MoonRiverOasis

Do you have photos of a Pajero with the 5 piece body kit attached. Also where is the vendor and do you have contact details?

Cheers.....

I can't show you it attached to my PJS just yet, because some monks are holding it hostage until this Friday

Here's the parts as delievered though (excuse the cell phone photography):

And here's what they'll ultimately look like when fitted (less the 20" wheels, for now )

Note that I chose to have my rear lower garnish match the color of the front one however.

And finally, here's a link to the vendor (who is able to communicate in English quite well BTW):

http://bbt4x4.igetweb.com/index.php?mo=30&id=110577

The great thing about doing the polishing stage is that you get to see the results straight away of course - which often leads us fanatics to adding extra coats, hehe

Do extra coats of polish help? It's good to know these things because the instructions on car finish products are always vague, I assume because they want you to apply more than you have to...

That really depends on how much oxidization has crept into the paint, and in what level of detail you look at it..

On my cars which go through the 7-step detail every 3 months and get a monthly sealant application for maintenance (so practically zero oxidization), the difference on the 2nd coat is really only in the "depth" of the gloss, not the amount of gloss itself. On other cars that I've done for friends however, I've seen substantial improvements all the way to 3 coats. Horizontal surfaces like the hood (bonnet), roof and trunk (boot) will have oxidized the most, so will benefit more than say the doors.

The best way to tell is an extra coat is going to be worth the work is to apply another coat to one half of the hood and see if you can notice the difference..

On the topic of using product - the secret will all of these polishes and waxes is to apply as little product as possible - you're only aiming at adding microns to the surface, not millimeters, and less on means easier off. Even though I polish/wax two cars fairly often, I rarely buy a new bottle of product because it ran out - it's normally only replaced because after a couple of years the product has "gone off" from spending so much time being opened.

No, I can get quite fanatical about it too, so step #6 above is something I definitely don't want to skip! Is the polish as hard as wax to apply or easier? I'm looking forward to this now... it is in fact the whole reason why i choose black... so I could get that extra shine.

It's a different application procedure, but about the same amount of effort..

You apply a polish one section at a time, buffing it off before it dries. However, with wax you apply it to the entire vehicle, then wait for it to cure (which can take anywhere from 1 hour to 12 hours) before buffing it off.

The great thing about doing the polishing stage is that you get to see the results straight away of course - which often leads us fanatics to adding extra coats, hehe

Do bear in mind that polish offers zero protection, and won't last more than a day or so on it's own, so has to be followed up by the wax on the same day to seal-in it's shine.

Congrats on the purchase OTR!

On the topic of discounts, I was offered the following deals on my 2WD GT:

Option 1:

20% Down with 1.3% Interest (the current campaign is 1.69% @ 20% down, 1.64% @ 25% down)

First year 1st class insurance and Por Ror Bor

Genuine carpet mat set

20,000 Baht cash refund

Option 2:

20% Down with 1.3% Interest

First year 1st class insurance and Por Ror Bor

Genuine carpet mat set

+3M Window tint all round (AKA "film")

+Weather shields

+Reversing Camera

+Rear Spoiler (not standard on the 2WD)

+Side mirror covers with indicators

+Scuff plates w/LEDs

- No discount

Option #1 is actually the better deal, but in the end I went for the 2nd option just to save me the hassle of organising the extras myself.

I tried pushing them for the 5pc Body kit (4 corner skirts + rear lower garnish) as well, but their list price on this was 28,000 Baht (!) and they just wouldn't play ball. In the end I ordered the body kit set myself for 8,500 Baht from another vendor

^Thanks for the detailed info. I'm going to get the Swirl X and then add a fresh layer of wax. I really hope it's not late to get it back to its original luster. Is there something else I should apply before or after the wax for extra protection, or to get a deeper glossy look?

It all depends on how far you want to go, both in effort and in expense I guess.. If you're not afraid of the work, it's easy to get carried away in the quest for showcar spectacular results

Seeing as it's been 8 months since the last surface work, and the fact that it's a black car (which will therefore pay-back every bit of effort you put in), here's what I'd do:

1. Thorough wash using the two-bucket system (one for clean suds, the other with clean water for washing your mitt/sponge in-between sudsing)

2. Go over the entire surface with a clay bar to remove baked/stuck on junk that washing just can't remove.

3. Deep Crystal Paint cleaner to remove any old wax residue and bonded pollutants, and start filling in some defects.

4. Swirl X on the areas that still require attention after the cleaner.

5. Scratch X on the more heavily defected areas (e.g. in the door handle recesses, door sill areas, and any scrapes you might have)

6. A "pure polish" like Meguiars Deep Crystal Polish, or Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze (the latter being the best).

7. A good synthetic sealant or wax. Meguiars Deep Crystal Carnauba, NXT 2.0 or #21 (the latter being the best).

You may not be as nuts about this stuff as me though, heh

If you want an easier regime that'll still get you 90% the result of what you'd achieve above, try this:

1. Thorough wash using the two-bucket system (one for clean suds, the other with clean water for washing your mitt/sponge in-between sudsing)

2. Deep Crystal Paint cleaner to remove any old wax residue and bonded pollutants, and start filling in some defects.

3. Swirl X on the areas that still require attention after the cleaner.

4. A good synthetic sealant or wax. Meguiars Deep Crystal Carnauba, NXT 2.0 or #21 (the latter being the best).

Jesus 40k USD for the basic Kia soul? They're 15k here and 21K loaded and I think that is too much for them....

Well, their business plan assumes a total of 40 sales out of the 54,000 odd passenger cars sold in Thailand each month.. That probably says it all

does it just mean i should apply a new layer? Or are they in the paint and i need to buy a special product?

Firstly, the wax you applied 8 months ago is now well and truly gone. I've been waxing cars here in Thailand for > 8 years, and I even the best-of-the-best struggle to maintain a protective layer beyond 8 weeks - forget about whatever claims are made on the bottle

If your swirls aren't too bad, applying a fresh layer of wax may be enough to hide them for a few weeks, but they'll slowly re-appear as the wax layer deteriorates. Still, if you're prepared to get into a more regular paint maintenace schedule this may solve the problem. (and it'll show you clearly how long wax doesn't last too )

To actually fix the swirls you will need to use specialized products however - by definition a "wax" does not have any abrasive or cutting power - which is precisely what you need in order to correct the swirls. The problem here is knowing the correct product to use - you need to choose one that has enough cutting power to correct the problem (without breaking your back), but not so much that it creates new ones.

It's probably best to take the car to a specilized auto detailing center to get it done, as it will save you the backache and expense (good surface finishing products aren't cheap). Still, if you'd like to give it a go yourself and don't mind buying more product than what you'll actually need just for this one job, my recommendation would be something from Meguiars, which is readily available (albeit pricey) online in Thailand.

Here's a link to some relevant products:

http://www.meguiars.co.th/message/?MID=3&a...amp;page=bycate

Note that the correct order from "lightest cut" to "heaviest cut" is as follows:

* Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner (zero cut, but does have great "filling" qualities)

* Swirl X (Probably your best choice)

* Scratch X (For heavier defects - not recommended for swirls on dark paint finishes)

* Ultimate Compound (for old, heavily deteriorated finishes only)

Got any pics of these you'd be willing to post?

A few of us have had a lot of discussion on the PS in these threads:

Here

Here

and here

Some pics of my 18 inch wheels in the MU7 thread.

Love the car, so practical for the roads in LOS lots of room when going shopping, never have to worry if something we buy will fit inside.

That performance chip sounds great, will have to check it out.

Lots to read there, thanks!

RE: The racechip - I've been in contact with them over the past while, and they now have a proper model for the Thai 2.5L GT as a result:

http://www.racechip.de/racechip-chiptuning...I-D-3799-r.html

While I'm still a little concerned that I'll end up churning out clouds of acrid black smoke, my order has been placed

I changed to 18" Falken tires, dropped the pressure down to a reasonable 30 psi and the ride is great. Be sure to check the tire pressure before you go for a test drive, my experience here in LOS that they run the pressure over what is listed on the door panel.

Got any pics of these you'd be willing to post?

I've been trying to get some ideas for wheels in the 18-20" range, but it's difficult to find images of PJS with 18's.. Lots of pics of 20's out there, but logic dictates that a 18" is going to have the best potential ride quality.

So how does that work, "repairs at main Honda dealers only" .... if it's someone else's fault and it's their insurance paying do you still get the car repaired at Honda (without bonus loss of course) ?

If you have 1st class (fully comprehensive) insurance in Thailand, the only entity you deal with is your insurance company - even if the accident was someone else's fault and they also have 1st class insurance.

* Fix the value of your car to whatever you want. So long as you're not unrealistic, the difference in the premium is negligable. Our cars have been fixed at 90% of new price for their entire lifespan (3 years now).

Wouldn't that give you an incentive to 'accidentally' wreck your car a few years down the line, then recieve 90% of what you paid for it? You would make more for crashing your car then you would by selling it!

I don't imagine it'd be a small undertaking to 'accidentally' wreck your car to a degree that'd get it written off in Thailand - given the low cost of labor and parts, they can repair a lot of damage and still be way under premium.. Thinking about this a little more - I doubt even burning alone would do it, it'd probably have to be a burnt, twisted and mangled wreck, haunted by a thousand ghosts before they'd write it off ;P

In any case, from what I've seen, the standard practice for Thai insurers is to offer you 80% of new value for the first year, ~70% in the 2nd year and ~60% in the 3rd. By this time there's no way you'd be able to replace your 3yo (domestically produced) car for the insurance payout value, so a fixed price makes a lot of sense.

And jokes aside, the primary risk you're covering with this is fire & theft, not accidents of course.

If it's a standard Thai insurance contract the deductible will be zero, and the payout value for the vehicle will depreciate yearly.

Named drivers will save you a little money on the premium (at a risk of course - i.e. if a servicing mechanic etc crashes your car), but the big way to save on the insurance premium is be electing to have a deductible - usually a 5,000 Baht deductible is enough to get a substantial saving, higher/lower values don't yield the same.

Note that you do need to include a deductible on claims where someone else is at fault in order to save - only take it on claims where your driver is at fault.

Some other sometime overlooked facts are that you can:

* Fix the value of your car to whatever you want. So long as you're not unrealistic, the difference in the premium is negligable. Our cars have been fixed at 90% of new price for their entire lifespan (3 years now).

* Increase the cover on overall liability, death, medicals and the bail bond. I usually do 10M, 1M, 200K and 200K respectively, which only increases the premium by a couple of hundred Baht. the standard 100K for death is nowhere near enough of there's a farang at the wheel, or if it's known there's a farang somehow associated with the driver. In these cases the "negotiations" always start at 1M Baht - cover yourself.

Hope this helps

Try contacting QBE for a quote - last year when I re-insured the wife's Yaris I was quoted from ~15,000 (Tanachart) to ~19,000 (Viriyah), but QBE came in at just 12,200 Baht.

The wife had a claim with them not long after renewing, and the service was as good as it gets - they even gave us the option of choosing from 4 different repairers. The renewal for this year (after the claim) is 11,300 Baht

Email & phone numbers here: http://www.qbe.co.th/Personal/Motor/Insurance.html

Oh............I had the same dream. These numbers kept surfacing in a mirror:

05152010135410035

This is freaky!

What does it mean?

are you sure it wasn't 20100515123410035?

Thailand Ford Fiesta brochure leaked, and scanned

Click the thumbnail, then click again on the larger image again to see full size..

The Chevy stand at the Motor show just had details about a Colorado with minor changes (different head lights, fog lights, front grille and LED Nav inside) and a Captiva 'Sport' model, one of which I saw on the road last week and it did turn heads (white Captiva with silver details). I'd be suprised if they released a different SUV this year.

Pics of those two here.

How much is this lovely car?

Just a rough guess, but I'd expect several million dollars (it's a concept)

Probably substantially cheaper if/when it goes into production though

Hey MoonRiverOasis, you seem to have quite a bit of knowledge on the new car / truck market, I am very interested in what sort or specs, capacity, performance we can expect from the new diesel engine that are coming. Is there every going to be a GM or Isuzu V6 or something in in the 3.0 capacity or bigger? Thais seem to love bigger cc's and I think the market would be disappointed with everything becoming 2.5 only. My self included. Am I living in a dream world wanting a V6?

Some thing like this: http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/2003...603A0070872.php

While no-one's made any announcements, the general vibe in the Thai industry is that all manufacturers will be placing their focus in the 2.2L to 2.5L range. This isn't necessarily as bad as it seems however, as the next generation of 2.x L engines will be approaching (and in some cases well exceeding) 200HP and 400Nm - which compares very favorably to the current generation 3.0/3.2L diesels which are producing ~165HP and ~350Nm..

At this level of performance, 2.5L is already getting awfully close to breaching the magic excise tax barrier of 220HP, which is another strong indicator that 3.0L doesn't make a lot of sense moving forward.

Still, my gut tells me that 3.0L is not yet written off - if the market demands it they'll no doubt remain, but to be honest the thought of "Somchai Average" burning around with 250HP and 500Nm is a little frightening

BTW, then engine you linked to only manages 165HP and 350Nm, according to Wikipedia ..

Mitsubishi Triton and the Chevy Colorado would be OK if keeping for 15+ years, There are lots of 1 year old ones for sale for around 400k,[Triton holds it value a bit better] so lost 200k in a year.. same as a 3 month old Tata or a year old Mazda or Ford.

Only Isuzi or Vigo would it take more like 3 years to have lost 200k

Isuzi D-Max or Chevy Colorado are the cheapest in service costs + have the best fuel economy [not sure about the new engine in the Vigo brings it nearer on economy]

Your devaluations are correct, based on sticker price. However, in the case of Chev and Mitsubishi you really do need to factor in actual price paid as they're heavy discounters.. One of the big reasons why these brands sell for less in the used market is because the new vehicle was (if negotiated correctly) discounted around 10-15% and still had all the usual freebies - you won't get free insurance, accessories and a good discount from Toyota. So the real used devaluation after 2 years ends up around 15% to 25% - which is pretty much par for course. Brand value does factor into it of course (and that can be hugely regional in Thailand BTW), but it's not the whole story.

According to the latest motoring news, the price for the SLS AMG is 24M Baht. So that's the end of that I suppose

What about the BMW's.. There is the new 5-series just launched in Europe. Any CKD's expected? I think the X1 would also fit great for the Thai market..

Trouble is with BMW the prices are bonkers. I've seen the new wavy bonnet 5-series over here.

The X6 50i is 55,000GBP in the UK including 17.5% tax

Thailand its 10,999 million Thai baht. Thats a lot more than 200% markup.

I'd like to see more Toyota models. The new Rav4 is a lot nicer in the city than a fortuna. The Prius looks great as well.

I understand we're you're coming from - it does take a while to get used to Thai car prices!

However, there's a few factors at play:

Firstly, it's not a 200% markup (which infers profit), it's all about customs duties, excise tax and VAT. Thailand's current taxation system is geared towards supporting (in order):

1. Locally produced commercial vehicles

2. Locally produced eco-cars (< 1500cc, >= 20KM/L, <= 120gm CO2, < 500,000 Baht)

3. Locally produced vehicles < 3000 cc and < 220 HP

4. ASEAN produced vehicles < 3000cc and < 220 HP

5. Australian produced vehicles > 3000cc and > 200HP.

Everything else gets seriously pummelled by taxes.

So if you're looking for value for money, either forget about anything CBU (Completely Built-Up - i.e. fully imported) or, buy used. For those who would scream foul at this (and I have to admit, I struggle not to), the fact remains that Thailand does have the right to protect and promote their (substantial) vehicle manufacturing industry, and they also have the right to decide that 3000cc and 220HP ought to be enough for the average driver, given Thai road conditions.

On the upside, the resale values in Thailand are typically far better than any Western country - so once you overcome the sticker shock of a new car and do the numbers on Total Cost of Ownership (factoring in new price, finance costs, servicing and fuelling costs, then ultimate resale value) you'll in most cases be very pleasently suprised..

Ford Fiesta Pics

...thanx for sharing these cool pics!!!

Does anyone have any pics of the 2010 MU-7 or Thairung (equivalent) models that they can post?

Courtesy of Motortrivia.com:

Isuzu MU-7 "Groove"

Isuzu MU-7 "Groove"

Isuzu MU-7 "Blue Black Pearl"

Isuzu MU-7 "Blue Black Pearl"

Isuzu MU-7 Activo

Isuzu MU-7 Activo

Doesnt seem to be any cupholders in the Merc - so I'll give it a miss

Too funny!

For those who aren't in on the joke, AMG's are somewhat notorious for missing seemingly simple features like cup holders. There are aftermarket options available however

The SLS goes for 52 Mill. !

I'm curious where you got that price from..

Here's a snip from the PR:

ทีเด็ดในบางกอกฯมอเตอร์โชว์ 2010 ที่ผู้เข้าชมงานไม่น่าพลาดด้วยประการทั้งปวง ต้องยกให้ สปอร์ตคาร์ปีกนกจาก เมอร์ เซเดส-เบนซ์รุ่น SLS AMG ที่อิงการออกแบบมาจากตำนานรุ่น 300 SL Gullwing กับขุมพลังวี8 6.3 ลิตร 571 แรงม้า สนนราคา 24.99 ล้านบาท

Which translated reads:

"Visitors to the 2010 Motor Show should not miss the star of the show - the Mercedes-Benz SLS-AMG, based on the legendary 300 SL Gullwing and with a 6.3L V8 producing 571 Horsepower, priced at 24.99 Million Baht."

and another:

ในส่วนของราคานั้น เมอร์เซเดส-เบนซ์ ประเทศไทย ตั้งไว้เริ่มต้น 24.99 ล้านบาท และจะเป็นเท่าไหร่นั้นขึ้นอยู่กับออพชันที่ลูกค้าเลือก

Translated:

"The price set by Mercedes-Benz Thailand starts from 24.99 Million Baht, but will depend on the options selected by customers."

I'm not suggesting you're wrong BTW - but I haven't seen anything that would suggest the PR I got those snips from was retracted or in error. Can you provide more detail - I'm sure there's at least a few people who'd like to know

I gotta say that new SLS is a thing of beauty... gull wings...**sigh** (oh and yeah the girls were hot too)

I have always driven there, but I go early!

The new SLS is nice. Wonder how much it will cost in Thailand...

The pricing was announced a couple of days ago - yours for just 24.99 Million Baht - a lot better than I expected.