Crash999

Hi

I'm going to get people to invest in my company, but most of the people I talk to love to ask 1001 questions before they can even show me any money.

I understand that it's normal to ask before they invest, but how do I ensure that I'm not giving too much info before that person really becomes a shareholder.

What kinds of questions I should not answer until they are already a shareholder?

So long as you're dealing with legitimate investors there are no questions that you should not answer- you are pitching to someone who will be your intimate business partner in future and you need to start on day 1 with real transparency. Forget NDAs- they're difficult to enforce and investors will often refuse to sign them as they hear so many ideas every day.

The important factors for the investors to make their decision are the strength of your business plan (you have created one, right?) and your capability and attitude. Starting off by telling investors that you can't tell them this and that is a sure-fire way to turn them off.

I just have test-drive of new Subaru Impreza WRX - 2.5 turbo, 220 hp, AWD

Nice sporty interior and exterior and performance.

2.42m with some gifts, free insurance etc

Decent car but the 220hp version is relatively tame as Scoobies go and in it'll lose value quickly. If you're willing to take the 1m Baht hit in depreciation over the same period, I'd go for a used BMW330 as it has the same amount of seats (which I assume you're looking for), a better image, and is just as quick.

How about a Mazda RX-7?

Great chassis and engine, classic styling.

Around a million and a half.

I like the RX-7 as well but it's getting old in the tooth now. Hard to find (maybe impossible to find) one that hasn't been modded up to look like a Fast and Furious car. Can find plenty around the 1m or sub 1m mark.

To the person who said they could buy an M3 for 1.3m Baht, a BMW M3 is not the same as a Mazda 3. In the event that you can find a 2007 BMW M3 in Thailand for 1.3m Baht I'll buy it from you tomorrow and throw in another 100k Baht just because I'm so generous.

Crash, so what would an extra 2m give me do you think? I'm just curious...because spending 4m on a car here seems ludicrous to me. I just don't want to even think about comparing it to what the same money will buy me back in the UK, but that's a whole new topic. When I read the prices of new M3s and 911s here I am bowled over by how wealthy so many people must be in this city. To cap it I saw a very young-looking student girl driving a brand new Jaguar on Petchburi the other day. Amazing Thailand.

Hi Carl,

With another 2m (actually less) I'd look at a 350z, newer SLK, or a Boxster- all used. Between the three I'd go for a nice SLK as it wouldn't be hard to get servicing, is a nice drive, and of course in Thailand it's held in very high esteem so shouldn't be too difficult to sell. I wouldn't look at any of the bigger-engined BMWs or Benzes at that price as there's a steep depreciation drop- one just doesn't get credit for the engine.

A less orthodox choice could be a used NSX for about 3m, though there aren't many in the country and although they're reliable I wouldn't know where to get good servicing. Also you can get into good Lotus Elises but given Bangkok's traffic they might not be the nicest driving experience.

- Crash

KTECH had locked in costs on it and other projects around and couldn't deliver based on the rising material costs and went belly up.

Is that what happened to K-Tech? Used to be their name was all over the city so it's not as if they were lacking business.

Yes, it is backwards and ignorant. That is crystal clear. Backwards and ignorant in EXACTLY the same way as when Americans USED to call people of Asian descent ORIENTALS. So they are they same class of word today.

As I'm sure you know, orient refers to things towards the 'East' so the term wouldn't have originated in America, itself being East of Asia.

This silly debate as to whether or not the word farang is rude reminds me of almost exactly the same type of bickering from some overly-sensitive people in Japan over the word gaijin, also meaning foreigner. In Japan Japanese people often refer to foreigners as *gasp* foreigners rather, than 'that person over there who just so happens to be from a different country than I am' or whatever else some people decide that they should be called.

Both words mean foreigner and aren't inherently rude unless used in a rude way.

Whereas I was also able to rent without a Thai license I've found since then that having a Thai license is very useful. I fully recommend it for those who can get one.

Not only is it useful for driving but also it's useful to use as an ID in lieu of a passport and also as supporting evidence in the old 'I'm a Thai resident so I shouldn't have to pay the farang price' debate.

I'd like to buy something a little different from the norm over here in Bangkok, something that looks good, has some power, but also has back seats big enough for a child seat. Convertible would be nice. Can anyone give me a list of cars they've seen that may fit the bill? Budget is really 1.5m but could stretch to 2m.

At the moment I'm thinking of Lotus Elan (no back seats though I think) or Boxster but there must be more.

Hi Carl,

Elans are under your budget (and too old) and Boxsters are over, even for an early model. In that price range I'd look at:

Mitsubishi Evo - 4 seats, reliable, fast, street cred but used versions can be abused, also check the title (many are converted Lancers)

Toyota Supra - very fun, fast, can fit a kid in the back (that's about all), good service from TRD, but getting old and some junkers out there

BMW 3-Series - good image, reliable, can be quick with larger engine, but repairs can be expensive and beware of depreciation

Peugeot 206 - relatively rare, cute, fun, convertible, 4-seats, great gas mileage, and can buy new in your budget, but limited service and... it's French

Benz SLK - great image, but only 2 seats and budget can only afford previous model which is a bit of a hairdresser car

Mazda RX8 - relatively inexpensive and rare, looks good, has useable back seats, reliable, but eats more fuel than one might think

Mini - economical, fun, useable, great image in thailand, but is expensive compared with other countries

I've had both a Supra and 3-series. Were it my money I'd go for the RX-8 as it's hard to find a good Evo and the Supras are very high maintenance. I like the Mini but to me it's more of a chick car and I get get over paying a huge multiple to drive it in Thailand. I rented a Peugeot recently and it was very fun but in Thailand I imagine the opportunity to run it with the top down wouldn't be very much.

Depends what you value in terms of comfort, image, and speed. If you add another 2m to your budget then things become a lot more interesting!

- Crash

Hi all,

Wanted to start saving money to buy an M3 in the near future.

The M3 is kicked the sh1t out of it in a direct comparison between a Porsche GT3 and a Nissan GT-R.

And they are in the same price class.

Go here:

On the other hand, here's a comparison between the same trio (substitute 911 Turbo for GT3) with a different result: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/compar...comparison_test

Hi Kopiosatu,

I suggest you have a chat with some photographers in Thailand to get a sense for the market there and opportunity. Investing so much time and money into overseas education may not make sense if it only improves your technical skills and gives you a degree that may ultimately not add value.

-Crash

Good luck to Air Asia, they are making it possible for many less wealthy people to have trips they could otherwise, never afford, with Thai or Bangkok etc.

Just so long as people don't want to do something as blue-blooded and elitist as, say, taking a full size bag onto the airplane.

I made the recent mistake of flying Air Asia to Chiang Mai as part of a regional trip. Thought I'd give it a try as the cost was around 800 baht cheaper than Thai Airways. Unfortunately my bag was larger than a peanut, so I was hit with a luggage charge that more than ate up my cost savings for the round-trip.

Judging from the size of the queue at the 'fork over your dosh' counter this seems to be a cash cow for the airline.

Gotta love the psychopathic expressions of the folks on the Air Asia website baggage page:

Could be a side effect of standing in line for over an hour to get to the counter.

In the last 2 years I have had 3 - 4 visits from the goverment to check that I have actually got a functioning company

My company was set up just before the announcement that the law was to be changed and all transfers to be investigated. Even so, the transfer took place a month later without any issue. In contrast to the above, in the two years I owned the company there was no inquiries or investigations at all.

There is a lot of injustice in the world, but I do often think that the time some people spend demonstrating would be better spent trying to improve their own life. After all a lot of the anger at these demonstrations is often due to frustrations in the demonstrators own personal life and less to do with the injustice they claim to be angry with. Wouldn't there time be far better spent doing some charity work, perhaps tackling injustice on their own street. I suppose you can't really blame them. We live in a time when whole countries are more interested in fixing the immorality in countries on the other side of the globe rather than dealing with their own moral failures.

Well said.

It's interesting to see which causes folks choose to support. Tibet is a very cuddly cause with monks, mountains, and a Brad Pitt movie. All feels very nice and warm against China- a communist country whose main claim to fame in recent years is manufacturing things that tend to break easily.

I wonder if the protesters sincerely want Tibet to return to its traditional system of feudalism and serfdom (slavery). Do they acknowledge and choose to ignore the history of China and Tibet dating back to the Mongol Empire. Perhaps they are fervent supporters of the CIA and it's cold war policies against communism that started the Tibetan independence movement. And surely they are not from other countries that have annexed territories from natives who are still trying to get their land back.

In the end it becomes one of many fashion causes- in the public eye today and forgotten not long after the Olympics finishes. After all, there are more important things in the world to be concerned with, like Britney's latest antics- wow!

Your average Porsche or M5 is pretty tame compared to this car.

Crazy to use this in the city.

Wow!!! Someone has a lot of balls and/or money to hang such an expensive piece of machinery out like that.

On Sundays the boys from the Ferrari club can often be found on the top level of the Bangna-Trat expressway: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sSmisr2hIk...feature=related

Can someone explain what advantage "buying" has over renting? Seems the same to me, "buying" being a 30 year rental. What is the difference?

As an owner if the property value increases then you'll obviously be a happy camper, though you need to sell it to realize gains. You'll also get to tell people you own property (even if technically the bank owns most of it). And you're not subject to the whims and mercies of the landlord who may or may not decide to hike your rent depending on whether or not his mia noi wants a new BMW.

The big downside, for Thailand anyway, is the cost of buying. With rental yields so low you'll wind up paying a lot to live in the same place as you're renting and and given the cost of purchase and ownership it may be a long time before ownership makes financial sense. There are lots of calculators online for you to play around with, like here: http://www.losangeles-immobilier.com/RentvsBuyCalc

Of course at the end of the day there is one reason that's hard to argue against: "I want it, dam_n it!"

After all, new Ferraris aren't the world's best investment but they're sold every day.

100m bags per year is about 60m baht worth of bags, plus distribution to stores and other costs. It's not only out of concern for the environment that 7-11 is asking customers to cut down- for them it would be a significant cost savings.

In Hong Kong grocery chains such as Park and Shop have switched over to using biodegradable plastic bags. New resin additives can make a standard HDPE bag fully biodegradable. The cost is only 5-10% more than standard bags, however that's a key point- it's a cost increase for retailers so they are not likely to change over without consumer or government pressure.

On a recent trip to Chiang Mai I was met with double pricing several times in a the two days I was there but was able to get out of it- on Doi Suthep, Phuping Palace (pronounced 'boo ping', not the way I was hoping), at the Chiang Mai zoo, at the zoo's Panda exhibit, and at Doi Ithanon.

The key was having a Thai driver's license (which is supposed to prove one lives in Thailand, although I don't) and speaking Thai helped.

Overall I think the intent is to charge foreign tourists, not foreigners, but the message doesn't always get transmitted down to the occasional boneheaded ticket vendor so one has to resort to other methods. My ex-boss, a mountain of a man, was stopped with his Thai family at the entrance to the cable car at Khao Wang in Phetchaburi as they wanted him to pay the foreigner cost. They wouldn't give him a ticket at the lower amount so he told them that it was ok- he'd wait there until his family got back. Right there. In front of the ticket booth, so no one else could buy a ticket. After a bit of deliberation they quietly sold him a ticket at the lower amount.

Flew Air Asia once, a round trip to Chiang Mai. Neglected to read the fine print and was hit with a hefty weight surcharge for my luggage. Wound up being overall the same price (with the surcharge) as if I'd flown Thai which would have allowed me to bring my cases on at the heavier weight and use the lounge and faster check-in. Shame on me for assuming the weight limits are the same as other airlines.

Arto TRD on Srinakarin in Bangkok.

Hi Thanks for that but a web search for the phone number or address yielded no results, obviously me going to Srinakarin would only result in me being very lost!! Could I bother you for a telephone number...also do they do ECU upgrades?? Thanks for your help in advance.

902 Srinakarin Road- 02-362-5078. Yes they do ECU upgrades. Easiest way to find it is to head down Sukhumvit, turn left onto soi 77 (Onnut) and turn left at Srinakarin. TRD is about a mile down on the left, set back from the road in a small row of shophouses.

I'm going against the grain here but I will move to any airline that offers mobile services. I spend far too long in the air to not use the time for work communication. I'll try and keep my voice down for any TV members

Data reception would be nice... That way we can surf TV and it'd help stave off 150 new messages on the blackberry after a 14hr flight.

Should I seek compensation from the airline or the Thai Gov if I'm in a plane hit by a balloon or rocket?

I'm sure your next of kin will be well compensated!

I think part of the reason that Air Asia doesn't go to HK is competition is quite fierce now. Both Emirates and China Airlines have fares around the 8000 baht mark. Hong Kong Express may be a bit less but not sure where one would get tickets in Bangkok.

3) A sergeant in the crime suppression division who had won a national award for crime busting was shot dead at point blank range through the forehead at the disco of the Emerald Hotel in Ratchadpisek. The suspect was Duangchalerm (now plain Duang), son of the politician Chalerm Yoobamrung who was allowed to leave the scene of the crime and disappeared for 10 months before giving himself up.

Ostensible reason: his colleague had stepped on Duangchalerm's toe. The sergeant tried to intervene to break up a row between his colleague and the highly aggrieved owner of the injured toe.

Result: the suspect was acquitted. No one else was ever charged with the murder, although the defense arged that a man believed to be called Puen had slipped into the club, murdered the victim and slipped out again without being seen by anyone else.

Interesting features: Many. Find them in Google.

The murder took place in the former coyote bar called Club 20. At the time I had a membership there and when the place was shut down for a month the staff moved to other nightspots. I caught up with one of the bartenders about a week after the incident who told me she saw the whole thing go down- there was a big ruckus before the actual shooting so there were many witnesses, including her, who saw Duangchalerm shoot the police officer before handing the gun to one of his bodyguards and leaving.

Needless to say all charges were dropped because of lack of evidence.

In order to pay that 100,000 baht at this time I would have to loan, so not something I can do Lightly-if at all- I can't believe I am so blind after 18 years marriage, or am I just rebounding and that is blinding me

What do you guys think ?

Is this just another "sick Buffalo story"- or are there ever any honest stories?

There are lots of honest stories out there. Money lending is real. People fall ill. Accidents happen. Things break. People make bad decisions and wind up in dire straits.

My advice would be to offer 10k or 20k or what you can scrape together letting your gal know you want the money to go through her and letting her know it's the most you can give now. I doubt the full amount is needed and if you did pony the whole amount up it could create a bad precedent and the impression that you've got deep pockets.

Best of luck to you!

I have to agree with you. Smoking turns you into a person who smells (and slowly but quietly dies of cancer).

But alcohol turns people into...... well look around at what you saw on your last night out...

Hot babes? A miraculous transformation indeed!!!