stingray

I think that currently Mazda would not compete well in Thailand with the Camry or Accord, so it's unlikely to be sold here.

Thai people seem to view Honda and Toyota as the best of the Japanese cars and traditionally these brands have had strong sales and lower then average depreciation.

Mazda has made a lot of progress recently, but I don't feel they are ready to break into the luxury end of the market here just yet.

However, if the new Mazda 2 and new Mazda 3 get the success that they deserve then things could change. I think the New Mazda 2/3 are top of their class in terms of design.

which motorcycle you are driving,

that Camry , mazda 6 or Honda bike would be a high end luxury car ??

Thais like honda as they used to ride motorbikes branched Honda !

But put for wheels on a bike doesn't mean at all, its a car, even a luxures car !!

Drive an SL Benz, an RR, you will knoe what means a good car at least !!

That's a rather outdated and ethnocentric point of view. Japanese cars are some of the best built in the world, and they compete in all categories, including luxury. A Lexus (basically a luxury version of the Camry) consistently ranks near the top year after year in the USA in terms of quality, reliability, technology, performance....you name it. I've driven most of the top European cars and frankly, they're nothing special compared to the top Japanese cars. And the Euro cars, especially in Thailand, are way overpriced in most cases.

Overpriced? It's the import tax! Not the sellers price. Japanese cars are very good, but drive like a computer sometimes, specially the Vios (you don't feel the touch of the road) design is mostly boring. Therefore in Europe, you don't see so many Japanese cars on the road.

The new Mazda 3 have a different shape (more Italian style) they look is similar with the small Maseratti Quatroporte.

If Mazda could get the 6 to Thailand at a reasonable price level it would have similar competition from the Accord / Camry / Teanna as the Mazda 3 does with the Civic, Corolla, Sylphy.

BTW these are all 4 cylinders in LOS.

My wife has the new top model of Teana with a 2.5 litre 4-cyl. motor, and this motor is actually much better than the previous 6-cyl. motor; better torque and fuel economy plus it runs on E20. Personally I see no need for the Mazda 6, and Mazdas ten to be rather noise (the new Mazda 3 is terrible noise and uncomfortable).

Than u test a wrong car. I bought my wife a new Mazda 3 and it's very smooth, sporty and powerful (165 hp) for a 2 liter.

But of corse a 6 cylinder would be much better. 6 cylinder engines are much smoother to drive, they smooth as silk (i still have a 3 liter 1999 Cefiro. There is no way to comprare with 4 potters).

BTW the Mazda 3 uses about 7 liter for 100km, which is very saving, but much more power than a Camry.

Have to say: its a sporty car, not for families

Body is not much different than the Mazda 3. Both have only 4 cylinder.

Ok, I understand that.....now, when will the baht drop against other currencies? I am talking a significant drop, not half a point!

Why the Bath should drop? Some foreigners think quite selfish, just to get more THB for their pension.

If the THB drops, the gas (petrol) prices will rise, transportation costs will rise, all import goods (cars, parts, electronics, tools, machines, etc.) will rise, even farming products will rise (because of higher gas prices) and finally salaries will increase as well.

Even land and building costs will increase (all tools and machines are made in China), because of higher import and transport costs and i guess the "Chinese landlord" take the chance to increase his land prices as well, because he know, that the foreigners get more cash for their foreign currency.

When i came here the THB was 25 to the USD, the German THB was 12.5 to the DM and no farangs whined about.

You came here when they were still on the DM? Christ, that's what....20 years ago?

Yes, actually in 1990. Correct!

The baht is kept artificially high by being pegged to the USD.

If the currency were allowed to float it would definitely start sinking which would be great for exports and tourism but not so good for importers of eg. luxury items.

Now, who buys luxury items?

People who don't need to look at the price tag regardless of the strength of the Baht. Why would they need it artificially propped up?

Not only luxury items. Almost everything is made in China today, just every tools, machines for farming industry, electronics, also car parts (some cars are only assembled over here, but parts are imported), textiles, etc.

Better a old car, but it's paid for.

I had 2 Vigos, every year the AC System failed. Have to remove the whole dashboard to replace the AC unit. Every year new battery. There is no Battery in TH which lives over 2 years in unless you buy the Puma brand. Apart of that, Vigos are good, but in my opinion very boring, like all Toyotas.

Bought a brand new 4 door Wildtrack in 2010, never had any issues with this cars, except replaced one wheel bearing front left side. 3 Batteries and regular service. Bought a 1 year used Nissan 4 door Navara in 2011 as well. Replaced once the brakes. Never any other troubles, except the usual yearly Battery changes.

Drive now a used 99' Nissan Cefiro for 2 years as my daily commuter in Pattaya and BKK. Never any problem, excerpt normal Service and oil change. Have a Chevrolet Estate 2010. Bought it second hand a year ago. Never any troubles.

You can buy used cars in Thailand, but you should have common senses, not look at the pictures in the internet end go buy the "cheapest" Check the car carefully before you buy it. Not with the local mechanic, because many times he ask the dealer for a commission, if he says the car is good.

BTW in my home country, Switzerland, you see more Chevrolets and Ford on the Road, than Toyotas.

To buy a Ford or Chevrolet in Thailand you must be very brave. There is a reason Ford and Chevrolet, among a few others, have a much higher depreciation.

I just sold my Toyota Vigo 3.0G AT. I had the car for 9 years and drove 180000km with it.

Breakdown=0

Tires changed at 90000km once

Break pads changed once at 100000km service

2 new batteries in 9 years

at 150000km new timing belt (standard service) and water pump, water pump was recommended by the mechanic more as a precaution.

Apart from that only regular service always at Toyota (not expensive)

Never did any service or cleaning to AC and is still blowing ice cold air.

The Vigo was the most reliable car I had in the last 25 years.

I think Ford makes very good looking cars, the Fiesta compared to the old Mazda 2 looks nicer. (I bought the Mazda five years ago)
The new Ranger is IMHO at the moment the best looking pickup in Thailand.

The Focus also looks very modern.

The new Everest coming this year is a real beauty. Ford sales people most of the time very friendly.

Only problem is service in case of a problem and if you have a problem the driving

If I should need a rental pick up for a 1 day or a week and could decide between a Vigo and a Ranger I would always take the Ranger.

Little bit like the decision between a gogo girl and a farmers daughter. For a short period the gogo girl is nice to look at and makes fun to ride, for the long run the farmers daughter is better

The old Ranger (until 2012?) and Everest were tough cars but drove live tractors.

Next month we get a Nissan X-Trail - I really hope it is the same quality as the Toyota, but I doubt it...

I guess a power steering oil pressure hose was blowed. So there is no failure by Ford. It's a failure by the manufacturer of the (maybe made in china) power steering hose. Something like this can blow on any car, any time, anywhere in the world.

I rented a Ford Focus in the States a few years ago. Had to drive from Seattle up to Vancouver BC to pick someone up at the airport. The vehicle showed only 9000 miles on the ODO. On the way back, heard a big POW! under the hood, and then the power steering went out. It took extreme muscling to steer the car 75 miles back to the rental shop, who did not express surprise.

Sounds like the OP's Ford had some hard use before he bought it. Next time...try Toyota.

Wow! That's a ton of experience to draw on, did you give up dating too at the first date that went wrong? There has so much nonsense posted in this thread I've ignored it until now but for such a crap car it's amazing how many people world wide were/are dumb enough to buy them with such a horrid reputation? I'm also amazed at how while most every other manufacturer was going under in recent years, FORD was the only one making profits and the number of older model Focus's that are still on the road is astounding, anyone here taking pokes ever considered the numbers? I thought not, it's called law of averages, if you have more numbers in the game it raises your odds of having more troubles. Toyota in recent years has had it's own issues as it numbers have grown and plenty of recalls to go along with them as well, so many trolls not enough time.

They going to far now. A Swiss army knife is a tool, not a weapon. In this case, you can not even buy any kitchen or steak knifes in the Tesco and take it to your home without getting penalized by the cops???

Maybe i have to worry about my toolbox in the car. I'm quite sure there is a cutter inside somewhere

Still have a 81 cutlass (shovelnose). i drive it to work or to Bangkok sometimes. getting very difficult now to find american cars with proper papers and drive able.

81, V8, auto

The better Idea is, buy second hand, but cash. So no headache about monthly payments and not much devaluation in the car.

Since when is Mazda not reliable?

Still have a 81 cutlass (shovelnose). i drive it to work or to Bangkok sometimes. getting very difficult now to find american cars with proper papers and drive able.

Its a FORD what do you expect?

Trade it in on a TOYOTA and have happy motoring.

Toyotas are boring. No design!

If driving on thai no plates be prepared to pay a lot of tea money to the police,we visited a few years back and where stopped twice in 15 minutes by snooky police after funds ,apparently tinted window film is illegal in Cambodia??? they wanted money to let us proceed,we paid 20 dollars ,later learnt we should have give 2 dollars by some local friends. If I went again I would be tempted to take front no plate off the car so it not so noticeable that its a thai car, most local cars had no number plates fitted incuding newish looking lexuses

That was 10 years ago. Now they have all license plates. RHD cars can't be registered there anymore. BTW in Cambo you can buy cars for half of the price, what they cost over here.

@stingray and giddyup: you are right, you cannot test drive a car before an auction. However you can inspect the car, start the engine, look at it in all detail. My recommendation would be that if you are not an expert, you hire a car mechanic to inspect the car/engine in detail before the auction. Auctions usually take place in the afternoon and cars are already put on display the afternoon before and the following morning. So you have enough time to look at the cars you are interested in.

Cars at auctions are from my experience about 150k cheaper than from tents/second hand car dealers.

Not saying you have to buy from auctions, but if you are in the market for a second hand car, go to the car auctions of repossessed cars, get an idea for prices being paid there. There is also a website you can look at how much cars were auctioned for. After you compare the prices, you will for certainly think twice before you buy the car from a tent. But up to everyone themself. Just suggesting because many people are not aware of this option.

Usually tents/second hand car dealers are the ones that buy the cars at the auctions. Often you will see them invest some money for the cosmetics of the car (new paint/maybe change some of the interior) which makes the car look newer and then sell it for 150k more at a tent. That's how they make money.

No hassles to change ownership of a car at an auction. You make a payment at the auction to participate in the auction, the remainder of the money you pay when you pick up the car at the government office 2 weeks later. Including all the paperwork, i.e. blue book, road tax etc.

Here's the link to the website for car auctions. Have a look at when auctions take place/what's been paid for in your province. And even if you are not in the market to buy one, go and have a look once at the auction, it's interesting what kind of prices are being paid for all sorts of cars.

http://union-auction.com/en/home/newwebdesign1/index.aspx

hope this helps.

Transmission failures, damaged wheel bearings, nasty problems with the electronic components or sometimes even a broken head gasket, and many thing else you can't see without moving the car.

U have to go there and see the condition of the cars. Clunkers are cheap,because nobody want it. Good cars cost the same amount, as on the dealer.

For example Point C30 of 26. Nov:

2009 Honda Civic, 1.8 for 446'000 THB plus 7% Vat plus auction and transfer fees, than we are close to half million. I can buy the same car for about 350 to 390'k at the tent dealer. And there i can test the car and drive it, before i buy. Sorry to say, but never see any bargain at the auctions here. Can't be, because many of cars are overfinanced (to many years, to much interest), therefore the outstanding balance is also higher than the value of the car, when they repossess it

my recommendation for someone who is interested to buy a second hand car is to buy it from one of the auctions of repossessed cars. Significantly cheaper than car dealers and offers on websites.

So how you know, if the transmission, wheel bearings, suspension, steering, coolant system or electronic system, wheel alignment, brakes, ball or cv joints, drive shafts, etc. are ok, if you buy a car at the auction?

Never hear any auction let you test drive the cars, before you buy.In fact, many cars are from different areas of Thailand, so it takes a lot of hassles to change ownership and many auction companies charge additional VAT plus some kind of auction fee at the top of the price.

I guess there is no insurance and noone will pay anything anyway.

The insurance will NOT cover anybody, without IDP or Thai drive license. Not even on rental cars. Those are new rules of the insurance companies? Since 2 month now.

Many of the repossessed cars, by the bank, are high in price. Sometime if the car returns to the bank or finance company, only after 6 months, the total of outstanding amount plus interests is higher than the price of a new car.

Where did the Stamp Go.That must be a first here.Not really your fault the Licence place presses them. Whats a 2557 Sticker .?.

Fake Plate. Many people using fake plate without government stamp in the plate. maybe it was already on the car, when he bought it.

How many years has that been for sale stingray ?

Over 10 years. Actually, I'm not interested to sell it at all, unless i get the price i want, which is at least 20'k USD, because once i sell it, i can't buy en American car in the same condition again. Peaple offer me 200'k, but what i'll buy with 200'k? A 98' Honda Accord?

For 200 to 300'k you'll find some rusty projects with a Toyota Diesel inside and 10 year back tax to pay.

So then you start ti restore it. Find engine, gearbox, repaint and fix all the body, interior, electric wiring, lights, suspension, etc, etc (never ending story). It will cost another 300'k to build a car like that, plus another 100 to 150 on back taxes (if the paperwork is correct). Not including the time and all the headaches, until it's ready to drive (if ever).

There are many US cars around with no correct logbook (blue book) and no correct engine and VIN numbers, which can be confiscated, by the authorities, at any time.

But mine is all correct! I' know, it's not a GTO, but here in TH, there are no choices and the tax & papers is up to date. And one important thing: It can e driven to Chiang Mai and return, without seeing the mechanic! Therefore I'm not selling cheap, because it's not replaceable.

So that's about 600,000 baht. Not a bad deal considering what others are asking for American iron. I did get a good buy when I bought my Cutlass for 340,000 with a current book and a V-8 but you have to be patient and wait for someone who is really hurting for money or from a friend who will give you a good deal.

Hey stingray. I just sold that Cerifro I bought from you when I lived in Pattaya. Car ran great and never gave me any trouble. I bought a new Mazda 3.

That's a nice car, the new Mazda 3. I like the design and the price is about the same as in Europe. I also considered to buy one. But i will wait a little bit until they are as used cars on the market.

Hope to see you sometime. Let me know, when you come to Pattaya.