Crash999

1 hour ago, natway09 said:

I think she is way out of her league. 

Where are the 5 GUYS she was sharing a room with ???

It was 3 guys. One is the ‘new boyfriend’ and the police said they wanted to interview the other two but they’ve long since left Thailand. 

38 minutes ago, BigC said:

If she didn’t trust the police why didn’t she report to UK embassy.

 

well I am glad she like thailanf because she is black listed for life

 

unless she can prove her very weak case 

Or go to a hospital. Aside from the crime there was the potential for STDs and pregnancy. 

3 hours ago, digbeth said:

That scheme of auctioning off seized cars has been a farce and a nice way to launder cars with questionable origin and unpaid taxes into normal system. You'll see a nice Ferrari or Bentley missing the ecus being bought up for cheap, or if you're out bidding the 'original' owner/importer some muscled men could 'persuade' you to not continue bidding.

 

Also sad to see at these auctions the non-super cars that looks like it's been treasured but the owner can't afford the increasing port storage fees as their paperwork is stuck in limbo 

The big batch of supercars auctioned recently came from the DSI raids a while back due to underpaid taxes. There’s another batch due soon that has been put on hold due to the problems getting the cars registered. 

It has been comparatively rare for cars to be stuck in port. Getting them out of port wasn’t the issue it was registering them. 

That’s why you can see some very expensive cars driving around on red plates. Not because they want to pretend the cars are new, as anyone would know that a Gallardo for example isn’t new, it’s that they can’t get white plates. 

Even if you can get it past customs you might not be able to register it. 

Customs is in in a fight with the land department as customs auctioned off some expensive seized cars and then the new owners couldn’t get plates for them. Oops! 

On 8/31/2018 at 10:58 PM, Denim said:

Me too.

 

Trouble is wife wants one as well. 

OK....money no problem but she wants a pink one !

 

Do they have a pink option from the dealer or will she have to pay for an 

expensive respray herself ?

Get a wrap. That way there’s some hope for resale! 

As for price it’s around 25m new and maybe 20m for a used one. 

8 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

The woman wasnt sh*t scared when she reported the ALLEGED rape to the Thai police in another jurisdiction. They`re all the same outfit as far as I know.

 

The RTP framing the wrong person, and also members of certain protected families fleeing the scene, has all been conspiracy theories, none of this has been proven as fact. What is fact, is that women have made false claims of rape in the past to protect their own reputations, especially those with boyfriends or husbands. It is possible that she was seen on KT fornicating with a guy or guys and she claimed rape rather than letting her boyfriend know she`d been a naughty girl.

 

The Thai police have investigated the beach area and confirmed there was a high tide that night. If you don`t believe them, that`s your problem, because I and many others do. How would she had managed to get from wherever she was ALLEGEDLY drugged, to the beach without being seen by someone or people. Teenage girls rarely travel alone, especially to foreign places, so who were the last persons or person to have seen her during the time she was supposed to have been drugged? Where are the witnesses?

 

As regards negative comments about Thailand and those that consider the Thai police to be incompetent or corrupt, then it`s up to the woman to face the music, crawl out from her hiding place, confront the situation head on and state her case. But as I said and keep saying; I doubt she will be making an appearance at any time soon for reasons that I consider her story is a load of bull and only the woman can prove to me and others that share my opinions, wrong. Your so-called facts based on conspiracy theories is also a load of bull.

 

Anyway, I`m flattered that you are following my posts and hope you are finding them entertaining, I would hate to disappoint.

Regarding who she was traveling with, there were four people. One was the person in the news called Martin. Police are looking for the other two. 

Martin was the one who tried to report the tape to the KT police on July 4. But they wouldn’t accept a report from

a third party and the woman had left Thailand already on July 2. 

5 minutes ago, Somtamnication said:

Typical deaf member who cannot listen well. Yes, they did. He asked the Thais and they agreed with the driver. Sigh...

As you seem to know Southern Thai dialect quite well can you translate for the rest of us? 

On 8/28/2018 at 8:58 AM, frankphuket said:

yes i insisted with Benz here that this can't be kept like this....made several videos of the noise and send it 3 times. They always say they have polished the window again, but only the last time they "apparently" got some more specialized equipment from BENZ overseas. I have researched and this issue is a worldwide issue with GLC, C and maybe some E series. Was rather disappointed with that, but showed BENZ Phuket my findings on google...so it is not an imaginary problem. I also think the wiper motor is pushing the wipers to strong to the windshield. For me it was mostly the drivers side doing...like a 20 years old wiper which has never been changed! GRRRR

Thanks for the background. 

Yeah its it’s very frustrating to be in a quiet nice car cruising along and suddenly BRRRRRP... BRRRRRP... 

The forums seem to suggest this is a problem with RHD cars for whatever reason. Lots of theories why- windshield supplier, blades, motors, etc. 

Looks like I’ll have to keep taking the car back again until they figure it out. 

11 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

I could never justify to myself buying such an expensive car while locally made cars are so much cheaper, but I do like seeing them driving around as it is something different and they are just beautiful to see. 

 

What I always wondered: do you get supercar parking with it (the special spots at hospitals and shopping centers) or do you need to ask, and have you ever got refused? Always wondered how that works especially for drivers of hi-so cars that are not clearly "supercar".

The malls have a guideline for the guards about what is supposed to be able to park there. Mercedes normally isn’t special enough unless it would be something unusual.

I had a Lotus before and was able to park in the supercar spots. Some guards aren’t familiar with cars and I have seen a Toyota MR2 with body kit in the supercar parking and last time in Paragon an old and cheap Jaguar. Some ‘common’ Porsche’s like Macan are sometimes not permitted. 

Thanks for the review Frank. 

Funny enough I have a new e-class and everything is great except for noisy wipers. They ‘skip’ instead of sweeping making a very loud noise. I didn’t have this issue with my last Benz so I took it in for service. Only the drivers side was doing it. After the service now both sides are making the noise so I’ll have to take it in again! 

Did you do anything special to get it finally fixed? 

6 hours ago, Artful Dodger said:

I was not clear why people are saying it is not legal for a Thai company to own a Thai property.

 

Is the reason just that they are assuming the company will be a sham then?

The problem isn't that a Thai company owns Thai property. There's nothing wrong with that. 

The problem is that such a company must be owned (and therefore controlled) by Thais, meaning at least 51% of shares. This means that the foreign owner could if it was a legitimate company be outvoted when a business decision was to be made, for example selling or renting out the property to someone else. Law firms get around this by the Thai shareholders agreeing to give the foreigner a special class of voting shares, so only the foreigner can make business decisions. 

This in itself is a bit strange, as you have a company which is supposedly set up to invest in property that is letting a minority shareholder live there rent free and make all decisions. But it's not illegal if the shareholders were to willingly make such a decision.

The illegal part is the Thai shareholders aren't actually participating in the business, they aren't holding the shareholder meetings that are filed with the government each year, and are just there on paper to provide a Thai name. The lawyer knows all of this and facilities it, so they can get into trouble. The nominees and foreigner too, though they may be able to plead a level of ignorance. 

There's also a fair amount of risk involved and there have been some infamous cases of properties being sold out from under foreigners or loans taken out against the property without them knowing causing foreclosure. 

Somehow the airport still seems to be full of tour groups. 

On 8/23/2018 at 7:44 AM, frankphuket said:

looked at both GLC and GLE and preferred the GLC, not only because it was cheaper! Interior of the GLC nicer and the trunk of the GLE is probably not bigger (might even be smaller) due to the hybrid battery, it also makes the loading bay very high, increase of roughly 15cm i would guess? Exterior also felt more clunky....but sure the new model will correct those issues. As an alternative I would definitely consider the XC90 T8. Interior is a class act, engine is very strong. 

Check reliability info. Powertrain is quite new and I’m not sure how robust the dealer network here is in Thailand to deal with issues that may come up.

Also resale on Volvo isn’t as strong as with Benz.  

On 8/19/2018 at 12:18 AM, Gulfsailor said:

According to Thai law, drivers are liable to a maximum fine of Bt1,000 if they fail to stop their vehicles for pedestrians at marked crossings. In the events of a road accident taking place, drivers involved must compensate victims or their families. In the case of death, reckless drivers are liable to up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to Bt20,000. 

In the event of serious injuries, reckless drivers are liable to up to three years in jail and/or a maximum fine of Bt6,000.

Which section is this? I can only find that traffic must slow near a pedestrian crossing, overtaking is forbidden, and traffic must stop if there is a red light. 

On 8/16/2018 at 4:44 PM, smotherb said:

Well, they may not pay Americans more because of taxes, but I'd wager the average American gets paid more than the average Brit--UK salaries are only 75% of US salaries for service personnel and only 60% of US salaries for management https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/personalfinance/the-30-countries-with-the-highest-paid-workers-in-the-world/ss-BBH1WzI#image=23

Within the US vs within the UK yes. But when recruiting overseas the hiring company isn’t going to pay more just because the applicant has a US passport. If the budget for the position is capped at a certain amount then that’s what the company will pay regardless of nationality. 

13 hours ago, mogandave said:

 

Well yes, it is considered part of you compensation package because it is part of your compensation package.

Tax equalization is a common component of any competitive package which typically includes the company doing both the Thai and US taxes as well.

 

In my experience tax equalization only applies to expats who are being transferred to HK. If the position is being recruited locally then the budget for the position will be the same, whether the candidate is a Brit or American or other nationality. 

If an American pushes for a certain amount to be earmarked for tax equalization then it’s the same as people from other countries asking for more cash. Ultimately it’s the candidate who winds up paying for it. 

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

 

Many American companies will absolutely gross up your wages to cover the double taxation.

 

Lucky them! Unfortunately the companies I’ve worked for (including an American one) in HK had no such policy. One could ask for tax relief but it would just be considered part of your compensation package. 

There’s credit for tax paid overseas and a fixed gross deduction. But for people working in places like Singapore or HK at higher level jobs they get slammed by the requirement to pay both local and US taxes as the rates there are lower than the US. And no company is going to pay an American more than a Brit or someone else just because they have to pay extra US taxes.