ClareQuilty

Just buy another better one (as you say yours has a wanked body/engine/gearbox) and scrap yours for spares cheapest option.

I would consider that, but I've never seen a better one for sale in the 9 years I've been here..

Do any armchair mechanics have any ideas about fixing up and old rear-wheel drive KE-70? Car is fairly solid, with good suspension, shocks, reasonable steering with updated parts, plus clean interior, but with a weak old 1.0 liter engine, a very groaning 5-speed, and a lot of dents.

I'm thinking it might be fun, and not that expensive, to have the body redone/painted, and some kind of interesting engine replacement carried out. Is it still possible to get cheapish Japanese engines in Thailand? I realize most nowadays are the unfortunate front-wheel-drive arrangement, but what sort of replacement might work in an old rear-driver? Maybe just a nice rebuilt 1.3 liter (as came standard in the car) + new/rebuilt gearbox (if they can even rebuild something that old). Or, go with something more modern and a little more powerful, maybe even an automatic.

My best old low mileage, excellent condition Honda Tena had its front parts run over by a large car a week ago, bending the shocks and ruining the front wheel, and the plastic splash guard over the wheel and the kind of little plastic thingy down by the engine behind the wheel (looks a bit like an air scoop). They say the disk brake & brake mechanism is still good, the headlight/instrument panel faring looks good, and the chassis is not bent.

Since the new Honda dealer were the ones who picked it up for me, they quoted a full repair at about 5,300 baht, but that's with all new parts. My shade-tree mechanic figures he can do it for less than half that, with a few make-shift short cuts about the plastic parts, and using some second hand bits. To fix or not to fix.. what would you gentlemen do?

1.) for 400K you do not get a car AND a bike.

I paid 30,000 for my old Peugeot 405, and I've a lovely old Honda Nova with 5-speed clutch I bought for 3,500. So, bike and car = 33,500. (to be be fair the car was about 40 fully fixed up, so lets say 43,500 for one fun bike and one fun car)

Finally got the speedometer fixed in this one, but it was really too expensive to be worth doing: about 1,000 baht. It involved a brand new front wheel hub thing.

My guess would be that these particular consular services are only offered near the crack of dawn; perhaps staff have other duties in the afternoon. A 7:30 AM appointment is really not so bad for a night owl, really easier to stay up till early morning than wake up late morning or noon.

Regarding the "adversarial" comment above: good point. However the insurance company simply waits for "proof" it's me before paying out, true, its unpleasant, and true, they get a few hundred more dollars in interest by delaying, but it would be a stretch to call it adversarial at this time.

Good god, I made the appointment via mobile phone and thus could not print out the resulting document as required. Now moved to a computer and it can't open the appointment window. Who knows - digital technology never works. I managed to print out a photo of the screen of my appointment from another phone... hopefully that'll be acceptable.

Sorry I got my weeks mixed up. I was looking at the first week of January.

Yeah, I'm booked for that week now, 7:30 AM. These early hours astound a night owl like me - no problem, I'll stay up all night.

Normally you can get an appointment within a few days of checking for one the website. Info here http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/acsappointment.html

Just checked and there are several available for next week by checking here: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/acsappointment.html

Thanks so much, just opened that link but Alas it is fully booked through all of next week, as expected,

I have an insurance document from USA which I need to have notarized ASAP. I've been told the only place to do this us the us embassy and that the embassy requires an appointment for this service. How long does it take to get an appointment typically? I rarely go to Bangkok, but will be there all next week - alas I assume it takes weeks to get appointment with embassy?

Luckily my car&bike-license-getter-guy told me today he just needed a 'letter confirming residency' from my employer (the school). Sounds iffy to me, but then, the work permit would be enough for any rational actor.

You don't need that letter, your work permit will do.

I know you don't "by law", but my local license office absolutely insists on such a letter. You know how it is here.

Got the bike all fixed up - that is, put on new mirrors & fixed fuel gauge, nothing else needed. However, the mechanic said he couldn't fix the nonfunctional speedometer/odometer, saying this "could not be done because it is a Kawasaki".

Another bargain bike for the collection. Looks in very good origonal condition. What did you pay , and have you checked the kickstart lever / shaft splines yet.

Yeah it drives and runs quite well. Has a near new 'feel', and less than 8,000 kilometers on it - was apparently owned by one very elderly lady from new till less than a year ago, who drove it hardly at all (the intervening owner, a foreigner, had to fix a number of things which failed due to sitting, including installing a new carburetor). I paid a little bit more than my usual 5,000, but well under ten.

About the kick-start splines, I tried it all day and it worked about 80%, so I think maybe its good enough to leave as it is for now. Or is it one of those thing which might damage/wear other parts if not replaced?

But how does one get a "certificate of residence"? How and to whom does one "prove" one lives at a certain address? I certainly don't have any utility bills or anything like that in my name.

For me, I go to the British embassy with my apartment contract and passport.

pay them 3000 odd baht (yep, for a letter!) and they issue a COR. Easy as that.

ChiangMai stated above they don't do this anymore, but failed to reply when I asked him further, as I got one this last september.

Call your embassy to check.

Yikes, 3,000 baht! Nearly the cost of most motorbikes I need the Certificate of Residence for ownership transfer of! And, going to the Embassy in Bangkok is like climbing Mount Everest for me..

Luckily my car&bike-license-getter-guy told me today he just needed a 'letter confirming residency' from my employer (the school). Sounds iffy to me, but then, the work permit would be enough for any rational actor.

Hmm here's a better one:

Bought it today, the kick start works about 80% so no worries. Here is a pic:

But how does one get a "certificate of residence"? How and to whom does one "prove" one lives at a certain address? I certainly don't have any utility bills or anything like that in my name.

I have been having problems with my MAF on my bmw and they don't sell new ones here in thailand for my car either. Your mechanic probably just gave it a good cleaning but that may not last very long and you will start having the same problems again. I ordered it on from ebay as I don't want to take a chance with a used one which costs the same as a new one, about 3,000 with shipping. They are made in china and mine has a Toyota censer in it and I hope it will sort my difficult to start problem as I have already replaced most of the fuel system parts.

You need to get a friend to help you get one online and I have a friend who I order things for as he does not have a credit card which can drive me nuts. This is why people need them so they don't have to bother others, surely you can get a credit card from your home country?

You need money & good credit to get one of those credit cards, alas. About the censors, my mechanic swears those Chinese-made sensors are very bad & usually don't last long. He can't find any used ones or any Japanese or European made ones so he says I'm better off sticking with this very marginal one.

BTW you are quite correct: it only ran really good for 2-3 days, now it has the low stumbley idle when warmed up again.

Consult with that mechanic who didn't rip you off before, ya.

prolly $10 to fix.

pic?

I'm going to purchase the bike tomorrow, will take a photo. I discussed it with my mechanic already, he said its 1,000-1,300 by his best guess.

no compression

No, no you didn't understand - it "connects" quite normally when it does connect, plus the engine runs very strongly & like new (it only has ~8,000 kilometers in it). What happens is the kickstart just swings completely free about half the time, doesn't move the engine at all.

Got the car back today, ended up being about 3,000. He replaced the tie rods, & tie rod ends both inside & outside ones, plus aligned the wheels. Car drives much better, tracks well, but, while there's considerably less play play in the steering, there's still some. I may need to try to communicate to him about thus "box adjustment".

If you do end up needing a MAF, maybe you missed my post #7 in your other thread here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/871831-peugeot-405-are-mass-air-flow-oxygen-sensors-still-available/

Yes, I appreciated that post, about ordering one from Ebay, but I'm a little unsure about that step since I have never ordered anything online, don't have a credit card, and don't really know for sure what part/number/model, etc. applies.

Happy to report the Mio is running reliably now after my local shop had a look at it. I wouldn't say its running wonderfully well (its not very smooth), but it never dies, and starts readily. And the total cost? - 30 baht. Who knows?

Anyway, how is this the fault of the car (banger)? The guy ran directly into a curb - that would bend the tie rods on any car, new or old.

Bent tie rods don't cause play........Cause bad handling though.....

Google says the tie rods and tie rod ends are some of the most common causes for play in the steering, transam.. so does my mechanic. Given the onset of this problem happened suddenly at the moment of a minor accident, it sounds reasonable. Certainly the car handled quite precisely before he ran into the curb.

CQ Lampang it's not hard in the advert you looked at

your now spending 2000 baht on a car you don't own according to your OP or were you telling a porky bit like all those on Kaidee

No, the owner will pay for the repair. I'm merely considering buying the car back in future. The ads on Kaidee are in Thai, you know, so I have no idea where they're located. Its far too difficult to go looking more than about 20-30 kilometers away.

I've had a Kawasaki Cheer for years, and love it - very nice driving old bike. Mine's kick start is out (mostly just spins free when you kick it), but since it has electric start its no problem.

I'm looking at another which is like new with very low kilometers, drives like new... but the same problem is there - it has about a 50/50 kick start. Not as bad as mine, but about half the time it spins free rather than connects and spins the motor. Starts easy when it does connect.

Does anyone know what is wrong in this case, and how much it might cost to fix? I'm trying to decide whether to buy the bike.