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Help needed to buy a 2nd hand car

LiamSiam

By LiamSiam
in Chiang Mai

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LiamSiam Rookie Member

LiamSiam

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Sawasdee Krub everyone ! 
I found a few listings of second hand cars that I really like here in CM but my problem is that I only speak basic Thai and have pretty much 0 knowledge in cars. 
The few car guys that I know are all in the south now. Can anyone recommend a mechanic that I could hire to come inspect the car with me and also maybe help with translation a little bit ? The idea is also overall to not show up alone with my "farang" face and hopefully not get scammed :)))))
I tried showing up at a couple garages yesterday but they were all short on staff and not interested.
Thx

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richard_smith237 Star Member

richard_smith237

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1 minute ago, LiamSiam said:

I tried showing up at a couple garages yesterday but they were all short on staff and not interested.

Par for the course in Thailand at many places - its as if they are doing you a favour by having something available to sell to you !!... after so many years here this mindset still astonishes me. 

 

Advice - turn up with a Thai you trust, as you never know what happens between the mechanic (whom you won’t know) and the dealership (i.e. dealer tells mechanic - tell him its all fine and I’ll slip you 5000 baht !)...

 

Take a look at one2car.com to have an idea of the prices vs mileage for the models you are interested in.

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LiamSiam Rookie Member

LiamSiam

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9 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Par for the course in Thailand at many places - its as if they are doing you a favour by having something available to sell to you !!... after so many years here this mindset still astonishes me. 

 

Advice - turn up with a Thai you trust, as you never know what happens between the mechanic (whom you won’t know) and the dealership (i.e. dealer tells mechanic - tell him its all fine and I’ll slip you 5000 baht !)...

 

Take a look at one2car.com to have an idea of the prices vs mileage for the models you are interested in.

Thanks for the great advice ! I think I might ask my Thai monk friend to come with me, that might dissuade them for scamming me ahah. If I could also find a mechanic that'd be great. I found a garage that is ok to inspect the car for 400 baht if the dealership agrees to bring it there. Not sure if it'll work. 

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CharlieH Star Member

CharlieH

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Buy from "ToyotaSure" the used car arm of Toyota.

The cars are clean and guaranteed. Most speak English. You may pay a little more but its worth it for a clean vehicle and peace of mind.

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Hummin Diamond Member

Hummin

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Use Toyota sure cars If you are in doubt. They give you guarantee and a well serviced checked car, but you also pay for it.

 

I ended up buying a new year old model, that was great discounted and with extra package included. 5 year guarantee or 100 000 km Mitsubishi.

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richard_smith237 Star Member

richard_smith237

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3 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Buy from "ToyotaSure" the used car arm of Toyota.

The cars are clean and guaranteed. Most speak English. You may pay a little more but its worth for a clean vehicle and peace of mind.

This... if you are ‘fresh’ and don’t know anything about cars...  do this (above)... 

 

As Charlie mentioned, worth the peace of mind. 

 

Other manufactures also have a 2nd hand branch / options. 

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LiamSiam Rookie Member

LiamSiam

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Thanks a lot for all of your advices guys ! Helps a lot. 
What are your thoughts on buying a Chevrolet ? I know they closed in Th 2 years ago and people are scared to not be able to find parts in the future maybe.. But I found a few "as new" Chevy ridiculously cheap.

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Lacessit Star Member

Lacessit

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1 hour ago, LiamSiam said:

Thanks a lot for all of your advices guys ! Helps a lot. 
What are your thoughts on buying a Chevrolet ? I know they closed in Th 2 years ago and people are scared to not be able to find parts in the future maybe.. But I found a few "as new" Chevy ridiculously cheap.

They are cheap for a reason, it usually boils down to after-market service.

If you don't have a Chevvy service shop to go to with a problem, you are then dependent on finding a service shop that knows what it is doing with the brand. In Thailand, that is a lottery.

As Dirty Harry would say, "Do you feel lucky?"

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Hummin Diamond Member

Hummin

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3 hours ago, LiamSiam said:

Thanks a lot for all of your advices guys ! Helps a lot. 
What are your thoughts on buying a Chevrolet ? I know they closed in Th 2 years ago and people are scared to not be able to find parts in the future maybe.. But I found a few "as new" Chevy ridiculously cheap.

Go with brands that have a good reputation and good service established most places. Such as Isuzu, Toyota, Mitsubushi, Honda as examples. Economic and reliable if you choose the right models.

 

 

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KhunLA Star Member

KhunLA

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Chevy would be the last thing I'd buy, unless made by SAIC, then the Asian badged version would provide parts, if needed.  Something Asian built for sure.  

 

This for around town, or do you do a lot of out & abouts?  New Suzuki Celerio starts at ฿330k, and would be perfect to knock around town.  Certainly don't need power driving around CM metro.

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khunphil Advanced Member

khunphil

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21 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Buy from "ToyotaSure" the used car arm of Toyota.

The cars are clean and guaranteed. Most speak English. You may pay a little more but its worth it for a clean vehicle and peace of mind.

Some years ago I went there, and they were not interested if I was buying cash ... they wanted to sell me a 1 or 2y loan. I did not accept and went away. This was 7 or 8 y ago . Not sure now.

Phil.

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SammyJ Advanced Member

SammyJ

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On 4/5/2022 at 6:43 PM, LiamSiam said:

Thanks a lot for all of your advices guys ! Helps a lot. 
What are your thoughts on buying a Chevrolet ? I know they closed in Th 2 years ago and people are scared to not be able to find parts in the future maybe.. But I found a few "as new" Chevy ridiculously cheap.

I wouldn't get it---i bought an older ford a while back for "ridiculously cheap" and ended up putting money into it and parts were not always easy to come by---if i had to do it again, I'd buy from expat auto, and only a Toyota, Honda, maybe Mitsu, but not many others.  Almost all mechanics can work on these vehicles and non-dealer parts are widely available.

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