Getting my first car in Taiwan (secondhand)

So this was an adventure. Started with multiple months of pondering and randomly going to new car dealerships then a friend of my wife (someone she met through one of those “local wives with foreign husband’s” Facebook groups) recommended a guy who turned out to be amazing. I’ll put contact info for the MVPs of this adventure at the end so it doesn’t seem like I’m advertising for them despite heavily recommending them.

We added him to line (note that you’d want someone fluent in Mandarin with you even if the middle man is unlike this guy and can actually speak fluent English so you can be sure there isn’t anything weird going on in conversations being held in a language you don’t understand) and chatted for a while. We had already been to a dealership but felt they were way too pushy (secondhand dealership in Linkou, not going to name names here but feel free to contact me if it might matter for you). At the very least, that visit helped us narrow our choices (going to avoid saying what they were as that’s too identifiable) to essentially 2 models. After filling the guy on line in on our requirements, what was important for us (e.g. mileage, never needed major repairs, etc), and more, we set a time to check out cars. He drove over from Taoyuan and picked us up in his car (a nice but not flashy one, think mid-range Uber) and drove us over to Jilong (or Keelung if you like that weird spelling). Checked out a few places, no pressure, and we’re heading home after deciding we didn’t like any of them enough when we suggested maybe looking at a cheaper one (200k+ instead of 500k+). Without missing a beat, he called some dealers and found one that matched what we wanted in minutes and we were off.

The place we got to was just like any secondhand car/car beautification place without about 12 cars on site. Again without pressuring us and being super upfront about the car’s age, mileage, and a prior repair (nothing structural, but ANY repairs drop resell value a looooot). We chatted about what kind of minimal work needed to be done (a scuff here, a rock chip in the windshield there, etc) and then he took us home, just chatting about random things on the way back.

Eventually my wife and I decided we liked it and despite being “cheap” and old-ish, it was perfect as a first car for us. So we started the process. He found time in his schedule for us readily and we went to check it out again, giving it a test drive and such, getting an inspection done (wasn’t originally done because it was a cheaper car) which came back clean as a whistle aside from that minor bodywork he had told us about already. Chatted with him about the price and he said despite it only being a bit under 300k, he could still get us 10k off that, include maintenance and those repairs we had talked about, and maybe a new stereo system (in the end that didn’t happen, but mainly due to the 10k price reduction which was about what we paid for the new stereo we wanted anyway so all good).

The arduous part of the adventure came next as any foreigner in Taiwan would likely be familiar with. The loan. Oh. My. God. The loan. One bank was willing to send a worker to get our info etc, and we found out later the middle man had to pay the bank $3500 for them to do so… The worker was fairly unprofessional, thought I was unemployed, rushed everything, and a lot of other issues but those would definitely be identifiable. The main problems for us were these:

  1. My wife has no license, thus the car registration has to be in my name, thus the loan has to be in my name.

  2. Because of reasons my ARC is on a 12 month max (don’t ask, nothing bad, just annoying).

Reason 1 eliminates most banks from being willing even with my wife as a guarantor. Reason 2 seemed to eliminate every other bank including this one. We came to the solution that we’d have to use a lender like 中租 or similar since they’ll loan to anyone as they are halfway between pawnshop loans and bank loans. These companies are some of the ones spamming your texts and calls with loan offers. This was a somewhat acceptable if not ideal solution but at the same time I figured I’d try one more bank.

Now as most of you are maybe aware, the Costco Cathay credit card is essentially the only credit card we foreigners can get without a guarantor (there are a few we can get with a guarantor but that’s always weird in my opinion). So I thought maybe they’d be fine with loans too since reasons 1+2 didn’t bother them for the credit card.

Turns out I was right. While they don’t do car loans so the interest is a bit higher (not quite as high as 中租), they do have personal loans or lines of credit. The agent was super understanding and helpful. Great guy (again, English wasn’t in his repertoire but we’re used to that so who cares) and he got things sorted through line, sending me files to print at 7 eleven, fill out, and photograph to send back. The bank processed everything and booked an appointment to let them see my ID etc in person about 2 days later (started this all in the evening one day, met an agent at the bank about 36h later in the morning). A couple hours later the money was in my account (after going with the advice to get a loan a bit bigger than the cost of the car because the fees would be the same anyway) and I transferred the money for the car before the banks closed at 330.

Closing things up, I told the middleman, showing him the receipt which he showed the seller. The car was already in my name since I signed a contract a few days before and I had already sorted insurance with another great guy for a super reasonable price, again not pressured into getting more and willing to lower coverage+costs if I had wanted to. Minutes later he was on the road to get my car and bring it from Jilong to Taoyuan to get the work done (windshield, some minor interior repairs, maintenance, the stereo, etc) which he had booked in sequence. And that car was ready for me about 24h after the money transferred. All work done, papers in order, insured, etc.

Exhausting but happy.

Middleman:
梁文宏 0929555820 Line:0976728956

Cathay agent:
何宇鈞 02-2173-2899 extension 6227 he has line but I’d call first before adding him

Insurance agent:
尹治華 0922792957 Line is the same number. He works for Nanshan

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So what car did you buy in the end?
where did you do the inspection?

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May I ask what documents you needed to provide to get the loan approved and what the interest rate is?

Cathay I think was ARC and healthcard (some banks go the arc+passport route). Was slightly over 6% but early payback etc had much better terms than 中租 (for example, 5-7 years payback instead of 4 years, 6 months minimum before paying back early without any fee vs 20 months minimum before paying back early with a 2% fee, etc). Also Cathay is a bank and 中租 is…honestly not sure the term but 融資 is the term in Chinese. Been here so long that some things in English are gone from my brain. Haha

Called Cathay Monday, added the guy to line that evening. Printed, filled out form, photographed form and id Monday night. Bank called to verify Wednesday afternoon. Went in person Thursday morning and the money was in my non-Cathay account by noon Thursday. I’ll probably use this next time I bring the family home to see relatives since paying back a loan is easier than saving money for me mentally.

So for the interest you could get better terms with a “normal” car loan instead of a personal loan if you had a local spouse or maybe HSBC if you’re rich. Also there’s a base fee for personal loans with Cathay so that’s why the agent recommended I borrow a bit more if it’d be useful (again, he wasn’t pushy on that).

Secondhand XYZ (I try to keep super identifiable stuff off the internet, sorry). As for inspection, a guy we know did it and the car went to yet another place for maintenance after the purchase so that was yet another set of independent eyes looking for problems (since they can make more money by fixing more problems)

Sounds almost too easy :joy: i have a cathay credit card and I get paid in cash and deposit my salary there so it should be the easiest route for me (I’m buying a vehicle tomorrow)

Did you need to provide proof of income or anything?

How much did you borrow?

I gave my bankbook since my pay is transferred in and tagged as salary. In your case you’d likely need a printed record from your work stating your pay for the past 6 months or maybe they could look it up through the labor insurance system. Would be best to ask.

As to the other person asking how much I borrowed, let’s say it was more than a couple months salary but not enough for a new car. They said I could borrow enough for a new luxgen if I wanted but I didn’t want to jump into the deep end on loans my first time.

Im not looking for identifiable info, just curious what you can get for 200K. if you could say “2016 Honda Civic” or “2018 Toyota Camry” is good enough for me.
Up to you ofcourse, i wont push.

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Early 2010s 7 seater with a panel or two previously repaired not replaced. Full replacements are expensive to do but they keep the resell value up and some people avoid the secondhand car tier that includes cars that had panels repaired instead of replaced.

If you went 500k you could get a mid to late 2010s Toyota wish with no preior accidents or damage and decently low mileage.

In the end you’re paying 10-20k insurance a year, 15-25k emissions taxes a year, 25-50k for parking a year, maintenance, etc. So in the end, a good secondhand car vs a new one… Not much different in my book and the secondhand can be resold for about half what you paid if you wanna get another car in 3-5 years.

The middleman said a car is like a kid, which I like to call a poop factory, turning money into poop (or emissions in this case).

For early research, bug a few dealers, maybe put down the 1k “please find cars for me” deposit, google through sites like… SAVE I think? Etc. I always take weeks or months deciding on large purchases.

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How much were they new? 500k for a second hand Toyota hurts my heart but I know that is what you pay in Taiwan.

Does the government still give the minimum 50K for old cars when buying a new one?

A few years ago my friend bought a little Nissan for 60K, drove it for two years without any issues besides normal maintenance and then got the 50K rebate when he bought a new car. That’s always a good option for a first car to new car scenario.

Well a 5+2 luxgen new would be 1-1.3mill so I’m guessing a chunk more than that for the wish? I didn’t look into that one new (if it’s still made)

So this guy that you used is basically a car hunter? Like he will scour all the dealerships in Northern Taiwan to find you your perfect car?

If so, I would perhaps be interested in using him to help me track down my ideal car… may sound weird but I really like those retro/vintage Mercedes from the 80s. I see a lot of them rolling around in Taipei actually, and I just really like something about that boxy look that they have.

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He said it would be hard since people with those usual collect them and are unwilling to sell

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That’s not true, you can register a car or motorcycle in your name without having a license. The middleman would certainly know this, as would the dealer so strikes me as a little off.

Be very careful with insurance, the legal minimum is very cheap and covers very little. Paying a little more gets you decent coverage but more importantly your insurance company and their lawyers to deal with accidents which aren’t your fault. With the minimum coverage you’re basically on your own.

What does he get out of this? Second hand car dealers are notorious shysters and Taiwan seems to have some of the best!

His familiarity would concern me! See above.

The make, model, year and mileage is not going to make you identifiable!

Nice first post though.

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Not sure about the no license ownership but I’ll keep that in mind.

For insurance I based my choices off of friends that also have secondhand cars (locals and foreigners both) as well as personal research on how much liability is necessary/useful.

The middle man gets a cut of course but not really my concern as the price was comparable to getting it directly and he helped with a lot. I have a few people my wife knows that bought with him previously so… Guess that’s the best I can say for now?

As for familiarity he’s done it for years but I get what you’re saying. In the end you have to trust whoever it is you’re buying from, new or used, car or house or even TV. For example, 0% APR on a car usually means there’s wiggle room for negotiation if you paid up front and the interest is instead included in the given price that they quote 0% interest for. Similarly when they tell you “oh these cars can be driven for 15 years+” or if you’re checking reviews online or posts on Forumosa haha.

2010 Mazda 5 195k km and the rear quarter panel was repaired instead of replacing with no structural damage if it matters. Including minor things, maintenance, full cleaning, etc. It was about 290k. And took about a week from start to finish once we decided on the vehicle.

I am fully aware that looking longer could’ve gotten a better (or worse) deal, but with multiple kids (thus the van), I really don’t have the time/patience for more than a couple months like I spent this time.

Repairing the panel instead of replacing I wouldn’t worry about, I doubt there’s many cars in Taiwan over 5 years old, let alone 12, without a repaired panel or 3.

Whenever you buy anything here people will tell you you overpaid, I won’t say that but it was certainly well at the upper end of pricing for a 2010 with that sort of mileage but 7 seaters do tend to fetch a premium in Taiwan.

Understood. Personally from what you’ve written here I wouldn’t be in a hurry to use Mr Liang’s service.

Consider contacting with Jamie Alton at https://www.actaiwan.org/vehicle-sourcing for your next purchase or to give your Mazda a western standard inspection and/or service.

Another option is a Toyota certified used car, Toyota .

In any case, good luck with the new car and may it give you many years of trouble free driving!

yes, but only for new cars, not second hand. caveats: your old car is over 10 years (not that old at all!) and you MUST recycle it. meaning its trash. it is a crying damn shame if the vehicle is still decent enough.

Tip: if doing this, park the old car at a mechanic or junket, let then get the entire damn thing first before the recycle trucks comes and crushes it. they will only give you pennies for certain things like platinum or high end components.

park> strip> recycle.

note that due to taiwans high theft of machinery (cars less so, trucks and machines moreso) they have ID on certain parts in most vehicles(I think engine and tranny) so leave those in the car. if they don’t match your VIN they won’t recycle it, you wont get paperwork and you won’t get the 50k.

The issue about not having a license is an issue with the bank not the DMV

Yes a non-licensed person can register a vehicle in their name
But the banks will not issue a loan to an unlicensed person. The mentality is, you don’t have a license why are you driving. They don’t care if the husband or wife or anyone else is gonna be the actual driver. Who ever is applying for the loan IS the driver.

Secondly this “middleman” is probably a jack of all trades and probably makes his living by introducing people to dealers. It’s not uncommon, as if someone introduces a customer more often than not the dealer will give them a red envelope