Foreigner's guide to purchasing a motorcycle in south africa (johannesburg)
 

Hi guys

This information is based on my own experience and was gathered during August 2014. It is best intended for tourists/foreigners looking to buy a motorcycle in Johannesburg.

I went through this process in order to buy a bike for travelling around Africa.

3 Files are attached.

Buying bike in SA
 

This info is great, just what we have been trying to sort out. Hope to head down there late this year. All we need is a friend in South Africa! Any takers?

Thanks for posting this!

I am heading out to South Africa in less than a month and will be buying a Toyota Hilux from a private owner and the registration issue is causing me a headache. I just have this question: I understand that eventually you just printed the lease and invoice for your accommodation and filled in the details but how did you get a signature of the owner (on the lease) and the cashier (on the invoice)? Did you just ask the people at the hostel to sign it? Did you actually have to pay the 25k Rand or did you tell them it's for the purpose of registering the bike?

How did other people actually pull it off in Johannesburg? Has anyone had a friend actually write a letter that the foreigner actually stays with them perhaps?

Seems to me a good motorcycle dealer may be able to apply for and receive all the required paperwork, forms and do all the work for you. You just supply him your ID, Passport, et al, you get legal bike registration and ride away.

Possible?

Usually dealers know these systems well, know all the staff at govt. offices and all the "shortcuts" to make it quicker and easier. You supply the money, dealer gets it done. :Beach:

What about buying used bike from private party? I guess you just leave the registration in owners name, get permiso from
Police and go? But how would you sell it off again?

Hi Vanshar

To answer your question - i signed all the documents myself - i didnt ask for assistance from anyone at the hostel as they were very unwilling to help . And no i did not pay the 25K rand .
(The documents were created to satisfy the requirement for the application of the TRN. When i handed them in the supervisor didn't spend more than 2 seconds looking at them before confirming. They are interested in the Visa/Stamp issue .

I've heard of a few other people that also went through this tiring process and eventually after 3 weeks they were able to hit the road. I do not know how they made it happen but im guessing it was similar to my way.

Because you are buying from a private owner im not sure how you'll be able to present them (traffic dep.) with a proof of payment for the vehicle ( I bought from a dealership so they just printed one out for me )- but thats something you can ask them when you're there .

Regarding what Mollydog said - its true that the dealers know the system very well and they will do all the work for you, but you have to have a local Traffic Registry Number (TRN). They cannot sell you a vehicle if you do not have one. I met with quite a few dealers and they all confirmed that. They are very willing to help but are usually quite limited with what they can do for foreigners.

Thank you very much for this clarification Ido! The guide is extremely helpful for me and i will happily buy you a pint if we happen to be in Joburg at the end of March.

Vanshar - how'd it go?

I ask as several people have found it impossible to register a vehicle in their own names. They were on tourist visas but now the TRN regs require a work or students permit. In order to pass it on I would be interested in when and where you got it done. Thanks,

enzo

Bundubasher - i've just arrived in Joburg and intend to follow Ido's instructions. I will let you know how it goes on Wednesday (or Friday). In the meantime i also found this: Foreigner want to purchase a car- info needed - 4x4 Community Forum.

My guess is that it is highly dependent on the office/people you'll deal with and even if there are new regulations they may not realize that yet(!). Anyway - watch this space!

Oh and there is another fresh thread here: Can non-residents buy and register bikes in South Africa?

The chap I was dealing with tried numerous different offices, printed out the web advice etc but no joy. He called eNaTIS and according to them it seems the existing government webpages concerning the TRN are outdated. Good luck with finding someone who can help and I'd love to hear your updated information.

Some info here:
http://www.africa4x4cafe.com/htm/afr...cafe_faq.htm#T

And this is the letter the guy was shown by the registration officer:
http://www.africa4x4cafe.com/docs/trn.jpg

PS: Sorry! I forgot to say he was buying a 4x4 not a bike! I hope this makes the difference you are looking for! Go well, enzo

Do you know when and _where_ (which traffic offices) your friend was applying at for TRN?

I've asked the guy and will post when he gets back to me...

Enzo!

I am pleased to report that i got my TRN today in the morning!!!

I went to the Randburg traffic department three times. First was on Tuesday to make sure that i had all the required paperwork (as per Ido’s suggestion). My situation was as follows:

- a turist visa for 30 days (!) but with a visa sticker (i’m a Polish citizen and that’s all that we get) apart from the sticker i also got a stamp and it clearly says ‘hollidays'

- a signed lease and an invoice for 6 months accommodation prepared just as Ido suggested (but i used different forms and addresses - i have a friend around here whose number i placed on the lease in case they’d want to call and verify - the friend had otherwise nothing to do with the lease)

- an agreement of vehicle sale that the seller and myself signed (http://www.cooperattorneys.co.za/Veh...%20vehicle.pdf - first thing off of google) - i’m buying not from a dealer but from a private seller (EDIT: i'm buying a Toyota Hilux 4x4 just to be clear)

- a police affidavit stating that i was unemployed in South Africa

EDIT: - two black and white photos of course (35x45mm, facing forward on white background)

On Tuesday they directed me to a window on the left and there were three people inside. Two (a man and a woman) were serving two costumers and there was a lady from a backoffice using the photocopier.

I got there at 11:30 and there were 3 people ahead of me. When i got to the window i asked them to verify that i have all necessary paperwork for the TRN. They took the bundle of documents, including my passport and the man when he got to my visa dismissed me out of hand saying that visitors can’t get the TRN. You have to have a resident permit or permanent residence. I protested and i said that i already found the car and that i don’t want to stay in SA. Then the lady serving another costumer turned around and said that not long ago they actually gave the TRN to a tourist (Ido - perhaps it was you ;P ). The lady from the backoffice asked where i was going to go with the car and seemed to be satisfied when i said all the way to Europe.

She looked at the paperwork asked for a lease and the invoice - verified that it was from Randburg and asked whether it was less than 3 months old. Then asked for a proof of payment for the car and said the agreement with the seller wasn’t enough and told me to bring the registration certificate of the car tomorrow.

I left the office and met the seller that day, explained my situation and he gave me the registration certificate (we haven’t exchanged the money yet - he was very understanding). The next morning i went back (i got stuck in traffic and arrived at 8:20) i stood in the line - there were about 15 people ahead of me but after 30 min i managed to get to the window. There were only two people then - only the skeptical guy from the day before and a new lady. He had no objections this time but they scrutinized each document in great detail (including the lease and the invoice) and made copies of everything (all the above mentioned documents plus the registration certificate - although they were quite puzzled why i brought the affidavit about being unemployed but they copied it anyway). I was then given the bundle of copied documents, asked to go upstairs where i simply gave the documents to another person in another office and he asked me to come back on Friday 7:30-10:00.

I came back today (Friday) at 7:30 and received my beautiful TRN within 10 minutes. I could not be more happy! See the TRN below - and subscribe to my facebook page :D

PS: Here's my shameless plug - i will be in SA for the next month and then in May i'm heading north to do Cape To Cairo (to Europe) trip and then in 2016 and 2017 Asia&Australia and Americas respectively. If you want to follow me or get in touch go to:
https://www.facebook.com/trekkingpolecom - there isn't much there yet but over the next few weeks i should be putting in more content.

PPS: Thank you Ido - i owe you a beer when i meet you!

Attachment 14872

Obviously not a straight forward process but your perceverance delivered...congratulations Vanshar and thank you Ido!

Go well,

enzo

A good news TRN story from a German Client:

Scroll down to the TRN section.

That is _very_ interesting. Every time i was reading the requirements on eNatis and elsewhere i was wondering what they meant by 'Foreign ID document' and whether my Polish ID ('dokument tozsamosci') would suffice but obviously i wanted to try the TRN route first. I'm glad it worked in Cape Town for them - i will be registering the car in a couple of days and will make sure to ask them about my ID card here in Johannesburg and will post the results here. Thanks Enzo for keeping track of these things! Your website was (and is) very helpful in planning my trip!

Just before Easter i went to Randburg Traffic Department, applied for the registration and license (the roadworthy was done a day before and already entered into the eNatis system) - when i was handing my papers over someone (actually it was the same skeptical guy from my previous visits) confused the date of entry on my visa stamp with visa validity and initially refused to process the paperwork.

Once we resolved that mistake, he accepted all the papers and after 1-1.5h of waiting i received both the registration and the license disc.

I used my TRN to do all that and i must admit that there was no time or conditions to ask about the foreign id documents (it was very hectic as usual). However, my impression is that this is not a standard procedure for them and you would have to argue your way through to be able to use the foreign id card for registration (note: i'm not saying it would be impossible - i just don't know).

Moreover - the TRN is the standard document that people are familiar with in here. So at roadworthy tests, registration and even the police blockades (and in fact any other car-related transactions down the line) this will be one of the first things that they will ask you for. So it's always safer to actually have that if you can.

Hi There-anyone still need a hand in CT to get vehicle on their name give me a call. I have helped a few guys but you (as a person) need to get traffic registered on our system (TRC) and then with a semi permanent address (use mine- i will give you a letter to say you are a boarder) and then purchased vehicles registration document, deed of sale & sellers id and a roadworthy test we put vehicle in your name, i will assist with documents and roadworthy test. Cost-- send me pics of your trip as you travel!
Cheers

I will be arriving in SA July/Aug 2015 on my uk registered yamaha 660 tenere. Current plan is to ship back to uk but if someone wants to buy it to ride back?

I'm planning on arriving in SA at the end of June and buying a bike to travel north.

Does anyone know the carnet situation for a route going to Namibia and up towards Kenya?

My plan is to sell and/or abandon the bike in Kenya when I depart, so I would prefer not to invest significantly in a carnet...

Thanks!

Carnets traveling North
 

I am also very interested in the above... I will be purchasing a bike here in South Africa and traveling North. Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland... No definitive plan as yet.

Thank you for all the information regarding registration - the word document in early replies is brilliant! I hope it works for a private seller/buyer situation. Otherwise feeling fairly confident about getting a bike transferred into my name. I have found Fish Hoek transport centre to be incredible help!

:) Tilly

This information is ver helpful! I will be arriving in Cape Town on 12/09/15 and will be buying the xr125 from a honda dealership. Has anybody recently had any luck getting a TRN in Cape Town?

Cheers

TRN in Cape Town
 

Hello all!

Here is an update from Cape Town regarding the TRN. We arrived here middle of September and went straight to the Civic Centre to process our TRN application. Required were 2 x passport photos (colour photos were fine) and our passports. Also we provided Ido's property rental agreement and invoice, duly modified to suit our hostel in Cape Town. We also had photocopies of our passports and driving licences although these didn't seem to be required. Proof of employment wasn't required. Initially the lady at the counter was sceptical saying that with the visa in our passports they probably wouldn't issue a TRN. However we assured her that our friend had received one not long ago with the same visa (was thinking of you Nextlife). This seemed to reassure her and she said that she couldn't guarantee it would be approved but to come back in 2 weeks. We went back after 8 days and it was ready. :smartass:

In our experience it wasn't necessary to have a vehicle lined up ready to buy before we applied for the TRN. I guess it depends a lot on who you get at the counter. The lady we got seemed very helpful.

Hope this helps someone!

takechair :)

National ID card
 

It's also possible to register a vehicle in South Africa with a national ID card if you have personal ID numbers in your country.

To register with National ID card, they use code "03 Foreign ID" and no need to show passport (with tourist visa in it?). Just proof of address and your ID card.

It's free of charge, takes 10 minutes and no need for the hard-to-get-TRN. :D

Where do you do this? Which application form?

Also, on the TRN application form you give a postal address. I could make up one with the forms here (e.g. hotel in Cape Town). But what in the process of acquiring a TRN and buying a car is this address used for (any papers send for example)? I also heard that if you changed of address you should acquire a new TRN so for me it seems important that if I use a "fake address" nothing is actually done with this address.

At the South African Traffic department.
Just tell them that you want to be registered to be able to buy a car.
Hand over your ID card and proof of address - not your passport.

Buy a motorcycle in South Africa
 

Hello world,
I would like to buy a motorcycle in South Africa and travel all the way up to Europe than maybe all the way to Asia. The questions are:

1- Can I register a South African motorcycle to my name with a Canadian passeport?
2- Can I have problems travelling around with a South African license plate?
3- Will I have problems to sell the bike in Europe or Asia?
4- Any other pertinent information about travelling in Africa with a motorcycle is very well appreciated.

Thank You!

Pinned to top.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...le-south-80508

Does this still work?
 

Hey fellow riders, I would like to buy a bike in september/october in ZA to travel to Nairobi and back. Does anyone know if the method described here will still get me TRN?

Pieter

1- Yes you can register the bike with Canadian passport

2- No problems to travel around with South African license plate

3- No, I don't think there will be any problems

4- Go to Crossing Africa - a journey from Cape to Cairo to read up about a couple that went right through from Cape Town to Cairo with their bikes

Just to echo what has already been said.

We just picked up our TRNs today. It was quite painless. We used the information on this government web page:

http://www.capetown.gov.za/City-Conn...ister%20number

We are two Canadians, just arrived in Cape Town a couple of weeks ago. Last week, we went to the Motor Vehicle Registration and Licensing (Civic Center on Hertzog Blvd) and handed in:

- Filled out Traffic Register Number Application Form (download PDF from the link above)
- Passports
- Two passport-sized photos
- Proof of residence

The lady at the counter did not seem satisfied with our papers. Officially, they want to see a proper 6-month or longer visa (work or education preferred) in your passport. Instead, we had a 90-day tourist visa exemption stamp. Strike one.

Also, we handed in a printed-out copy of our AirBnB reservation. It was only for two weeks... :) She shook her head and said that "hotel reservations" did not count. Strike two.

However, she took all our papers and told us she would forward them to central processing and they would determine whether we would get our TRNs approved or not. She warned us that it was doubtful that it would happen, but to come back in 7 days and check. So we left a bit dejected.

Went in this morning, and to our surprise, the TRNs were approved!

bier

Hi!!

Did they ask you about your drivers' licenses? I wonder if I need to show them my drivers license or if I need international drivers license.

Actually, no. They didn't ask to see our drivers license... Just the passport was the only official document they asked for.

I suspect that the registration of the vehicle has nothing to do with whether you are legally allowed to operate it or not. That happens when you get pulled over by the police. *Then* you'll need your drivers license or IDP.

Hi everyone!! Has anybody recently gotten the TRN at the Traffic Department in Randburg? I will be arriving in Johannesburg in late March and looking to get my TRN asap. Was wondering if the process of getting the TRN has changed or not.

Alright I’m going to update this information myself. I have been to the traffic registration center at civic center Cape Town three times. The lady at the counter finally accepted my papers today. Here’s what she took from me

-my passport
-certified copy of my 30-day tourist visa
-lease agreement (the one provided in this post but duly modified)
-invoice of the rent (the one provided in this post but duly modified)
-application for the TRN
-2 Black n white photos

From what I understand, they were mainly checking two things, 1)type of visa, and 2)proof of address.

For visas, they would normally want to see a work or study visa. They told me that they could not give the TRN to any tourist visa holders. But I managed to argue my way out by explaining that I just want to buy a motorcycle here and ride it to Europe.

For proof of address, I strongly suggest other travelers, who want to do the similar thing, to use the lease agreement and the invoice on this post and change them accordingly. The traffic department would not accept anything like a online booking reservation. They would require something more legitimate. So I just went down to the internet cape and modified the lease agreement and invoices. After that I wrote the hostel’s owner’s name on the lease and sign it myself (I have already tried to use the utility billy hostel gave me but the traffic department required more documents so I decided to do this whole thing on my own).

And today I walked in there and handed in all the documents from above, the lady seemed very satisfied and said “this is much better”.

At last she told me to come back in 10 days. Well, now I just felt much relieved and hopefully I could pick up the TRN next week.


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Just to update on my TRN status. I picked it up this morning as expected. The registering and licensing was done in 10 min without any issues. FINALLY the long wait is reaching the end and I’ve already bought a bike. Bout to leave Cape Town next Wednesday and head to Namibia.

Hooray~~~~


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If anybody has any question regarding the whole process of registering a bike in Cape Town as a tourist, you could contact me via Facebook or Instagram.

Facebook: miles renn
Instagram: milesrenn


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Congratulations!

We found that they're pretty lax about the requirements around residence, at least in Cape Town. I've heard that they're more strict in Jo'berg and Pretoria.

I don’t know about Jo’burg but here in Cape Town they definitely require some legit proof of address. Some guys I met from my hostel were also planning to do the same thing but they did not even know about the TRN. They said they will go to east London and try to register the bike there by bribing the officials. Accordingly to them people in East London would do anything for money lol.


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Haha! My cousin lives in East London, I'll tell her you said that... :)

They send the TRN applications to some kind of central processing. Not sure whether that processing is national or regional. But if it's national, it actually may not matter where you submit your TRN papers. You just have to be able to push it past the clerk at the counter.

Using a SA friend to apply for Carnet and skip the TAR
 

Hi guys, I see getting the TAR is still quite a time consuming process. What if I find someone, say a seller of the motorbike or a local SA resident to issue a letter authorizing myself to use his motorbike. I see that you can use the letter to apply for a Carnet in SA and travel onwards? Would this route be an easier way to travel around? Seeing that you'll have to return the bike to SA at the end anyways. A friend an I are planning to ride from Cape to Cairo in July.

We were planning on selling our bikes to a local or back to the dealer once we return to South Africa. But we'd be willing to help a traveler out if they couldn't obtain a TRN or didn't have time. We could sell the motorcycle(s) to you and then write a letter authorizing use of the bike.

Not sure how you would resell the bike though since it's not in your name...?

Hi all,

I'm now in Cape Town, and I was originally planning to get a motorcycle on a buy back program but I couldn't do it because of some unforeseen circumstances.

Instead of applying for a TRN, I'm now planning to request a SA citizen to buy a vehicle on their name and then authorize me to ride it across borders. However, I don't know anyone in Cape Town.

Can anyone please help me with this? I'll make a police affidavit waiving all the liability from you.
Please help me Africa dream come true!
My trip page is at: https://m.facebook.com/smallbikesbigdreams

Best,
Rakesh

Just want to update this with a caveat.

I am currently in Cape Town going through this procedure as documented.

The DMV recently (past 3-6 months) changed the process such that instead of approving this on site, it gets sent to a federal office, the office of home affairs. This is to further verify your passport/visa. They say it has resulted in a backlog of 8-12 weeks (which I verified further by chatting up a person at a motorcycle shop, yea it impacts everyone).

The way to circumvent this is by getting a letter from your country saying your passport is real. This is what the first person at the DMV recommended to me, but it wasn’t very definitive. I have my appointment this week. In the meantime I went back to the DMV and asked about the TRN. A different person verified the first persons recommendation and was more confident that if I get the letter it will only take a week.

I am in Cape Town (I venture Joberg has greater representation of embassies, so I’d be mindful of this). I made an appointment at the US consulate in CT. They had availability 9 days out, so this adds some time to the whole procedure, but it shouldn’t add much time since you are now forewarned. Americans can book this in advance on the web.

QED: this all still applies, but there is another layer. Best to make an appointment at your relevant embassy/consulate for the day you arrive here for a letter saying your passport is real. If choosing between starting in joberg or Cape Town, go with wherever you can easily get a letter verifying your passport is real.

Just to tie the knot on this.

I went to the Us consulate today. It was $50 for the signed letter. I brought it to the CT motor vehicle. They issued the TRN on the spot.

This the correct way and works, I have assisted a few travellers with proof of residence/getting bikes registered no problem

TRN Fixer Jo Burg - Stressfree
 

I managed to get my TRN and all documentation through a fixer in Jo Burg called Freddie. He is reliable and gets the job done quickly and cheaply. He will make your life easy. His contact is (+27) 078 992 1297 and email is freddyphetolo@gmail.com. Best of luck

Thanks for that ^^^ juat what I'm looking for !

But my gmail doesn't seem to think the email address for Freddy is correct.
Any other contact info for him .


Max

What is a reasonable fee to pay Freddie? I'm headed there in October.