What's the deal with the license plates?

Anybody ever bought a car in Thailand knows you get the red plates before the plates that are white and black lettering.

Thais try to drive as long as possible on the red ones so everyone can see you bought and drive a new car.

I bought a car for the FIL a year ago, still not have the plates, not even the red ones.

I was told that there is only 1 factory who makes the plates and the machine broke down! (Don't know if that is true, just been told)

Anyway, poor FIL has copped 3 fines so far for driving with no plates!

We know the plates numbers already, can we just put them on a piece of cardboard or wood, to avoid the fines?

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Originally Posted by Wizard of Oz

Anyway, poor FIL has copped 3 fines so far for driving with no plates!

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If it's a new car then the dealer should provide the temporary red plates, if they are out then he should get some kind of letter/notice from the dealer as well as checking out its validity with the vehicle licensing body.

betty, it sounds like you bin hear a while me old mucker :), best tell him about the 6am to 6pm curfew and also i think they cant drive out of the town or something like that until they have the right plates on. white ones.

Nope, doesn't work.

Dealer just tells the story, no licence plates, cops just want to earn a few baht.

The car is licensed as we already know the numbers and letters on the plate, it's fully insured as well, still has to pay the fines.

I don't see the logic too, but Thais go by " that's the way it is....

In the end, I'm not paying the fines because I would never ever pay this for a cock up!

He got the fines at daytime! But FIL will never ever argue with police, I will, would.

Just would like to know, because we know what the license plate is going to be, if you can make yourself a temp one.

^^that's right, Smartypants.

Province not town, but same same and you get to keep one bovine... :)

The dealer has the responsibility to provide the red plates, I believe it's their legal responsibility, so you don't need to pay the fine - give it to the dealer...

Though TiT, so I can imagine that it's sabaisabai until the fines come in, WoO

Do you ever get a piece of paper that states you have had to pay the fine? 9 out of 10 I did not get anything, just a friendly "go on" from the police after paying anything ranging from 100-1000 baht.

The only fines I ever got in printed form were speeding fines on the elevated motorway in Bangkok.

Tea money doesn't get you a piece of paper.

Still would like to know if you can make your own license plate, as we already know the letters and numbers.

After a few beers I've decided to make our own, worst we can do is get a fine we would get anyway. I'll let you know how we go.

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Originally Posted by Wizard of Oz

Province not town, but same same and you get to keep one bovine...

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and not being allowed to travel on the tollway with people in the tray of the ute if you have red plates

And needing t keep a log book with an entry of each trip.

In theory, the red plates are supposed to work jut like dealer plates in the west, used only for the dealer to move the car around prior to registration and sale.
The practice of letting you drive off with red plates is ad hoc and not legal, but in the thai way, when the system doesnt work, they tolerate deviance from the norm.

prior to registration and having to pay for the car, longer they can keep it this state the cheaper it is, just preserving cash flow, that all.

W o OZ
You can get plate made but you need the sticker on the windscreen.
They will pull you up for no sticker, then they will see you have fake plates ( you know the rest of this story) :)
As all of the member have been telling you, should have red plates.
There are many car running around with red plate & the BB have stop pulling then over, as there are to many new cars.
I have red plate on my SUV, I drive every where day & night no problem at all at BB check points.:)

With Yingluck's Party's wonderful decision to allow every swinging-dick Somchai the ability to purchase a vehicle, I suspect some dealers have run out of Red Plates.

Who wants a Red Plate for any longer than necessary to get the permanent white one anyway? 9 out 10 Red Plates are so beat-up and shitty-looking, I'd get it off the vehicle as soon as possible.

7 year ago the BB were right on, pulling red plates over.
They would stop a car 1 plate missing.
Now they don't even bother to lift a eye brow, Me think that they have been told to leave red plates a loan.

When I first bought my Toyota Vigo the wife and I drove to Buriram to see her sister when we had no plates, not even red. We were stopped and the BIB wanted us to pay a fine because we had no plates. Told him we just purchased the car in Udon Thani and the dealer did not give us any. We were persistent and he let us go.

All the BIB know the situation about the plates. It took me 1 year to get me plates for my Honda 250 CBR because of the same reason. Tell your FIL to grow some balls and debate it with the police. They will eventually back down unless they want to throw him in jail. They are looking for any excuse to get some tea money.

Yes Rick, as farangs we are seen as as a easy mark, so any excuse and we leak money. If they have to work for the extortion. Its not so easy.

Look at the Overstay thread as an example of the farang being, easy pickings.

Interesting comments; not sure you can blame the reds BM for enabling every Somchai to buy a car... :)

I didn't have any problems with the red plates for a month or so, never filled in the trip log either - at first just drove locally during the day, then got more explository... No problems. It does sound like the dealer is taking the piss somewhat; the story about no plates available in Thailand, while TiT so anything is possible, sounds like bollocks...

Have you ried calling the national registration office and asking, OP - I went to a big office a couple of months ago to get new plates made up (finance not completed yet, so some paperwork...), it was close to an MRT (Mo Chit?), they were very helpful and well staffed. Don't know the number, sorry - sure you could find it easily enough.

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Originally Posted by Bettyboo

explository.

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Do you mean: exploratory?

Red plates mean nothing other than the car is new and the owner is waiting to register it. when the paperwork arrives from the dealer you go to the Motor Vehicle department and register the care showing your book. Owners books are blue and the fee is written out within the last pages of the book. Show your proof of insurance, and tax receipt, go to the counter and offer the book and insurance document, (single sheet showing payment in full), she will stamp your book, collect the fee and give you the paper registration for posting on the wind shield/windscreen.

As other's here suggest, simply get a plate made by the local artist. Even if its a contrived number it won't matter as the BIB don't check.

I've driven the length and breadth of Thailand with a red plate. Never any problem.

It will Itnt, new plates have type of water mark feature, not easy to see but presumably, if the cops have the correct gear, an UV flash light. it sticks out like the dogs bollox

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Originally Posted by peterpan

if the cops have the correct gear, an UV flash light. it sticks out like the dogs bollox

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didn't know that but I figure thats a "Big If."

On my plates it a stamp driven into the metal with a stamper and a hammer it looks like. As far as I know all the cars we have bought are the same. We always check the plates. Its only on the rear one.

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Originally Posted by ltnt

Do you mean: exploratory?

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I was multitasking when I wrote that post, badly... :)

When the missus recently got a new plate I was surprised that they were only availble from the one office, so we had to make a trip all the way across Bkk - couldn't be made up locally by a garage... :(

^Multi-tasking....goat and five palm sisters no doubt?

The new plates all seem to have a serious defect, paint peeling. No worries, when it gets shiny and silver in color I expect to never worry over a cop looking for any UV special identification.

^ our car is now 4 years old - apparently that year was a well known plate-dud year, so the government have been replacing them for free - FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...

Humm...hadn't heard of that one Boo. Must shuffle off to the motor vehicle department post haste...

Far too passive for me.

I'd be onto both the dealer and the DoLT daily for a document stating the details of the car, purchase date, owner, reason for delay etc. There should be no delay for red plates. The dealer is doing the owner, probably keeping the money without registering it for as long as possible.

600k or whatever the price paid was (along with other suckers that he is doing), into his account at say 2.65%, say 10 suckers for around 6million baht, nice extra bit of interest on that and a nice balance for applying for loans, all just for stringing along a couple of passive suckers.

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Originally Posted by Mikey Forester

Far too passive for me.

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So just how long have you been here? You want "service?" :rofl:

BTW, Red Plate deposit = 2,000 baht.