bazza40

A lot of money is spent on oil advertising, which should tell you something.

Basically, oils can be classified as mineral oil, semi-synthetic and full synthetic. The life claimed between oil changes for mineral oil based packages is 5000 km. For a full synthetic, it's 20,000 km. Personally, I think 20,000 km is a bit of a stretch because there is a limit to the amount of unburnt fuel dilution and acidic combustion any oil can accommodate. However, I can remember a certain sales representative who drove a company car for 120,000 km without ever having the vehicle serviced. The engine oil was like tar. I sometimes wonder who the poor guy was who bought the car second-hand.

Mineral oils rely on wear additives such as zinc diethyl dithio phosphate for lubrication. Synthetics are esters, and the fatty acid moiety of the ester is an effective lubricant. There are all kinds of other additives in oils, such as anti-oxidants and detergents.

My preference is to use a semi-synthetic and change the oil every 10,000 km.

Sorry ClutchClark, you are talking random noise in a statistical sense. Getting 220K out of an engine in comparison with the 200K for your not-so-fussy neighbours could be pure chance, unless you have a statistically significant sample of your engines vs theirs.

If you were to say you get 300K from an engine vs 200K for others, then that would have a lot more meaning.

Oil volume should be measured when the engine is cold. Possibly the service shop is adding the correct amount of cold oil according to the service manual, then it expands when hot - most liquids do. There is also a possibility the coefficient of expansion of the oil varies depending on whether it is a mineral oil ( cheap ) or full synthetic (expensive).

Maybe your best approach is to ask the garage to allow you to put the oil in yourself. That way you can check where the oil is on the dipstick relative to the volume used.

Dear Thailand49,

I used an agent because my Thai language skills are obviously not as good as yours. And my engineering skills with modern vehicles equally don't come up to your lofty standards. However, my skills with the English language are such I can detect a put-down from someone who patently likes to sit in judgment over lesser mortals. Fortunately, most of the comments I have received have been positive, so I can afford to ignore your negativity.

As a postscript, the parts I wanted returned to me for inspection may have come from my vehicle or someone else's - who's to know? Be that as it may, those parts and the mechanics at Toyota Lanna imparted grease smears to brand-new seat covers installed a week previously. Just a new perspective on customer service, I assume the grease was free.

A "wheel bearing binding" means the bearing does not roll smoothly, a clicking or stiffness can be heard or felt as the bearing is turned manually.

Thanks for all the comments, added to my education.

I bought a secondhand Toyota Vios, 2006 with 80,000 km on the odometer. Decided to get everything mechanical brought to as-new condition after inspection by an agent, which indicated items such as weeping rear shockers, brake linings at 50%, belts etc. etc. Change oil, transmission fluid and brake fluid.

The work was not done at the agent's service shop. I wanted genuine Toyota components, and the agent stated Toyota were being "difficult" about supplying Toyota parts to him.

Original quote by the agent was 15,000 to 20,000 baht. The agent phoned me after a couple of days and said Toyota Lanna ( Chiang Mai ) had replaced all the shockers, plus all the wheel bearings. The work order was changed by someone at Toyota Lanna. They had done this without contacting the agent. New quote was 30,000 baht.

When I checked the returned used parts with the agent, one front shocker was sticking, the other was OK. Similarly one out of the four wheel bearings showed evidence of binding.

Either I bought a vehicle with far more km on the odometer than 80,000, or it had been subject to flooding which can affect wheel bearings, or Toyota exaggerated the amount of work necessary. Vehicle condition was very good, which seems to rule out flooding.

The final invoice was 32,357 baht.

A few questions for the forum - is it normal business practice in Thailand to replace parts in a vehicle without discussing with the owner first?

Do Thai big businesses care if they don't get repeat customers?

What do you think?

I have an International Driver Permit ( obtained in Australia ) and a Thai driving licence. It is important to note the IDP is not valid for the country in which it was obtained. Also, carry the original permit - I was fined by a Thai cop because I only had the copy.

I hear all the bitching about driving in Thailand, and I don't understand why falangs can't assimilate the concept of defensive driving. If you want to meet some genuine maniacs, I suggest a visit to the state of Victoria in Australia.

I am wondering why I am seeing a lot of vehicles in Chiang Mai without rear licence plates. Although there would seem to be advantages if a hit-and-run is executed, I would have thought the local police could make a fortune in traffic fines from this. Does anyone have more information?

Buy a secondhand car that's been 1/ Owned by a falang who has been obsessive about servicing 2/ Under 100,000 km 3/ Toyota or Nissan, at a stretch Mitsubishi. Look for something in the 250K to 350K baht range. Spend about 20,000 baht on tyres, shock absorbers, brakes, belts as necessary. It will pay for itself in 2 - 3 years against a rental, and you should get 150,000 km out of the engine. I've seen some that rack up 400,000 km.

Don't waste money on SUV's, pickups, utilities - call them what you will. They drink fuel, ride uncomfortably and are too large to park in most Thai cities. If you want to cart motorbikes and furniture around Thailand, they're great.