Cabrinha

You can rent big bikes in Hua Hin from Philip Taylor. Search for him on Facebook. Also search the Facebook group Bikers Hua Hin. It's a closed group but if you can request to join you will find Philip there too. 

http://mrtbtscondobangkok.com

Hi all Everest and Ranger owners

Has anyone been able do download any apps to their Sync2 system? I'd like to have the spotify app on sync2. Currently when I go into the apps section on sync2 there are no apps there.

I can use spotify in the car by pairing my phone via bluetooth and then operating Spotify via my phone, but we are supposed to be able to do it via a Spotify app in the sync2 system. I've searched high and low online how to do this and I'm coming up with a blank. I'm beginning to think that there are no apps available for us via Ford Thailand.

Can anyone enlighten me?

Thanks

Cabrinha

Finally I got the car yesterday. I'm bloody delighted with it. The quality doesn't feel a whole lot different to my range rover sport I used to drive before moving to Thailand. I think it's streets ahead of other vehicles in its class I've test driven in Thailand. Still atrocious attitude from the dealership manager. When we arrived into the showroom her office door was open. She swiftly closed it and remained inside so she wouldn't have to look at or acknowledge us. First step was to change the wheels and tyres.

It's a bit "Mad Max Fury Road" - any plans to expand upon the theme?

No expansion of the theme. I'd just like to get the red glass on the brake lights changed to silver/clear if possible with just red bulbs instead.

I'm also waiting for the usual aftermarket suspects to make smoked versions of the tail lamps, with functional lights also on the rear door itself. I'll let you know when I find some

Thanks IMHO. PM me if you find something.

Finally I got the car yesterday. I'm bloody delighted with it. The quality doesn't feel a whole lot different to my range rover sport I used to drive before moving to Thailand. I think it's streets ahead of other vehicles in its class I've test driven in Thailand. Still atrocious attitude from the dealership manager. When we arrived into the showroom her office door was open. She swiftly closed it and remained inside so she wouldn't have to look at or acknowledge us. First step was to change the wheels and tyres.

It's a bit "Mad Max Fury Road" - any plans to expand upon the theme?

No expansion of the theme. I'd just like to get the red glass on the brake lights changed to silver/clear if possible with just red bulbs instead.

Congrats on a great car.

Did you sell the original tyres to the dealership (price?) or just keep them ?

Thank you.

I traded in the original wheels and tyres to the shop I bought new wheels/tyres from.

The pressed steel wheel look is that the latest fad ?

I've no idea what the latest fad is. I've no interest in the latest fad. I just look at whats available and buy what I like best. Some people will love it, some people hate it, such is the variety of life thankfully.

Bring back the Range Rover,that looks awfull.

If we all liked the same type of car and the same type of woman, things would not be good.

Finally I got the car yesterday. I'm bloody delighted with it. The quality doesn't feel a whole lot different to my range rover sport I used to drive before moving to Thailand. I think it's streets ahead of other vehicles in its class I've test driven in Thailand. Still atrocious attitude from the dealership manager. When we arrived into the showroom her office door was open. She swiftly closed it and remained inside so she wouldn't have to look at or acknowledge us. First step was to change the wheels and tyres.

UPDATE: What's with their difficulty to tell the truth and keep their customers informed on whats happening.

Last week, I'm not in Thailand and a new person whom I don't know starts sending me messages on the Line app. She says she works for Ford and she is my new sales person as the old one has resigned. Did she contact me to give me an update on the delivery of my car? No. She contacted me to say that they needed the Ecosport back because they "need it for QC". They offered to give me a fiesta instead. As I'm in the middle of moving house, I declined the offer of the Fiesta and informed the lady that I don't think it's needed for QC as it's a new car and is running great.

The next day a new person I never had contact with starts to message me on the Line App. He informs me he is from a bank and they work with Ford and that he needs to send his staff to take a photo of the chassis number on the Ecosport.

Anyway, I'm bank in Thailand now and I went to the dealership and spoke to the manager. Of course the line about needed in the Ecosport back for QC was a lie. So I asked the manager for an update of when my Everest would be delivered. She made a call in front of me but the person she called couldn't take the call and said they would call back. This late morning. So, I couldn't wait around. I asked the manger to please call me back in the afternoon with an update. She said she would.

Did she call me back? Absolutely not. How do these people stay in business? Is it survival of the least bad company?

Any pharmacy I've been in there have it or the generic version. Better to buy the other brands which have the same content but less than half the price. Ask at any pharmacy.

The new Everest is nice and no doubt selling like the WT3.2 when it first came out. Demand is outstripping supply which is not unusual in other countries also for certain cars.

none of which justifies por mitigates the behaviour of the dealership

Yep, I have no problem at all waiting a lone time due to demand outstripping supply.

What I have a big issue with is Ford contacting me and telling me to come to their showroom with a cheque on April 1st to pick up my car and then I arrive and my car is not there. I flew in from another country and I timed my dates especially to collect the car. They should have informed me several days earlier (when they knew) that my car would not be there as promised on April 1st.

I agree with other posters who say this is probably not a Ford issue but a Thai issue and could just as easily happened with any brand in Thailand.

My Everest 3.2 arrived 3 weeks before the promised date. I ordered in February and it arrived in March. Absolutely fantastic car.

yopu probably got the OP's car.

surely though the problem is nothing to do with actual delivery time taken? the problem is CUSTOMER SERVICE; firstly the company failed to deliver at the time THEY SAID and then fail;ed to adequately keep the customer informed about what was going on.

The customer is in all probability going to have his vehicle serviced by this lot for several years and before even starting they have generated an atmosphere of antagonism and mistrust.

Quite frankly even though this is par for the course in Thailand, the stupidity of the management is breathtaking in its enormity.

In regards to the OP I reckon the company did deliver the vehicle on time..... just to someone else who made a financial under the table offer to jump the queue.

If that is the case I hope they received a big offer. They now cannot easily sell an Ecosport for the next month as I have their test drive vehicle in my possession and I've only ever given them a 5,000 thb deposit on the Everest.

Why does you having their test drive vehicle stop them from selling other Ecosports ?

Where did I say it stops them from selling other Ecosports?

My Everest 3.2 arrived 3 weeks before the promised date. I ordered in February and it arrived in March. Absolutely fantastic car.

yopu probably got the OP's car.

surely though the problem is nothing to do with actual delivery time taken? the problem is CUSTOMER SERVICE; firstly the company failed to deliver at the time THEY SAID and then fail;ed to adequately keep the customer informed about what was going on.

The customer is in all probability going to have his vehicle serviced by this lot for several years and before even starting they have generated an atmosphere of antagonism and mistrust.

Quite frankly even though this is par for the course in Thailand, the stupidity of the management is breathtaking in its enormity.

In regards to the OP I reckon the company did deliver the vehicle on time..... just to someone else who made a financial under the table offer to jump the queue.

If that is the case I hope they received a big offer. They now cannot easily sell an Ecosport for the next month as I have their test drive vehicle in my possession and I've only ever given them a 5,000 thb deposit on the Everest.

So I ordered an Everest back in September or October. I was told delivery would be next year but they couldn't say when. When January came around they told me that delivery would be in March. Great. So March arrives and I contact the dealer to find out when in March. They can't tell me. Second week of March I enquire again. Sales lady tells me she will know more next week. Third week of March she says delivery will be on the 30th. I was out of the country and just arriving back on 31st, so we agreed that I would come to pick it up on the 1st of April.

Well they made a right fool of me. First thing in the morning I went to the bank to get the cashiers cheque. Then I drive to the dealer. On arrival I was surprised to see no Everest around. Into the showroom I go and the sales lady I always deal with is not there. Another guy tells me that she is at the mall selling cars there. Strange. Anyway I tell the guy that I'm here to pick up my Everest as pre arranged with his colleague. He puts me sitting at a table and brings me water. Then he comes and tells me that Ford will deliver the vehicle next month. Unbelievable.

So I immediately ask the manager to come out from hiding in her office . .... Long story continues. My sales lady then arrives back from the mall. She sheepishly tells me she is sorry. I asked her when she knew that the car was not being delivered as agreed. She said she knew two days before but she said her manager told her not to tell me and just let me come to the showroom. Unfrickenbelievable. After a half an hour I forced the manager to give me another car until my Everest arrives. So I've been driving their ecosport test car since then.

The communication or lack of it was just totally unbelievable.....

Only for it's the best in class and I really still want the Everest, I would tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine.

Rant over.

Best gym is now at the True Arena beside Soi 112.

New Everest owners. What freebies were you able to get from your local dealer?

Kinda defeats the purpose for me. I love using Uber and not having to use cash and wait for the driver to say he has no change.

When I ordered my 3.2T+ in October, I was told to expect delivery next June. I went to the dealer today and was told it will likely now be a February delivery. Delighted with that news although I don't really want it until mid March. Dealer is in Hua Hin.

Urban Fusion across from the police station do the best that I have had in HH.

Hi Ginboy,

You gave us information after the system was working for 7 days in very cloudy and rain conditions. Can you give us any update now after a longer period has passed?

Many thanks

Cabrinha

I'm being quoted a delivery month of May next year if I order a Titanium+ now in Hua Hin.

What delivery times are other dealers currently giving on Titanium +?

Bump. Anyone?

Anybody know if dealerships are taking bookings now?

Fantastic analysis Steveromagnino. I'm in the market to buy probably in the next 12-18 months. I'd love to pick your brain sometime.

As a matter of interest, I'm curious as to how you define a project as failed (e.g. The Met)

If I can add my 2c to this. Firstly, the Thai real estate sector is running on several distinct tracks, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. I will only talk about Bangkok as I don't know enough about some provincial markets.

You have the pre 1998 crash high quality buildings; a few of these which are owned by high-end Thai families (e.g. Somkid Gardens, Langsuan Ville, Grand Langsuan) in prime neighborhoods with a majority of large units and owner occupiers have seen a minimal number for sale and good maintenance....so you also see good capital appreciation and now these are all selling for deals around 125 - 150k per sqm despite the buildings being older. The only units in Langsuan for 200k per sqm+ are newer buildings (Q House Langsuan, etc) not the older ones.

You have the pre 1998 mid to lower quality buildings; often owned mostly by Thais, these will likely never go anywhere and will be mired around 40k per sqm for the foreseeable future until the location becomes so appealing that the building can be rejigged - however once the building goes down the vicious circle of being cheap so attracting cheap owners who don't pay much in maintenance which means building starts getting run down....it is very hard to fix. Who wants to live in a dump? This is the cheap end of the market; appealing on face value - best avoided.

You have the post 2003 buildings aimed at the upper end market; if they are from a reputable developer (meaning generally publically listed), decent specification, reasonable sizes (i.e. 1 bedroom 50sqm; 2 bedroom 90sqm+; 3 bedroom 140 sqm) with between 90 - 250 units, decent build quality (and some are some aren't) then these have also seen good appreciation if they are in a good neighbourhood and reasonably well run buildings despite not being brand new - examples of these would be buildings like The Lakes, Legend, Domus, Emporio Place. There are owner occupiers and renters in these buildings (including high end Thai renters nowadays - loads of them) but the reason why some buildings succeed and others fail (failures include buildings like The Met, Watermark, Empire Place) tend to be very specific to that building alone and the Thai market perception drives the success or failure for the most part as that's most of the buyers although not always.

Then you have the post 2003 buildings aimed at the mid end. This is where the bulk of the units are LPN etc - then it all comes down to publically listed developer, good building management (LPN are excellent at it), ok facilities and a load of units - difficult to make a lot of money in this type of unit but the rentals can be good - again PLENTY of Thais that rent buildings for 20,000b++ a month.

The bubble if any is forming in the mid end to the gap between mid end to high end. The truly high end (185, MahaNakorn, Sukothai Residences) has a high society market that will live in those both owner occupiers and renters made up of both Thais and expats (mostly Singaporeans and HK Chinese) so these have seen good capital appreciation so far and almost no supply; in fact 185 would be one of the best investments had anyone bought in 2009 at 200,000b per sqm and sold at transfer around 290,000b net (Langsuan side low floor actual numbers); that's a huge gain (with leverage based on 35% deposit something like almost 100% return). I have several friends that did exactly this. again, though it is very project specific, and the end result and quality strongly dictates the success or failure of some of these buildings; Royce would be an example of a building that didn't really fire. The Millenium is another that has struggled until recently.

There is a big difference between buying from a 'proper developer' (meaning Sansiri, Noble, Raimon Land, AP, Pruksa, etc) and a non listed smaller one - the smaller one it is harder to get financing in the secondary market, more difficult to know whether they will ever complete...so the smaller developers don't get a premium and that stays that way long term generally unless the building is sensationally good or the developer has some other business that is related (example: Domus from Gaysorn which has roughly doubled in price since completion in part due to design, location, reputation of the developer, rental income). Compare it to Wilshire which is only a block away, but has pretty much gone nowhere, and if compared to say La Maison Siam in the same vicinity which is still under 100k per sqm...well that demonstrates the way the market perceives value. Even listed developers some projects succeed and some don't this is where choosing carefully is so important. Freehold always will outdo leasehold, although Four Seasons seems to be changing that perception slightly - I don't really believe the CPB numbers from Langsuan being representative of the whole market, like Iconsiam big conglomorates sell to the insiders and suppliers and boom their project is mostly sold straight off.

Buildings with less than 100 units often have problems with maintenance and any building that has a low number of units and a monthly fee of 30b per sqm, well it is going to end up in the toilet long term.

Low rise is usually much more tricky to sell than high rise also.

A lot of the inflation in pricing is not developers getting rich; rather the cost of labour, cost of land and cost of materials has seen substantial inflation. At the high to very high end of the market there are a limited number of contractors; now that CPB are doing the huge Langsuan development with Thai Obayashi and given BTL doing a number of projects, the choice of contractors is limited now and so prices have gone up, which makes selling prices increase.

The ideal mix of owners is mostly Thais with a decent number of expats, and a larger proportion of owner occupiers. It is not true that "Thais don't buy high end they can't afford it" given that 185 is 80%+ Thai; most of the Major projects are 80%+ Thai - increasingly Thai people with money will live in a condo (or their younger generation will)

Lest you think AEC won't have an impact on property.....there are already major corporates moving head offices from Singapore to Thailand, with up to 100 (in the case of one large finance firm alone) senior executives all earning 300-800k USD++ a year looking for high end places to live - this will potentially increase and they aren't going to be living in McMansions for 10k per month with hot Ramkamhaeng students. Well, maybe they will have that as a separate weekday 'pad' but at least they won't be hanging out there with their wife and kids. Some of these intend to buy some are intending to rent - right now there's only about 4-5 developments they will even look at at the CEO level.

So....if there is a bubble what will happen if it bursts? Given that the high end and top end of the market are mostly financed with cash and no debt, you will see like in 1998, almost no sales going through, and a complete lack of liquidity - people will just sit on what they own. High end Thais who are self employed owning businesses tend to be fairly cash rich; they know that property is one part of an investment strategy along with shares, money, etc - long term if Singapore is 4X and HK is 10X Thai prices....there is still room to move and Bangkok has a lot of strengths if things are improved - the market overall will creep up but prime property will race ahead and suburban sprawl will struggle.

The mid end there will be an issue but as long as people can service their debt then units will end up worth less on paper, yields from rent may decrease, but guys, this is Bangkok, there is a huge office worker & student market for LPN level studios; just that the returns will get worse and worse. Sales the prices will only massively slump if people cannot transfer for some reason; that won't be solely a property crash, it will be an entire economy crash with people not working and so on. What we may see though is the speculators getting burned. For this reason, I personally never buy condos where the downpayment terms off the plan are <15% total before transfer...that's like an invitation to speculate.

The ones that will really slump are the less known developments, smaller number of units, low operating budgets and large numbers of renters; once these start to go down, it becomes very hard to save them. We all known "Deeluxe apartments in the sky' that ended up like this post 1998 (Muang Thong has a ton of them) and once they go down, that rental market moves elsewhere or starts renting someplace else.