Newbie Needs Help - Am I Paying Too Much For This Car?

[GetBackJoJo]

Hi all

I would realy appreciate a little help here.

Im buying a car with the Mrs. Since things are a little tight at the moment, im going for finance. I have no clue with cars and (possibly stupidly) just allowed the mrs to go off and find one she liked, within budget.

She has just put down a 10,000 B deposit on a 6 year old Honda Civic, at a cost of 360,000 Baht. To me, that seems quite expensive - 6 years old is very old for a standard car such as a Civic - especialy for that sort of money.

Isnt it?

Can someone help me here? I am putting down an additional 35,000 B next week bringing the total deposit to 45,000 - the rest is on finance over a whopping 6 years.

I did try and explain that 6 years is a heck of a long time to be paying off the finance on an old car, but she wont have it. The deal is that i am paying the deposit, she is paying the monthly finance so its her choice, and i cant change her mind so to heck with it.

I just worry that 360,000 for a 6 year old Civic is a little strong?

Hopefully you can put my mind at reast and tell me it isnt.

Cheers all

[JohnC]

The first problem is you do not specify which model of the Civic you are considering and in 2001 (6 years ago) there were 6 different models which are different in price, secondly you do not say which part of Thailand you are in which can also affect the price, for example here in Pattaya a six year old car would cost less due to the percieved risk of salt water corrosion. The price you give is actually very low therefore you have to ask why is it so cheap?? cut and shunt is widespread here and buying a six year old car on six year finance is very risky. Your finance agreement could outlast the car! What history comes with the car? can it be verified? I appreciate your finacial prediciment but this needs careful thought and yes cars in Thailand do retain a higher value than we normally see in the West so at 360,000 it is cheap but again as in the west you get what you pay for and you could end up with endless repair bills whch would wipe out any saving you made on the price.

Here in Pattaya we have a good monthly magazine called Pattaya Trader and in the centre is Motor Trader which lists second hand car prices back to 1999 plus new car prices for example a basic Toyota Vios is 499,000 list whilst a basic Vigo Standard Cab Pick up is 394,000 so for not much more than your 6 yr old civic you could have a band new vehicle with warranty!

I appreciate your biggest problem will be the wife but yo will get the fallout of the car proves to be a drain on the finances, also and IMHO more importantly is the vehicle safe???

you are putting your family in this vehicle and you know how people drive in Thailand so you need good brakes and steering!

Sorry if all this seems negative but you need to be pragmatic about this.

[Moonfruit]

Pricewise, it looks to be about 100,000thb cheaper than anything of that year available used in Bangkok Car Tents.

As said above, it looks a bit too good to be true, so take a friend along who knows something about cars to check it over. A cut n' shut is pretty easy to spot to someone with the knowledge.

Also, dont even think about that 6 years. Bringing it down to 4 years of payments is still way too long, but you might get the wife to swallow it as it will only increase the monthly payments by a couple thousand baht.

John makes great points above about the value of new cars, but then again, we all know what the Thai wife is like. 6 your old Honda Civic, or a brand new Toyota Vigo? They will take the civic every year for its status symbol alone.

[Tywais]

The price seems quite good actually. You can look at a list of civic prices here > TaladRod

[apetley]

As stated the price seems 'reasonable' for Thailand.

Forget trying to put western second hand values on a second hand Thai car, they are just crazy imho.

Remember too that Thais will usual prefer to have a car rusting in the drive than sell at a perceived loss so if this car is cosher go for it, it could be one of only a handful of real bargains you will find.

A neighbour of mine was trying to sell an old Soluna 2 years ago for 225k Baht. I think it is a '95 model.

He still has it for sale but now at 250k! He figures that if a new Vios is worth 600k his old thing must be worth at least that much.

I would also consider too a pickup as stated above. Can get a nice new one for arpound 500k'ish.

[goldfish]

Tried to find you an example of a cut and shut. This is the best I could do

and this photo was taken from this site recently.

I thought it would be handy to see what some people feel could be made roadworthy. A thai mechanic reckoned he could put this back on the road for 150,000 baht. I really hope not. When buying a vehicle I always stand back first and smoke a ciggie whilst idly looking over the car to see what stands out. Uneven bodywork or colour, inconsistent panel fit. Check carefully the roofline to make sure it's smooth and look underneath at whether the underseal has been disturbed. This is before I check it mechanically, make sure everything works. Run the engine long enough to be certain it doesn't overheat.

I once saw a cut and shut whilst sitting at a set of lights. Spotted it in 5 seconds without looking for it. What was the guy doing when he bought it? Probably kicking the tyres

[Sophon]

Can someone help me here? I am putting down an additional 35,000 B next week bringing the total deposit to 45,000 - the rest is on finance over a whopping 6 years.

Also be careful about the financing or it could end up being an very expensive car. The interest rates quoted in Thailand is almost always "simple interest" meaning that you pay that interest rate on the original loan amount - not on what you owe at any given time. In reality it means that you are paying an interest rate almost twice what is quoted. Also the rate quoted is sometimes a monthly interest rate not an annual rate.

Sophon

[torrenova]

Before buying our truck I looked at 2nd hand and the lunatic prices coupled with the Thais lack of maintenance and their shoddy driving skills drew out only one conclusion. Buy new.

I would have lowered our expectations (Isuzu Highlander auto 3.0L 2WD circa 800k on tick over 4 years with 15% down) to a basic truck or Vios just to buy new. You can get a Vios with air for about 600k which with 15% down (say 100k) you borrow 500k over 5 years at about 3% (simple = not real interest rate) equals a monthly payment of about 9500 per month over 5 years. Then, in 5 years, you have a car worth probably 250-300k and you've had 5 years of driving a new safe car.

At 6 years on 315,000 you're looking at 6k per month at 6% (real - 3.5% simple approx), 7.5k at 15% real (8.5 simple), 9.25k at 25% real (13.5 simple).

If she is paying high interest, buy a new one even if I cannot make you see sense in buying a new one anyway.

If you buy second hand, you will have a 12 year old car and still be making payments on it - do you really want that ?

[Rdrokit]

Here is a good site to check out used car pricing at used car dealers around Bangkok.

http://www.one2car.com/CarInfor/fromcarbrand.aspx

[thai4u]

I just saw and checked a second hand car isuzu Dmax SLX 3.0 Auto airbag abs for 360K .

the car looks and drive nice apart from noise from the "shocks"..

the price was lowered because at isuzu they found that need to change all the 4 "shocks", change 2 brakes and the regular car treatment (gear oil and engine oil).

their price include job is 8000B for all.

what do u think ?

[thai4u]

(space-cab low version).

[thai4u]

by the way how much do u think yearly insurance per year for this car?

the owner (tent) says he "work with good company that good" that means good for his pocket.. I just want to confirm it with you. he say for value of 470K the insurance will be about 16500b /fir value 410K it will be 15200b (estimate..not 100%) .

is it sound normal for you?

[lazeeboy]

by the way how much do u think yearly insurance per year for this car?

the owner (tent) says he "work with good company that good" that means good for his pocket.. I just want to confirm it with you. he say for value of 470K the insurance will be about 16500b /fir value 410K it will be 15200b (estimate..not 100%) .

is it sound normal for you?

try this web site ,list all dealers in bangkok ,gives a good idea whats out there and what there charging www.thaicar.com/en_boardquestion.asp

[thai4u]

I'm talking about a very specific car that I checked ..I know what have in the market..

[thai4u]

?

[stingray]

It's a normal price, not cheap and not expepsive.