15-Year-Old Faces 1.3m BMW Bill in Bangkok

A 15-year-old boy is facing repair costs of more than 1.3 million baht after a BMW he bought using his own income was badly damaged in a crash in Bangkok. His family said the woman driving the vehicle has not contacted them or offered assistance with the repair costs.

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The teenage student, identified as a part-time computer programming teacher, used his earnings to pay instalments on a BMW iX3 Sport valued at 3.7 million baht. As he was too young to sign the purchase agreement, the vehicle was registered in his father’s name.

In August 2025, the family gave the BMW to a car rental company in Bangkok to generate additional income. The following month, the teenager’s father collected the car and showed it to a woman who was reportedly an associate professor and had expressed interest in BMW vehicles.

The woman later asked to use the car, and the family said a verbal agreement was made that she would help pay the vehicle instalments while she was using it. However, the family said the BMW was not returned as agreed.

In December 2025, the woman allegedly asked the teenager for 100,000 baht in exchange for returning the vehicle. The teenager and his mother attempted to recover the car, but it was involved in a crash before they could get it back.

On January 29, the teenager’s father learned that the BMW had been badly damaged in a crash while the woman was driving. The woman initially told the family that the damage was minor, but the teenager used the vehicle’s GPS application and found that it had been towed to a police station with extensive damage.

Pictures courtesy of Amarin

A repair garage first estimated the cost at 1.1 million baht. The teenager’s mother later said the amount had increased to more than 1.3 million baht and that the family would have to cover the repairs because the car insurance had expired.

Amarin reported that the mother said she and her son had been without the BMW for almost seven months. She added that the vehicle was normally used to transport students attending the teenager’s coding classes. The family released dashcam footage of the crash and images of the damaged vehicle.

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10 July 2026