I'm sick of driving my pickup truck. Any ideas about what I should buy next?

[bbabythai]

I've had Toyota pickup truck for several yrs and told I can get 500k trade in. 

 

It was in the smash repair shop for a month getting a full re-spray. During this time I was driving a sporty BMW. The first day back in my pickup was horrible. I couldn't believe how unsafe I felt. Bouncing all over the place and so high up. It didnt feel right and now I want to change cars. 

 

I have finished doing renos on our building and now dont really need the pickup tray as much. Sometimes I do like driving to a lake area that has dirt roads. I suppose I could get away with an ALL wheel drive option and not a 4WD.

 

If I had a million to put towards a new car (maybe 1.5mill) plus the 500k trade what would you recommend?

 

thanks

[baansgr]

Don't buy new...thousands of 6 month old vehicles available at hugely discounted prices. Go for a Camry

[Surelynot]

A Chauffeur.....job done.

[ChaiyaTH]

Get a nice new BMW 3-5 series, that is a very safe car and also comfortable on the roads. Sounds you can afford it and it are beauties to drive.

 

I personally can not justify the price tag VS back home in Europe for it. I stick to a motorbike and taxi's.

Edited November 22, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[bbabythai]

1 minute ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Get a nice new BMW 3-5 series, that is a very safe car and also comfortable on the roads. 

the wife just bought one and thus dont want another one. 

 

also forgot to mention above that I get a sore butt after driving my pickup for 3 hours. Its a shocker of  a drive after being in a luxury car. 

[ChaiyaTH]

1 minute ago, bbabythai said:

the wife just bought one and thus dont want another one. 

 

also forgot to mention above that I get a sore butt after driving my pickup for 3 hours. Its a shocker of  a drive after being in a luxury car. 

Fine, get the latest Mercedes then.

[JAS21]

1 minute ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Fine, get the latest Mercedes then.

You could consider an Everest as it is quite a soft ride, our MY15 3.2L has been fine  ... or a car, as suggested above,  say the E300e,which is better than the E350e as it doesn't have the dreaded air suspension.

 

Ah ... just read 2M is your budget, you could get a fairly new 'C' Class (PHEV)

[Dagfinnur Traustason]

Location change to Vietnam

[Airalee]

VW Golf R.  AWD and probably more fun than a BMW or Benz

[mr mr]

you're going to spend potentially 2 million baht on a car ? that's 100k in cad. you could buy a GM plant back home for that kind of money. 

[Lacessit]

For that kind of money, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry or Nissan Teana.

Personally, I'm a convert to small cars. The Mazda 2 is comfortable and super agile.

[richard_smith237]

49 minutes ago, mr mr said:

you're going to spend potentially 2 million baht on a car ? that's 100k in cad. you could buy a GM plant back home for that kind of money. 

 

???? But he’s not in Canada or back home from wherever his is from...

 

The Op is in Thailand and is budgeting 1.5 to 2 million baht for a car...

 

Plenty of Options from Toyota Cross & Camry to Mazda CX-5 and Honda Accord & CRV through to second hand Merc C Class,  BMW X1, or 3 series or 5 series. 

 

Op needs to narrow down if he wants a European Car (i.e. BMW, Mercedes, Volvo) in which case he’s looking at second hand models or he wants new, in which case he’s limited to Japanese. He also needs to decide if he wants SUV, Estate, Sedan or Hatchback etc... 

 

Op: Take a look through one2car.com - loads of 2nd hand and new cars on there to give you ideas. 

 

 

 

Edited November 22, 2020 by richard_smith237

[AlexRich]

I’d buy a decent 4X4 ... Everest, Fortuner, Mitsubishi, Honda.

 

As much as I like BMW and Mercedes, they seem to be double the European price? I wouldn’t pay that.

[thcosh]

Clearly ! pickups are terrible and I wonder how people can even drive this !

Go German, even second hand, still a lot better than any Japanese, whatever people will tell you, they are just liars.

 

[Lacessit]

On 11/23/2020 at 2:52 AM, thcosh said:

Clearly ! pickups are terrible and I wonder how people can even drive this !

Go German, even second hand, still a lot better than any Japanese, whatever people will tell you, they are just liars.

 

German cars in Thailand cost 2-3 times any Japanese make in terms of servicing and spares costs.

People buy German cars because they think that gives them status. The ship sailed long ago with respect to product quality and technology, any innovation is picked up worldwide by car manufacturers and incorporated in their designs. The only Germans that can be called superior are the flagship cars, such as a BMW 7 series or Mercedes AMG65. A Kia Stinger kills the Mercedes SLK200 on performance.

 

Before you go calling me a liar, I used to own a Merc. Couldn't wait to get rid of the <deleted> thing, it was a money pit.

[fredob43]

14 hours ago, bbabythai said:

also forgot to mention above that I get a sore butt after driving my pickup for 3 hours. Its a shocker of  a drive after being in a luxury car. 

I totally agree with you, I had a 4x4 4 door Toyota pick up, and it was  pig of a ride. The seats always gave me leg ache. And a killer at speed.

 

I went for reliability so brought another Toyo. That time it was the Tuner TRD could drive for miles in that with out any problems. Now have the latest??? Tuna TRD that's even better.

 

Then again I like to be high up, able to see what's going on + the large room it has. Go have a test drive might suit.

 

Regardless of what some say they don't drive like a pick up. Also don't have the crazy mark up (Tax) that imported cars have. Tip, if you go for one get the 2.8. 4X4 up to you.

Edited November 23, 2020 by fredob43

[transam]

4 minutes ago, fredob43 said:

I totally agree with you, I had a 4x4 4 door Toyota pick up, and it was  pig of a ride. The seats always gave me leg ache. And a killer at speed.

 

I went for reliability so brought another Toyo. That time it was the Tuner TRD could drive for miles in that with out any problems. Now have the latest??? Tuna TRD that's even better.

 

Then again I like to be high up, able to see what's going on + the large room it has. Go have a test drive might suit.

 

Regardless of what some say they don't drive like a pick up. Also don't have the crazy mark up (Tax) that imported cars have. Tip, if you go for one get the 2.8. 

Fortuner don't drive like a Revo...Hmmmm, I thought the drive train, steering and all the major mechanical parts were the same except the rear coil springs and it being a bit shorter. Can you tell me the differences you notice..? 

 

Did you find problems with the 2.4 engine, my friend has a 2.4 manual Revo, he told me it has more go than his 3.0 auto Fortuner...?

[talahtnut]

A used Rolls Royce, very comfy, great fun, but you will look

like a nutter.

[fredob43]

29 minutes ago, transam said:

Fortuner don't drive like a Revo...Hmmmm, I thought the drive train, steering and all the major mechanical parts were the same except the rear coil springs and it being a bit shorter. Can you tell me the differences you notice..? 

 

Did you find problems with the 2.4 engine, my friend has a 2.4 manual Revo, he told me it has more go than his 3.0 auto Fortuner...?

Go drive both you will see instantly the difference. Read leaf spring and light back, also longer makes the drive a real head ache in the pick up. Added to that the wheel size and balloon tyres don't help. They also have better seats in the Tuna. Miles more comfortable. 

 

Re Engine size. The new 2.8 has even more power, even with 7+ up you don't notice any power drop. Major advantage of the 2.8 having much better fuel economy. The 2.4 only get it's power from revs. EX at 140kph the 2.4 will be doing 2.500 rpm. 2.8 2.100 rpm. Those figures are for Auto Tuna. I don't know about the manual. Should think it's much the same??? Don't think you can get a manual Tuna anyway. 

Edited November 23, 2020 by fredob43

[transam]

5 minutes ago, fredob43 said:

Go drive both you will see instantly the difference. Read leaf spring and light back, also longer makes the drive a real head ache in the pick up. Added to that the wheel size and balloon tyres don't help. They also have better seats in the Tuna. Miles more comfortable. 

 

Re Engine size. The new 2.8 has even more power, even with 7+ up you don't notice any power drop. Major advantage of the 2.8 having much better fuel economy. The 2.4 only get it's power from revs. EX at 140kph the 2.4 will be doing 2.500 rpm. 2.8 2.100 rpm. Those figures are for Auto Tuna. I don't know about the manual. Should think it's much the same???

I have driven both, though the 3.0 versions, I don't see the big difference, though I am used to driving all sorts of stuff and adjusting....????

[fredob43]

3 minutes ago, transam said:

I have driven both, though the 3.0 versions, I don't see the big difference, though I am used to driving all sorts of stuff and adjusting....????

As I said go give the new 2.8 a go you will find a Vast difference between that and the old 3lt. My old Tuna was a 3lt had 4 speed auto box and it lacked in power, compared to the new 2.8lt that I have now.

 

The even newer 2.8 they have improved, has even more grunt. Breaking is far better as well, with discs all round, as standard on the TRD. As some will know I had the engine sorted on the last one also the breaks improved. Only one problem with that it drank fuel. But was fast and stopped well. Used to use a tank full to go 500km new 2.8 can do 1000km on a tank. (New one has a slightly bigger tank 10lt) not a lot but a huge difference in economy.   

[AlexRich]

I’ve owned a few BMW’s and driven Mercedes and Audi, but I don’t think they are superior to a decent Honda or Toyota, and certainly not better than a Lexus. The point really is that they are not worth the price you have to pay in Thailand. And I don’t like second hand cars, you don’t know how they’ve been treated. 

[canthai55]

Build quality of a Lexus is second to none.

As is the longevity.

If you know nothing about cars, you are at the mercy of the dealers.

And will pay for your lack of knowledge

Edited November 23, 2020 by canthai55

[Bangyai]

Top end Honda Civic with all extras....about 1,000,000 new. Looks sport, very reliable and very comfortable.

I think they look better than some more expensive cars.

 

[Lacessit]

Just now, Lacessit said:

 

It's come a long way from the first generation Civic, which I did own. Even then, it was technically advanced. Sorry, double post.

[JAS21]

4 hours ago, Bangyai said:

Top end Honda Civic with all extras....about 1,000,000 new. Looks sport, very reliable and very comfortable.

I think they look better than some more expensive cars.

 

 

My wife had the RS for a couple of years ... at that time was the only model with a full set of air bags. Think it was about 1.2M. Lot of NVH let it down. 

[MajorTom]

Get a Honda Accord. Its a great car. I have done long trips in a Toyota Camry also but do prefer the Accord. It also looks better imo.

That said, im not comfortable with the new design from 2019 yet.. I prefer the 2013-18 look.

[samtab]

On 11/23/2020 at 3:56 AM, Lacessit said:

Before you go calling me a liar, I used to own a Merc. Couldn't wait to get rid of the <deleted> thing, it was a money pit.

 

 

So many of you on the forum who owned benz, porsche, bentley, etc...

but still prefer a Japanese can...

Funny all you !

 

[samtab]

6 hours ago, AlexRich said:

I’ve owned a few BMW’s and driven Mercedes and Audi, but I don’t think they are superior to a decent Honda or Toyota

some people also do not understand why some others pay to eat at 3 stars michelin restaurants...

so ridiculous...

 

[richard_smith237]

6 hours ago, AlexRich said:

I’ve owned a few BMW’s and driven Mercedes and Audi, but I don’t think they are superior to a decent Honda or Toyota, and certainly not better than a Lexus. The point really is that they are not worth the price you have to pay in Thailand. And I don’t like second hand cars, you don’t know how they’ve been treated. 

 

Same here....  both my previous cars in Thailand were BMW’s, (528i and X5) both very decent cars, now I have a Mazda because the BMW’s are not 2.5x better than the Japanese equivalent. 

 

 

People on this forum have argued black and blue that German cars are just so much better than the Japanese equivalents, but I just don’t get that when comparing similar model brackets. 

 

Yes, a AMG C65 is going to be better than a Civic RS, an Audi RS4 better than a Civic RS etc... but they are also about 8x more (perhaps more). 

 

 

If I were to place a figure on it - I would argue that the BMW’s, Mercedees, Audi’s and Volvos are 20% better than their Japanese counterparts and thus, if they were just 20% more I’d be inclined to choose.

 

i.e. If the Volvo XC-60 at 3 million baht were in fact 2.3 Million baht I’d be more inclined to pay for that compared to the 1.78 paid for the Mazda CX-5. The Volvo V60 is now on the market at 2.3 MB and that is looking competitively priced (relatively for Thailand).