I hope this is the right forum.  I live in Chiang Mai and see a lot of Bangkok license plates.  People have given me several reasons for this, things like people from Bangkok are moving to Chiang Mai, or they live in both places, etc.  One Thai person told me that they can get better prices by purchasing the car in Bangkok.  I'm looking to buy a new car and wonder if going to Bangkok to buy it would result in a better price.

 

Any thoughts?

Part of it is after BKK floods the auction lot gets filled with truckloads of cars - most with BKK plates.....BKK plates are allowed to register all throughout Thailand without being changed.....

The BKK plates really started coming on strong in the past 3 years or so.....Some have said the money/business people moving in to develop CM.....Some of the plates are showing up with the influx....

In most places the better car deals are made away from the big city areas......

I think the automotive pricing and allotments are pretty well fixed but some dealers might be freer with concessions & add ones....Someone here reported they don't have flooring charges like other countries + they take whatever replacement vehicles they are sent....

I can confirm the other posts.

A Bangkok plate has a higher «value», especially with the «pretty plates» you can buy and which are registered to a person. This way, you can transfer your plate to new/other car.

New car prices are all the same it's what goodies & discounts you get from a main dealer franchise shopping around.

Went to dealers Sukhothai,  Phitsanulok & Tak,  Tak gave the best deal.  

 

The car bought in Honda in Tak came with Bkk number plates,  l was told it's because of the Tak area being associated with drug crimes.  

I have paid for 5 new vehicles, and partially another... all were purchased in Chiang Mai.

BKK plates are allowed to register all throughout Thailand without being changed.....

Really ? can you please explain "register"....do you mean pay the yearly tax and insurance ?

The Thais I know in Chiang Mai that bought their cars in Bangkok reckon they get 20-30K cheaper deal in Bangkok.

40 minutes ago, hml367 said:

I have paid for 5 new vehicles, and partially another... all were purchased in Chiang Mai.

Bully for you! How is that relevant to this topic?

54 minutes ago, johng said:

 

Really ? can you please explain "register"....do you mean pay the yearly tax and insurance ?

 

Yes....We bought a vehicle with BKK plates - I thought they'd change them out, but didn't....They told us BKK plates were good nation wide....

My car has a Bangkok plate but was not purchased in Bangkok. For whatever reason my son asked the dealer to register it in Bangkok.

You can pay yearly tax and insurance of any vehicle in any province nothing special about Bangkok plates....now wait till the blue book is full or you want to change color or register some other modifications I bet they tell you to go get it done in Bangkok.

44 minutes ago, LawrenceN said:

Bully for you! How is that relevant to this topic?

 Has to do with the post above it.

1 hour ago, hml367 said:

I have paid for 5 new vehicles, and partially another... all were purchased in Chiang Mai.

BKK plates?

1 hour ago, LawrenceN said:

Bully for you! How is that relevant to this topic?

Now you did it you gave him the attention he was looking for...

Best to purchase near where you live, service there too.. holiday weekends the CM/BkK highway is filled with Bkk plates, people going to visit CM... 

My wife is from Nakhon Phanom, but she worked in Bangkok for 40 years. When we retired, we bought a new car and moved to Nakhon Phanom. The wife insisted on having the car registered in Bangkok, despite the inconvenience, entirely for reasons of face. She wanted to be seen as a person from Bangkok.

Best to purchase near where you live, service there too.. holiday weekends the CM/BkK highway is filled with Bkk plates, people going to visit CM... 

We also bought our cars nearby. But we have BKK license plates. But this is only possible for Thai nationals. Foreigner has to use the license plates from the province they are registered.

You seem to get better deals in BKK and of course the car show.

Its cheaper to buy a car in BKK, despite selling rates fixed by car company. With many, many more dealers there, they will give you an u official discount which comes from their sales commission.

I found that Honda in CM did a better deal than Honda in Bkk.

1 hour ago, juehoe said:

 

We also bought our cars nearby. But we have BKK license plates. But this is only possible for Thai nationals. Foreigner has to use the license plates from the province they are registered.

 

Not quite sure about that. I bought a car in Khon Kaen that had Bangkok registration. When the registration was due, I change it to a Chiangmai registration.

23 hours ago, mesquite said:

I'm looking to buy a new car and wonder if going to Bangkok to buy it would result in a better price.

well, after flooding in BKk you get always a good price. Every year same procedure. And some like the feeling of vermin living in their cars

2 hours ago, juehoe said:

 

We also bought our cars nearby. But we have BKK license plates. But this is only possible for Thai nationals. Foreigner has to use the license plates from the province they are registered.

Incorrect. I have BKK plates on a car I purchased more than two years ago. Have never had a problem re-registering in CM.

As far as the OP goes, there are many Bangkok Thais who come to Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai on holiday, or to visit family.

Again what do you mean by re-registering ?
Do you mean yearly tax and insurance ?
If yes then "re-registration" can be done with a vehicle carrying any provinces plate in any other province.

If you try to change names,colour or register any other modifications in the blue/green book they will send you to the province in which your vehicle is registered.

IMHO annual tax and insurance is not re-registration.

5 hours ago, johng said:

You can pay yearly tax and insurance of any vehicle in any province nothing special about Bangkok plates....now wait till the blue book is full or you want to change color or register some other modifications I bet they tell you to go get it done in Bangkok.

Sorry to tell you, but changed the blue book on my Bangkok registered & plated car last year as the old one was full. Just went along to the motor vehicle place on the Hang Dong road & they did it on the spot. No trouble, no questions & no charge. 

Our experience is  that there trade in value in Bangkok is higher - not to mention easier. The dealer also advised that cars on non-Bangkok plates are less desirable & so of slightly lower trade in value.

Sorry to tell you, but changed the blue book on my Bangkok registered & plated car last year as the old one was full. Just went along to the motor vehicle place on the Hang Dong road & they did it on the spot. No trouble, no questions & no charge. 

Well thats strange because just last month while at the mini DLT they set up here in Big C (Pattaya) a Thai guy

had a full up book registration BKK they told him he would have to goto BKK to get a new one....obviously Chaingmai have a "different" set of rules ?

 

A troll post has been removed. 

5 hours ago, juehoe said:

 

We also bought our cars nearby. But we have BKK license plates. But this is only possible for Thai nationals. Foreigner has to use the license plates from the province they are registered.

 

Not quite correct.  Bought my vehicle 4 years ago in Loei Province and it was registered, by the dealer, in Bangkok and has been every year since.  Was told that by affixing BKK plates and dependent on the type of vehicle, most coppers tend to wave you through at the checkpoints as they do not know the status of the person driving.

 

Don't know whether or not if this is true or not but in those four years, have only been stopped twice, asked for my license only once and I'm an expat, no one special.  in addition, given the darkness of the window tint, no one can see in, not until the window is wound down so who really knows.

1 hour ago, johng said:

Well thats strange because just last month while at the mini DLT they set up here in Big C (Pattaya) a Thai guy

had a full up book registration BKK they told him he would have to goto BKK to get a new one....obviously Chaingmai have a "different" set of rules ?

 

 

That's what happened with me.  I do not have a full book, just wanted change my address as I have moved provinces but the lands and traffic at Nakhon Pathom would not oblige, told to go to BKK.