robsamui

There's a shop on the road from ring road to dao market, chaweng.

Second hand scooters from BKK.

A good Click goes for 30.000 baht.

Thanks for the info - I'll take a look.

But 30,000 is silly money for a Click: they are selling them in Big C new for 33,000B!

OOOOPPPSSS! Sorry - not the Click - it's the Wave - apologies

R

edited due to brain damage

many of the thai motorbike repair shops have used bikes for sale though they are not really ever advertised. thai's use them as a pawn shop when they need some quick cash and of course many don't return. if you don't speak thai very well than i don't suppose this network would help much but it is there and quite prevalent as motorbikes are currency here.

i think your estimate of 20k bikes is a bit low.

have you already tried posting an advert at tesco and big c?

The biggest problem with a bike owned by a Thai is that they never, ever have routine maintenance done on them - they simply wait until something breaks or fails then get it fixed (or sell it . . . another thing that puts me off buying a scooter).

And there is a girl at Tesco-Lotus who's sole job is to strip the sale-board every two days, which she does with a religious zeal. So I have no faith in the boards there or at Big C.

Sigh.

R

Rob what type are you looking for ? Auto. Clutch ? How much do you want to spend ? I know of a few about.

I'm not after a throwaway - I've actually got an excellent sh*t heap that runs like a dream (except it's a Yamaha) already. If I can't sell this then I'll keep it for a spare(!)

My thinking is that I can buy a new Wave for 33,000. That's the cheapest going. Or I can buy exactly the same thing that's 3-4 years old for 18-20,000B. But I'm at the point where I really feel like something less run of the mill - something that gives me a little glow of pride. Must be a time-of-life-related thing. (Hence the wailing about the used bike market.) I'm living solely on my income each month with no fat bank accounts abroad to dip into so that's a problem . . . I've got just 50,000 cash put to one side at the moment.

My ideal would be a nice plain Steed. But I can't afford that. Phantoms look like crud; all plasticky and with that toytown-made-in-India tank logo from the 60s and ditto tank speedo and that sad chrome rocker cover that looks like it's been cannibalised from kitchen equipment. BUT the Phantom Fire looks a lot less toytown, all black and with a pleasing tank. They are hard to find but there's one I'm after in Lamai - going to look at it tomorrow.

So if you know of anyone with a Steed (or even a little Virago)who would take 50,000B down and 10,000B month . . .

Cheers!!

Rob

we used to buy ours off of Springer. never any issue, always fixed up to code included in the price & with the right paperwork to transfer ownership. always paid between 12-15k baht for a older but well running dream or wave.

A friend is looking to sell a moped in Lamai. I will email her to see if she still is & post back. She is Swedish so no faffing with shy thai's.

Thanks - but still ripping my hair out as to what to go for . . .

You'd have more luck in Surat Thani. Samui is a holiday resort, there aren't many motorcycle dealerships or other industrial-type shopping venues. Alternatively you could ask some rental businesses, they turn the bikes over after a certain # of km and might be looking to offload some. That's where I got mine.

Yes - this is one of my points!

Why are there no used bike shops here? There are thousands of bikes on the roads . . .

R

With a canny statistical stab in the dark, I reckon there must be about 20,000 motorbikes being used daily on the island. Sure as hell there are no actual figures available and sure as hell seems like it on the road. Chaweng Beach Road has thousands of them lining it from end to end daily.

And for 2 weeks solid now I've been dithering between tying myself up financially for 4 years grovelling to try and get car finance or chuntering internally trying to decide whether to keep my festering jeep and get a decent motorbike as the good-weather means of transport.

But where are the used bikes? Where can you go (see the other posting about this) to find a used motorbike? Checking the Thai Visa Samui classifieds there are currently 7 - SEVEN - used bikes for sale, of which 4 are big bikes and not scooters. And the other lot (no names) have the same thing.

Is it a Thai/farang thing? Do the thousands of Thai people in their tangled and extensive families pass on their bikes to their hundreds of friends and relatives? Where are the used motorbike shops? There are 100 times more bikes on Samui than cars and yet there are used car shops . . . Just look outside every police station and there 100s of scooters lying there outside, especially in Chaweng. Why isn't there an area the size of Tesco-Lotus carpark just crammed with second-hand bikes for sale?

Or is it to do with Thai people just hating to be seen with anything that's not brand new and shiny and so there's no public market for nasty, disgusting low-class used motorbikes? Dammit, I earn probably eight times more every month than my Thai neighbours with their Iphones and new lovely cars, even if they do live in tin sheds!

Or is it that us whities can't be bothered with piddly little scooters, preferring to lavish our thousands of stashed Pounds/Dollars on 4x4 trucks and flashy chrome choppers instead? In which case where are all the used big bikes? (Apart from in Om's Bikes in Chaweng? At daft prices?)

Or is it maybe that we (some of us anyway) pop 40,000B out of our spare change to buy the girlfriend a bike that we can get to ride when we feel like it . . . but don't actually own and register one in our own names?

I followed a lead today that took me to a surly Thai youth who glared and squirmed a lot, couldn't meet my eye and didn't smile. He was selling a 2-year old Honda Wave with 11,000K on the clock. I speak enough Thai to communicate adequately ("Hoo hoo - farang put Thai dai", giggle giggle) but he insisted on 30,000 baht and no offers. You can buy the bike NEW for 33,000 baht with tax and insurance and servicing included. My guess is that he was freaked by having to deal with a farang, didn't know how he should respond, was embarrassed and felt his face dropping of in front of his smirking neighbours and to keep it (face) and get rid of me (farang) kept chanting sam meun, sam meun, sam meun. .

On the other hand I know of two places where I can buy a presentable and newish scooter for 7000 or 8000 baht, no papers and no questions asked. Sigh.

Any pertinent economic or cultural observations on this phenomenon? Is this yet another case of passive aggression or simply a concrete example of just how separate the Thai people see themselves compared with the big hairy strange farangs?

Comments and free vallium welcome . . .

R

How about Nora Lakeview - or is that too budget?

R

No usually then owner come to pick up the rent, but as she's walking as fast as a turtle as she seems to be kind of sick, I assumed she sent a guy... And the guy came exactly the day I was expecting she to come pick up the rent which is the part that made me confused... Everything went fast I didn't take much time to think..

"on a related note at www.scamferang.com somchai posted....

' Cant believe i nearly got away with going to a random ferang house and asking for his rent !, silly ferang didnt have any moeny on him, but still came on my motorbike with me... ' didnt go to well, as i should have hidden my tattoo;s"

Is that a joke or smth? The website even doesn't exist...

You are obviously a person who's sense of humour has yet to develop . . .

R

thanks for the reply rob. i've really got no interest or intent of doing it myself unless i can't find someone experienced that's willing to accept a few baht to do it for me.

at this point the phones a paperweight. i was planning on getting a new one from the states in a few months but this has altered my schedule a bit. if i can't get someone to fix it, it will either remain as a paperweight or i'd have to try it myself.

Yes - and that's why I mostly don't do them anymore.

On the one hand folks insist on paying me Thai wages and I really can't be assed to spend 3 hours and get 300 baht for it.

But on the other hand they moan and whinge about the results of paying Thai people to do the job for them.

Funny old world, innit!

R

hey bluebell, i'll be making the rounds today to try and find someone and will let you know if i do. i've been googling and it appears to be a simple home replacement if you buy the glass and have a few tools. i'd prefer to have someone experienced replace mine but if push comes to shove i'll be doing it myself. my 3gs glass is completely shattered.

Chuckle. If you have a look on EBay you will see dozens of broken iPhones for sale, all of them being sold with the replacement screen also. People are lured into buying DIY replacements, believing it to be a easy job, and then they discover that it's not. Not only that but they have additionally damaged their phone in the process.

I've even seen Thai phone shops in Tesco - the so-called experts (double-chuckle ..."I'm a Thai person: I can do anything") - opening phone cases using screwdrivers to pry them apart! (For those not aware of these things, there are special plastic tools available that don't dig holes in the case.) With the iPhone screen it's also useful to use a rubber sucker to remove the screen.

On top of this, the iPhone is one of the several phones which has two screens: a surface digitizing screen which sits in contact with the LCD screen underneath (you'll need to check if both screens are broken). And then you'll also need to order the peel-off printed sheet of adhesive film to glue everything back together again . . . the parts alone come to close on 1,500 baht. That's a quality 3-rd party replacement screen - the original full kit from an Apple/iPhone agent is over 5,000 baht (I forget exactly quite how much now . . .)

I've done 14 or 15 of these now and know the pitfalls. if you haven't experience in pulling phones apart then I wouldn't begin with an expensive one like the iPhone to experiment on!

Rob

You would think she would call her "old friend" not some number, unless of course its an old friend "Thai style*' ie never met, never spoke and really have no idea who the person is, in which case, why would you deposit money into someone's account who you do not even know and is not a shop or a business?!

Then one would try to use a brain and think how could someone get 40 original iphones and sell them below market price?!

*"Thai style friend"

-Just met on the bus 10 mins ago

-Just met in the shop same day

-Just met on line

**"Thai style best friend"

-Have known each other for more then 24 hours but less then a month

-Have chatted on line more then 3 times

***"Thai style brother or sister"

- known each other for over a month

- have spoken on the phone after meeting on line and met for a drink.

The easiest way is to buy a car that is already registered in Surat

yepp, saves a week of transfering docs from another province

If DLT accepts WP as proof of residence, all you need is WP and pasport. If they require certificate of residence, you get it from Immigration.

Bring owner and car to DLT. Require for transfer to your name. DLT will inspect cars identity. DLT will accept transfer, and as you live in Samui request transfer to be completed while you wait. When you can read your name and passportnumber as owner of car, you pay seller with a cashier check (proof of payment). Have a nice trip home

Ah, thanks, I was hoping for a reply like this.

So I have to go with the owner to the Driving License Tent? Really? The two of us together? So if I buy a car in Surat Thani from a dealer, we have to both have to go together of the Surat DLT wossit? Cannot the seller provide proof of ID and a statement that he has sold the vehicle to me?

R

Seller usually wants to secure he gets payed, you would want to ensure you get the car and is the registered owner when you pay. Only place this can happen at the same time is DLT, Department of Land Transportation.

BTW Samui is in Surat

Thanks. (I was sure that DLT had nothing to do with tents! )

try tisco bank,i got a loan for 450,000b over 3 years no problem,used my thai company,all paid up now and have the blue book.

Where is the Tisco branch?

R

in suttathani, map and contact details here - http://www.tisco.co.th/MapAction.do?branchid=33

Thanks Boaty.

From which I assume there is not a branch on Samui?

Why won't anyone tell me this - is it a secret?

R

try tisco bank,i got a loan for 450,000b over 3 years no problem,used my thai company,all paid up now and have the blue book.

Where is the Tisco branch?

R

Also had à car financed at tisco. Pretty easy and smooth. Be aware of 2 things though when getting finance;

1 interest is calculated over the entire loan amount for the duration of the loan, in stead of over the outstanding balance. So the shorter the loan the better.

2 they add vat! Not an issue on new car finance.

Where is the Tisco branch?

R

They have a contact # here.

Thanks. Is there a branch on Samui?

R

The easiest way is to buy a car that is already registered in Surat

yepp, saves a week of transfering docs from another province

If DLT accepts WP as proof of residence, all you need is WP and pasport. If they require certificate of residence, you get it from Immigration.

Bring owner and car to DLT. Require for transfer to your name. DLT will inspect cars identity. DLT will accept transfer, and as you live in Samui request transfer to be completed while you wait. When you can read your name and passportnumber as owner of car, you pay seller with a cashier check (proof of payment). Have a nice trip home

Ah, thanks, I was hoping for a reply like this.

So I have to go with the owner to the Driving License Tent? Really? The two of us together? So if I buy a car in Surat Thani from a dealer, we have to both have to go together of the Surat DLT wossit? Cannot the seller provide proof of ID and a statement that he has sold the vehicle to me?

R

The easiest way is to buy a car that is already registered in Surat

Why, dear sir, that is precisely what I propose! Did you not read my post?

Can I then later sell the car on Samui, or would I need to sell in Surat?

R

Also had à car financed at tisco. Pretty easy and smooth. Be aware of 2 things though when getting finance;

1 interest is calculated over the entire loan amount for the duration of the loan, in stead of over the outstanding balance. So the shorter the loan the better.

2 they add vat! Not an issue on new car finance.

Where is a Tisco branch?

R

Sorry to sound dumb guys but I've hunted through this forum all day and just got more confused!

Simple enough idea: I live on Samui where there are few 2nd-hand cars and they're expensive. My idea is to go to Surat Thani for the day with a Thai chum and visit several used car sales lots. As far as I know Samui and Surat share the same regional/licensing rules so anything that's registered in Surat can later be sold on Samui with no problems (but please correct if I'm mistaken ...)

I need to be clear what documents I need to have supplied and what each of the steps is on the way to getting it registered in my name on Samui, so ...

a) Check - Samui is a part of the Surat Thani province as far as vehicle registration is concerned . . yes?

See car, pay cash for it in Surat. What docs/paperwork must I make sure I'm provided with in the process? (I'll probably keep it 4 or 5 years before selling.)

c) What is the process needed to transfer the ownership to my name?

c part 2) Can I have the transfer handled for me by a local agent? If so what paperwork would he need?

I guess that's about it!

Any advice would be welcome!

Cheers

Rob

ps I've been continually resident on Samui for 12 years, have Work Permit and Non Im B visa and 6 years bank statements showing income and tax-payment papers to support this.

try tisco bank,i got a loan for 450,000b over 3 years no problem,used my thai company,all paid up now and have the blue book.

Thanks - I'll have a look.

Is there a branch/office on Samui?

R

Went into this one a few years ago and ended up on a course of psychotropic anti-depressants.

I've been employed here for the last 6 years by a company capitalised at 11 million baht. There are 6 years of bank statements and tax payments I can offer up. My old Suzuki jeep is now getting very frayed around the edges (middle, top, bottom) and I'm pondering on the possibility of trying to get finance for a different vehicle.

Something fairly humble - old-ish diesel pick-up for about 150,000 - 200,000 baht. Meaning 50,000B deposit and the balance over 3 or 4 years ... something like that.

I'm fully aware that

i) it's easier to squeeze s*it from a rocking horse than for a whitey to get a Thai-based bank loan, and

ii) every single farang that I know (except for one) who lives here can dip nonchalantly into multiple bank accounts and probably has half a million or so in his house-safe that's embedded in 4 foot of concrete behind 8 foot electrified walls and defended by his multiple killer guard dogs (now where did I read that . . ?) so this probably isn't a topic that many expats here need to explore.

Meaning that ... I'm wondering if anyone knows if any of the Thai banks have got a little more approachable over the last few years in this respect (after all, the BKK Bank now actually has a Visa debit card you can shop with on line and link to PayPal . . . )

Anyone have experience of this sort of thing recently??

Cheers in advance,

Rob

do u reckon that manikins are good for putting infront of the window where u woukd normally sit. then when u go out replace the manikin with the same clothes that u normally wear and put it in the place of where u normally sit.

maybe could put i toy shiny gun belt on the manikin and moved it around every few hrs basically where ever u sit near a window. when u go out put in in your old place also tie a small peice of string round its head and put the fan on so it look like it is moving back and forth.

actually get loads of manikins all looking like yourself. with a toy gun. then if someone brakes in u just freeze with a real gun. then when they all get close. bust a cap in their ass!!!

Ah - bless!

:w00t:

on a positive note, they could become TV Sponser's, and added to the Party Route

grocer's grocer's grocer's!

What an amazing country this is . . . .

QUOTE: "Election Commission member Prapun Naigowit, when asked to comment on whether Thaksin would be violating his five-year ban from politics by speaking at the event, yesterday said it had to be determined whether he was involving himself in political activity."

R :cheesy: :cheesy:

This guy clearly doesn't understand the job description.

Hey fool, YOU GUYS MAKE THAT DETERMINATION....

erm - which "guy" would that be and quite which "fool" is it to which you are referring?

Undoubtedly this is clear within your own bubble of consciousness but could you let the rest of us in, also?

R

And now I ponder on it, which "guys" are you addressing and exactly what "determination" would they be making?

Trust me - nobody out here has a clue what you're on about.

R