Hi, I live in Thailand and I have a retirement visa that I renew each year, i an 58. I want to buy a BMW 800 SG in the UK and import it to Thailand, the same bike in Thailand is more than double the price.

Can you help.

Tony

Quote by: Tony

Hi, I live in Thailand and I have a retirement visa that I renew each year, i an 58. I want to buy a BMW 800 SG in the UK and import it to Thailand, the same bike in Thailand is more than double the price.

Can you help.

Tony

Most of the time, importing a motorcycle into Thailand will result in unpleasant, stressful, and depressing moments – this without thinking what the financial downfall is.

Basically, if your motorcycle is younger then 9-years old, you probably will paying a lot of import taxes. And even if your motorcycle is a classic and you want to import it, due hire a professional company to do it for you. You maybe think that this is expensive, but it's actually cheaper...

And when you have your BMW imported from the UK it will be 3 times the price. Unless you would import it via diplomatic channels.

So forget it, just spend the money here at BMW Barcelona in BKK or buy a Kawasaki Verys for less as in the UK.

Chang Noi

Agreed, although bigger bikes are much more expensive than most western countrys, the hassle and taxes involved make the import of bikes almost prohibitive.
I suggest buying the Kawazaki ER6N or Verys as they are manufactured in Thailand, or look at some farang thai websites and keep your eyes open for a second hand good condition bike of your choice.
cheers
Matt..

To explain the import duty and taxes I made a small calculation example, for this example I use the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic, this motorcycle is not made in Thailand – but is still available from Kawasaki Thailand.

The Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic costs in Europe 8,895 Euro (1 Euro = 39.28 Bht) makes 349,395.60 Baht. For freight charges we calculate 20,000 Bht (probably higher). By now you think, it's a good deal to import this motorcycle to Thailand and save more then 100,000 Baht. But let me show you how the Thai customs will calculate the import duty and what you would pay if the bike arrives in Thailand.

Then the calculation for import is 349,395.60 + 80% duty is 628,912.08 Baht

For Excise tax is 628,912.08 Baht + 30% = 910,514.50 Baht

For Interior tax which is 910,514.50 Baht + 10% = 1,001,565.95 Baht

And last is the Thai sales tax which is 7% making the end price 1,071,675 Baht and 57 Satang. Now you have the motorcycle in Thailand and need to pay about 80,000 Baht fee to get it registered as a legal road going vehicle (to get license plates and register papers). So for 1,151,675 Baht and 57 Satang you're legal to ride your motorcycle in Thailand

You can buy the same Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic with factory warranty, service and support in Thailand for 460,000 Baht (new out of one of the showrooms from Kawasaki Thailand).

For motorcycles from 9-years or older the Thai customs have special discounted import duty. But not forget you likely cannot register this old motorcycles in Thailand because the very strict Thai exhaust emission rules. You can find a table with the discounts for import duty here Discount Rates for Secondhand Vehicles

This is a brilliant thread, started from an innocent and naive question!

The BMW F800GS costs in new in Thailand 770,000 Baht, what looks expensive. But the BMW F800GS costs new around £ 10,995 in England.

£ 10,995 makes 511,817 Baht and 25 Satang. Which means that an English BMW F800GS will cost in Thailand 1,569,859 Baht (twice the price of what it cost in Thailand, and you have no warranty or service from BMW Thailand)

Hi, i have a 1 year visa, i want to import my 16 year old good condition triumph sprint to thai from the uk later this year.....i know how much shipping is £550
I know how much it is to register(if i bother!) but am a bit confused about import taxes.....by what i can gather i wont have to pay much due to its age.
But can anyone give me a ballpark figure based on the fact that it is only worth around £750 and is 16 years old(am confident it will pass emisions tests i rebuilt the engine a year ago).
And what documents do you need? I have been on the customs website but i need someone to tell me in plain (im a bit thick) english. Also does anybody reccomend a good import?export agent, so i dont have to bother with all the paper work!!
Thanks
Jay

If you're going to import the motorcycle you will need the following documents:

1.) Motorcycle register book: how long have you owned the motorcycle; please send a copy to your custom clearing company.
2.) Motorcycle register plate: number of the plate and details,
3.) Copy of the passport of the owner of the car (current registered owner),
4.) Full details of the motorcycle, including engine size and horsepower output,

The average costs are;

1.) Import license from ministry of Commerce (5,000 THB needed before shipping),
2.) Import license from Thai Industrial Standard Institute (2,500 THB needed before shipping),
3.) Customs formality (5,000 THB)
4.) Domestic shipping charge (4,500 THB)
5.) Handling Charge (2,500 THB)
6.) Custom Administrative surcharge (270 THB)
7.) Duty/Tax (Table of Tax and Duty Rates)
8.) Storage Charge (depend on time)