Job Discussion Forums

[Llamalicious]

I've been thinking about picking up a car in Jakarta. I've got a shortlist and have already looked at a couple of pseudo-bangers, but I'm a bit hazy on the legal requirements.

Assuming I wanted to do everything legally (don't laugh!) and not just bribe any cops who stop me, do I need:

1. An Indonesian or International driving licence? I have my UK licence, but will this be enough?

2. Insurance? As I understand it, many local drivers aren't insured. Are you? If so, can you recommend a good insurance company?

Soon I, too, could be gritting my teeth in rush hour traffic, while simultaneously and selfishly contributing to Jakarta's already considerable traffic and pollution woes. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[xsbir]

1. You should have an Indonesian driver's licence. If you have a valid UK licence you can get a 1 year SIM A(for cars and small trucks) for Rp85,000. Do not use an agent-it actually takes longer and you'll shell out maybe Rp300,000. The licencing office is on Jl. Daan Mogot near Cengkareng.

In order to get a licence you must have a KITAS. In order to put the car in your name you need that too. A business, tourist or social visa aren't good enough.

The yearly ownership fee depends on the vehicle-its age, value etc. I paid Rp1.813.000 this past year.

2. Insurance isn't mandatory. I have all risk, including floods, riots and earthquakes, and it cost about Rp2m for one year. Again, that depends on the value of the car, of course. Lippo Insurance is good. It seems you can make claims for dents and so on and your rate doesn't go up, but you lose your claim free discount. I use an agent in Tomang who shops companies for the best deal. PM me for details if you want to call her.

I recommend driving an automatic transmission vehicle in Jakarta.

Good luck.

[Chester]

be careful. driving as a foreigner leaves you open to many scams
Ither drivers, motorbike people, pedestrians, wil fake accidents or actually self inflict injury if they see a bule driving, just to solicit money from your white ass.

if you can afford a car , pay a dude some lucre to drive you. its the best option. also the driver can get you cheap maintenence and other benefits.

buy a car and hire a driver. rock.

[xsbir]

I've been in a couple of scrapes, but there's no need for a driver if you are a competent one. I've driven here for years and it's no big problem. I simply can't stomach the thought of having a driver. It would be even worse than having maids, I think. It's not even all that stressful once you get used to driving in Jakarta.

[Llamalicious]

I wouldn't like having a driver because, not having driven for ages, I actually think it'll be fun. (I know, I know, ridiculously optimistitic and ill-thought out.)

I had a maid when I first arrived (she came with the house), but have been maidless for the last 4 or so years. Living in an apartment, I can't quite justify it to myself. That said, looking around my bomb site of a pad, knowing my girlfriend will be over in a bit, and all too familiar with her reaction to my slovenliness, I still can't be bothered to get off my arse to do anything about it.

Tell you what, Chester: we'll compromise. You take the driver and I'll take the maid.

Deal?

[xsbir]

You don't actually need to know how to drive here....no one else does. Anything you think you remember about right-of-way, rules of the road, common sense and courtesy, just forget it all; they don't apply here.

Again, good luck.

[monyet]

Terus! terus!
I found out when driving Indonesians the worst thing you can do is hesitate at any time even if you don't know the roads.
It's one of the little things that make driving in Indo so much fun.

[Llamalicious]

Do I change the name the car is under with the police, too? The only reason I ask is that I've tried asking Indonesians, but none of them, even the ones who have bought second hand cars, have ever done it.

"But if there's a crash, your name isn't on it," is the general consensus. I can't even think such heretic thoughts without feeling nauseous and greasy and the phrase "social contract" swimming before my eyes, but this may well be my problem...

[xsbir]

Apparently long Indonesian practice has been to keep cars in the original car owner's name. You then have to have a bunch of copies of their identity (KTP) in order to renew every year as long as you have the car. The same thing seems to happen with utilities-our telephones, water and electricity bills are all in other people's names. I've asked my wife why and she can only reply "that's the way we do it in Indonesia." Well, not me. I don't want the car I paid for and drive around to be in someone else's name. I also don't want cars, phone lines and utilities out there in my name with someone else using them.

I originally bought my car in 2004 and kept it in the original owner's name. In the next few months I asked agents about changing it into my name when the STNK came up for renewal in July 2005. This is the yellow card you have to carry around with you when you're driving. It cost Rp1.300.000 to change it to my name. There is also an ownership blue book called a "buku pemilik kendaraan bermotor" that you change into your name.

Keep your social conscience. If you buy it, put it into your name.

[wannaBguru]

i agree with xsbir and have both my car and motorcycle in my name. apparently the indo govt. agrees with him too. they realized how much money they were losing by people not putting cars in their name and stopped accepting photocopies of KTP of previous owners for that last year or so. if u want to renew your stnk (yearly vehicle registration) u must present the original kitas or ktp.

when i bought my car last april, it cost nearly 3 million to put the blue book in my name, 2.6 for the yearly tax (stnk) and 350 for the biro jasa (the agent that does all the paper work). the amount for tax and reg. depends on the make, model, year of the car as well as the engine size. this year i had to pay taxes of 2.3 million and biro jasa of 100,000. it was cheaper because i didnt have to do the blue book.

all you need to register your car is an agent, copy of the old owners ktp, your kitas, and money.

i use an international license but changing to indo sims soon. supposedly it can also be used at identification so i wont have to carry around my kitas or passport anymore.

[Llamalicious]

Many thanks to xsbir and wannaBguru for their helpful replies. I beg their indulgence one more time.

What about more than one driver for a car? Can I put my girlfriend on the licence and/or insurance? Will they charge like a wounded bull?

I'm sure I could get answers to these questions from an agent, but I trust them as much as Sutiyoso gives a crap about Jakarta.

Cheers.

[wannaBguru]

interesting question about ownership. i dont know the answer, but now that i think about it i have never seen an stnk with more than one name. maybe it would make life too difficult with all those copies of KTPs.

insurance follows the car not the driver. and is based on the value and age of the car. for both my car and motorcycle i pay 3% of the value of each one. but on my car i was allowed to choose the value of the car within a certain range as i had bought it second hand. motorcycles can only get Total Loss Only (TLO). cars can get TLO or full coverage, but the older a car is the more difficult it is to get full coverage. all ins. carriers will offer full coverage for cars less than 5 years old, some for cars less than 7 years old, and only 1 that i know of for cars older than 9 years. the cool thing about full coverage is that they let me bring the car in once a year to one of their centers and they fully re-condition the car. the standard deductable is 100,000 per incident. thus it would cost 400,000 to re-do your entire car as they figured u must have had 4 accidents to damage 4 sides. however, they will deduct any amounts paid for repairing your car in case of total loss. ex. if your car was insured for 100 million and they spent 20 million repairing it and they u totaled your car. they would only pay you the balance of 80 million.

there are no points for driving violations in indonesia as u usually just pay the policeman right then and there, no tickets written. hell, u dont even need to take a driving test to get a license. and insurance companies dont have good vs bad driver rates. the only factor that affects your rate is the of the car. so you wouldnt need to add your gf name to the policy. the policy matches the name of the owner

[xsbir]

Well put, Wannabguru. I thought it was as you said, that STNK's had to be in the actual owner's name, but when Llama wrote that no Indonesian he had talked to had ever done it, I figured I had misunderstood, as I often do here.

On an aside, why is it, I wonder if anyone can explain, that Indonesians prefer to keep things in someone else's name, and those third parties don't mind? I'm about to pay a water bill in the name of someone who sold this property in 1985 to my wife's family. If I don't pay it, apart from getting the water cut off, won't they chase the former owner down, if he's still alive?

[guruengerish]

I managed to get around Central and East Java for almost three years on a motor bike with only a few minor scrapes - falling off was entirely my fault .

I did eventually get side-swiped and my shopping and self ended up on the road. Everyone waited patiently while a couple of bystanders helped pick eveything up, and off I went. Couldn't see that happening here in Oz.

The one time I felt I was being victimised is when a woman and her young son stepped onto a busy highway right in front of me. The boy neeeded two stiches to his scalp, and the police held my keys until I paid up Rp65,000 'costs'. (The hospital bill was Rp45,000). I overheard the father who turned up mid-crisis say 'ah! orang bule yg kaya! I soon put him right about the rich bit, but I'm sure that had I been a local, the woman might have accepted fault. Not a big deal but I learned a lesson there. If you're white - you're in the wrong.

Rule of the road at roundabouts - give way to anything bigger than yourself.

[Llamalicious]

Curses, the car I was going to buy is no longer for sale because the owner can't bear to part with it. May he burn in hell for all eternity. Amen.

So it was back to the hunt. Prevoiusly I'd been talking to private owners, but recently I've come across the phenomenon of second hand dealers. Small-scale, with a stock of 10-20 cars, these operations run out of converted houses in kampung areas, often off "jalan tikus" too narrow to allow two cars to pass each other.

Most of the cars I've seen in these places have looked in good condition - and that's what worries me. The owners employ guys (calling them 'mechanics' would be a bit of a stretch) to put the cars through what they refer to as the 'salon.' Basically they clean everything up so it's nice and shiny, engine included.

Not being very motor-savvy, I know of only a few basic checks to run on a second-hand car's engine, and if the parts have been cleaned and greased I can't even use these. This makes me nervous to the point of paranoia that I'm being sold a lemon. Which I probably am. But what if I let a genuine good thing pass due to my fear? This is the nagging doubt that lurks at the back of my mind. This is the nagging doubt that, ultimately, keeps me going back to these places.

How about you? Where did you buy your car? Am I right to be conflicted so? Or should I simply dismiss the lot of them as amoral sharks, attracted to an easy mark like me by the stench of my indecision? Answers on a postcard, please, to the usual address.