Hi Peter,

The way it works here is that the $400 is an "admin fee" and can't be avoided. You pay that amount even if you are taking the vehicle for only a day and it is worth $1 (not that anybody would).

Then there's the option of paying a premium based on the vehicle value (but in any case not less than $300), or lodging the value of the import duty in the highest-rate country. In my case that would be 1.5 x vehicle value for Indonesia. But I would get that back, whereas the premium is dead money.

Have put the hard word on my bank to give me an indemnity, with my own account as security. Another Aussie told me that her bank wanted 2% pa to do that, so she gave it a miss (she is travelleing for years). The advantage of this method is that you can get the carnet for a long time without having to leave your money locked up with the automobile association. Who knows, I might want to make another trip with this prescious carnet when I get it.

A spunky young lady with a junker bike has got all the aces. She's got a good chance of giggling her way through it, but if that fails she can just walk away from the bike. Most men are defenceless against such attacks anyway, self included. As you rightly point out, not an options for the rest of us

Anyway, it looks like we are not that badly off here regarding the cost of a carnet. But it's still a rip-off.

Colin

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www.motoindo.com
One-way and multi-island rentals ex Bali