Howard Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgrahmm Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 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..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunano Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Don't bother, with the money you would be spending on importing that (2nd hand car?) you can buy a new one in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman20 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 dont bring the car......................you will live to regret that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Deerhunter Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowgard Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 You can find the most information here: Used Household items and car import Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeJay1959 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I have read many tales of woe re cars!! I'd avoid it, shame look my Avatar, never seen one in LOS!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryasimight Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve187 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 forget the car and put all the docs re importing your belonging in the wife's name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techno Viking Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAS21 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignis Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaseTheBass Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minikev Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieAus Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamkyong Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techno Viking Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayBird Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 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) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAS21 Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 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 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peergin Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 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!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Posted July 12, 2017 Author Share Posted July 12, 2017 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damrongsak Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgrahmm Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 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.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minikev Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamkyong Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 have heard the saying but does Newcastle have a coal industry nowadays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VocalNeal Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natway09 Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebb98 Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ardokano Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 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:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Cornelius Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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