HauptmannUK

The sky won't fall in, but that doesn't negate the fact that tyre string repairs are not a safe long term repair for road vehicles. People assume that because the tyre holds air the repair is satisfactory. String repairs are still widely used on plant and machinery and other off-road vehicles. They are also great for emergency repairs when in remote locations. Just recently some Chinese companies have started selling (through the usual online channels) rubber-coated steel screws to screw into puncture holes. Absolutely lethal.

From that invoice it looks like they did a basic service plus fuel filter, plugs and PCV valve. You might well find its fixed it.

Plug repairs are quite acceptable so long as the puncture is in the centre 3/4 portion of the tread area and NOT on the shoulder or sidewall - that would be VERY dangerous. Maximum hole diameter 6mm. Tyres with a speed rating of V or higher should only have one repair in their lifetime. Some tyre shops in Thailand do 'string repairs' ('string' inserted from outside of tyre) - these are dangerous and illegal in most Western countries.

Disconnecting the battery for more than about 10 minutes will cause the ECU to forget some of its learned values (fuel trims, idle air valve calibration, transmission shift point calibration). None of these would be particularly detrimental to performance and new values would be learned after 10-20 miles of driving. From the symptoms you described I would think an intermittent problem with the MAF sensor is a possibility. These are a common problem on various Mazdas, resulting in poor acceleration and lack of power. Scan the car for stored fault codes.

This news is not quite as exciting as it first appears. Toyota fully took over Daihatsu a few years back (2017 I think). The new Yaris/Veloz DNGA platform is a Toyota/Daihatsu joint project and Daihatsu engineers did most of the crash test approval work. At some point whilst preparing test cars a Daihatsu engineer scored a groove into the rear surface of the door inner plastic trim - the idea being to produce a stress concentration and cause this location to preferentially fracture during side impact, avoiding the potential for creation of any sharp edges. For whatever reason, this alteration didn't appear in the production moulding. However, the production vehicles do in fact meet the ECE UN R95 regulation (which includes 50km/h side impact). Subsequent internal testing of production vehicles confirms compliance as does independent testing with external oversight from the Belgian crash test authority. The suspension of deliveries in Thailand is because Thai government representatives want to witness new tests. Clearly something went wrong with Toyota's internal procedures - potentially it was fraud. But it appears that cars meet the required standard even without the modification that was made.

Chinese are buying everywhere they are permitted to. Cities like London and Manchester have huge amounts of property now in Chinese hands. Even in small provincial English towns they are buying houses and flats to rent out.

I think you are worrying too much. Three months is nothing. My wife owns several condos and houses. Frequently unoccupied for 3+ months. One condo was locked up for about two years during Covid and no problems at all when we opened it up. I was amazed how little deterioration. Gave it a clean and good as new.

Water off, electricity off. Fridge open. Electricity PEA paid by Direct Debit from Bangkok Bank. Water debt is paid on return. I put one-way flap valves in our drains to stop drain smells. Never had mildew even after 6+ months away.

Only MBA? Most of the ThaiFriendly girls that I meet are PhDs....

Definitely no return tickets needed. Last year one of my wife's friends visited us in UK. Single lady. Got a visitor's visa on the basis of money in the bank and good job (advertising agency in Bangkok). She booked a single ticket on one of the last Scoot flights to UK. We had to sort her out with return flight whilst she was in the UK.

Apart from in battery technology (CATL Lithium Ion) the Chinese do not yet have the domestic expertise and IPR to produce cars which would be competitive on the international market. EVERY Chinese-branded vehicle sold outside China is predominantly using European, American and Japanese technology. SAIC (who inherited rights to the MG brand name when they bought Nanjing Auto) is in effect 'GM China'. SAIC petrol engines are GM engines, the SGE and MGE engines, developed around 15 years ago by GM-Opel in Germany. These same engines are built in Flint, Michigan, and Korea, using the same equipment as in China (from Hirata, Japan). They're the same engines used in small GM cars such as the Cruze and the now-defunct GM Europe products such as the Opel Corsa/Astra/Insignia etc. They suffer the same problems (weak timing chains and coil pack failures). If a turbo it fitted then its a Mitsubishi. The MG transmissions are a GM manual box, a DCT auto (supplied in kit form by BorgWarner in Dalian and assembled by SAICs 'Gearworks' - 'SAGW'). These are BW DualTronic three-shaft wet clutch 'boxes, designed in Germany. Fundamentally these are the same core units as supplied to VW/Audi Group ('DSG' branded) but with a simpler and cheaper mechatronic control unit. The CVTs are Bosch, made under licence by SAGW. Apparently the Bosch units have been problematic so currently Aisin (Toyota) CVT units are being used. MG platforms are GM platforms. Specifically the GEM ('Global Emerging Market') and the so-called 'PATAC-K' platform which is a cost-reduced Chevrolet D2 chassis with and also used in cars like the Buick Excelle, Chevrolet Cavalier - amongst numerous others. MG BEV's use GM BEV platforms with power electronics designed by DriveTec of Switzerland (now owned by BW). If you want to go out and buy a Haval (GWM) - well, their petrol engines (with code 4G) are Mitsubishi units built under licence. Engines with code GW are based on fairly ancient Toyota blocks with new heads developed by GWM/Toyota to meet modern emissions requirements. The blocks are R4 and R5 last used by Toyota in the 1980s. The Haval Diesel is an Isuzu unit built under licence. In fact most Diesel engines made in China are some version or other of an Isuzu unit. Havel electric drives are designed and supplied by BorgWarner. DCT transmissions are basically the same BW units supplied to SAIC. Havel TC-epicyclic autoboxes are ZF (Friedrichshafen, Germany) 8HP units built in China. Anyway, to all of you driving 'MG's, you're actually driving a 'GM'. MG, Haval, Maxus etc are all 'challenger brands' designed to capture market share through pricing. You can probably guess that I've 'been there and got the T-shirt' on this stuff. In fact you might be able to guess which supplier I did some work for....

Yes, noticed this too. Its very odd. You get a driver accepting and then 10 seconds later cancels. Same again and again (about 6 times) - this was for an evening pick up in central Pattaya. Not sure if its a software problem. We're not dependent on taxis/Bolt because we have a car - but it is/was convenient to use a Bolt if going into town for the evening, rather than the bother of driving and parking. Based on my last few experiences the service is deteriorating.

Yes. Was going to use Bolt this evening and was shocked at the quoted price. A good 50% increase. We decided to walk and use a songtaew.

I'm amazed at the number of cannabis shops in Pattaya/Jomtien - they outnumber 7/11s. They can't all make a profit. Most seen quiet when I walk past. Couple of weeks ago my wife and I stayed in a hotel in Bangkok. There was a pungent smell of cannabis in the corridor. We complained and were told someone had been smoking it in one of the rooms and they were struggling to get rid of the smell. It certainly seems a lot more persistent than tobacco.

Around about this time last year I found a London embassy web page listing fees, with a fee of £150 for a non-O ME visa. So I basically 'played around' with my eVisa application until I found the ME option. Same this year. I can't remember the details of how I did it - it was basically 'click through everything until I find what I want'. I think there are more than a few mistakes in the system - e.g. I think the health insurance for the tourist and Non-O is a reference to requiremeNt for cover for Covid, which was dropped some time ago.

This road has been a mess of roadworks for many months. Very dangerous. The detours/lanes move around as the work locations move, and lanes are not properly marked.

Carjacking in the UK is relatively rare and a 70s/80s Japanese car would be an unlikely target! More likely would be random theft for joyriding. It would not be difficult to fit some simple security to the car. In fact the old trick of taking the rotor arm with you would be very effective. One of my cars back in the UK is a 2018 Aston Martin DB11 5.2 twin-turbo V12. Now THAT is a carjacking target. Its fitted with two trackers and remote control of engine management. Because of that risk, and various other reasons, I'll be selling it this summer.....

There is no UK immigration check on departing passengers from UK. Only the airline will check your passport on departure from UK. Show them you have a British passport if you want, but they are only going to be interested in the Thai one..... Moreover whatever you uploaded doesn't matter - its what you show at the airport that counts. That's the experience of my wife (Thai and British passports) with many flights on Emirates, KLM, Lufthansa, Thai, Qatar..

There's a guy (Scott) down at Haverfordwest in Wales buying older classic Japanese stuff in Thailand and shipping it to the UK. No idea which shipping agent he's using. His main business is industrial plant sales and the car imports are a sideline. His main website is causewayplantsales.co.uk but he doesn't have a website for the cars. You will however find his Facebook page ('Causeway Classics'). Anyway, contact Scott an he may be able to help you get your car to the UK. If doing it yourself you'll need to notify HMRC of vehicle arrival - its all got very complicated since Brexit and now there seem to be three customs systems running, NOVA, CHIEFS and CDS - I've now no idea how these work. Once taxes/duties are paid you'll need to do Individual Vehicle Approval for VOSA/DVLA.

If you show your British passport when leaving the UK you will be asked to show a Thai visa (for a visit longer than 30 days)! You should check-in at the UK airport using your Thai passport. Use your Thai passport to enter Thailand. When returning to UK use your British passport to check in and show the airline, but show Thai immigration your Thai passport.

I've had this multi non-O from London a couple of times and am currently in Thailand on it. Cost £150. Its clearly on the website. Showed money in a bank account and invitation letter from wife. No hotel bookings. Came through in under 5 days (this one was applied for in early Jan 2023). Had one last year too. Its not new.

Sad to hear of an elderly gentleman facing such problems. I've read about usufructs over the years but to me they seem almost worthless. Would you really want to hang around in the wife's village when probably over half the residents are related to her in some way. Would you feel happy and safe? My advice would be to get the hell away and deal with the situation remotely. Gather all important possessions and documents together and make a run for it when she's out. Head to Pattaya. Keep your location a secret. Decent rooms with A/C can be had for ฿4500/month (I know this for sure because my wife recently let out a couple of rooms at this price). BE CAREFUL though. Don't eat anything prepared by your wife. Wild yam ('gloy') is popular in Isaan but unless carefully prepared it contains cyanide and has been used to poison people. Several years ago an acquaintance of mine had a bust-up with his young wife of three years. He'd done the whole 'house, farm, pick-up truck' thing with her. He fled to Pattaya and stayed in a hotel. She followed him to Pattaya - ostensibly to work on a reconciliation. After not answering his phone for a couple of days he was found by friends. He was in his locked hotel room. Lying peacefully in his bed, quite dead. No sign of a struggle, no meds in the room.. He was a very fit 50-something fitness freak..... Never saw his case reported anywhere and never heard any post mortem results...

Try to make a weekly/monthly deal with a taxi/Bolt/Grab driver. I'm assuming you're starting a job in Huay Yai. You'll maybe find a co-worker who drives to/past Jomtien and will give you a ride in exchange for a contribution to fuel. Good idea to not get a motorbike. There may be some worse places in the world than Pattaya to learn to ride (Lagos? Jakarta?), but not many...

She failed it twice. During which time she was out driving in her D-Max too. Long trips (Udon to Bueng Kan and Loei). In the end it was go to the Land Transport building and wait in the ladies' toilet with ฿2000. Given the terrible driving standards the death rate on Thai roads is actually quite low.