moonoi

I wouldn't quote or reference anything from wikipedia.

All those wikifiddlers are like members of a cult, if you critise there wonderful font of knowledge then prepare to be flamed!

Even the founders of the site recommended students not to refer or use information from the site. Now if they are saying that the information can't be trusted then I think its a very good reason to stay away from it.

Couple of links to articles about what I just mentioned:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/18/wi...uality_problem/

the founder admits theres a quality problem and the idea of wiki doesn't work quite as it should

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/18/sa...orks_wikipedia/

(cofounder of wikipedia starts a new one because ""humanity can do better" than Wikipedia, and Wikipedia's shortcomings today are probably unsolvable)

Have you seen the Ramintra exit from expressway in rush hour - three lanes coming off the ramp and merging with three lanes from the road below. Then they have to sort themselves out in two halves - who goes to the left and who goes to the right. Practically EVERYONE has to change at least two lanes against cars crossing lanes in the opposite direction.

Yes I have.....exit the expressway there every evening mon-fri its great fun! I live on Nuanchan Rd so have to get to the U-turn underneath the flyover to watcherlapon rd and have less than 200m to do it in and think thats most of the problem here....the design of the road infrastructure (junctions too close to each other, u turns in stupid places etc etc) more than the poor driving itself. My trick for that junction is to get on the hard shoulder of the expressway and then cross over the rumble strip towards the cg400 garage and Jet station. Most of the time theres a policeman there stopping the traffic so its quite easy.

It wasn't designed that way - the expressway is supposed to continue to Soi Wachirapon and eventually Lam Lukka. Now people have make a full circle on that shared loop to continue straight. Perhaps if it was finished there would be a separate exit for those who want to got to Minburi, too.

>>>>>>

Well they've started the compulsory purchase on the land and construction is alledgedly going to start next year......so maybe we'll finally have a completed expressway in what? 5-10years?

Is she one of these people (the West is full of them, especially under 30 years old) who fails to grasp the concept of budgeting their income? Does she buy frivolous things, end up three days before payday with no cash, borrow at exorbitant interest rates, fail to understand simple financial thought processes? Then she has no business buying anything other than her next meal.

Ask her to write down what she spends money on in a month, and compare it to her income. See if she grasps fundamental concepts of budgeting. If not, spend the next six months helping her try to understand. Like most people in the world, she may be either stupid, ignorant, or lazy. Good luck.

An interesting point of view but it appears she is worried about being sexually assaulted by the cab drivers and I am not convinced by your post how a financially balanced budget will prevent it, unless that is, she carries a cheque book or savings book which cunningly conceals an AK47.

However one thing that does not appear to have caught on much in Thailand, unlike many other countries, is car sharing. That way the assault risk becomes negiligable whilst the financials also look much healthier.

The thread has moved on, but the car sharing idea remains a great one.

With the traffic and pollution problems around Bangkok it'd be nice to see the government / Bangkok authority offer incentives for car sharing.

Perhaps one of her collegues with her shiny new car can pick her up, could work out very well if they work on the same shift.

I misread the drivel - I apologise.

As for you, moonoi, was that a gay jibe at me? If the 'giving me a 'feeling' of superiority' was also directed at me I can state that I do not have to feel superior, I am superior!

Thats good, because I felt superior chastising you over your feeling of superiority for bashing zeak.

Nope, just taking your comment on to the end of the journey it deserved (on account of your misreading)

bkkbound, thats not my hand your holding behave! Sorry I didn't see the "very real gay jibe" your talking about, thats why I didn't comment. Perhaps you read more into a statement than was really there?

At the end of the day I can see both points of few, in my case if my fiance wanted to buy a car but I know she couldn't afford it. Then I would (same as Zeak) point out that "we" can't afford it, show the costings etc etc. and let her work out the math. Then again it isn't a problem that I have to face...I own a car (and the payments on that and the house are killing me!!), she works at the same office as me, so she doesn't need one. I'm her personal chauffer and finally it normally me that wants to buy something we can't afford, and even my magical working of figures isn't enough to fool her!!!!! So she convinces me otherwise.....that said...she still hasn't managed to convince me I can't afford that Ferrari laptop I saw at the Acer shop in Lat Phrao at the weekend

I did not call you any names but I can sink to your puerile level if I choose to. One last piece of advice is 'Quit while you are behind'

bkkhound04 - there was a gay jibe in Zeak's post to you and he called me 'sweety', perhaps he is unsure of his own sexuality. Should we tell him that it is alright for him to come out of the closet?

Erm methinks someone can't read.

Perhaps you would like to read his response again?

Well, if I said, sweety, I am going to take our savings and buy something that I really do not need and is going to cost me money constantly, not only because I do not have enough for the purchase and have to finance, the upkeep costs are never ending, and she says no, I forbid you to by it. I would say, why? Then listen to the reasons and consider how valid they are.

OMG its a fictional conversation with his gf....he isn't calling you sweety at all? Who really wants to come out of the closet?

Now really girls grow up! To extrapolate that someones relationship is going to fail on the basis that he doesn't want his gf to own a car is ridiculous and you know it....go on...admit it.....you only feel good when you have someone else to bash right? Gives you a feeling of superiority doesn't it....Feel better now? You can go back out to the playground now, no ones there to hurt you anymore.

Wouldn't touch Ford with a ten foot barge pole due to personal experiences, horror stories from close friends about Ford Thailand and working in the trade.

Mazda 3 for me.

Well tud, Mazda 3 and the Ford Focus are built in the same factory and share the same platform. What gas stations do your friends work in?

Which is also based on the same platform as the Volvo S40 and the latest generation Land Rover Freelander

Gets around a bit does that Focus platform!

I voted for Ford, as I think its the best value car under 1 million baht, and far better than the Mazda 3 (which I used to own) in terms of equipment levels.

The 2.0 Civic comes to nearly 1.1 million otherwise I would have voted for that. The 1.8 is a bit slow.

seems some people are more interested in zeak bashing than actually answering his question...funny that.

Zeak for my opinion I think that looking for a trustworthy taxi driver and hiring him to drive your missus to and from work is the best solution for you as someone previously suggested. It may not even cost you as much as 10k (thats probably the most your likely to pay).

sorry I can't help myself.....Mr Hippo...you haven't a clue have you? The OP has justified his reasons why he forbids his gf/companion/fiance/whatever a car. I would think thats being more thoughtful and caring about her than just letting her go and make a huge finacial commitment which being aware of her finances, he knows she can't meet. I would suspect that should he wish to make an equally large purchase that affected the 2 of them, they would discuss it between themselves (as they are doing in this case) and decide together whether they can or cannot afford it. It ain't rocket science.

Well Michelin tyres always outperformed Bridgestone in F1

I've got Bridgestones as OE on my MU7.....all I can say is I hate them, not much grip and squeal like a pig when cornering....even at less than 5km/h. You can imagine a trip around the car park is quite embarassing!

That said because of there lack of grip it does allow me to press the pedal to the metal when cornering and hang the back end out as the rear wheels spin up and give me some power oversteer quite interesting experience in a large SUV/Pickup!!! The gf doesn't like it though

My brother owned a Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 Sport for about 5 years.

Was a very reliable car until the 4th year, then it became a money pit. Wouldn't start easily, engine running lumpy. Even the Vauxhall dealers in the UK had no idea how to fix it. They had it for 3 months and couldn't solve it. In the end I went down to a local 2nd hand parts dealer and bought a used engine management unit. Swapped it out and it ran perfectly again until the cam belt snapped on the motorway........then it went to the scrapper

So if a main dealer in a country where its manufactured doesn't know how to diagnose a fault with it, how do you think they'd manage out here where its an import? I'd stay away from it if I were you. Plenty of other nice motors about without the reliability/finacial headache.

Stingray.....I thought the largest engine they stuck in the Corsa was a 1.6...at least it was in the UK in the SRi model. Was there a bigger engine in europe?

EDIT: for spelling

Briggsy, the number of road deaths is high but not that high. There was about 16500 deaths in 1996 and that plummeted to a 'mere' 13000+ in 2006.

However, the Thaksin era party managed this 'sucess' by changing the way figures were collected. They stopped including those that died a certain time after the accident.

Yep, if they didn't die at the scene then its not counted as a road death. Nice way to massage the figures and meet your targets I wouldn't be suprised if the official figures are under reported either though.......

Have you seen the Ramintra exit from expressway in rush hour - three lanes coming off the ramp and merging with three lanes from the road below. Then they have to sort themselves out in two halves - who goes to the left and who goes to the right. Practically EVERYONE has to change at least two lanes against cars crossing lanes in the opposite direction.

Yes I have.....exit the expressway there every evening mon-fri its great fun! I live on Nuanchan Rd so have to get to the U-turn underneath the flyover to watcherlapon rd and have less than 200m to do it in and think thats most of the problem here....the design of the road infrastructure (junctions too close to each other, u turns in stupid places etc etc) more than the poor driving itself. My trick for that junction is to get on the hard shoulder of the expressway and then cross over the rumble strip towards the cg400 garage and Jet station. Most of the time theres a policeman there stopping the traffic so its quite easy.

All the information you need is in the "Applying for 1 & 5 year thai driving licences" pinned at the top of this forum

I forgot about starting this topic

Well in the end I bought a Isuzu MU7, just before the facelift model came out. Got a huge discount with full options (2 LCD screens, DVD player etc) and I found it more roomy and comfortable to drive than the Vigo and Fortuner. 6 months on I don't regret my choice.

That said if Isuzu hadn't offered me the deal they did I would have gone for the Triton as to me its the best looking and best value for money pickup available at the moment.

Can't find the thread now

But IIRC, if you have a Work Permit you don't need the embassy or immigration letter

I can confirm that in BKK if you hold a work permit then no need for the embassy or immigration letter. I got my licence last year and will be returning next month to renew and get my 5 year one

I think my worst car has to be a Morris Ital. Ugly bugger, crap performance in fact nothing at all going for it other than it was cheap

My parents had a British Leyland Princess 2200 Special Six. Looked like a lump of cheese.....although a lump of cheese probably handled better and had more reliable electrics nice engine though!

cart springs = curvature of the spine, the coil sprung rearend of the fortuner will be less pain in your lumber region but you will have to put up with being labled as another fortuner driver, just don't get a black one !

What is wrong with being a fortuner driver, and having a black one? What is all this nonsense? Remind me, was the same attitude around about the Sportrider (which the fortuner has replaced)? Sorry but i don't get it! Its a great car, the best value for the price, and i'd be amazed if you could find a fortuner owner who doesn't agree.

Prepare to be amazed then

A (Thai) neighbour of my gf is a former Fortuner owner and he has a lot to say about how overhyped and bad they are! He had no end of problems with it, especially the braking system. Even after Toyota replaced the master cylinder under warranty, although it was better he still thought it unsafe so sold it after 6 months and bought the new Camry.

At the end of the day I agree with emperor_tud, you can't compare it to car. It doesn't handle anything like one...the centre of gravity is too high for a start. And yes I have driven one, I actually chose a MU7 over the Fortuner in the end because I preferred the ride and it fitted me better. My previous car was a Mazda 3 (which definately handles way better than a Fortuner and is cheaper, as does the Civic, Camry, Accord, oh and just about any other current generation car that can be bought here) and found that the front of the cabin in the Fortuner had less room than the Mazda...quite odd considering the size of it!

So if a Fortuner handles just like a car then so does my MU7. I'm off drifting round the car park in it now after it handles just like a car dunnit!

Aye, thanks for giving me a larf

You chose a MU7 over a fortuner and you chose it for the ride! Doesn't it still have the pickup suspension unlike the fortuner's "refined" pickup suspension?

There's more room in a Mazda 3 than a fortuner. Before the fortuner i had a 2002 Mazda 323 and unless the Mazda 3 grew considerably on its introduction then you're pulling my leg (and they're pretty long my legs being a 6 footer - i always struggled for space in the 323 but not in the fortuner) - lovely cars though the 323 and the 3.

I would agree with you that a Mazda 3 handles better than a fortuner but there again it handles better than any of its competitors and is a decent drive - it isn't cheaper (by much) but lacks utility (which is why most people after all by a pickup or a fortuner) though the backseat folddown is pretty useful. Err aren't the "Civic, Camry, Accord" far more expensive than the fortuner (i'd expect more if i paid more). It's value for money with the fortuner - a decent "car / pickup hybrid call it what you want", fits 7 comfrtably and doubles still as a pick-up with the big boot.

Anyway yes you did amaze me. I can only assume he bought a bad one - happens with any car - and all i can say is i've never had one fault in 30 months with the fortuner (fingers crossed) and never met a fortuner owner not happy with their car.

Keep ' em coming mate

Actually I meant that the 3 was cheaper than the Fortuner not the others....reading back now I see that wasn't clear

The 3 is indeed way superior to the 323 based on the same platform as the Volvo S40/ Ford Focus. Nice little car. In space, I'm also over 6 foot and had no problems with space in the 3, when I tried the Fortuner I was unable to adjust the seat and steering in such a way that the wheel didn't touch my legs. The cabin also felt narrower than the 3. At least that was my perception. Obviously the total area in the Fortuner is bigger, I was only refering to my impressions sitting in the drivers seat.....I don't really care about the back, I'm not going to be a passenger I also found the Fortuner I test drove crashed over bumps and wasn't as comfortable as the MU7, maybe the test drive Fortuner had been hammered or something, but it didn't feel right, along with not being able to get a comfortable driving position ruled it out for me.

At the end of the day though neither the Fortuner and MU7 'drive like a car' (which you now agree with) is my point so its a silly statement to make.

cart springs = curvature of the spine, the coil sprung rearend of the fortuner will be less pain in your lumber region but you will have to put up with being labled as another fortuner driver, just don't get a black one !

What is wrong with being a fortuner driver, and having a black one? What is all this nonsense? Remind me, was the same attitude around about the Sportrider (which the fortuner has replaced)? Sorry but i don't get it! Its a great car, the best value for the price, and i'd be amazed if you could find a fortuner owner who doesn't agree.

Prepare to be amazed then

A (Thai) neighbour of my gf is a former Fortuner owner and he has a lot to say about how overhyped and bad they are! He had no end of problems with it, especially the braking system. Even after Toyota replaced the master cylinder under warranty, although it was better he still thought it unsafe so sold it after 6 months and bought the new Camry.

At the end of the day I agree with emperor_tud, you can't compare it to car. It doesn't handle anything like one...the centre of gravity is too high for a start. And yes I have driven one, I actually chose a MU7 over the Fortuner in the end because I preferred the ride and it fitted me better. My previous car was a Mazda 3 (which definately handles way better than a Fortuner and is cheaper, as does the Civic, Camry, Accord, oh and just about any other current generation car that can be bought here) and found that the front of the cabin in the Fortuner had less room than the Mazda...quite odd considering the size of it!

So if a Fortuner handles just like a car then so does my MU7 I'm off drifting round the car park in it now after it handles just like a car dunnit!

Thanks again guys!

Much appreciated

Great thanks for the help

Just incase anyone else doesn't know I just discovered the fees for a Schengen visa from the Finnish Embassy have gone up to 65 Euros from 35.....quite an increase!

Another quick question, is worth applying for the UK 2 year multiple visit visa, so we don't have to apply again next year?

Hi

I'm a EU dual national (British/Finnish) and I am planning to bring my fiance to the UK and Finland around April/May this year to visit friends and family. I would just like to know what is the best type of visa to apply for? Just to add we both work at the same company (large multinational) and she owns 'our' house, but still lives with her family (not allowed to live with me until we're married, and that won't be until she completes her MBA!!! but thats another story ).

Thanks in advance for your help

mn

Thanks for the replies. I am a bit confused.

Just don't go speeding with different tyres like you mentioned in another thread.

So is it dangerous?

please put the two news tyres on the front ,

where the steering and braking happen ............

put the best two of the rest on the back

OK.

If the car is front wheel drive the new tyres should go there..

its not going to make a huge difference if you run the best two

of the remaining tyres on the car for a while..

Mazda 323 Astina(rear wheel drive-I think), so should put the new ones on the back?

Nope the 323 is front wheel drive. So put them on the front

I sold my top spec Mazda 3 back in September for 720k

Beware that the prices on those websites are mostly from traders with inflated prices. Also if you have the 4 foor expect to get a lot less as it isn't in demand like the 5 door.

One thing, you get about a 50k premium if you have the 2006 spec car with the auto windscreen washers and 6 cd changer etc. If its a 2005 spec car registered in 2006 then you'll have to lower your expectations somewhat. (mine was a 2005 model registered in dec 2005 just for reference).

So from my experience what you've been offered is about right from a trader, if you sell privately you should get about 50-70k more. Just because the cars are advertised at 845-885k does not mean they sell for that price. Have a look around the thai mazda 3 forum (if you can read thai) lots of info and people will pay extra to get the model they want there so worth posting it on that site. good luck

I wouldn't buy a PS3 just now. Its been announced that there will be a new major firmware update to coincide with the European release next March.

Glad I opted for the 360 now

Picked one up last Friday at Art and Gun on the 6th floor for Bt15,000 (unmodified). Been dealing with this store for a few years now and had no problems with them whatsoever. I highly recommend them. Games were Bt1,900 for most new games and there were some used games for Bt1,000. I would recommend picking up Gears of War, fantastic game. If anyone on here has Xbox live and wants to do some online matches my tag is jahbkk.

Funny that was the store I was looking for when I stumbled across the place I got mine from. Never did find Art and Gun shop in the end. Was going there coz of recommedations from this forum! Ahh well seems I got a slightly better deal

My local mall is in rayong. A 360 is 16,000 there.

This guy seems to have found them at 15,000 in MBK.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...92276&st=75

Indeed I did The shop is on the 6th Floor at the opposite end to all the restaurants at the top of the last set of escalators coming up from the 5th floor. As you come up the escalator the shop is on on your right side, the 1st of 3 that are next to each other inbetween the up and down escalators. Sorry no idea what the name of the shop is didn't look! Games are also 250 baht from there. The 360 console is a modified one from HK/Singapore so comes with a UK style plug