minefield

I arrive in Phuket next week, So I'm in, Look forward to it

Cheers Graham

Pinking or Pinging is something you used to here about years ago, Caused by spark to far retarded , Easy to fix just advance the distributor timing 1-2 deg , Easy to fix :

Thai's don't seem to like Ford or Mitsubishi. I had a Mitsu Strada 2001 for a year last year and it was a great truck. I found it on www.one2car.com for 259,000 and 100,000km on the odometer. I flew to Bangkok (cars are cheaper there than in Phuket by a lot) and took a taxi from the airport directly to the tent dealer and within a couple hours had the truck I wanted. We went to the Land Transport Department and had it put in my name the same day. The sales lady even gave me a 40,000 baht personal loan on the spot and sent me the book after I paid her in 2 months time. It was the most surprisingly easy and painless process I have ever experienced in Thailand.

I'm glad that Thai's don't like fords, Keeps the price where it should be and I know the ford Ranger uses Mazda running gear and the pre 2005 uses the 2.5 Mazda turbo deisel, My last work truck was a Mazda ute 2.5 turbo deisel fantastic truck just over 350k's when I sold it and it never missed a beat.

ScubaBuddha I am going to Phuket will be there on friday the 9th and I am looking at doing the same as you thats why I asked about thaisecondhand.com , Cars at good and not over inflated prices.

There are not so many private sellers. It's allways difficul to say who is a private seller and who not. Many "Mini Car dealers" sometime selling one or two cars per month, from their home, pretending them to be a private seller, but in the reality they aren't. Prices are different from 185'k to 300'k up. Depend, what you want to pay, you'll get what you pay for. Manual is cheaper than automatic, 2 wheel drive is cheaper than 4 wheel drive. Open- Cap Version is more expensive than the old space cap version. Opencap is almost like 4 door, but the doors are "suzidedoors". Then again 4 door with powerwindows, automatic, etc are more expensive, maybe in the 300+++k price range. Don't let you fool be the stickers of "4 wheel drive or 4 wheel ABS". A "4WD" sticker can be used also as "4 wheel disc". There is not allways a 4WD if the sticker is on the car. 4 wheel ABS, mean the ABS brakes and have nothing to do with 4 wheel drive. Don't go only for the "cheapest one" Sometime or mosthly the "cheapest one" is junk.

Not much chance of getting fooled, I have been in 4wd clubs here in New Zealand for the past 20 years, Built up my last 4WD, Nissan SWB 4.2 deisel top mounted turbo 4'' lift kit 12000lbs winch set up for winch challanges, so they would have to be super damm good to fool me.

What I was more interested in was thaisecondhand.com and why most of the car's in there adverts are a lot cheaper than anywhere else

I have been looking on line for cars as we arrive to retire in Thailand next week and am interested in buying a ford ranger 4X4 double cab around 2002 to 2005 and have seen prices from 185.000 BHT to 325.000BHT the one' s low mileage and in good condition, The best prices by far is on, thaisecondhand.com

Can someone please tell me is thaisecondhand.com , Private Thia's selling there own cars on line??? Or are there dealers? Like our "trademe" or "Ebay", here in New Zealand and Australia

Any info would be a help

Thanks Maestro,

If I go back to the start, Yes I am over 55 and so is my wife, due to the stuff up we will be arriving with 60 day visa's, So what you are saying is some time after arrive [arrive 9th april] I should go to the immigration Dept and apply for a extention of stay?, Or a O-A retirement visa?, Transfering The 800.000 BHT in a Thai bank will not be a problem if I can open a bank acc.

How long will the process take for the extention of stay be granted?

Thanks for your help

You go to Immigration apply for a change of Visa from Tourist to Non Imm O on the grounds of retirement. With this Non Imm O Visa you can then apply for the 12 month extension for retirement. Usually there will be 60 days between each step. This will allow your money to be in the bank for 2 months. The final application is an instant decision.

They may send you to Bangkok for the change of Visa.

Once you have your extension your Wife can then apply as your dependent.

She will also have to start with a Non Imm O Visa and may well have to visit a Thai Consulate in a neigbouring country to apply for it.

You really need to speak to Immigration as soon as you arrive as only they will know their own local policy.

Also just after you arrive there is the long Sonkran holiday so Immigration and banks will be closed for a few days. Probably 13th 14th 15th.

I have to say Many thanks for every one's help......I think Mrs minefield may sleep better now, If you are in phuket come down to Kellys hotel private bar and the beers is on us Graham & Rose-Marie

I was going to get my visa's in NZ, O-A retirement for my self and a dependent visa for my wife, I have emailed solicitors in Thailand and have been told that no problems with the dependent visa for my wife but the NZ Thai embassy did not seem to know what I was talking about regarding the dependent visa…

I have a feeling that you and your solicitor in Thailand were talking at cross purposes. You were talking about a visa, which you get from a Thai consulate. Your solicitor was talking about an extension of stay, which you get from your local immigration office in Thailand once you arrive there. The solicitor probably knows nothing about getting a visa from a consulate.

In Thailand, you will get annual extensions of stay for the reason of retirement, your wife will get them for the reason of being your dependent. Remember, these are extensions of stay, not visas. This is why the consular section of Thai embassy in New Zealand knew nothing about a "dependent visa".

--

Maestro

Thanks Maestro,

If I go back to the start, Yes I am over 55 and so is my wife, due to the stuff up we will be arriving with 60 day visa's, So what you are saying is some time after arrive [arrive 9th april] I should go to the immigration Dept and apply for a extention of stay?, Or a O-A retirement visa?, Transfering The 800.000 BHT in a Thai bank will not be a problem if I can open a bank acc.

How long will the process take for the extention of stay be granted?

Thanks for your help

The problem we have now is we have got our 60 day visa and are ready to go and to get the visa's we had to send our air tickets passports etc. so we thought the visa's would be stamped from the day we arrive,, But no they have put the start date from the day they received the application so that means we have already lost 3 weeks of our 60 day already, I know we can get a 30 day extension we are there, But we still have open a bank acc. transfer the money to a Thai bank and then put our application in, Finger's crossed

Your Tourist Visas are valid from the date they are issued.

When you enter Thailand you will be given a stay of 60 days. You do not lose anything.

This 60 days can be extended by a further 30 days. So from your day of arrival you will have 90 days to sort it all out. Open the ban acc and deposit the money then go and have a chat with Immigration.

It would have been easier to have applied for a Non Imm O Visa in NZ.

It now means that you have to change your Tourist Visa to a Non Imm O Visa at Immigration before you can apply for the Retirement Extension.

This is the Police Order that deals with extensions of stay.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/post-a70477-...ember-2008.html

It is 2.22 for you and 2.20 for your Wife.

Thanks for the good news regarding the 60 day visa's, As for getting our retirement visa's I know it's going to be a pain in the butt, That was the reason for thinking about a solicitor they know all the short cuts it's just that some are charging over 20000 Baht each, If I could find someone reliable I would even go to Bangkok if I had to but there may be someone in Phuket

The cost is 1,900 baht if you arrive on a non immigrant visa entry - an extra 2,000 baht if you have to convert to a non immigrant entry inside Thailand.

You want an extension of stay (not a visa) for retirement. You fill out a TM.7 form and attach 4x6cm photo, provide proof of 800k in bank two months/letter from bank of account balance or letter from your Embassy of income of 65k per month (Embassy normally issues with change for notary service). You should have copies of passport data/entry/visa pages and departure card as well as bank passbook if using deposit method. They may ask for some proof of where you stay (lease/receipts/mail/bills or such) and a map to location (hand drawn as you supply a store is OK). You visit before a 90 day entry expires but during last 30 days or if have to convert to non immigrant it may require a trip to Bangkok with 21 days remaining or more on permitted to stay.

It is really very, very easy.

I was going to get my visa's in NZ, O-A retirement for my self and a dependent visa for my wife, I have emailed solicitors in Thailand and have been told that no problems with the dependent visa for my wife but the NZ Thai embassy did not seem to know what I was talking about regarding the dependent visa

My problem now is we decided to get a 60 day visa and get the visa's when we get there I don't mind if we have to do it our self, But for the first time we thought because I want a dependent visa for my wife we thought a solicitor may be best and the reason for the dependent visa is I only need 800 000 BAHT for both of us this has been confirmed by a Thai solicitor .

The problem we have now is we have got our 60 day visa and are ready to go and to get the visa's we had to send our air tickets passports etc. so we thought the visa's would be stamped from the day we arrive,, But no they have put the start date from the day they received the application so that means we have already lost 3 weeks of our 60 day already, I know we can get a 30 day extension we are there, But we still have open a bank acc. transfer the money to a Thai bank and then put our application in, Finger's crossed

save the money and do it yourselves, loads of information here on TV regarding documents you require.

May do that yet, I don't mind paying but not some stupid price

There seems to be a big variance in charges for visa's between Bangkok and Phuket, We are shifting to Phuket to retire and want to get our retirement visa when we get there.

Any know of a reasonable priced solicitor in Phuket for getting retirement visa's??

Also anyone know what PK international law is like in Phuket?

The price of fish has stayed pretty much the same (except when the fuel prices went up) over the past 5 years depending mostly on supply as some fish numbers are higher at certain times of the month and year, here is the general price: king mackeral when purchasing less than 10 kilo runs about 170+- baht kilo, I bought 27 kilo (3 fish) last week for my restaurant and got the price down without asking to 130Baht a kilo.

Red snapper 150 to 230 baht kilo depending how many kilo you buy and the size of the snapper, coral trout same as snapper more or less, spangled emporer 100 to 150 baht kilo.

prawns are a good buy but mostly farmed, sea run prawns are much tastier in my opinion you pay a bit more but worth it. extra large 300gram tiger prawns are about 800 to 1000 baht a kilo

farmed large 3-4" prawns about 150 to 200 depends as the price changes on supply available.

As for finding fish in the market at this stage there is nothing to worry about, the fishing grounds are plenty but the local grounds get hit hard as there is a very large fishing fleet here.

Look forward to welcoming you to the club.

We are planning big party on the 1st of May: there will be a BBQ, live Music, a great raffle with the 1st prize two nights in a villa suite on Cape Panwa, 2nd prize is a day out on Ocean Hunter the clubs 6.2 meter purpose built fishing boat, and lots of other good prizes.

Everyone is welcome

Thanks Jay,

I have been reading a lot of the posts and they all talk about over fishing, Back here in NZ with the over fishing and the cost of fuel snapper cost 700BHT per kilo not good i you love fish, But in saying that prices over there are not too bad

cheers Graham

It's a concern when you read about the over fishing, I always fish was reasonably cheap to buy at the local markets, whats going to happen to the prices when the locals cannot catch any fish?

I'll be there in Three weeks and looking forward to joining the Rawa Beach fishing club and catching fish, from what I have read-not looking good.

interested to here how it's affecting the prices at the fish markets

I know eye surgery and Lisik laser surgery is done in Phuket and have heard off hand reports that the Bangkok hospital in Phuket is very good, But would love to here from someone that has had eye surgery done at one of the Phuket hospitals and the outcome and cost?

I just bought a "DTAC aircard, life is colorful" and yes they are compatible with Win7.

But I guess the link show sim cards, not the aircard device... so for the 999 I think you still have to use you mobile phone as a modem or buy an usb-aircard device to plug into your computer.

Martin

Not hijacking the thread but I am in the same problem

I have a USB vodafone wireless modem for my laptop and shifting to Phuket in April , I was going to use DTAC as they have signed a deal with vodafone and hoping all I had to do was buy a new sim card and use my vodafone wireless modem???

Good God when will this ever stop?

Robberies, rape, murder, rip off's, no police worth a w**k, they rip off more than most.

When will Phuket Thai's realise the golden goose will stop laying eggs soon.

The Gov is meant to be a decent person but it seems a blind eye and some sound bites is enough for this reputation.

I came here to retire with my wife, seems that my money that I would spend over the next twenty years will be wasted as I am 90% certain I will sell up and move to a friendlier country.

LOS? don't make me laugh.

My wife and I will be arriving within 2 months with the idear of retireing in Phuket, I agree it's making me think !!!, BUT, As the NZ dollar is not worth much where do you go???

This face book is a good idear but you are only talking about women around the 30 age group,, what about the ladies 50+ ??? They would also like to meet others there own age

It's not at all speculation what a nominee is, though selective enforcement or otherwise is an issue any prudent investor will consider.

I however personally dislike any so called professionals of which there are many dressing up opinions of which way the wind will blow as anything over than a coin toss.

I'm not selling this, but fact is that many foreigners own property trough companies, and as it is now, the nominee problem for existing companies is only in theory, nothing changed in practice. Nothing is happening and for existing companies it's not different than it was in 2005, when most TV members were selling company ownership structures.

There is no need to panic.

I can up to a certain extent agree with you. Most of this negative talk about nominee companies are still speculation isn't it? I sometimes wonder whether most of these foreigners are overreacting on this issue. I must say that I have more than 5 inquiries a day for the last few days for buying houses. If the situation is as critical as some of the members highlight it here will these people want to buy houses here as foreigners??????? Some serious inquiries from these foreigners are for houses of over 1 million dollars.

I stress again why people are buying here is just because they simply can't resist what is on offer. Lifestyle, prices, food, warm climate, people, reasonable infrastructure, nightlife, shopping, etc as a whole package.

Asia as a region is also growing economically despite of the global recession even at a slow pace. So buying property here now could be a wise investment in the longer term. Yes we can talk about a lot of negative opinions if we really want to. But isn't this a time that everyone should be positive than ever before?????

We are shifting to Phuket in march to retire so we have been ,Over the past six months watching all forums and the real-estate market, And it's interesting realestsate agents say that things are on the move .....YET...The same houses are still there for sale and are still for sale 1 year latter and as Friends in Phuket say "There is no new money coming in",, The idea of a 30 year lease stinks , The renewal is not guaranteed and a lot of people appear to be sitting on the fence waiting.

It seems most are renting that what I have been advised to do and while farangs go along hat line it will cripple the building industry...IT HAS.......Developer's want to sell not rent they need the money to continue developments , Yet most of the places in Phuket for sale you can rent long term and I know for me I will leave my money here in New Zealand invested until it's a little fairer for the Farang, Thia's can buy freehold in New Zealand we should be able to do the same, until there are changes my money stays out of Thailand and we will rent

Yearly road tax 6900 Bt for a black numbered plate.

Thanks,,thats what I was after

Could some one please me what the yearly rego and any other on road cost to running a car in Thaialnd

Thanks.......

I have been looking at retiring in Phuket in the early in the new year but with all the problems they are having with Tuk-Tuk drivers and the Mafia run taxi service that charges what they like, And the fact if you live there you will have problems parking because the Mafia run services claim all parking for them selves and the police do nothing.

Hua-Hin.

it's a option that we are looking at so could someone please tell me what the hospitals Beach's, are like and are there any shopping malls and yes are there any bus services and what are the taxi services like?, I guess I am trying to find out as much as I can as we may fly to bangkok and instead of flying straight to Phuket stop off in Hua Hin and check it out.

Any info would be helpful......Thanks

Both brands Probably the most rugged of all power tool makes.

I disagree, Back home in Aus maktec was always crap, but makita was OK.

out here, i would not touch maktec for the above reason, they are garbage, i have however bought lots of Makita stuff for work, none of it lasts, in the last 12 months we have killed 25 cordless drills, 10 corded drills, 4 Jigsaws etc etc etc.

We have now switched over to dewalt stuff, don't know if its any better but at least the sales rep says they will honor* the warranty unlike makita.

* the distributor inspected our work premises to see for what purpose and how the tools are used.

I have been building for over 40 years here in New Zealand and Aus and I would say 60% of the builders that I have come across in New Zealand and Australia use makita, And 30% use Hitachi and dewalt and balance buy crap.

My makita drop saw is over 10 years old and still going strong and at the same time I bought 2 12v makita cordless drills and they have not missed a beat.......

SO WHAT YOU ARE SAYING IS CRAP REGARDING MAKITA POWER TOOLS

I don't know what sort of work you do but what I do know that if the men I have working for me started destroying power tools like you do they would be out the door

I did a upgrade from Vista to windows 7, Not a problem, EXCEPT, I could not run outlook express for my email so had to install Thunderbird, It's ok but no spell check, still playing around with it, Adobe reader wont reconise the thunderbird spell check going onto windows 7, I'll get it sorted one day

The latter is much faster, especially running with FF, Thunderbird, Comodo and Avira, all in 64bit.

How do you get flash videos in FF 64 bit? YouTube for instance? I could not find a way.

You can't with FF 64-bit. I have also installed FF 32bit for that purpose, but I seldom watch flash or youtube. Only use it for running broadband speedtests.

I have just upgraded to a Toshiba with 4 gig ram 64 bit and have doubled my speed over all , And no problems with utube, All I have to work out is how to the spell check working on thunderbird

OK so there are a few spelling mistakes,And he should have run it through a spell check.

He just a Aussie having his say, lets face it he loves phuket and thats great