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famagusta
  1/15/2017 04:00 EST

i have read conflicting stories on internet so hopefully you guys can make it clear.

i am british married 12 yrs to philippina, just having house constructed in bulacan ready for end of year.
my wife has TIN number but no driving licence,,,,,i have driving licence but no TIN number, what i have read is that the buyer needs to present both to purchase from dealer.

is it correct that this is needed?
can my licence together with her TIN number be used?

john

GaryD
  1/15/2017 08:20 EST

Once you are resident in the Philippines get your UK license converted to a Philippine license.

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Dave82
  1/15/2017 09:47 EST

Once you get your ACR (either tourist, probatory or permanent) go to LTO and convert your UK to PI. I'm also in Bulacan and the Santa Maria LTO will not covert your lic, I did mine in GuiGuinto LTO. Drop me a PM if you need some help in Bulacan or would like to meet for coffee, we do have a small expat group that meets once a week for coffee.

draks
  1/15/2017 10:24 EST

Buy new not secondhand, cars like nearly everything else are not well maintained. If you buy secondhand take a trolley jack and check steering and suspension, nothing is checked here untill it falls off then they bodge it back up. New is the way to go in my opinion. I got a Philippine licence just on a tourist visa but they say you can't do that now.

bang4dabuck
  1/17/2017 16:18 EST

I disagree about 2nd hand. You can tell a lot about steering and suspension by driving it. I would try to stick with newer cars and IMO I would go small if you are around a major city, it gets crowded around here. KIA has a 5 yr drivetrain warrantee. I recently picked up a 2014 Picanto with 20k km for 275,000 php or about $5500 US. Seems like a good deal to me.

draks
  1/17/2017 17:43 EST

You cannot tell if track rod ends are worn just by driving that's for sure.
You can't tell if rubber gators are are split on drive shaft and steering rack, you can't tell if shocks are leaking just by driving, if there are oil leaks under engine. Test drive is a way of telling if brakes pull straight steering stays straight, and clutch slip amongst others.
I do agree if your going secondhand go for a very late model. People just don't maintain vehicles here properly.
Mechanics laboratory is not expensive here but finding a really good mechanic is hard. Parts are not cheap or easily obtainable sometimes. So it's important to know what your buying.
Also with used cars is the risk the car has been flooded, if the car has been in an accident and repaired, they maintain use cellulose and acrylic paints here which does not have the same finish as a two pack finish. So as in all countries buying used cars is a gamble, but much bigger gamble here. I was a mechanic and used car dealer for many years in UK.
Every car I sold was service properly, and anything that needs replacing was replaced, MIT's for a year on the sale of the vehicle. Here none of that is done. I have seen nice looking cars for sale but further inspection showed them to be dangerous or just plain crap.

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TeeJay4103
  1/17/2017 19:03 EST

Almost 4 years ago we bought a Toyota Altis 1.8L sedan with 24k km on it. It has documentation showing regular maintenance having been done through a garage in Dasmarinas owned by the owned of the vehicle, receipts for parts etc. We visited the garage with the owner and put the car up on a lift and inspected the drive train and undercarriage. We checked fluids and all components under the vehicle, CV's, links, tie rod ends, exhaust system, leaks, hoses, belts, etc.

We then took a two hour road trip including bumpy roads, city traffic and the SLEX and back to the owners facility. We also took the vehicle to Toyota Dasmarinas who found that the vehicle needed no more than a tune up which was performed.

We still have the car and have regular scheduled maintenance performed on the vehicle and have had very few problems with the vehicle aside from a leaky radiator hose and just last month we replaced a CV half axle and per my request the serpentine belt tension-er which per reports I have read was due for replacement.

Still a heck of a lot less than a new vehicle keeping in mind that the vehicle is used locally and not everyday. For someone wishing to explore the Phil while driving themselves, a new vehicle may be more fitting especially if you are not mechanically inclined and you have the money to spare.

draks
  1/17/2017 20:42 EST

Tee jay you have bought a good one that's been looked after with service records and receipts and 24k mileage that's low. I 100% if you can buy a used car like yours it's a good deal, good to hear it.
I like Toyota bullet proof engines good cars. I have a fortuner auto, had no problems whatsoever, brilliant motor car. Had an innova as well that's a fantastic vehicle very economical not as quiet and smooth as the fortuner but very useful vehicle. Had a BIOS for a while, small petrol engine didn't like it at all, very reliable etc but just not me.

Sisibatac
  1/17/2017 20:46 EST

Good post, Teejay. Many people don't realize that if a part starts wearing out it can wear out other parts with it like worn shocks or struts putting a strain on linkage. Oftentimes motor oil is changed without consideration for transmission fluid and differential. I occasionally change brake and power steering as well. I owned two new vehicles back-to-back in 27 years. The first, a 1986 Ford Ranger 4x4 lasted 215,000 miles (346000kilometers). It didn't smoke when I parked it after the crankbearings wore from often pulling a boat too heavy for the truck for years, and other over use.
The second was a 2000 Ford F-150. That one had 230,000 miles when I gave it away before I came here. It didn't smoke either. Preventative maintainence is a big deal when it comes to machinery.

bang4dabuck
  1/18/2017 05:28 EST

Part of maintaining the Kia 5 yr warrantee is CASA maintenance every 6 months. Yeah I only drive local. Long trips I take Ceres. I figure 5-6k km a year is about it. If I didn't live up the hill and about a mile from the Main Street, I probably might as well deal with walking, Jeepneys, buses and taxis. I know the air quality sux but I'd save money. Psychologically it makes it easier for me to places since I have a car and can just go and it is already a sunk investment LOL.

draks
  1/18/2017 07:13 EST

I like to travel and see different laces so a good reliablue car is essential. Would hate to drive for eight hours and not know if the at is not up to an eight hour return journey. Big problem with used cars here is overheating, how many cars have you seen here with no radiator cap and just water in the rad, no coolant no rad cap it's gonna overheat. Cars are not cheap here even used cars are hellishly expensive. So I am very very careful with what I buy. But this has gone way off topic I apologize. This was about getting a lisence.

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Ekvh
  1/18/2017 07:52 EST

A different thought on the new vs used idea. Driving here is different and learning the non-rules of the road takes time. I bought a 97 Mitsubishi car cheap. I am less afraid driving it as I'm not out too much moolah if I get in a scrape. I notice the drivers who are always holding up traffic at the many many unprotected intersections are the drivers of new cars. I know if I had a new car I would be much, much slower.

I'm here on Balikbayan Visa and bought a car no questions. I drive on my international driving license. Haven't been stopped yet.

A small car is many times more manouverable on the smaller roads and lanes.

GaryD
  1/18/2017 10:16 EST

Sorry but you are not driving on your international driving license, you are driving on you home country driving license for which you are allowed 90 days from entry into the Philippines. An international driving license is just a translation and not a legal document to drive on. If asked you need to produce both your countries driving license and if not in english your translation (international license).

famagusta
  1/18/2017 11:57 EST

hello dave
thanks for the invite,,,,we are only getting the turnover key for the house in january 2017 so will be back in phill at that time.

for a few years i will still be working here in UK and will holiday only in phill for a while , so i dont know the situation for buying a motorcycle for example when only there for a few weeks at a time

draks
  1/18/2017 20:20 EST

I was stopped at checkpoints several times on a motorcycle have to admit for two years i drove on that lisence the police didn't know what they were looking at is it an international lisence sir? Of course it is officer, not. Mine is a British lisence and on the BA k are little pictures of all the vehicle my lisence covered me for from a motorcycle, bus, truck, so gave me it back. Always carry your documents with you. I then decided to get a Filipino licence no problems there just need acr card two hours wait and I had it. Never been stopped since.

LarryKar
  1/20/2017 00:13 EST

No guarantee and I would never recommend driving without documents but in three years and lots of PNP Roadblocks only been stopped once. I have a van but they seem only really interested in motorcycle and commercial drivers. The one time I did get told to pull over by the time the Officer walked up I had license and paperwork in hand. He did not even look at it just told me to go ahead. Kind of weird.

Borsia
  1/21/2017 07:14 EST

I've only bought one vehicle new from a dealer, my motorcycle. I bought it in 2012 from a Kawasaki dealer. All I was really asked for was money, but I did give them my license (Philippine DL) without them asking.
I don't have a TIN and have never been asked for one. I do get stopped once in awhile, as do all motorcycles, but 1/2 the time when I flip up my helmet and they see that I'm an older foreigner they just smile and wave me on. The other 1/2 they ask to see my DL and registration and have never asked for anything more.

Mattglobe
  1/22/2017 22:13 EST

You can get a TIN. When we bought our house, the dales agent got it for us. However, we did not need a TIN to purchase our car. Just drivers license, proof of income, etc. Your wife should apply for a driver's license, and you should get a TIN.

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