matchar

I think the price of steel skyrocketed post COVID which could explain why many of these newer buildings in Thailand were so damaged if they simply used less steel or substandard steel.

So which construction companies would you recommend? Thanks

The Atto 3 seems a bit outdated now that the competition is heating up. Apparently BYD didn't even make the top 20 for the latest motor show bookings:

Yes it does seem rather hurried but not as bad as I expected...at least they reinforced it and didn't just cover it with cement.

Here is an update from the developer regarding the repair job on the ground floor pillar that some people have posted photos of here... Progress Update on the Column Repair at LIFE Ladprao Valley: Latest Update (March 30, 2025): Today, government officials visited the LIFE Ladprao Valley project site. The team included: • Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Department of Public Works • Chatuchak District Office of Public Works • Construction experts from the Engineering Institute of Thailand • Associate Professor Sub-Lt. Dr. Supachai Sinthavorn, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Srinakharinwirot University, one of the members of the inspection team. The visit was to inspect the progress of the structural repair work. All involved parties have acknowledged and agreed on the repair steps and procedures currently being carried out. The method being used is “Jacketing Column”—encasing the existing column with a newly cast concrete jacket, designed based on structural engineering calculations. Completed Steps: 1. Sealed the area with fiber-reinforced cement to prevent the epoxy pressure grout from leaking during injection. The purpose of the epoxy injection is to fill and bond small cracks in the original concrete. 2. Installed formwork and poured high-strength, non-shrink premixed mortar to restore the original cross-sectional area of the column. Ongoing Step: 3. Reinforcing the column with 25 mm thick steel plates, wrapped around the column to a height of 3.60 meters from the floor. Next Steps to be Carried Out: 4. Inject epoxy pressure grout between the steel plates and the original concrete. 5. Further reinforce the column by increasing its cross-sectional area by 15 cm on each side. This includes installing 24 reinforcement bars (20 mm diameter), tied with stirrups (12 mm diameter) at 20 cm spacing, and pouring concrete from the footing up to the top of the column beneath the 3rd-floor slab. All parties have been working on the repairs since the day of the earthquake, involving a team of AP engineers, third-party experts, senior structural engineers, and contractors. The entire repair process is expected to be completed by April 4, 2025, following sound engineering principles.

All of these discounts are permanent. When they say it's temporary it's just a marketing tactic. They may raise the price again for a few weeks or even months but it will quickly come back down once sales drop. I think now is a bad time to buy a new car whether it's ICE or EV. Prices are still going down and we are still some way from the bottom...don't try to catch a falling knife and all.

LFP will last longer, all else equal But LFP needs to be charged to 100% periodically for accurate battery capacity estimation Often misunderstood, letting LFP sit at 100% is still bad for its life. All current battery chemistries age faster the higher their state of charge. Nothing magic happens at 80% or 100%, the cells just age faster the higher the state of charge. LFP is no different, but because they age slower overall, and need that occasional full charge for capacity estimation, the advice on them is different. Charging any cell to 100% for a couple hours before driving is fine. They only sit at the high state of charge for a little bit, not days. LFP less likely to catch fire LFP will be heavier for a given amount of range

I'm not saying LFP is bad...it's swings and roundabouts really. Yes they last for more cycles but even NMC batteries are expected to outlast the lifespan of the car. MG offer a "lifetime" warranty on both battery chemistries for the MG 4 so they must be fairly confident in the durability of NMC. NMC generally has a higher energy density and faster charging but more expensive to produce so manufacturers favour LFP since it's more profitable for them.

May I ask why you don't want NMC? Both LFP and NMC have advantages and disadvantages but I don't think there is a clear winner. A lot of misconceptions out there though. A common misconception is that it's good to charge LFP batteries to 100% all the time.

Zeekr 7X certainly looks interesting. 800V architecture and 100kWh battery.

Not allowed on expressways but any other road in Thailand is fine...the police usually don't bat an eyelid.

https://electrek.co/2025/03/06/toyotas-cheapest-ev-china-crashes-server-starting-at-15000/ Looks like Toyota is back in the game... I doubt they will be selling it in Thailand anytime soon though, still not enough competition in the Thai market and they can still sell plenty of their outdated ICE models here.

What is the source for your data? As it looks completely wrong showing no drop in pickup sales and an increase in EV sales. Actually ExpatOilWorker is correct and BEV sales are down slightly in 2024.

Are you and your children entitled to receive disability payments from the US while living in Thailand?

I was playing around with insurance quotes on the MG 4 on Roojai and it seems the older the car, the more expensive the insurance premiums by a significant amount. 2022 models are the most expensive and 2024 models the cheapest to insure.