Beware if you have a Red Lic. Plate

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Gaybutton
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Re: Beware if you have a Red Lic. Plate

Post by Gaybutton »

Undaunted wrote:the current wait for a white plate is approx. 90 days.
90 DAYS?!?!? I wonder why it takes so long. There must be one hell of a backlog if it takes that long. What do they expect people to do in the meantime?

odd wrote:I expected them to pay the fine-this they did.
And you can't drive out of your home province too. I wonder what difference it makes if you are driving illegally in your home province or in some other province.

How much was the fine?

Now this has moved up several notches on my "I Don't Get It" list.
odd

Re: Beware if you have a Red Lic. Plate

Post by odd »

I cannot remember the exact amount-but not more than 500 baht. It may be on the 'not get' list but I expect your list is rather long!
If the dealer gives you genuine red number plates you are also meant to receive a book to keep in the car.
Driving at night and outside of the province where the car was bought are both no-no's.
traveller123

Re: Beware if you have a Red Lic. Plate

Post by traveller123 »

I asked my partner about driving outside your province with a red number plate.
He says you get a log book with the plate and you have to enter details and timings of your journey in the log.
He says you do not get authorisation to make the journey just carry the log book
odd

Re: Beware if you have a Red Lic. Plate

Post by odd »

That's probably correct. Whether the book allows you to leave your province or not I am not certain. The legal red plates have an embossed stamp on them. I have seen many identical numbers on red plates here over the years on similar makes of car. By my reckoning there are more fake plates than legit ones-but it would not be Thailand were it otherwise!
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Re: Beware if you have a Red Lic. Plate

Post by Undaunted »

traveller123 wrote:I asked my partner about driving outside your province with a red number plate.
He says you get a log book with the plate and you have to enter details and timings of your journey in the log.
He says you do not get authorisation to make the journey just carry the log book
I have had 2 cars and many many motorcycles over the years there is no such thing as a "log book" the only book you recieve is the owner book that usually comes with the white plates.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
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Re: Beware if you have a Red Lic. Plate

Post by 2lz2p »

Actually, from what I have read in the past, there is a "log" book - but, I don't think the dealers provide them as they are supposed to. I have purchased 3 new vehicles over the past 15 years - 2 Honda cars and 1 Mitsubishi Pickup. All from the dealers and I never received a log book (doesn't mean they don't exist, just that the dealers don't bother with them). In the case of the two Honda cars (City purchased 15 years ago, replaced with a Civic 10 years ago), it was about one or two weeks before the white plates were made available). I did drive the City up to Chaiyaphum province (bf's home town) and did get stopped twice - once going and on return - in first case, officer said we were speeding (not the case, but bf quickly handed him 100 baht and on our way we went). In the second, it wasn't the red tag, but the fact we didn't have the road tax sticker on the windscreen (again, 100 baht and on our way). After getting back I is when I discovered there was a requirement about not driving after dark or outside the province with red plates.

When I bought the Mitsibushi 5 years ago, there was a wait for delivery of the vehicle - the salesperson here in Pattaya said I had to pick mine up at Rayong dealership when it finally arrived 3 months after ordering it. So, my Red Tags for it was in Rayong province as were the white plates when they finally arrived some 60+ days later. Since I live in Pattaya, all my driving was here in Chon Buri Province - but never had a problem.
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Re: Beware if you have a Red Lic. Plate

Post by Gaybutton »

Since living in Thailand I have had three cars, two motorbikes, and a pickup truck. This topic is the first time I have ever heard anything about a logbook. I've never seen anything about a logbook mentioned on any other web sites either.

All I know is I've never had one. I don't know anyone who has ever had one. I've never heard of anyone ever getting in trouble because they didn't have one. None of the dealerships ever said anything about needing one. And I don't know what purpose it is supposed to serve in the first place. Who would even be interested in reading it?

Once the valid plate comes in what are you supposed to do with the log book? If I had one maybe I would have it dipped in bronze and hang it on my wall.
odd

Re: Beware if you have a Red Lic. Plate

Post by odd »

I am puzzled by the confusion. The book goes with the legal red plates-the fact that you have never received one from the dealer just proves my statement yesterday. The dealers are too mean to buy them and pass you off with fake number plates-hoping you will not be caught. But when I was caught Honda quickly paid up my fine and 2 days later replaced the fake plates with legit ones and gave me the book. So, please it is not a fantasy. Some of you have just been lucky.
Those who doubt all this should go to a main dealer and ask them if they will supply you with legit red plates, with a book, if you buy a car from them-it would be interesting to learn of their reply!
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Re: Beware if you have a Red Lic. Plate

Post by Gaybutton »

odd wrote:the fact that you have never received one from the dealer just proves my statement yesterday.
If the dealers don't give out this log book, then I don't believe it has anything to do with not wanting to pay for legitimate red plates. I believe it would be because they know people just aren't going to use them. There are thousands of red plates every day. If police were stopping vehicles with red plates and fining them because they don't have a log book, and the reason they don't have a log book is because the dealer never gave them one, then the dealers would be giving out the log book when people started raising hell with them.

And I would also think the dealers would get into trouble for not having complied with the law. With all the laws and fees vehicle dealerships have to comply with, do you really think they're going to try to save money on red plates and log books? That makes about zero sense, even by Thai logic.

Ok, then the next question is - suppose you have this log book and make an entry or two, then stop bothering to make any more entries. Then you get stopped by a police officer who wants to see the log book. How is he supposed to know how often you've really driven the car?

If he asked me why there are only two entries, but I've had the car for over a month, my answer would be I haven't driven it because I'm waiting for the genuine plates to come in, or I didn't feel like going anywhere, or I was sick and wasn't going anywhere, or I was drinking quite a lot at home and didn't want to drive drunk - or some other bullshit story.

I don't doubt your story, but there is certainly a "what's wrong with this picture?" aspect.
traveller123

Re: Beware if you have a Red Lic. Plate

Post by traveller123 »

6 years ago when we bought our new Mitsu pick up, we received the book.
I can't remember if we received it when we took delivery of the vehicle or if my partner when to get it when we were making trips outside of our province
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