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Have a look on chotot there are new and used cars listed, im never ckmpletely convinced by some prices listed

If it was me i would go for new thaf way you know you wont get someones elses stolen car, or just as bad a car that gets you lots of suprise fines from a previous owner

Sedans are ok, but most people seem to drive mini suvs like the Kona... not too big, cheap to run and has lots of good reviews

Cars carry a 100% tariff from  US prices so double what we are used to  I don't know how US prices compare to Australia but they are double ours.

They have almost all the cars here.  The ones assembled in Vietnam costs substantially less than those imported, except for those assembled in other ASEAN countries.  An imported car costs 3 times the amount it would costs in the US:  a $10,000 car in the US would costs about $30,000 here.

Then, unless you are really game and drive yourself here, something I highly don’t recommend for the light of heart, there is the cost of a driver.  It’s anywhere between $300 to $500 a month, depending on how good the driver is and how often you need him or her.

Everything else is about the same as those in the States.

vic50 wrote:

Does anyone here know the cost of a new car in Vietnam. Looking at a 4 door medium sized sedan. What models are available???
What are the costs to run a car and cost of petrol. Registration, government taxes etc
Is it best to buy new or second hand???

Pick which car you want and do a search online.

What Wild_1 said, definitely.

Personally, I would never consider buying a car here, because there are so many late model private cars with drivers available at really reasonable rates (well below the asking prices).

Unless you want to do your own routine maintenance, you have the problem of finding a mechanic/shop you trust, with reasonable prices for a foreigner.

Also, my regular drivers in Hanoi, Danang, Qui Nhon and Vung Tau are helpful beyond my reasonable expectations, never letting me carry luggage or groceries or my guitar.

They often have my back when I'm inside a store talking with a merchant, making sure I get what I need.

If we stop to get me a takeaway coffee, they all insist I don't get out of the car and they go inside and get the coffee for me.

And your trustworthy driver is often better than the Yellow Pages business directory.

They will usually be able to locate any store or product you need.

Have you driven in VN before? It's not for the novice to the country. Also in the bigger cities, you'll need to have a place to park the car if you want a good night sleep.

Our first landlady in Vietnam was the wife of a doctor.  His hospital and private practice were in Binh Duong Province and he owned a car to travel there.  The only thing was he had to ride his motorbike every morning to the parking garage where he kept the car.  He could have kept the car at home but for the fact that he had the front portion of his home lot rented out to an ice cream chain for the princely sum of $3000 US a month which certainly more than covered his garage fees.  So you will need to allow for the cost of the garage and unless it is walking distance from yourhome, you will still need to be able to drive a motorbike to get there.

THIGV wrote:

Our first landlady in Vietnam was the wife of a doctor.  His hospital and private practice were in Binh Duong Province and he owned a car to travel there.  The only thing was he had to ride his motorbike every morning to the parking garage where he kept the car.  He could have kept the car at home but for the fact that he had the front portion of his home lot rented out to an ice cream chain for the princely sum of $3000 US a month which certainly more than covered his garage fees.  So you will need to allow for the cost of the garage and unless it is walking distance from yourhome, you will still need to be able to drive a motorbike to get there.

Or call a GRAB Bike 😎

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

THIGV wrote:

Our first landlady in Vietnam was the wife of a doctor.  His hospital and private practice were in Binh Duong Province and he owned a car to travel there.  The only thing was he had to ride his motorbike every morning to the parking garage where he kept the car.  He could have kept the car at home but for the fact that he had the front portion of his home lot rented out to an ice cream chain for the princely sum of $3000 US a month which certainly more than covered his garage fees.  So you will need to allow for the cost of the garage and unless it is walking distance from yourhome, you will still need to be able to drive a motorbike to get there.

Or call a GRAB Bike 😎

Never tried grab bike.. not sure the helmet would fit my head

Jlgarbutt wrote:

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

THIGV wrote:

Our first landlady in Vietnam was the wife of a doctor.  His hospital and private practice were in Binh Duong Province and he owned a car to travel there.  The only thing was he had to ride his motorbike every morning to the parking garage where he kept the car.  He could have kept the car at home but for the fact that he had the front portion of his home lot rented out to an ice cream chain for the princely sum of $3000 US a month which certainly more than covered his garage fees.  So you will need to allow for the cost of the garage and unless it is walking distance from yourhome, you will still need to be able to drive a motorbike to get there.

Or call a GRAB Bike 😎

Never tried grab bike.. not sure the helmet would fit my head

I've often thought the same thing.

I used to have the biggest helmet on my football team.

Guess you could say I'm a "fat head" 🤣

I think I would be top years road trip here.. home made helmet

Do they have buil in air con 😉

THIGV wrote:

Our first landlady in Vietnam was the wife of a doctor.  His hospital and private practice were in Binh Duong Province and he owned a car to travel there.  The only thing was he had to ride his motorbike every morning to the parking garage where he kept the car.  He could have kept the car at home but for the fact that he had the front portion of his home lot rented out to an ice cream chain for the princely sum of $3000 US a month which certainly more than covered his garage fees.  So you will need to allow for the cost of the garage and unless it is walking distance from yourhome, you will still need to be able to drive a motorbike to get there.

Binh Duong.........front of house rented out to an ice cream chain.......3,000usd a month rent......yea right & just how long ago was this please tell?

goodolboy wrote:

Binh Duong.........front of house rented out to an ice cream chain.......3,000usd a month rent......yea right & just how long ago was this please tell?

The house and ice cream shop were in HCM.  He drove to Binh Duong.  This was 2012 and although on a busy street, at that time it seemed like a huge amount of money to me for only ground rent.  I suppose it would be a lot more now.

THIGV wrote:

goodolboy wrote:

Binh Duong.........front of house rented out to an ice cream chain.......3,000usd a month rent......yea right & just how long ago was this please tell?

The house and ice cream shop were in HCM.  He drove to Binh Duong.  This was 2012 and although on a busy street, at that time it seemed like a huge amount of money to me for only ground rent.  I suppose it would be a lot more now.

I should add that it was quite wide, the equivalent of probably three or four normal storefronts.

If I lived down in Rach Gia, as OP apparently does, or any small city, I would want a car. Probably no traffic so less danger of committing murder with a deadly weapon. Also easy to park. Then I could take off on road trips in comfort. Even cities as large a Da Nang appear car-friendly to me.

Hiring a driver? That sounds too rich to me, but maybe the math works out. No up-front cost or liability insurance, that's for sure.

gobot wrote:

If I lived down in Rach Gia, as OP apparently does, or any small city, I would want a car. Probably no traffic so less danger of committing murder with a deadly weapon. Also easy to park. Then I could take off on road trips in comfort. Even cities as large a Da Nang appear car-friendly to me.

Hiring a driver? That sounds too rich to me, but maybe the math works out. No up-front cost or liability insurance, that's for sure.

Dont know how the laws are now & perhaps someone can enlighten us but as I posted before some time back my ex misus was out in the car & a drunk guy hit her (she said) guy taken to hospital & in a coma. She had to go to the hospital & sit there with the family every day & foot the hospital bill. I was in shock & said to her jeez Thanh in UK that guy could be in a coma for like years & you gotta pay for it?? "No daling its ok in Vietnam after 2 weeks he is sleeping & no wake up they will turn off the machine" & 2 weeks later thats what they did!! Still cost her 10k usd to pay off the family even although the guy was drunk & the cops acknowledged he was. Now that was back in 2009 & out in the sticks so things might have changed but its still worth thinking about before you get behind the wheel here!!!& as a foreigner??

goodolboy wrote:

gobot wrote:

If I lived down in Rach Gia, as OP apparently does, or any small city, I would want a car. Probably no traffic so less danger of committing murder with a deadly weapon. Also easy to park. Then I could take off on road trips in comfort. Even cities as large a Da Nang appear car-friendly to me.

Hiring a driver? That sounds too rich to me, but maybe the math works out. No up-front cost or liability insurance, that's for sure.

Dont know how the laws are now & perhaps someone can enlighten us but as I posted before some time back my ex misus was out in the car & a drunk guy hit her (she said) guy taken to hospital & in a coma. She had to go to the hospital & sit there with the family every day & foot the hospital bill. I was in shock & said to her jeez Thanh in UK that guy could be in a coma for like years & you gotta pay for it?? "No daling its ok in Vietnam after 2 weeks he is sleeping & no wake up they will turn off the machine" & 2 weeks later thats what they did!! Still cost her 10k usd to pay off the family even although the guy was drunk & the cops acknowledged he was. Now that was back in 2009 & out in the sticks so things might have changed but its still worth thinking about before you get behind the wheel here!!!& as a foreigner??

My first thought was, is she telling you the whole truth. VN do have a tendency to tell porky pies.

What she said is possible, its obvious the drunk drivers family knew someone.

My first thought was, is she telling you the whole truth. VN do have a tendency to tell porky pies.

yup have to agree on that one

You might look at the Toyota Cross. It's a hybrid that just came out this year. They run from about 600 to about 900 million vnd. I opted for a one-year-old Toyota Vios, it's four door but probably a little smaller than what you want. I found the smaller vehicle is more maneuverable as we started off looking at the Fortuner but ultimately ended up with a smaller vehicle. I purchased it from a local Toyota dealership so I'm assured that it's never been crashed and all the paperwork is legitimate. I own my apartment and as such have a parking space in the basement so that's not an issue for me. I also have a parking space in my job which makes it quite convenient. You do need to do a little pre-planning if you're going to do shopping other than the malls to make sure that there is adequate parking. A car is a bit more challenging to drive around the city that a motorbike but I still prefer it. Especially on the rainy season.

From my experience, a driver contract is preferable to driving your own car. Monthly costs are likely to be less in purchase price and maintenance, and as has been pointed out on this thread, the driver can help in so many other ways. When we lived in Saigon, I was surprised how our driver managed to find the tiniest hems without GPS, or negotiate with traders. Oh, and if you use a Grab bike, who knows what other heads have been in that helmet? Use your own helmet.

Any opinion on those Vinafast hybrid that Vietnam is producing? Price/value?

The smaller cars (sub-compact) are about 350 MN vnd. The nicer ones go for about 1.6 BN vnd. You do save somewhat on the import tax, but, until 31 December the new car tax on foreign cars is reduced by 50%. Other than the tax they aren't any cheaper than the imports, and I know Toyota quality. My concern was that they are brand new ans, as such, have no track record. I had a Vinsmart phone and the quality was poor. By buying a used car (mine is 1 year old with 18K kms) you can avoid a lot of expense. I went with Toyota mainly because I live right next to a dealership. I think the Toyota's are a bit more than the KIA's but I don't know specifics.

I heard that you pay insurance based on the car's size or price.

It doesn't even matter if you've written off 26 cars, drink-driving and mowed down pedestrians. there's no no-claim's bonus or any history at all.

I certainly don't have all the information, but here is what I know first hand. For my motorbike I have only the government required insurance (80K vnd per year), but, it actually does nothing but satisfy the police. I have never been involved in a serious accident but have been hit (very minor damage) twice and, in both cases, the other drivers just kept on driving. It seems that when there is a minor accident everyone just pays for their own damages and keeps on going without regard to the "at fault" driver. For my car I have the government required insurance as well as "real" insurance coverage. They asked me nothing whatsoever about a driver's license. In fact, the car in actually in my Vietnamese wife's name, and she doesn't even have a car license. It is with Allstate Insurance Company, which is a well respected American-based company, so I know it is legitimate. I think the cost was about 5.2 MN vnd per year.