Buying a new car with cash. Any advantages?

[troubletribbles]

I am considering buying a new car cash rather than financing. I've heard most the advertised 0% financing rules don't apply to falang anyhow.

Will I have any additional leverage walking into a showroom willing to pay cash? Can I expect a discount on a new car? What should I expect to play (MSRP+VAT?)

Thanks!

[darksidedog]

Many places make more money on a vehicle finance than they do on the car, so cash may not get you a better price. Keep quiet about how you are going to pay and don't refuse finance until you have got the vehicle price where you want it.

[troubletribbles]

4 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Many places make more money on a vehicle finance than they do on the car, so cash may not get you a better price. Keep quiet about how you are going to pay and don't refuse finance until you have got the vehicle price where you want it.

Thanks for the tips! In general do new car prices differ much from MSRP? Is there a tax on top of it?

[NanLaew]

5 hours ago, troubletribbles said:

Thanks for the tips! In general do new car prices differ much from MSRP? Is there a tax on top of it?

 

Unlike the US and other countries, the 'sticker price' you see in Thailand is what you pay, all-inclusive. with no "+TT&L and delivery". You may need to place a 5000 baht refundable deposit for temporary (red) registration plates until your white ones come through. There's been talk for over two years about abolishing red plates but I still see plenty of them.

 

They will try and bundle one year of 'free' First Class insurance which can cost between 15k and 25k baht depending on the make and model. I always recommend getting your own insurance (roojai online is easily half the price) and seeing if they'll give you 15-20k baht of real discounts instead.

 

My experience and that of a couple of acquaintances was no price breaks on a cash purchase. However, some members have managed this but I would rather think they are few and far between. Even the model year rollover means little here but once again, some members may report getting a bargain just before a model got an upgrade.

 

My last purchase was about 6 years ago at a provincial dealership so maybe things are more dynamic in Bangkok?

Edited February 16, 2021 by NanLaew

[Andyfez]

You can get better deals at the motorshows. If you can wait.

[ardsong]

Just bought a new car and indeed with financing. The price shown is fixed, same on internet and financing cost come on top of it.

I tried to get a cash payment, thinking it would save me some interest money, but they were not interested at all.

As said before, I think the dealers make more money on the financing than they do on the sale of a car.

[dlclark97]

In my time here I have purchased several new vehicles.  Yes, you can get a discounted price but the discounted amount you get will typically be far less than you might obtain in your home country.  I have always paid cash.  You might get a few 'free' accessories thrown in.  Pass on the free floor mats, usually <deleted>.  No hassles getting a loan and no high interest payments.  One thing a friend got caught up in when he financed a new car for five years, when he wanted to fully pay the loan off after two years the bank still wanted all remaining interest payments for the full term.  You may also have to purchase life insurance that only protects the lender for the life of your loan.

[HashBrownHarry]

3 minutes ago, dlclark97 said:

In my time here I have purchased several new vehicles.  Yes, you can get a discounted price but the discounted amount you get will typically be far less than you might obtain in your home country.  I have always paid cash.  You might get a few 'free' accessories thrown in.  Pass on the free floor mats, usually <deleted>.  No hassles getting a loan and no high interest payments.  One thing a friend got caught up in when he financed a new car for five years, when he wanted to fully pay the loan off after two years the bank still wanted all remaining interest payments for the full term.  You may also have to purchase life insurance that only protects the lender for the life of your loan.

This is normal that the duration of the agreed loan for the interest must need paid.

 

There is no incentive to pay it off early.

[rwill]

The car prices are pretty fixed in Thailand.  You won't get a discount just because you are paying cash.  You may be able to get a small amount off, like 20K baht.  But what you can get is as many of the options for free as they will give you.  Look at the options available for the vehicle you want and ask them to include the ones you want in the price.  Stuff like fender guards(they call it queue), nail protectors for the door latches.  Lock for the spare tire.  etc...

(make sure they are in writing on the invoice they give you)

Edited February 17, 2021 by rwill

[richard_smith237]

Paying cash will / may get you to the front of the queue. 

The last two cars we ordered were available within 4 days & 2 weeks, when regular wait lists were longer.

I think the reason is that ppl order on finance then cancel or or fail to meet the finance. 
Cash is a sure thing, although as all other posters mentioned, the dealership profits more with finance.

 

That said - some dealers offering excellent 5 year 0% finance options. 

[mal129]

I purchased a brand new vehicle 3 months ago. I got a 7.5% cash discount. I told the other dealer that I was playing against about it. She came back with a 8.75% cash discount. Given the economic environment there are deals to be had.  

 

I purchased a 2020 model as the 2021 were coming in soon. I also dealt with a sales manager directly. I made the deal near the end of the month as well. These may of been additional factors to getting a good cash discount. 

 

[tonray]

3 hours ago, Andyfez said:

You can get better deals at the motorshows. If you can wait.

Absolutely...especially the December year end show as they are really trying to dump inventory then. The dealers who get these spots pay a premium for the show and they need to move a lot of cars.

[khunPer]

For car dealers both here, and in my home country for decades, finance is a great deal, as they get commission from finance companies.

 

Paying cash might not include any benefits, but you might still be able to negotiate some little bit extra, when purchasing a new car. I believe it's the same here, as in my European home country, where the dealer mark up is calculated on the car's price without taxes, so the dealer's profit might be less than it seems when compared to the price, i.e. limiting how much the dealer has to do with for discount or extras.

 

Last time I bought new car in Thailand, my cleaver girlfriend, who had learned the bargaining trick when she was visiting my home country, managed to get free leather seats and interior, instead of fabric that came from the factory, a job worth some 10k to 20k baht, and a kind of small spoiler on the back, plus LED brake light-bar, on a 750k baht car. It might probably be something in that relative level you could aim for.

[TigerandDog]

Just purchased a new Misubishi Xpander GT (mid range 2021 model). Full price was 873k baht. Asked how much for cash and received a 60k baht discount, plus 205k baht trade in on Mitsi Attrage so final price was quite good, plus 1 year free rego &  Class A insurance I think it will depend on individual motor dealers whether you can get a discount for cash. I would also recommend trying to buy a demonstrator model for cash. You should receive an even bigger discount. e.g  Looked at an Xpander Cross demonstrator with only 200kms on the clock. Normal price 919k baht. Cash price quoted was 829k baht. Unfortunately someone beat me to the punch on that, so settled for the GT model. So shop around and see what deals you can do.

Edited February 17, 2021 by TigerandDog

[4MyEgo]

On 2/16/2021 at 2:42 PM, troubletribbles said:

Will I have any additional leverage walking into a showroom willing to pay cash?

 

I suppose it all depends where you are and how the dealers respond.

 

When I went looking for a new car, one dealership didn't even approach me and the wife as we were looking at the car (Chevrolet), the girls at admin just stared and smiled, so off we went to Toyota, you bloke, said no difference for cash, we told him we were buying today so if he wanted our business, he would have to provide us with a discount, no can do, me too I said, we then went to Ford, advertised price was 830,000, manager spoke good English, I said I am buying a car today, I have been to Chevrolet and Toyota, give me your best price and maybe you will get my business here and now, ok, 800,000 today, free insurance, window tinting, rubber mats and windshields on doors, do I have your business, done I said, put down 10,000 deposit, said car would arrive in a week, called me to watch it come off the truck as I did, they detailed it and off we went.

 

We did actually go back to Chevrolet after Toyota, but again, no one would attend to us, so we went to the girls at admin and they said all the salesmen were on calls, if we would like to wait, naturally we declined.

 

Toyotas salesman called us that afternoon and said if we made up our mind yet, and my wife said, yes, we purchased a Ford, he wasn't happy, why didn't you call me, I could have given you a better price, my wife laughed and said, you had your chance, Mr Farang told you he was buying a car today and we did.

 

Moral of the story, cash is King, is someone doesn't want to drop their pants, someone else will, just a matter of shopping around. No tax on top of the purchase price and rego included. 

[salsajapan]

Bought a new Benz 6mb cash, you cannot imagine how sad was the face of the idiot sale when she knew that I was not using finance...

 

[Mikeheart]

3 weeks ago I got a 90k baht discount on New pickup.  Didn't take the credit option. I got an offer from another province then shopped around locally and said I would buy today.

[pj123]

In the UK one option is to negotiate a discounted price based on finance and within 14 days you cancel the finance and pay for the car in cash. Under UK law you have a two week cooling off period that allows you to cancel any loan within 2 weeks of the loan being issued. Would this be possible here?

[pedro01]

 

I recently got a new car, when they asked me how much I wanted to put down, I said 'all of it'. Based on the reaction, I would guess its not the norm. We did get a big discount too. 

 

Anyway, I then asked 'out of interest, what's the interest rate?' 

 

Turns out it was something like 1.5%, so I thought 'why not? I can earn more than 1.5.If I have any issues with the car, I can hold back a couple of payments and I am sure that would help. 

 

Anyway I paid 75% deposit and the rest on finance just so I had that free leverage. 

 

She still thought we were nuts with 7% down though..