Costs for maintenance, paperwork for a cheap bike?

[Hal65]

I'm thinking of buying a bike in the 10k to 12k thb range for around town shopping. I get mostly okay without a bike right now so I'm not set on this. A couple questions about costs

 

1) In the US motorcycle labor is higher than car because of less business. Is Thailand the same or different? In general are mechanic visits a costly affair (I never left a shop in the US without a 3 figure bill in USD).

 

2) How much do you guys pay for insurance? I suspect age may benefit you all. My situation is: 33 year old single male, BS degree, US expat, have both an M1 and Car license in Thailand. But I have not driven anything in 5 years which is the same amount of time I've been here.

 

3) I hear Thai DMV paperwork is 350 baht, if that's only one relevant cost I'm curious about any others besides licensing, thanks

[eisfeld]

1) Labor is way way way cheaper than in the west. Overall costs will be a lot cheaper than in US

2) Depends on the insurance level you want. Compulsory insurance is a few hundred bath a year

3) You need a doctors certificate which can go anywhere from 50thb to 150thb in my experience and also a certificate of residence from immigration which goes from free to 500thb depending on the office, officer and star constellation. Also might need to rent a bike for the practical test for 100thb. All in maybe 1k THB.

 

As a 33 year old male with BS degree from US you shouldn't be in the position to care too much about these costs unless you're trying to take it super easy.

[ktm jeff]

10-12 K isnt much , and you may be better off buying something closer to 15 K , requiring less on-going maintenance. than something that may be half worn out. Servicing is cheap , oil change 150 Baht , etc.  Insurance isnt age related , you insure the bike/car itself , for any driver. For a  125cc scooter , basic government insurance will be around 300 Baht/year.

[Kwasaki]

25 minutes ago, Hal65 said:

Is Thailand the same or different?

Different.

 

27 minutes ago, Hal65 said:

BS degree

You can be a dustman Insurance no different.

 

27 minutes ago, Hal65 said:

hear Thai DMV paperwork is 350 baht

My scoot 540 bht inspection road tax and CTPL, a sticker and a bowl for a rice meal.

[OneMoreFarang]

Work and parts for small bikes is incredible cheap.

I have a 150cc Suzuki and every couple of month I let the official Suzuki dealer change the oil and filter, maybe air filter, etc. And I don't think the bill was ever more than 700B. (20USD).

Big bikes can be expensive especially because of the expensive parts.

 

I recommend you get a bike. I ride often to the fresh market which is maybe 2km away. It's cheaper then the super market and the products are fresher. If I would use a (motorcycle) taxi it would cost probably at least 100B. With my own bike it's almost free.

In theory I could walk to the nearest supermarket maybe 10 minutes. But it's so much more comfortable with a bike...

[Isaanbiker]

Maintanenca is dirt cheap. You look at around 100 baht for one liter of engine oil that should be changed every 2,000 km's. A spark plug is around 80 baht, a new chain and sprockets around 500 baht.

Labor is mostly included in price when you buy the parts.

Please do not buy a scooter for various reasons, try to find a Honda, Yamaha, or Suzuki 100 to 125 cc with the engine where it should be.

 

These little suckers are pretty much reliable and only little service is needed. 

From time to time a new battery, which is also cheap, around 400 baht.

Insurance is very cheap, but only covers hospital costs of no more than 15,000 baht for the driver.

Also tax is dirt cheap for such a bike. 

 

 

[Isaanbiker]

17 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Work and parts for small bikes is incredible cheap.

I have a 150cc Suzuki and every couple of month I let the official Suzuki dealer change the oil and filter, maybe air filter, etc. And I don't think the bill was ever more than 700B. (20USD).

Big bikes can be expensive especially because of the expensive parts.

 

I recommend you get a bike. I ride often to the fresh market which is maybe 2km away. It's cheaper then the super market and the products are fresher. If I would use a (motorcycle) taxi it would cost probably at least 100B. With my own bike it's almost free.

In theory I could walk to the nearest supermarket maybe 10 minutes. But it's so much more comfortable with a bike...

I use rests of my oil I've left from my Diesel pick up and fill in 20 W 50, it runs perfectly on it.

 

That cuts it down to about 70 baht for 0.8 liter, our Yamaha Best II needs.

 

I change the oil by myself, not because I'm so cheap, first I know that it's done well and second I can do it when I want without waiting.

 

It only takes ten minutes to change the oil.

 

My bigger bike's a bit more expensive, oil filter via Internet around 300 baht, 3.2 liter of good 20 W 40 around 550 baht. About 40 minutes and it's done with filter. 

 

I only go to a shop to get the pick up's oil changed as it's too much old oil to deal with. 

[NCC1701A]

1 hour ago, Hal65 said:

In the US motorcycle labor is higher than car because of less business.

so much cheaper it is like they are doing for free.

 

1 hour ago, Hal65 said:

In general are mechanic visits a costly affair (I never left a shop in the US without a 3 figure bill in USD).

dirt cheap. sometimes $5-$10

 

1 hour ago, Hal65 said:

I'm thinking of buying a bike in the 10k to 12k thb range

what do you mean by bike?

 

1 hour ago, Hal65 said:

How much do you guys pay for insurance?

$20 per year for my 125cc honda click scooter. $550 per year for my Kawasaki 650 Versys.

scooter and bike registration each $5-$10 a year

 

[NCC1701A]

1 hour ago, Hal65 said:

A couple questions about costs

i don't see how anyone anywhere could spend less money than on a Honda scooter in thailand.

flat tire repaired including all labor- 140baht

scheduled service-150-200 baht total

new air cleaner drive belt $15 installed.

Michelin City Pro pair tires $60 installed. Cheap stock tire $30 installed. labor is always super low or free.

150 baht to fill up. 

 

think about a box on the back for groceries. much more practical. females stash their purse in there.  

 

[Hal65]

11 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

what do you mean by bike?

Whatever is the simplest, easiest, least hassle option for getting around town at speeds up to 30mph which I guess is 50 kmph.

 

If you or anyone else has a suggestion I'm all ears.

 

Someone recommended raising the budget to 15,000 thb, I assume still used, so I am planning on that range now.

[NCC1701A]

3 minutes ago, Hal65 said:

Whatever is the simplest, easiest, least hassle option for getting around town at speeds up to 30mph which I guess is 50 kmph.

 

If you or anyone else has a suggestion I'm all ears.

 

Someone recommended raising the budget to 15,000 thb, I assume still used, so I am planning on that range now.

well it is a very personal decision and has a lot to do with your weight and size as well.

i have a 2014 honda click which is great. i paid $1500 USD for it new.

 

i like my click because it is very light weight and i can throw it around and zip into tight spaces and get the kick stand down instantly and jump off super fast. it is only 125cc but it is fast enough for basic transportation. I have never felt under powered, but I only weight 165 pounds. but my friend who weights 200 pounds likes the PXC 150.  

 

https://www.bahtsold.com/view/honda-click-125i-for-sale--368201

 

[jackdd]

If you don't want to waste any time with repairing the bike, want one of the cheapest options and can invest about 43k: Buy a new Honda Wave 110i

In the top configuration (front disc brake and electric starter) it costs you 43k THB. You have 3 years or 30k kms warranty (if you just use it for trips to 7/11 you won't reach the 30k in 3 years), so if anything should fail they will fix it and you don't have to think about costs. All you have to pay for is the service every 6k kms (a few hundred THB), and if you should keep it long enough maybe you need to get a new chain, new tires or new brake pads, but each of these doesn't cost more than a few hundred THB. After 3 years when the warranty is over you can easily sell this bike for 30k+ THB

So effectively you pay 3-4k THB per year for a new bike and no worries, and a little bit extra for the service. Then you just buy a new bike.

 

If you want to spend a little bit more: Honda Wave 125i

Works the same way, but costs 53-56k new (depending on where you buy and if you want spoke or mag wheels) and the loss when selling will be slightly higher.

 

Honda Waves hold their resale value very well and this kind of bike has the lowest maintenance costs.

[brokenbone]

i paid 1500 for tax and insurance, but i paid through the bike company which charges a fee cause i dont want to drive on sukumvit any longer