pedro01

If I sold you a car and it had 2 wheels, would you believe me if I told you i'd sold you a perfectly good motorbike. Then if a wheel fell off and i told you it was a unicycle, you'd buy that too?

At this point, the story has changed so many times, I dont buy it. The only constant in all this has been the defense of the vaccines. As they fail in one way, claims arise that they work in another. Its been bizarre.. Have none of you wondered why the narrative is all about vaccines and not treatment?

You took the Polio vaccine, you didnt get polio. Same for smallpox. This stuff about vaccines ensuring you dont get as sick as you might have - this came out when they realized they dont prevent infection. I dont buy it. So even these vaccines were billed as prevention. Then we needed 2, then 3. Yours is a revisionist version of "how vaccines work".

I think we'll find in a few years that these partial vaccinations and lockdowns actually created a global petri dish for variants to thrive. Spanish flu burnt itself out in 2 yrs.

Breakthrough???? What a ludicrous word that is. It makes it sound like a minority. My wife picked it up from a pub round the corner. Every single person there that night got it. Staff and customers. Vaccine didnt help prevent anyone getting Omicron. What we need is therapy. Vaccines have failed us.

At home, the wife and I have it. Daughter ok so far. Son was away and cant come back. They told us to stay at home, they are calling a few times a day and the offer of a pick up is there if we need hospital. Funny thing though. I was testing negative on ATK tests till this am.

They didnt know.

Agreed. Vaccinated or not, you can still catch/spread it. Too many busybodies with nothing better to do.

A booster a year is what the CEO of Pfizer was advocating. I had 2 AZ, number 2 was December. I have COVID right now. The Thai govt sent this care package which is nice. Im not having another vaccine/booster. Its not working, just like the lockdowns. Theraputics are what we need now.

The OP needs to up his game. 129 in a 120 - thats rookie numbers. 190 in a 120, now theres a story. Can we rename the thread "Driving Miss Daisy"?

So he's a murderer? Isnt that a bit of a stretch?

LoL We should be getting paid to reply. This is a wind-up, right? Right???? Pay and itll never come back to haunt you or your wife.

China is not in Japan. Hope this helps.

I got breathalyzed in Sukhumvit, Bangkok. I'd had a few too many by 10pm, so stopped and left the bar at 3am. I got stopped, told them i'd had a few and went to the table to blow. The police had about 10 cars waiting to be towed. I blew, had to get below 80. Got to 50 Then 60 Then 70 and climbing The machine crawled thru 75 and slowly to 79 and stopped. We all stared, waiting for it to hit 80 but it stopped at 79 and change. It was silent. 20 seconds passed and the cops erupted like their team scored a goal. Pats on the back, "lucky man" and requests for lottery numbers ensued. Pretty funny but never again.

LoL. I remember the days when cars wouldnt start in the cold. Having to pull out the choke. Horrific. Mind you, the cold alone was horrific. I dont miss either...

We were renting in Sukhumvit 65. Wife wanted a house, so we comprimised on doing that if the mortgage was less than the rent. I put up the deposit and interior cash. 10 years on, I couldnt imagine being back in town. Suburbs all the way.

BTW did everyone forget this thread started off as a joke about BMWs and flat bed trucks?

How do you cope with the million dollar oil change?

No more of these vaccines for me. I've had the 2 they told me to get. For me to have another one - I need some evidence that it is going to be beneficial to me.

True The Z4 (pictured on the flatbed in post 1) - was 5.1 million. The Toyota equivalent - the Supra costs 5.2 million here. So the Toyota and the BMW are about the same price. As for the C43 AMG - I am not sure what the equivalent would be - as I can't see an equivalently performing coupe from Toyota. So let's take it against the Toyota sports car - the GR Yaris AMG - 4 million. GR Yaris 2.7M AMG - 3.0V6, GR Yaris 1.6 V3 (lol) tuned close to death AMG - 385hp, Yaris - 257hp (which you gotta admit - is pretty cool) GR Yaris Interior (looks like the inside of a Thai Taxi) C43 interior (looks like a tarts bedroom in this pic) - the lighting is standard, we have ours set to purple - to avoind Mongers gathering around red lights. Yaris Exterior C43 Exterior Now - the Yaris GR is the closest I could find - and I think the AMG justifies the higher price being bigger and better. The Yaris interior is horrific. So I am not sure how these cars are so much more expensive than equivalents (both 3.0 V6) from other brands. In fact - the BMW is cheaper than the Toyota!

Lexus are more expensive than Benz/BMW and full of plastic. As for Toyota - there is absolutely no comparison between a Camry (steers like a fish) and a 5-Series (sticks to the road). As for Benz being used as taxis in Europe - correct - comfort, style, and they will run forever if looked after. They chose the right car for sure. It's a credit to Benz.

Just because you cannot afford one - doesn't mean only the rich can. Exactly - these people are basically imagining a state where they can just about afford a Benz/BMW - in that case - I would agree. But if you could buy one a month and buy one every 3 years - different thing. But a hard thing for an employed person to grasp.

OK - so the cars are out of your price range but you have a fallback excuse of why you don't own one which will suddenly disappear if you (and I hope you do) win the lottery! ???? I think it's because people love their cars and many people buy the best one they can afford. So they see the BMW/Benz and think the owner of that did the same. It's like a 4-wheel d**k swinging competition that the BMW/Benz drivers didn't know they were a part of and won by default. So it creates a little resentment.

I often hear how BMW/Benz owners are all stretching their finances. But I only hear that from people that don't own them. I have a lot of friends that have them, one of them has their own park in Bangkok. I am a business owner. I am by no means wealthy - certainly not compared to many of my Thai friends. I exist, I have lots of friends that are way wealthier than me. I don't spend much more than 1-2 months earnings on a car and I have a new Benz and a new BMW I like the Pannamera. It's 12 million Baht for the model I like. I could buy one - but I am not at the point where I'd be comfortable with that level of spend. Nor am I in a hurry to get there. So we hear that all BMW owners are over-extended - but what about people that are buying a BMW because it's a fairly insignificant sum to them and it's got no impact on anything else you want to do? Because according to everyone here - they are all owned by show-offs, using borrowed money who can't use indicators. You all need to quit your jobs, start a business and come back to me in 3 years when you are earning $750k a year and then talk about affordability.

OK - so just to be sure - you don't think you got this Benz for cachet - but everyone else that has one did so for that reason. As for the other stuff. It all comes down to what is affordable to you. So you, me, everybody has a level of income they can dispose on a car and the upkeep. Most here seem to come from a salaried background and in that case, I can see how these costs would be painful. But lots of people don't come from that background. They have businesses, the costs are higher but then get offset against taxes, so end up 30% lower - BUT - many are simply at a level of disposable income where the odd $1,000 here or there is of absolutely no significance. For some - it's about trade-off. If I they have the Benz, then another purchase has to be put off. For others, there is no trade off. And for others the cost of maintaining a Benz is a pittance to them, just like maintaining your 16 year old Toyota is a pittance to you. It's all relative at the end of the day. This thread was a poke at BMW quality - but in light humor because I don't think BMW could have stopped that rock getting in the brakes. All threads like this tend to go down the path of "affordability" yet not acknowledge that this is a sliding scale.