Driving in China

[Randy W]

Any one had experience shipping a car over to China from the US?

 

 

As it turns out, I could have. If you are a foreigner immigrating to China and have a work permit and residence permit, it is duty free.

 

Otherwise, the duty can be pretty steep - 30% or so, depending on engine capacity, what value gets assigned to the car, etc.

 

Gas has a higher sulphur content, but is otherwise compatible (except I think the highest octane is slightly lower than the comparable gas in the US).

 

Find an import agent who can help you.

Edited July 5, 2010 by Randy W (see edit history)

[JimS.]

Hmm I have driven in so many coutries I would not have a problem driving in China. I can drive like local no problem.

Want did I hear...ahh " Mother have one child, Father have one child, THAT CHILD ME, TAKE CARE"

 

Hmm, I wonder what they would think of importing a 1987 Buick Grandnational

[Randy W]

Hmm I have driven in so many coutries I would not have a problem driving in China. I can drive like local no problem.

Want did I hear...ahh " Mother have one child, Father have one child, THAT CHILD ME, TAKE CARE"

 

Hmm, I wonder what they would think of importing a 1987 Buick Grandnational

 

 

When cars are 15 years old, they get sold to a recycling facility. There are some exceptions, but not many.

[MoonCarolCafe]

In a word, don't. Imagine what would happen if you 'tagged' someone - or they jumped in front of you? You're the big nosed rich laowai and it might be expensive to make it 'go away'.

This can also be an issue if your car is too nice. Be warned that for the kind of person who will jump in front of your car hoping for a payout "nice" has a wholly different definition than what you would use. I have heard of at least one laowai being targeted for this scam by people who lived near the semi-rural facility he worked at. I minimized my risk by driving a Wuling bread van/mianbao-che which are actually a pretty decent vehicle to drive but you REALLY don't want to get into a collision as the best scenario is you'll "park it in the gutter, and go buy another". Stupid cheap on the used market.

 

I dont have a license but I have driven in and around Chengdu many times.

I know this is a bit dated however for the sake of your wallet and your continued ignorance of what Chinese jails are like on the inside I suggest you Don't Do This. You know what happens in the USA if you hit someone while driving without a license? Now imagine the same situation but with a crowd of onlookers clamoring for the policeman to show them a laowai can't disrespect Rising China.

 

Any one had experience shipping a car over to China from the US?

If it were cheap or easy everyone would do it. In general for the same make/model the price for the vehicle made in a Chinese factory by workers earning a Chinese wage will cost more than the vehicle made in a USA factory by workers earning a USA wage. China-made Audis run more than imported Audis do in the USA, if you have the cash/ guanxi to bring in the cheaper USA market A6 then you probably have the cash / guanxi that a price of a Chinese A6 isn't a concern worth the hassle.

[MoonCarolCafe]

Hmm, I wonder what they would think of importing a 1987 Buick Grandnational

"Funny laowai, why does he care so much about a 15-year car that's obviously a fake Buick?" Most Chinese care for appearance of luxury and not good stock 1/4 mile times, and you'll agree an 87 GN has none of one and lots of the other.

 

When cars are 15 years old, they get sold to a recycling facility. There are some exceptions, but not many.

Under 15 years old a car is inspected annually. After 15 years it's every 6 months. After 20 years it's every 3 months, plus no longer allowed to transfer legal ownership (something like that, the regs were in hanzi). IIRC for taxis and such knock 5 years off the schedule for privately operated cars. Now while I can't comment on percentages of cars still for sale after 15 years I'd like to point out that 15 years ago there were still very few cars in China; it's only natural that there would be relatively few of them for sale. Still, do a search for older Toyota Crowns/ Audi 100s etc. on the Chinese used car sites. Lots of them for sale. Were it not for the hassle of taking it for inspection every 120 days I'd be the proud owner of a LHD Toyota Crown with coilovers and a nice 2JZTT or 7MGT(BHG, I know!).

 

For those wondering China does have lemon lots. If you don't know what you are doing you'll find little but frustration at them; even if you DO know what you are doing you'll still want to reach down inside your pants and rip the hairs out in exasperation. ProTip: Those guys who are chilling at the lot on a weekday, chatting it up with other people at the lot like they see each other daily? They make used car salesmen from the USA look downright saintly.

[Ryan H]

Driving in the cities of China is definitely a non-starter for me. In the more rural areas and paying attention to surroundings, it might be possible for me.

Edited October 20, 2010 by Ryan H (see edit history)

[Carl]

After living in Yanji for nearly a month, I have decided that there is no way I would want to drive a car in that city. It is organized chaos on the streets and the majority of cars on the streets are taxis and busses. They outnumber pov's by at least 2 or 3 to 1 and they are the scareiest drivers I have seen, but they get you where you need to be.

 

Example.... It can be 2 or 3 lanes of bumper to bumper, stop and go driving on your side of the street and some joker in the oncoming lane, usually a taxi, will bang a U turn and try to fit into a space between cars that is hardly big enough to for a person in.

 

You can also have two cars each in their lane and there is somebody who will straddle the dividing line to shoot that gap between the cars just to gain a space. It is also not uncommon for drivers to get into the oncoming lane to get around a line of cars stopped for whatever reason with no reguard that there might be oncoming traffic that could very likely cut them off. also many of those same drivers ignore red lights and if given the chance, blow right through them.

 

The streets of Yanji is also the home farmers that drive those three wheeled put-put tractors/ motorcycles and carts drawn by either a mule or a cow.

 

There is also some road construction that really botches up the traffic flow and makes for some interesting routings.

Edited October 20, 2010 by Carl (see edit history)

[Randy W]

 

When cars are 15 years old, they get sold to a recycling facility. There are some exceptions, but not many.

Under 15 years old a car is inspected annually. After 15 years it's every 6 months. After 20 years it's every 3 months, plus no longer allowed to transfer legal ownership (something like that, the regs were in hanzi). IIRC for taxis and such knock 5 years off the schedule for privately operated cars. Now while I can't comment on percentages of cars still for sale after 15 years I'd like to point out that 15 years ago there were still very few cars in China; it's only natural that there would be relatively few of them for sale. Still, do a search for older Toyota Crowns/ Audi 100s etc. on the Chinese used car sites. Lots of them for sale. Were it not for the hassle of taking it for inspection every 120 days I'd be the proud owner of a LHD Toyota Crown with coilovers and a nice 2JZTT or 7MGT(BHG, I know!).

 

. . .

 

Trying to get to the bottom of this - this is from a translation of the China Driver's License Exam questions:

 

If a motorized vehicle has reached the state¡¯s mandatory write-off standard, the owner of

the vehicle should _________.

A. Break up the vehicle into parts and sell them to other users

B. Sell it to a waste recycling station as scrap iron

C. Sell the vehicle to a motorized vehicle recycling enterprise

D. Have the vehicle inspected by the vehicle management station

Answer: C

 

Are you saying that if the inspections are continued as required that the car can stay on the road longer? That would explain some of the older vehicles I've seen on the road.

 

My wife tells me that our car is good for 15 years (at least the licensing). She calls the older vehicles still on the road "free" cars.

[MoonCarolCafe]

Trying to get to the bottom of this - this is from a translation of the China Driver's License Exam questions:

 

If a motorized vehicle has reached the state’s mandatory write-off standard, the owner of

the vehicle should _________.

A. Break up the vehicle into parts and sell them to other users

B. Sell it to a waste recycling station as scrap iron

C. Sell the vehicle to a motorized vehicle recycling enterprise

D. Have the vehicle inspected by the vehicle management station

Answer: C

 

Are you saying that if the inspections are continued as required that the car can stay on the road longer? That would explain some of the older vehicles I've seen on the road.

 

My wife tells me that our car is good for 15 years (at least the licensing). She calls the older vehicles still on the road "free" cars.

 

Based upon my understanding of the vehicle registration laws, yes. For vehicles not engaged for commercial hire a standard annual inspection for the first 10 years, bi-annual for the next 5 years, every 3 months for those over 15 years. Keep in mind that as with many things in China the regulations as put forth by one government department (say vehicle registration) may not be in coherence with regulations as put forth by another department (driver licensing), and that there are often turf battles that mean just because you have permission to do something does not mean you have permission to do something. Anyhow, keep in mind that as of now, 15 years ago was 1996. How many cars were there in China as of 1996- and knowing what you do of how well the average PRC resident drives, cares for and maintains mechanical equipment what percentage do you still think are on the road today? I don't have hard numbers but I expect it's quite low as anyone with the cash to buy something nice / gray market / imported > 10 years ago certainly has the cash to buy a nice Audi A6L today.

 

(Think I've gone on for a while? Wait- there's more!)

 

Now there are cars here for sale that were not legally brought into the country, tax was never paid for, and so they are somewhat outside the law. You won't be able to get all the official paperwork regarding car ownership, insuring it can be... problematic. BUT- if you have the cash/ guanxi to have an untaxed Corvette parked in the garage of your villa then this being China getting questioned by the traffic cops is a problem to be solved with a phone call or two. These cars are sold secondhand and tend to cars that would have been quite desirable... 10 years ago. The ads will usually state something about the paperwork for them being kosher or not, I forget what the characters are at the moment. 可以过户 perhaps?

 

 

1994 (丰田皇冠)Toyota Crown - http://shanghai.baixing.com/ershouqiche/a71790463.html

1993 Toyota Cressida - http://fjcar.273.cn/sale/html/201011/sale2972978.shtml

1994 Lincoln Towncar - http://www.2sc.cn/pages/car/car_view.jsp?carId=125791

1994 BMW 740il - http://gd.273.cn/sale/html/201006/sale2479653.shtml

 

I'm 99% sure the last three listings are for cars that are gray market imports at best as they were not available through official channels in the PRC.

Edited November 14, 2010 by MoonCarolCafe (see edit history)