MoonRiverOasis

If the Amarok came to Thailand as an import, my guess is you'd be looking at prices in the 2.5M to 3.5M Baht range. While I like the car, at the price it just makes no sense in TH.

It'll never come in via official channels, and I'd even be surprised if it ever came in through the gray market - it's just not the type of vehicle the buyer's in that market are looking for.

Still I could be wrong - Kia did import the Soul after all.. Which proves once and for all that basic common-sense isn't a pre-requisite to being an automotive exec here

Last question: I went to the site, but can't see Pajero Sport or Montero Sport, did you just get the Pajero 2.5 Chip?

Just choose the Triton or L200 model that matches the capacity and horsepower of your Pajero/Montero Sport - that's all you'll need to insure you get the correct wiring harness and default settings on the chip module.

How much for this Chip? Obviously this will void all kinds of warranties, wouldn't it? Is it designed to improve performance or fuel consumption, or both?

Chip vendor website with details and pricing here: www.racechip.de

As for warranties, what Mitsubishi don't know won't hurt them

That's the great thing about ECU piggybacks like this - it's 5 mins to fit, 5 mins to remove again.

Appreciate Price and contact details MRO, including your site for Aussie Side Body Kits...

If you're referring to the side protection moldings on the doors, that's now available as a genuine Mitsubishi part from the Triton Plus model - there's no-one selling them online so you'll have to inquire with your dealer to see if it's available in PH.

If that doesn't work, the side moldings from to Toyota Altis are a good fit on the PJS, but include a chrome strip which you may or may not like - this has been a common option amongst Thai Pajero Sport owners.

All vehicle finance in Thailand is flat rate, and in the case of new cars, there's no VAT surprises - that's already been factored into the rate.

Flat rate is easy to calculate, and is more directly comparable to interest being earned on savings or investments.

Using rizla's numbers as an example, the comparative APR rate would be 2.977% (vs 1.55% flat).

APR was not invented for the consumer, it was invented by and for the banks so they could extract the bulk of their interest (profit) from you sooner into the loan term, and to give them the flexibility to move rates around. It makes sense on long term finance such as mortgages where everyone needs protection from future rate movements (up and down), but on shorter terms where a fixed interest rate can be agreed upon, APR serves only to give the bank the bulk of their profit quicker.

Ok i understand better, thanks MRO, ............back to the main issue, i want to join your club...where can i get finance on a retirement visa and proof of income letter from embassy...please make my day..i`m sitting up all night waiting for good info...

It doesn't appear that anyone reading this thread has a contact for a finance broker in you part of TH, so the best suggestion I can make would be to start a new thread in the business section asking for one..

THere is also a 4 litre option in some countries..

The current shape Hilux VIGO was available in Australia back in 2008 with an Eaton M90 supercharged 4.0L petrol engine making 302HP/453Nm.. Not enough to compete with the 425HP/550Nm HSV 6.2L LS3 V8 Maloo 'ute' of the day, but enough to do away with most things on the road in Thailand

.....So, doing this brake upgrade can not be used to void any part of the fine print of the manufacturer's overall car warranty?

I shouldn't, no. But it would always be wise to consult with the manufacturer and confirm the effect on warranty status yourself. No-one here can assert that.

All vehicle finance in Thailand is flat rate, and in the case of new cars, there's no VAT surprises - that's already been factored into the rate.

Flat rate is easy to calculate, and is more directly comparable to interest being earned on savings or investments.

Using rizla's numbers as an example, the comparative APR rate would be 2.977% (vs 1.55% flat).

APR was not invented for the consumer, it was invented by and for the banks so they could extract the bulk of their interest (profit) from you sooner into the loan term, and to give them the flexibility to move rates around. It makes sense on long term finance such as mortgages where everyone needs protection from future rate movements (up and down), but on shorter terms where a fixed interest rate can be agreed upon, APR serves only to give the bank the bulk of their profit quicker.

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If I keep my money in my currency, I can earn far more interest that what I'd repay on Thai finance. So by financing I'm:

1) Saving money due to interest rate differentials

2) Controlling my exposure to currency fluctuations

3) Establishing a credit rating for something I might not be able to purchase outright (e.g. a condo)

1 & 2 together could very easily add up to double-digit percentage savings if managed correctly.

As for 3, again if bought correctly it's an investment that can appreciate far beyond any interest payable.

If everything breaks in your favor over the 3-5 year period of the loan, they you may break even or come out a little bit ahead but if it was really that easy, more people would do it. Basically, you are over-complicating a relatively straightforward purchase by putting into the mix interest rate fluctuations and currency rate exchange risks.

Interest rates on borrowed money are quite low now (if you are a well qualified borrower) but they could very easily rise over the loan period and so will your payments if it's an adjustable rate. In addition, while your "home" currency may rise vis-a-vis the baht, and therefore lower you monthly auto loan payment, it may just a likely continue to fall, thereby raising the payment. If you don't have the funds, then a loan with a home-country or Thai bank is your only option but if you can pay in cash, you may sleep better at nite and enjoy the new wheels more during the day

If you actively manage your money it's no additional bother.. While no-one can predict the immediate future for currencies, in the longer term it's much easier.

In any case, I don't normally share business or investment knowledge with anyone unless it directly benefits me, so I'll leave it at that

Thanks for all your replys, i could do with some links to these mentioned brokers..

Insurance brokers rarely have websites in the West, so there's virtually no chance of them having one here. Your best bet would be to ask around. The guy I know only operates in Chiangmai, so probably of no use to you.

didn`t know thailand had a working database?

As noted earlier, there are two commercial credit registries in Thailand.

Why wont they accept retirees? as i stated WP are and can be fickle...

Each lender has their own policies, and the rules for farang can vary *wildy* As en example, SCB will finance 80% of a house over 30 years, BKK bank will only finance 50% over 7 years. Some lenders require a WP and/or marriage for foreigners, some don't. Unfortunately one of more farang-friendly car financiers no longer exists (SICCO), so again a finance broker will be your best bet.

Best of luck!

Just pay cash and save the interest expense...it's only about B 1M right...stay away from being a "debt slave."

It's not always about that FB..

If I keep my money in my currency, I can earn far more interest that what I'd repay on Thai finance. So by financing I'm:

1) Saving money due to interest rate differentials

2) Controlling my exposure to currency fluctuations

3) Establishing a credit rating for something I might not be able to purchase outright (e.g. a condo)

1 & 2 together could very easily add up to double-digit percentage savings if managed correctly.

As for 3, again if bought correctly it's an investment that can appreciate far beyond any interest payable.

I personally get a kick out of using bank's money to make and/or save me money

Finance Broker ? I am not familiar with this term, could you elaborate ? Thanks.

Finance Broker - someone who acts as an agent for multiple lenders, and makes a commission on succesful applications. Some are solo operators, some are full blown companies.

It's not just a Thai thing BTW - pretty much every country has them, and in some cases (like mortgages) can actually negotiate/find much better deals than you'd be able to normally organise yourself. I have one that lives a few doors away, who helped me with my first TH finance.

The big advantages they have are:

1) They understand the prequisites/requirements of different lenders, and the type of things that'll get you approved or declined. So no wasting time and credit rating with applications that are destined to fail. They might even suggest some creative wording/numbers that'll get you past the post, so to speak

2) They understand what the best rates available really are. They'll still pump them a bit of course (because comm is related to total contract interest), but if you at least act savvy, they'll still get you a better rate than advertised.

3) They have direct contacts with the approval officers in the finance co's, so can ask questions about an applicant's ability to get approved without actually having to submit an application, which again saves you from unecessary declines on your credit rating.

4) They're committed to getting you finance, and will try every lender they possibly can in order to get the 'sale'.

I should note that the first vehicle finance I got in Thailand was via a finance broker, not a dealership representative. I kept that going for 2 years before paying it out, and have since financed 3 more cars using straight dealer finance. Once you've established a credit rating here in TH it all gets a lot easier.

I'm now so confident of my ability to secure finance here that when I bought the PJS in April this year I said 1.1% with 20% down or no deal, simple as that (the promotion at the time was 1.65% with 25% down) - a somewhat different attitude to my first finance here

A different Mistubishi dealer isn't likely to help - they all use Ayudhya's "Cash 4 Car" finance product, and you've already had a recorded denial with them. My suggestion would be to find a finance broker, and get them to (anonymously) run your application across a variety of lenders for a result. I would be very surprised if they are unable to secure you finance with a 50% down payment and Thai guarantor (co-signer), but you won't be getting any special deals on interest - expect something in the high 2's to mid 3% range.

I would not recommend putting in any further finance applications on your own behalf, because any further denials could seriously impact your ability to get finance in the future. All applications, approved or denied, get logged with one (or both) of the commercial finance registries in Thailand.

You heard wrong. From Nation online today: "Toyota Motor Thailand flatly denied the news report that the Fortuner manufacturing would be relocated from Thailand to Indonesia." Rink- Toyota denies relocation reports

Interesting.. The source I heard this from is a Toyota Thailand employee - now I'm curious as to what's really happened/happening..

my wife has been thinking of buying a pickup for her folks in Korat and we have been looking at the Mazda BT 50 online. we are going to Thailand for a in a few weeks and i was wondering if anyone on here has had any experiences of one of these. looking at second hand prices they seem to be quite a bit cheaper than Toyota or Izusu but i cannot find a new price for them. also how long does it take to get a new car in LOS. if we struck a deal would we get it in 3 weeks or less. cheers

You mustn't have tried very hard..

MAZDA SALES (THAILAND) COMPANY LIMITED

Time depends on stock and your wife's buddhist beliefs. If it's in-stock you could have it in a day, but more often than not the hold-up is waiting for an 'auspicious day' to take delivery.

I actually posted about this 4 days ago

New Cars Market In Thailand For 2010 And Beyond.. - Thailand Forum - Page 5

In any case, I don't see the prices changing - they've been creeping up with each new 'special' model for a long time now, and these types of decisions (relocating production) are usually planned well in advance. Indonesia is also part of the ASEAN FTA, so there won't be any import duties.

I've now asked quite a few Thai people what they would think of a Thai Fortuner vs. a an Indonesian Fortuner and as expected, patriotism rules - not one of them thinks that an Indonesian Fortuner would be as good as the Thai version, so this will no doubt have an impact on it's brand positioning as it becomes more commonplace knowledge. Just how much is anyone's guess, but one indication may be the Indonesian made Innova - even with the 'right' badge it's never managed to gain any real form of traction in the TH market.

As for anyone looking to buy a Fortuner in the near future, if it's not in-stock, it won't be Thai. The July-August timeframe given is how long they expect to dwindle down the current stocks, manufacturing in Thailand has already ceased.

The Nissan TH website would have you believe there's only one variant of the Calibre Extended Cab 6MT RWD, when there's actually three.

http://www.redbookasiapacific.com/th/vehic...S10BH&new=1

Couldn't agree more ...the 200 series with the V8 D-4D is nice...just needs a few more ponies

They're available in the gray market

http://www.carmaxrama9.com/

.....ahhhh, The TIT coming back to bite me in the royal derriere!

I momentarily forgot I'm in LOS and just can't pop over to the local tire store and expect to find any size tire I may need

.....so, these 245/65R-17 and 245/60R-18 tyres may not be available here in LOS? Does anyone have any knowledge about (these) tire size availability here in LOS?

The difficulty is finding fitments with a high enough load index (normally 109+ for PPV/SUV) - in passenger vehicle fitments you'd almost certainly get the sizes mentioned, but they wouldn't be safe. The other (smaller) problem is that Isuzu's (and Chev by extension) standard fitment is only 245 wide, when all other manufacturers these days use 265. In any case, if you look long enough and hard enough, you may find suitable plus-size fitments but they will be more expensive, and very difficult to replace in an emergency given their rarity.

If you go for a 265 width tire you'll definitely have better availability (and pricing).

One other point is that you don't have to be worried about bearing life or chassis rubbing in PPV's like you do regular passenger cars, so plus-sizing to a bigger overall fitment will really only have the single downside of effecting your speedo accuracy (which is probably 3-5% short anyway). I run a +7.5% fitment on my Isuzu pickup BTW

Here's a site - it's not fantastic because it mixes passenger and SUV fitments together, plus it only has the load index shown for less than half of the tires listed, but it is the most comprehensive in TH:

http://www.nvyangyont.com/yang.asp

Also, with the MU-7 brakes not being the largest in its class, I might as well go ahead and install a better set of calipers and rotors (no master cylinder or change to rear brake shoes required?) Can anyone give me some recommendations for this job?

Can do The most popular brake upgrade kits in TH are the Runstop brand form BJ Motor Parts, and are stocked by pretty much every grease monkey in the country.

Front upgrade: http://www.runstopbj.com/isuzu_expansion.htm

Rear Disc Upgrade: http://www.runstopbj.com/rear_brakekit.htm

I should also say that if I were buying a pickup to have some fun with (mine's just a workhorse) I'd be getting myself the Navara Calibre 6-speed MT and modding it - that one's 174 HP/403Nm stock, and I reckon it wouldn't be too hard to coax 250HP/500Nm out of it with a chip and some exhaust work..

But the 174 hp version is already a 'tuned up" version of the standard 2.5? How much more could be coaxed out of it? Is it just the 4.4 with the 174 hp motor? It's an interesting alternative though:)

Sorry but the Calibrfe has 144 Hp instead of 174.

I'm referring to the MT version, not the AT

So, after Toyota (fortuner), Isuzu (MU7) and Mitsubishi (Pajero Sport), when will be the Nissan turn?

I was favorably impressed from the new Navara so, in the case of a new, local made Nissan SUV, I should think about a car change.

Any leak??

Not going to happen - their entry into the Thai small-medium SUV market is the Indonesian made 2.0L gasoline powered X-Trail, and that's it I'm afraid There's no plans to introduce the Pathfinder (the Navara based SUV) in Thailand.

I have a question: In order to maintain the best quality ride, which would be the best choice of wheel (rim) upgrade from the stock 16" (245/70R16 tire w/ 171.45 mm of sidewall height):

17" wheel (245/65R17 tire w/ 159.00 mm of sidewall height)

or a

18" wheel (245/60R18 tire w/ 146.81 mm of sidewall height)

Would there be a big difference in the ride quality between these 2 choices?

These appear to be odd fitments, are you sure they're even available in Thailand?

In answer to your question, going up to 17 or 18" probably won't have any noticeable effect on comfort, so long as the tire pressures are adjusted accordingly. Moving to 20+" inch is where the (lack of) sidewall height will start impacting ride quality.

Hi

Shell have stopped selling Benzene, the Vpower is Gasohol

http://www.eppo.go.th/retail_prices.html

Here they say they have it in BKK

http://www.shell.co.th/home/content/tha-en...els/fuel_price/

AFAIK, Shell V-power 95 Benzene was never displayed on the EPPO website, so that may not be definitive.

The best way to tell is still price: just look for 95 that's > 40 Baht/L

VERY sweet, i wonder what size(width) and make/model those wheels are?

In europe there used to be a program/manufacturer that allowed you to pick wheels and put them(on pics on your pc) on your car of choice/colour to an get idea of what the would look like...are there any thai sites that do this..eg for the pajero...and not say, the outlander which is a different beast???

Wonder no more then

They are Lenso 'Grande 1' 20x8.5" in chrome (brushed alloy and black also available) shod with 265/50R20 Nitto tires.

Here's one of the better websites for big wheels - no on-car modelling though:

http://www.nvyangyont.com/admin/ProductSys...ize.asp?size=20

I wasn't going to keep this thread going, but didn't know where else to put this update so revived for one last update it is

Some of you may have read in the past couple of weeks that Toyota are shutting down one of their Thai factories and relocating some 960 staff to other Thai facilities. Some of you who have been in the market for an SUV (PPV) may also know that Fortuner's have had a waiting list of 2-3 months since the middle of 2009..

Well, today the writing on the wall became official: The Toyota Fortuner will no longer be made in Thailand.

All production for the Fortuner will be shifted to Indonesia, and the move is expected to be complete by July-August this year. What this means for the model is still not yet clear, but it could have a number of knock-on effects.. Pricing probably won't change as Indonesia is part of the ASEAN free-trade agreement (in fact the prices have probably crept up over the past year or so in preparation for this move). Models may change, and the market perception of the model may also be impacted - only time will tell..

In any case, it's evidence of the general suspicion that Toyota Thailand are struggling..