I’m talking to a Forumosian about buying their scooter. They sent me this with regards to whose name the bike was under:
[quote] My scooter is insured in my name, but the blue card is in the name of someone else who’s long gone.
I think maybe you have been in Taiwan a lot longer than we have, so maybe you know something I don’t. But I haven’t had any trouble with the scooter being registered in another name. I was still able to get insurance in my name, and I was able to get it out of the tow yard. [/quote]
So if I have the insurance under my name…but the blue card remains under someone else’s…what are the risks/benifits?
Actually now that I think about it…it might be good. Bike is insured and therefore legal…but any tickets get sent to the other guy…who already left the island…sound right?
P.S. I thought you could have insurance and blue card with different names…I recently had someone Taiwanese tell me you couldn’t. But my CBR when I bought it was the same…two different names. Seems you can.
I would not buy a vehicle without transferring registration into my name. For one thing, they can be confiscated for unpaid fines (and even if you’re pretty scrupulous, it’s easy to pick up the odd parking fine here and there not to mention fines which previous owners may have accrued).
Also, the insurance company could put up a fight in the event of a claim. They might not be correct in doing so but for peace of mind I think it’s better to keep everything above board.
If the blue card is not in your name you are not the registered owner. If I steal it, or it’s towed away, you are going to have great difficulty getting it back. Would you buy a car in the UK (or wherever) without having your name on the V5 (registration document)?
When you insure the scooter you pay any unpaid fines…and since anyone can pay the insurance…you don’t need to be the legal owner to make sure the bike is paid up and in the clear…as long as you have the original registration…regardless of whose name it’s under.
And I know a few people with paperless bikes who gotten them out of tow yards by providing a valid drivers license. My roommate being one of them.
The insurance shops are next to the DMV but aren’t the same as the DMV. Why would they want to handle collecting fines from you and paying them to the DMV? That’s not the way it works in Taichung or Tainan anyway and I can’t imagine why it would be different anywhere else.
But I suppose that by taking the blue card into the DMV and brandishing ready cash you might be able to pay fines.
I still wouldn’t ever consider “buying” a bike without getting it registered in my name.
Oh, I know it’s a bad idea buying a bike like that. But my options are limited right now. Foreigner bikes are the only ones my budget will allow. You give a bike to a second hand shop and they slap a new body on it and charge you double for some pieces of plastic.
Much better to get a scratched up scooter at half the price…especially considering the internals are probably the same.
[quote=“Mordeth”]Oh, I know it’s a bad idea buying a bike like that. But my options are limited right now. Foreigner bikes are the only ones my budget will allow. You give a bike to a second hand shop and they slap a new body on it and charge you double for some pieces of plastic.
Much better to get a scratched up scooter at half the price…especially considering the internals are probably the same.[/quote]You should be able to get a reasonable scooter with papers from a private seller for much less than from a shop and for little more than a “paper-less” bike. (Yes I know it technically has papers but they’re not YOUR papers, right?)
Anyway, are we still talking about replacing that 50 that wouldn’t start? You could replace basically every part that might be causing the problem for a couple of thousand NT, couldn’t you?
[quote=“joesax”][quote=“Mordeth”]Oh, I know it’s a bad idea buying a bike like that. But my options are limited right now. Foreigner bikes are the only ones my budget will allow. You give a bike to a second hand shop and they slap a new body on it and charge you double for some pieces of plastic.
Much better to get a scratched up scooter at half the price…especially considering the internals are probably the same.[/quote]You should be able to get a reasonable scooter with papers from a private seller for much less than from a shop and for little more than a “paper-less” bike. (Yes I know it technically has papers but they’re not YOUR papers, right?)
Anyway, are we still talking about replacing that 50 that wouldn’t start? You could replace basically every part that might be causing the problem for a couple of thousand NT, couldn’t you?[/quote]
I’ve replaced the carbs, engine,CDI, starter unit…and it still doesn’t even kick well…let alone start with with the push start.