Thoughts on buying secondhand Mercedes/BMW or Mazda Cx-5?

[Markdk]

Recently started living in Bangkok and want to buy a car for fun, some weekend getaways etc. Will not be driving many km.

Only had 1 car before and dont have much experience and knowledge on cars.

Want to buy second hand directly from a private owner. 
 

Thinking of buying either a 2-3 year old Mazda CX-5 for 7-800.000 baht

Or find a 4-6 year old Mercedes/BMW for around 1-1.2 mill baht

Think also maybe u can get a fun 7-10 year old Mercedes E-line at a good price.

 

Using UK/German prices as benchmark and taking maintenance cost, depreciation in to consideration. Where is the most value?

 

Hoping some car owners here have some thoughts and tips to share.

 

 

 

 

[stevenl]

" Hoping some car owners here have some thoughts and tips to share. "

 

My advice " Using UK/German prices as benchmark and taking maintenance cost, depreciation in to consideration. Where is the most value?" Forget about UK/German prices, you're in Thailand.

[asiamaster]

Having a 2 yr. old Mazda CX-3 and a 20 yr. old (but low mileage) BMW 730iL myself I can tell you that the running costs of the BMW will be double. Also if going upcountry the CX-5 is far more suited for bad roads and if you have problem with a BMW/Mercedes it is much harder to find a garage that can do the repairs.

 

Edited January 20, 2018 by asiamaster

[gjoo888]

Get a Toyota. About half the vehicles sold in Thailand are Toyota's, parts are readily available and just about every repair garage knows them inside and out. Plus, you can't beat Toyota's for reliability. 

[csabo]

Buying a luxury car is manageable. Maintaining it is a bitch. I had a BMW for a while. Got rid of it and bought a ten year old Jeep Wrangler. Smartest thing I ever did. 

[Dario]

I'm also thinking of replacing my ageing Honda City with a secondhand Mercedes. Can be had for less than a million (E-class, even s-class). Yes, the maintenance of a MB costs money, but I'm not traveling the country for a company, I just do some mileage locally. A Mercedes is something special, their finishing inside can't be matched by any Japanese car. My last car in Europe was an S280, that was the nicest car I ever had.

[merlen10002]

Forget the BMW & Benz , buy the Mazda , I am a ex manger of a BMW Dealership and Benz Dealership, you wallet will thank you . 

[Tchooptip]

My advice would be not about the car but the papers, being sure they are not a copy of some sort!

Thousands of cars are sold with fake blue book not necessarily stolen cars much more  for unpaid credit

For those thinking I am kind of paranoic I bought a car with a fake blue book and the plates having been stolen on a Mercedes

the first owner being a police colonel having "supposedly sold" his car to someone, I nearly go to prison, 

fortunately, after a semblance of an investigation, due of the first owner, they said they believed me

But if I do not go to prison in the meantime it is thanks to a very big brown envelope ...so take care that's all.

[Wake Up]

I had the same urge to buy a vehicle except I wanted to buy a truck. Instead I go to Swampy and rent a car for a month or two weeks at a time. I love the car the first few days but by the time I turn the car back to the rental agency my desire to buy a vehicle ends for a long time. I have driven most of Thailand. Outside of BKK I rarely see a BMW or Mercedes. The most vehicles I see while traveling Thailand are Toyota. This tells me Toyota vehicles are in higher demand and  have more parts and service options available and are good quality affordable vehicles. I did have a Thai friend recently drive me from Buriram to BKk in his new Mazda and it was a very nice ride. 

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, Wake Up said:

I had the same urge to buy a vehicle except I wanted to buy a truck. Instead I go to Swampy and rent a car for a month or two weeks at a time. I love the car the first few days but by the time I turn the car back to the rental agency my desire to buy a vehicle ends for a long time. I have driven most of Thailand. Outside of BKK I rarely see a BMW or Mercedes. The most vehicles I see while traveling Thailand are Toyota. This tells me Toyota vehicles are in higher demand and  have more parts and service options available and are good quality affordable vehicles. I did have a Thai friend recently drive me from Buriram to BKk in his new Mazda and it was a very nice ride. 

While i don't disagree Toyota is probably the most popular brand, your statement you rarely see a BMW or Mercedes outside has me wondering where you have been. There are hundreds of Mercs and BMW's in Chiang Mai.

[Dakhar]

 

 

I have:

 

25 year old BMW  E36 (M3 Conversion)

 

13 year old Mercedes CLK 55 (conversion)

 

10+ year old Toyota 4x4 (4 door)

 

New Toyota Fortuner

 

 

The BMW is cheaper to maintain over the Mercedes, Mercedes parts are far more expensive than the BMW. Further more, Thais do not give a flying fig about parking etiquette.   I park far away from the shopping center entrance to avoid door dings, but it does not make a difference, I still get door dings.

 

Of all the cars the Toyota 4x4 has been the cheapest car to own.  I have had it for around 6 years, and all I have ever done, is buy a new battery and change the oil.   It isn't a garage queen, more built for the mountains, lifted a little, with protective bars. and over sized bumpers .

 

I love to drive, and love "drivers" cars.....   but due to constant battle I have in trying to keep the BMW and Mercedes in good condition....   

 

my advice, get a Toyota as any "nice" car you buy will be a chore to maintain. 

[asiamaster]

3 hours ago, Dario said:

I'm also thinking of replacing my ageing Honda City with a secondhand Mercedes. Can be had for less than a million (E-class, even s-class). Yes, the maintenance of a MB costs money, but I'm not traveling the country for a company, I just do some mileage locally. A Mercedes is something special, their finishing inside can't be matched by any Japanese car. My last car in Europe was an S280, that was the nicest car I ever had.

The problems with Mercedes /BMW are not so much engine related . More with the other components like hydraulics and electronics which just give up and is more time (age) than mileage related. High humidity and heat also affects rubber and plastic components.

[Muzarella]

Any car under factory warranty is a good car if its is not Mazda, Nissan, Honda or Toyota. Some European cars have up to 5 years factory warranty, that means if you buy one 3 years old you are cover for more 2 years from any trouble, but the risk and the depreciation later will be big. Example : A BMW X3 that was 3.000.000 in 2010 I bought for 800.000 in 2015 with just 60000 Km. Amazing buy If you can take the risk of expending a lot of money in maintenance during its ownership...and nothing happens. Just a good set of tires for that one can cost you 50.000. I sold it just in time...the new owner is regretting the choice, but cannot find a new buyer. After that I got a second hand 2014 Toyota Prius Hybrid under factory warranty......Great buy!

Edited January 20, 2018 by Muzarella

[Dario]

3 hours ago, merlen10002 said:

Forget the BMW & Benz , buy the Mazda , I am a ex manger of a BMW Dealership and Benz Dealership, you wallet will thank you . 

I would definitely never buy a Mazda, all of them are black inside (which I hate!). I want a a car which has cream color inside. Black reminds me of Death. So, no need for a Mazda. Plus go and read this article about Mazda Thailand Mazada launches legal action against customer in Thailand who complained here. Do you still want a Mazda?

It is a fact that Mercedes are  much more expensive on maintenance than Mazda, so if I want one means that I can afford to pay the maintenance bills.

Edited January 20, 2018 by Dario

[asiamaster]

4 minutes ago, Dario said:

I would definitely never buy a Mazda, all of them are black inside (which I hate!). I want a a car which has cream color inside. Black reminds me of Death. So, no need for a Mazda. Plus go and read this article about Mazda Thailand Mazada launches legal action against customer in Thailand who complained here. Do you still want a Mazda?

It is a fact that Mercedes are  much more expensive on maintenance than Mazda, so if I want one means that I can afford to pay the maintenance bills.

Only regarding the  1.5 XD  diesel engine fitted in the Mazda 2 and CX-3.

 

[JayBird]

I'm not entirely sure you can find a good bmw or mercedes with a proper engine. As in the top HP for that model. I think most on the street are the weakest engine with the least add-one.

 

I suspect people buy for badge, not for power.

 

I could not find, for example, a Z8 or a Z4 with 3.5 hardtop.

 

You might want to consider a non import. I think the Subaru BRZ is here.

 

 

[watcharacters]

4 hours ago, Dario said:

I'm also thinking of replacing my ageing Honda City with a secondhand Mercedes. Can be had for less than a million (E-class, even s-class). Yes, the maintenance of a MB costs money, but I'm not traveling the country for a company, I just do some mileage locally. A Mercedes is something special, their finishing inside can't be matched by any Japanese car. My last car in Europe was an S280, that was the nicest car I ever had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you had experience with Lexus?      

 

It certainly isn't a shabby car.

 

I wouldn't recommend one in Thailand for the reasons given regarding a Mercedes or BMW.

 

 

 

 

[Dakhar]

10 minutes ago, JayBird said:

I'm not entirely sure you can find a good bmw or mercedes with a proper engine. As in the top HP for that model. I think most on the street are the weakest engine with the least add-one.

 

I suspect people buy for badge, not for power.

 

I could not find, for example, a Z8 or a Z4 with 3.5 hardtop.

 

You might want to consider a non import. I think the Subaru BRZ is here.

 

 

 

 

I have a BMW e36 that has all the parts of an M3 on it, including the engine, I also have a Mercedes CLK 55 conversion as well. There are shops in Thailand that their core business is converting BMW in M or Mercedes into AMG.

 

It isn't too hard to find such conversions 

 

https://www.one2car.com/en/for-sale/mercedes-benz-e55-amg-bangkok-metropolitan-kanchanaphisek/4052328

 

 

 

[transam]

If you have the dosh to fix stuff then buy what you want....

[Wake Up]

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

While i don't disagree Toyota is probably the most popular brand, your statement you rarely see a BMW or Mercedes outside has me wondering where you have been. There are hundreds of Mercs and BMW's in Chiang Mai.

Spent three nights in chang mai at Le Meridan hotel. Maybe they were not in town for those three days. Saw some black Toyota sedans but if there were Mercedes or BMW's not in any noticeable numbers..  In BKK from Siam Paragon to Sukhumvit Soi 79 I see them all the time. Was not the same in Chang Mai.

[Minnehaha]

Get a certified pre owned Camry with top line leather interior. Best car in Thailand. Smooth ride tasteful styling and good size. 

Most Mercedez are crap cars in thailand - assembled here with inferior parts. I hate the stiff as a board ride and interior trim is unimpressive. Most mind you.

[Peterw42]

I owned a couple of Mercedes in Australia, Never again. New and under warranty, the first service was $3,800 AU (100,000 Baht), normal driving and use, needed new disks and some other stuff not expected to fail in a new car. Car No 2 needed a replacement Catalytic converter at 50k klm, Cant recall the price but it was something like the national debt of Ecuador.

The attitude of Mercedes was "if Sir cant afford the servicing cost, maybe Sir cant afford a Merc".

Meanwhile, Sir also had a Toyota yaris, for a staff member, last I heard its still going with 200,000 ks on it and only, reasonable, servicing costs.

[electric]

OP Markdk .... I agree with post #22. I also owned a new Merc back in Oz 25 years ago, and was horrified by the servicing and parts costs.

 

Someone here suggested a used Toyota Camry. I agree. I rented one a few years ago, and it was a really beaut car in all respects. The Camry will give you similiar luxury to a Merc, and spare parts will not bust your balls.

 

[Markdk]

1 hour ago, Minnehaha said:

Get a certified pre owned Camry with top line leather interior. Best car in Thailand. Smooth ride tasteful styling and good size. 

Most Mercedez are crap cars in thailand - assembled here with inferior parts. I hate the stiff as a board ride and interior trim is unimpressive. Most mind you.

Thank you.

Must say also I have been underwhelmed by the interior when going to see Mercedes and BMW.

Paying top price for a kinda substandard Mercedes/BMW is not value.

Will go and take a look at Camry.

[canthai55]

Teana 2.5 with Navi. Then remove factory, replace with an Android setup, enjoy 2.8 million apps including GMaps, OSM, ...

[Peterw42]

44 minutes ago, electric said:

OP Markdk .... I agree with post #22. I also owned a new Merc back in Oz 25 years ago, and was horrified by the servicing and parts costs.

Its not so much the service/parts cost, it the fact that a car you paid a lot of money for and an expectation of quality, reliability etc, and it fails, but the repair is seen as a running cost, not warranty etc. Sometime in the life of the car, just out of warranty, the dreaded engine light will come on. Code for $5,000 repair.

[Bkk2061]

6 hours ago, electric said:

OP Markdk .... I agree with post #22. I also owned a new Merc back in Oz 25 years ago, and was horrified by the servicing and parts costs.

 

Someone here suggested a used Toyota Camry. I agree. I rented one a few years ago, and it was a really beaut car in all respects. The Camry will give you similiar luxury to a Merc, and spare parts will not bust your balls.

 

The new accord is probably  better than the camry but unsure which engines will be available yet

The v6 is discontinued though, unfortunately 

Replaced with a turbo 4 cylinder 

 

There is one that uses a Honda civic type R engine which may be able to be tuned up with aftermarket ecu etc but they might not sell that one in Thailand

 

Mazda 6 would be cool too if it ever comes here

 

 

[Will E Vormer]

I'd look for a 2014-2015 X1 ie the old rear wheel driver/slightly awkward shape.

Its actually a nice car to drive and quite robust. Around 1-1.1m dep on mileage, plus 2 or 3 years cover left

 

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[Bkk2061]

2 hours ago, Will E Vormer said:

I'd look for a 2014-2015 X1 ie the old rear wheel driver/slightly awkward shape.

Its actually a nice car to drive and quite robust. Around 1-1.1m dep on mileage, plus 2 or 3 years cover left

 

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For 1.1m I'd probably take a brand new ranger wildtrak  or something like that 

 

Something with a bit of size and road presence and the top spec ones are fairly well equipped 

 

 

[Will E Vormer]

For 1.1m I'd probably take a brand new ranger wildtrak  or something like that 
 
Something with a bit of size and road presence and the top spec ones are fairly well equipped 
 
 

Good idea. Wait til the update comes out. Also there is a Raptor version soon

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