New Car Purchase In Thailand

[Gary A]

Unfortunately paying cash is a disadvantage. They lose their kick back from the finance company.

[brizzle]

You seem very undecided as to what you should buy , and as I pointed out previously , if you buy now ,

in a couple of weeks it becomes last years model .

This isn't quite correct. The model year on the registration will be desegnated when the vehicle is registered... IE- you get white plates to replace red plates.

We just bought Ms. Bino a new VIOS, and the salesman offered to wait until after the new year to register the car for this reason.

You believe a salesman ? You could put it in a shed for ten years and then register it will that make it a 2018 model ?

If you buy now it is still a 2007 model 2008 models are still being built

Could you please tell me what a prospective Thai or other buyer will look for when purchasing a second hand car to determine its year? I asked this question some time ago and was told that there was nothing on the number plate to indicate the year of manufacture and from what you are saying presumeably the registration document will count for nothing either.The number plate and registration doc are what define the year in the UK(some 2008 cars that are sold will most definately have been built and completed by late 2007 or even earlier)..what is the rule of thumb in Thailand please?......I noticed on my new car that there is a date in the engine area...is this what Thai buyers will be looking for?

Many thanks.

[Guest madcow]

Could you please tell me what a prospective Thai or other buyer will look for when purchasing a second hand car to determine its year? I asked this question some time ago and was told that there was nothing on the number plate to indicate the year of manufacture and from what you are saying presumeably the registration document will count for nothing either.The number plate and registration doc are what define the year in the UK(some 2008 cars that are sold will most definately have been built and completed by late 2007 or even earlier)..what is the rule of thumb in Thailand please?......I noticed on my new car that there is a date in the engine area...is this what Thai buyers will be looking for?

Many thanks.

Thats it . The compliance plate tells you when it rolled off the production line . Has absolutely nothing to do with when it is first registered .

[bkk_mike]

Could you please tell me what a prospective Thai or other buyer will look for when purchasing a second hand car to determine its year? I asked this question some time ago and was told that there was nothing on the number plate to indicate the year of manufacture and from what you are saying presumeably the registration document will count for nothing either.The number plate and registration doc are what define the year in the UK(some 2008 cars that are sold will most definately have been built and completed by late 2007 or even earlier)..what is the rule of thumb in Thailand please?......I noticed on my new car that there is a date in the engine area...is this what Thai buyers will be looking for?

Many thanks.

Thats it . The compliance plate tells you when it rolled off the production line . Has absolutely nothing to do with when it is first registered .

The issue than is that it may pre-date the car, especially with cars imported as CKD from Europe (like BMW, Mercedes), as the car may not be put together for a year or more after the chassis was stamped. (which is why car models here are often a year behind Europe - because they're still putting together older kits).

(The reason for importing as kits is 30% import duty instead of 80%.)

That said - the red plate trick may be why our Fortuner still has red plates I suppose. (we got it in October - I assumed the delay was just down to my wife wanting a specific registration number, but this would make sense too).

[torrenova]

Hi Torrenova,

Thanks a million for you very complete answer which has made my decision very easy.

I will pay cash and have the car in my name. My wife cannot drive anyway.

One thing is certain if I am paying a large cash sum the showroom that wants my sale had better out do the others in town on discounting and freebies.

I suppose at the end of the day it will be who wants the sale most. One thing about certain commodities such as cars is that they are all the same no matter who sells them (except asking price). Admittedly after sales service is a factor as well but as I have no knowledge of which showrooms are best that is not a factor for me.

I cannot speak Thai but my wife, quiet and unassuming as she is, is a tiger when it comes to bargaining. I have often thought my being with her when shes tries to discount would impede her, but I think not so in most cases and the shops (or whoever) quickly realise it is not me they have to satisfy it is her and th trump card is that my wife WILL walk away if she feels the asking price is too much after negotiation (even if I am happy).

Thanks again Torrenova

Dave

No worries. I went through the mill on this one about 6 months ago.

Whilst I cannot comment on your wife's bargaining skills, I do know that Asian people (irrespective of country but most heavily in Japan and here from my experience) often make the decision to purchase before they go to the shop. After that, it is merely about obtaining the best price. They seem to have a problem to walk away. I'm glad to see that yours seems to be an exception to the rule.

Also, big numbers, the ability to value a 6k back liner against 5k off the price but with wind deflectors at 2k and a tank of gas at 1.5k tends to confuse them and yet few will write things down on paper.

Most add ons are standard but the easiest way is to sit down with the accessories book and then write in english the translation of that which he has written in Thai (and the perceived cost). Then you can actually price up the add ons.

Price up some comprehensive insurance before you go. Note also that the dealer inclusive insurance may only be to say 80% of the purchase price. No bloody good if you write it off in the first 10 minutes is it ? I go mine up from 80% to 95% for an extra Bt1000. Well worth it. With hindsight, I would have done the insurance myself but the company is good (check which one they use).

Check the spare. They agreed alloy but the buggers have put on a steel one. I'll sort that out but better to check there and then.

I though I had an alarm as well as the immobiliser but I don't. Sort that one out.

The rest is pretty much straightforward. Please let us know how you get on. It is always interesting to hear other people's stories.

[sammy63]

There is a good reason why there is a 4 month waiting time for the Honda Jazz....

The NEW model is out in March it is a bit longer, wider and lower than the present one, If you want the present model then a GOOD Honda Dealer should search the dealers in Thailand on his computer, and find out who still has them in stock. The 1st New Jazz will come with the Civic 5 speed Auto, the all new CVT will arrive in the Jazz about November 2008

March_2008_Honda_Jazz.bmp

Hi, I am new to this forum, am looking to buy a Honda city or Jazz. Would appreciate advise on which Honda dealers is able to give discount on current models? Thanks.

cheers,

Sammy

[oxymoron]

You seem very undecided as to what you should buy , and as I pointed out previously , if you buy now ,

in a couple of weeks it becomes last years model .

This isn't quite correct. The model year on the registration will be desegnated when the vehicle is registered... IE- you get white plates to replace red plates.

We just bought Ms. Bino a new VIOS, and the salesman offered to wait until after the new year to register the car for this reason.

What absolute RUBBISH. Try selling the car the Tabien Rot date means nothing to the cars value. The only thing that counts is the date on the VEHICLES COMPLIANCE plate and its VIN. Thai car salesmen have been pulling the above Bllship con for years.

[North]

Price up some comprehensive insurance before you go. Note also that the dealer inclusive insurance may only be to say 80% of the purchase price. No bloody good if you write it off in the first 10 minutes is it ? I go mine up from 80% to 95% for an extra Bt1000. Well worth it. With hindsight, I would have done the insurance myself but the company is good (check which one they use).

When I bought a pickup in the beginning of this year, someone told me that all 1.st class insurances only covered up to 80 % of the car´s new value.

Can you tell us, which insurance company you are using ?

North

[Sturbuc]

...

2yr old 20,000km VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 1.9 TDi AT ESTATE

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Well, this is the former model of this car, aged 2003 (-> ´4! y.old) and maybe very expensive.

-> http://www.volkswagen.de.

Please be honest when selling old cars at high prices!!!

[torrenova]

Price up some comprehensive insurance before you go. Note also that the dealer inclusive insurance may only be to say 80% of the purchase price. No bloody good if you write it off in the first 10 minutes is it ? I go mine up from 80% to 95% for an extra Bt1000. Well worth it. With hindsight, I would have done the insurance myself but the company is good (check which one they use).

When I bought a pickup in the beginning of this year, someone told me that all 1.st class insurances only covered up to 80 % of the car´s new value.

Can you tell us, which insurance company you are using ?

North

Muang Thai is the insurance company but I found out before I bought the truck.

On the quotation form, they go through what is included and I wanted to know everything. I didn't care if it took forever and a day but if he wanted to sell the truck, he'd have to deal with it. I felt sorry as my wife had the worst job, having to translate when his english broke down. Anyway, he writes that the insurance is worth say Bt18,000 (can't remember the exact figure). I ask him what it covers and he says 80% and i ask of what ? the replacement cost ? the financed amount ? something else ? He confirms the new cost of the vehicle.

So here we have a situation where a Bt792,000 truck with a 15% deposit leaves 673k on finance with interest costs over 4 years of around 90k meaning an outstanding liability of 763k minus any early settlement rebate. 80% insurance would return some 633k, meaning that even if we were charged no interest, we would be out of pocket to the tune of 673-633k or 40k if we wrote it off leaving the garage or if someone stole it that night. As far as I am aware, there are no companies which offer a new vehicle on write off or total loss within the first 12 months as is normal in the UK.

I went prepared and had telephone numbers of a couple of brokers and insurance companies and I called them. If I had found a substancially better deal then I would have asked them to reduce the price by the insurance amount. However, things were tight that month and I effectively financed the first year's insurance over 4 years without having to stump it up on day one.

Nevertheless, the quotes cam in around the same figure and I could get the insurance to 90%. I then bullshitted him and said i had a similar quote for 95% coverage and he would have to get the insurance company to agree to 95% or above to sel lthe truck. He went away and did whatever. My maths worked like this: 792*80%=633 which costs 18k. Therefore 18/80%*100%=22.5k which is a ballpark figure for 100% coverage or an extra 4k or so. It would not be this much as the increase in % insured is not linear but it was a start. 90% would be 20.25k.

I requested it all in writing and got it. An additional Bt1000 would be added to the invoice for 95% coverage as the 18k inclusive was at 80%. I would have happily paid the 3 or 4k extra if necessary as 80% insurance on a brand new vehicle is bloody stupid.

There was some arm twisting to get 95% but 90% was easy. In my example, each 5% extra gives me nearly 40k of coverage.

Hope that helps.