Shipwreck

CWM has a very valid point. It seems like you (she) will be losing almost 3K a month for the next 30 years.

If she put that 28K into a mutual fund or some sort of investment vehicle - heck, a pillow case, you would be doing better than -36K a year...

I agree with Scott. Presentation is the key.

My school has 3 teachers who are 58-67, one recently hired.

TEFL seems to be the dominant degree over here, although I'm not sure why.

It seems like people are either completely OK with a car with no bags, or completely against any car with less than two.

Since I am considering some cars that don't have an option for two airbags (Like the Toyota Avanza)

It seems like one is better than none....no?

Anybody have a link to a map that shows the split of Nong Khai?

I am not against airbags by any means. In fact every car I have ever owned had two.

It is simply the fact that in some particular models I can't get two that makes me think I should have none at all.

Does a car with 0 bags lose resale value? Does the average Thai care that bags are in the car?

i would rather pay for airbags , than pay 100000 .at bangkok general hospital for a knee or shoulder reconstruction .james hat yai

My work provides complete accident coverage for myself and my family, so hospital bills are not a concern.

Even if I didn't have health insurance, doesn't car insurance have a section about being injured in a crash?

Once Cadillac and Lincoln made pick ups I vowed never to be surprised by a luxury carmaker's decisions again...until now.

I don't like it and don't see the point. I think it cheapens the BMW name and would only be bought by racerboys.

However, Merc has been making truck-trucks and vans for years and that didn't cheapen their name.

My only hope is that this is just a prototype that never sees the showroom floor.

I know from a glance at the title that most people would shout out an immediate 'yes'. I am aware that airbags save lives and all the advantages towards them. However...I will be buying a car this year and a few of the models I am looking at only offer airbags for the driver. A passenger/door airbag is not an option.This got me thinking, that if, god forbid, we did have a large accident - what does that mean? I (the driver) am safe...while my family perishes or are badly hurt? Who would want that?Also, I would be driving 99% of the time in Bangkok, probably at pretty low average speeds. In that case an airbag might be more of a liability than a help.Is it really worth the extra 50k for one airbag? All thoughts are welcome.

OH well.

Cheers everybody, I'll report back if something else of note happens down my otherwise quiet soi. Mills and davethingy, I'll just leave you two to feeling morally superior.

Nah, just leave them to get a room.

Lets just hope they don't get locked out of it.

The in-laws warned us not to go outside if it rained as "the radiation from Japan' is in the rain and will make us all sick.

Not sure what smiley is appropriate for this comment, so I'll let it stand as it is.

I am selling mine in Chiang Mai

Motorhome for sale

Is this the one at the Toyota dealer mentioned above? I'd love to have one and think they'd be brilliant in Thailand - given you've only put 5000km on it, it sounds as if you didn't go too far. What has your experience of places to stay etc been like?

I would also like to know his (or anyone's) experiences with the carryboy mini motorhome.

Did any TV members ever rent one from www.vrcarrent.com?

For a week camping trip at 2190 a day, that's 15,330 (plus gas) for a weeks holiday with no hotel fees. Not a bad deal at all considering most people don't blink at spending 2000b on just a hotel room alone when they are on a holiday - at least this way you get wheels too.

Good on you for pointing out an irregularity.

132B isn't much of a write off and it establishes a good brand name - which is strange since by the end of the year all Carrefours will be gone.

Carrefour is selling all it's businesses in Asia

Why? Certainly they seem profitable.

And there is a video too!

A bit of an over reaction to bad service if you ask me.

BBK locals, Q to you: why everybody reference to IKEA in future tense when there is 1st IKEA shop as mentioned in the news? Nobody was there? Nobody know about it? Or it's not open yet?

The article says that the store will open 'at the end of this year'.

Anyone have any more specific info on the opening date?

Wouldn't the 'entertainment venues' that they raid already have a license to serve alcohol?

Basically what they are saying is that alcoholic ice cream and candy is not illegal, but selling it to minors and without a license is illegal.

They sell alcoholic ice cream at the ice cream shop inside the immigration building at Cheng Wattana for anyone who wants to try, I had a cup last time I was there. It pretty much tastes just like normal ice cream, you would have to eat a kilo to get any effect.

I used fastcarhire.co.uk to find a rental at 'Thai Rent a Car' for my last road trip and found their prices to be reasonable and their service quite good. I think the Thaivisa car rental link uses them too.

They even pick up and drop off the car pretty much wherever you want for free if you rent for more than 3 days. Airports in different cities no problem.

We called them. they dont have a model for test drive, and they dont know who might have. thats pretty much the same answer as all the dealers we have talked to already.

Ha! So the Innova sitting in their lot last week with the huge 'Test Drive' sticker on the side went missing? That doesn't make any sense. Maybe they only let you test drive if you are 99% sure of buying and that makes it worthwhile for them to magically locate these phantom test drive cars.

Digitalbanana, why do you have to be rude? The guy is asking a simple question. Do you have to be asinine? No you don't...

Johnniey, I say, if it doesn't feel right, don't do it. If your suitcases are shifting around, then you should probably employ some bungy cords, as those guys have never failed me.

Anyone else have a positive solution?

Passing the dealer on Kaset-Nawamin I have seen test drive models for Innova, Avanza, Prius and all the car models.

I think they trade the test drive cars between dealers, so you should give them a call first.

Toyota Buzz Co., Ltd. (Kaset-Nawamin) Address:2 Prasert Manukij Rd,Sub-District:SenanikomDistrict:JatujakProvince:BangkokSales & Service:02-579-5599

Well, Suzuki is currently trying to expand their market share by introducing new models - Swift and SX4 - so the best way to get their customers to recommend a Suzuki would be to offer good dealer service - no?

Thanks for all the interesting replies.

It sounds pretty much like I had anticipated. A combination of finding a good model and then expecting some things to go wrong each year.

It doesn't seem unreasonable to budget 50-100K a year for repairs for an 10+ year old Euro.

The financially sound part of me says just spend 200-300k on a down payment on a new Jap model - as the monthly payment would pretty much equal the repair bill for the Euro.

I guess I just need to figure out how important ride quality is to me.

That fuel regulation is worrying me though. Converting a car to LPG sounds expensive.

SAABs are tied with Audi at the top of my list - a 900 Classic or perhaps an A4...

I'll check out that SAAB Club website.

Browsing around one2car.com and the like, it is easy to find Saabs, Audis and Volvos made in the 90's for less than 200k.

Naturally buying any car that is over 10 years old, you are going to encounter some problems.

The point of this thread is to have people who have experience buying/owning/repairing 'luxury' cars from the 90's in Thailand to share their thoughts. (I am excluding BMW and Merc simply because of the entry price)

So, let's say,

If someone were to spend 200-300k to buy a Saab/Audi/Volvo from the 90's, what would one expect to spend per year on repairs/insurance/etc?

Thanks for anything you contribute!

I think they are 'orrible, jelly moulds, girly cars, nooooo street cred. And people run down my '68 Charger.

So then Transam....what Thailand-produced car (which 99% of everybody buys) has street cred?

I'm not sure what month it is myself.

This picture might help, it is supposed to be the 2011 Jazz - although I can't exactly pinpoint the changes...