WHY CANT A FOREIGNER BUY A NEW MOTORBIKE...

Just buy a good secondhand bike.  I have no idea who the legal owner of my bike is and I dont care. Its cheap transport .

michaellieptourists wrote:

We went to the Honda dealer to purchase a new scooter...
Needless to say, no one spoke English but my Vn wife was able to make an attempt at translation
which appeared to say that we can't buy a bike because we don't live here permanently???
We usually stay here 3 or 4 times a year and would like to have our own bike here for us to use.
We have garaging here but no one to use there name.
Why when you hold the money out to them, they are not interested in grabbing it?

I don't know which law or regulation it is or what it exactly mentions (nor why it is in place in the first place).

Thinking back I am not quite sure I remember correctly, but my last bike I got (new Honda from official dealer), they said the same. They gave me a list with about 5 or maybe 6 things I needed to provide beside the cash. Probably copy of passport, visa, local ward police registration and so on. One thing however I remember exactly, was that they needed a notarized copy of my work permit and working contract/agreement. The law might be targeting against foreigners who're here on a tourist visa and usually don't have valid driver license.

This all never made sense to me because I always asked myself, why should a bike and license plate be registered when a new bike is bought, but if it gets sold again, the plate and new owners don't need to be registered.

Maybe the law says different but the police don't mind or have questions about names as long as you have the vehicle registration papers with you. Makes it impossible to track the plate, it's only use then becomes to identify a vehicle and match it to a paper. Perhaps a counter theft measure only.   

Anyway, 2 options, like Yogi said, buy a secondhand one or ask a friend to buy it in his name.

Thanks for your advice Yogi and Snake....
You may have a point with the driving license issue, now we are from this year officially allowed to ride with a reciprocal IDP, perhaps that might change the law, eventually....

The people at the car dealership may not articulate this well to you. The government want to control the (new and used, gazoline) motorbike import into the country, that's why. Nothing against foreigners but if you can't justify why you need a bike (there's taxi, bus, ... ) then you cant register it.
It's probably the same in many other countries, not just VN. Good for the earth!

As a local resident, your wife should be able to buy and register a motorbike, yes?

"Nothing against foreigners but if you can't justify why you need a bike (there's taxi, bus, ... )"
In many western countries, even if one person is dumb/crazy enough to buy a vehicle that they can't justify - as long as it's legal and they have money to buy, why not ? What justification for Vietnamese people to buy a motorbike instead of taking taxi to work, to shop ? It's good for the earth when 2.3,4.. people pooling money to share a taxi ride...sure, nothing again foreigner, just the bird brain....

The whole point is, why should I have to justify my reasons to buy a motorcycle....
I am aware that buses and taxis exist, I would like to make my own decisions where and how I travel...
Don't even mention the environment, take a look around...

hi there,

are you asking a question or you just want to argue? I was just stating a fact to answer the OP's question.
The problem is with the registration, without it you can't ride around.

Also I don't see a point arguing with any government's rule, especially this one since personally I agree with it.

Btw, have you tried to buy and register an imported (non-German made) vehicle as a tourist in Germany (or France, or Switzerland)? My guess is that it would be impossible.
I know that one could buy a German made car as a tourist in Germany. But could only register it temporarily for, say, 14 days.

DN

Forget about the environment comments, they are just my personal opinion (although I think they are  struggling with both environment control and infrastructure scaling to support growth in all urban areas.)

The main reason, I figure, is that you need to provide a some what permanent local address. As a tourist, you will not be able to.
For local Vietnamese, they always can, therefore buying and registering a vehicle is no problem for them.

If you think about it, this is a quite normal registration requirement, owning a vehicle is assuming a certain liability upon yourself.

I am pretty certain that this is the same for many countries, except maybe US, Canada and Australia.

DN

The whole point, actually, mate, is that it's their sandbox and they get to make the rules. PERIOD, end of story.

whellockroad wrote:

The whole point, actually, mate, is that it's their sandbox and they get to make the rules. PERIOD, end of story.

This thread has been inactive for more than 3 years.  The last comment was posted in Nov 2015.  If you wish to participate in the discussion, please start a new thread. 

If you have the same query as the OP of this thread, I'll be happy to provide the answer in your new thread.

Thank you.

whellockroad wrote:

The whole point, actually, mate, is that it's their sandbox and they get to make the rules. PERIOD, end of story.

It's a good thing you waited over 4 years to tell them.

Cooler head prevailing?