anon210

my b.i.l.has a toyota avanza does a lot of picking up tourists and trans,so the back is usually full of people or fold down the back seats so you can get plenty of luggage in, so ideal for carring a cage

I quoted that before... They use at at Thonglor Pet Hospital as well. But the Avanza is underpowered for its bulk and has a gasoline motor, thus more costly to run for the OP.

You may find a current price list here: http://www.isuzuclub.com/price.php

As to the official site, you should go here: http://www.allnewisuzud-max.com/calculate/

And choose the model you want. I guess the Spark is sufficient for you. You may even go second-hand with less risks with an Isuzu (provided they have the service manual).

Look at this one, for example: http://www.one2car.com/ISUZU_D-MAX/L15540167

BTW, my bad for the mileage: it is (officially) 7-9 L/100 (better than what I quoted).

Thanks for the replies

We are also considering a pickup but the one we borrow at the moment uses up too much fuel. A 200km journey to the vets for example costs around 1400 baht. If a nissan march would only cost 300 baht then we would save loads but a pick up would be ideal. We have a motorbike now but the regular 200km trips up and down winding mountain roads would take too long and be too dangerous to go by bike with a sidecar so we really need a car.

I was hoping to buy a new car as I have heard it is not safe to buy a used car in Thailand as there are no required services or MOTs here. As I don't know much about cars, would it be a better idea to buy a smaller new car?

Actually, try a brand new Isuzu... Well-driven, it can do a 13 L/100 K... At a cost of 30 THB/L for gasoil (diesel), that puts your cost at 780 THB for the distance you quote. Maybe you should reason also in terms of saving over the long term: Isuzu is very well known for its reliability and toughness + also its economy on gas.

But the new one has been an old model for 2 years in the UK hasn't it! LOL!

I do understand your thoughts but I do like the model and a 2 litre engine too. Most UK ralIy schools use these in unaltered roadgoing form, so I guess they can not be too bad. I might be proved wrong but a 1.6 Focus might be gutless ???? We will have to wait and see.

I have never bought a car whilst thinking about resale, just suitability to my needs at that point in time. 1.6 Fiesta is a great car but as it will be our only mode of transport, I feel we need something a little bigger.

Anyways, there are no right or wrongs, just that is my personal thoughts on the matter.

Actually, I do understand your point of view. Running after the last/latest can also be a fool's errand, because you have to make the decision at a point in time, and there will always be something new coming up thereafter. Up to you to take the car you feel the most at ease with.

Re. the Fiesta, I believe you would be better off in case of accident with a Focus... Old or new.

Update on the process: finance application submitted today... With the guy of SCB coming in at the dealer's shop.

Nothing much to say about it, except that the process went smoothly with all my documentation being available and straightforward (got a work permit, B visa, been here almost one year... so I guess should be quite straightforward).

We further checked with a technician the possibility of connecting a dash cam directly to the fuse box, but apparently this could void Mitsubishi's warranty (they would need to check before confirming). Anyway, the people at Suk. 71 always professional and helpful, despite some language barrier (the finance guy did not speak a word of English or almost). I demanded and obtained an owner manual in English.

The waiting period shot now up to 3 months... Possibly shorter, but I am skeptical, obviously. I guess the dealership did not order anything as yet (probably will await confirmation by finance, credit check etc before going ahead!)

I'll continue updating as it goes.

Originally posted on another expat forum... Just not to take any undue credit.

Well, apparently, the poor quality of the gasoline in Thailand is going to further suffer due to a shortage of gas in the country.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/07/thailand-gasoline-standards-idUSL4E8J646D20120807?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssEnergyNews&rpc=401

The government has slightly relaxed requirements on the benzene and olefin content of gasoline, along with regulations on its reid vapour pressure, the traders said, as it looks to encourage imports and make it easier for refiners to divert export cargoes to the domestic market.

Surprised no-one has thrown in Nitrogen here or has that been done to death somewhere else

Yes, here:

I've been offered a demo for around 700,000 cash. Tempted!

Try pulling it down to 650 K. They are still making a margin, most likely.

Just for those interested... I heard from my driving instructor that the old Focus can be had with up to 70.000 THB discount right now at some dealerships.

is this the hate the thai thread or is it i am a great driver it is just everyone else is shit thread?

Well Generally this forum is full of people who hate Thai's. Sad but true, some people just are very narrow minded.

I guess talking about reckless driving and the safety threat they pose because of local circumstances (corruption, lack of proper driving education, etc) is being "narrow minded"? My driving teacher was Thai, but he never failed to point out the absurd behavior on the road of his co-nationals.

Without being thai-haters, I guess we should not fall in the reverse trap of finding everything (even the abnormal) perfect in Thailand.

Let's see, one hand for the cigarette, another for texting on the telephone. Steering wheel?

With the feet!

Can't decide between the Trailblazer or Captiva, help! I know the Captiva is 200k more but it has more refined features. It looks better then the Trailblazer and the interior is smarter in my opinion. But it is 200k more. Just after some feedback really. Thanks for the post from Angiud, any more comments on your Trailblazer?

Well, MRO, a specialist of the industry who used to post on this forum referred to the Captiva as "CRaptiva". I guess that says it. Should you definitely go for Chevy (not a very good choice, considering depreciation and general quality reputation of GM), I guess the trailblazer is the better choice. Esp. as it has 4 disk brakes, which is a good point for safety. However, be aware that the top of the range model comes at almost 1.5 M THB, which is a lot of money to dish out for something.

As to long-term reliability, I honestly don't know. I just know the bad reputation of Chevrolet everywhere else in the world.

OH ya , like where they are going to turn right, or make a U-turn, they get into the fast lane a Fuc_king kilomet before doing so, with signal on, and slow to about 40 kilos MPH

Did you try getting into a u-turn lane in the province? If you are in the leftmost lane it becomes mission impossible as pickups zoom by on the two other lanes. So, yes, better get in the right lane quickly enough. 1 km sounds fine. Not sure about showing down to 40 though...

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Why not just get a pickup which runs on diesel? Seems to me as a more efficient car for the use you require. Any 2-wheel pickup will be much better in terms of running cost.

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Depending on distance would a pickup not be far to hot for caged animals ?

Notice a number of pet store owner have the Nissan NV, small Estate, no idea on fuel consumption but a 2006 model is well within budget. [Notice they take the glass out of the Queencab so the rear get air con]

As a hatch but small but good fuel consumption Nissan March within budget for a year old one.

Re. the heat for caged animals, just need to buy an aftermarket carryboy and install an autonomous aircon unit for the carryboy. All summed up, and considering the use and need for possibly transporting more than one animal at the time, a pickup would fit the bill. It would also come cheaper with regards to maintenance and solidity and tolerance to abuse. Here, at Thonglor Pet Hospital, they use Toyota Avanza or Suzuki APV as pet taxis. Those may also fit your bill, but I don't think they are economical on gas (10-13l/100 km for Avanza). Otherwise, within a small distance of your initial budget, there is the Isuzu Spark. Or a 2WD Vigo...

The black Wildtrak looks nice, but I'm not too much into racing markings... Other than that, congrats on your new Ranger!

Why not just get a pickup which runs on diesel? Seems to me as a more efficient car for the use you require. Any 2-wheel pickup will be much better in terms of running cost.

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I noticed a few bits missing of my original post... I had also gone to Mazda (Suk. 65), and there I posed them clearly as alternate the Ford Focus and asked them to match the offer for a Mazda 3, 1.6 l. No discount there, but a few things like mats, etc, on the whole, not very convincing. However, those were the most ready to offer me a test drive, to bring the car at my office... I gave up on the car after reading of its consumption, and furthermore, I had moved by then my sights on a SUV.

Finally, for those interested, I had an offer from Ford Silom on the ranger XLT 4WD (no discount whatsoever):

1st class insurance (Ford HQ offer, so that was an inexisting "freebie"),

license plate frame

Rubber mat

fuel for 500 THB

Coating color (I guess that is anti-rust treatment or waxing)

Bedliner

Mind you, this offer was made upon calling the dealership and asking them to send me an offer by mail, which seems to testify to the fact that there is margin for pulling the dealers even without being around.

Conversely, when I asked Ford Silom to match or do better for the Ford Escape, they did not want to sell it to me at all... And were trying to orient me instead on the new Focus.

The Ranger was also high on my list, but the unavailability of an automatic version in 4WD and the slowness to get one also drove me off. Living in BKK in addition, a pickup is a bit unhandy and unseemly in urban traffic.

On the whole, the dealers are not very accustomed to people "shopping around" or comparing brands. That throws them off the wrong footing and establishes a position of strength for you in the negotiation.

Let me say once again, there is a famous thread on negotiating that has been very helpful... The one best advice: do not let your emotions take over. Be prepared to walk away from a bad deal, someone else will offer you better... And otherwise you can have the bad deal elsewhere.

Congrats, but I have to disagree on not taking a Thai with you.

I went to Volvo last month with my Thai wife and brother in law she bought herself a V60 expected 2 months delivery and got 100,000B off the price and 5 years 0% credit. They offered me the same on a S40, but I'm probably going for a Civic instead.

I'll have to ask if she got anything else thrown in. I got told there's 5 years free servicing and parts, but I'm not sure if that didn't get lost in translation.

It boils down, I guess, to whether your specific Thai has a business fiber or not. Here my friend was just doing the translation, but not really negotiating on my behalf. I had to push over myself each time, without really having an ally on my side, which could make my arguments more offensive. On the whole, using one dealership against the other is really the best choice: upping the ante each time... Until you find one who pulls back. This being said, the one argument where the dealer was right: the cost of parts at Mitsubishi is certainly lower than at Ford (50 % less for an alternator, to take an example).

Regarding the finance and offers, you must distinguish between what comes from headquarters (often insurance and servicing plans or 0 % finance as with Ford), and what your dealer offers (mats, and the like). I guess it also depends on whether there is more or less demand. Some dealers like Isuzu or Nissan were totally unwilling to budge, either on finance cost or freebies (they even wanted to charge me the first class insurance!). It pays doing your homework before visiting the dealers and knowing exactly what is included or not in the HQ offers of the moment.

If anybody thinks Thais really know how to look after their cars just take a walk around any supermarket car park and look at how many Thais are sitting in their cars with the engine running and air con on.

Extremely bad for the engines. The cooling system is designed to cool the engines with air flowing through the radiators when the car is moving.

Having seen this so often every day I never have and never will buy a 2nd hand car from Khon Thai I'm afraid.

I wouldnt buy too many cars from americans either. Running at idle for ac or heat is standard part of driving. Maybe a air cooled vw will overheat but i wouldnt worry about a toyota or honda.....

My driving school teacher used to tell me that European cars used to break down easily because of heat. Until they found an local and empiric remedy: affixing a third fan to cool down further the motor.

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If anybody thinks Thais really know how to look after their cars just take a walk around any supermarket car park and look at how many Thais are sitting in their cars with the engine running and air con on.

Extremely bad for the engines. The cooling system is designed to cool the engines with air flowing through the radiators when the car is moving.

Having seen this so often every day I never have and never will buy a 2nd hand car from Khon Thai I'm afraid.

Silly comment maybe, but then, you should not buy either a used car in BKK.

Considering the chronic congestion the capital suffers, I guess a LOT of cars sit in traffic jams with aircon on and engine running. So, farang buy is not a guarantee of quality either.

Thanks for the demonstration. The key is here to keep the repayments over as low a period as possible. In general dealers are super-annoyed when you tell them you want to repay in one or two years.

Some Ford dealers then tried to hit me with a higher interest (5 %) just to maintain the 30 k in interest that would earn them a commission. I have to say that MRO's posts on sales tips have helped me a lot in negotiating.

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Hi

I am looking to buy a car from Chevrolet in Ubon Ratchathani. The dealership are offering 3.6% interest p.a. which would mean a hefty 21% over 6 years. The car value is 587k but I will end up paying close to 700k!!!

I was wondering if getting a loan from my bank instead would work out cheaper? Information I have been getting is that the banks charge the same.

Thanks

Liam

Just for the sake of argument compare that to car loans in Europe. They go up to 7-12 % p.a. Compared to that loans in Thailand are pretty cheap. However I believe that you could do better than that if you chose a shorter period.

There is a paradox at Thai car dealers: they go

for longer finance periods as their commission is higher; but too long and you get hit with a higher interest rate. Try at least to have some goodies thrown in.

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Take a look at AGNC and NLY have owned for two years and really great dividends.I use Vanguard as my broker.

Lefty

The OP asked for "blue chips", and the two stocks you quote are anything but that. They are stocks investing into real estate mortgages and paying dividends out of the interest earned.

The basis for making money for these companies is the current low interest policy practiced by the Fed. When this policy will change, obviously their profitability is going to take a serious hit. Even now, some as CIM are struggling and cutting their dividends.

More serious blue chips would be energy stocks, and some reknown name such as Coca-Cola Mc Donald's and the like.

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Thinking to buy a 10 yr old XJ series jaguar, at around 2000 GBP and bring it over, the thought being that big cars are cheap as chips in the UK and a Jaguar of this age is quite reliable and seen as a classic over in Thailand.. obviously not in it to make money as the tax is crazy, but this type of car at this price wd offset that to an extent. And wd be nice to have a half decent car to drive around in Bkk. I have no idea about exporting from UK to thailand altho I know the tax is around 300% and there may be an age related discount. I know I need to own the car for a period of time in the UK before I can do this, tho not sure how long.

So I need to take into account the shipping cost and tax.. what else?

Is the import tax worked out on the price bought in UK or the value as perceived in thailand?

Any tips?

Oh God. Not again.

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Correct. Forget about it and do some research on this forum. No can do. You will just be wasting your time (and the time of those reading you too). Oh yes. Your money too.