Longwood50

14 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

You personally can be energy independent by charging from your rooftop

Yes, so yet another great benefit from owning a EV car is not only do you get to spend money on electric service for your car charger since the sun does not always provide you with enough energy, you get to "invest" some more money on solar panels 

And of course lets not forget those panels don't last forever but rather cost more to recycle than build new so they end up in the landfills.  But I am sure Thailand would never throw hazardous trash away.  

https://scdhec.gov/sites/default/files/Library/OR-1695.pdf

16 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Actually, I expect resale values of the ten-year-old used EVs to really take off once we see more and bigger aftermarket players.

Well you view it differently than I do.  You can replace the engine in a 10 year old ICE too  but people don't do it because the car, its technology and the wear and tear on the car is still 10 years old. 

Leases make perfect sense for high priced vehicles that people routinely change every 2 - 4 years because their routine is to get a new car every 2 - 4 years and the lease helps them avoid having to pay the full sales tax on the entire purchase price up front. 

Leases do not make sense if you drive a lot of miles, keep the car for an extended number of years, or the car is like a Lincoln whose value drops like a rock.  Toyota Camry though they are not expensive compared to a BMW or Mercedes are good lease cars since they have a high residual value.  The used 2 - 4 year old Camry holds it value so the person leasing only pays the amount the car depreciated in lease payments plus the interest carrying charge. 

Right now leases on EV comprise 80% of the sales.  The manufacturers to boost sales are artificially keeping the residual value high to keep the lease payments low.  That also allows the car companies to control the resale market since they get the cars that come off lease and they can then dictate what those used off lease cars sell for. 

Now that works providing that consumers don't shun those 2 - 4 year old EV's and the price drops like a rock and the manufacturers take a bath on the resale.  

I know this, without the rebates, tax incentives, and manufacturer lease promotions on EV's they would sell even fewer.  Now with gas costs up, more consumers will look at EV's but anyone who thinks they can "save money" by buying an EV is deluding themselves.  

They cost substantially more to begin with, right now they depreciate faster, and finally do you really believe the electric rates will stay the same once the power company has to ramp up to meet the higher electric needs and they know they have you by the throat.  

This is all an orchestrated game plan to either incentify or coerce people to buy EV's.  There is scant attention to the fact that the USA and most of the world lacks the power capacity to provide that electric if a substantial percentage of the cars on the road were electric. 

Just looking at the MG ZS price.  The top model gas is 799,000 baht the equivalent ZS electric is 1,190,000 for 2021.  They had to lower the price to 1,023,000 for 2022 because customers balked at paying such a huge difference for the same car.  Even at that, the customer will over the life of the car have to recoup that difference in fuel savings and that assumes the resale value of the electric is the same percentage of value between the gas and electric models.  If as I suspect the ultimate resale value of 7 - 10 year old electric cars falls off the earth, that loss of value has to be factored into the total cost of ownership. 

Even assuming one can make a case for the electric, which I think is problematic, it still does not eliminate the extra hassle and time to charge the vehicle.  Also when you plug in your electric vehicle needing a charge and wake up to find the power went out you will have to quick run along with everyone else to the charging station to begin your nap while the car charges.  Not for me. 

 

55 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

Secondhand EV prices are rising in the west

It "could be"  Certainly with the gasoline prices rising any car that uses less gas is going to be more attractive.  However the opposite occurs if gas prices drop. 

I have purchased cars and leased cars.  The cars that make the most sense to lease in the USA are the most expensive models and ones that retain a high proportion of their 'residual value"  

With leasing the payments are caluclated based on the amount of the purchase price of the car called the "capitalized cost" minus its residual value That is the estimated value of the car at the end of the lease.  Then there is the lease finance charge based on the "capitalized cost" for the number of years that the car is leased. 

Leasing is popular for expensive cars because sales tax in the USA is based on the purchase price.  However, when leasing, the tax is only on the amount of the lease payment.  So a purchaser of a car lets say costing $100,000 will immediately have to pay $7,000 in a state that charges 7% sales tax.  If the lease on that car hypothetically is showing a residual value of 50% at the end of 4 years and a 1.5% lease interest rate, the person leasing would pay on.y 7% on the monthly payments of 1168.09 or $81.76 per month.  That $81.76 is spread over each of the 48 payments rather than upfront and it would total $3924.28.  So that person saved a substantial amount of money. 

Leases don't work well if the person drives an excessive number of miles.  The buy out on the lease is a great option.  If the value of the car exceeds the calculated residual value, then it "might" make sense to buy it.  If you wanted to do something else, or the car is now worth less than its estimated residual value, you just turn it in, and no hassles with selling. 

I still believe that EV values will have a much steeper depreciation curve as the vehicle approaches the time estimated that it will need its batteries replaced.  A person would be very foolish to buy a car with 10 year old mileage and technology and then pay thousands more to refurbish it with a new battery pack. 

4 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

If you can't find a charging station, then you're not looking very hard

Possibly,

However my point still is THERE ARE ISSUES.  I hardly want to be going out of my way, or doing a search while traveling to 'find that charging station"   Also, I would not like to have to sit in my car plugged in for an extended period of time while it charges. 

Now perhaps that is something you are willing to put up with as well as spending the extra hundreds of thousands of baht so that you can feel "green" while of course the power plant that generates the electricity is burning natural gas or coal to provide it but not for me. 

 Perhaps in the future EV vehicles will solve many of those problems but for now, the EV owner will spend more money than they ever recoup in savings and have the added burden of installing a charger, and sitting in charging locations as part of their "experience" of feeling green. 

As said, I get 18 KM per liter.  I spent hundreds of thousands less than an all EV model, dont have to worry about where my next charging station is, or sit in that car waiting for it to charge.  If you enjoy all of those "attributes"  good for you. 

On 4/1/2022 at 5:46 PM, zoolander said:

We are thinking about buying a MG EV and wondered what it needs for charging at home.

I am not sure what your complete motivation is to buy an EV but unless you are going to use that vehicle strictly for local trips, the charging infrastructure in Thailand would make long trips at best a challenge. 

I recently purchased a Toyota Corolla Cross and it has a hybrid engine.  I actually would have chose the gas model except only the most base model came with no hybrid engine option. 

I had previously owned a hybrid Lexus and candidly I was disapointed.  Spent an extra $10,000 because of it being a hybrid and it got no better mileage than the same model Lexus we had before and after we sold the hybrid and returned to gas only cars.  Also the resale value was no better. 

The current Toyota Hybrid is much better.  You can not tell when you shift from EV to gas or vice versa.  I am getting consistently 18 km per liter and I have no worries or hassles with charging and it takes only a few minutes to refill its tank. 

Personally, I would not own an all electric car because of the charging issues.  One thing is for sure, the EV cars are more expensive and in the USA 80% of all EV cars are leased not purchased because the resale value has to be propped up by the manufacturers to make them attractive.  Used EV buyers are hesitant for fear they will get stuck with an expensive battery replacement bill.  It doesn't matter if that is true or not, the thought is there and that plays into the resale value.  


https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/auto-loans/5-reasons-lease-not-buy-electric-car


Leasing has grown in popularity — now making up almost 27% of all new car sales. But when it comes to electric vehicles, 80% are leased, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. (This excludes cars made by Tesla, which sells directly to consumers and doesn’t report lease data.)


If you bought an electric car and decided to sell it even a year later, its value would have depreciated dramatically — “like a used bedsheet,” as one commenter wrote on car sale site Autotrader. In fact, on average, 2020 electric vehicles have depreciated about 52% from the sticker price in the first year, according to data from iSeeCars.
 

I sent an interntional drivers license using DHL.  It was $75

I have sent and received mail using Thai Post and the USPS to Thailand.  Takes 3 to 4 weeks. 

You might consider having your friend send you a book.  Peel the end paper on the front or rear of the book insert the card between the end paper and the book cover and then glue back into place.  It would conceal the fact it is a debit card.

 

3 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

his is not about sex, it's about marriage.

This is about sex.  Marriage right now is permitted between people of the opposite sex.  

32 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Why do other people give a flying ........, what other people do in their private lives?

I don't think most people do give a flying ____.  It is those pushing for the legislation that have this insecurity on their decisions that they feel compelled to share their sexual proclivities with the world. 

I doubt that anyone in this world cares to know my sex life, and I am baffled as to why anyone would think that the vast majority of people care to hear about theirs. 

7 hours ago, Soikhaonoiken said:

Thailand has never told the truth on covid figures from the outset of the pandemic....

Just as TAT doesn't tell the truth of how many tourists arrive.

That is true.  Also why the singular focus on reporting only Covid.  If they reported the figures for the number of people contracting TB, HIV, Dengue Fever, Influenza, bacterial infections, we could all spend our days hunkered inside paranoid about venturing into the outside world. 

23 hours ago, edwinchester said:

Trump didn't even try, he continually praised Xi even as far as saying the Chinese were doing a very professional job with covid despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Launched a disastrous tariff war with China that cost thousands of US jobs, alienated countless Asian and European Govts which furthered China's global ambitions, refused to condemn Chinese human rights abuses, withdrew from the Trans Pacific Partnership and did everything he could to undermine the UN which left a vacuum in world leadership China was only to willing to try and seize. Trump was an unmitigated disaster as far as increasing China's role and influence on the world stage.

Just a guess but could I assume you don't like Trump.  

Surely I would love to hear your critique of how "China Joe" has brought the Chinese to their knees, lowered energy prices, tamed inflation, stopped the Russian aggression, eliminated Covid and please give special recognition to his handling of the exit from Afghanistan. 

I would be a bit careful with the aftermarket. You may void a portion of your cars warranty by installing it. 

If it is strictly the battery you are concerned with, get a solar charger and attach the leads to the car battery or a trickle charger attached to a wall outlet.  

Yes the electric technology is so compelling that the governments around the world have to subsidize electric vehicles and/or ban internal combustion cars. 

If the case for electric cars was so overwhelmingly an economic positive you would not have to subsidize it or force customers to purchase them. 

Inverters AC are hugely more efficient than conventional AC, you don't see the need to convince people of that.  You didn't see the government subsidize cell phones to convince customers that they were more efficient than land lines.  There was no need to provide subsidies to LED televisions that both have a better picture and use less electricity. 

The actions of governments around the world are nothing more than a central controlled command and control tactic where they are selecting winners and losers. 

 

35 minutes ago, Eaglekott said:

I would think technology has improved a lot in 20-25 years

Absolutely,

However the fact that technology has improved does not change the fact that Lasik surgery changes the shape of the cornea. 

If you correct for being far sighted, you become near sighted.  You can do mono vision with Lasik where one eye is corrected for distance and the other for reading. 

However if and when the person's vision changes as they age, contact lenses do not fit properly because of the altered cornea  This is not such a problem with single vision contacts but almost rules out multi-focal contacts.   

Finally, most people will eventually get cataracts.  Those who have had Lasik it will "complicate" the selection of the correct lens to use.  That won't change if it is old lasik or new lasik.  Your cornea has been altered.  

They now use very sophiticated IOL mapping instruments to caluclate the correct lens.  Perhaps the precision will improve in the future but for now, you stand a greater change of having less than an accurate IOL lens selected for your cataract surgery.  It virtually eliminates for now the prospect of a multi-focal lens beacuse of the additional complication. 

If I had it to do over again, I would opt for the IOL lens to be implanted in the eye.  The lens can be replaced in the future if your vision changes or eventually when you require cataract surgery. 

https://eandv.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40662-018-0110-5

17 hours ago, Walker88 said:

It is nigh on impossible to compare banking in the US to Thailand

I totally agree,

Now as to "fiddling" with loan losses that might be a bit of an overstatement.  A bank is required to have a systematic formula to determine the default risk of its loan portfolio and add to reserves based on that.  The riskier percentage of loans deemed risky the higher the reserve. 

A bank that deems it has a riskier portfolio can add to reserves but that lowers reported Earning Per Share.  If it has excess in reserve and does not add as much, it does increase earnings, but the financial reporting would show a balance sheet with a lower reserve making the bank more risky. 

The point is, that at least in the USA financial reporting gives a reasonably accurate picture of the health of the banks.  They also are required to pass a stress test to determine their financial resiliance. 

I am not familiar with the requirements of Thailand.  However if what you say is accurate and they are booking "imputed income" that is truly COOKING THE BOOKS.  The same would be true if they are still carrying non-performing loans at their book value and not reflecting the depreciated value of collateral that when sold will bring only a fraction of what is owed. 

As I mentioned, a bank is a mirror image of the overall economy.  When times are good, businesses and people borrow in larger volume.  They pay those loans back, and people have extra money to place in the bank as deposits.  When times are tough, loan volume shrinks, loans don't get repaid, and deposits shrink.  

Given the situation with Covid and the lack of tourism, my take is that the banks have to under some stress.  Homes, businesses, and cars repossessed.  Allowing "forebearance" by banks to not repossess the properties may help the borrower but it sure does not help the bank.  It forces them to hold on to non-performing loans and properties longer only increasing their loss.  That would only not be true if somehow the borrower through delaying foreclosure/repossession recovered and was able to bring their loans up to date in the future.  That is a roll of the dice. 

58 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Also source of income was not asked for? 

For example evidence of pension etc

I provided it, my social security statement so I don't know if he saw it, and just moved on.  Once he saw the bank letter with the 12 monthly transfers, he skimmed through the remaining papers. 

23 hours ago, Harry2 said:

 I went to Bkk Bank HQ to get confirmation of transfers - I got a copy of each monthly FX transfer & a letter that set out the total paid over the period, ie not handily divided into monthly payments as per your letter. (CW is happy with this but maybe not Jomtien?)

Mine was at Jomtien.  Last year they looked closely at the bank book and monthly statement from Bangkok bank checking off each transfer.  This year with Bangkok Bank printing the second letter that listed each monthly transfer, he didn't even bother to look at my bank books, copies of them, or the annual statement. 

3 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Maybe Rutnin has something Bkk Hospital does not?

I "think" it is that Bangkok Hospital has the Zeiss IOL Master that eliminated the need for the original mapping.  

The opthamologist said that even if they had the mapping pre lasik,  they would not be able to use that to determine what the IOL power should be. 

I don't know if that was because they lacked the machine or because they were not familiar with the formula used to calculate the IOL from the pre-lasik mapping. 

After I had the under correction of the first eye, they took the measurements from the Zeiss IOL Master and applied different algorithims to estimate the correct IOL power.  The different algorithims came up with different powers.  The lowest being 22 and the highest 23  

The doctor also manually entered into the computer while I was sitting with him my measurements into a program to calulate the IOL power.   The IOL Master machine at Bangok Hospital mapped out my eyes and provided the doctor with the various measurements.  He entered those and the program used came out at a 22.5 IOL. 

I did a little research there are 13 different formula's for determining IOL.  So the same eye measurements "may" come up with different results based on which formula(s) were used. 

Perhaps Rutin has a formula that is used for pre-lasik measurements and calculates the IOL power.  I don't know if that is better, or if it is now not relevant with the advancement of the IOL measurement devices. 

One way or another, I have spoken to three different opthamologists and they all said the same thing.  1. Lasik complicates the process of IOL selection. 2. Stay with Monofocal Lenses that the Multi-Focal lenses often did not have good results even in patients without lasik and they were even more challenging for patients who did have lasik. 

Now if I wanted to, I could have my eye "touched up" with lasik to adjust.  However if I did that, I would suddenly be chained to reading glasses which I now enjoy not having to wear any glasses at all. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32522789/

Thailand slides down the happiness index

Does this mean Thailand will now be known as the Land of "a hint of a smile"

I don't know about car wrapping except for advertising purposes.  If the wrap is clear perhaps it is ok.  If it has a pattern to it, I would be concerned about fading over time and if in an accident having to replace the entire wrap on the car because replacing only the damaged portion would likely show shading differences. 

4 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Would be careful with resetting a fiber optic router to factory default!

I have 3bb and had a router problem connecting to my wireless printer.  I hit the reset and re-established the router settings but with a laptop connected to the router via a lan.  

Not a big deal.  Just typed in the http://192.168.1.1/login.html URL and it has a menu driven set up.  Most of the settings are automatic.  

3 hours ago, Sheryl said:

In your case it sounds like the second procedure fully or almost fully corrected the left eye so that you no longer had monovision.  Hence the need for reading glasses.

Yes that is correct.  My distance vision in my left eye deteriorated as I aged.  I should have been "smarter" since I was already using monovision by leaving the left eye uncorrected to have them not fully correct the left eye. 

I used one contact in the right eye for some years and then went and had the Lasik performed on the right eye only.  I used the monovision for several years until the left eye distance vision got worse. 

I asked my Opthamologist about the need for the mapping of the eye prior to Lasik before I proceded with the cataract surgery.   He stated at one time that was mandatory.  Now, the machine at Bangkok Hospital the Zeiss IOL Master calculates the lens without the need for original mapping. 

I saw the printout and it gives multiple options for lenses from different manufacturers and lens powers both with and without Toric correction for astigmatism.  The printout shows the expected vision for the various power of IOL and how close that gets to perfect vision.  

Now here is the complicating factor.  There are 3 main algorithms used to determine the power of lens to use.  

With my right eye, they used only one algorithm.  After the experience of the undercorrection they ran the machine again on my left and right eyes and used 4 different formulas.  There was a variation in the lens suggested from 22 power to 23 power.  They had implanted the 22 power in my right eye but the other algorithms suggested it should have been 22.5 or even 23.   The doctor used the mean between the 4 algorithms for my left eye which was 22.5 and that appears to be near perfect. 

So I ended up with what I wanted monovision only with my right dominant eye being the one slightly myopic.

I asked the doctor before the surgery if I got my mapping prior to Lasik if it would be helpful.  He said, no.  They did not have the methodology to input the original mapping and have it calculate a reccomended IOL power.