License services by Luke Lee (Taipei)

Which company or individual can provide the service to help me get the
driving license ? I dont want to bother my Taiwanese friend.

I sent a letter to Ministry of Transportation and Communications on 13 Nov. 2004. Hope can get reply within 7 days. Unfortunately, no any response yet.

My company recommended Luke to me. He asked my Nationality and what’s documents I have then he applied this for me. Now I can legal drive one year in Taiwan.

You can contact Luke via e-mail : Lukelee85@yahoo.com.tw. His service is good and very on time. But I dont know how much my company pay to him.

You can use your international driving license to drive in Taiwan for thirty days without applying for a ROC driving license. If you are staying for more than thirty days, you must apply for an international driving license permit for driving in Taiwan.

The maximum period of validity for a driving permit of international driving license is one year. If the period of validity of the original international driving license of Alien Residence Certificate is less than one year, the expiration date of the driving permit of international driving license will be the same date of whichever expires first.

I can help you get a Taiwan Drivin Permit. Please e-mail to me via e-mail:
Lukelee85@yahoo.com.tw if you are interested. Please mention your Name. Nationality. current address.phone no.which country’s passport?which country’s international driving license? What time is convenient for you to meet ? then I will reply you when and where to meet and what documents you must bring.

Normally I will reply your e-mail at night time and I am free every morning to accompany you to apply this driving permit. Due to the commute and application time, I will charge NT$1,800 per person/application if you arrive on time. Plus NT$200 if you are 5-30 minutes late.The price will be lower NT$200 if I am 5-30 minutes late.

[quote=“LUKE85”]You can use your international driving license to drive in Taiwan for thirty days without applying for a ROC driving license. If you are staying for more than thirty days, you must apply for an international driving license permit for driving in Taiwan.

The maximum period of validity for a driving permit of international driving license is one year. If the period of validity of the original international driving license of Alien Residence Certificate is less than one year, the expiration date of the driving permit of international driving license will be the same date of whichever expires first.

I can help you get a Taiwan Drivin Permit. Please e-mail to me via e-mail:
Lukelee85@yahoo.com.tw if you are interested. Please mention your Name. Nationality. current address.phone no.which country’s passport?which country’s international driving license? What time is convenient for you to meet ? then I will reply you when and where to meet and what documents you must bring.

Normally I will reply your e-mail at night time and I am free every morning to accompany you to apply this driving permit. Due to the commute and application time, I will charge NT$1,800 per person/application if you arrive on time. Plus NT$200 if you are 5-30 minutes late.The price will be lower NT$200 if I am 5-30 minutes late.[/quote]
Why do we need help? It’s easy to go to the office and do everything yourself.

sounds similar to the guys who offer to take your car through the emmision check here for a couple of hundred bucks … they have connections though, and rarely can’t get a car passed.

lotsa people use their “service” though, so it’s unsurprising that it would morph into something like this. if you don’t speak chinese and are uncomfortable in these kinds of situations …

it’s pretty easy to do it all yourself though.

[quote=“xtrain_01”]sounds similar to the guys who offer to take your car through the emmision check here for a couple of hundred bucks … they have connections though, and rarely can’t get a car passed.

lotsa people use their “service” though, so it’s unsurprising that it would morph into something like this. if you don’t speak Chinese and are uncomfortable in these kinds of situations …

it’s pretty easy to do it all yourself though.[/quote]
Sorry I somehow missed the beginning of this thread where help was sought.
As for speaking Chinese, I don’t think this is a problem because everyone spoke to me in English and most of the signs there (in Taipei) are in English. The biggest fear I had was getting there and that is solved by taking a taxi.
All the information is here…
tcmvd.gov.tw/en_default1.htm

[quote=“Vannyel”]Sorry I somehow missed the beginning of this thread where help was sought.[/quote]You missed it because of my magical moderating hocus-pokery which combined bits of two threads that were talking about the same service.

Xtrain_01 and yourself are correct to point out that “doing it yourself” is not as hard as people might fear. If you had not pointed this out then I would have done so myself.

Luke Lee is entitled to post his services here and the reason I merged the posts together here and gave them a clearer name is to make this information easy for people to find.

[quote=“joesax”][quote=“Vannyel”]Sorry I somehow missed the beginning of this thread where help was sought.[/quote]You missed it because of my magical moderating hocus-pokery which combined bits of two threads that were talking about the same service.

Xtrain_01 and yourself are correct to point out that “doing it yourself” is not as hard as people might fear. If you had not pointed this out then I would have done so myself.

Luke Lee is entitled to post his services here and the reason I merged the posts together here and gave them a clearer name is to make this information easy for people to find.[/quote]
Thank you for pointing this out. I clearly thought I was losing my mind (although many might claim I have already!)

I will:-

i’m not sure i understand …

anyone can get insurance, with or without a license. i did for 5 years before i went and got the thing.

you seem to be advertising for the license that some americans (and others?) can get, as their states offer taiwanese licenses without a test. surely people can do this on their own, if so inclined. i mean, if we can get the actual license on our own, which means doing the tests, NOT having to do them would be a breeze. just show up with the documents you need.

but if someone wants to pay another person for going along to hold their hand …

point is, it’s really easy to do on your own.

btw, my productivity at work has remained as high as it was before i got the license. i’m not sure that it hasn’t gone up or down a wee bit, but it certainly hasn’t changed significantly :laughing:

Sounds like a complete bloody rip-off to me Luke Lee. What special qualifications do you have to have to offer this “service”?

How much to run down to Tescos and grab my groceries for me please?

[quote=“LUKE85”]

*Free charge if can not get your driving Permit[/quote]

Are you guaranteeing that I will pass? I have failed the stupid test three times. Sounds good if you can. PM me.

15 years driving in the UK and abroard, but unfortunately I am a miserable failier at this one!

I don’t understand what the problem is.

The guy is offering a service and is being upfront with his fees. If you don’t want to use his services as you think that they are unnecessary, or if you feel confident in your Chinese that you can do it yourself then good for you. This doesn’t mean that what he is offering may not be of interest to someone.

Get off the guys back. He’s just trying to make a buck and I for one support him for offering the service. If, as you all predict, the services are a waste of money then no-one will contact him, and no-one will be any worse for his posting. If on the other hand some users see value in what he has to offer then good for Luke. It is hard for some of us long termers to remember back to how difficult things can be in the beginning. If Luke can help one of these newbies out, then that is a good thing. What he is charging doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable to me, and I am sure that it would be well worth it for someone ‘just off the boat’.

A number of people on various threads here have been attacked recently for fairly innocent posts. There has been a change for the worse at Forumosa, as some users have become very aggressive and condascending in their posting. Let’s hope that this negativity turns around before Forumosa cannibalizes itself.

[quote=“brian”]I don’t understand what the problem is.

The guy is offering a service and is being upfront with his fees. If you don’t want to use his services as you think that they are unnecessary, or if you feel confident in your Chinese that you can do it yourself then good for you. This doesn’t mean that what he is offering may not be of interest to someone.

Get off the guys back. He’s just trying to make a buck and I for one support him for offering the service. If, as you all predict, the services are a waste of money then no-one will contact him, and no-one will be any worse for his posting. If on the other hand some users see value in what he has to offer then good for Luke. It is hard for some of us long termers to remember back to how difficult things can be in the beginning. If Luke can help one of these newbies out, then that is a good thing. What he is charging doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable to me, and I am sure that it would be well worth it for someone ‘just off the boat’.

A number of people on various threads here have been attacked recently for fairly innocent posts. There has been a change for the worse at Forumosa, as some users have become very aggressive and condascending in their posting. Let’s hope that this negativity turns around before Forumosa cannibalizes itself.[/quote]
Having been the fair target of several unwarranted attacks on forumosa.com, I concur; however, perhaps it is a matter of ignorance that many posters are trying to correct here. I don’t think my post was necessarily hostile but I did question why someone would need his services if they really knew how easy it was to do alone. I, for one, remember all the overpriced bs I bought when setting up my first apartment - a NT$6,000 DVD player than plays no better than a NT$2,000 one, a new scooter when a used one was just as reliable and way cheaper. I would have appreciated someone pointing out where I could have bought these things before the fact but I was ignorance and didn’t mention my needs until after I had made the purchases.
Anyway, if you are afraid to go to the DMV by yourself it is well within your rights to pay someone (NT$1,800 isn’t that steep for about an hour’s work) but as I have mentioned most people I ran into there speak English. But as opposed to getting your international driver’s license stamped, may I suggest you just get a Taiwan driver’s license (oops, I only know about scooters - for 50 cc there is no driving test and you can practice for the written test online for Taipei) and then you can renew it every year for six years at no addition cost (or very moderate cost after the back has been stamped three times).
OK, enough said. Good luck on your business venture Lukelee.

It appears Luke is offering to help people who already have an International Driver’s License… if that is indeed the case (and I hope Luke will clarify if necessary)… I feel like 2 things should be mentioned…

#1 This websitetells you what to do and you just take in your ARC and International Driving License and you get a stamp saying you can drive in Taiwan. My friend who just got to Taiwan did this in about 5 minutes (Banqiao) and he knows virtually no Mandarin.

#2 To Limey: He can’t help with getting a Taiwan Driving License like you are asking about. If you have an International License from your home country, you can get it stamped to drive legally in Taiwan. If you want a Taiwan Driving Licence you still need to take the tests… written and oral.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong about the nature of Luke’s offer or if my information for Limey is incorrect. Thanks.

SQJ

There is was hoping he’d just sit the thing for me! I’m not a bad driver I just find the test manouvers (sp?) impossible, especially the “S”, come on, are you really going to use that move on the street? I scored 100% in the written.

[moderator’s note: replies on S curve and the driving test moved to this thread;
[Driving School ]

From the UK the International Driving Permit is only valid for 3 months here, mine has long expired and been bined.

Oh well, back to the bike!

L :smiley:

neither am i trying to be hostile … but i think people should know that what appears to be on offer here is a way to get a real license IF you already have a driver’s license from a state (other country?) that has a reciprocal aggreement with taiwan, where taiwanese nationals can also automatically get a license in those states.

IF this is the case, it’s pretty easy to do on your own.

notice that Luke says he will tell you if you qualify once you tell him where you’re from. i won’t say it’s a rip-off, but in my experience, it’s easier to do these things than many people think it is … that was the same for getting my original ARC some years back, when only in the country for a few weeks, with no chinese ability at all. if you don’t feel confident, call him up, or ask a friend.

as for the statement about saving time studying materials, anyone who already has a license should be familiar with most of the info that you need to know. while the driving here is “different”, many of the rules surprisingly are not. i did the online test once, and paged thru the book for 5 minutes before the written test.

IMHO, the driving test ain’t realistic, but it is passable. limey, if you want, PM me and maybe i can offer some tips, if you’re still interested.

[quote=“Limey”]From the UK the International Driving Permit is only valid for 3 months here, mine has long expired and been bined.[/quote]A UK IDP runs for a year. You can use it on its own for a month. If within that month you get it validated at the DMV you can use it for its full period.

I believe that help with this validation is the service that Luke offers; as other posters have pointed out, it is not actually a very difficult procedure and can be accomplished with minimal Mandarin skills. Nevertheless, there may very well be people who would rather have somebody else sort this out for them for whatever reason, and Luke is perfectly entitled to offer this service.

[quote=“xtrain_01”]anyone can get insurance, with or without a license. I did for 5 years before I went and got the thing.[/quote]You’re talking about the compulsory third-party insurance, right? Anyone can buy an insurance card but without a licence I doubt that means you’re actually insured. At the very least the insurance company would put up a big fight about it.

Make no mistake about it; not having a licence can get you in all sorts of complicated and expensive trouble.

[quote=“joesax”][quote=“Limey”]From the UK the International Driving Permit is only valid for 3 months here, mine has long expired and been bined.[/quote]A UK IDP runs for a year. You can use it on its own for a month. If within that month you get it validated at the DMV you can use it for its full period.

I believe that help with this validation is the service that Luke offers[/quote]

Sorry if I confused anyone with the 3 month business. I was under the impression that it was useless after that. Looks like I drove here illegally thinking I was legal anyway!

Roll on a reciprocal agreement between the UK and Taiwan! But I can’t see that happening soon.