Buying car in thailand - best value for money

[Burl Ives]

When buying a car/SUV/Pickup remember who will want to buy it used. Thais are conservative and prefer Toyota for all types and Isuzi for pickups. Their favourite colours are white, (sensible choice in a hot country), black because all rich people drive black Mercs and lastly silver.

I bought a beautiful red Honda City 10 years ago, (before Mazda came in with their Metallic red that everyone loves now) and no Thai would look at it! I had to sell it below value to a Farang, my friend who had a similar Honda Jazz, one year older and much higher mileage got more for hers because it was silver!

[orlandian]

4 hours ago, Burl Ives said:

When buying a car/SUV/Pickup remember who will want to buy it used. Thais are conservative and prefer Toyota for all types and Isuzi for pickups. Their favourite colours are white, (sensible choice in a hot country), black because all rich people drive black Mercs and lastly silver.

Very good advice. Thank you very much.

[Dustdevil]

11 hours ago, fredob43 said:

Suggest you look up the definition of the word LUMP you might educate yourself.

There is nothing in the dictionary that refers to a "lump" as anything relating to a car. Apparently it's British or some kind of Commonwealth slang. Are you under the impression that Thailand is part of the British Empire and no one else need understand what you're talking about?

Edited July 30, 2019 by Dustdevil

[Dustdevil]

Corollas may be a good value within Thailand but I had to drive those shhtboxes for six years in Saudi Arabia and personally I hate them. Also, the NY Times did a road-test comparison of five compacts, including the Mazda 3, Chevy Cruze (which I suppose is unavailable in thailand?), and two others which I forget. The Mazda came out of top and the Corolla ranked dead last. No surprise there, with its hyper-stiff suspension (feels like a go-cart), sluggish engine and generally cheap plastic interior. Yes, there will probably be somewhat fewer trips to the mechanic with the Corolla, but absolute and total reliability is not enough. It's a go-cart.

[Dustdevil]

On 7/29/2019 at 6:06 AM, richard_smith237 said:

Correct, if comparing directly to the US (which I think the Op was).

 

As a reference: Petrol / Gas in Thailand is cheaper than many places and cheaper than the global average: 

 

USA Price Av:              $0.812 Liter

UK Price Av:                £1.28 Liter  (US$1.58)

France Price Av:          €1.34 Liter (US$1.49)

Thailand Price Av:       THB 36.34 Litre (US$ 1.18)

World Average:           THB46.88 Litre (US$1.53)

 

It would be interesting to see the 'cost of labor' (or mechanics cost per hour) for work carried out on cars when being serviced. 

 

I know many brands are offering free servicing and 5 or even 7 year warranties of new cars these days. 

The latest (July 29, 2019) petrol price (for regular) in the United States is $0.74 per liter = 22.2 baht.

[sirineou]

28 minutes ago, Dustdevil said:

Corollas may be a good value within Thailand but I had to drive those shhtboxes for six years in Saudi Arabia and personally I hate them. Also, the NY Times did a road-test comparison of five compacts, including the Mazda 3, Chevy Cruze (which I suppose is unavailable in thailand?), and two others which I forget. The Mazda came out of top and the Corolla ranked dead last. No surprise there, with its hyper-stiff suspension (feels like a go-cart), sluggish engine and generally cheap plastic interior. Yes, there will probably be somewhat fewer trips to the mechanic with the Corolla, but absolute and total reliability is not enough. It's a go-cart.

 Disagree about the Corolla, In the US wife bought a new 2010, nine years later never had a problem.  two years later , daughter bought a 2012 civic, both daughter and wife like driving the corolla more.

 when we went back to the US we sold the Pick Up truck in Thailand, (Chevy Colorado), we though that we will not spend much time in Thailand and better to rent.

Big mistake!! we ended spending more time than we thought and spending a lot of money renting, so we bought a Mitsubishi Mirage. Great litle car and great for the city, So now I am looking for a more substantial car to buy for Thailand.  

The Corolla is great, but if I am going to spend 900K to a mill for it, I might as well spend a litle more and get an SUV with a Diesel engine.

If you want a saloon, the Honda City is a good value IMO

For a Hunchback the Jazz

If you need a lot of room but don't want an SUV (too big or too expensive), consider an MPV such as the Suzuki Ertiga , or the Mitsubishi Expander. (both 1.5l) and 700-800k

Go to all the different car manufacturers websites, and do your homework.

https://www.toyota.co.th/model/altis/grade

https://www.suzuki.co.th/th/ertiga/

https://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.th/en/car/all-new-xpander

https://www.honda.co.th/city/

https://en.chevrolet.co.th/offers-and-finance/current-offers.html

https://www.isuzu-tis.com/isuzu-mu-x/

  

[jabis]

13 hours ago, Kurtf said:

My advice would be to only buy a new car and if you absolutely determined to buy a used one by absolutely sure it was never owned by a Thai. They have no concept of preventative maintenance.

Bought a rarer tuned up high-performance car (Cefiro A31 with Skyline GTR-33 insides (with Nistune Stage 2 board), incl. engine & turbos etc imported from Japan with 13xxxkm on it and officially registered for the ceffy), this with record of all Thai owners. I have never seen a technically better upkept vehicle - well exempting them old Nissans' world reknown electrical problems of course.
Sale happened when the latest owner wanted to buy something faster, and apparently not wanting to import a new wiring loom from Japan, nor get some tuning work done so could drive on E85 (my project now). So I got it, as well about another car worth in parts, for what I would call a pittance, and am happily tinkering with the few issues last couple of months, and now am waiting to have time to take it to dyno when remapped????. 

So it all depends 

[sirineou]

2 hours ago, sirineou said:

 Disagree about the Corolla, In the US wife bought a new 2010, nine years later never had a problem.  two years later , daughter bought a 2012 civic, both daughter and wife like driving the corolla more.

 when we went back to the US we sold the Pick Up truck in Thailand, (Chevy Colorado), we though that we will not spend much time in Thailand and better to rent.

Big mistake!! we ended spending more time than we thought and spending a lot of money renting, so we bought a Mitsubishi Mirage. Great litle car and great for the city, So now I am looking for a more substantial car to buy for Thailand.  

The Corolla is great, but if I am going to spend 900K to a mill for it, I might as well spend a litle more and get an SUV with a Diesel engine.

If you want a saloon, the Honda City is a good value IMO

For a Hunchback the Jazz

If you need a lot of room but don't want an SUV (too big or too expensive), consider an MPV such as the Suzuki Ertiga , or the Mitsubishi Expander. (both 1.5l) and 700-800k

Go to all the different car manufacturers websites, and do your homework.

https://www.toyota.co.th/model/altis/grade

https://www.suzuki.co.th/th/ertiga/

https://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.th/en/car/all-new-xpander

https://www.honda.co.th/city/

https://en.chevrolet.co.th/offers-and-finance/current-offers.html

https://www.isuzu-tis.com/isuzu-mu-x/

  

LOL , Noticed the Typo but too late to edit

Hatchback Jaz not Hunchback , though with some of these small cars you might become one????.

[RocketDog]

18 hours ago, orlandian said:

I see. I was concerned about the safety. But I guess it is not much of an issue in less densely populated provinces?

Interesting question.

On one hand it would seem intuitive that less people extant would present less danger on the roads.

 

On the other hand, from personal observation, it seems that locals in these areas are more likely to attempt dangerous maneuvers with their vehicles such as carrying ridiculously large and unstable loads on their vehicles, bikes/trucks/cars.

 

Additionally rural areas seem to have a higher proportion of underage kids, stacked 3 or 4 on a motorcycle, driving with the exuberant invulnerability of youth.  Helmet laws and legal age laws are almost completely ignored. Locals are even more likely to drive short distances drunk on vehicles without licences or lights.

 

Further, the vehicles are older models, poorly maintained, and driven as recklessly or more so than in urban areas. Likewise, the roads themselves are generally more poorly maintained for lack of funds.

 

Even further more (!), you have road hazards less frequently seen in urban areas such as roads partially blocked by small farmers using the solar gain of the black pavement to dry their rice harvest, herds of animals wandering the roads unattended, parked vehicles partially blocking the right of way, clumps of mud or agricultural products inadvertently dropped off of overloaded trucks, overloaded trucks wobbling and swaying during turns, poorly maintained road surfaces, packs of school children straying into the roads, and stray animals wandering into traffic.

 

For all practical purposes it is  foolish to assume that driving or walking near/on any road, anywhere in Thailand, is anything but extremely dangerous. It is all but a certainty that you will be involved in road carnage if you live here long enough.

[fredob43]

9 hours ago, Dustdevil said:

There is nothing in the dictionary that refers to a "lump" as anything relating to a car. Apparently it's British or some kind of Commonwealth slang. Are you under the impression that Thailand is part of the British Empire and no one else need understand what you're talking about?

I was under the impression that TVF is an English forum. Lump if you care to look it up is (An Irregularly shaped mass) what would you call your car a Box???

Edited July 31, 2019 by fredob43

[transam]

3 minutes ago, fredob43 said:

I was under the impression that TVF is an English forum. Lump if you care to look it up is (An Irregularly shaped lump) what would you call you car a Box???

There is no reference to a car/SUV using the word "lump", and I am English...

 

Now you could use the word "wagon" or even "ride" so USA folk would understand.....????

[fredob43]

Just now, transam said:

There is no reference to a car/SUV using the word "lump", and I am English...

 

Now you could use the word "wagon" or even "ride" so USA folk would understand.....????

Sorry but it's not my fault that the peeps from the US cant speak English. 

By the way there is also nowhere if you care to look that it refers to an Engine as you quoted. So if you are going to yet again put in another off topic post at least get your facts correct.

[transam]

3 minutes ago, fredob43 said:

Sorry but it's not my fault that the peeps from the US cant speak English. 

By the way there is also nowhere if you care to look that it refers to an Engine as you quoted. So if you are going to yet again put in another off topic post at least get your facts correct.

Weeell,  in the UK hop up/tune up world that is the only place I have heard the word lump, which refers to the engine....

Now if you referred to your Fortuner as a "wagon', we would all agree....????

[Rican0722]

If you want great value out of a car, we purchased a 2008 Toyota Yaris Hatchback 7 years ago and have to say that we have thoroughly enjoyed this car with no problems what so ever and now we are selling it to upgrade to a new Toyota Pickup purely because our needs have grown along with a bigger property not because we don't love our car.

 

This car along with other models like the Vios are great gas savers and very dependable cars for the long term.

 

My wife's cousin has a 2016 Honda Jazz and have to say that it is not as comfortable as our Yaris. Plus the size of the car is deceiving too because the back seats fold down giving you a lot of carrying space. 

 

I believe for the value you can't beat Toyota's quality and long term ownership. I've owned 7 Toyota's and never been disappointed with the product. Yes, they are a little more pricier than other models but you get what you pay for. Yes, you might save a little of money up front when purchasing other models but in the long run you will spend more guaranteed.

[orlandian]

1 hour ago, Rican0722 said:

My wife's cousin has a 2016 Honda Jazz and have to say that it is not as comfortable as our Yaris. Plus the size of the car is deceiving too because the back seats fold down giving you a lot of carrying space.

Thanks a lot Rican.

Actually I was thinking about going for a Jazz because it has lot of space. In what ways do you say that the Yaris is more comfortable than Jazz?

[orlandian]

12 hours ago, sirineou said:

The Corolla is great, but if I am going to spend 900K to a mill for it, I might as well spend a litle more and get an SUV with a Diesel engine.

If you want a saloon, the Honda City is a good value IMO

For a Hunchback the Jazz

Thanks a lot for the suggestion. Which Diesel SUV would you suggest for that price? Is that due to the lack of power in Corolla?

[Don Mega]

3 hours ago, transam said:

Weeell,  in the UK hop up/tune up world that is the only place I have heard the word lump, which refers to the engine....

Now if you referred to your Fortuner as a "wagon', we would all agree....????

Isnt the Tuna a shooting brake  ?

[transam]

1 minute ago, Don Mega said:

Isnt the Tuna a shooting brake  ?

Noooo, a shooting brake is called an "estate", besides, the Fortuner definitely comes under the "wagon" heading...????

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, transam said:

Noooo, a shooting brake is called an "estate", besides, the Fortuner definitely comes under the "wagon" heading...????

Out in the real world an "estate" is called a station wagon..... so that makes the Tuna a shooting brake !!

 

[Jip99]

13 hours ago, sirineou said:

 

If you want a saloon, the Honda City is a good value IMO

 

  

 

 

I am currently looking at a new Honda City V, plus a couple of MG’s.

[sirineou]

3 minutes ago, orlandian said:

Thanks a lot for the suggestion. Which Diesel SUV would you suggest for that price? Is that due to the lack of power in Corolla?

Corolla has plenty of power,  for its weight   1,8 L motor 140 hp at  weight 2840 lb

A diesel SUV would have more power but would weight more also, so the difference is a wash IMO, Diesel motors have more torque.

Chevy has some very good promotional deals. The trailblaze is almost identical to the isuzu MUx, but not sure of how good the dealership service is in your area. I had a Chevy colorado in Khon Kaen and was happy with them.

https://en.chevrolet.co.th/offers-and-finance/current-offers.html 

 

 

[alan grice]

What a stupid reference Lump. It’s something Ladies dread at Health Check time.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[transam]

3 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

Out in the real world an "estate" is called a station wagon..... so that makes the Tuna a shooting brake !!

 

I think it is called a sport utility vehicle. This is an estate,

 

.....well that's what they call it where I come from, but yes, the English did call a horse drawn carriage a shooting brake well over a 100 years back.........

[Andrew Dwyer]

I think it is called a sport utility vehicle. This is an estate,
 
.....well that's what they call it where I come from, but yes, the English did call a horse drawn carriage a shooting brake well over a 100 years back.........

Older folk in the uk used to call an estate car a “ shooting brake “ not sure where the term originated.

But Wikipedia agrees with Trans that it came from a horse drawn carriage used to carry shooting parties .

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting-brake

[DavisH]

2 hours ago, orlandian said:

Thanks a lot Rican.

Actually I was thinking about going for a Jazz because it has lot of space. In what ways do you say that the Yaris is more comfortable than Jazz?

Try the suzuki ciaz for comfort.

[MatteoBassini]

Best value for money right now is Lexus LS430.

 

500k for one of the best cars ever made.

[richard_smith237]

On 7/30/2019 at 8:59 PM, Dustdevil said:

On 7/29/2019 at 1:06 PM, richard_smith237 said:

Correct, if comparing directly to the US (which I think the Op was).

 

As a reference: Petrol / Gas in Thailand is cheaper than many places and cheaper than the global average: 

 

USA Price Av:              $0.812 Liter

UK Price Av:                £1.28 Liter  (US$1.58)

France Price Av:          €1.34 Liter (US$1.49)

Thailand Price Av:       THB 36.34 Litre (US$ 1.18)

World Average:           THB46.88 Litre (US$1.53)

 

It would be interesting to see the 'cost of labor' (or mechanics cost per hour) for work carried out on cars when being serviced. 

 

I know many brands are offering free servicing and 5 or even 7 year warranties of new cars these days. 

The latest (July 29, 2019) petrol price (for regular) in the United States is $0.74 per liter = 22.2 baht.

You obviously felt the same need I have just felt to correct a stranger over 7 cents !!! 

 

https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/USA/gasoline_prices/

Av for USA as of 15-July-2019 is US$0.805

 

.... must be time for a beer.... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Henryford]

Cars in Thailand used to be quite good value. I bought my Ford Fiesta 4 years ago when the Pound was 54. Then it was much cheaper than the equivalent car in the UK. Now with current exchange rates NOTHING is cheaper in Thailand. Some of the prices for pick ups like 1.7 m are just crazy.