Buying a car with Thai gaurantor

[hybrid 1]

Hi all .

now its not that i don't trust my fiance , i just like to know 100% what i could be letting myself in for .

 

Buying a new car off toyota, having it on finance, silly not to with 2.8% interest rate as i get more leaving my own cash invested !

20% deposit.

Sister in law be standing gaurantor

 

who owns the car if we all fall out.

Myself as the buyer as i'm paying or the sister-in-law to be as gaurantor

[vidman 2]

Ok a quick chat to the TG and she says: (and shes a right know-it-all).

 

The guarantor has no rights whatsoever to the car. It seems to be all win-win on your side as if you do a runner on the payments etc then the shit will hit her and not you.

 

or in her words " the guarantee person is crazy"

 

hee hee

[davethailand 91]

Hi all .

now its not that i don't trust my fiance , i just like to know 100% what i could be letting myself in for .

 

Buying a new car off toyota, having it on finance, silly not to with 2.8% interest rate as i get more leaving my own cash invested !

20% deposit.

Sister in law be standing gaurantor

 

who owns the car if we all fall out.

Myself as the buyer as i'm paying or the sister-in-law to be as gaurantor

You. (or the finance company if you don't pay)

[tom21 19]

Read the contract you signed. The finance company is only interested in getting the money it is owed. If you do not pay they ask the guarantor to pay if the guarantor does not pay they take the car and sell it. If the sale price does not cover costs they go after the guarantor, the car is owned by the finance company until it is paid off. Same as most countries but read the contract and if it is in Thai get it translated. As long as the payments are made no one can touch the car

 

just a thouht if you are paying 20% deposit why do you need a guarantor?. is this a thai thing

[hybrid 1]

Read the contract you signed. The finance company is only interested in getting the money it is owed. If you do not pay they ask the guarantor to pay if the guarantor does not pay they take the car and sell it. If the sale price does not cover costs they go after the guarantor, the car is owned by the finance company until it is paid off. Same as most countries but read the contract and if it is in Thai get it translated. As long as the payments are made no one can touch the car

 

just a thouht if you are paying 20% deposit why do you need a guarantor?. is this a thai thing

 

yes .. ts hard for a farang to get stand alone finance .. so they need a working thai person to gaurentee it

[Fireman Sam 336]

Check your Visa status,

 

I'm sure you can only legally own a car if you have a non-immigrant visa of some sort.

 

If you have the above then no problem, just trying to give you a heads up.

 

Regards

Fireman Sam

[joekicker 53]

Ownership doesn't depend on a visa. If you can own something you can own it with any visa, or no visa at all.

 

Sale and purchase of a car is strictly between the buyer and seller. If the owner will sell, the buyer can buy.

 

If you buy on time, the ownership of the item (car, say) stays with the financier -- NOT the seller, and NOT the buyer -- until it is full paid, at which point the buyer gets the papers. The ownership papers don't depend on the visa, but may (for land, say) depend on the nationality.

 

In the real world, no finance firm is going to finance purchase of a car to just any person existing on 30-day airport stamps -- but the firm could do that if it wanted, and probably this has happened a few times in specific and controllable situations.

 

You can walk in to lots of places and put down enough cash and drive out in YOUR car if you want, no matter what your visa or lack of it.

[biggles 509]

I would have thought that if you buy a car in your own name (same as when i bought my motorbike) then you need to get a letter from jomtien immigration showing resident status and where you live??

[joekicker 53]

Who did you buy it from? Sounds weird.

 

Are you sure that wasn't for the benefit of the finance house? The bank/finance company/whatever can demand whatever they want.

 

Even the "letter from immigration" is weird. Never heard of such a thing. Learn something every day I guess.

 

 

addendum:

I have actually been involved when a policeman stopped a farang and insisted (without asking for money) that foreigners cannot have a Thai driving licence. That took half an hour to straighten him out, just that one simple point. So I am not SURPRISED by anything weird, just curious.

Edited November 27, 2007 by joekicker

[MM 6,562]

I inquired about a vehicle purchase...all cash, and was told by the seller that I would need a letter from immigration attesting to my residence address. I don't understand that, nor did I follow up on it.

[joekicker 53]

It's possible the ministry has decided to not issue licence plates to itinerants. I sure haven't heard that, but why would I? There does have to be a name on the ownership/registry of course. Maybe they've decided that a little more paperwork is a Good Thing. It IS the government after all.

[Fireman Sam 336]

As I stated before, I'm pretty sure before you can be deemed the Legal owner of the car you need to have at least a non-immigrant visa or better.

 

This is not a new law. There may be other cases where this has not happened (TIT), but some tea money would have been paid along the way.

 

Of course the garage will sell you the car no problem as long as they get the sale.

 

Best Regards

Fireman Sam

Edited November 27, 2007 by Fireman Sam

[HILLY 9]

Ownership doesn't depend on a visa. If you can own something you can own it with any visa, or no visa at all.

 

Sale and purchase of a car is strictly between the buyer and seller. If the owner will sell, the buyer can buy.

 

If you buy on time, the ownership of the item (car, say) stays with the financier -- NOT the seller, and NOT the buyer -- until it is full paid, at which point the buyer gets the papers. The ownership papers don't depend on the visa, but may (for land, say) depend on the nationality.

 

In the real world, no finance firm is going to finance purchase of a car to just any person existing on 30-day airport stamps -- but the firm could do that if it wanted, and probably this has happened a few times in specific and controllable situations.

 

You can walk in to lots of places and put down enough cash and drive out in YOUR car if you want, no matter what your visa or lack of it.

True but if you want it registered in your name you need a letter from immigration and you cant get that without the proper visa and after filling in the residency forms.

[joekicker 53]

Helloooooo! No one is saying who this letter (which I never heard of) is addressed to. Is it the Vehicles Registration Department? Or who? And who do YOU give that letter to?

 

I'm still reeling from the accusation that you can get a letter from the immigration department, mind you. Talk about a revelation. I always liked those people, but a personal confirmation letter? I am so totally impressed!

[jacko 8,814]

Well my old residency letter, which I have infront of me, is all in Thai. I don't want to wake her up to translate so I have no idea to whom it is addressed. I do have some idea that it was issued by the immigration office in Jomtiem. They required passport, copies of said passport, my rental agreement, copies of rental agreement, and of course money, copies of the money were frowned upon.

 

I used this to get a bank account (apparently they didn't need it) and to get my Thai driving licenses. I registered the vehicle in my girlfriends name, as I paid for it before I got this letter organised.

 

The letter states my visa type, in English.

Edited November 27, 2007 by jacko

[biggles 509]

You do need a letter from Immigration to open a bank account (tho some banks dont bother) buy a car or motorbike or get a thai driving licence. I got my letter four years ago when i opened the bank account, got my licence and bought a bike. at that time (it might have changed) you needed at least a tourist visa to get the letter. I lost my bike registration book a couple of weeks ago and the registration branch wouldnt give me a replacement without an immigration letter.

[joekicker 53]

I wonder if that's a Pattaya thing. I've just never heard of this in the Big Mango, either at the vehicle office, the licensing office or the driver's licence. Driver's licence seems to want foreigners' passports, and you used to have to get an embassy letter, a real scam, that one, by many western embassies - big baht to fill in a couple of blanks.

[Greg_B 306]

I did this with the Thai ex-wife and paid a 20% deposit for a good used truck.

 

Now, it's in her name and we are no longer together, so "not my problem anymore"

She owes 3 years @ 6,549 Baht/month

 

Funny thing, she went in and paid her first payment and the bank employee told her she would be asking to reconcile with me within 60 days.

 

She already has asked that question after 6 weeks...

Edited December 26, 2007 by Greg_B

[tom21 19]

I did this with the Thai ex-wife and paid a 20% deposit for a good used truck.

 

Now, it's in her name and we are no longer together, so "not my problem anymore"

She owes 3 years @ 6,549 Baht/month

 

Funny thing, she went in and paid her first payment and the bank employee told her she would be asking to reconcile with me within 60 days.

 

She already has asked that question after 6 weeks...

 

 

wonder why

[hybrid 1]

bank account - no paperwork other than ID (passport) needed . depends on the bank & branch, some ask for a work permit, but it is not required, only passport is needed

 

immigration letter - the form being refered to is a certificate of residence, you have to take proof of residencey, eg rental agreement, tabien bahn, anything really confriming your address in thailand. your passport & valid visa, and 2 photos, to jomtien immigration and a few hundred baht . they give you a letter with your photo on it confirming you are resident until the date on your visa, ie they put the date your visa expires (departure date) not the expiry date of your 12 monht non-o/non-b .

this form is for car purchase , opening a bank account, and anything else that needs it . although its not always needed .. you simply go to immigration fill in a very basic form , and call back the next day to collect it.

it is not addresed to anyone, it is a statement from immigration merely confirming your TEMPORARY resident status

 

medical checkup letter - a letter from a clinic saying your in good health, available from most clinics for between 100-400 baht. no checkup is normaly done

 

driving licence - 1st issue is 1 year then 5 year on renewal.

you need your farang licence , immigration letter(original not copy), medical checkup letter, passport copy with departure card & visa stamp.

1st issue you pay a few hundred baht , they sit you in a chair where you press a pedal on the floor when a red light comes on, to test reaction time. and then a strange test that is meant to be for vision perception. 2 little pegs with red lines on move and you have to press a button when you think they are parralel.

5 year is 500baht and requires same paperwork but no test.

 

car finance ..

depends on your visa, and the company doing it. if you are on a full work permit you can have fincance in your own name without a gaurentor, even with toyota finance. on a non-o/non-b you can still get the finance stand alone depending who you use, not as easy tho and bigger deposit is needed .. you are meant to have the immigration letter to buy a car, but only normaly asked for if you are buying from a main dealer , worth noteing toyota finance did not want it from me , it was the sales lady at toyota for there sales paperwork.

 

car purchase.

anyone can buy a car. if it is a private sale then you will not normaly be asked for any paperwork. if a dealer as a above they may ask for the residence certificate.

 

driving

some say you can drive on your farang licence, some say you cannot.

a UK licence is not valid in thailand. not even for 30 days !. it states on the UK licence website which countries require you to get a international licence (available from post offices, rac,aa) thailand is one of them. if you are stopped in pattaya you will most likely be ok, if you are stopped up country they normaly pull a face at a uk one, and try and tell you its no good, although like most things most ppl use there farang licence and nobody really cares. the question would be where would you stand if you had an acident if they plod decided they did not like you.

 

in short .. all the paperwork is dead easy to get.

you can even get a thai international licence valid in

the UK !!! your not meant to be able to hahah, but you cna get them for a price :)

 

back to my original post.

toyota confirmed to me i am the car owner, or rarter they are till its paid for. then it goes into my own name. if i pay the payments they car is mine, if i fail to pay the car falls back to the gaurentor and they are asked to pay, if they don't pay they take the car, and chase me, if they can't get me to pay they chase the gaurentor.

[sinbinjack 251]

As A follow on question to this post can I get a Thai motorbike license If I only have a 90 day visa .Dont have a british license but do have years of driving small bikes.

[hybrid 1]

As A follow on question to this post can I get a Thai motorbike license If I only have a 90 day visa .Dont have a british license but do have years of driving small bikes.

 

according to the mrs.

for a thai bike licence you either need to show your UK licence, or take the FULL test.