Flying in, buying a bike and touring Thailand/Laos: Purchasing and Visa questions.

M

MeMock

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Oct 8, 2009
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I posted these questions in another forum and it was suggested by someone I might get better information from the experts here at GTR, lets hope so!

In November 2012, a friend of mine plus a friend of his want to fly into Thailand and purchase two Phantom Fire Edition, 4 stroke, 200cc motorbikes.

They would like to purchase the bikes and start their tour in Ubon Ratchathani.

At some stage they want to cross over into Laos for a few weeks of touring there also.

A few concerns I have with this is:

Can a tourist purchase a motorbike without a third party (Thai or local based expat) present?

If so, can they do it on a 30 day visa on arrival or will they need something else to arrive in Thailand on?

Once purchased (with cash) what else is needed to be able to cross the border into Laos.

At the end of their tour they would like to ship the bikes back to Australia.

Any information on the laws regarding visas and buying a bike or advice on shipping back to Australia would be greatly appreciated.
 
johngooding

johngooding

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Sep 4, 2007
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Most of the questions you have asked have been answered in this forum and David has highlights some places to look. However the Phantom is no longer for sale as a new bike in Thailand. Honda have decided to concentrate on fuel injected bikes. There are of course Phantoms for sale second hand, but may not be easy to locate 2 just at the time you want. They are however available on hire. Hiring the bikes would solve some of the issues you have raised and to avoid border crossing issues with the bikes, one can also hire bikes in Laos. Buying here and importing to Australia is not something I have seen discussed here, as especially for the larger bikes, prices are better in Australia.
 
daewoo

daewoo

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Dec 6, 2005
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Of course, anyone can buy a bike if you can find someone willing to take the cash... although why you would want to waste holiday time doing this, I don't know... I don't think you will be able to register it in your name, which means leaving it in the sellers names, and taking it to Laos will need the same permission letter from the seller as it would if they still owned it, and you were just borrowing it...

Importing it to Australia is hard and expensive... http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/ImportingaVehicleFactSheet_Nov09_Final.pdf...

I assume you will want to import as a 'personal import' the rules http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/importing_vehicles/general/doc/VSB10_info_brochure_july_2011.doc
Criteria, ownership of the vehicle
Applicants must satisfy each of the following ownership requirements. You must:
• own the vehicle when submitting the application; and
• have acquired ownership of the vehicle from overseas; and
• have owned the vehicle while overseas; and
• have owned the vehicle for a continuous period of at least 12 months. This is the “qualifying period”. The qualifying period must have occurred immediately before you (permanently) arrived in Australia.
Criteria, use of the vehicle
The vehicle must have been available to you for use in transport. This means that the vehicle must have been available to be driven by you, at all times during the 12 month qualifying period. The vehicle should be registered (in your name) and garaged (proximate to your residence) throughout the 12 month qualifying period, so that you could, if needed, drive the vehicle. In addition, you must have held an appropriate licence to drive the vehicle overseas.
 
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