27 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

If people were to be made aware that the average  cost  of all mass production vehicles is approximately 15 % of retail expense I doubt that the  "prestige" mentality  would be less.

 

I would be willing to bet that advertising costs far exceed the cost to produce a vehicle.

20 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Lol. I have to ask....on your way home...presumably to a heavily  mortgaged  suburban dwelling what were you  driving ?

I hate to disappoint you but my drive home back then was on a major road that ran east of the city and then west towards the mountains. The closer to the mountains the more expensive the homes. First there was the trailer park, next the single level 2 BR 1 bath homes (today's price ~ 200k-250k USD), then my neighborhood which mostly were 2 level 3 BR 2 bath with a basement (350k-450k USD), and lastly the more well off homes (600k USD & up). 

 

NOTE: Mine was paid off a few years before I moved overseas 14 years ago.... and to top it off, my initial mortgage was only $66k USD back in 1990.... ????

24 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

The title refers to 1 million BAHT cars...not dollars; 1M baht is hardly a Bugatti Veyron.

You're not getting a Veyron for $1m either.

26 minutes ago, Airalee said:

https://mobilehomesmalibu.com/listing-report/All-Mobile-Home-Listings/889861/?pg=0&sortBy=pd

Malibu.....and presumably close to the beach...  ????

9 minutes ago, dingdongrb said:

I would be willing to bet that advertising costs far exceed the cost to produce a vehicle.

You are probably  right. I meant the  material and  labour  cost  combined out the door  of a  factory .

Which is  why maintaining output is dependently important on the  gross incremental price  of  moving it on.

Consequentially  subject  to sales tax and   perpetual  taxes  despite depreciation that is  non  deductable to the  average  sucker.

 

No matter what some farangs on this forum say , the cost of living here is VERY cheap.   In Chiangmai

there is a very large middle class population, as well as a large extremely wealthy population. Both home grown and newcomers from Bangkok.    Land values in the city are very high, and now any land

within 30 km of the city center has increased up to ten fold over the last 15 years.   

Fifteen years ago Ruam Choke intersection had cows grazing on it.   Times have changed and like any other city that has grown exponentially....... wealth has followed.  I know a small shop owner (for over 25 years ) and walking by his small silver shop you would never know that he is worth more than 100 million baht ( i knew him when he was just starting out)

There are lots and lots of businesses in and around Chiangmai whose owners are very wealthy now.

Yes, the lowly workers don't have it so good...... but even they can live in a 2500 baht room and still save enough in 6 months to buy a motorcycle if they try. 

Add to that the tourism, Chinese , Japanese, Korean, and Farang investments.....

well,   CM is not dead just yet.

 

14 minutes ago, Sundown said:

Not sure why the average salary in Thailand is 15.000thb. I think it is a typo, they meant 150.000thb, for sure.

15000 is minimum salary for someone with university degree.

 

Currently, the average wage in Bangkok is of 25,500 Thai Baht per month, or approximately 800 USD.

https://checkinprice.com/average-minimum-salary-in-bangkok-thailand/

 

Average salary in the whole of Thailand is 14700 baht per month, and includes unskilled labour as well. Obviously outside Thailand you will find similar patterns, where middle class makes decent living and has spare income to afford middle class toys, like houses, cars, etc. and then there is a class of people that suffer in every country, though in some wealth is better distributed among population, while in others it's concentrated at just one group. That, however is bad sign, as majority of spending that keeps economy running comes from healthy middle class.

 

To the gentleman I originally responded to, who is saying Thais have low wages and can't afford this unless parents give them money... that's insulting to this country. Thais likely have different priorities than westerners do. But from those I've met, they like to travel to Japan, Korea, Europe, Australia, US. They like shopping brand name stuff, especially in Europe. They love to buy expensive cars to show off. They like to own their homes (and unfortunately also follow herd instinct by investing in condos, Forex and lottery tickets). They do anything for their parents' well-being. They support those less fortunate.

 

Now please... I'm talking about average, reliable, educated, hard-working people like who you would find at successful companies. Not about rented girlfriends of some members here...

 

There's a trick to this as told to me by a former, er, gf who drove a BMW. She also carried a Louis Vuitton bag and wore Jimmy Choo shoes. Or so I thought when we first met. Later she admitted those were fake, expensive fakes.

 

Here's how she explained it. If you drive an expensive car people automatically don't question the rest of your stuff. You can obviously afford brand names. Which then leaves you free to fake the rest. Just make sure the copies are good so it's hard to tell (apparently a good handbag copy can cost 10k b. itself).

 

On the other hand if you drive a Honda Jazz but tote a genuine Louis Vuitton folks will sniff, what a nice fake, she wants us to think she's rich.

 

Made total sense I thought. But what a way to go through life.

 

5 hours ago, Don Mega said:

Who pays  the deposit ?

Yeah somebody pay 5-10k bth not everybody! Depens dealer and relationship! 

5 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

5 hours ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Do  you  drive a 1970'ish  Volvo?

Don't drive anything. Trains and Grab are too convenient and cheap.

can you take me to any of the fun things you do. sounds like you are a non stop fun machine. 

8 hours ago, rumak said:

now any land

within 30 km of the city center has increased up to ten fold over the last 15 years.   

some areas perhaps but not any land.  adjacent to my place not nearly that much

 

8 hours ago, rumak said:

Fifteen years ago Ruam Choke intersection had cows grazing on it. 

Rimping opened there in 2015 so at least one corner was built or being built

 

8 hours ago, rumak said:

there is a very large middle class population, as well as a large extremely wealthy population.

large being a relative term, can you put percentages on the middle class and wealthy populations, all numbers I have seen indicate the total of the two is about 15 percent, not over 20 but those could be old numbers

13 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

what always amazes me is when you drive or walk past(near where we live) these small living places ,that they pay about 2k a month to rent ,then they have a car costing 800,000 parked round the side , why ,just to look well off?

we live in a lovely detached home on a large garden ,and outside i have a car that i paid 470,000 for and have had it for years and years ,well it runs nicely ,

I always  look for the BEST deal on anything, seeing Chevrolet was exiting Thailand and knowing the vehicle is  still made overseas so parts wont be an issue  I got a new pick up reduced from 799k to 525k.

No other manufacturer is discounting  much if  at  all at the moment, Whereas many worry about resale value Im interested more in it being new and I keep them for 10 years so resale is not an issue.

Thais just  borrow forever then neglect them, always seems nuts to me.

 

9 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Average salary in the whole of Thailand is 14700 baht per month, and includes unskilled labour

Millions earn way way less out in the country than that.

When we used to catch the train out of Korat to go  back home, before we had our car, I used to look at the numerous hovels  built alongside the rail tracks.  Just slapped together, tin, plastic,  wood panels, yet  most of them had a  car of some sort parked alongside. One even had a newish looking BMW...

32 minutes ago, Dante99 said:

9 hours ago, rumak said:

Fifteen years ago Ruam Choke intersection had cows grazing on it. 

Rimping opened there in 2015 so at least one corner was built or being built

well, 2015 is only 6 years ago ......maybe you mean 2005 ?    Anyway,  i am attempting to give a general

picture of what i have seen over the last 15 to 20 years. 

on the other point (land) .....i say up to.  I don't think that anyone would disagree when i say land prices have gone up a lot

Please do not be so literal and picky.....as i am not pretending to be a NY  Times reporter  ????

39 minutes ago, Dante99 said:

large being a relative term, can you put percentages on the middle class and wealthy populations, all numbers I have seen indicate the total of the two is about 15 percent, not over 20 but those could be old numbers

Yes, on this point some people would say 15 or 20 percent is not large.   IMO  it is a lot larger than what

farangs tend to think........ as many think that almost all but a very very small percentage of Thais have 

any kind of net worth.  

Again, i don't look for numbers........  sorry

5 hours ago, mr mr said:

can you take me to any of the fun things you do. sounds like you are a non stop fun machine. 

I'm the most boring person you will never meet.

I live in one of the "D condos" in CM and am always amazed by the number of supercars in the parking lot.
For a condo where rent is 10,000 baht/mo surprised by the number of tenants splurging 1M baht+ for a luxury car..

On 8/16/2020 at 5:32 PM, uncleP said:

Government  workers get cheap finance in Thailand 

Really?? My wife is a Gov employee and gets no special deals

1 minute ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Really?? My wife is a Gov employee and gets no special deals

She must be the only one then, or keeps U in the Dark.

15 hours ago, notanotherbrit said:

I live in one of the "D condos" in CM and am always amazed by the number of supercars in the parking lot.
For a condo where rent is 10,000 baht/mo surprised by the number of tenants splurging 1M baht+ for a luxury car..

Thats about 10K PM over 6 Years round here and the family chips in to help

4 minutes ago, pineapple01 said:

She must be the only one then, or keeps U in the Dark.

Perhaps your wife is telling you she is getting a great deal. But in reality, the rate is not much better than the banks. If fact, bank auto loans today are 0 to .002 % where Gov loans are 7%

My wife is a Lawyer and a very well paid Gov employee. She has never, and never will keep me in the dark. Gov employees can borrow from the Gov if they get 2 co-workers to guarantee the loan. Once they guarantee you they expect you to guarantee them. I situation I would not want to be in.

23 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Really?? My wife is a Gov employee and gets no special deals

My wife is also a govt employee. There are reduced rate loans for govt employees from banks. It sounds like she's talking about loans from her work credit union if she needs 2 guarantors. Around 7% is the rate my wifes credit union asks for loans.

To give an idea on Govt home loan deals. This was what a bank offered my wife less than 2 months ago.

1 - 3 months interest free

4 - 12 months 1%

2nd year 3%

3rd year MRR minus 2.48%

remaining years MRR minus 1.75%

On 8/16/2020 at 9:15 PM, rumak said:

No matter what some farangs on this forum say , the cost of living here is VERY cheap.   In Chiangmai

there is a very large middle class population, as well as a large extremely wealthy population. Both home grown and newcomers from Bangkok.    Land values in the city are very high, and now any land

within 30 km of the city center has increased up to ten fold over the last 15 years.   

Fifteen years ago Ruam Choke intersection had cows grazing on it.   Times have changed and like any other city that has grown exponentially....... wealth has followed.  I know a small shop owner (for over 25 years ) and walking by his small silver shop you would never know that he is worth more than 100 million baht ( i knew him when he was just starting out)

There are lots and lots of businesses in and around Chiangmai whose owners are very wealthy now.

Yes, the lowly workers don't have it so good...... but even they can live in a 2500 baht room and still save enough in 6 months to buy a motorcycle if they try. 

Add to that the tourism, Chinese , Japanese, Korean, and Farang investments.....

well,   CM is not dead just yet.

 

 

"Land values in the city are very high, and now any land within 30 km 80 km of the city center has increased up to ten fold over the last 15 years."  

 

You are spot on with the price increase of land and this is a very pertinent point in regards to Thai wealth. Land within the city has increased at a much higher rate. Land in popular areas such as Maerim also much higher than 10x in the past 15 years. Decent farmland (road access, great views, ground water or river, etc) all the way out to Chiang Dao have increased by 10x in value over the past 15 years. This is my direct experience, not just hearsay. Land is a superb investment ...for Thais... and in Chiang Mai at least, there has been no shortage of investment money in land from relatively wealthy here and particularly from people in Bangkok.

 

Regarding cars, as other posters have said, it does seem to be a phenomenon here that Thais regard them as an important status symbol. The new pick up parked outside a wooden shack is quite a common sight. Most are bought with loans. Some with untaxed income.

On 8/16/2020 at 5:25 PM, bert bloggs said:

what always amazes me is when you drive or walk past(near where we live) these small living places ,that they pay about 2k a month to rent ,then they have a car costing 800,000 parked round the side , why ,just to look well off?

we live in a lovely detached home on a large garden ,and outside i have a car that i paid 470,000 for and have had it for years and years ,well it runs nicely ,

I have questioned  why a Bmw /Mercedes benz sits outside  a town house worth 50% less than the car... i was told it is more imprtant for a Thai to look good to to others when they arrive someplace in their quality car, cheap house not important    its all about Face again

16 minutes ago, Antonymous said:

You are spot on with the price increase of land and this is a very pertinent point in regards to Thai wealth

thank you for backing up what my "direct experience"  is .    Over the years we have bought land in Chiangrai,  Fang,  Doisaket, Muang Chiangmai,  and out towards Chomtong.    

So I do think I have a pretty good idea of the increase in values. 

Note:  i am not a land baron  555  just a bit of a rolling stone   

I still drive my 12 year old vios and 20 year old  pickup   ???? 

On 8/16/2020 at 3:34 PM, trevoromgh said:

I've never understood where the money comes from for the Thais to all be buying flash new cars at exhorbatant prices. I understood salaries over here are pretty low compared to other parts of the world so unless they all have rich parents or are leasing the vehicles and are therefore in-hoc for millions of baht.  If so it could all backfire if the pandemic leads to large scale redundancies longer term. 

That's why there are so many near new second hand cars for sale.

Buyers are lured into buying new cars with low interest only to discover that coughing up monthly payments is harder than anticipated. Followed by repossession. 

 

Interest rates are low and I believe you can get credit for up to 10 years yet yesterday I read that car sales were down more than 25% . I think owning a car for a Thai is a status symbol the American blacks used to own Cadillacs that were only used on Sundays when the family would be dressed to the nines just to go to church yet they lived in tin shacks that were falling apart I see it where I currently live a gleaming white 1.3 million baht SUV parked up next to a house with a tin roof on it and a garden full of rubbish that ends up being burnt at 3 am every morning with the smell of plastic filling your lungs while you try to sleep. ☹️