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jing jing
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Posts posted by jing jing
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In answer to the original topic -- which pickup truck would you buy and why:
After much shopping around, and I mean well over a month of looking, I ended up buying a 2002 Toyota Hilux Tiger D4D 4 door 2.5L automatic Prerunner (the 2WD that looks like 4WD - liked the looks and additional ride height).
Why? Because after driving all the different brands including a new Hilux Vigo, I decided I liked the feel of the Toyota Tiger the best. Nothing really tangible - just that combination of roadworthiness and good ergonomics - it felt like the most solid package and had the roomiest rear seating area.
I got the 2.5L 16 valve commonrail engine because the 3 liter is much more expensive in taxes and fuel consumption, and the 2.5 turbo is plenty quick enough around town.
After much indecision I opted for the auto box, and I'm glad I did... it's way convenient in the dreaded Bkk traffic.
The truck had one previous owner, 65K km on the clock. I did the front brakes (needed rotors turned and a few pistons replaced due to lack of maintence
) changed all the fluids and filters, and now she feels like a brand new truck. -
One wonders where the OP found the time to bless us with his musings regarding our collective squandered potential here in the land of special opportunities for the white man, what with his working four jobs, hobnobbing with hi-sos and beautiful people at elite social gatherings, skin diving in the South, and fending off the hordes of lovestruck young Thai women who have fallen under his spell...
PS - nice posts Mighty and Tippy
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I have to say, being married to my chinese/thai wife, who is also her companies' CFO, helped out tremendously. She knows all of the ins and outs, and together, we made a killer team. The dealer never stood a chance.
Peace
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I don't want to "jinx" myself but it's been about 3 weeks since my last successful transfer, and the BB account is still available in the drop down menu on BoA's funds transfer page. I will post again if the status changes, but as of now this is a viable option for getting significant sums of money economically and conveniently from there to here, and I've got a pickup truck to prove it!
Thanks to Khun Richard for the heads up on this deal.
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Yeeesh.
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AUA is not the only Thai language school around, of course. The one I went to is at the bottom of the steps at the Thong Lor BTS station (on the even numbered soi side) and is called, reasonably enough, Thong Lor School.
There you have a choice of one-on-one or small group instruction; I opted for the latter and found myself in a group with 2 other students. One of them quit coming so there were only 2 of us in the group, total. They have their own very simple and cheap textbooks. The program is 3 hours per day, five days a week for two weeks; the first two hours are for speaking and the last is reading and writing.
Hey, OP... if you still want anything of value, I accept Paypal!
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I stand corrected, it is not a work permit but a non-immigrant visa which is required for the DL. I'm on a 60 day tourist at the moment, so therefore needed the assistance of my friend. Registering my truck was no problem with only the tourist visa.
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You won't learn to speak Thai from a book, even if you memorize the whole thing from cover to cover. Not gonna happen. As Neeranam said, you need to be in a situation where you're forced to use Thai to make yourself understood. If you go to a decent language school they will speak to you only in Thai and you will need to respond in Thai. Then and only then (in a Thai-only environment) will you begin to understand what Thai people are saying when they speak.
Something tells me the OP will still go buy a book, pick it up every so often while on the loo, and believes he will learn to speak conversational Thai with perfect tones in 3 months.
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I think the best way to learn is in a classroom situation. If you try the books and tapes route without taking a class, it's awfully difficult to maintain the discipline to devote a few hours a day to studying, which is what it takes to pick up a language like Thai.
As to the original question- an "easy way" to learn Thai - I don't know that there really is an easy way... grammatically it's easy but phonetically it's quite difficult, and if you want to learn to read and write (which I believe is a must if you plan to live here for a long time), there are 32 vowels and 44 consonants to memorize along with the five different tones. Best to start off with the structure of a classroom environment and when you feel you're getting the hang of things, then move to a self-directed study program.
You say your friend has learned to speak conversational Thai with perfect tones in 3 months? I say Thai people will always compliment your Thai skills no matter how horribly you butcher the language. It's one of the things that makes you want to keep studying -- so that you can actually live up to the "you speak Thai so clearly" flattery that you hear so often.
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Also, unless you know someone at the Dept. of Land Transport or get very lucky and have a clerk who overlooks the details, you will need a work permit to get a Thai drivers license. Fortunately, I knew somebody who knew somebody.
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One of the reasons pickups and SUV have statistically poor accident safety records in the US is that, because of their high CG and the likelihood they are in the hands of drivers who have little to no experience driving large trucks, they tend to be involved in rollover accidents. The main problem in a rollover is that these vehicles were not built with sturdy enough roof pillars to hold up under the weight of the upside-down truck, therefore the drivers were subject to traumatic head injuries.
I've got no doubt that in a head-on collision between a 4-door diesel pickup (built in Thailand or wherever) and an average size passenger car - barring a rollover - the pickup truck is where I'd rather be.
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Jing-jing,
Your dealer is mis-informed....
But he seemed so convinced... apparently he'd had a problem before with title transfer to a farang, God only knows why. Maybe the farang had no valid DL or proof of address... whatever. I was under the impression that the dealer could handle the paperwork... with this guy I don't believe that's the case.
Is it usually up to the dealer to complete the paperwork for title transfer?
BTW, thanks for the information Thetyim.
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No problem to put it in your name. Any type of visa will do.
Take passport and Confirmation of Address Form obtained from immigration or your embassy
I'm buying a secondhand truck from a dealer, and he seemed to think I need a work permit to transfer ownership into my name. All I've got is a double entry tourist visa, but I do hae a Thai driver's license coz my friend has a friend at the Bureau of Land Transport.
Will there really be a problem transferring ownership into my name without a WP/non-immigrant visa, or is the dealer just paranoid?
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I live at the Evergreen also. Great place. I agree about the laundry but fortunately I have a live-in washing machine.
Really, it's super accomodations here if you can afford it. Prices drop with a longer lease, and they are negotiable up to a point.One small correction: it's at the doorstep of the Skytrain, not the underground.
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Jing Jing I'm already married to a Thai
I can't be doing that now
I will be bringing a big bag, so the bus could be a problem no? How much for a taxi to the bus station? thanks for all your replys!Heheh... please disregard the handsome man bit - we wouldn't want to get in any trouble with the missus, jing jing na! Big bag no problem, goes right in the big luggage compartment on the bus. You can get from the airport to Ekkamai easily, but hey, why not spend a night in the Big Mango? Oops, almost forgot - married!
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Who remembers when D4D - Toyota's commonrail engine - appeared? Before that it was SR5. You can check it easily - D4D labels are prominently displayed everywhere.
Tiger had the most powerful engine before the age of Vigo. Official launch, btw, was September 2004.
What about the 3 liter KZ turbo engine? Thumbs up or down?
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Maybe you could tell us more about your farm.
Are you going to be sticking oxen in the back or using it just for going through the rice fields?
Do those sound like farmer's trucks? Perhaps I can overtake long lines of cars on the highway while fully loaded with rice and towing a trailer of oxen, with trucks like those?
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VIGO
Any particular reason... or just taking the opportunity to bump up the post count?
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I've been truck shopping for about a month now, and having evaluated pretty much every different brand out there, I've decided that I like Toyotas the best. Now the decision has come down to which Toyota to buy. Here's the dilemma:
Basically it comes down to choosing between the latest model Hilux Vigo with auto box at 695K THB vs. a 2001 Hilux Tiger with manual box at 490K THB. I can afford the Vigo - I mean buying it wouldn't take food off my table - but the difference is roughly $5000 USD, easily enough to buy a cheap secondhand runabout for my lady, which would thrill her to no end.
The Tiger is a very clean, original appearing truck with a bedliner but no modifications (i.e. no rollbars, lifts, aftermarket wheels, etc.). The odo reads 76K kms. It has the original spare tire, original owner's manual, and doesn't appear to ever have been in a collision. The engine is a 3 liter KZ turbo diesel, which was the predecessor to the commonrail. The color scheme is silver with a gray leather interior, which I like very much. I drove the truck and it felt supple but still tight as new -- a very very nice drive.
The Vigo is what the salesman at the used Toyota dealer described as a demo model (2004... I thought the Vigo didn't even come out until 2005). The odo reads 23K kms. The truck is all original with no bedliner or any add ons. The salesman says there is still 1 year or 20,000 kms. left on the warranty, and it is "certified" by Toyota as never in a collision. The truck appears to be loaded with all the options except for a leather interior. It has the 3 liter turbo diesel commonrail engine/auto trans. I drove the truck and it drives like new, although I did notice the suspension felt quite stiff and bouncy over road undulations... probably not overinflated tires, but maybe just a new truck, still tight and not broken in.(?)
Both trucks are 4 door, 4WD. I really wonder if the Vigo is worth an extra 200K... the new interior just seems a little too... tacky/plasticky. Would it grow on me? I don't know. The ride actually felt superior in the Tiger. It would be nice to have the warranty with the Vigo, and chances are I could recoup a good deal of the higher price upon resale in a few years. The Vigo has an auto box and plenty of grunt, but that manual in the Tiger is smooth as silk, and bulletproof...
Aaaaarrrrggggggh!! I know the decision ultimately comes down to personal taste, but I'm having a mental block -- a constipation of the cranium so to speak. Help me out a little here guys and gals... your 2 satang would be much appreciated... and I'm gonna buy one or the other of these muthas come tomorrow morning!
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Aircon #1 bus is 90 baht each way between BKK (Ekkamai station) and Pattaya, 2 hour trip. There's even a toilet on the bus if you like to get your beer on in transit. Bus runs every 1/2 hour, last one leaves at 2100 hrs. Ya never know -- a hansome man like you might meet a young lady travelling on her own...
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I have no idea why no one else has been able to get this to work. My bank is in California. I do not know if this has anything to do with it. I think LA has one of the largest population of Thai people in the USA. Maybe thats why it works there.
I just received the funds from my second transfer, so the system has worked for me twice, but... although as of now my BB account is still functional in the BoA funds transfer menu, I don't know how long that will last. The problem before was that the BB account was deactivated after the transfer had already taken place. I will keep the members posted as to whether this account remains active for me, since many have apparently not had such good luck with this feature.
BTW my BoA account is also in SoCal... if it continues to work as Khun Richard's does, then maybe the problem is a regional thing.
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Where is the best place to go diving in January?
Similan Islands, Andaman Sea. Check out the liveaboards... you can pick one up from Phuket or Khao Lak.
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I am really beginning to dislike B of A. The bowels of the dinosaur move slowly and odiferously indeed, and their product is not beneficial to my financial well being.
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In my opnion Sir is correct, but when does one become an immigrant?
Since I am working here without being sent by a home country employer I consider myself an immigrant (tecnically that is)
because I have no intention to return to my country of origin and I 'moved' from there to here....that imo makes me an immigrant and not en expat
guys who are doing the visa un every time do not have a permanent residency in any country and are surely not expatriates or immigrants..
....In either case resident/citizen – I think the separation between ex-pat and immigrant lies in the intent to remain for the long term. If at some point during your stay (or even at from the very beginning) you intent to stay the majority of your time until the end of your days.
So in other words the expat does NOT intend to stay the majority of time until the end of his days, while the immigrant does?
) changed all the fluids and filters, and now she feels like a brand new truck.
1 Year Thai Licence
in Thailand Motor Discussion
Posted · Edited by jing jing
Why not just get a letter at the UK embassy? It's a no brainer and not that expensive. I just registered my truck at Mo Chit with embassy letter (US) and got my drivers license with one a month ago. It would have been a good idea in my case to get two letters at once since they charge 400 baht less for the second one if you get it at the same time. Actually I needed 3 letters, another for the motorcycle license. $90 to the US embassy just for 3 letters of residence - they ought to serve me a glass of wine when I show up over there next time.