Cars In Thailand

[ThaiPauly]

Mini's are great cars, but as previously said are TWICE the price than in the UK. I would love one, but cannot justify the cost, feel as we are being RIPPED OFF.My Isuzu Adventurer cost me 1.3m baht fully loaded brand new,with 4WD and Auto + Leather. CD, I am chuffed to bits with it.

diesel so its cheap to run, can't beat it for VFM in LOS. (Oh and spare parts are no problem)

[taxexile]

Methinks the chap is not to keen on the extended family taking a ride , perhaps a trailer could be purchased with the next car? 

or a songtaew.

[bkk_mike]

she started talking about her family sitting in the back, and a car too small. This has sent alarm bells ringing in my head. I am even more addamant that we buy a car and not a pickup!

This is another advantage of having a pick up, think of what will happen if you have a big car.

Where will they sit then?

The rule in Thailand for how many people are allowed to travel in one car seems to always be "how many people are going?"

I've seen 5 people and a dog on a motorbike, even a mini could accommodate 8 or 9 in relative comfort compared to that...

Pickups are definitely a good idea in Thailand, especially upcountry. good ground clearance (not all roads are tarred out there). And they're taxed less too...

[RDN]

Mini's are great cars, but as previously said are TWICE the price than in the UK. I would love one, but cannot justify the cost, feel as we are being RIPPED OFF.My Isuzu Adventurer cost me 1.3m baht fully loaded brand new,with 4WD and Auto + Leather. CD, I am chuffed to bits with it.

diesel so its cheap to run, can't beat it for VFM in LOS. (Oh and spare parts are no problem)

Ehh? Minis are cr*p, always were are always will be. Will rust to sh1t in no time, too small to put anything in and too small to see anything but the big fat ar5e of the truck in front. And they'll get stuck on a bump in any road other than the expressway in bkk. Don't let nostalgia cloud your judgement!

[maerim]

perhaps a trailer could be purchased with the next car? 

Where would you buy one?

I have made a couple here with bits I imported from the U.K. torsion bar suspension 50 mm hitch and coupling all the rest I sourced here.

Now my pick up is a tasty bit of kit, it should be cost more than most peoples houses but nobody gives a toss about that more of "Where did you buy this?"

I have always found this strange this is the only part of the world where they don't have trailers and about the only part of the world where they really need them.

Any finaciers out there?

[RDN]

Pickups are definitely a good idea in Thailand, especially upcountry. good ground clearance (not all roads are tarred out there). And they're taxed less too...

When you get to your Thai girl's home, you'll be lucky to see tarmac, concrete or hard-core. But seriously, if she comes from a small village, expect pot holes 8 inches deep and three feet across. Be prepared to drive on both sides of any "road" in a zig-zag fashion so as to avoid breaking your suspension - but don't look too hard at the ground as there'll be trucks coming in the opposite direction using your side of the road. Also, try not to drive when the sun is directly overhead - there will be no shadows and you won't see the holes. Also don't drive just before the sun is setting - too many shadows will look like holes, and you will get too confident and will start to speed up - that's when you will hit a real deep hole and break something.

[corkscrew]

Got a Merc C180, and a Mitsubishi G-Wagon.

Price-wise Thailand is a bit odd. They have MASSIVE import duties, and large car taxes (applied to the import duty as well as the cost of the vehicle).

Cars built here have no import duty and are therefore, normally cheaper than the equivalent in the UK (I know there are differences, like the rear suspension, but the G-Wagon was about £17K, where the Shogun sport in the UK is about £21K). This is helped by the fact that the car tax on SUVs with 4WD derived from pickups, is lower than normal car tax.

Imported cars, or even imported as CKD (effectively car kits for putting together locally) are a lot more expensive here - i.e. the Merc was about double what we would have paid in the UK for the same car (and the UK isn't exactly known for low prices).

However, because the price new is so high, the second-hand price is high as well because you can't import used cars into Thailand (except, I think, as a one-off personal import - and you still have the taxes to pay based on some "book" price that I haven't seen published anywhere...)

My Merc was about double the US price.

[bkk_mike]

Can anyone talk about prices?

This site has prices for the Thai-built cars/pickups from Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi.

Obviously misses out Isuzu, Ford, Chevrolet, Mazda, Kia, etc. - but they generally compete in the same price ranges with their locally built vehicles.

http://www.newcardd.com/newcar.html

[walker]

Also moving to CM (Hangdong, actually) and am heartbroken that the Thais make it impossible to import a car. My 85 Renault R5 Turbo 2 is on the sales block, as is my 77 TVR. Neither is worth a lot of money in the US, but importation seems out of the question. The Renault would be the perfect car....830Kg, 190hp, midengined, with an easy lh to rh conversion. I've a ton of spares & do the work myself, but the cost of getting it on the pavement in LOS exceeds its value in the US... so I'll probably be driving a Vespa. The price one pays, I suppose.

[davethailand]

Also moving to CM (Hangdong, actually) and am heartbroken that the Thais make it impossible to import a car. My 85 Renault R5 Turbo 2 is on the sales block, as is my 77 TVR. Neither is worth a lot of money in the US, but importation seems out of the question. The Renault would be the perfect car....830Kg, 190hp, midengined, with an easy lh to rh conversion. I've a ton of spares & do the work myself, but the cost of getting it on the pavement in LOS exceeds its value in the US... so I'll probably be driving a Vespa. The price one pays, I suppose.

renault 5 t2, is that the one with the massive flared arches and 3.0 (i think) engine?

if so, i'm jealous

[theviking]

gaaahhhhhh.....

i am driving the same car as allways....\

Toyota supra, twin cam, red, 2000, and the price is allways...much cheeper.

only 1.500.000. in thl.\

300 in this one......beat it ,or be gone......bahhh....

busted, haha

[walker]

Also moving to CM (Hangdong, actually) and am heartbroken that the Thais make it impossible to import a car.  My 85 Renault R5 Turbo 2 is on the sales block, as is my 77 TVR.  Neither is worth a lot of money in the US, but importation seems out of the question.  The Renault would be the perfect car....830Kg, 190hp, midengined, with an easy lh to rh conversion.  I've a ton of spares & do the work myself, but the cost of getting it on the pavement in LOS exceeds its value in the US... so I'll probably be driving a Vespa.  The price one pays, I suppose.

renault 5 t2, is that the one with the massive flared arches and 3.0 (i think) engine?

if so, i'm jealous

Massive flared arches, yes. I have 285mm Yokos on the back end. 3.0? not a chance...1.4 with 22 pounds of boost. In november I sold my 92 acura NSX and didn't even miss it. The Renault is like a hummingbird on steroids....it takes a bit of time to spool up and can be a handful, but when you learn to drive it, there's nothing like it...and I've driven them all, from ferrari 512s to AC 289s to stoked 3 liter quad cam alfas (which I also like a lot) to old loti (quick, but fragile). Also still have an old, rusty Jensen Healey with a Lotus 907 motor, worthless, but fun; my son abuses it on a regular basis, but can't break it. I am keeping my Audi S4, chipped and fuel re-mapped to provide 307 hp and 370 ft/lb (!!!) for when I return to the states. I looked into buying a peugeot 306cc in Thailand, a nice package, but was horrified at the price. Even the thought of bringing my two-wheeler, a Suzuki VX800 is economic suicide, and it's a '91. Thailand is a great place, but a little short of paradise until the automotive import restrictions are eased a bit.

[theviking]

sohhod....me.....

[Up2U]

I use chauffeur driven vehicles almost all the time.

When taking the wife shopping we whistle up our Sawng Thaew, for other journeys the moto-dop is faster.

Occasionally rent a car, when travelling to the depths of darkest Chaiyaphum.

It will take me ten years to spend 100,000 baht.

[Begs]

what should be mentioned is that a lot of second hand cars here have not been maintained properly,very few come with a properly stamped dealers service book, (some will come with a faked stamped service book),have had parts replaced that were not suitable for the vehicle and the car that looks so good on the forecourt may have been written off after an accident and then rebuilt by mechanics and welders who are not concerned with the roadworthiness of the vehicle.

if buying second hand it helps to have some knowledge of cars, or a friend who does.

Sounds like the UK.

[Begs]

I have a Pick - Up, Toyota Tiger SR5 4WD 3.0, i bought it second hand on the Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya, 1999 395,000 Baht, 97,000 Kms. Looks very very clean, sits up high.

A great motor for Thailand, i rented an Isuzu D Max once and got stuck in a wet dirt road as it was only 2 wheel drive, so the 4WD is a must up - country, if i look after it, it will hardly fall in value for a long time.

In Thailand Pick - Ups rule.

[ThaiPauly]

I have just bought a Isuzu Adventurer, Big I wont get the chance to see who and what I have run over but also economical, (although made in Thailand?   Seems good value for money,will have to wait and see.

I drive the Isuzu Adventurer too, mfd by Thai rung, how about yours? Well almost 3 years old and still a trusty vehicle, great for lugging around all my shopgurly stuff and at times shopgurl's entourage! Only complaint is an irritating noise coming from the console, asked the dealership to fix it but still can't get to the root of it....

Any probs with this?

No problems so far except the rear set of seats rattle a lot when folded down so will have to take to the dealer. As mine is new I am pleased to hear you are pretty pleased with it, and to add costs to the forum it cost me 1.2m with all the bells and whistles. Waiting list foer a new one is approx three months though.

[Goat Roper]

Bought a new Toyota Camry last year, just bought a new Chevrolet Colorado Pickup and have two motorcycles, too much transportation huh?

[chanchao]

> just bought a new Chevrolet Colorado Pickup

Cool!! How much does that go for? It's a re-badged, re-styled Isuzu D-Max right?? Same 3.0 liter Turbo Diesel still?

Let's hope it fares better than the Honda <something> that was a copy of Isuzu's old model truck.. (No doubt it will)

Cheers,

Chanchao

[chanchao]

Tourmaster. Honda Tourmaster that was. God the silly things I remember. I found the website at www.chevrolet.co.th (God what an annoying use of Flash Player yet again..)

Engine wise it seems like the same 3 liter Turbo Diesel as is used in the D-Max (and also later versions of the previous Isuzu truck) Not very refined and still quite noisy, but no arguing about fuel economy, and it has the torque of a battle tank. Quite nice off-road that.

Speaking of off-road.. it seems the Chevy doesn't come in a 4WD model??

And.. no airbags.. even though Isuzu puts them in on export models of their D-Max truck, but not domestic.. You'd think GM would have put those in to lift the stature of their truck.

Edited May 28, 2004 by chanchao

[Goat Roper]

> just bought a new Chevrolet Colorado Pickup

Cool!! How much does that go for? It's a re-badged, re-styled Isuzu D-Max right?? Same 3.0 liter Turbo Diesel still?

Let's hope it fares better than the Honda <something> that was a copy of Isuzu's old model truck.. (No doubt it will)

Cheers,

Chanchao

Yes you are correct, the Colorado is a rebadged D-Max Isuzu, a few changes to the outside, 3.0 Liter two wheel drive, four speed auto trans, crew cab. Paid THB 846K witha few goodies thrown in. The best I have determined these trucks are robust and should give good service, they are selling well too so the Thais seem to think they are ok even though they are a bit more pricy than the Isuzu D-Max. I personally think the Colorado is one of the best looking trucks on the market today.

[tutsiwarrior]

I may be going on a job soon in the Middle East and I will have to select from the following new cars

Toyota Corolla

Nissan Sunny

Honda Civic

Mitsubishi Lancer

Any recommendations regarding performance and comfortable ride?

cheers

[Pepe']

Hey Tutsi! Where ya been?

I think the Corolla is the industry standard in its class for all around comfort and reliability. INHO.

[splitlid]

go corolla!!

the best of the bunch i think for general comfort and xtras.

"na na na na na TOY MOTA"

[grtaylor]

Bought a two-year old Toyota Soluna 1.5 GLi two years ago from a second-hand dealer on Patanakarn Rd. It had a complete service history, and had been owned/serviced by Toyota Leasing (leased to one driver for two years), only 25,000Km on the clock (no fiddling - it all added up on the Toyota receipts). Cost me around 450,000 Baht, and its been the best car I ever owned.

Graham

[plachon]

Is there a local equivalent of Parkers Used Car guide to check prices I wonder? Probably not, but worth checking.

And anyone want to give a ballpark figure for what a reasonable nick 1.4 Opel Corsa (1994) ought to go for?

[maerim]

Only complaint is an irritating noise coming from the console, asked the dealership to fix it but still can't get to the root of it....

I also have an iritating noise from time to time but mine emanates from the passenger seat.

When she gets out it stops completely, the dealer is mystified as to the cause.

So much for the extended guarantee.

[taxexile]

I also have an iritating noise from time to time but mine emanates from the passenger seat.

get one of the young mechanics at your local garage to service the sliding mechanism,it may just need some loosening up, they can get a bit tight around the back too, but these guys have the right tools for the job.

also have a few of them check the reclining system,if its not going down smoothly when required then you have a problem.

may be time for a leather clad replacement.

[davethailand]

I also have an iritating noise from time to time but mine emanates from the passenger seat.

get one of the young mechanics at your local garage to service the sliding mechanism,it may just need some loosening up, they can get a bit tight around the back too, but these guys have the right tools for the job.

also have a few of them check the reclining system,if its not going down smoothly when required then you have a problem.

may be time for a leather clad replacement.

i think maerim was joking tax.

[taxexile]

so was i,

whats happened....pattaya become a sublety and double entendre free zone lately.

get one of the young mechanics at your local garage to service the sliding mechanism,it may just need some loosening up, they can get a bit tight around the back too, but these guys have the right tools for the job.also have a few of them check the reclining system,if its not going down smoothly when required then you have a problem.

bloody h3ll, having to spell 'em out now. must be losing my touch.