Posted by
dizzyhytes
17 yrs ago
I have decided it's time to buy a car in HK so have been looking for a 2nd hand one. I would appreciate advice on the following:
1. Road tax - does one have to pay this in HK and how much is it for a 2.5 litre car?
2. Insurance - am not going to buy a fast car so how much should I expect to pay in insurance?
3. Validating the quality of the car - as it will be 2nd hand, possibly from a private owner, how can I verify that the car/engine is in decent condition?
4. Maintenance - how often shuold one service a car and what are the local car repair shops like? Anyone got a good one in the midlevels?
Any advice on pitfalls of buying a car in HK would be appreciated.
Thanks C
cd
17 yrs ago
Road tax goes on engine size, for 2.5ltr its $5,800 a year. Insurance, depends on age, NCB, and whether you want 3rd party or fully comp. My 3rd party insurance is $1,300 a year.
Ours gets a full service once a year, or more if needed, we use a local guy in Tai Wai whose great.
As cd mentioned road tax is $5,800 per year. Also factor in that you will have to pay $1000 for registration transfer fee. Insurance depends on the above and the choice of whether you get fully comp or 3rd party will depend on the value of the car and if you have finance, etc. If you have finance you will have to get fully comp, if you have an expensive car then fully comp would also be advisable.
For quality you can book the AA for an inspection for around $1100. For maintenance I also use a guy in Tai Wai (is it Ricky you use cd?) and another in San Po Kong who is the father of my wife's friend.
cd
17 yrs ago
We use Mr Hui, don't know his first name. Been using him for about 7 years, very reasonable prices, and very reliable.
Thanks very much everyone for the information.
Regards
Sorry, also, as I am not buying from a dealer, what do I need to do when I buy a car e.g. registration, tax, insurance etc and where do I go to get this done? Is there a step-by-step guide or checklist I can find online which I can follow?
Thanks and regards
K
Firstly is the vehicle still taxed? Let's assume it isn't.
You will need all the vehicle details and arrange insurance - contact one of the many insurance companies in HK or a broker as mentioned above. Sometimes Kwiksure as a broker is the cheapest, sometimes it is not. Take the Insurance cover note and the vehicle registration document which has been signed by both parties as a transfer to the transport department offices to do the registration transfer. Normal cost is $1000. At the same time you can pay the road tax for the car for which you'll need the new registration doc, your insurance cover note and an MOT certificate if the car is over 6 years old.
All the details you need are on the transport department website - just Google Transport Department.
190k
17 yrs ago
You also need to bring proof of address such as a electricty bill with the name of the new registered owner, your I/D card. If you pay by EPS then it is much faster as you don't have to wait another 20 mins for shroff to sort out the paperwork
Evildeeds and 190K, Many thanks for these reponses!
OK I went and tried a couple of cars today, both convertible BMWs over 10 years old. One was in pretty good shape but had 2 problems:
i) the spring on the door seemed to be broken, meaning it made clicking noises and could not stay open on its own (normally a car door has 2 widths which it stays open on its own).
ii) the plastic rear windscreen is no longer transparent due to age, and if the top is up, I would not be able to see through it at all.
Does anyone have any idea how much these might take to fix through a BMW dealer? I know it's a tall order but I am literally clueless. The owner has effectively left HK and I need to do this research on my own.
Thanks
K
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190k
17 yrs ago
Watch the BMWs amnufactured in 1994-1996 especially the 3 series thier automatic gear boxes had a problem if it has the SMG (or something like that) box then it should be good. Door repair can be done by any garage as with the soft top. BMW dealer will cost you an arm and a leg probably more than what you will pay for the car. Also as the car is over 10 years you will need an annual inspection before the vehicle licnese can be renewed. better get an inspection before you buy it I heard AA does that.
As the car is a two door and over 10 years you will also get a big loading on the insurance premium. How much are the sellers asking those cars would not be worth much here.
Thanks for the info/warning, in fact I'm looking at 4 possibilities, all 1994 makes but all seem to be running really well. I will look into that more carefully then. The price of all of them is in the same ballpark, $30-40K.
I wasn't aware that there would be a large loading on the insurance premiums, I have gone out to ask for quotes and they have been roughly the same. Will double check so thanks for that. There is a garage near me and I will ask them for their price for the MOT test, as well as the door and soft-top. If you have a name and number of a reliable garage I would be grateful if you would give that to me as well.
Thanks and regards
K
190k
17 yrs ago
I DIY and get spares from the scrap yards around Yuen Long.
What are your insurance quotes Fully comp or 3rd party.
I personally would not pay over $20k for the car no resale value you will only get $500 scrap value
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