Bangkok Pistonheads?

[XJSJohn]

AJS- said:

It would also be a brave man who would deposit 200% of the value of a decent car with Thai officials in the hope of getting it back!

http://www.customs.go.th/wps/wcm/connect/custen/in...

There's the official page on temporary and permanent import of vehicles.

If you can find a way around it then let us know, but my advice would be get a grip on Thai bureaucracy with lower stakes before you attempt importing your pride and joy, and tying up 200% of it's value in a bond a new house for the customs officer in charge!

efa

[AJS-]

XJSJohn said:

AJS- said:

It would also be a brave man who would deposit 200% of the value of a decent car with Thai officials in the hope of getting it back!

http://www.customs.go.th/wps/wcm/connect/custen/in...

There's the official page on temporary and permanent import of vehicles.

If you can find a way around it then let us know, but my advice would be get a grip on Thai bureaucracy with lower stakes before you attempt importing your pride and joy, and tying up 200% of it's value in a bond a new house for the mistress of a customs officer in charge!

efa

efega



Thursday beers this week?

[XJSJohn]

AJS- said:

XJSJohn said:

AJS- said:

It would also be a brave man who would deposit 200% of the value of a decent car with Thai officials in the hope of getting it back!

http://www.customs.go.th/wps/wcm/connect/custen/in...

There's the official page on temporary and permanent import of vehicles.

If you can find a way around it then let us know, but my advice would be get a grip on Thai bureaucracy with lower stakes before you attempt importing your pride and joy, and tying up 200% of it's value in a bond a new house for the mistress of a customs officer in charge!

efa

efega



Thursday beers this week?

actually yes, i think we now have the proper accurate representation of the facts here

got a 7 - 8pm meeting in the orafice on thursday - can meet for beers after or can do Wednesday instead?

[AJS-]

Pretty full day today so might have to cry off. That's a late start tomorrow.

Looking like next week, but things might yet change...

[QROPS]

I "might" be available this evening. On the plus side I haven't received any word after my "incident" last Monday night....

[AJS-]

What incident was this then?

[QROPS]

Easier to quote the email from my partner in crime for the evening.

"You were playing with a go go girl ... i didn't see the launch but she decided that she was going to "jump" into your arms from on the stage ......

you went over backwards, she went down like a sack of st.

She was probably out for 2 minutes and concussed when i got her upright and sitting.

We were lucky to walk out of there like we did."

[sugarytops]

Finally saw this thread. Me and my friends are new here in BKK, would like to know the best place to go? I start work here on Monday but would like to explore BKK first with the group. They are here for 2 weeks depending on the result of their search for a "duffer"

[Hoopsuk]

AJS- said:

It would also be a brave man who would deposit 200% of the value of a decent car with Thai officials in the hope of getting it back!

http://www.customs.go.th/wps/wcm/connect/custen/in...

There's the official page on temporary and permanent import of vehicles.

If you can find a way around it then let us know, but my advice would be get a grip on Thai bureaucracy with lower stakes before you attempt importing your pride and joy, and tying up 200% of it's value in a bond!

Nothing on the linked page refers to the carnet. Or the 200% bond that the carnet for Thailand requires, simply "a cash deposit or bank guarantee covering the full amount of liable taxes and duties"
It also refers to the max 6 month time period which is perhaps where that idea came from (Again, a carnet allows 1 year).

It seems this is some sort of temporary Import Thai equivalent. The 200% in the case of the Carnet remains with the issuing body, NOT with the government of the country that you are transiting through.
Thinking about this logically, say you were off travelling around the world, do you think each country you go through is going to set up bank accounts for you to transfer the funds from country to country every time you cross a border? The admin of this process would simply be not worth it for anyone involved. Ewan Mcgregor and Charlie Boreman would still be on the long way round 1 decade on, waiting for the funds to clear in the next bank account at some border somewhere in Asia.

The issuing body has the money (or access to it) as a guarantee that you will re-export the vehicle and if you don't then the government that suggests you haven't re-exported the vehicle will apply to the carnet issuing body (RAC in the case of the UK) for the funds. If at that point, you cannot supply the documentation to prove you did re-export (A stamped dated copy of the carnet) the issuing body will release the funds to the government of the country that applied for them and you lose your money.

The alternative is, you take out an insurance policy at a cost of 1-2 thousand dollars (more for very gourmet machinery) to cover the risk of a default. In which case , you stand to lose a lot less but will not get your policy money back at the end thereby increasing the net cost of the process.

This is a well used, heavily documented system, used throughout the world for the past several decades. Having not used it to get into Thailand or singapore personally I cannot comment on that but it seems like a lot of non-factual chaff gets posted which may lead others, researching the options, down the wrong route.

In my experience it was far less costly and simpler than most the forum knowledge suggested when I actually came around to doing it.

If at all unsure or interested, then contact the carnet issuing body in your country of origin.

[Hoopsuk]

I fear I may have severely dulled a conversation about Go go girls and beer. Apologies.
So with that.

:coat:

[QROPS]

Hoopsuk said:

AJS- said:

It would also be a brave man who would deposit 200% of the value of a decent car with Thai officials in the hope of getting it back!

http://www.customs.go.th/wps/wcm/connect/custen/in...

There's the official page on temporary and permanent import of vehicles.

If you can find a way around it then let us know, but my advice would be get a grip on Thai bureaucracy with lower stakes before you attempt importing your pride and joy, and tying up 200% of it's value in a bond!

Nothing on the linked page refers to the carnet. Or the 200% bond that the carnet for Thailand requires, simply "a cash deposit or bank guarantee covering the full amount of liable taxes and duties"
It also refers to the max 6 month time period which is perhaps where that idea came from (Again, a carnet allows 1 year).

It seems this is some sort of temporary Import Thai equivalent. The 200% in the case of the Carnet remains with the issuing body, NOT with the government of the country that you are transiting through.
Thinking about this logically, say you were off travelling around the world, do you think each country you go through is going to set up bank accounts for you to transfer the funds from country to country every time you cross a border? The admin of this process would simply be not worth it for anyone involved. Ewan Mcgregor and Charlie Boreman would still be on the long way round 1 decade on, waiting for the funds to clear in the next bank account at some border somewhere in Asia.

The issuing body has the money (or access to it) as a guarantee that you will re-export the vehicle and if you don't then the government that suggests you haven't re-exported the vehicle will apply to the carnet issuing body (RAC in the case of the UK) for the funds. If at that point, you cannot supply the documentation to prove you did re-export (A stamped dated copy of the carnet) the issuing body will release the funds to the government of the country that applied for them and you lose your money.

The alternative is, you take out an insurance policy at a cost of 1-2 thousand dollars (more for very gourmet machinery) to cover the risk of a default. In which case , you stand to lose a lot less but will not get your policy money back at the end thereby increasing the net cost of the process.

This is a well used, heavily documented system, used throughout the world for the past several decades. Having not used it to get into Thailand or singapore personally I cannot comment on that but it seems like a lot of non-factual chaff gets posted which may lead others, researching the options, down the wrong route.

In my experience it was far less costly and simpler than most the forum knowledge suggested when I actually came around to doing it.

If at all unsure or interested, then contact the carnet issuing body in your country of origin.

A nicely well written piece, but Thailand really doesn't work like that. To be in Thailand officially longer than 30 days from when you arrive, you are no longer a tourist and would need proper visa -business,non B, O, WP etc.

My point is the guys doing the long way round wouldn't of been temporarily importing their vehicle as they were just passing through.

The "non factual chaff" as you call it, is being written by three of us that have collectively been in Thailand for more than 15 years.

[XJSJohn]

Indeed, Thailand operates on its own rules....

I have brought foreign cars into Thailand before on a temporary import, its 30 days and the car has to leave the country or big bucks are paid

now about those go go girls????

[pork911]

as always in Los there's ways and means but typically not worth it for an alien 'resident'

have known various foreign plated exotica making it through and staying a number of years

but not cheap, large risk and there's never a problem....until there's a problem

just buy in country

[Dogznob]

Good stuff. Changing tack a wee bit, but as OE im allowed (;

Ive been trawling through the Thai smalls looking for a cheap bucket. Top of the steaming pile has been the Supra, RX7 and 200sx but it looks like they have all done the rounds and some are even too moded for me. Then, depite being a raving hetrosexual i started to look at 6 yr old roadsters, z4 and s2000....... Then i came across this
http://www.siamspeed.com/index.php/topic,236059.0....
..is it 3.2m bhat? If it is, and its genuine, its a bargain. They go upwards of 80kGBP

Thoughts on the cars please

[QROPS]

Check out siam911, and also there's a place on Petchburi road (I'll find out the name in the morning) that has loads of good stuff in like Intergrales etc.

That 3.2 pertains to the engine size I believe mate.

Not long now until you're our newest member!

[Dogznob]

QROPS said:

That 3.2 pertains to the engine size I believe mate.

Not long now until you're our newest member!

yep, 3 weeks. Im stoked about arriving but in a panic about leaving my life in Rio.

mmmph, you are right. 3.2 Engine. I thought i`d found a loophole in the absurd prices.

I did manage to source a bike. The new CB500x is made in Thailand and comes in at the same as the UK price of 4300 GBP otr. Here in Rio it's 7500GBP!! Result #1

[QROPS]

Dogznob said:

QROPS said:

That 3.2 pertains to the engine size I believe mate.

Not long now until you're our newest member!

yep, 3 weeks. Im stoked about arriving but in a panic about leaving my life in Rio.

mmmph, you are right. 3.2 Engine. I thought i`d found a loophole in the absurd prices.

I did manage to source a bike. The new CB500x is made in Thailand and comes in at the same as the UK price of 4300 GBP otr. Here in Rio it's 7500GBP!! Result #1

That is a decent price for a new bike!

Did you sort somewhere to live yet? I was having a look at some apartments the other day, and in one of the older building they had 200+ square meter places with great views over the city at 50k a month!

[Dogznob]

I got a small house in thonglor, paid through the nose for it but can exit the contract at any time. Its good a good area for tinkering around on vehicles and a wee pool for da ladies

[AJS-]

That is the engine size, but it's even better, he's only asking 2.9 million for the NSX.

I know I'm going to sound like the guy who wants to put a damper on everything, but I'd still tread carefully with things like this. I highly doubt the NSX was ever sold in any serious way here, so it's almost certainly a grey import. These are often put together in parts by people who don't really know what they're doing, and quite often stolen in Japan or elsewhere. They are often not registered properly (look at the big bike forums for more on this, the same applies to cars though is much less common). They've had a bit of a crackdown on the high end stuff recently with Ferraris and Lambos being seized, but given the wrong copper a farang in an NSX could find it expensive and troublesome. These cars are also quite often badly neglected for lack of parts and people who know what they're doing with them.

My colleague and I have these conversations nearly daily and the best bang for your baht consistently seems to be the Nissan GTR, which you can now pick up for around 4 million.

Regarding the bike, they are genuinely good value, being locally made and brand new. IMO (and as a die hard car enthusiast who only came to bikes much later and still can't justify buying a proper one!) you'll have much more fun on a decent bike than in a battered old NSX or a sporty car that's worth more than a decent house!

[QROPS]

AJS, you know I was talking about a group track car, look at this...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Runs a SR20det