Since I stay in Thailand 2-3 month a year I have bought a condo in Jomtien. I still live and work in Denmark. I have always rented I Honda Forza 350 or ADV 350 as I love traveling all around Thailand. I hold a Thai motorbike driving license. I have decided to buy one myself on my next trip in December and pimp it up with my specific need(top&side box, phone holder, camera etc)

 

Whenever I talk to a new person, I get a new story of what to expect when purchasing a motorbike.

 

Questions:

If I go to a Honda dealership in Pattaya with baht 181.000,- in cash and say I want to buy a Honda Forza 350RS as shown in the window next to 20 other similar bikes, when could I expect to get it with green book, insurance, white plates etc etc??

 

Should I ask for some free extra included in the price like helmet, jacket, extra service etc?

 

If you have any good experience with a trustworthy Honda dealer, please let me know.

 

I would really hate to waste 2-3-4 weeks running from office to office. 

 

Thanks. 

Last time I bought a bike, 6 months ago, it was for a Honda Click 160.

 

The dealership arranged the bike to be delivered the next day, wanted colour not in stock, and they carried out an initial check before handing over.

 

The bike had a red plate, and the dealership then sorted the white plate and green book, which took 6 weeks, but we were not chasing them up.

 

All paperwork and one year insurance done in the dealership. The bike was in my son’s name, dual nationality, so no issues with passport or need for certificate of residence.

 

We were offered a choice of free gifts, and took a half decent helmet and a bike cover.

 

The dealership did all the running around.

 

Used Mityon Pattaya on Sukhumvit Road

If you want to save some money contact Asia City Motors, Bowin. Pattaya garages tend to add on falang tax

Most bikes you can get there and then by just walking into the shop with the cash. and your residence certificate (from immigration). The only issue is price (as scuba says). You used to be able to get a bike at MSRP, or maybe slightly below, but now most add a farang tax of 8% or so. Asia Motors might get you a better price but you have to decide if it's worth the trouble. The only extras you will get is a flimsy jacket or cheap helmet (which you probably won't use). I asked for a lock instead. I have used the Mityon dealers on Thepprasit Road and opposite Big C Extra, both gave a good service (apart from price).

A year ago I bought Forza350 from Mityon, corner of Tai and Buakao. On that time I had to wait one month it. 

Listprice was 175k but my checkout was 188k.

They told me GreenBook take 3 months, because "Bangkok very busy".. Eventually it took 4 moths... 

 

This time I went to Bigwing Pattaya to buy bigger bike and I was told that have to order from Japan, can take 2 or 3 month. 

I went to Bigwing Rayong and they had a bike in store so I bought it right that moment with no extra fees, I paid what was written in pricetag. Green Book they said can take 2 or 3 months, lets see... 

I purchased a used bike from a reputable shop that does service and repairs and sells used bikes.  In that case you can take same day unless they need to do service or make some changes on your behalf.  You do need the immigration letter for green book transfer and registration.  Note you can drive the bike while the paperwork is being done as it can take a while depending on the original registration of the bike as many come from out of this area.  Since the bike has plates, current tax and registration it is not an issue to drive while the paperwork is being processed by the selling dealer.  

On 10/18/2023 at 7:37 PM, scubascuba3 said:

If you want to save some money contact Asia City Motors, Bowin. Pattaya garages tend to add on falang tax

Agreed ...i bought a scooter from there 10 days ago (at the proper honda list price, 1,900b registration and no charge for "red plate") - got the phone call today that the book and white plate had arrived ... never again will i buy in pattaya ....

7 hours ago, piston broke said:

Agreed ...i bought a scooter from there 10 days ago (at the proper honda list price, 1,900b registration and no charge for "red plate") - got the phone call today that the book and white plate had arrived ... never again will i buy in pattaya ....

Good, was Grail still there? Previously the others didn't speak very good English

On 10/20/2023 at 4:30 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Good, was Grail still there? Previously the others didn't speak very good English

 

Grail still works for Asia City, but she's not involved in selling - The new contact that speaks English is a lady called "Warn" .....

On 10/19/2023 at 3:59 PM, piston broke said:

Agreed ...i bought a scooter from there 10 days ago (at the proper honda list price, 1,900b registration and no charge for "red plate") - got the phone call today that the book and white plate had arrived ... never again will i buy in pattaya ....

 

It sounds like they are worth a visit. I don’t want any hassle. I just want a new bike with white plates, insurance and a green book 😀

Honda big bike has a sale on. The 500 scrambler was 279k 6 months ago(MSRP is 229). Last week I was there and they had it listed at MSRP but would give 20k off. Some show this month they said. Other models were discounted too. 

On 10/19/2023 at 11:47 AM, hayate said:

 

 

This time I went to Bigwing Pattaya to buy bigger bike and I was told that have to order from Japan, can take 2 or 3 month. 

I went to Bigwing Rayong and they had a bike in store so I bought it right that moment with no extra fees, I paid what was written in pricetag. Green Book they said can take 2 or 3 months, lets see... 

BTW that took 3 months... 

 

Simply the best experience was August -24, when I changed my Rayong-bought bigbike to bigger bike from Bangkok. 

BigWing Rama3 and specially the dealer "Icenumkaeng" made it like 5 star-service. 

The bike was delivered the very next day to my address in Pattaya (not bigwing store pattaya- my address👍) 

Greenbook and white plates came after one week by post-parcel. These both deliveries surprisingly included the pricetag. So if you don't mind Bangkok-plates, I would definetely recommend BW Rama3 👍👍

The 'availability' depends purely on the model...  and of course mods you want.

 

Three experiences: 

1) Walked in - Saw the Bike - Left 45 mins later with the bike (obtained my own number at the DLT) - and gave the dealer the receipt - did all mods myself.

 

2) Walked in - Saw the bike - Waited about month for delivery - Picked up bike. As above (obtained my own number at the DLT) - and gave the dealer the receipt - did all mods myself.

 

3) Wanted a certain model -  called around various dealers - availability anything from 3 months wait to not available. Gave up on the ADV.  Went to different brand, saw the bike I liked, made the purchase - selected a load of Mods (also gave dealer the Innoc Cam) - gave dealer all my paper work, picked up the bike about 5 weeks later when I returned from overseas (fully registered).

 

In short - experiences vary based on availability. 

Prices are all online - ANY dealer who things its ok to add this 'farang' tax others have mentioned, tell they why you are walking out and not paying - they won't care (they never do) but if enough people behave like this then they get the message.