Importing my used car to Vietnam

This may help.

Car import

Got all excited at the idea then see right hand drive is not allowed

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Got all excited at the idea then see right hand drive is not allowed

Also,have to be original owner and only 10k on the clock.

Im sure that a few extra Uncle Hos will sort it out,but knowing the custom officers they will squeeze you for every buck they can.

reza.ghnvt wrote:

Does anyone know of specific cost of bringing my own car to Vietnam from the UK?

I am aware of the requirements and condition and i do meet all the conditions!

just wondering if anyone has done it? and has a clear idea of the cost and how difficult the process is!



cheers

Best advice ?
Don't even try. Sell it and buy a car here.

Yes, buy cheap car here... ou wait... 😆 just buy car forget about the cheap part 😁😁

Used cars are cheap, but many are imports overseas to order. So you get taxed.

I like the idea of buying a reasonable used car here

still can't find the cost!
I have lots of article about it!

I would lose about £20k if I sell my car, so trying anything I can atm.

reza.ghnvt wrote:

still can't find the cost!
I have lots of article about it!

I would lose about £20k if I sell my car, so trying anything I can atm.

Your going to have to spend quite a bit getting it converted to left-hand drive. Are you sure your car meets all the requirements?

reza.ghnvt wrote:

still can't find the cost!
I have lots of article about it!

I would lose about £20k if I sell my car, so trying anything I can atm.

What car is it ?

reza.ghnvt wrote:

still can't find the cost!
I have lots of article about it!

I would lose about £20k if I sell my car, so trying anything I can atm.

You realize you have to pay the tariff so that is 70-100% of your car's NEW value, then convert to LHD then spend another $3-5,000 shipping it here.  WAY more than 20K.

cheers everyone!
It's a Jaguar. You don't actually need to convert it to LHD according to VND rules.

it would only cost £1300 to bring it over!
I wanted to know if anyone has been through registration in VND.
everyone has heard something but no one actually done it.

reza.ghnvt wrote:

cheers everyone!
It's a Jaguar. You don't actually need to convert it to LHD according to VND rules.

it would only cost £1300 to bring it over!
I wanted to know if anyone has been through registration in VND.
everyone has heard something but no one actually done it.

Very few expats do it due to it being complicated. As far as driving a right-hand drive here, I just wouldnt bother.

If you really want to get the correct info and not deal with it on a forum, go straight to the department that handles those issues.

reza.ghnvt wrote:

cheers everyone!
It's a Jaguar. You don't actually need to convert it to LHD according to VND rules.

it would only cost £1300 to bring it over!
I wanted to know if anyone has been through registration in VND.
everyone has heard something but no one actually done it.

I have been through the importation process for 3 classic cars here primarily for collectors each of whom are very well connected with a fair amount of clout in the right places . .. . and even so it is far from cheap and you may find the tax you will have to pay is based on 100% of the vehicles cost when NEW.
Why on earth you would want to go through it all to bring a Jaguar here I don't know, I guess you have your reasons, but to do it cold with no knowledge of what you are doing is a risky business. The problem with government regulations here is that nothing is written as gospel, it all depends on who you deal with and who they know.
Either way I wish you luck but can assure you it will cost you far more than what the Jag is worth unless it is a rare one especially when you add running costs, likely damage, very few places that are actually practical to use it let alone park it safely, the sheer hassle you will encounter on the roads here, parts, repairs etc etc.

thanks for the detailed answer!
after everyone's input probably won't do it!

reza.ghnvt wrote:

thanks for the detailed answer!
after everyone's input probably won't do it!

Genuinely, I would really advise against it.
Have a good evening.

I'm sure you love your Jaguar but they don't have the best reliability record, at least in the USA so as it gets older, finding/importing parts and finding someone to fix it would be a huge cost/issue.

He said early on he only wanted to do it to avoid losing 20K on it.  Now that he realizes that losing 20K is cheaper than paying 60K in tariffs it's a settled issue.

I bought a dead Daimler Double Six for £240 about 25 years ago. Ran fine after I whacked some new core plugs into the block, like a 300bhp Chesterfield sofa. It hated traffic though, can't imagine piloting such a behemoth around Saigon.

Yes, I know this post is completely useless to the OP, I was just struck by an urge to reminisce about youthful folly

Brick23 wrote:

I bought a dead Daimler Double Six for £240 about 25 years ago. Ran fine after I whacked some new core plugs into the block, like a 300bhp Chesterfield sofa. It hated traffic though, can't imagine piloting such a behemoth around Saigon.

Yes, I know this post is completely useless to the OP, I was just struck by an urge to reminisce about youthful folly

My very first car was a Vauxhall Cresta rust bucket that weighed a ton, well, several tons to be precise although to be fair it gradually became considerably lighter as bits regularly fell off.  The first morning I used it as a 17yr old I bumped down the kerb and it quite literally fell in half 
I solved the problem by jacking up the middle and placing two long floorboards underneath where the chassis had failed to hold the two halves together and painted them with black underseal. It even went through an MOT. I drove it like like for almost a year before a con-rod broke and the engine exploded . . .. . . those were the days . . .

Ah, Vauxhalls... one end built using the metric system, the other using imperial... no wonder they never joined up in the middle very well.

British engineering has always been either bespoke genius out of a converted cow shed in the middle of nowhere (people would be amazed where half the components in F1 cars get fabricated) or mass produced garbage.

We should start a post on Car Stories . . . be bloody funny even if entirely of no use to anyone 

i've only done this in other countries. But it has been a nightmare according to stories I've read online. Like one American shipped his big Honda Gold Wing in. He had the dough to pay for customsPlease think twice, mate.

No, I would fear their bureaucracy & inflecibility.

Do you want grey hair or a kafkaesque experience?

reza.ghnvt wrote:

still can't find the cost!
I have lots of article about it!

I would lose about £20k if I sell my car, so trying anything I can atm.

Cost is no object. If it is, you would know not to try to bring a car to Vietnam.

colinoscapee wrote:

This may help.

Car import

Having read the link, My 18 year old Mercedes Benz sports car, maintained like new with 150,000 plus  miles will not qualify.
Can someone's back pocket be greased?
I would hate to sell it as it's like brand new.

lifeisgoodok wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

This may help.

Car import

Having read the link, My 18 year old Mercedes Benz sports car, maintained like new with 150,000 plus  miles will not qualify.
Can someone's back pocket be greased?
I would hate to sell it as it's like brand new.

There is always a way in Vietnam, have brought specialised cars here before for clients but you would be looking at around $5k in the right place before you even started the process.

1. I wasted several weeks getting my personal artwork from the USA that was shipped in a large crate via container ship.  It arrived Cat Lai Lai port in HCMC.

2. I did not know at the time but you HAVE to use a middle man to get anything out of the container yard. In theory you can go into the customs office at the container yard and do all the paperwork yourself and you will be directed through a maze of bureaucracy that leads to nowhere so don't even bother. The reality is you have to use a middle to do all the paperwork for you and he will tell you what document cost, tariffs, taxes, fees will be including the "coffee" money. The coffee money is not bad, it is more of an "expedited" fee to get things done quicker.  I wish someone would have told me so I didn't have to waste several weeks. Also note you have 30 days to get your stuff out of customs or they will tax you so hard you will NEVER make that mistake again like I did and there is nothing the middle man or anyone can do about it.

3. I asked the middle man about bringing my 6 month old toyota camry to hcmc and he told me not to waste my time because it will not save me any money. He said a lot of people try it even though he tells them not to and when they finish, they realize it would have been better to buy the car in vietnam instead. He said the container yard and customs are in business to make money and nothing is coming through without their "blessing".

Tai Zen wrote:

1. I wasted several weeks getting my personal artwork from the USA that was shipped in a large crate via container ship.  It arrived Cat Lai Lai port in HCMC.

2. I did not know at the time but you HAVE to use a middle man to get anything out of the container yard. In theory you can go into the customs office at the container yard and do all the paperwork yourself and you will be directed through a maze of bureaucracy that leads to nowhere so don't even bother. The reality is you have to use a middle to do all the paperwork for you and he will tell you what document cost, tariffs, taxes, fees will be including the "coffee" money. The coffee money is not bad, it is more of an "expedited" fee to get things done quicker.  I wish someone would have told me so I didn't have to waste several weeks. Also note you have 30 days to get your stuff out of customs or they will tax you so hard you will NEVER make that mistake again like I did and there is nothing the middle man or anyone can do about it.

3. I asked the middle man about bringing my 6 month old toyota camry to hcmc and he told me not to waste my time because it will not save me any money. He said a lot of people try it even though he tells them not to and when they finish, they realize it would have been better to buy the car in vietnam instead. He said the container yard and customs are in business to make money and nothing is coming through without their "blessing".

Unless the car has a special value it is not worth importing it to Vietnam and even then it has to be done the "right " way.

The middle man told me that even if you import a lambo or ferrari into vietnam, it is still better to buy it in vietnam because it will end up costing you the same price and way less hassle.

He said the rumors of people bringing in cars cheap are the family members of high ranking customs officials and that is only a handful of people.  He said that if I'm talking to him and asking him questions about how to get my car in through customs then I'm not one of those privileged minority so just get the car in vietnam to avoid the hassle.

Legally, if you are a TRC holder, you can bring your vehicle which is less than 5 years old.
But it is NOT EASY as a pie. If you are not hiding some precious hardest mineral in your car, I suggest to buy a brand new from here. Yeah, vehicles here is expensive but compared to importing old one, cheaper, time-saving!

I believe it has to have at least 10k on the odometer. This is so you don't import a new vehicle.

YMMV, but I have the distinct impression, that they  l o v e  the power arising from denying something we want. Many pretend not to understand anything etc. etc.

Right or wrong, if you would lose 20 thousand pounds, this must be a helluva car. (I bought 6 Porsches for single digit amounts in the UK, 5 Boxsters and a 944 S2 3.0 liter race car). Thought, i would make money in Germany. Ha!

1 scam, 1 in terrible condition. lost money on 5 of the 6.

Be afraid, be very afraid The wealty American could have paid the Gold Wings flat six bike's price once again. Alas, he had to fly back with the bike. But if you want your cheaper "Mission Impossible", try importing a scooter or a 110 cc semi-automatic from Thailand. While guided big bike tours have been arranged with success - but I don't know the cost. In and out for a few weeks, that might work.

I heard better things of Cambodia Wanna try bringing your ca there, then in an out, like Visa runs?

GL!

KruChris wrote:

YMMV, but I have the distinct impression, that they  l o v e  the power arising from denying something we want. Many pretend not to understand anything etc. etc.

Right or wrong, if you would lose 20 thousand pounds, this must be a helluva car. (I bought 6 Porsches for single digit amounts in the UK, 5 Boxsters and a 944 S2 3.0 liter race car). Thought, i would make money in Germany. Ha!

1 scam, 1 in terrible condition. lost money on 5 of the 6.

Be afraid, be very afraid The wealty American could have paid the Gold Wings flat six bike's price once again. Alas, he had to fly back with the bike. But if you want your cheaper "Mission Impossible", try importing a scooter or a 110 cc semi-automatic from Thailand. While guided big bike tours have been arranged with success - but I don't know the cost. In and out for a few weeks, that might work.

I heard better things of Cambodia Wanna try bringing your ca there, then in an out, like Visa runs?

GL!

As has been said on here many times already, importing a car or motorcycle makes no sense.

whats the best site in Vietnam for buying cars and motorcycles?