Pib

What did you use: Thai ID card, Foreigner Pink ID card, or Passport? Thanks.

Here are some real world testing stats for the Seal like energy usage (i.e., range) when the next time (or first time) it gets down to a -10C here in Thailand. ???? But fortunately the site also shows energy usage at 23C a little bit closer to Thailand's temperature. RWD model https://ev-database.org/car/2001/BYD-SEAL-825-kWh-RWD-Design AWD model https://ev-database.org/car/2002/BYD-SEAL-825-kWh-AWD-Excellence

Must be a world wide thing as various people in this reddit thread, like in Sweden, , Brazil, Denmark, Thailand, etc., talk how it takes 7 to 10 days for the car to be registered in the BYD system.

As soon as I saw your reason about not being in the picture my brain figured you were probably an international criminal on the run. But after checking all Interpol Red Notices and the FBI Most Wanted List I didn't see "mistral53" wanted anywhere. So, I now take your statement as the total truth. ???? Oh yea, Congrats...beautiful wife and car.

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It always interesting how much the "value of freebies" are determined by sellers/manufacturers. I'm sure they use the generous full retail value say like for the 1st class insurance, wall charger with installation, extra warranty, etc....full retail prices that few people would pay if buying each one individually. But hey, freebies are good even if their value is overstated by the manufacturer/seller.

Why are cupholders important? I thought you were suppose to keep your beer bottle in-hand while driving. ????

Yea...the dealership-provided 1st year free insurance is typically more expensive to continue/renew compared to arranging you own insurance with another insurance company. Or at least that's the way it worked for me even back in 2010 after my 1st year of Toyota-provided insurance for my 2009 Fortuner came up for renewal. Via my insurance broker by switching to another insurer (LMG) the premium for the 1st class insurance was a lot lower...and I've been with them (LMG) ever since.

Boy...the Seal looks great in black!!!

Believe me....just going with the 80, 60, 40% ballpark terminology is not a good way to choose tinting....ALWAYS look at sample tints in the brochure and look at the actual specs. And better yet try to set in a car with certain tinting already installed. Like where BYD would use the terminology of 80% for the Lamina CM One 05 film, its actual "transmitted light" spec (per Lamina specs below) is 6% light gets thru which mean 94% is blocked. CM One 15 is 17% of the light get thru and 83% blocked, etc.

I find the use of 80, 60, 40% tinting terminology as misleading because each tint manufacturer has widely varying versions of tint and how much visible light they block/transmitted. But that terminology is commonly used in Thailand. Like on the Atto 3 I'm buying I ordered Lamina CM One tint with 80% for the sunroof (to use the dealership's tint terminology) but the actual visible light blocking is 94% per the Lamina brochure....40% for the windshield but the actual visible light blocking is 63%, and 60% for the hatchback window/door windows but the actual visible light blocking is 83%. I already have similar Lamina tinting on my Fortuner and I can see out fine even at night (still got good eyes). Plus the dealership said 80% on the sunroof, 40% on the windshield, and 60 or 40% on all remaining windows is what the great majority of folks order. I have found an Android app named "Light Meter - Lux & Kelvin" is a great little app to measure visible light levels like putting it on one side of the window (or sample tint) and then on the other....then do a little simple math to determine the percentage of light reduction and you can double check tinting visible light specs...figure out what tinting level is currently on a vehicle, etc. Below is a link to the app on Google Play. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bti.lightMeter&hl=en&gl=US

Today/Sunday I went to the BYD dealership close to me here in western Bangkok where I ordered a red Atto 3 almost two weeks ago to check the latest delivery status and the place was a madhouse....that is, VERY crowded. When I asked the sales lady I've been dealing with on the Atto 3 why so, so many people were here today she said most were there to see the new Seal (that was the answer I was expecting even before asking). The dealership had a black one on the showroom floor. Now I didn't set in the car but I walked around it and looked inside and I thought it was simply great looking....although it looks very good in the sales brochures, on a website, etc., it looks even better in person. I really liked the exterior and interior....and loved the black color as it suited the car style well. But since it's a sedan and low to the ground (especially the front end) it's not really my preferred type of car anymore....I'm more of a SUV type person. But to repeat that black Seal looked great and is definitely going to be a big seller!!!

That FB post is confused....talking that the 12V lead acid and lithium traction battery as if they were one in the same but they are two different batteries. On both cars the lithium traction battery is on the bottom of the vehicle but for the Atto the 12V battery is high in the front drive/engine compartment and apparently for the Seal the 12V battery is in the rear seat/boot area.

The Seal is now appearing on the Rever Thailand website....earlier today it wasn't listed yet. https://www.reverautomotive.com/en/model/seal/overview

My guess is BoI would focus on the subsidiary regarding company size, profit, etc., as I expect your employment contract shows the subsidiary as the company you are employed by. You can contact/email BoI LTR folks with specifics and they should be able to tell you whether they would consider the parent global company or their UK subsidiary as your employer. BoI LTR is responding pretty fast to inquires now days....usually respond same business day or with in a few business days......before it could be weeks before they responded. https://ltr.boi.go.th/#contact Sure a Non-immigration marriage visa is possible....lots of people are on them....I use to be on one. I switched from a Non OA Retirement visa/extension of stay in 2019 after being on one for a dozen years to avoid the Thai health insurance requirement that came into affect in 2019 for people on an OA Visa/extension. A marriage visa/extension does not require health insurance. And a marriage visa/extension has lower income requirements than a retirement visa/extension.

But it's not a tax....it just another ATM fee. In most any country they have various ATM fees...even when you are in your home country and use an ATM that is on a different network than your bank's network. Banks love ATM fees....it's pure profit for them.

There is no tax! Now there is a Bt220 Thai bank fee for use of a foreign card....and depending on your card-issuing bank they usually charge a 1 to 3% foreign transaction fee. But no tax.

The Atto owner is probably a young man based on the accessories added...wants the "sportiest" BEV available within his price range....and the BYD Seal just became his new crush....now trying to dump the old crush (Atto) and chase after a new crush (Seal). And then repeat this process every year or two as newer models come along. Oh, to be young again. ????

Yea...ain't that the truth....I was writing my post above about how VAT also has a BIG impact on vehicle prices (and many other things)....I hit Submit on my post and then saw your post on the same subject.

Another kind of tax that impact new auto prices is VAT. Like in the EU, VAT varies from 17 to 27% depending on the country (see below chart)....that is a VERY healthy tax! I think the UK VAT is now 20% (another VERY healthy tax)....and the Australia VAT 10%. Thailand's VAT is 7%. The U.S. doesn't use the VAT system but a system of state sales taxes which range from 0 to around 8% depending on which of the 50 states you are buying in...and there might also be a city/county sales taxes of a few percent. All the different import duties, excise taxes, VATs, sales tax, subsidies, etc., can cause new vehicle prices for the exact same model to vary greatly from country to country. At least for Chinese made BEVs sold in Thailand (%0 import duty tax on Chinese made vehicles), Excise tax reduced from 8 to 2%, a healthy Bt150K subsidy, and a VAT on the low end compared to most other countries that use the VAT system currently makes Thailand a good place to buy a BEV right now. https://www.acea.auto/figure/share-of-vat-in-net-price-of-cars-by-eu-country/

Since the EU applies a 10% import duty tax on Chinese cars (the U.S. applies a 27.5% tax) compared to Thailand which does not charge an import duty on Chinese cars, has lowered the BEV excise tax from 8 to 2%, and currently has a healthy BEV cash subsidy it appears above EU and Thailand price difference boils down to taxes/subsidy. Who would have ever thought one day it could be cheaper to buy a new car in Thailand compared to the EU/US. Ref for above EU 10% duty reference https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/13/cars/europe-china-electric-car-subsidies/index.html Europe levies a duty of 10% on cars imported from China. That compares with duty of 27.5% in the United States, and China’s manufacturers have taken advantage to carve out a significant and rapidly growing foothold in the European market.

Thailand digging deep to keep the subsidy going if now using funds earmarked for "...emergency or necessary expenditure." See below The Nation 27 Sep 2023 report. https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/policies/40031395

Just google until you find a mx schedule for your vehicle. Something like the one below where it says ever 40K km for front and rear differential gear boxes. Auto transmission fluid "inspect" every 100K km or 5 years....depending on how the fluid looks then you might want to replace but I expect Isuzu recommends the auto transmission fluid to be "replaced" every 150K km or so.

I expect the form arrived Wilkes Barre/SSA; it's just after it left the Lehigh Valley Distribution Center no more tracking scans occurred like arrival at Wilkes Barre and pickup by/delivery to SSA. A very typical problem with USPS tracking of registered mail originating outside the U.S. Heck, it's not uncommon for registered mail originating within the U.S. and going to another U.S. location to experience tracking problems...like the mail goes MIA according to the USPS tracking but it actually got delivered. But sometime in Sep is when Wilkes Barre is suppose to generate/send the 2nd mailing to those folks who didn't reply in time to the 1st mailing in June of this year. Time will tell....I haven't seen/heard anyone getting a 2nd mailing yet but since mailing time from the U.S. to Thailand via 1st class mail typically takes around 2 to 4 weeks if the 2nd mailing occurs in late Sep then it's too early to have received a 2nd mailing....but if the 2nd mailing occurred in early-mid Sep then such a 2nd mailing should be arriving Thailand mailboxes right about now or soon.

Oh no...the "sky is falling" crowd will probably say the govt will just direct all Thai banks to apply say a 15% fee to all "non-Thai" debt/credit card transactions as that foreigner might be trying to use income that might be taxable. The millions of tourists visiting Thailand every year and using credit/debit cards to pay bills/get cash during that visit will love that--and never visit Thailand again.