ClareQuilty

Yeah guys I think part of the problem is that most of those who're suggesting the higher price range is correct have misunderstood - this isn't a Civic, this is a City. The little one. Its a very nice car, but it is usually cheaper than the Civic.

I sold my Honda City 06 recently for 365K bath, a 7 year old car?

Why don't you check the link I provided, that it what the dealers are asking and they don't "shave" 20-30.000 bath off the price, no way.

I'm looking at a '99-'02 model, so, its very old - 11-14 years old. I honestly think it would be quite rare for anyone to get over 250 for one of these. I tried that link, it is in Thai.

"I was think like 200k". Of course you were.

Jeez man, I was just offered an 8 year old Honda Civic in great shape for 300,000, I don't see why a City 4-5 years older should be the same price.

I would recommend not buying a car from a friend.

Really?

In Thailand if you don't buy it from a close friend - in other words a car you have observed for years - you'll very likely end up with a car that's been wrecked, rebuilt, or god-knows-what.

But I do understand your point, if it really turned out to be a lemon one could lose the friend. In this case though I've observed him driving the car for years, ridden in it often and even borrowed it rarely, and it is tip-top.

Regarding the 250-300k estimate, that sounds radically high. I was think like 200k (I see Civics newer than this for sale for 250-300, and this is a City, not a Civic). Anybody else care to chime in?

A close friend of mine is considering selling his excellent-condition, never wrecked, low mileage Honda Civic. The car, though not a 'Z' model, has a five speed manual, which I strongly prefer. I also find that generation of Civic to be far superior to the subsequent ones.

However, neither he nor I have any clear idea what this car might be worth. I'm sure he'll come up with a figure as (and if) he gets more serious about selling it, so I would like to prepare myself for what to expect and for bargaining. Can any Thai Visa denizens advise me about the value of this car?

Because, alas, the local office is unwilling to accept work-permits to put vehicles in farang's names. The previous administrator of the office was so willing, but the new one is not, so, there it is.

in which case you need to politely tell him that he is wrong and that you will be contacting Bangkok.. or in fact contact Bangkok and ask them to fax / email the regulations.

If you have a work permit and long term visa/ extension of stay then you can register a vehicle in your name.... even with out a work permit you can do this as long as you have a long term visa/ extension of stay... BUT if it near the end date on said visa some DMV's give you hassle especially if it's your 1st.

Fighting with a Thai in authority? No thanks, my friend. I'm patient. The guy will no doubt be promoted onward to another district in a few years.

(Though I generally avoid participating in any conflicts with powerful Thais, in this case I have a special reason for not doing so - I own many bikes, which is rather suspicious: they could accuse me of making profits off of them, either through renting them or buying-and-selling them. So, best not to make trouble.)

He was referring to Claire Quiltys quote... even though I'm at a loss why CQ can't register the vehicles in his own name!

Because, alas, the local office is unwilling to accept work-permits to put vehicles in farang's names. The previous administrator of the office was so willing, but the new one is not, so, there it is.

I use my car about once a week for a trip to a nearby town, or more often around town here if it rains heavily. Otherwise I use bikes. Its just inconvenient to use a car.

Haha, double what I paid for my car, and it has kept me out of the rain for about four years now!

You buy cheap old cars as well as bikes. I think it's great that you find the time to hunt down these bargains. I bet your gf isn't happy about it though.

Didn't 'hunt down' this one: It was in fact an ex's wealthy family I bought the old bus from - sat in the carport for years rarely used as they had several new cars and didn't have the heart to let this one go as it was the deceased patriarch's 'favorite car'. She and they never had any problem with my 'ways' - the educated upper/middle class haven't too much trouble tolerating the nostalgic post-modernism of the foreigner, even if they don't fully understand it.

Haha, double what I paid for my car, and it has kept me out of the rain for about four years now!

I used to be able to put bikes in my name prior to about two years ago, but now the local licensing office is being quite strict so it is no longer possible. Lately I have put a few bikes in the name of a corporation belonging to a Thai friend, however I do keep the owner-book so there's really no easy way to for him to benefit from taking my bikes (I think it would cost him quite a lot to make a new owner-book and the bikes are only 5,000-6,000 baht bikes). Given that this gent drives a new Camry and holidays in Japan I'm not too worried about him absconding with the bikes.

I thought you just report the lost book to the police then pay a small fee in the transport office. Then they give you a shiney new book.

Oh, I didn't know, I thought there was a large fine - say a thousand or two. Anyway, I suppose its still unlikely to blow back on me.

I used to be able to put bikes in my name prior to about two years ago, but now the local licensing office is being quite strict so it is no longer possible. Lately I have put a few bikes in the name of a corporation belonging to a Thai friend, however I do keep the owner-book so there's really no easy way to for him to benefit from taking my bikes (I think it would cost him quite a lot to make a new owner-book and the bikes are only 5,000-6,000 baht bikes). Given that this gent drives a new Camry and holidays in Japan I'm not too worried about him absconding with the bikes.

The LS 125 has the 'D' and the 'T' model.

I haven't seen anything on the bike specifying a 'D' or 'T' model, however I do think there is an 'R' designation on it. It has the dual disk brakes and so forth.

Thanks guys.. I don't know how I could 'check if the piston is the right one' - I mean I know thing about mechanicals and the engine is closed up now, you can't see the piston. Generally speaking the mechanic is I think unlikely to put in the wrong piston as you simply order them from the parts store for 500-600 baht.

But yeah I think most mechanics in Thailand set the fuel pump to provide a lot of two-stroke oil flow, not sure why this guy didn't. For sure it seems to me like it would be better to err on the side of too much rather than two little.

The bike seems fine now, though I've only been driving it about 90.

Chances are you will need to change your rings now, it sounds like you had a partial seizure (or a few), rings are probably nackered and will be prone to seizing now.

Yikes. Not much chance of that as I just rebuilt the engine (new piston,etc) a few weeks ago (~1,600 baht). No budget for another rebuild for a long while.

Thanks for your advice though.

Scary update - yesterday I was driving this bike for about 8 kilometers at about 100-120 kph - I remember noting that the revs were at about 8,000 at 110 kph - and this engine suddenly locked and the back wheel too of course. Luckily it was on a strait-away and I didn't loose control, and had the presence of mind to very rapidly depress the clutch.

The problem seemed very similar to me to a problem I had a while back on my Honda Nova. As in that case I paused for a couple of minutes, and then limped home the remaining couple of kilometers at low speed, with several further attempts by the engine to lock up and die.

As in the case of the Honda, the mechanic has said the culprit was inadequate 2-stroke oil flow, and he adjusted it. I've used it for about a day but haven't had the nerve to get it back up to 100+ kph. Same with the Nova - hard to get up the nerve to do again what locked up the engine in the past (but in the case of the LS 125, driving at 100+ kph is what the bike's all about, unlike the Nova, which makes a lot more sense at 75-80).

Its a 1.7 liter, I'm quite sure..

What do you car experts think of this one? I'm eying one. One owner, owned by a friend, with low kilometers (about 130,000), 1.7 liter engine, automatic transmission, very nice condition, well maintained.

What would be a reasonable valuation for this car, and are there any reliability/durability concerns about this model? (I don't know the exact year, as far as I know the 03-05 models were identical).

Thanks for the comment, fakename, I think I will just make sure I have good ignitions put in all my old bikes. I only have a couple with that 'any key' problem, and I think that its just 250-300 or so to put in a new ignition.

The name Clare Quilty is from the Nabokov novel.

Regarding the cosmetics, I'm sort of a fan of the 'beater', 'banger' or 'jalopy' style.. or some might call 'rat rods' this style. That is, a car left in its original patina of age and wear, but made functional again through some mechanical rebuilding. I definitely don't like the idea of the glossy over-restored things you see.

I think I'd apply the same aesthetic to motorbikes. Not sure yet though.

Guys I got the bike back and it is running and driving just fantastic. Couldn't be better, in my opinion, though cosmetically its still the same rough condition. The total bill for the repairs, from a rebuilt motor to new instruments to new shock and many other small things, was 3,480 baht, so I have just over 10,000 in the bike now.

The only minor disaster was after getting it back I took it for a lot of joy rides with a set of all my spare motorbike keys in the ignition, and they fell out (one of those ignitions which doesn't keep the key in effectively.) Nothing more irritating then searching along an eight kilometer route looking for lost keys. Anyway, never found them.. all the other keys on the chain were just spares, but the LS 125's original was lost, and I've no spare, so I have to get a new ignition installed, and a new key made for 1) the seat, and 2) the gas-tank. Here's a pic or two of the bike:

But why a new cylinder ??, in most cases a rebore and a oversized piston would do the trick, together with a few minor parts(piston rings, gasket set, etc) it would set you back around 1500 baht.

Keep us updated, always like to read about little projects and... a picture of the bike please.( before / after)

Oh! Yes sorry about that, I didn't mean a new cylinder, I meant a new piston.. (and rings, gasket set, etc, as you say).

A before/after picture is a good idea, I'll try to do that, but alas he's already got it all apart at the shop. I'm thinking of doing the mechanical rehabilitation, and just leave the cosmetic stuff (mainly paint) for later on, so the pics mightn't show much anyway.

Well, today I went back and checked out how the restoration is progressing, and contrary to the idea that 'they never like to change anything', the mechanic ordered a new set of gauges.. not sure how much it will be, but he's usually bargain basement about everything, so I'm not too worried.

He told me that the bike is perfectly rideable as it is, but he did say that he felt the engine wasn't quite 100% - said it had a slight tick or knock in it. He offered the possibility of a 'top-end rebuild' (new cylinder, etc), while pointing out it wasn't absolutely necessary. After some discussion I decided to go through with it - he's rebuilt several two-strokes for me (Honda Tena's and a Yamaha Tiara), and they came out perfect. Those little Hondas cost about 1,000 all in for this kind of rebuild, and the Tiara (a 120cc) cost about 1,500, so I'm hoping this one won't be much more.

So far I'm into: new gauges, new battery, new back shock, re-oil the front shocks, and now a new cylinder.. I'm guessing by the time I get it back I will have 10,000 in the bike..

Stick your finger in the exhaust. If your finger comes out oily or black it might be worth getting the pipe cleaned out. It might be coked up with gunk.

These bikes need to be ridden. Not your normal your normal Yamaha Fresh 60-70 kph

Haha, yes I know. Or, it needs to be driven at 60-70 in third gear, right? Just kidding. I'll check the pipe as you say.

1020 good point about the plug, forgot to mention that to him. I've noticed Thais are very reluctant to change the plug as long as its still working. Also didn't think of 'lubing the cables'.

Thanks guys! I thought it seemed like it drove awfully nice for how rough it looked. Good 'bones' I suppose.. ran great, brakes seemed perfect. I'm going to ask my mechanic to suggest somebody to paint it the cheap way.. Right now he's doing a basic 'fix up' - new back shock, redo the front shocks, fix the speedo/tach, change the air filter, gear oil, clean the carb, etc.

I'll update how it turns out.. particularly like the 'matte black' idea...