Andrew Dwyer

Hi Davis, thanks for your input! I've fallen into the trap of the ever expanding budget so that's a good question. I had initially thought 12k USD was my budget. That was sort of a random figure which I'm not sure how I came up with. I did not want to spend a small fortune on a car. But then, of course, I started looking around and kept upscaling, debating this and that in my head, you only live once, blah blah. I have not owned a car in the many years I've been in Thailand. That makes it somewhat hard to know how I will use it in the future or what I want in a car. However, I do like the ability to carry somewhat large items on a whim which is why I had initially thought of a truck. I've tossed that idea but it led me to hatchbacks for the carrying capacity. I don't really want a big SUV...that being said, I did become enamored of the CRV (sitting in it in the lot). Not sure if that qualifies as an SUV or not. Is it worth the extra bucks, compared to a Jazz, for example? Probably any car I buy will be sitting unused a lot of the time as for a lot of the short buzzes around town we will use motorbikes. I'm not sure how to factor that into the equation. Stupid to invest a lot of money in something just sitting there a lot with little use? Or it doesn't matter because fewer km on the clock will maintain re-sale value?

I've never bought a car that cost over $4k USD so this big an expense is a new thing for me.

One yardstick I am using to convince myself to buy a more expensive car is safety, that it will be safer. We can make all kinds of excuses to spend money, can't we??

A lot of folks mention flooded roads but really, for me in Chiang Mai, how often is that a consideration? It's not huge. Of course, not having had a car in the past, I might find myself heading into the mountains more and more and encountering mud and floods and bad roads. Hard to say.

I am driving a rented Jazz for a few days. The interior space is nice, and with the seats down, quite large. It's quite low to the ground, however, and I can see getting the underside hung up on some bad roads here and there. It's a bit tin-canny and the drive is not particularly cushy. It's peppy enough. You wouldn't call it a luxurious ride by any standards. But other than going up to the CRV or and SUV, it seems to be the biggest space going. I like the HRV but is it worth the extra expense? It appears to have a smaller carrying capacity but the ride is much nicer, I'm sure (haven't test driven one).

I live on a small soi at the moment (rental house) and the small size of the Jazz makes it easier to go in and out and turn around (dead end soi).

I guess I could say that something like the Jazz is my normal comfort level in cars. A CRV or HRV or Mazda 3 would be a luxury for me. Do I want to go there or not? It might depend on what kind of financing I can get, or my wife can get. I would be sad to take all the cash out of my account in one fell swoop. I could do it but it would be painful. So, if financing with favorable interest was available, that might be helpful. But...do I want to take on debt? Is there such a thing as 0% financing here such as one finds in the US sometimes?

 

The thing least on my mind is fuel economy. It's just not on my radar and probably because I have always driven a motorbike here and so quite cheap. If I'm not driving the car often, putting lots of kms on it, perhaps it is less important. I confess ignorance on that issue. I suppose I should start paying attention to it.

 

So, as you see, I'm all over the place.

 

What is a ppv?

Your 12k USD isn’t going to get you much here !

You can double that for a new Jazz.

I think you are narrowing it down well, you’ve seen the pro’s and con’s with a Jazz , probably time to try out one of the others you are interested in .

P.s. I agree with everything you said about the Jazz, it is a bit tin canny and tbh the shape is more suited to an aged Japanese gentleman but it is the most versatile in its class and for city, or soi, life it’s perfect.

If the title of this thread is Food Porn then this must be in the Hardcore category !!



I did the honourable thing and let the gf eat it all herself [emoji51]

Here’s another from Deep Purple ( Mistreated 1975 ) from the Made in Europe album , Ritchie is in his element on this tour as he had recently successfully got rid of Glover and Gillan .
It was all in vain though as he still wasn’t getting his own way and subsequently left the band to form Rainbow ( ironically Roger Glover joined him 4 years later !! ).

Rehearsal for a German tv show 1971 .

Unusual in that Ritchie seems to be actually enjoying himself on this one, despite the silly hat !!

Deep Purple - No no no

Will definitely have to watch this movie if this clip is anything to go by !!
The technology used in this werewolf transformation is years ahead of its time !!

Jazz is a great city car and really convenient for moving stuff around; lots of interior space. Wife has had two of them in past 10 years. Also good headroom / legroom in rear seats even if you're tall (I'm 6'2). The 1.5 engine is pokey enough for the car it is (at least in Thailand they don't come with the pathetically small engines like in UK - 1.2 litres! That's a motorbike engine).
 
Mazda 3 is a different vehicle. 'Better'? Depends on what you define as 'better'.
 
Subaru XV - test drove one a few years back and thought it was small and underpowered.
 
Comments about flooding are worth noting if you live anywhere it floods. Jazz is low to ground. 
 
If your budget extends to it maybe look at a 2nd hand CRV - 2015 mid-range model runs about 650K I think. That's a really good car with massive interior space. The 2.0 engine is perfectly adequate, and it's comfortable to drive. I bought one from new in 2013 and sold two years ago, replacing with the latest model 2.4. It's a step backwards in my opinion. They added a pointless second row of rear seats which does nothing other than take up space. The seats are so cramped they are useless anyway. Plus the body has been made that much bigger with 'design' elements that make it much harder to judge where the front corners are. I gave it to the wife and bought a 2nd hand Scirocco.
 

Shoulda listened to his mum !!

Tedeschi Trucks Band - Just as strange

Don’t know what it is

Anyhow

I do travel quite often to countries outside Thailand (Europe/USA/Australia/NZ), but I have never seen a check of luggage tags or tickets as one leaves customs. Which countries do this?

Reminds me of my Auntie Harriet , I swear she killed my hamster with her hairspray !!

Yes !! , come on veggies pull your fingers out !!

As usual an enjoyable read .

I was , however, surprised to see no mention of the “ Reds” valiant victory over their southern rivals !!

Or, maybe you just forgot to add it to your injustice list ?? [emoji51]

Sorry [emoji52]

In the shadow of a magnificent Wat market life is booming !!

I have a Honda Jazz Oct 2016 , just coming up to 50,000 on the clock.

Have noticed the road noise has increased depending on the surface.

On a whim I called in at B-quik and asked the guy to take it for a spin to see if the road noise is acceptable.

He said he couldn’t hear anything and balancing okay because no steering wobble ( which I already knew ), but going by the date on tyres I should buy a new set .

I showed him the tread markers showing plenty of life, he seemed adamant that it was about the age of the tyre .

Anyway, they are still on but will probably change in another 5,000 or so.

Going for a regular service soon will ask their advice.

If anything you were lucky . They are not suppose to let customer open
or inspect goods prior to receiving payment 

when and if my ac turns up, should i open the carton before handing over 6k. should I plug it in to ensure it starts.