Buying a car in the philippines

Yeah I think I'd struggle in manila, I think I'd be ok around Olongapo though

Good point about the visa thing. I'll be there on a 12 month multiple entry visa. You're right about the interest rates though, they are pretty steep!

Prehaps I could interest someone on here for a bargin?

But the cost of 2nd hand cars in amazingly high out there isn't it. If I was to sell a 2 year old car I wouldn't take that much of a hit would I?

Perhaps its a Kano thing? Maybe the best price would remain elusive for one of us guys, either buying or selling....

As you all know the value of a car goes down as soon as it leaves the showroom. In the Philippines it can be even more than the UK.

Market price is set by the market. Certain brands/models of cars tend to hold there value much better here. For instance a Honda doesn't depreciate as much as a Hyundai.

On a two year car you will lose around 30% and after 5 years 50%

The reason secondhand cars seem so expensive is most are sold by finance companies and not private owners. Most people tend to just trade in their car at the dealers when they are buying something new. The finance company then buys these motors and whack a big chunk on top. Why do people not sell privately? It is just a one big hassle after another dealing with private buyers as you do not know if they are just wasting your time or not. I have tried. I would happily lose 50k than have to deal with buyers again.

Sorry if my previous posts seemed rude.

Its nothing to do with being a Kano. You always have the option to not buy something if you think they are asking to much.

What I was going to do was go along for a look and have the wife "hide" somewhere. Find a car I liked the look of and find the price. Then get the wife to go in and ask the price of the same car. Just to compare if there is a forigner tax.

No problem.

I figured it was the same as the Uk when cars lose a lot of their value as soon as you drive them off the fore court. I didn't realise that alot of the used cars out there are sold via finance companies hence the inflated prices. So it seems then that rather than buy from a car lot try to find a private seller (as long as you have cash) and deal with them rather than pay the inflated prices in 2nd hand car lots.

Yep it works out much cheaper. We have had a few cars/suv over the years and the Honda's have always held there value much better than anything else.

I checked with HSBC today and what I thought was the case, is the case. Non-resident foreigners can not get any form of credit in the Philippines, be that a credit card, car loan or house mortgage. That is a BSP rule and all banks and lenders are required to abide.

Your best bet would be to apply for a Permanent Residents' Visa (Section 13(a)) at the Philippine Embassy in London. That's simply a paperwork exercise and, once granted, that Visa is truly permanent, unlike 13(a)s applied for in-country. You will have to visit BI in Olongapo on arrival and hand them the sealed envelope you receive from the Embassy and pay the Peso equivalent of US$50 for your ACR Card (which has a life of 5 years). One caveat though: you will have to report to a BI office within the first 60 days of each calendar year (ie before March 1) to make your "annual report". That may or may not fit with your work rotations. The only drawback will be having to visit BI prior to leaving the country for an Exit Clearance. (I believe that the Passport Agency will issue a duplicate Passport to those who travel frequently and may need to do so whilst their main Passport is at an Embassy for Visa purposes.) Once you have that Visa - or, more importantly, its associated ACR Card - then more things become available to you, including a car loan.

Alternatively, if your wife currently holds a Philippine bank account and it is in good standing (ie: is being used and a credit balance is the norm), she might qualify for such a loan.

One point worth mentioning here is that BI is currently reviewing and overhauling the Visitor Visa and Visa Waiver schemes. One new change that is being rolled-out currently is a new 6 month Visa Extension. This exercise may impact on the initial period of time you can stay in the country holding a Single or Multiple-Entry 9(a) Visa; there's talk of it being reduced to 14 or 21 days (from 59 days). As soon as I find out anything definite, I'll make a post on the subject.

I've just talked to the wife about this and we've come to the conclusion that with the number of expats in the Olongapo / Barrio Bareto area we should find something privately. So for my first leave out there I think it'll be taxi's and tric's getting around until my next leave, then find a car for private sale.

Markham, some more good points. What I want to do is copy a couple of paragraphs from your post on the visa side of things and start a new thread with those as I'm interested in that as well and don't want to get mixed up in this thread. Nothing against your post but I get confused easily!!!

We do hold a joint account with PNB actually and my plan is to transfer monthly across to that using their service from my UK account. So it looks now like do a bit of saving, transfer the money to the PNB account and try to buy privately. Many years a go a friend (or Dept of transport acquantance) and his wife brought a Gallant in Olongapo, think it was about £5000 if I remember rightly. It was in ok condition.

So the next question is - paperwork.

What paperwork is needed to ensure the car is actually yours, do you need to registar it and with who? Insurance, any tips? If we need to go to Manila are we limited to which days we can go because isn't there a thing to do with reg plates and letters on them denote which days of the week you can get there?

Before agreeing to buy any used car, you should arrange to accompany the owner - and the car - to the nearest PNP vehicle checking centre. Here for a reasonably small amount, a technician will obtain stencils of the engine and chassis (VIN) numbers. In the case of the latter, if the car is fairly new and has the visible VIN plate near the windscreen, this will be checked against another plate hidden away on the bodywork. Those numbers are then supposedly checked against Police records of stolen vehicles. You'll be handed a certificate and a set of stencils which LTO may require when registering the vehicle (usually if it was previously registered at another office).

Vehicles are registered at LTO (Land Transportation Office) and you'll need at least one copy of the notarised sale contract and you'll get a Certificate of Registration (CR) and Official Receipt (OR). Both must be retained and I suggest you photocopy both, keeping the photocopy in the vehicle and the originals in a place of safety at home.

Insurance: The annual registration sticker fee includes around 1 million Peso third party liability insurance but you should not rely on it. There are several reputable insurance companies - I believe one is part of the AXA Group - who can provide comprehensive cover. It won't be cheap - or as "cheap" as it can be in the UK - and there will be quite high excesses. There's a Manila-based British Expat who is the local manager for an international insurance company (I'll try to find his details) who has, I know, provided car and household insurance policies for several Expats I know.

Manila: As far as I know, there are no vehicle restrictions in most of Metro Manila with the notable exception of Makati where you can only drive on certain days of the week. Seriously, if you want to visit Manila, take the bus! I think Victory Liner serves the Olongapo-Manila route (if not, there's an equivalent) whose buses are air-conditioned and have free WiFi on-board.

More excellent stuff mate, a great help. We did used to use the victory liners to and from Manila when we used to live out there. Olongapo to manila was 60 peso one way I think. They've come on some since I was on one though if they have free wifi onboard!!

2nd hand cars are more expensive in the Philippines compared to the UK. I'd actually prefer to buy a new car and be assured that it is 100% ok than a 2nd hand car that has a lot of hidden flaws that the owner will never disclose to you.

Well now we are here and we can get around by tricycle / our tame taxi driver I don't think (after all the very helpful advice given here) that we are going to get a car now. The cost for us in the short term is going to be way to high to justify for the length of time we are intending to stay