Can anyone tell me what the process is for transfering scooter registration?
The scooter is currently registerd in Ban qiao, but we live in Taipei city…
What paperwork is required? Is it a police thing? a DMV thing?
is this even do-able?
Actually all you need is money. Just go to the garage where you usually get oilchange and repairs done and ask them to do it for you. They might charge you a small fee (except you are a “good” customer…), but you only have to come back the next evening to pick up the new registration. I don’t know what an address change would cost, just ask at the garage, they will know…
jesus!
thank you someone (dl7und) for FINALLY answering this post.
unfortuately, you’re too late. it’s all taken care of. 
I need to get my scooter transferred into my name! We had it registered in someone else’s name because I didn’t have an ARC at the time. What do I need to do? Do I need a chop? In that case, do I need to get an official Chinese name? And where exactly do I go to do that? Foreign Affairs Police?
Also, we bought the scooter about 4 months ago from the friend of the guy we bought our cellphone from, who is an aquaintance of a friend of ours. You know, one of those close relationships! 
The scooter is registered in the cellphone guy’s name. But we never got the insurance sticker or the other registration sticker or whatever it is. We were too fresh of the boat to realize we should have gotten them. Can you think of a reason he might have kept them? I’m a little concerned!
Thanks!
i think you might be screwed.
you need:
- ID’s - yours and the seller’s/previous owner’s
- insurance
- previous registration
- chops - yours and the seller’s/previous owner’s
the thing about chops is that foreigners often don’t have them so a fingerpring and signature is usually sufficient.
on the other hand, there are little chop shops all over the place that can cut a name into a piece of wood (for < NT$100) in a few minutes. getting a chinese name (a good one) is a bit more complicated. btw, you shouldn’t need the police for anything.
are you in touch with either of the guys you bought stuff from?
i don’t know what you should do if you don’t have all the paperwork to make it legal… in the states they’d just do a title search or something to make sure there aren’t any other ownership claims.
Thanks Monkbucket! I have everything but the chop, which I guess I should probably get. So, how does one go about getting a Chinese name? Legally, I mean? Just pick one and start using it? Or do I have to make it official somehow?
i think there’s some old archived thread about picking a chinese name.
the best thing, tho, is to have a native speaker help you out with sounds, images, etc…
there’s a whole boat load of ‘rules’ for chinese names. i got lucky, a pair of my chinese teachers put their heads together and talked about and like three days later, i had a name. you could try asking the chop shop people, but they’ll probably just do something easy. e.g. if you name is Dave, they’ll say, “how about da wei?” (sounds-like)
there’s no need for anything official because the name in your passport is your official name.
Actually, if you don’t have the other party’s chop, you can get one made somewhere. Of course, you should first talk about it with that friend. Last time I bought a bike I forgot to bring my chop - no problem, the dealer got one made and handed me registration and chop both the time I came to get the bike. Also, I have a chop with a friend’s name and he has one with mine - just in case…
If you can’t find the owner through your friend, DMV can search the registered owner up for you. I’m pretty sure you have to go in person though, and have the vehicle with you.