mr3cho

Looks good Superkatsu. How was it done...bondo bodywork and then repaint? How do you open the tailgate? How much did it cost?

still no white plates yet?

Has anyone checked the underbelly of their BT50 or Ranger? I am starting to see rust on some parts on my BT50. Similar to this guy's Ranger. but this guy has it bad. These are images from the newrangerclub forum.

Ah yes, the Mitsu triton is a good truck too.

Ford and Mazda should be at the top of the list. They are nearly mechanically identical. They both have a 5-star safety rating. The ride and handling are car-like. Plenty of power. Very quite cabin(for any auto). The extra features like bluetooth, steering wheel controls, auto-wipers, usb are fantastic. Seats are snug. I believe the electrical systems between the two are slightly different.

Even though they are from the same factory, I think QC may be different as there have been some defects on the ranger posted in other forums. I saw a recent posting where one had their driveshaft plop to the ground when a bolt for the shackle that holds it in place came loose. Others have been missing parts or problems with the electrical. The Ranger wins in the exterior looks department hands down. But Ford's service and sales has to be the worst of the big manufacturers in Thailand.

Mazda's sales and service is fantastic. They promised to deliver my truck within 3 months (while Ford had no ETA for me and there are some who booked when I did and are still waiting 9-10mos later). My white plates came in within 5 weeks. Everytime I went in to the dealer, the next day I received a call asking to rate my experience. My dealer is Wearnes in BKK if you are interested. On the flipside, there have been some complaints on the transmission with a rough 2nd gear kick and batts going dead. One problem I'm experiencing is seeing a bit of rust starting to develop on some parts on the underside. I'll be speaking with the dealer this wknd on that. But all-in-all, I love driving this truck.

Before buying I really like the Isuzu on the looks and features but just felt that the build quality didn't seem as solid as the Ford/Mazdas' It's not surprising that the DMax got a 4 star rating and the ncap video doesnt look too good.

BMW

+1

With such industry insight , I'm sure all of you invested in AAPL at $70 right?

In the market for a tablet and the reviews for the Nexus 7 look good. I especially like it's ability to download a Google map for offline use which could be useful here. The new Kindle fire also looks good. Of course I will wait to see if Apple will be announcing a smaller iPad this week before making a decision.

But I was wondering if anyone has seen the Nexus 7 here in Thailand and for how much (as it is not officially available here yet)?

This is what I got with the 2.2L Auto model:

First class insurance

3M Tint

bed liner

Rubber floor mats

License plate frame

Paint overcoat

Rust overcoat

VIP discount Mazda parts

Emergency service 24 hrs.

Guarantree 3 yrs. or 100,000km.

This model already comes with reverse sensors.

I just walked around the office to survey the food and snacks stored on almost every Thai employee's desk.

Deep fried stuff, sugar coated stuff, deep fried sugar filled stuff - all of it Thai, non of it western, no big macs, no KFC. There is some Pizza. Covered in gunk (Thai Style).

If Thais are getting fat they are doing it to themselves with the keen help of CP Foods.

I agree, people are pretty quick to blame western franchises for the world's woes, but if you live with Thais you will know that the amount of times that they go to MacD's, KFC... is quite a lot less than their frequent purchases of Thai style fast food /vendor food. Which is often several times a day. And lets not forget the minimarts which seem occupy about 10% of commercial properties in Thailand.

The farm girls are thinner because of more home cooked meals, and a more active lifestyle.

Yep it's not just the KFC and McDs but also the Starbucks, the Daddy donuts, Krispy creme, dairy queens, sizzlers, etc. But yes it's not just the western brands. There are a lot of Thai brands imitating the formula for success from the west as someone mentioned CP foods. The coffee houses with those high sugar caramel frappacinos, the cheesecakes, crepe cakes, donuts, danishes, potato chips. It's just an imbalance of good vs bad foods being introduced to the country.

Oh boy, we need to protect our beautiful Thai women and their cellulite-less legs!

Yeah Parking Toys rocks, one of BKKs hidden gems for sure..... I was told they are closing shortly to remodel and are going to open bigger and better than ever.

Also check out The Pintsman which is a downtown live music haven. Friday they have a ROCKING 'psychobilly' band that covers everything from Elvis to Aerosmith in their own way (and the singer is cute as anything in her little punk getup). Sat there is a rock band, very guitar oriented, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, ACDC, Led Zep AND they do an imported beer buffet for 850b. A little difficult to find, in the basement of the United Center but totally worth checking out.

\m/

hm cool I'm going to have to check it out. Thanks man.

I just walked around the office to survey the food and snacks stored on almost every Thai employee's desk.

Deep fried stuff, sugar coated stuff, deep fried sugar filled stuff - all of it Thai, non of it western, no big macs, no KFC. There is some Pizza. Covered in gunk (Thai Style).

If Thais are getting fat they are doing it to themselves with the keen help of CP Foods.

I just surveyed the desks in my office and I see Sprite, Coke, KFC, Heineken, Lays, Pringles. small survey sampling is worthless.

But I agree...KFC and McD branches closing up left and right. They'll be belly-up any day now.

I liked U2 up until the point that they stopped making decent music (Actung Baby) and Bono became a hypocritical a$$ that liked the sound of his sermons more than his music

Rock isn't dead in Bangkok, plenty of places to go to hear it. Many Thais will tell you the farang music they like best is from bands like Scopions/Nickleback/Eagles/Santana etc etc

Just a few months ago I went to see Dream Theater here and it totally rocked!

Yea last year Scorpion performed at Muang thong thani and last month it was Megadeth. Im trying to avoid my old age so I don't listen to these bands anymore but rather listen to the Maroon 5 types haha.

For the funky soul types, it was Earth Wind and Fire that recently performed at Muang Thong haha.

There is a hooka bar on khaosan road that has a cover band that plays GNR and Metallica songs. Another called Parking Toy in Bangkok with a good rock/metal cover band. A lot of bars and pubs with live music which you can't get in the States without a cover charge to get in the door.

On the flipside, Thai bands like Bodyslam have sold out medium sized venues in Los Angeles.

Coincidentally, this weekend, myself and a friend went to donate some clothes and books and we found the Foundation for crippled Children established by Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother. It is just north of Bangkok in Prakked near cheang wattana. The children seemed well taken care of, although they definitely need contributions. The facility houses, rehabilitates, and educates hundreds of children. There is special education for the mentally handicapped. And vocational education for the older children. Some of the kids stay there while others come for therapy. And many from other provinces.

Just behind this facility is an orphanage, a facility for autistic children, a facility for orphaned babies, a vocational center and several other facilities. The entire area must have been maybe 100+ rai.

well then it's in the eye of the beholder

I'd like to build a small house on some land we own in Chiang Mai. Maybe about 120-180 sqm total. To cut some costs on tiling or wood floors, I was thinking of polished concrete floors as I also like the look and feel. So I began poking around the internets and see some really nice modern looking concrete homes.

My question is what would be the cost difference between concrete construction vs the traditional Thai construction (of wood and concrete?).

Cars produced in Thailand are global quality. Pickups and small cars are also competitively priced.

Compared to what? Certainly local build Japanese cars are NOT the same quality as Japanese build Japanese cars!

Competitively priced? No, certainly not comapred to the USA.

Yes absolutely correct. I lived in Japan for 18 years and know the difference btw Jpnse built cars in Japan versus cars

manufactured in Thailand.

Secondly, the retail pricing of cars in Thailand are higher i.e. the sticker price of

Corolla/Altis was 15% higher than a US Toyota dealer in Hawaii and Hawaii is significantly higher compared to the rest of the 49 states.

I have a 2010 2.5 Hilux J (tacoma) truck, the cheapest model avail. in Thailand and I compared it against the cheapest Tacoma

model which included the airbag and defroster and still the US model was about 15% lower than the Thailand Hilux J model.

But I think the cost of ownership in the US makes up that 15%. Expensive mandatory insurance, high labor costs for maintenance, expensive registration, smog certificates, high depreciation, and if you ever get a traffic ticket. In some cities, just parking the car costs a few bucks.

A question for the more experienced in this market... What will happen when the bubble bursts here?

A few years ago in Los Angeles, I bought a property, with the intentions of selling in 3 yrs, as the last recent bubble was inflating and sold just before the explosion. Went with my gut feeling of when to buy and sell and moreover, I was very fortunate. People caught with a variable rate ARM, increased rates, second mortgage, etc couldn't make payment or sell and lost their homes. Foreclosures. Prices dropped to about 1998-2001 prices in most areas (i'm just estimating).

I am about to buy a condo in BKK to live in without regards to selling it in the next 5-10 years. I feel(gut) that prices are inflated about 25%

The problem with the condo market here is the way these projects are bought and sold before the project is complete. With deposits of 10k baht, monthly payments before ownership and project complete of about 7-10k/month. Its cheap for people with no intentions of living there to buy during presale with little cash and sell closer to project completion for good profit...thereby artificially inflating the prices with artificial demand. I'd say most condominiums aren't anywhere near 100% occupied. Many 'prime' properties aren't even 50% occupied.

So what happens when the bubble bursts here?

It seems that some th members have gone through a Thai bank for financing whether through their name or through their wife's name. Have a question on the financing process ... more specifically, when does the bank get involved.

The property is a condo.

The payments are as follows:

1. The reservation (จอง)

2. The contract

3. Six down payment installations each month for 6 months

4. The ownership transfer (~90% of the price, approx 6 months after step 1)

Assuming I get pre-approved before step 1, when do I go to the bank for the financing and final paperwork?

Thanks

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Well I have had mine now for 3 weeks.

Bloody large alright, going down from level 9 in the BCH carpark on the 2nd day was a bit hairy, NO SCRATCHES yet!

But a stone bloody chip already on the front left above the headlight. I should spend B1900+vat and get the bonnet protector eh?

Rubber mats = shit, got the better ones for b1600 +vat.

The stereo is great, but bass is a bit stretched. Ipod loves it. Bluetooth phone is great too, but it shows all my numbers twice, probably because the numbers are on the sim and in the phone memory too.

Plenty of room. Doors don't click shut as easily as a Honda... but its a truck I suppose.

Too hot, got the sun shades from central for 49 baht CHEAP!

Gear box can be clunky when the foot is down (my bad).

Would like the usb plug to be visible, ie not in the glove box, but I will cut a hole in the glove box to allow the cable out without jamming it.

Plenty of ping, but ah a bit slow on the standing start... but I will get used to it.

Friends (thai) think I am a fast driver as I take off into traffic correctly with the foot down, unlike the locals who merge in at 5kph and then increase speed to 10kph while talking to Somchai on the phone and then look surprised when I flash my lights and toot my horn at them. I want to get a tug boat fog horn, but need to find a supplier.

Overall I am very happy with my BT-50. Its huge and all but I haven't had a mini in years so am not as afraid as I should be.

I want to get a tonneau cover. Carryboy have 2 with product codes on their website for 2012 BT-50s, but pickupway say not available yet.

Has anyone got a tonneau cover yet?

I have seen 1 so far and I think it was aeroklas but not sure.

Carryboy, aeroklas and superup are the only suppliers I can find for here in Thailand.

Anyone got any others? Thanks

(forget ford, they are stupid!)

Perhaps if you go to those car-wrap shops, they may be able to put on a clear wrap on just the front portion of the car to protect from chips.

Yes I agree the rubber mats are complete crap. rocks and gravel sit on the top and grind under your feet.

Closing the last door requires more force because the cabin is sealed really well. My friends get used to really forcing the door shut and then during the times the windos are open or another door is open...they end up slamming the door too hard.

Not sure if this attests to the size but i've had 2 motorcycles graze me on the left side already and one of them was a cop.

I've seen some really fat kids here,

i think as a result of computer gaming, soda, and what else western culture brought

Yup let's blame McDonalds and KFC for ruining their lives along with the fact that the elder ones don't like to walk or exercise.

McDonalds and KFC (and starbucks) in Thailand have intentionally succeeded in creating a "cool place to hang out" image for the school kids. Thus hooking them in when they're young. They sell product with an addictive quality to it. Very similar to a drug dealer.

Today Thais aren't as fat as westeners but may very well be in near future generations.

When I see the status updates of my friends back in the US... it's consistantly..."just spent 2 hrs in the gym", "just ran 10 miles", "just signed up for a marathon". They're constantly working out...but from their pictures, they're fatter than I remember them. They workout in order to eat. Or workout to avoid obesity.

But in the west, the issue no longer stems from just McDs or KFC. Perhaps it's no longer cost or time effective to cook at home with fresh unprocessed ingredients? Perhaps there is no longer such thing as fresh unprocessed ingredients over there?

Over there? So I take it you haven't been here...

Born and raised over there (the US). 30+ years.

I've seen some really fat kids here,

i think as a result of computer gaming, soda, and what else western culture brought

Yup let's blame McDonalds and KFC for ruining their lives along with the fact that the elder ones don't like to walk or exercise.

McDonalds and KFC (and starbucks) in Thailand have intentionally succeeded in creating a "cool place to hang out" image for the school kids. Thus hooking them in when they're young. They sell product with an addictive quality to it. Very similar to a drug dealer.

Today Thais aren't as fat as westeners but may very well be in near future generations.

When I see the status updates of my friends back in the US... it's consistantly..."just spent 2 hrs in the gym", "just ran 10 miles", "just signed up for a marathon". They're constantly working out...but from their pictures, they're fatter than I remember them. They workout in order to eat. Or workout to avoid obesity.

But in the west, the issue no longer stems from just McDs or KFC. Perhaps it's no longer cost or time effective to cook at home with fresh unprocessed ingredients? Perhaps there is no longer such thing as fresh unprocessed ingredients over there?

* just another thought...in the west, they are also accustomed to consuming a large amount of calories. Plates in restaurants are larger, thus stomachs are larger. Perhaps it is more profitable to serve larger plates?

this badboy in the bt-50 club...

smart frickin rat...did it take the elevator or the escalator up to the 7th floor?