Buying a small car advice

[transam]

5 minutes ago, Fruit Trader said:

I Googled Sunbeam + motoring and found a car and electric toaster.

I guess you must be using the urban dictionary meaning of Sunbeam - A cheery blonde girl who is more likely to be temperamental and vibrant on every day of the week.

It also means..."A ray of light".....Which is a UK term used to another....

[Fruit Trader]

9 minutes ago, transam said:

It also means..."A ray of light".....Which is a UK term used to another....

Thanks for the explanation but during my time living in the UK I never heard the word used that way. I will test it on Mia Noi later.

[transam]

3 minutes ago, Fruit Trader said:

Thanks for the explanation but during my time living in the UK I never heard the word used that way. I will test it on Mia Noi later.

It is used in London...

[HAKAPALITA]

7 minutes ago, transam said:

It is used in London...

Isnt a Fruit Trader called a Barrow Boy in London.?. So many confusing expressions.!!

[transam]

2 minutes ago, HAKAPALITA said:

Isnt a Fruit Trader called a Barrow Boy in London.?. So many confusing expressions.!!

You will not want to know what a "Plum" means....?

[HAKAPALITA]

A Cyclist in most languages.? 

[emgthailand]

22 hours ago, peterb17 said:

Have a good look around - pity you missed the motor show - always a pleasant day out . 

Yeh I wanted to go to that but was out of town for the first half and busy for the 2nd. I'm in no hurry so I'll just keep looking until I find what I like.

[tonboy]

On 6/18/2018 at 7:05 PM, The Theory said:

It is very simple:

engine size speaks of power. 

There is no car with 1.3L that goes up mountains like a 2.7 Or 3L. 

yep, that is why I like my D-max with 3.0 L engine. By the way, one of my other cars, a Toyota Crown from 1972 has a 2.5 Liter engine (1JZ) and although much older and heavier than the modern cars, nobody beats it, at traffic lights or on mountain roads.

[ExpatOilWorker]

2 hours ago, tonboy said:

yep, that is why I like my D-max with 3.0 L engine. By the way, one of my other cars, a Toyota Crown from 1972 has a 2.5 Liter engine (1JZ) and although much older and heavier than the modern cars, nobody beats it, at traffic lights or on mountain roads.

Why was the original 4M engine in the Crown replaced with a newer 1JZ engine (1990-2007)?

[johng]

Why was the original 4M engine in the Crown replaced with a newer 1JZ engine (1990-2007)?

Because its a better engine ?

[sirineou]

On 6/18/2018 at 6:30 PM, yrag said:

 

..Mirage is rated one of the  worse engines ever made,

 Note: edited  above reply , deleting all except replied to portion.

 

For the money it is a perfectly serviceable car.

I have a 2014 mirage, only thing done to it was replace, tires and battery, Looks and runs like new, never had a problem.

[tonboy]

On 6/23/2018 at 4:16 PM, ExpatOilWorker said:

Why was the original 4M engine in the Crown replaced with a newer 1JZ engine (1990-2007)?

My MS64 had a 2M engine. 100 Hp. Has some problems with the carburettor as well (flooding). Could have changed it to a 7M inletmanifold with single point injection. But still would have only gained approx 10 Hp. And that is not enough for a car I want to use daily. 

So after consideration I went for the best solution to be able to drive it daily and without any possible breakdown :
- replaced the 2M with a 1JZ-GE (non-turbo) with automatic gearbox (so my wife is able to drive it ? )
- 90% of the  electrical wiring is replaced including fusebox. All power for the (mostly original) switches now use relays. 
- electrical power locks (instead of the ones that operate on vacuum)
- Keyless entry, start/stop button
- bi-xenon headlamps and led bulbs for the other lighting
- daylight led lights in the main headlamps
- rev.counter
- USB ports
- android soundsystem with google maps and so on
- front & rear suspension, steering and brakes of a MS132
- front and rear power assisted disc brakes
- power steering
Besides this I really restored the car, not just the thai way (with a lot of polyester putty and many layers of paint) but replaced the bad metal parts with new metal, using a mig welder. Except for the paintjob I did everything myself. 

The car now looks authentic from the outside, but is internally ready comfortable and reliable driving the next 10 years. (cross my fingers).

[xylophone]

On ‎6‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 10:47 PM, emgthailand said:

Yeh I wanted to go to that but was out of town for the first half and busy for the 2nd. I'm in no hurry so I'll just keep looking until I find what I like.

In that case take the new Suzuki Swift for a drive and make sure you test it up a few hills, cos it eats them up!! 

 

The road-holding is superb as is the driving comfort and driving it from Phuket to Hua Hin was not a problem. 

 

Had mine for almost six years now and the service centre here is superb, not that I've needed them much because it is very reliable AND I tried all those others mentioned, and IMO the Swift topped the lot.

[ExpatOilWorker]

1 hour ago, tonboy said:

My MS64 had a 2M engine. 100 Hp. Has some problems with the carburettor as well (flooding). Could have changed it to a 7M inletmanifold with single point injection. But still would have only gained approx 10 Hp. And that is not enough for a car I want to use daily. 

So after consideration I went for the best solution to be able to drive it daily and without any possible breakdown :
- replaced the 2M with a 1JZ-GE (non-turbo) with automatic gearbox (so my wife is able to drive it ? )
- 90% of the  electrical wiring is replaced including fusebox. All power for the (mostly original) switches now use relays. 
- electrical power locks (instead of the ones that operate on vacuum)
- Keyless entry, start/stop button
- bi-xenon headlamps and led bulbs for the other lighting
- daylight led lights in the main headlamps
- rev.counter
- USB ports
- android soundsystem with google maps and so on
- front & rear suspension, steering and brakes of a MS132
- front and rear power assisted disc brakes
- power steering
Besides this I really restored the car, not just the thai way (with a lot of polyester putty and many layers of paint) but replaced the bad metal parts with new metal, using a mig welder. Except for the paintjob I did everything myself. 

The car now looks authentic from the outside, but is internally ready comfortable and reliable driving the next 10 years. (cross my fingers).

 

A first I thought, holy smoke that must have cost a fortune, but then I saw you did it all yourself. Impressive! How long did it take?

Where did you find the 1JZ-GE engine and all the parts and other bits?

[yrag]

On 6/19/2018 at 9:12 AM, transam said:

Well I have a 4x4 and a civic parked in my drive side by side, so l can see what would happen in a broadside to either...

 

A question for you. What do you think the outcome would be, if a Jazz for instance, rear ended my 2 ton 4x4 truck at say 30mph, and what do you think if my 2 ton 4x4 truck rear ended a Jazz at 30mph...?

Love it your statement , apparently he not know bigger is better and stronger...i knew a guy who had a Honda jazz and the roads  did a number on the front end two times...replace trans two times...He not regret changing to a truck...i see them in accidents ( Jazz etc ) ...not a pretty site...I see a BT_50 hit 5 cars at a stop lite , total all 5 and sent people to hospital..not know if live or die...Very little damage to truck....The drunk drove over to other side of road got out and ran...I rest my case.. Note/ Their is a frame under a truck...car no...called unibody.

[yrag]

On 6/25/2018 at 11:24 AM, xylophone said:

In that case take the new Suzuki Swift for a drive and make sure you test it up a few hills, cos it eats them up!! 

 

The road-holding is superb as is the driving comfort and driving it from Phuket to Hua Hin was not a problem. 

 

Had mine for almost six years now and the service centre here is superb, not that I've needed them much because it is very reliable AND I tried all those others mentioned, and IMO the Swift topped the lot.

Swift is a chevrolet like Isuzu....

[yrag]

On 6/19/2018 at 12:13 PM, TGIR said:

We've had zero problems with service but have only been a couple of times.  After 2 1/2 years we only have 21,000 km on it so I don't take it in more than once a year.   We also have a 2006 Ford Escape here at our condo which we sold when we bought the Mazda......too bad they won't bring the Escape over here anymore, we had four of them.  At any rate we always had good relations with Ford along with Mazda service departments.  I see some questions/comments about MG.  They look good but haven't been out long enough to gauge the quality of either the car or service.  Personally I would hold off for awhile (they really don't have one that gets me excited anyway).  

 

A note on Honda which doesn't get mentioned much.  We were and are still looking at CRV, BRV and Mobilio......put down 10K on a BRV before they came out and I didn't like it when we saw a real one.   Needless to say we didn't get out 10K back and there wasn't any big push on their part to get us to buy anything......a couple of months ago I went in there browsing (Hua Hin) and some woman started asking me questions about how many time had I been there etc.  I got a really strange vibe and left......kind of a weird, suspicious attitude which really put me off.  

 

Final note......I shop for cars as a hobby as mentioned before so I feel qualified to judge them against each other.  My (and my wife's) choice right now would be the Nissan X-Trail, probably the Hybrid.  It's 1.3 mil but big enough to not get smushed in a wreck, and not too big like Fortuner, MUX, Pajero etc . Also I believe the X-Trail gets some very good mileage numbers due to a tiny engine.......good enough for the flat driving around most of Thailand.  CRV is a strong choice but yesterday I read they are going to make them even bigger in 2019 and that does it for me.  I didn't like the added inches in 2016 or 2017, forget which year.  It's starting to look like a school bus.  Heads up on the X-Trail though......major body change coming in 2020.   I love the CH-R  but the wife doesn't so it's out for us.  She doesn't like the BRV either......but I would if they would spiff it up a bit.

MG is Chinese

[tonboy]

7 hours ago, yrag said:

MG is Chinese

So ? Chinese own a lot of companies nowadays :
Volvo , The London Taxi Company, Pirelli,  Hoover .....
Most of the mobiles are made in China, as are most toys.

[yrag]

9 minutes ago, tonboy said:

So ? Chinese own a lot of companies nowadays :
Volvo , The London Taxi Company, Pirelli,  Hoover .....
Most of the mobiles are made in China, as are most toys.

So....u got that,,,SO

[TGIR]

7 hours ago, yrag said:

MG is Chinese

I know MG is Chinese.  Not sure what you are trying to point out.  As a side note in case others don't know is the MG is being produced in Thailand.

 

[tonboy]

On 6/25/2018 at 12:07 PM, ExpatOilWorker said:

 

A first I thought, holy smoke that must have cost a fortune, but then I saw you did it all yourself. Impressive! How long did it take?

Where did you find the 1JZ-GE engine and all the parts and other bits?

It did cost me a fortune yes, anyway according to my wife. But better spent it on this then on booze or (other) girlfriends. ? 

The restoration took me 5 months all together. The engine, original a 2M, was tuned by a local garage (as Toyota does not have the possibilities and know how anymore), and finally gave the advice to change the engine as the performance  of the 2M with only 100 Hp disappointed me. It would take them 10 days, they told me. To be honest, during these 3 months I aquired the front suspension, steering and brakes of a MS132 (with ventilated discs and powersteering), so I asked them to change this also. I got the car back after 3 months..... Next one I do myself if needed.

The engine came from a source in Japan. Due to tax laws the Japanese do not drive their bigger cars very often. They do maintain their cars very well. So engines from this source are mostly reliable and low mileage.  My 1JZ-Vvti-GE came out of a Toyota Chaser and had run 92.000 Km. It really is a sweet 6 cilinder 2.5 liter engine. Very smooth.

Other parts likes suspensionbushes, brakecalipers, trim-parts, ball joints, tie rods and so on were found at local stores. Although those shop do not have any documentation whatsoever, the moment you show them the old part, they mostly are able to find it. Seems  a lot of mechanical parts from this MS6# series are used in much younger cars of the nineties. The chassis and parts of the steering and suspension are even now still used on the Crown Comfort, the well-known Hong Kong taxis. 

[HAKAPALITA]

1 hour ago, TGIR said:

I know MG is Chinese.  Not sure what you are trying to point out.  As a side note in case others don't know is the MG is being produced in Thailand.

 

They also own Thailand.