Car recommendations

[brianthainess]

17 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

As for all the shudders and braking, these can be all turned off nowadays.

It was only 2 yrs ago I test drove one, oh and another dislike unable to just give one or 2 flashes with the indicators, only on or off. 

[Gweiloman]

23 hours ago, Yagoda said:

Chinese cars are POSs, copies of Fords with cheap plastic. I had 250,000 out of a Benz once and 300,000 out of a Toyota, no chinese car will ever last that long.

So says a poster who has no idea of what he’s talking about.

[Gweiloman]

2 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

It was only 2 yrs ago I test drove one, oh and another dislike unable to just give one or 2 flashes with the indicators, only on or off. 

Not so with either my Haval or BYD. 

[Ralf001]

22 hours ago, vinny41 said:

You will find there will always be somone interested just for the battery pack alone as that can been used for solar power at home

 

Yep.

Am looking for a cheapish ATTO 3... will gut the electrics and fit a dmax drive train.

 

Battery will  go towards solar storage at my house.

[TroubleandGrumpy]

On 10/7/2024 at 11:40 PM, Hanuman2547 said:

I personally like the hybrid models more than the fully EV's.  I lean more towards Toyotas than other brands.  I'm not a fan of the Chinese made EV's.  

I agree - they are like the Japanese cars were like in the early 60s - cheap but not so good.

But like the Japanese, they will get better and will probably dominate sales of EVs - when the time is right for EVs.

 

[TroubleandGrumpy]

25 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Yep.

Am looking for a cheapish ATTO 3... will gut the electrics and fit a dmax drive train.

 

Battery will  go towards solar storage at my house.

Just make sure you 'park' it well away from the house 😉 

[TroubleandGrumpy]

On 10/8/2024 at 10:23 AM, Liverpool Lou said:

Non-franchised used car dealers usually do have finance options for customers.

Good point - some do have that option available - but not 'directly' as such - meaning not signed 'in house'.

But those that do, can organise for a rep from a finance company to get involved. 

 

Very few 'non-franchised' used car dealers in Thailand. Only Toyota and BMW do that here, that I am aware of. And even then, the Toyota Sure places also sell other brands.  It always makes me wonder why in Thailand, the 'dealers' only sell brand new cars of that brand.  Where do the 'demos' get sold here? Why dont they sell traded-in models that are only a few years old? When reflecting on that and other idiosyncrasies here, I wonder why are 80% of the dealer used cars advertised online here, those that are for sale in Bangkok?

 

[Ralf001]

22 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Just make sure you 'park' it well away from the house 😉 

Why ?

 

It will park in the workshop with all my other cars/bikes/toys.

[josephbloggs]

36 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Good point - some do have that option available - but not 'directly' as such - meaning not signed 'in house'.

But those that do, can organise for a rep from a finance company to get involved. 

 

Very few 'non-franchised' used car dealers in Thailand. Only Toyota and BMW do that here, that I am aware of. And even then, the Toyota Sure places also sell other brands.  It always makes me wonder why in Thailand, the 'dealers' only sell brand new cars of that brand.  Where do the 'demos' get sold here? Why dont they sell traded-in models that are only a few years old? When reflecting on that and other idiosyncrasies here, I wonder why are 80% of the dealer used cars advertised online here, those that are for sale in Bangkok?

 

You're wrong. Nearly every brand sells their own certified used cars that come with finance and warranties.

Not only Toyota and BMW, but Honda, Mercedes, Volvo, Nissan, and MG have them nationwide. Ford, Isuzu and Mitsubishi also sell them but through local dealers.

[richard_smith237]

3 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

It seems like there’s more than one antiquated mindset on this forum. 
 

The relative lack of dials in a modern EV does take a little time to get used to. The first thing I missed, transitioning from an ICEV to an EV were the temperature control and fan speed dials. It didn’t take me long however to master saying, Hi BYD, set temperature to 23 degrees or to say Hi BYD, increase fan speed by 2 or Hi BYD, open all windows by 40% (although In the last example, BYD does have window switches).

 

As for all the shudders and braking, these can be all turned off nowadays. But it’s a good thing for most Thai drivers who are generally poor drivers. Not so long ago, I saw a Toyota pick up truck veer off the road into the ditch in the central reservation. He must have either fallen asleep of playing on his phone or taken his eyes off the road to adjust his aircon temperature or something. If he had a vehicle with emergency lane keeping or intelligent active cruise control, he would most probably have stayed safely on the road.

 

Good responses (and the one above)... I am currently selling our Mazda... 2.2 Diesel.

It has all those safety features, radar cruise control, lane assist, attention warning, heads-up-Display, blind spot alert etc...   and yes, they are excellent and have perhaps saved my Wife and I a ding at some point or other... Also what I see are loads of accidents that this tech would avoid (as you pointed out above).

 

------------

 

BUT... here is one facet of that tech that nearly killed me.

I'm going quickly on the expressway (about 120kmh)... the usual car in the middle lane doing about 80kmh...  I check my mirrors, a car in the distance so I have time to over take and get back in before that car nears us, no need to slow the other driver down, and no need to slow myself down and wait for the other driver to pass.

 

As I approach the car in front, I indicate and 'ease' into the right most lane to overtake when the car takes over and slams on the brakes... in an instant I'm slowed from 120kmh to about 80kmh, half into the right most lane with a car behind me approaching about about 160kmh...  I have to swerve back avoiding being hit by the car behind....   

 

The computer (radar) thought I was going to rear-end the car in front and thus took over and hit the brakes... but nearly caused a massive accident. 

The driver of the car that nearly hit us, clearly livid - drove like a lunatic in front of us for a while, swerving, stop-starting etc... until he gave up... I don't blame him for being so angry.

From then on, I turned off these systems (forward collision warning and emergency Automatic braking system).....  frightened the hell out of me and could have killed my family and I.

[Gweiloman]

41 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Good responses (and the one above)... I am currently selling our Mazda... 2.2 Diesel.

It has all those safety features, radar cruise control, lane assist, attention warning, heads-up-Display, blind spot alert etc...   and yes, they are excellent and have perhaps saved my Wife and I a ding at some point or other... Also what I see are loads of accidents that this tech would avoid (as you pointed out above).

 

------------

 

BUT... here is one facet of that tech that nearly killed me.

I'm going quickly on the expressway (about 120kmh)... the usual car in the middle lane doing about 80kmh...  I check my mirrors, a car in the distance so I have time to over take and get back in before that car nears us, no need to slow the other driver down, and no need to slow myself down and wait for the other driver to pass.

 

As I approach the car in front, I indicate and 'ease' into the right most lane to overtake when the car takes over and slams on the brakes... in an instant I'm slowed from 120kmh to about 80kmh, half into the right most lane with a car behind me approaching about about 160kmh...  I have to swerve back avoiding being hit by the car behind....   

 

The computer (radar) thought I was going to rear-end the car in front and thus took over and hit the brakes... but nearly caused a massive accident. 

The driver of the car that nearly hit us, clearly livid - drove like a lunatic in front of us for a while, swerving, stop-starting etc... until he gave up... I don't blame him for being so angry.

From then on, I turned off these systems (forward collision warning and emergency Automatic braking system).....  frightened the hell out of me and could have killed my family and I.

Good post. Yes, some of these so called ADAS still have quite a ways to go before being being really useful and practical. In your instance above, the car probably calculated that you were already too close to the car in front for the speed you were doing but as experienced drivers, sometimes we know better.

 

I would like to point out to the anti-EV crowd however, that these systems are found in most new cars and not EV specific.

[Gweiloman]

3 hours ago, Yagoda said:

OK. Stripped out Toyota vs any Chinese POS. Glad to have outed you as a propagandist for their hate ridden regime.

 

"What’s China’s budget for a counter campaign?" Why dont you ask and keep asking, see how long before you are in handcuffs?

I believe that UBS recently bought and stripped down a BYD Seal and their conclusion was that legacy automakers such as Toyota are in real trouble. @JBChiangRai has the link to this report, I believe.

 

Is something propaganda when it's true? Asking for a friend.

 

Anyway, you've proved that racism is alive and well.

[Gweiloman]

3 hours ago, mdr224 said:

Chinas warfare is done all online, and thru tiktok. That and they gave the world the wonderful gift of covid. Not many positive things to say about that country

Depends on your perspective obviously. Lifted over 700 million of it's citizens out of extreme poverty, exporting deflation to the world, helping poor countries in Africa to develop and prosper. Sounds a lot better than selling weapons that kills millions, don't you think?

[TroubleandGrumpy]

2 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Why ?

 

It will park in the workshop with all my other cars/bikes/toys.

EV battery fires maybe?

[TroubleandGrumpy]

2 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

You're wrong. Nearly every brand sells their own certified used cars that come with finance and warranties.

Not only Toyota and BMW, but Honda, Mercedes, Volvo, Nissan, and MG have them nationwide. Ford, Isuzu and Mitsubishi also sell them but through local dealers.

My bad - did some checking and they are there - could not find them when last buying. Most of the websites not great - unlike BMW and Toyota - clearly only thinking about Thai buyers.  But there are some good places, and it has shown me where there are dealers that are linked with the manufacturer.  They are not 'official' dealers as such, but they are under the manufacturers umbrella. And yes they all offered finance for the newer used cars.

Good to know - next year we are looking for a newer used car.  Back in Aust when a car is 3-5 years you could take it back to the dealer and get a decent trade on a new model, or a newer used one. Thanks.

[Gweiloman]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is V2L. There are multiple ways to take advantage of this.

 

Power outages in Thailand are not uncommon. They sometimes last for a few hours even. Just plug in your essential appliances such as TV, router, fan, fridge, microwave oven, coffee maker, ice making machine etc and you're good to go for days.

 

Another tip for the budget conscious who have TOU is to use the car battery during peak hours and recharge at off peak. 7 baht vs 3 baht. A no brainer (anti EVers excluded of course).

[Ralf001]

46 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

EV battery fires maybe?

I dont own any EV's.

[Gweiloman]

7 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

I dont own any EV's.

Don't feel too bad. They're not for everyone.

[KhunLA]

On 10/8/2024 at 9:32 AM, brianthainess said:

I agree, the only thing I do not like about the hybrids, (or EVs for that matter) is that when I've looked at them, and test drove one, It was all the buttons and switches, making me have to glance down, instead of levers, that you can feel. and the bloody sensors, going off putting the brakes on that made the steering wheel shudder, when someone ahead did a U-Turn Correctly going over to the left lane. Sorry but not for me, plus the low price I was offered on a trade in for the car I have now.

How many times are you adjusting everything in the car ... seriously. 

 

I start the car, make sure AC is on high, (usually done before I turn it off), open the gate, let dog toke a quick P, then hop in the now cooled off car, and I'm on my way.   Any luck and the auto gate opener/closer is outside, and I don't even need to close the gate.

 

As pointed out in vid, I can drive the car, with just my left hand.  Need to tap the accelerated after it stops 'by itself' when cruise control engaged.  Oh yea, need right hand to turn wipers on.  Don't even need to turn the lights on, as does that by itself.

 

All I need to steer, with NO NEED EVER to take my eyes off the road.  I'm pretty sure none of my ICEVs were that convenient to drive.   OK, the MG ZS was.  Definitely not the new Toyotas or Maxda that I owned in TH.

 

You guys are a trip ... what else can you think of ... 

 

[Gweiloman]

2 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Despising the Chinese government isnt racism. Nor is hating the Chinese tourists because they are rude, obnoxious and pushy. But first one to scream racist usually is, right "white devil", "round eye" , or "barbarian", other endearing terms for white folks  you clearly enjoy.

What has the Chinese government done to you that you despise them? Not that it really matters as the majority of the 1.4 billion Chinese that lives there are happy with THEIR government. Admittedly, I'm not too fond of rude, obnoxious and pushy tourists too, regardless of nationality.

 

Never heard of white devil but very familiar with red-haired devil. And the 2 most prominent people to use the term barbarian were Netanyahu and (jungle) Borrell (implied). Wasn't that long ago that native Americans were referred to as savages.

 

[Gweiloman]

12 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

How many times are you adjusting everything in the car ... seriously. 

 

I start the car, make sure AC is on high, (usually done before I turn it off), open the gate, let dog toke a quick P, then hop in the now cooled off car, and I'm on my way.   Any luck and the auto gate opener/closer is outside, and I don't even need to close the gate.

 

As pointed out in vid, I can drive the car, with just my left hand.  Need to tap the accelerated after it stops 'by itself' when cruise control engaged.  Oh yea, need right hand to turn wipers on.  Don't even need to turn the lights on, as does that by itself.

 

All I need to steer, with NO NEED EVER to take my eyes off the road.  I'm pretty sure none of my ICEVs were that convenient to drive.   OK, the MG ZS was.  Definitely not the new Toyotas or Maxda that I owned in TH.

 

You guys are a trip ... what else can you think of ... 

 

I'm one up on you @KhunLA. My vipers come on automatically when it rains.

 

I do hate the fact that I have to pull a lever to open my car door or that I have to push a button to lock it. Why can't these Chinese make a car that can read my mind?

[Ralf001]

27 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

How many times are you adjusting everything in the car ... seriously. 

 

I start the car, make sure AC is on high, (usually done before I turn it off), open the gate, let dog toke a quick P, then hop in the now cooled off car, and I'm on my way.   Any luck and the auto gate opener/closer is outside, and I don't even need to close the gate.

 

As pointed out in vid, I can drive the car, with just my left hand.  Need to tap the accelerated after it stops 'by itself' when cruise control engaged.  Oh yea, need right hand to turn wipers on.  Don't even need to turn the lights on, as does that by itself.

 

All I need to steer, with NO NEED EVER to take my eyes off the road.  I'm pretty sure none of my ICEVs were that convenient to drive.   OK, the MG ZS was.  Definitely not the new Toyotas or Maxda that I owned in TH.

 

You guys are a trip ... what else can you think of ... 

 

 

That toe nail looks a bit manky.

Edited October 9 by Ralf001

[KhunLA]

1 minute ago, Ralf001 said:

That toe nail looks a bit manky.

That toe, actually both, have been slightly 'crushed' a couple times.  I used to paint 'em, just the big toes, and they looked better, but the wife doesn't like the attention I use to get on the BTS/MRT when using.  

 

Might have been my choice of color, sparkly green 

[brianthainess]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

How many times are you adjusting everything in the car ... seriously. 

 

I start the car, make sure AC is on high, (usually done before I turn it off), open the gate, let dog toke a quick P, then hop in the now cooled off car, and I'm on my way.   Any luck and the auto gate opener/closer is outside, and I don't even need to close the gate.

 

As pointed out in vid, I can drive the car, with just my left hand.  Need to tap the accelerated after it stops 'by itself' when cruise control engaged.  Oh yea, need right hand to turn wipers on.  Don't even need to turn the lights on, as does that by itself.

 

All I need to steer, with NO NEED EVER to take my eyes off the road.  I'm pretty sure none of my ICEVs were that convenient to drive.   OK, the MG ZS was.  Definitely not the new Toyotas or Maxda that I owned in TH.

 

You guys are a trip ... what else can you think of ... 

 

Love the way his hand slips of the switch at 0:14  they could make those just a tad longer.

[TroubleandGrumpy]

4 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

I dont own any EV's.

The battery

[Ralf001]

2 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

The battery

 

The battery aint an EV.

[TroubleandGrumpy]

17 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

The battery aint an EV.

The battery is what burns - spontaneous combustion - runaway thermal reaction. 

Up to you - put it under your bed for all I care.

[richard_smith237]

21 hours ago, KhunLA said:

All I need to steer, with NO NEED EVER to take my eyes off the road.  I'm pretty sure none of my ICEVs were that convenient to drive.   OK, the MG ZS was.  Definitely not the new Toyotas or Maxda that I owned in TH.

You're using bias...   The advance driver aids in my 6 year old Mazda had the aids you describe. 

 

We can sit on the expressway not touching anything for 15 seconds until the car tells us off (with a big and big Red ALERT flashing on the heads up display. 

The has lane assist, radar cruise control etc...      

 

Thus: what you describe in your EV has been in cars for years already.

 

Not - my next car is going to be an EV (thats certain) so I'm not against EV's in anyway - I'm just against some of the silly arguments being used for and against the EV.

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

12 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

17 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

The battery aint an EV.

The battery is what burns - spontaneous combustion - runaway thermal reaction. 

Up to you - put it under your bed for all I care.

 

In this case - nothing to do with spontaneous combustion or runaway thermal reaction... nothing at all...  Just a poorly installed regular batter, either shorting or causing a spark to ignite something else which is flammable. 

 

 

The only thing this thread has in common with an EV... is the use of the word 'battery' but the batteries involved are very different.

 

 

 

[Ralf001]

34 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

The battery is what burns - spontaneous combustion - runaway thermal reaction. 

Up to you - put it under your bed for all I care.

Ohh you are talking about the battery, not the vehicle.

Do wall mount battery storage for solar spontaneous combust often ?

you seem to think it is an issue so I assume you have some data you could share.

 

thanks.