Wong!

I see Ford are selling Britax child seats now.

Interesting, but the only one I would buy is the one with a proper gearbox, which only comes with 5 seats. So I starting looking at a new City and they look much improved over the old one I used to drive.

Im really disappointed with the immigration rules here. My non-O was expiring early March, so, I went in exactly 30 days in advance to apply for extension. Everything was in order, except the lady looked up in shock when she saw my bank book and asked if the funds were still there? I said yes, as you can see from the required BANK LETTER that was dated yesterday, it states the account and amount. This, for some insane reason is not good enough, and we had to go to the bank and make a deposit of 100 baht and update the book bank. In my opinion this totally defeats the purpose of getting a bank letter, does it not?

Anyways, after the interview was told to come and pick up the visa early April!! This was Feb 7th I went in. It seems it does not matter a rats ass that we were there a month early, they will return the visa 30 days after the expiration date. Waiting 2 months to get a visa is very stressfull for someone that needs to leave for work overseas. She said if I was not back to pick it up on that specific day, it would be void.

Every year its the same, and that is why I went early this year, to try to avoid the conflict of me needing to wait for the visa, and needing to leave for work. And of course, last week I get notice of a job and need to leave, and had the pleasure of trying to expedite the process and pick it up within a week. To do this, requires trips to the head office on canal road, main office by the airport, printing of emails of proof of reason, a letter written in Thai asking for the visa in advance and photo copies of passport and stamps. And then to have to deal with the offices when their reaction is like you just asked them to stop the world from spinning. Complete gong show. You would think, they would have some sort of standard procedure to expedite visa in emergencies, but, they don't.

A bit off topic but needed to vent a bit as you can see.

End rant.

They didn't understand how banks worked when I applied for my marriage visa last week. Luckily, my wife patiently explained it to them and they made a big show about how clever they were. Muppets!

The lady that dealt with us is the one with the bob hair-cut who has recently been transferred from the Phuket office.

Also, make sure you take both marriage documents unless you like sitting in waiting rooms. We were number 7 and got seen at 11.30ish. Number 12 was mid afternoon.

We had the Ecosport at the top of the list for our second car until recently. Unlike every other Ford I have driven, the Ecosport is dull to drive, poorly made, poor ergomics (rear doors too big, stupid tailgate and small boot) and not particularly frugal with the crappy 1.5l engine.

It's a real shame as we both prefer Fords.

Avoid the Bridgestone Duellers II tyres - I have them on my Ranger and they offer little grip on the road as I think they've been designed to last for 200,000 kms.

I will replace them with Michelens soon.

On my truck they (Nissan) say to turn the key over one notch to supply power and wait 5 seconds before starting - I guess it is to pressurize something?

Even my wife knows that the glow plugs need to be heated prior to starting a diesel.

Perhaps the issue is where the dealer is sourcing his oil, a US versus Imperial measures perhaps? A difference of the amount suggested by the OP seems to point to that as the cause. Dunno, you're the experts.

Why? Only the yanks use archaic units of measurement for volume.

And how long before the 1 year expires can I apply?

I don't know if it still stands, but you can't apply for 5yr license until 1yr license had expired. tit

jb1

Not true - I applied a few days before expiry and they said the old ones are valid until their expiry date and then the new ones from then on.

I did hear 2 weeks either side, but I did see those who waited until theirs had expired having to do the colour-blind and reaction tests again. They may well have had to go through the pain of watching a video about why Thais shouldn't be allowed motorised vehicles too.

Got my 5 yr license no eye test no movie to watch in and out in 35 mins in Chuang Mai

Same here. The only thing we didn't have was 2 copies of everything, one for the car license and one for the bike. So that added 15 mins or so to the wait.

If you are tall, I suggest you practice making yourself 6 inches shorter when seated without looking like Quasimodo. Their cameras are set up for midgets.

B

The Swift is the only Eco car in Thailand that could be called a decent car, the rest are simply rubbish.

BoIIox

OK. I will confess that I've not driven the new Yaris and it does look quite a nice car, but I can confirm that the rest are cheap crap.

Of course they are cheap. What do you expect when you purchase an inexpensive car.

I think this is a difficult concept for some you geniouses. Excluding the nee Yaris, all but the Swift feel like cheap rubbish. For a similar amount of money, the Swift is in a different league.

Oh no, yelling is never an acceptable behaviour.

Agreed. When I used to stop for the theives in brown I would just sit there and ignore them until they got bored and sent me on my way.

B

The Swift is the only Eco car in Thailand that could be called a decent car, the rest are simply rubbish.

BoIIox

OK. I will confess that I've not driven the new Yaris and it does look quite a nice car, but I can confirm that the rest are cheap crap.

They are eco cars not super cars. They fit the purpose very well. If I was in the UK I would choose a more interesting car. But as a A to B car the Mirage is great. It even provides some fun being so small.

Exactly. Which is why the Swift is the only option. Why buy a car that is so obviously inferior than the class leader?

Maybe because there are something's you don't like!

every one seems to be hot on the swift, but when I checked on the vehicle it seemed to me that you can only get passenger side airbag on the most expensive model , I'm I wrong? do you all drive the most expensive model? or non of you care for the safety of your passenger?

I choose a car on what it's like to drive. All the other gubbins is secondary.

B

The Swift is the only Eco car in Thailand that could be called a decent car, the rest are simply rubbish.

BoIIox

OK. I will confess that I've not driven the new Yaris and it does look quite a nice car, but I can confirm that the rest are cheap crap.

They are eco cars not super cars. They fit the purpose very well. If I was in the UK I would choose a more interesting car. But as a A to B car the Mirage is great. It even provides some fun being so small.

Exactly. Which is why the Swift is the only option. Why buy a car that is so obviously inferior than the class leader?

B

The Swift is the only Eco car in Thailand that could be called a decent car, the rest are simply rubbish.

BoIIox

OK. I will confess that I've not driven the new Yaris and it does look quite a nice car, but I can confirm that the rest are cheap crap.

The Swift is the only Eco car in Thailand that could be called a decent car, the rest are simply rubbish.

Riding in Bangkok is not the same as riding in Isaan, the rural north or Chiang Mai city.

I enjoyed riding in Isaan, but commuting to work in CM has me questioning my sanity. The people up here are the most selfish and stupid I have encountered in my 13 years of living in Thailand. I will be selling my CB500F in a couple of months time.

The final straw came a couple of weeks ago when a retard swung across the road on an underpowered scooter into the side of me on the Super Highway. I was on the horn, but he did the usual Thai thing of "if I don't look, it can't be there", and bounced off me at about 80kph. All I heard was plastic and metal scraping down the road.

I'm much happier for the noodle-brained idiots to bounce off my truck than my bike.

Riding a Honda 500 is fun but riding a Ducati is a thrill.

The styling, acceleration, heat, vibration, the sound of the desmo valve system and clattering clutch. Nice.

Add a rude muffler and and doesn't get much better.

Probably a bit like driving a Mustang. I prefer something that has a bit of refinement. I get enough 'thrills' avoiding all the retards on scooters.

No Ducatis would be a 'wise' buy in Thailand, the Honda 500 or 650 would be a wiser choice, as would one of the Kawas.

Wise? maybe, boring? For sure.

True. Riding at 200kph on Thai roads is great fun.

you converted your licence ? does that mean i can take my driving licence and go and just get it converted to a thai one with no tests or anything?

Secondly would i get a motor bike one too as I have the motor cycle ability on my licence, I can drive upto a 125 without L plates its a uk licence?

Yes you just go and convert, the only tests you take is the reaction and color vision tests.

However if you don't have a proper UK bike license, you can't get one here without taking a full test but it's easy so don't be discouraged.

Except of course that sometimes you can. I did, in Udon a year ago.

The best value for the money is the nissan almera. at a little over 600K you can get a loaded version with almost everything. I live in Pattaya and the dealer here wasn't giving away anything, so I e-mailed several dealers telling them what I wanted. Two in BKK responded that they could deal. A great car... Unfortunately the ex got it when I kicked her out. I have another one now and I think they are great cars.

Awful crap driven by people who are clueless about cars.

Buy a new Camaro in Laos and drive over on Laos plates.

I wonder if ford owners would buy another ford whilst in LoS?

Just about the only car brand I would buy from out of the dire selection available.

Actually chev and zuzu made same place and have many of the exact same parts, features and design. I too also pondered this for a while and settled on....Chevy for the value. I got top of line 4 x 4, auto, largest engine, chevy for 900000. Zuzu couldnt even come close. Who cares about resale value? Way overrated. Best value for money hands down Chevy.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Exactly. I'm more interested in having a car I enjoy driving than what it might sell for in 5 or 10 years time.

Admittedly, I wouldn't touch a Chevy with a shitty stick, but who cares what anyone else thinks?

Or vaseline. I treat all my plastics with it. Keeps them looking like new.