Living
Buying A Vehicle
In order to purchase a car, you must have a residence permit and brave the same bureaucratic system that locals go through. Most foreigners buy their cars through their company. The upside of the Chinese car market is that you can find a wide range of brands from Mercedes-Benz and Bentley to Toyota and Jeep. International brands are more expensive because of the duties involved, and you should expect a 40%-50% premium rate in most cases. With the current car boom, competition means better prices for consumers, and you can find small cars (under 800CC) such as local brand Chery Automotives’ QQ for as low as ¥50,000, while a Honda Civic should cost about ¥160,000. Around the city you’ll mostly see GMs and Volkswagens, since they both have manufacturing plants in China and are economical.
Each brand has its own showroom and dealerships representing them, so picking the type of car you want is usually the first step in deciding where to shop. Otherwise dealerships are all relatively standardised, and you should choose the one that is most convenient to you location-wise. When entering a dealership, it’s best to have studied what you want beforehand, as salesmen aren’t overly knowledgeable. Don’t sweat too much over bargaining, as prices are pretty uniform if you’re using a legitimate dealer, and negotiations only occur over small things such as accessories.
Other car-purchasing options include a growing number of second-hand dealerships with cars that are rarely good value. The used car system is new, and the cost of depreciation and terms of agreement are not that clear cut. Many of the second-hand car dealerships sell specific makes. Precautions should be taken when dealing with second-hand car dealerships. Bring an expert to check everything out before you buy and always test drive. Used cars do not come with the same guarantees as new cars, so you will have to read the contract carefully and you might have to negotiate for a refund or repair clause in case the car has a problem after you purchase it.
In order to formally transfer car ownership and (most importantly) the car’s licence plate, you will need to go through the Motor Vehicle Administrative Office. The office can then give you another licence plate number, so you can avoid the painful bidding process. If you are selling a car back to a dealership, then you will need to hand over the car and licence all at once, and forgo the rights to an automatic licence plate from the Motor Vehicle Office.
Each brand has its own showroom and dealerships representing them, so picking the type of car you want is usually the first step in deciding where to shop. Otherwise dealerships are all relatively standardised, and you should choose the one that is most convenient to you location-wise. When entering a dealership, it’s best to have studied what you want beforehand, as salesmen aren’t overly knowledgeable. Don’t sweat too much over bargaining, as prices are pretty uniform if you’re using a legitimate dealer, and negotiations only occur over small things such as accessories.
Other car-purchasing options include a growing number of second-hand dealerships with cars that are rarely good value. The used car system is new, and the cost of depreciation and terms of agreement are not that clear cut. Many of the second-hand car dealerships sell specific makes. Precautions should be taken when dealing with second-hand car dealerships. Bring an expert to check everything out before you buy and always test drive. Used cars do not come with the same guarantees as new cars, so you will have to read the contract carefully and you might have to negotiate for a refund or repair clause in case the car has a problem after you purchase it.
In order to formally transfer car ownership and (most importantly) the car’s licence plate, you will need to go through the Motor Vehicle Administrative Office. The office can then give you another licence plate number, so you can avoid the painful bidding process. If you are selling a car back to a dealership, then you will need to hand over the car and licence all at once, and forgo the rights to an automatic licence plate from the Motor Vehicle Office.
