion: it is not a 100% failure rate, it can be done, it will be difficult if you are not local and do not have the right contacts.  By the way, remember some brands are subject to additional payment to the local mafia.  Good luck!

 

[ardokano]

On 7/11/2017 at 6:20 PM, khunano said:

Don't bother, with the money you would be spending on importing that (2nd hand car?) you can buy a new one in Thailand.

OK show me Toyota LC, Toyota Prado, Honda accord 3.5 L and many many another car can buy new one as price second hand in many country:)

[Jerry Cornelius]

On ‎7‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 7:33 AM, minikev said:

There are loads of M151A1 and A2"s in Thailand many with registrations for road use start at about 200,000 baht to about 500,000 baht I used to have an A1 bought for 100,000 about 10 yrs ago although converted to a Toyota engine. I know of 4 close to me that are been broken for spare parts including original engines and gearboxes. Also the same place has a large stock of dusty old boxes full of original parts.

The M151 was widely used in the Vietnam war and therefore many around U Tapao airport.

Bringing one here is like taking coals to Newcastle.

Totally agree.

You can always start a new project here after you pay a visit to Chai Nat.

There's doubtless other places with a similar amount of coal, also.

 

Jerry