Be careful when buying a car, or motorcycle!

why on this Gods earth would you buy a bike off a person and it's not in their name, you wanna give your money away you could just send it to me...

This type of things happens all around the world to a lot of people not only Thailand unless you know the people personally or through a very close and honest friend.

mantauk wrote:

why on this Gods earth would you buy a bike off a person and it's not in their name, you wanna give your money away you could just send it to me...

Dear Sir,

            I'm already living in Thailand for 16 years and had sold my two former bikes to foreigners, but these guys were honest and I'm proud to call myself an honest guy who'd never rip anybody else of, just to stay here a bit longer. Unfortunately, have times changed and too many criminals are now residing in LOS, some of them on the run, some working on fake diplomas and so on. A shame for all the honest people here.

My former bike, a Yamaha Virago 750 cc was advertised on a well-known website for a few hours and an English gentleman got immediately in touch with me because that was exactly what he's looking for.

  He then sent 120,000 baht on my bank account without having anything in his hands. Neither the green book nor anything else that would have proven that he wanted to buy a bike from me. All he had was my name and e-mail address. But he somehow knew that I can be trusted.

   I  send the bike via transport company to him to a place in Phuket and he's more than happy with it.
Yep, you're right, these days you're always in troubles when doing business with foreigners, especially those who are losers, always trying to rip off others. Shame on these people.

   When I saw the advertisement for my current bike and phoned the liar, he immediately told me that the delivery would be free. Considering that it was a Monday and I had to go to work and the offer was great, but I had no idea that it was pretty well fitted for his plans.

   Would I had driven to his place and heard the story, I'd never ever have bought the bike without having it in my name, right there at the transport department. But things were different.

   I paid 15,000 as a deposit that he delivered the bike and because I really wanted the bike, a real classic one and I didn't know that he wasn't the owner before he arrived in my city at my address. he didn't mention any of the facts beforehand and lied about all. Yes, he's got the green book and I thought that's fine. But.

   Unfortunately, was he with his Thai partner and their 12-year-old daughter who also lied about everything, they told me that the owner would be a good friend of them, right now in the UK and they'd come in a few weeks on New Year's to give me the damn copy of her ID. It made total sense and his story that the guy's only holidaying in Thailand 2 weeks a year, explained the low mileage on the bike. I had my doubts, could have said no, lost 15 K and wouldn't have my nice bike now.

Some warning lights went on when I was asking him for his passport to copy it, but he then told me that he "forgot" to take it with him, a journey of roughly 700 km's back and forth! What a freak he was, I truly hope that he reads this and looks into a mirror to see what a jackass he really is. He even threatened me to send some friends to me to do something terrible to my family, or just me.

   But I had a passport copy he'd sent me, set up a contract and he signed it. I'd never have thought what a "rip of idiot" he was and once they left, the lies continued. He even created a fake e-mail address, using the foreigner's name who'd bought the bike 15 years ago, the owner's fiance. But he's too damn stupid to understand that G-mail would show his real initials and it was clear what he was up to because he already had a G-mail account.................

   It took a while to understand that I was on my own and had trusted somebody in a way that I believed his story.

   Through my neighbor, a lawyer, we could find out where the lady was living, drove to the place and talked to a relative. It then turned out that the Thai woman had left the English guy who'd financed the bike 15 years ago, already 10 years ago and was now married to another man in the United States. That's when things became complicated.

      After a phone call, it was clear that also the lady who's the owner in the green book wanted her name removed from the green book, which was only good luck for me. It was like finding the needle in the haystack.

   Yes, I know that I did something that can be considered as very stupid, I've learned my lesson the hard way and won't trust anybody else in the future, which isn't really nice. I'd prefer to deal with honest people, but they are sometimes hard to find in Thailand.

   Finally, I've got what I wanted to put the bike in my name and that will happen tomorrow. My detailed post was only for others, a warning to be careful when buying a vehicle in Thailand. In many countries, you're the owner of the vehicle once you've got the papers for it and the vehicle. That's totally different in Thailand. The best is to take the seller to a transport department, get it into your name and then pay the cash.

   It's just one more sad fact what kind of foreigners are trying to live in Thailand, no matter what they're doing to others. I've wasted many hours driving to Korat, but I've also learned a lot. Never trust foreigners in Thailand.

   It's very sad that the lowest scumballs are easy to find in Thailand, always ready to take other peoples' money to be able to continue living here.

   That's also one of the reasons why I prefer Isaan to bigger and more touristy areas.

    If my post only helps one foreigner NOT to get ripped off, I'm more than happy. The police would perhaps confiscate the bike and you could wait a few months, up to years with an unknown outcome.

  And foreigners who're living in Thailand should be aware that many bikes, but also cars are stolen, papers faked, or also taken away. Be careful out there.

Barry343 wrote:

This type of things happens all around the world to a lot of people not only Thailand unless you know the people personally or through a very close and honest friend.

The problem here is that too many foreigners in LOS are criminals who do not care if you lose all your money. It's very sad and I've learned a bitter lesson.

    And the circumstances were not exactly in my favor, to be honest. Thanks for your reply!

Isaanfarang wrote:

The problem here is that too many foreigners in LOS are criminals who do not care if you lose all your money. It's very sad and I've learned a bitter lesson. And the circumstances were not exactly in my favor, to be honest. Thanks for your reply!

Excuse me,..sir. Prior to this, I was of the positive impression that you ^ were not born... yesterday,...eh?

That ^ leads me to ponder the reason of "how",...a 16-year farang "veteran",...is still learning the Bitter lessons of life,...at any location, on this planet. All things historically considered?

jana611 wrote:

Isaanfarang wrote:

The problem here is that too many foreigners in LOS are criminals who do not care if you lose all your money. It's very sad and I've learned a bitter lesson. And the circumstances were not exactly in my favor, to be honest. Thanks for your reply!

Excuse me,..sir. Prior to this, I was of the positive impression that you ^ were notborn... yesterday.

That ^ leads me to ponder the reason of "how",...a 16-year farang "veteran",...is still learning the bitter lessons of life,...at any location,...on this planet... All things considered...Really!...

Thanks for your "heads up"!  I've basically bought a very nice bike for a great price. Of course, could it be very different and the bike would be at a police station now.

     If my idiotic behavior can help others not to get into such a situation, I'm more than happy.

    I explained how the whole story started and hope that others will be more careful than I was.

     The insanity is that I'd not have such a fantastic bike, a real classic one that I've brought to a new life. Worth a lot more what I've paid for after fixing many things. I'm happy to have it.

   Would I have said no, there's no way to find an even similar bike. Those who'd never made a mistake are allowed to throw the first stone.

    Kind regards from a happy Yamaha Virago 1100 cc owner. The bike looks as it just came out of the factory with only 16,000 km on the clock.

     My post was just a warning for others who might not be as fortunate as I was.

Indeed,..wise people learn the lessons of life, via the experiences of other ^ people.

Thanks for the Post and sharing your knowledge and experience. I'm looking for a second hand car and hadn't considered any of the pitfalls. I'll be a wiser consumer based on the information you shared!