I tried to buy a secondhand scooter the other day, but I was told by the Taiwanese motorcycle shop owner that I must have a Chinese name on my ARC in order to buy…She even showed me photocopies of existing foreign customers’ ARCs with Chinese names.
How does one go about doing that and how do you choose a name? etc.
Thanks
I personally bought a used scooter last week from a shop and my ARC doesnt have a Chinese name on it. What they did was;
The scooter shop owner goes to the DMV to make all the arrangements using your English name, then you later go back to the DMV with the scooter shop owner and sign your name in the designated spot on their paperwork. That’s all.
Usually the scooter shop needs a special red SIGNATURE stamp that all Taiwanese have with their names on it. But since I dont have a Chinese name or a stamp, i just had to personally go to the DMV to sign my name to make it official.
[quote=“Beast619”]I personally bought a used scooter last week from a shop and my ARC doesnt have a Chinese name on it. What they did was;
The scooter shop owner goes to the DMV to make all the arrangements using your English name, then you later go back to the DMV with the scooter shop owner and sign your name in the designated spot on their paperwork. That’s all.
Usually the scooter shop needs a special red SIGNATURE stamp that all Taiwanese have with their names on it. But since I don’t have a Chinese name or a stamp, i just had to personally go to the DMV to sign my name to make it official.[/quote]
Yes this should work. If for some reason the shop owner is being a bitch, then ask anyone of your Taiwamese friends to translate your name in Chinese. Have them write these three characters on a piece of paper for you. Then go to any key shop and get a “chop” made or in Chinese an “yin Zhong.” Don’t pay more then $100nt, you can get super cheap ones made of wood. Then go back to the shop and give him your chop. That might make things easier for you too. Having a chop comes in handy here in Taiwan.
An English name on a chop will also do the trick. I’ve bought two scooters from two different dealers and the English chop along with a copy of my ARC (one of them told me he had to bring my ARC to the DMV, so I let him) were all that was necessary for transfering the ownership.
I bought a scooter a few weeks ago and the shop just made a chop with my English name. They took care of the paper work, transfer etc… Everything has my English name on it.
I do not have a Chinese name on my ARC and I didn’t have any problems. But I also bought from another foreigner and went directly to the DMV with them.
It’s nice that you can use your English name to register a vehicle, but why does anyone here not want to have a Chinese name on their ARC? Getting your name translated into Chinese is not some kind of hardship, is it?
The first bike I bought here I used a chop with my name in English on it (!) and it was registered in my English name. For the next one, I asked the Foreign Affairs Police to put my Chinese name on my ARC, and that was done in a jiffy. Technically though you do not need a Chinese name. If you don’t want a Chinese name, try giving scooterman a chop with your English name on it, and when he’s doing the transfer he can bring that to the DMV. Chops with English names on them are more expensive though because the carving is finer and they have to be made of stone for that reason, that was my experience anyway.
I know that cops are more likely to let you go with a warning if there’s any chance that they’ll have to write out a ticket with English names on it…
The opposite question could be posed. 
Me too - the 2nd hand scooter shop said the same thing. I went to Foreign affairs police to get my Chinese name put on my ARC (back when they were paper) and then all my insurance etc. all came under that name. A chop was made and all my stuff stamped with that. The FAP were fine but did say I couldn’t change my Chinese name in future. I rather liked having a local identity… 
I have a Chinese name on my ARC and I have a stamp (aka chop), but my Chinese name is only 2 characters - no last name. Will this pose a problem for me when buying a scooter?
Mine is the same - two characters which sound like my English first name. Didn’t have any problems (2001-2008).
Mine is the same - two characters which sound like my English first name. Didn’t have any problems (2001-2008).[/quote]
Awesome, thanks for the reply!
[quote=“Beast619”]I personally bought a used scooter last week from a shop and my ARC doesnt have a Chinese name on it. What they did was;
The scooter shop owner goes to the DMV to make all the arrangements using your English name, then you later go back to the DMV with the scooter shop owner and sign your name in the designated spot on their paperwork. That’s all.
Usually the scooter shop needs a special red SIGNATURE stamp that all Taiwanese have with their names on it. But since I don’t have a Chinese name or a stamp, i just had to personally go to the DMV to sign my name to make it official.[/quote]Right. No need for a “Chinese name”, and no need for a chop with your regular name if you’re willing to go to the DMV and sign. Which seems fair enough.
To Dog’s Breakfast, I never liked my old “Chinese name” that was on my ARC – in fact it was chosen for me and added to my ARC by an old boss, without my knowing. That’s why I didn’t use it when I bought vehicles.
I also think it’s perfectly reasonable for someone to only have one version of their name. That’s what happens pretty much everywhere else in the world. People in the UK who are from Latin America, Japan, China, Mongolia, France, India, and everywhere else don’t feel the need to get an “English” name. Fine to get another name if you want. Should also be fine to not get one.
Ah, “translating” names, I wonder how that is done… :ohreally:
But to be on topic: If a dealer comes with such requests, always get a second opinion or ask them at least to verify. They may be informed about the latest prices, but else…
My first bike here was registered on the name I use for the convenience of people and computers here, but nine years ago they already used my real name, although each character written in full width, so it did not fit into the space on the card. When I got my current bike (a few years back again) they had learned to use the correct width for Latin script, so the bike is just normally registered to my real name.
When I wanted to get my first bike I was told I need a permit from my employer. Apparently, a foreigner had had an accident once and for some reason (government was sued?) that lead to a rule that all foreigners except “teachers” needed a permit from their boss before they could purchase a vehicle. On checking, they found that this rule was long gone, but such news spreads slowly on an island as huge as this one…