Gsxrnz

I heard the top army brass were waiting on better odds from Ladbrokes before they place their bets and roll the tanks.

And how are you supposed to notice it before driving it ? BTW, The engine number does not indicate whether it is a new engine or not (they all start Z20D1). Even Chevrolet dealers don't know how to tell the difference by looking at it. Does anyone google engine numbers before taking delivery ? if you had read all the above you would notice I say that no documents say what the engine power is, just the size.

Both the new and old are 2.0L diesels. And you can tell the difference between a 5 speed auto and 6 speed auto ?

When spending over 1.6m baht, I think you have a reasonable assumption that what is delivered is what is advertised. It is a pity as the captiva is one of the very few European style/spec/safety orientated cars over here at a non-extortionate price. for example, I think it is the only car with curtain airbags all the way from front to back for example.

I think the letter to both USA and Thai head offices is the way to go to start things off.

Sorry if my post was misleading - I do think you possibly have a legitimate claim against the dealer, but I think the chances of getting it resolved are virtually nil due to the time between delivery and raising the issue, and partially because TIT, language barrier, understanding, face etc.

Unless you have documentation that specifically states that you ordered a 2012 year of manufacture/VIN, then that will be your only possible avenue of recourse. If delivery documents or invoice mention the 2011 VIN, then you won't have a leg to stand on.

It's all down to what you signed when you ordered and accepted the vehicle - if the documentation is wrong or vague, then that counts in your favour.

The "is it a good idea to bring my life savings into the country in cash stuffed in my underwear, or is there a safer way" brigade.

Gawd, I did that. Still have the rash.

Luckily no paper cuts I hope?

The "is it a good idea to bring my life savings into the country in cash stuffed in my underwear, or is there a safer way" brigade.

IMT (International Money Transfer), or "wire" as you call it is the easiest, safest, and cheapest option. If you buy traveller's cheques you will pay a commission on buying, usually 1% and the rate when you cash them in Thailand will be better than cash, but not as good as the IMT rate.

Plus you have a record of bringing the money into Thailand via the bank which is always a help if you buy a condo in the future or want to repatriate money back home.

DON'T bring in cash - murphy's law says it will get nicked, not worth the risk.

I would say you have zero chance of getting this resolved. If you had noticed immediately on delivery BEFORE you drove the vehicle and before signing delivery documents etc, then you could have got it sorted. All you can do now is sell the vehicle and buy the one you want - the "trade-in" concept isn't well understood in Thailand.

Didn't you notice that you were missing 6th gear?

The vehicle will have a badge/label under the bonnet/hood that will state the model number and serial number of the engine I should think.

The "I try to drive like a Thai, but I think driving like a Thai means driving recklessly and selfishly, and wonder why I get hassled" brigade.

If you're prepared to lose the deposit, just pay the electricity and water up to your last day. The deposit is the penalty for quitting the lease early which you're forgoing, so if you pay the rent and utilities up to the day you leave - no problems. You can give zero days notice on that basis.

i always found padded bras to be quite hypocritical. could you imagine the response a guy would get if he had padded underwear to make his member look bigger?

I thought that was mandatory for the cyclist dudes that wear spandex?

For me its always a great surprise package. Padded who cares? all shapes and sizes are great.

If you saw the three overweight elderly Russian women that chose to disrobe in front of me on the beach the other day you would retract that statement. There was size to spare. I had to check-bin and leave a fresh beer I was so distraught - had a terrible dream that night and am now considering therapy.

I'd guess that you'd have the legal right to cross a border with your son. But if your wife considers it a form of kidnapping and alerts the authorities, you might find yourself in hot water either here or in Australia.

turn TV off. Hit mute 1 8 2 power.

http://www.howto-make.org/wpoHeMoneyuFq0Kb/Samsung-Service-menu-code-to-factory-reset.html

What about dihydrogen monoxide?

You need this little baby.

I imported HEL lines into NZ. Cheaper and a better range than I could get at home. They have awesome colours as well as anodized fittings. Made a big difference to the feel of the front brakes and much less feel of fade when the rotor and pads got hot. Somehow the rigidity of the lines seemed to compensate for the rotor/pad loss of efficiency.

Couple that with a quick click change brake lever and fear of front end brake fade becomes a thing of the past.

I have a rule nowadays, I ignore stupid driving and go for them. Whats that taxi ? you want to pull in front of me and come to a complete stop? not if I do it to you first ha ha ha What ? oh motorbike rider with 3 children sandwiched between and wife holding baby, you want to cut me up ? and trust my brakes do actually work? ha ha ha fuc_ker not if I do it to you befo9re you even think about doing it to me If everyone did more of this you would all feel better, less stress and you understand why the locals do this, simply because if you don't do it to them they will do it to you note: its not worth doing this to big trucks, let them cut you up its not worth doing the same to them

I failed to move out of the way of an oncoming vehicle on my side of the road trying to kill me and a member accused me of manslaughter when his car rolled over.

I couldnt stop laughing for about 10 minutes.

And they removed my post too.

Yeah that was me. Your full post (that was removed by the mods) was a little more enlightening than your few brief words above. Did you ever try and find out if anybody was killed through your senseless act of road rage? I suspect you haven't. At the very least, the occupants of the vehicle that rolled after you proudly ran it off the road will have sustained some serious injuries.

And ask yourself why the Mods removed your post.

Glad you had a laugh and trust that karma will find it's way to your door.

When turning right, you need to position your bike very close to the centre of the road, i.e. just left of the white lane. This is if the traffic conditions permit. If you cannot achieve this safely, then pull in to the kerb and stop. Wait for clear traffic in both directions and then execute your right turn.

The OP did a bizarre right turn sweeping to the kerb before swinging right. I don't know where he learnt to drive but this is an insane manouevre and probably gave the shock of her life to the woman behind.

Indeed. I lost it with "I pulled left/inside to make a right turn"

Absolutely idiotic way to make a turn knowing there is someone close behind you.

The OP didn't go left and then turn right. He used the wrong description of "pulled inside", but meant that he moved towards the right. I clarified it with him in an earlier post. To him, "inside" means towards the centre of the road - I think he's using drive on the right terminology.

Sweeping RH turns from anywhere on the road are suicidal anyway. Best advice is to always filter safely to the right hand lane well before the intended point of exit as close to the centre line as possible. Try and judge speed and traffic so you can get across the road without having to go too slow or stop. And if you think anything behind you may be confused by your actions, use hand signals in addition to indicators.

EDIT: and never slow down/brake before you indicate - always indicate well before you change your speed. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see Farang doing in Pattaya. They throttle off before indicating - those behind have no idea where the rider intends to go and must either brake (causing problems for other riders behind them), or go left/right of the dolt in front. If the dolt then indicates and turns at the same time and the rider behind made the wrong choice....bang.

Often I will indicate and then moderately accelerate away from the traffic behind me to create a bigger gap, then throttle off/brake progressively to allow them to make the correct choice. Smooth and flowing is the key as an earlier poster mentioned quoting rocks and water.

Doesn't do wheelies and sounds like a steroidal sewing machine. Not for me.

It's the pickled fermented fish, the "Bpa-laa" that does it. Some of the contents are literally decades old. The smellier it is the more they like it.

Not sure if I understand how you did the turn. You said you "pulled inside to make a right turn" and then made a "sweeping turn" to the right.

In a drive on the left country, "pull inside " implies you pulled in towards your left before making the right hand turn, is that what you mean or have I misunderstood?

The potential for an elderly flower seller to spoil your Pattaya holiday is obviously enormous .

I did see an elderly lady flower seller repeatedly whacking a bloke over the head with a bunch of roses once, and then a gogo bouncer made the poor sod buy the bunch of mangled flowers - not sure why the incident developed but it was good for a laugh.

The worst whinge I ever heard was from an American - apparently the humidity here takes 20 yards of his golf drive. Thought he was saying it in jest, but he got visibly angry when I choked on my beer with laughter.

The dude was serious, but as I listened more it was apparently just the tip of his "complaint iceberg".

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/fonterra-chief-heads-china-amid-botulism-scare-ck-143803

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/03/us-newzealand-milk-bacteria-idUSBRE97202O20130803

ok read the whole thing again and still no info over brands in thailand

but thanks for the link

(luckily no milk powder in beer )

Milk stout?

Vile stuff but worth flogging from my Mum's stash when I was about 12 or so, along with the Player's Plain Navy Cut smokes - the stout and the non-filters separated the men from the boys pretty quickly back in the day.

It's surprising that the contaminated batches actually got through Fonterra's QC system. NZ food safety standards are amongst the highest in the world and Fonterra's own internal regulations for collection and processing of raw milk are so stringent it's OTT. Even their requirements for 3rd party storage companies is verging on the ridiculous.

I sincerely hope that the contaminated product is satisfactorily traced and end products are withdrawn before anybody suffers illness or worse.

However - Fonterra is an overly powerful co-operative and also too big for their boots in the dairy servicing industry in NZ. I've got no real sympathy for Fonterra and this will bring a wry smile to many of those that are service providers to them.