Disting

Hi

Just got my new Fortuner. When I put it in reverse it makes a beeping noise to very kindly tell me it is in reverse even though I have just moved the gearshift into the bit that has R quite clearly on it. Then the reversing sensor kicks in and it starts beeping which I want but does get a bit annoying when it mixes with the first one. Anyone know how to stop the standard reverse beep. I did think of trying to explain to the dealer but I expect I will get one of those looks from them. Would be much easier to do it myself.

Thanks

My wife used this lady about 1 1/2 years ago. Had several lessons which although I didnt see, appeared to be done in a safe manner. She was taken to the dead ground out by the new ring road and did the learning to use a car there before moving on to the actual road part. They went up to the driving school at Phutthaisong as I think she has a contact up there. My missus passed the driving part but failed the written bit by 1 question but a small contribution helped it through. I now drive a lot with my missus and find her just fine. Was much easier on the both of us to have a Thai teach her how to operate a car rather than doing it myself in my own car.

You can argue who said what to who till the cows or buffalo come home. It boils down to the owner having NO EXCUSE!

To attack anybody with a weapon apart from in self defence, and nobody has even hinted at that, is inexcusable. COWARDS!

I worked the door in bars and clubs for 5-6 years. In all that time I had to ' Slap " 2 people who punched me first. Every other time the people left without violence. 99% of those people came back either the next night or next weekend and apologised for their behaviour. I also worked with a lot of THUGS who delighted in beating the crap out of drunken customers for the slightest misbehaviour. I also found that these tossers nearly always did this to the wrong person sooner or later and forever had to live looking over their shoulder. Not a nice way to live.

The best way to remind these cowards that this type of behaviour is out of order is to simply stop drinking there. Hit them in the wallet. In these hard times bars need every customer they can and the bad ones will soo go under!

Hear Hear. Boycott it.

Seems to me just another way of impressing on the locals that all expats are a bunch of drunken thugs. Doesn't help the reputation of the majority of normal guys who live in the area. I for one will not be using that place again. Just needs something like that to kick off again with me inside, boys in brown get called and you all get nicked. Just means crossing yet another Buri Ram bar off the list.

Which bar is this. Anyone got any more info on this. Sounds a bit more serious than the usual goings on

I have a 4 year old Vigo and am planning on getting a Fortuner in June.

Has anyone out there had experience of the best way to offload the old car?

Toyota will do a trade in which may be the least amount of hassle. Am also going to go to some of the second hand dealers to see what they offer. I will need the money from the Vigo to get the Fortuner so the timing will be an issue.

Anyone got any ideas or suggestions of how to get the maximum value?

Thanks

For those asking about different colours. Buri Ram Toyota told me that any car is available in any colour that Toyota offer. It means a months wait and you have to put down a deposit on the car as I guess they dont want to be stuck with a non standard colour car. It may be that some of the sales staff dont know this so just say no when you ask the question. Just ask to speak with the senior salesperson.

For those who have sat in the Pajero with the engine running, you will feel the 4WD gear shift against your left thigh, and it vibrates. Am afraid after 5 seconds of being in it, I knew I could never own one. Bad design mitsu!!!!

Steak pie in Bamboo is excellent

Chicken with cashew nuts is also excellent

Trouble is they force me to have a big ice cream afterwards and then my missus gives me grief about the expanding waistline

Thats all the rice you see drying on the blue nets by the side of the road. Majority of that has come from combines

also for the post that says the local laborers must hate the machines, in my village, each year there is a shortage of people top work the fields. Very few young people want to do it and the oldies are getting less and less able each year, so the machines, although expensive at least mean you can get the rice in quickly.

I heard the going rate for a stuck combine to be pulled out by a backhoe was 4000. nice little earner with all these very wet paddies this year

Used Combine to do our land this year. Went and saw our 7 rai patch being done. They were using a brand new Kubota DC60. 850000 from your local dealer. 3 guys needed to run it. 1 driver and 2 baggers at the back. medium sized machine so it fit well into small paddies. Our 7 Rai patch is 6 fields. They started at 3 and were done by 7. 550Baht a Rai. Very impressive machine. Extremely manoeverable so it didnt miss any. I went down just after it had passed and checked the ground and there was very little rice on the floor and also when it was spread out to dry it was very clean rice, not full of bits. Must say that our rice was standing up, not fallen over which makes it more difficult to use a combine.

IMHO, if I was trying to build a customer base and someone came in, for their first visit to my bar, on a 34 degree day, I would put the aircon on or at least offer it to them. That to me is how you make someone come back, not by giving them a table fan to waft hot air around.

As it was not on or offered we went to the French place just up the road where it is more open and cooler and had a nice meal and drinks there instead.

I must admit that I didnt see any aircon in the bar, must be well hidden.

So apart from its looks, what makes it the best bar in Buri Ram?

I went in once, very hot inside and had a little plastic fan to share between us. Drink prices were expensive to say the least and the softies had to come from the corner shop. Didnt make a good impression I'm afraid.

What sort of money are we looking at for the top spec CRV and Escape. I still cant get to like the new CRV styling. I really would not like to see it outside my house every day. Will have to see if my local Ford showroom have an escape.

Test drives are no problem. Some places the wife has had to sign a waiver, others they want a copy of your license. Have never been refused a test drive. Normally the problem comes from the wife along the lines of "test drive again... Why you want test drive, you not buy this one." I try to explain that I wont buy a car based on hearsay like wot they do. So many times I hear Isuzu number 1 in Thailand Isuzu very strong etc etc, Bless 'em.

Only airbags on the Fortuner are front passenger and driver.

Question for anyone with car stereo knowledge. Fortuner has stereo controls on the steering wheel, if you were to put a different stereo in, can they connect these controls up. I would hate to have a stereo shop guy tell me yes no poblem then come back to find it doesnt work.

Biggest difference for me about the Mitsu/Fortuner verses Everest and MU7 is the MU7 and Everest are literally the same chassis, suspension wheelbase etc that the pickups are on. The Pajero and Fortuner have a shortened wheelbase, coil sprung suspension at the rear aswell as the old cart springs. Fortuner also got traction control, bigger wheels allowing the front discs to be enlarged and vented. Brakes on it felt very good, considering drum brakes on the back. Makes a huge difference when driving them. I understand that the rules on Pickup based vehicles were relaxed slightly allowing the wheelbase to be shortened and also the mods to the rear suspension. I guess Ford and Isuzu were too far into the development of theirs to alter them. Guess it shows in the sales figures though.

The owner of Cockpit in Buri Ram has a vigo that he has had converted to vented discs all round. I do wonder how stable it would be under emergency braking, whether the back would come round or not.

I got told by the Toyota dealer in Buri Ram that the replacement maps for the Fortuner Navi comes on a CD or DVD and you just put it in the player and it will update itself. No cost mentioned. I can only guess that the Camry navi uses the same principle.

Took the new Mitsubishi Pajero sport and the new model Fortuner for a test drive today. I had high hopes for the Mitsu as it would have been good too have had some serious competition for the Fortuner. The MU7 and Everest are not in the same class, having driven both, the ride is very pickup like.

On first look round the Pajero looks good. I like the way the rear most seats fold into the floor to give an unrestricted load area. Also the centre console top is padded. Seems a small thing but a nice touch to have something soft under ones arm. unfortunately within 5 seconds of starting it I knew I could never own one. The gear shift for the 4wd is on the right side of the console unit and was pressing against my leg. As all these 4wd shifts vibrate, it would drive me mad. Think of a vibrator being pushed against your leg all the time you drive, might suit some people but not yours truly. The ride was not as good as I had hoped and was quite noisy, both suspension wise on hitting bumps and general road and engine noise. They also havnt put the nice extras on, like stereo controls on the steering wheel or parking sensors.

Dropped that back and went straight to Toyota. They had the top of the line 2WD model as a tester. I know from the Vigo that the 4WD shift is on the left side of the console so that problem wasnt there. Seats are more comfortable, quieter ride and handled bumps better. I did the same circuit as the Mitsu and even the missus, whos car knowledge is the colour, said it felt better and was quieter.

The rearmost seats hang when stowed so not quite as much room in the back. Had more extras like the steering wheel controls and cruise control which i like. makes those runs up and down to bangkok much easier. parking sensors as standars and optional corner sensore, a good idea for the missus. Also had a good chat with the showroom people about colours. I have seen some around in colours that are not in the brochure. Was told that you can do a special order for any colour in the range, months wait and have to pay a deposit.

The Navi version is a lot more, 110000 Baht more than the next top model. Seems to be just for a DVD 7 inch screen Satnav player that has a bluetooth phone built in. Think I will give that a miss. Can always put an after market steroe in if I want a screen type unit.

so it looks like I will be getting a Fortuner after all. Hondas styling people must have taken magic mushrooms when they did the new CRV. How they went from the very handsome mark 2 to the eyesore mark 3 I dont know. Chevrolet I think will not hold its value even though it is quite a nice car.

So whats the score with this place, came past Sawadee tonight and it was dead and across the water was a large blank spot where the Irish bar is, No lights so I guess it was not open. have we got yet another Buri Ram expat bar success story to add to the list or what?

That comes as no suprise.

Me and my mate gave him 3 months before he closed down. Too many other places, too expensive, bad location, closed bar with no aircon. Yet another one falls by the wayside.

Yes it appears that Aiden has gone AWOL.Have to disagree with the above comment as he had air-con and i thought it was in a good location .His prices were a bit steep but that is the same with all imported beers

I was there about 2 1/2 months ago and all that was in there was a very cheap red plastic fan, there was no aircon. Guaranteed. I took a very close look around the place as it was my first visit. He must have had it installed after we went there. At 3 pm with temperatures in the low 30's, sitting inside was not pleasant, even with a very cheap plastic fan. I am quite sure that seeing as we were the only customers he would put it on or at least offered to put on the air con.

That comes as no suprise.

Me and my mate gave him 3 months before he closed down. Too many other places, too expensive, bad location, closed bar with no aircon. Yet another one falls by the wayside.

I bought a new Vigo 3 1/2 years ago. Took the demonstrator for a quite long test run. Got it on the fast bit of road near the showroom and did several overtakes to see what the acceleration was like also handling, braking etc. Not a peep from the showroom girl although she might have been having a brown trousers moment after the braking test.

Cant believe any showroom would not let you out in a demo model. If they do, just ask for the manager.

IMCC corp is the official suppliet for proper quads, by proper I mean not the cheap chinese ones that if you break it, you could be in a world of trouble.

www.imcc-corp.com

Not cheap but they are proper ones withservice back up etc.

325,000 Baht for a 250 one. Lot a dosh for a toy. Still, its on my wish list after I change the car.

Hi All

In the bookshop opposite the Bamboo Bar on the main drag through Buri Ram there is a carousel from Asia Books. All books in English. I have seen several posts asking where we can buy english books in Issan so here is the answer. I have already contacted Asia books and asked them to increase the number of books, I think if more people do this, they may take notice and do it.

Has anyone else seen an Asia book stand anywhere else?

I see the cost for the all singing model is 1.419.000 Baht. That is a hel_l of a price. Think that is up there with the CRV if I am not mistaken. I am sure ride quality is better in a CRV than a pick up based car with solid rear axle etc.