On 5/29/2026 at 6:52 PM, DaRoadrunner said:

I once went into a car showroom where I certainly got response. The salesgirl informed me that, if I bought the car, she came with it! Most expensive short time ever.

Great customer service

I went to dealer intending to buy a new suv.

Found what we wanted, and checked the price including extras.

I offered to pay in full, the salesman said that we couldn't and produced a wad of forms for a finance deal which would have ended up costing nearly 40% more than the price quoted.

Had to decline, which upset the bloke as it was obvious he was more interested in his commission than actually selling a car

On 5/30/2026 at 10:18 AM, The Oracle said:

On the way from Lotus, we dropped into the Toyota dealership and showed off the red-plated Nissan. The boss came out. So did my phone. "You sales lady lied to me yesterday and tried to get this woman to sign a blank order form. So we went to Nissan."

I guess some people have funny ways of getting their rocks off during the day. I couldn't be bothered doing stuff like this.

11 minutes ago, fulhamster said:

I went to dealer intending to buy a new suv.

Found what we wanted, and checked the price including extras.

I offered to pay in full, the salesman said that we couldn't and produced a wad of forms for a finance deal which would have ended up costing nearly 40% more than the price quoted.

Had to decline, which upset the bloke as it was obvious he was more interested in his commission than actually selling a car

I wonder if this is a Thai thing or more widespread. Others will know. A car showroom refuses to sell you a car. What they are doing, in effect, is selling a finance deal. Without it, you can't buy a car.

52 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I wonder if this is a Thai thing or more widespread. Others will know. A car showroom refuses to sell you a car. What they are doing, in effect, is selling a finance deal. Without it, you can't buy a car.

Think you're right,

They make 2x the money if selling on finance, so if stock availibility is low they will wait for a finance buyer. If stock is unlimited they will also sell for cash.

3 hours ago, jippytum said:

i was in homepro yesterday. staff outnimbered customers ten to one. Except for the checkout one cashier

Well Watsadu and Global house are about the same.

On 5/30/2026 at 9:48 AM, FlorC said:

Not all though.

I wanted a mazda BT50 but the car sales lady obviously didn't think I was serious

and did not let me test drive.

Went to Isuzu , no problem there and let me test drive.

After I bought the dmax , I went to show it to the mazda sales woman. 😋

I remember when we bought our new Honda CR-V in 2018. I was used to buying new cars in the US, where the salesman would make a copy of my drivers license, throw me the keys of the car I was interested in, and tell me to take as much time as I wanted test driving the car--by myself. I was also used to walking around the dealership by myself looking at the different car colors available to see which I liked best.

We go in the Honda showroom in 2018 and I could tell the sales girl really did not want me--clean, nicely dressed, not overweight, mind you--to touch the car or open the car door but, rather, stand at a respectable distance and just look at it. And, she certainly did not want me to actually sit in the car, god forbid.

With her shuddering in the background, I did sit in it anyway and we're getting serious about buying a CR-V so I say to Thai spouse, shouldn't we take a test drive--especially since we have never owned a CR-V? 1.5 million baht is a lot of money for us--shouldn't you see if you like driving it? Heavens, no--and there wasn't a car to test drive at that dealership anyway.

I make my final faux pas by wandering off to the warehouse where the new cars are parked to check out the car colors and spouse comes running after me, shouting, what are you doing???!!! I wanted to see the car colors in person, I answer. Are you nuts?! You're not suppose to be here at all--you'll get us in trouble. Oops. Despite all that, we bought a CR-V--at that time there was limited choice here with mid-size SUVs.

It was a better experience in 2025 when we bought our new BYD Sealion 6. We not only could sit in the show car without visible consternation, we could also take a test drive, albeit with a salesman in tow. Onward.

16 minutes ago, newnative said:

I remember when we bought our new Honda CR-V in 2018. I was used to buying new cars in the US, where the salesman would make a copy of my drivers license, throw me the keys of the car I was interested in, and tell me to take as much time as I wanted test driving the car--by myself. I was also used to walking around the dealership by myself looking at the different car colors available to see which I liked best.

We go in the Honda showroom in 2018 and I could tell the sales girl really did not want me--clean, nicely dressed, not overweight, mind you--to touch the car or open the car door but, rather, stand at a respectable distance and just look at it. And, she certainly did not want me to actually sit in the car, god forbid.

With her shuddering in the background, I did sit in it anyway and we're getting serious about buying a CR-V so I say to Thai spouse, shouldn't we take a test drive--especially since we have never owned a CR-V? 1.5 million baht is a lot of money for us--shouldn't you see if you like driving it? Heavens, no--and there wasn't a car to test drive at that dealership anyway.

I make my final faux pas by wandering off to the warehouse where the new cars are parked to check out the car colors and spouse comes running after me, shouting, what are you doing???!!! I wanted to see the car colors in person, I answer. Are you nuts?! You're not suppose to be here at all--you'll get us in trouble. Oops. Despite all that, we bought a CR-V--at that time there was limited choice here with mid-size SUVs.

It was a better experience in 2025 when we bought our new BYD Sealion 6. We not only could sit in the show car without visible consternation, we could also take a test drive, albeit with a salesman in tow. Onward.

16 minutes ago, newnative said:

I remember when we bought our new Honda CR-V in 2018. I was used to buying new cars in the US, where the salesman would make a copy of my drivers license, throw me the keys of the car I was interested in, and tell me to take as much time as I wanted test driving the car--by myself. I was also used to walking around the dealership by myself looking at the different car colors available to see which I liked best.

We go in the Honda showroom in 2018 and I could tell the sales girl really did not want me--clean, nicely dressed, not overweight, mind you--to touch the car or open the car door but, rather, stand at a respectable distance and just look at it. And, she certainly did not want me to actually sit in the car, god forbid.

With her shuddering in the background, I did sit in it anyway and we're getting serious about buying a CR-V so I say to Thai spouse, shouldn't we take a test drive--especially since we have never owned a CR-V? 1.5 million baht is a lot of money for us--shouldn't you see if you like driving it? Heavens, no--and there wasn't a car to test drive at that dealership anyway.

I make my final faux pas by wandering off to the warehouse where the new cars are parked to check out the car colors and spouse comes running after me, shouting, what are you doing???!!! I wanted to see the car colors in person, I answer. Are you nuts?! You're not suppose to be here at all--you'll get us in trouble. Oops. Despite all that, we bought a CR-V--at that time there was limited choice here with mid-size SUVs.

It was a better experience in 2025 when we bought our new BYD Sealion 6. We not only could sit in the show car without visible consternation, we could also take a test drive, albeit with a salesman in tow. Onward.

I think it can vary wildly. When I bought my first new car here a loooong time ago it was a Honda Accord (1999) and they wouldn't let me test drive at all. Prior to that I had been to a Nissan showroom to test drive the Cefiro which I was interested in as it was a V6. But they said no, so I said I am not interested then. Then they found a customer's car that was in for a service and let me drive it in the car park. Anyway the car was nasty inside, nice engine though. Didn't buy.

Years later I test drove a BMW 325i and the salesgirl came with me and pestered me all the way around, saying she hadn't sold any cars that month and could I please buy it. Massively off-putting. I didn't buy it. Went to Lexus to try the IS 250 which I really liked. Asked for a test drive, he brought me the keys and said off you go, bring it back tomorrow. So I drove straight to Pattaya and back, then around the city. I did buy that car.

Mercedes Thonglor let me walk in and ask to test drive the CLA250. No sales person, just handed me the keys. That was a fun car but it was newly released and had a 7-8 month waiting list, so I didn't buy it.

The Volvo I drive now I test drove but they came with me, however they weren't restrictive and she was quite useful showing me all the tech features.

Apart from the Honda I have bought two other cars here without a test drive. One was a Honda HR-V which I still have. It was just so dull I had no interest in driving it - a CVT! - but it was something we needed for my wife to do school runs etc. The other was a Subaru WRX because I didn't need to drive it - I knew I wanted it no matter what.

On 5/29/2026 at 1:48 PM, John Smith 777 said:

Perhaps it's just me, and if so get your flame throwers ready. But trying to spend money here is not exactly easy sometimes.

I know there many acceptable reasons for this, which one has to factor in, but even for allowing for these, I feel I am having to go the extra mile on occasions.

The classic recently, which for sure is not solely attributable to Thailand, as I'm sure it happens in the West, was walking into a showroom to purchase a car.

At the reception the lady in question never looked up whilst addressing me.

Intrigued at this I did something I've never done before, I went round to the side of her desk, to clarify as to just what was so important on her laptop that she was working on.

Please note the word work here, as low and beyond my suspicions were confirmed, she was ensconced in her computer game.

I have a friend in England who had the same problem, whenever he went into a car showroom where the cars were parked in a sales lot he said he was always ignored, I went with him once and he was surprised when a sales assistant came rushing over to ask me what I was looking for.

The friend said no matter what clothes he wore even a top end suit he was ignored as it looks like he could not afford to buy what he was looking at, the funny thing was he was very well off.

I go to a have my car serviced at a main dealer and wait for it to be done, I step into the car showroom to have a look at the latest models and am asked if I need help straight away.

Some people attract more attention than others, it is just life.

8 hours ago, fulhamster said:

Great customer service

To be more precise, it was probably just a wet dream. 😃

9 hours ago, fulhamster said:

I went to dealer intending to buy a new suv.

Found what we wanted, and checked the price including extras.

I offered to pay in full, the salesman said that we couldn't and produced a wad of forms for a finance deal which would have ended up costing nearly 40% more than the price quoted.

Had to decline, which upset the bloke as it was obvious he was more interested in his commission than actually selling a car

That 40% figure sounds very high for a normal new-car finance deal in Thailand.

Current new-car finance is often advertised around 2% to 3% flat rate per year, with higher rates depending on deposit, term and borrower.

Even 3% flat over 5 years is roughly 15% interest on the financed amount, not 40%.

To reach 40%, the quote probably included a very high rate, a long term, low deposit, insurance, fees, accessories, or some dealer add-ons.

Also, I doubt a dealer would normally refuse a genuine cash sale completely. More likely, the finance deal gave the salesman or dealer a bigger commission, or the advertised discount/extras were tied to taking finance.

Saying “you cannot pay cash” sounds more like sales pressure, or possibly a misunderstanding, than a normal rule.

dont be cheap, start giving lady drinks

5 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

I think it can vary wildly. When I bought my first new car here a loooong time ago it was a Honda Accord (1999) and they wouldn't let me test drive at all. Prior to that I had been to a Nissan showroom to test drive the Cefiro which I was interested in as it was a V6. But they said no, so I said I am not interested then. Then they found a customer's car that was in for a service and let me drive it in the car park. Anyway the car was nasty inside, nice engine though. Didn't buy.

Years later I test drove a BMW 325i and the salesgirl came with me and pestered me all the way around, saying she hadn't sold any cars that month and could I please buy it. Massively off-putting. I didn't buy it. Went to Lexus to try the IS 250 which I really liked. Asked for a test drive, he brought me the keys and said off you go, bring it back tomorrow. So I drove straight to Pattaya and back, then around the city. I did buy that car.

Mercedes Thonglor let me walk in and ask to test drive the CLA250. No sales person, just handed me the keys. That was a fun car but it was newly released and had a 7-8 month waiting list, so I didn't buy it.

The Volvo I drive now I test drove but they came with me, however they weren't restrictive and she was quite useful showing me all the tech features.

Apart from the Honda I have bought two other cars here without a test drive. One was a Honda HR-V which I still have. It was just so dull I had no interest in driving it - a CVT! - but it was something we needed for my wife to do school runs etc. The other was a Subaru WRX because I didn't need to drive it - I knew I wanted it no matter what.

Thanks. Enjoyed reading your experiences car shopping.

On 5/29/2026 at 9:52 PM, DaRoadrunner said:

I once went into a car showroom where I certainly got response. The salesgirl informed me that, if I bought the car, she came with it! Most expensive short time ever.

On 5/29/2026 at 9:52 PM, DaRoadrunner said:

I once went into a car showroom where I certainly got response. The salesgirl informed me that, if I bought the car, she came with it! Most expensive short time ever.

Did she give you a good ride or did you have to take her back to the dealer to get a warranty claim ?

On 5/30/2026 at 8:45 AM, phetphet said:

I actually prefer if they leave me alone to my own devices. i would like to browse without someone following me everywhere, acting as if I am a shoplifter.

I am quite capable of asking for help or information if I need it.

Pro salesmen wait to see if a customer looks for a salesman before approaching. Unfortunately this concept does not exist in the ignorant Thai.

One that particularly annoys me is waiters in restaurants, who either ignore you, or stand over you impatiently clicking a pen. Only one place in Thailand has trained their staff how to wait on tables. The Oriental Hotel Bangkok.

The Thai never learn or progress and will remain in ignorance.

Yeah brings back memories, eating in a restaurant in Bangkok too early in the evening
We were the only customers - fatal, a waiter was dispatched to each corner of our table, and with every sip of my wine, one would stand forward, reach for the bottle and top up my glass.
And when I say every sip I mean it.
Today I would just rest the glass down by my feet.

On 5/30/2026 at 12:13 AM, Sigmund said:

Many shop, office, bank and others behind their counters in dealing with public, often have absolutely no respect towards customers...and even less when it's a foreigner. A fine illustration of cutting your nose to spite one's face, as we all know who brings in money here. Never mind...spend it elsewhere if you can or online when possible.

How do you explain this? Dont they realize that wihout customers they dont eat? Why this entitlement here? Are they in abundance?

On 6/2/2026 at 9:46 PM, Maxbkkcm said:

How do you explain this? Dont they realize that wihout customers they dont eat? Why this entitlement here? Are they in abundance?

Xenophobia maybe or taking the foreigner (and mainly his money) for granted ...but Asia is big and more and more fine countries are emerging and giving far better welcome, perks and possibilités for tourism, retirees, investments, immigration rules or real estate purchase.

Edited June 4Jun 4 by Sigmund

Ministry of Crab can help you. Have the Crabzilla.

$300, but it’s 2.5 kilos. And a crab concierge takes all the meat out for you. We didn’t eat for 24 hours after.

Call ahead. They only get two or three crabzillas a day

On 6/2/2026 at 5:11 PM, DaRoadrunner said:

Only one place in Thailand has trained their staff how to wait on tables. The Oriental Hotel Bangkok.

You've been to every restaurant in Thailand. Congratulations, that's quite an accomplishment.

22 hours ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

You've been to every restaurant in Thailand. Congratulations, that's quite an accomplishment.

You obviously have not been to The Oriental or you would know the difference.

On 5/29/2026 at 3:14 PM, JT25 said:

Start playing Golf 3 times a week,go drinking the other 4 days and chasing the ladies. I cerntainly know how to go through it and quick.

You are lucky …my wife also normally plays three times a week………and now I’m getting too old to walk the course

Edited June 6Jun 6 by JAS21

Easy, take more ladies. Have more massages. Take a Thai wife. Swear at Immigration Officers.

3 minutes ago, Postmaster said:

Easy, take more ladies. Have more massages. Take a Thai wife. Swear at Immigration Officers.

Every time I leave Thailand, I am broke, and I don't frequent pubs.