Thaiboxer

There should be two, as the Sportriders are all diesels to my knowledge. The filters are located close to one another along the main fuel line. Diesel engines are very sensitive to water, so whatever the owner's book says, best to change the filters a little before that mark just to be safe. The truck should also have a water separator incorporated into one or both filters which can be primed by hand every now and then to empty any water out. You just pump the button up and down and the water comes out of a drain tube.

Cars are definitely assembled here, but I was told the parts are made overseas. Even if that is so, I agree that car prices are crazy compared to the States or the UK. The good news is, that labor is cheap so you pay a lot initially but you can keep the cars running for years on end.

Cobra venom can easily blind you, so I'd say you got off lucky. Two thousand Baht is not a lot to pay considering the treatment you got; count your blessings as others have said.

Maybe you can get yourself a mongoose, they can be domesticated and cobras definitely don't like them!

With the advent of cold fusion, the future generations could be buzzing around in nuclear powered vehicles and those shouldn't have a problem with speed!

I'd definitely go with a white undershirt to protect any nice shirts. I had some inexpensive shirts last me through three years of teaching with no underarm stains. Those cheap, white tee shirts with short sleeves can be purchased at any Big C, Lotus or the like for 100 Baht or so. Some guys go for the tank top ones but those don't offer underarm protection. At first you'll feel hot, but you will get used to it after a while, plus you won't be covered in sweat spots when you arrive at work.

That's a nice looking buggy and probably a blast to drive. Stick some regular car tires on it, slap on a front and rear license plate and you'll be ready to go. Wish it were that easy One of those would be great in BKK during the rainy season for navigating flooded neighborhoods. It's not like you have a nice paint job/interior to worry about.

Many truck drivers don't carry insurance and are under the influence of "yaa baa" (amphetamines) so they'll often flee the scene of an accident. However, this if the first time I've heard of a trucker actually finishing off the person he hit. My condolences to the delivery guy's family.

Given the way many people drive here, the outrageous prices and the fact that some jealous person may deicide to "customize" your paint job makes owning one of these pricey cars a real hassle. Plus, how many shops would be qualified to perform work on a car like this? Not many I would imagine.

I wonder how many kit cars/buggies are built here. Materials are cheap and a competent welder could put one together easily.

If these wealthy, arrogant morons keep this up, they may pay a catastrophic price. Just look at the French Revolution.

I remember hearing about this sad tale; spoiled little rich kid gets off the hook for vehicular homocide. This is just like that politician's son who shot some guy in a nightclub and got off for something like 1,000 Baht.

A lot of folks are interested in education reformation...and that includes many Thai teachers as well. Unfortunately, those who control the education system and aren't willing to change seem to be the majority. Some of the job ads these days, in terms of what qualifications they ask for and what salaries/benefits they're offering, are a total joke. With more and more foreigners moving here every day and taking up teaching jobs, the TEFL industry is a revolving door. If you're not satisfied with what your school is giving you, they could care less as there's always somebody willing to take your place. On the bright side, this also means that more schools are looking for people and it won't be difficult to find another job is your current job goes sour.

That 2,900 Baht tire must be a high profile one....mine are regular Bridgestones. A friend of mine paid 10,000 Baht for just two tires on his Suzuki 750cc motorcycle. Plus, he has to replace the chain every so often which makes me glad I have a car.

How about Red Baron? They're supposed to be well known and they carry tons of big bikes and parts. There is one in downtown Bangkok somewhere and if you're out in the suburbs, try Sukapibarn 3 (Eastern Ramkamhaeng Rd)....about 2kms before you hit the Outer Ring Expressway. It's a big building...probably two or three floors set back about 50m from the road. It will be on your right side as you're heading east.

Import tax is something like 200% of the car's value, so best to buy here. As for buying here, the prices are a lot higher than in the USA for what you get. The good thing about Thailand is that labor and parts are cheap for Japanese vehicles. Once the vehicle is past its warranty, it usually doesn't cost much for repairs compared to the USA. An example: I paid roughly $200 for four new tires...mounted/balanced, etc. I had a major repair/replacement done to my cooling system which was about $75...not bad I think!

I thought a 100 Baht note under your driver's license was all the speaking you needed. Actually, pretending not to speak Thai worked great for me...I was pulled over once and there were six of them there. No way I could pay my way out of that one. The police were polite though and their boss who did speak some English just gave me back my license and let me go.

Overheating is generally caused by a loss of coolant, although stop and go driving in hot weather can do it too. It could be a blown gasket as Cuban said. Is there steam coming out of the exhaust after the engine is warmed up? That means coolant is being burned inside the engine. Also, check for leaks from the side of the engine block where you see plugs...these are the core plugs and look a bit like large buttons. Those leaked on my old Toyota. Also, check the hoses leading to and from the engine/radiator for leaks and also check the water pump (my water pumped leaked too).

It's the school's job to cancel the work permit unless you demand to take it to the Dept Of Labor and cancel it yourself. If the school is legitimate, they should cancel the work permit at the end of the contract. You'll have a investigate and make sure they don't cancel it before and leave you in a tight spot.

Looks like the sharks are having a feeding frenzy! Perhaps you can threaten them with legal action if they don't stop. I've never heard of anybody being asked to pay more after all the paperwork is done. This situation is another reason I would never want to finance a car unless we had to; either pay cash or settle for a secondhand vehicle.

Those old Volvos are built like WWII tanks. No wonder people just change them to LPG and keep them going. I'd rather keep it with a gasoline or diesel engine though...don't like the idea of a "bomb" in the trunk.

That's why 10 wheeled trucks are great You couldn't park them too easily at the mall though. I've seen pickups that have been fortified with steel bumpers and bullbars...perhaps this helps.

I'm not sure on how the US immigration people are these days, but it was a real hassle when my wife and I lived there in 2001/2002. I got her a K-1 marriage visa which I used for us to get legally married in the States. After we got the marriage license and signed the wedding papers, they gave her a one year work permit which she used to find a job. Going down to the immigration in Miami, FL was a nightmare; standing outside for hours waiting to just ask a question or two. When we wanted to visit Thailand in 2002, they made us get something called "advanced parole" which allowed my wife back into the country when we returned. That cost us $100 and is just another way for them to rob you. The advanced parole said we had to be back in early July 2002 as her interview for the green card was in Sept. When we returned in June, we had a notice in the mail that they had scheduled her interview WHILE WE WERE ON VACATION and that since we didn't appear, they took away her work permit and wanted another $100 to "reopen" her case. In other words, the advanced parole was useless. This was one of the things that prompted us to move to Thailand in 2002.

It's nice that your wife can have US citizenship as it makes it easy for her if you live here and decide to return to the States. As for foreign men married to Thai ladies getting Thai citizenship, it's what we call wishful thinking!

The seven day clock begins ticking from when they cancel your work permit, if I remember it right. Also, some schools won't tell you they've cancelled it until a few days later which will shorten your grace period of remaining in the country. I don't think you need to inform the Labor Dept about the end of your contract as the school will take care of that. Just make sure you know EXACTLY when they cancel your workpermit so you can be prepared. Good luck!

I'd hate to see them making those menu items

The Beetle seems to be a much sought after collector's car over here, judging by the used car prices. Some of them are going for well over 100,000 Baht, despite being over 40 years old!

As for the Volvos, there are a ton of them on the used car lots/websites. I've always felt that Volvos have a strong body and I haven't heard of any reliability issues with them. Many of the older models on sale have a manual transmission which is what I'd opt for.....I've always preferred manuals since learning to drive one. A family member here said a taxi rear ended him when he was sitting in a Volvo 940 sometime back. The taxi's front end was smashed and the Volvo's rear bumper was just dented/scratched a bit. Perhaps an 80's or 90's era Volvo fitted with a Toyota diesel pickup truck engine with a manual transmission would be the best of both worlds: A strong body and good engine which uses easy to find parts.

Hi Folks...thought I'd run this and see what others' experiences are with bad cars. Here's mine:

Bought a thirdhand 1987 Honda Prelude 2.0 in 1998 for $2,350. The paint job was terrible and the thing looked like an overcooked tomato, but seemed alright otherwise. About a month after I bought it, the freon leaked out of the air compressor. No big deal, my previous two cars didn't have AC at all. Then it leaked oil. Got that fixed and before long the tape player broke. The radio played alright and within a few months, that went too. The right rear brake caliper siezed and had to be replaced with a rebuilt unit. Now for the biggie...driving down the highway one day at 70mph or so, had to brake and the car pulled a bit to the right, then spun out It was a slow spin and there was nobody behind me, so no accident there. Later that evening, the key causing the harmonic balancer to come off the crankshaft. This broke part of the crankshaft and without the balancer the water pump quit turning along with the power steering pump. The engine temp guage shot up into the red zone and the car steered like a semi truck. Got the thing to a gas station close by and parked it. Had it towed to a garage where it spent a month having the engine rebuilt. Not long after getting the car back, the engine began burning oil...it consumed about a quart every two weeks. I actually kept that thing for over three years till my father gave us his old Dodge Caravan. I sold the Prelude for $500 to a neighbor who had a used car lot. One year later before moving to Thailand, he still hadn't resold it (wonder why) In the end, I must have put about $5,000 into that rolling junkyard.

The car I have now is even older/uglier but it actually has AC and the engine consumes no oil despite having more than 200,000km's on the clock. It's a Toyota and seems to run fine.

Let's hear about your vehicular nightmares!