Bought a scooter - now what? (Tax, insurance, government inspections)

Here motorcycles don’t have any inspections.
Look the words ”bao hiem” for basic insurance. Can get from some gas stations too.

Let me ask you, can you buy insurance over the phone in the UK if you leave the registration in your friend's name?

Want insurance? Want a helmet.

Wxx3 wrote:

Let me ask you, can you buy insurance over the phone in the UK if you leave the registration in your friend's name?

Want insurance? Want a helmet.

Not sure I understand the question. I bought Porsche cars and insured those. But there was not much paperwork. Some were parted out overseas... It has been too long since I owner vehicles in the UK for long years, dealing with MoTs etc.

Third party insurance is a must! Because I would want to be sure anyone injured by me gets help, even if I don't survive the accident.

I almost died in an accident (van speeding on the wrong side of the road near CAM PHA). The owner of the company was in the van and she paid my hospital bill in cash. No paperwork, no Police.

I can tell you about my experiences with motobikes in VN.  I purchased a used yamaha in Saigon, paid cash.  The seller gave me a helmet and the blue card and off I went.  No insurance, no VN license.  I bought the bike for me and my wife and kept the bike at her parents home in VN.  She took the blue card and registered the bike in her name.  I asked her about insurance and she laughed at me.  So, you need the blue card and should register the bike, not sure if you can do that as a foreigner.  My wife said nobody she knows has insurance on a motobike.  No inspections, just need the blue card.  I have never had a VN license and drive everywhere in VN.  I only got stopped 1 time, handed the cop the blue card and some coffee money.  No problem and off I went.

vndreamer wrote:

I asked her about insurance and she laughed at me.

Same here.

vndreamer wrote:

No problem and off I went.

If you (a foreigner) are involved in an accident, I don't believe that you can solve the problem by giving coffee money.
It's 70k/year you're saving in the wrong place.

My wife has been riding without a motorcycle license since the beginning.
I want her to get her license this year.

Maybe this seems a little uncool to some of you, but I don't see it that way.

On our monthly or so trip from HCM to Ben tre, there was a stretch of road where several sellers held up signs for motorbike insurance.  I asked my wife, how can the insurance be any good and she said there is no insurance.  They only sell you a card to show the police who they know have a checkpoint a km or so down the road.  Its almost as if they and the police were in on it together.   

It's why when GF stops at ATM motorcycle is never more than one meter away.
It took me a few times before i understood the issue. You lose it, you lose it.

I still can't get her to understand my USA credit card protections. So, I still can't use cc at restaurant if they disappear with it.

You can transfer your drivers license from home to a Vietnamese license. Not that it means much over there. I'd say 95% of Vietnamese have no license. My understanding is a bike is registered once with a blue card and that's it. If you have the blue card you own the bike.

If you have travellers insurance taken out in your home country you will need to tick a special box for coverage of motorbike accident. Not sure about other countries but for Australia I need to have the relevant license in Australia as well as the Vietnamese license to be covered. They don't have an international drivers license option in Australia. Other countries might though and this will be your best option (requirement) to be covered by any insurance you take out.

Basically drive safely, slowly (the faster you go the slower to stop) and don't come off.

Were a good helmet.

You also have to assume that the Vietnamese can do things on the bikes and cars that are not considered safe. For eg if you are turning left into a side street from the right side of the road don't forget to look back over your left shoulder as there can be cars / trucks / motorbikes overtaking on your inside left on the wrong side of the road. You can be easily killed if you forget this.

It's about protecting potential victims of my riding. Will buy something and hope for the best!

KruChris wrote:

Want to be legal from day 1.

Registration would have to be in the name of a friend.

Bought the scooter from a foreign teacher leaving the country. Not sure if I can buy insurance over the phone like in the UK?

When you are stopped for a traffic violation (or worse), police will want to see the blue card, insurance card, your Vietnamese license, and probably your passport. Usually they are looking for an excuse to fine you on the spot, and if you resist, will threaten to confiscate the motorbike. This applies to Vietnamese citizens too (except they need to produce an identity card instead of passport). Note that contrary to what grumpy expats say, sometimes the police are fully justified in fining you. You can find a list of violations and fines on the internet. (Word on the street is that you want to carry between 200.000 and 500.000 at all times, and there are various negotiation techniques).

"To be legal from day 1"

The blue card should be in your name, otherwise the police can assert the motorbike is stolen.  Well that is difficult unless you have a Temporary Resident Card, for which you generally need a business visa and job/investments here, or Vietnamese citizen spouse. I know an expat motorbike dealer whose Vietnamese wife registers sold bikes in her name and he claims that is good enough for his customers. Note that "legal" is a gray area with lots of work arounds.



The insurance card is a weird formality, I think we paid 20.000 at a gas station or convenience store. Of course it will not recover/repair your machine or protect you from lawsuit.



You can convert your home country driver's license that has motorcycle qualification to a Vietnamese license. I did it with the help of a fixer for $30 I think. If you are not motorcycle qualified, then you have to take a test. Again you can use a fixer. (Editorial: take a course to get qualified before you come to Vietnam, this is no place to learn!) . International Driving Permits are not guaranteed to be locally accepted despite what national laws are.



In my home country, I would want to, or be required to, have collision insurance, medical insurance, uninsured motorist insurance (pays my if other guy is uninsured), liability insurance if accident is my fault, if I damage people and/or property, and for lawsuits to pay other people or businesses.

Insurance = periodically paying a company money, sometimes lots of money, so that when you screw up or you get screwed, you can avoid spending even bigger money later. I haven't heard of such a system here, except for medical. Some foreigners arrive with travel insurance which can help, beware fine-print restrictions. Travel insurance is expensive especially for long term (expat) living.
My solution is to take personal responsibility and self-insure in 3rd world countries.
Have money, will travel. No money, no protections, good luck.

gobot wrote:

KruChris wrote:

Want to be legal from day 1.

Registration would have to be in the name of a friend.

Bought the scooter from a foreign teacher leaving the country. Not sure if I can buy insurance over the phone like in the UK?

When you are stopped for a traffic violation (or worse), police will want to see the blue card, insurance card, your Vietnamese license, and probably your passport. Usually they are looking for an excuse to fine you on the spot, and if you resist, will threaten to confiscate the motorbike. This applies to Vietnamese citizens too (except they need to produce an identity card instead of passport). Note that contrary to what grumpy expats say, sometimes the police are fully justified in fining you. You can find a list of violations and fines on the internet. (Word on the street is that you want to carry between 200.000 and 500.000 at all times, and there are various negotiation techniques).

"To be legal from day 1"

The blue card should be in your name, otherwise the police can assert the motorbike is stolen.  Well that is difficult unless you have a Temporary Resident Card, for which you generally need a business visa and job/investments here, or Vietnamese citizen spouse. I know an expat motorbike dealer whose Vietnamese wife registers sold bikes in her name and he claims that is good enough for his customers. Note that "legal" is a gray area with lots of work arounds.

https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/blue_card.jpg

The insurance card is a weird formality, I think we paid 20.000 at a gas station or convenience store. Of course it will not recover/repair your machine or protect you from lawsuit.

https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/insurance_card.jpg

You can convert your home country driver's license that has motorcycle qualification to a Vietnamese license. I did it with the help of a fixer for $30 I think. If you are not motorcycle qualified, then you have to take a test. Again you can use a fixer. (Editorial: take a course to get qualified before you come to Vietnam, this is no place to learn!) . International Driving Permits are not guaranteed to be locally accepted despite what national laws are.

https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/driving_license.jpg

In my home country, I would want to, or be required to, have collision insurance, medical insurance, uninsured motorist insurance (pays my if other guy is uninsured), liability insurance if accident is my fault, if I damage people and/or property, and for lawsuits to pay other people or businesses.

Insurance = periodically paying a company money, sometimes lots of money, so that when you screw up or you get screwed, you can avoid spending even bigger money later. I haven't heard of such a system here, except for medical. Some foreigners arrive with travel insurance which can help, beware fine-print restrictions. Travel insurance is expensive especially for long term (expat) living.
My solution is to take personal responsibility and self-insure in 3rd world countries.
Have money, will travel. No money, no protections, good luck.

I got done on way back from Can Tho yesterday(first time in 10+ years driving a bike here) Got pulled over for no real reason as did countless Vietnamese. Was driving with a UK driving licence(not acceptable here). At first he wanted 2.5 mil but GF said i was skint after holiday & between her negotiations & me crying we got it down to 1.5mil. No ticket given or asked for. The cop was really nice & spoke good English. Was really taken with my bike & my GF, wished me good luck on my way & returned to the task in hand screwing more cash out of the locals, think they had a karaoke party organised for that evening.

n1tw1t wrote:

I got done on way back from Can Tho yesterday(first time in 10+ years driving a bike here) Got pulled over for no real reason as did countless Vietnamese. Was driving with a UK driving licence(not acceptable here). At first he wanted 2.5 mil but GF said i was skint after holiday & between her negotiations & me crying we got it down to 1.5mil. No ticket given or asked for. The cop was really nice & spoke good English. Was really taken with my bike & my GF, wished me good luck on my way & returned to the task in hand screwing more cash out of the locals, think they had a karaoke party organised for that evening.

The offense for which the CS routinely pull over large numbers, particularly before and after holidays, is driving in the first lane instead of on the shoulder.   It's like shooting fish in a barrel because on holiday weekends the shoulder is packed with motorbikes while the car/truck lanes are almost empty.  If you see all your local co-travelers moving back into the shoulder lane for no apparent reason, move over too as they seem to know where the road blocks are.

1.5 mil does seem a little high.  I had a legit license but I know people who did not.  They told me that they still got away with 200 thousand to 500 thousand.

n1tw1t wrote:

gobot wrote:

KruChris wrote:

Want to be legal from day 1.

Registration would have to be in the name of a friend.

Bought the scooter from a foreign teacher leaving the country. Not sure if I can buy insurance over the phone like in the UK?

When you are stopped for a traffic violation (or worse), police will want to see the blue card, insurance card, your Vietnamese license, and probably your passport. Usually they are looking for an excuse to fine you on the spot, and if you resist, will threaten to confiscate the motorbike. This applies to Vietnamese citizens too (except they need to produce an identity card instead of passport). Note that contrary to what grumpy expats say, sometimes the police are fully justified in fining you. You can find a list of violations and fines on the internet. (Word on the street is that you want to carry between 200.000 and 500.000 at all times, and there are various negotiation techniques).

"To be legal from day 1"

The blue card should be in your name, otherwise the police can assert the motorbike is stolen.  Well that is difficult unless you have a Temporary Resident Card, for which you generally need a business visa and job/investments here, or Vietnamese citizen spouse. I know an expat motorbike dealer whose Vietnamese wife registers sold bikes in her name and he claims that is good enough for his customers. Note that "legal" is a gray area with lots of work arounds.

https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/blue_card.jpg

The insurance card is a weird formality, I think we paid 20.000 at a gas station or convenience store. Of course it will not recover/repair your machine or protect you from lawsuit.

https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/insurance_card.jpg

You can convert your home country driver's license that has motorcycle qualification to a Vietnamese license. I did it with the help of a fixer for $30 I think. If you are not motorcycle qualified, then you have to take a test. Again you can use a fixer. (Editorial: take a course to get qualified before you come to Vietnam, this is no place to learn!) . International Driving Permits are not guaranteed to be locally accepted despite what national laws are.

https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/driving_license.jpg

In my home country, I would want to, or be required to, have collision insurance, medical insurance, uninsured motorist insurance (pays my if other guy is uninsured), liability insurance if accident is my fault, if I damage people and/or property, and for lawsuits to pay other people or businesses.

Insurance = periodically paying a company money, sometimes lots of money, so that when you screw up or you get screwed, you can avoid spending even bigger money later. I haven't heard of such a system here, except for medical. Some foreigners arrive with travel insurance which can help, beware fine-print restrictions. Travel insurance is expensive especially for long term (expat) living.
My solution is to take personal responsibility and self-insure in 3rd world countries.
Have money, will travel. No money, no protections, good luck.

I got done on way back from Can Tho yesterday(first time in 10+ years driving a bike here) Got pulled over for no real reason as did countless Vietnamese. Was driving with a UK driving licence(not acceptable here). At first he wanted 2.5 mil but GF said i was skint after holiday & between her negotiations & me crying we got it down to 1.5mil. No ticket given or asked for. The cop was really nice & spoke good English. Was really taken with my bike & my GF, wished me good luck on my way & returned to the task in hand screwing more cash out of the locals, think they had a karaoke party organised for that evening.

Im sure he had great fun with your 1.5 million. He would have told his mates that drinks were on him.

11-years of driving here, been pulled over numerous times for a donation, to this day not one-dong has been given.

I dont have a blue card as my bike is a 1966 model and scheduled for export, i just have the original reg document which is system deleted, export doc as proof of ownership (would not show a cop that) but i carry a copy of my passport, Visa, insurance , international licence and 200,000 VND in a special wallet

colinoscapee wrote:

n1tw1t wrote:

gobot wrote:

When you are stopped for a traffic violation (or worse), police will want to see the blue card, insurance card, your Vietnamese license, and probably your passport. Usually they are looking for an excuse to fine you on the spot, and if you resist, will threaten to confiscate the motorbike. This applies to Vietnamese citizens too (except they need to produce an identity card instead of passport). Note that contrary to what grumpy expats say, sometimes the police are fully justified in fining you. You can find a list of violations and fines on the internet. (Word on the street is that you want to carry between 200.000 and 500.000 at all times, and there are various negotiation techniques).

"To be legal from day 1"

The blue card should be in your name, otherwise the police can assert the motorbike is stolen.  Well that is difficult unless you have a Temporary Resident Card, for which you generally need a business visa and job/investments here, or Vietnamese citizen spouse. I know an expat motorbike dealer whose Vietnamese wife registers sold bikes in her name and he claims that is good enough for his customers. Note that "legal" is a gray area with lots of work arounds.

https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/blue_card.jpg

The insurance card is a weird formality, I think we paid 20.000 at a gas station or convenience store. Of course it will not recover/repair your machine or protect you from lawsuit.

https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/insurance_card.jpg

You can convert your home country driver's license that has motorcycle qualification to a Vietnamese license. I did it with the help of a fixer for $30 I think. If you are not motorcycle qualified, then you have to take a test. Again you can use a fixer. (Editorial: take a course to get qualified before you come to Vietnam, this is no place to learn!) . International Driving Permits are not guaranteed to be locally accepted despite what national laws are.

https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/driving_license.jpg

In my home country, I would want to, or be required to, have collision insurance, medical insurance, uninsured motorist insurance (pays my if other guy is uninsured), liability insurance if accident is my fault, if I damage people and/or property, and for lawsuits to pay other people or businesses.

Insurance = periodically paying a company money, sometimes lots of money, so that when you screw up or you get screwed, you can avoid spending even bigger money later. I haven't heard of such a system here, except for medical. Some foreigners arrive with travel insurance which can help, beware fine-print restrictions. Travel insurance is expensive especially for long term (expat) living.
My solution is to take personal responsibility and self-insure in 3rd world countries.
Have money, will travel. No money, no protections, good luck.

I got done on way back from Can Tho yesterday(first time in 10+ years driving a bike here) Got pulled over for no real reason as did countless Vietnamese. Was driving with a UK driving licence(not acceptable here). At first he wanted 2.5 mil but GF said i was skint after holiday & between her negotiations & me crying we got it down to 1.5mil. No ticket given or asked for. The cop was really nice & spoke good English. Was really taken with my bike & my GF, wished me good luck on my way & returned to the task in hand screwing more cash out of the locals, think they had a karaoke party organised for that evening.

Im sure he had great fun with your 1.5 million. He would have told his mates that drinks were on him.

11-years of driving here, been pulled over numerous times for a donation, to this day not one-dong has been given.

First time for me, so give me some tips, crying, pretending to have a heart attack did not work!
Do you have all the right docs to give them?

THIGV wrote:

n1tw1t wrote:

I got done on way back from Can Tho yesterday(first time in 10+ years driving a bike here) Got pulled over for no real reason as did countless Vietnamese. Was driving with a UK driving licence(not acceptable here). At first he wanted 2.5 mil but GF said i was skint after holiday & between her negotiations & me crying we got it down to 1.5mil. No ticket given or asked for. The cop was really nice & spoke good English. Was really taken with my bike & my GF, wished me good luck on my way & returned to the task in hand screwing more cash out of the locals, think they had a karaoke party organised for that evening.

The offense for which the CS routinely pull over large numbers, particularly before and after holidays, is driving in the first lane instead of on the shoulder.   It's like shooting fish in a barrel because on holiday weekends the shoulder is packed with motorbikes while the car/truck lanes are almost empty.  If you see all your local co-travelers moving back into the shoulder lane for no apparent reason, move over too as they seem to know where the road blocks are.

1.5 mil does seem a little high.  I had a legit license but I know people who did not.  They told me that they still got away with 200 thousand to 500 thousand.

Well he probably chanced his luck on the premise....there's one born every minute & it was his lucky day.
I was in the first lane & gunning it right enough & they were quite right to pull me over & of course UK licence made it easy for him & he was a happy cop, will just put it down to experiance & take 1 million back out of my GF housekeeping money cos she should have known better!!

"First time for me, so give me some tips, crying, pretending to have a heart attack did not work!
Do you have all the right docs to give them?"

If you are not breaking the law and have the relevant documents, try this, next time they stop you read their ID number in Vietnamese into your phone. It scares them, especially when they are shaking you down. But from your other post you were breaking the law, so payment is due, but way too much.

colinoscapee wrote:

"First time for me, so give me some tips, crying, pretending to have a heart attack did not work!
Do you have all the right docs to give them?"

If you are not breaking the law and have the relevant documents, try this, next time they stop you read their ID number in Vietnamese into your phone. It scares them, especially when they are shaking you down. But from your other post you were breaking the law, so payment is due, but way too much.

Yea thats the way I see it. It was a "fair cop" as they say & not like 1.5 mil gonna break the bank is it. Just put it down to experiance. Got the cops ZALO contact before i left so he might end up as a good friend & useful contact in the end!

gobot wrote:

KruChris wrote:

Want to be legal from day 1.

Registration would have to be in the name of a friend.

Bought the scooter from a foreign teacher leaving the country. Not sure if I can buy insurance over the phone like in the UK?

When you are stopped for a traffic violation (or worse), police will want to see the blue card, insurance card, your Vietnamese license, and probably your passport. Usually they are looking for an excuse to fine you on the spot, and if you resist, will threaten to confiscate the motorbike. This applies to Vietnamese citizens too (except they need to produce an identity card instead of passport). Note that contrary to what grumpy expats say, sometimes the police are fully justified in fining you. You can find a list of violations and fines on the internet. (Word on the street is that you want to carry between 200.000 and 500.000 at all times, and there are various negotiation techniques).

"To be legal from day 1"

The blue card should be in your name, otherwise the police can assert the motorbike is stolen.  Well that is difficult unless you have a Temporary Resident Card, for which you generally need a business visa and job/investments here, or Vietnamese citizen spouse. I know an expat motorbike dealer whose Vietnamese wife registers sold bikes in her name and he claims that is good enough for his customers. Note that "legal" is a gray area with lots of work arounds.

https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/blue_card.jpg

The insurance card is a weird formality, I think we paid 20.000 at a gas station or convenience store. Of course it will not recover/repair your machine or protect you from lawsuit.

https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/insurance_card.jpg

You can convert your home country driver's license that has motorcycle qualification to a Vietnamese license. I did it with the help of a fixer for $30 I think. If you are not motorcycle qualified, then you have to take a test. Again you can use a fixer. (Editorial: take a course to get qualified before you come to Vietnam, this is no place to learn!) . International Driving Permits are not guaranteed to be locally accepted despite what national laws are.

https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/driving_license.jpg

In my home country, I would want to, or be required to, have collision insurance, medical insurance, uninsured motorist insurance (pays my if other guy is uninsured), liability insurance if accident is my fault, if I damage people and/or property, and for lawsuits to pay other people or businesses.

Insurance = periodically paying a company money, sometimes lots of money, so that when you screw up or you get screwed, you can avoid spending even bigger money later. I haven't heard of such a system here, except for medical. Some foreigners arrive with travel insurance which can help, beware fine-print restrictions. Travel insurance is expensive especially for long term (expat) living.
My solution is to take personal responsibility and self-insure in 3rd world countries.
Have money, will travel. No money, no protections, good luck.

First, I would like to thank you and all other posters for taking the time to answer.

I do have a big bike license and big bikes, one is a 5th generation VFR 800 with 4 gears driven OHC. That insurance is about 2,600.000 d and tax is about half that. Annually. The automotive club cover is about 2,000.000 d. Storage for each bike is more p.a.  than what I paid for the Honda scooter. Sorry, it's 3:37 am and I better stop and go back to sleep.

Thanks again. You make this forum great!

Chris