Take Care If Buy A New (nissan-) Car On Phuket

[Bagsida]

Hello,

following I will try to describe the experiences I made by purchasing a new Nissan Navara King Cab 4x4 (light grey) as short as possible :

After some price comparisons at least I went to the Nissan dealer Phuket on the Bypass-Road and ordered the car for the price I negotiated before incl. 1 year insurance, 1 year governement tax, registration, plastic liner, alarm system, rubber mats, English manual, etc. whereat I existed on genuine Nissan accessories, all like I negotiated with the dealer before.

After the sales person finished to prepare the order / contract I noticed he only scheduled the car but without the premium and the accessories. I asked him to include all details, but like I know before this was too much work for him and he only answered, that I could trust him and I would get everything like we agreed. Well prepared for this case I showed him a selfmade order in English, Thai and incl. all item no..

For set a coherence between my list and his contract I noticed on the dealer contract "see details next page (attachment)" – me and the sales person signed both pages and I payed THB 10,000,- deposit.

Exactly one week later the sales person called for inform me that the car would be ready for delivery and I went to the dealer for check the car.

Except of the plastic liner none of the part were genuine Nissan parts, i.e. not even the quite expensive alarm system.

Additional the car had much more further deficiencies :

No English handbook, many small scratches, a red cable from wiring of this system is hanging out from the dashboard near by the lever to open the hood, many big not removable spot on the side step assies, the tailgate had in the middle a clear mistake of the paintwork or even in the metal sheet, the rear axle is rusting already because of the intense mechanical damage of the antirust coating and the metal there too.

The car which was allegedly ordered for me new from the factory, parked there with a red plate and arrived on sunday, i.e. I am shure the car came from an other dealer nearby.

I face the sales person with these facts he I begged for my pardon and ensured to order a new car for me, but in case I would insist on the genuine Nissan alarm system I would have to pay THB 5,000,- more.

He told me the genuine Nissan alarm system would make many problems, so he not would commend it to me, then he confessed, that his calculation was wrong

and that´s why he would need THB 5,000,- more and in the end he denying that we agreed to deliver genuine accessories.

After I tried to come to an amicable agreement and induce him to fulfill our contract, I consulted Nissan-Thailand in Bangkok, but they also not want to know something about the detailed list of the accessories, same as this list never existed.

This parts allegedly are not clearly described in the contract ("We are sorry for the contract is not clearly mentioned your important option"), so if I want them as genuine parts, I would have to pay THB 5,000,-.

About the other reported deficiencies the Bangkok head office wrote :

"The rear axle is rusty, we can repaint it for good appearance. Please be note that such part is long life corrosion protect. It is easily rust but never broke the car. (LOL….there is the blank and rusty steel)…… Some small defect from option fixing is normally might be occurred."

O.k. - however it seems they have a real good relationship……….

For be shure that I have made a legally binding contract with the Phuket dealer also about the delivery of all accessories as genuine Nissan parts, I visited the local police station for verify this contract. The policeman told me, that I am in the right and called the sales person for request him to fulfill the contract, but he still stayed undiscerning and denied the delivery for the aggreed price. He told the police officer he would prefer to chancel the contract because he would be worried about I would find on a new ordered car once more deficiencies, but I insist on delivery of the ordered car for the agreed price.

Next monday I will report this incident to the Japanese headoffice and then I will see if they tolerate such machinations too or speak a clear word of word of command.

And by the way, all this I can prove !

Question :

Was my reaction correct or not – how would you proceed ?

Bagsida

Edited January 19, 2008 by Bagsida

[smartecosse]

by driving up the road to Toyota which is exactly what i did last year after experiencing nissan

[LivinLOS]

What your getting just seems par for the course in almost any Thai based transaction I have had so far.. If it was me and they wanted to cancell the contract I would take the money and walk.. Imagine how much fun your services are going to be in that garage now !!

[mikethevigoman]

Hello,

following I will try to describe the experiences I made by purchasing a new Nissan Navara King Cab 4x4 (light grey) as short as possible :

After some price comparisons at least I went to the Nissan dealer Phuket on the Bypass-Road and ordered the car for the price I negotiated before incl. 1 year insurance, 1 year governement tax, registration, plastic liner, alarm system, rubber mats, English manual, etc. whereat I existed on genuine Nissan accessories, all like I negotiated with the dealer before.

After the sales person finished to prepare the order / contract I noticed he only scheduled the car but without the premium and the accessories. I asked him to include all details, but like I know before this was too much work for him and he only answered, that I could trust him and I would get everything like we agreed. Well prepared for this case I showed him a selfmade order in English, Thai and incl. all item no..

For set a coherence between my list and his contract I noticed on the dealer contract "see details next page (attachment)" – me and the sales person signed both pages and I payed THB 10,000,- deposit.

Exactly one week later the sales person called for inform me that the car would be ready for delivery and I went to the dealer for check the car.

Except of the plastic liner none of the part were genuine Nissan parts, i.e. not even the quite expensive alarm system.

Additional the car had much more further deficiencies :

No English handbook, many small scratches, a red cable from wiring of this system is hanging out from the dashboard near by the lever to open the hood, many big not removable spot on the side step assies, the tailgate had in the middle a clear mistake of the paintwork or even in the metal sheet, the rear axle is rusting already because of the intense mechanical damage of the antirust coating and the metal there too.

The car which was allegedly ordered for me new from the factory, parked there with a red plate and arrived on sunday, i.e. I am shure the car came from an other dealer nearby.

I face the sales person with these facts he I begged for my pardon and ensured to order a new car for me, but in case I would insist on the genuine Nissan alarm system I would have to pay THB 5,000,- more.

He told me the genuine Nissan alarm system would make many problems, so he not would commend it to me, then he confessed, that his calculation was wrong

and that´s why he would need THB 5,000,- more and in the end he denying that we agreed to deliver genuine accessories.

After I tried to come to an amicable agreement and induce him to fulfill our contract, I consulted Nissan-Thailand in Bangkok, but they also not want to know something about the detailed list of the accessories, same as this list never existed.

This parts allegedly are not clearly described in the contract ("We are sorry for the contract is not clearly mentioned your important option"), so if I want them as genuine parts, I would have to pay THB 5,000,-.

About the other reported deficiencies the Bangkok head office wrote :

"The rear axle is rusty, we can repaint it for good appearance. Please be note that such part is long life corrosion protect. It is easily rust but never broke the car. (LOL….there is the blank and rusty steel)…… Some small defect from option fixing is normally might be occurred."

O.k. - however it seems they have a real good relationship……….

For be shure that I have made a legally binding contract with the Phuket dealer also about the delivery of all accessories as genuine Nissan parts, I visited the local police station for verify this contract. The policeman told me, that I am in the right and called the sales person for request him to fulfill the contract, but he still stayed undiscerning and denied the delivery for the aggreed price. He told the police officer he would prefer to chancel the contract because he would be worried about I would find on a new ordered car once more deficiencies, but I insist on delivery of the ordered car for the agreed price.

Next monday I will report this incident to the Japanese headoffice and then I will see if they tolerate such machinations too or speak a clear word of word of command.

And by the way, all this I can prove !

Question :

Was my reaction correct or not – how would you proceed ?

Bagsida

I have to say in my opinion one brand is no better than the other in this respect, i ordered 5 sets of chrome light surounds for the back lights for a navara from the dealer in pattaya after seeing them on the accessory catalouge,, when i went to collect i said are they in nissan boxes and they said no, when i looked i saw the make and i had been buying these already at 50 per cent less than the nissan price quoted,.i had already paid in full but refused to take them and said these are not nissan geniune parts, they gave me the runaround for 2 weeks before i got my money back, the little creep that i had dealt with had gone outside of the dealership with my money and bought aftermarket, i thought if i tell the manager he would be in trouble, WRONG !the manager had no interest at all !,.it has also happened to me at the toyota dealer, always ask for a toyota receipt but better still ask fOr the part number ,if Its from an outside supplier it wont have toyota part number or warranty, they are all the same, !

[Bagsida]

P.S.:

From my own experience and from an other customer I know, that just this dealer offers Front-Bumper from other manufactures for Navaras fittet out with SRS airbag with out any advice that these bumper are not approved for use with airbags.

To my knowledge only the genuine Nissan bumper and bumper from CarryBoy Type CB-705 & CB-709 & CB-739 & CB-721 & CB-730 are approve for use on Navara D40 incl. SRS airbag.

Bagsida

[Flatouthruthefog]

What your getting just seems par for the course in almost any Thai based transaction I have had so far.. If it was me and they wanted to cancell the contract I would take the money and walk.. Imagine how much fun your services are going to be in that garage now !!

Bang on the money Livin!

Nxssxn can stxck 'xm!!

I just hate to think of the amount of iron filings they will add to your oil at the first service if you continue to push this. Just DEMAND your money back, walk down the road and look and think again.

Apart from turning out some of the ugliest vehicles to (further) disgrace Thai roads, Nissan dealership personnel are the pits in my (long Thai) experience.

The only thing the Nissan Japanese have done right in my view in the past 10 years is the NV Queencab. Great power to weight ratio, handling and looks. My Thai wife and i went to the Chiang Mai dealership, all ready to buy one 3 years back. It was a Sunday afternoon (when to be frank most cars sales places are closed up here!!) and the 3 young (smart) layabouts sprawling around the sales desk actually laughed at us and said in Thai "They stopped making that model long ago. Look, none in the showroom. You are too late. Go find a second hand one."

"Go find"!!!!!! Not "Sorry, sir and madam, let us find a nice slightly used one for you"!!

I was livid. Stamped out and 3 days later bought a used Suzuki Vitara with MUCH more space, 4x4 if we need it and a fraction of the price. GREAT dealership and total reliability.

And what did I see less than 3 months later? BRAND NEW Nissan NV Queencabs back in the showroom under a slightly different type name. Well, with that sort of 'customer relations' and ill-informed horse-shxt, Nxssxn cxn stxck 'xm!

[geriatrickid]

What you have going for you is that you did it by the book and documented everything. I'd think your best strategy would be to have a meeting with the dealership boss and show him the documents. He's going to have a hard time getting out of it. If you have a Thai speaker explaining the situation and are firm, he'll most likely realize that he can't screw you and offer something. Will you get 100% satisfaction? No. However, unless you are willing to walk away from the 10,000 deposit, your options are limited unless you want to litigate and that will take time, money and increase your aggravation.

This type of problem is not exclusive to Thailand, but is endemic with many automobile dealers worldwide. In the USA and Canada they toss in the "boiler room" experience where they oblige you to sit with the finance manager who then attempts to sell an extended warranty (usual commission to the dealer 30-60%) and other high dealer profit items. Selling practices is an issue that automobile manufacturers try to avoid by saying hey, the dealers are independent business that sell our product, we can only do so much blah blah blah. Nissan distributes in Thailand through its Thailand partners, Siam Nissan Automobile Co., Ltd. (SNA) and Siam Motors & Nissan Co., Ltd. (SMN) of which it now controls 75%. In simple terms, this means your complaints to the Thai H.O. will most likely be ignored. Worldwide, Nissan dealerships don't have as good a rep as Honda or Toyota, so you are in for a tough and long fight. Good luck.

.

[amanda76]

I had a similiar situation when I arrived here a couple of weeks ago. I owned a Nissan Armada at home, and a Maxima before that. I would swear by Nissan. When I arrived, I went to look at the Nissan place, but spoke to a woman who was being completely screwed around by them.

I just so happen to catch her when it was happening. She said the stock of Nissan verses Toyota is much lower, and the vehicles are harder to come by when ordering special models/parts.

Toyota has more units in Thailand. I bought a 2007 Fortuner. Its two weeks old, it is flawless, just the way I asked for it to be, no complaints, and I would suggest going with a Toyota. They did have to bring it from up north, but it is just what I asked for.

Not sure if I am the only one, but I have lived in a few countries, and when someone says "Trust Me!" That means they are not trust worthy. IMHO.

~a~

[stevenl]

This is typical for doing any kind of business in Thailand.

Cancel the contract and move on.

[Bagsida]

What I( forget to report is, I already sent a copy of the contract to the BKK headoffice, but the manager there seems to ignore that.

In Germany I never had any problem in purchasing a new or even second hand car (Audi & Honda), so it´s not a worldwide problem.

The history of my decision to buy a Nissan Navara :

1. Buy Mitsubishi L200 Strada: old model, no airbag & ABS, not comfortable, price about THB 350,000,- >

hear from many problems if buy a second hand car.

2. Buy a new Ford Ranger: High loss in value, ABS and airbag only available with 3.0 L engine

3. Buy a new Toyota Vigo: ABS and airbag only available with 3.0 L engine, no open cab available, highly dangerous

model (failed the last test in Sweden, Toyota stopped delivery of the Vigo in Europe already), not enough discount

4. Buy a new Mazda BT-50 : ABS and airbag only available with 3.0 L engine, no open cab available

5. Buy a new Navara : 2.5L incl. ABS & airbag & open cab available, seems to be good quality, got a good quotation

And now ? I really would like to buy a Navara 4x4, but now have to think about again to look for a good second hand Navara, check it completely incl. ask for the production date by calling the customer support and tell them the chassis no. (yes that´s really possible and I´ve got such an infomation already).

I think there will be not more risk than buy a new car from dealer, only much cheaper.

Bagsida

Edited January 20, 2008 by Bagsida

[mikethevigoman]

What your getting just seems par for the course in almost any Thai based transaction I have had so far.. If it was me and they wanted to cancell the contract I would take the money and walk.. Imagine how much fun your services are going to be in that garage now !!

Bang on the money Livin!

Nxssxn can stxck 'xm!!

I just hate to think of the amount of iron filings they will add to your oil at the first service if you continue to push this. Just DEMAND your money back, walk down the road and look and think again.

Apart from turning out some of the ugliest vehicles to (further) disgrace Thai roads, Nissan dealership personnel are the pits in my (long Thai) experience.

The only thing the Nissan Japanese have done right in my view in the past 10 years is the NV Queencab. Great power to weight ratio, handling and looks. My Thai wife and i went to the Chiang Mai dealership, all ready to buy one 3 years back. It was a Sunday afternoon (when to be frank most cars sales places are closed up here!!) and the 3 young (smart) layabouts sprawling around the sales desk actually laughed at us and said in Thai "They stopped making that model long ago. Look, none in the showroom. You are too late. Go find a second hand one."

"Go find"!!!!!! Not "Sorry, sir and madam, let us find a nice slightly used one for you"!!

I was livid. Stamped out and 3 days later bought a used Suzuki Vitara with MUCH more space, 4x4 if we need it and a fraction of the price. GREAT dealership and total reliability.

And what did I see less than 3 months later? BRAND NEW Nissan NV Queencabs back in the showroom under a slightly different type name. Well, with that sort of 'customer relations' and ill-informed horse-shxt, Nxssxn cxn stxck 'xm!

Its not only nissan, its the staff, we arrived in thailand and after a month i went to but a vigo, i wanted 4 doors and auto 2x4, i was told" sorry not make", so i bought a 4x4, after 3 weeks i see one ,i was livid, but too late, usually when i go to visit the dealers the bimbos working ! there are usually eating, squeezing spots in mirrors or asleep !,.apart from having them for the managers to have a legover i dont see why they are there !

[thaitot]

After all that has happened I would not even dream of taking delivery of that vehicle or another from this dealer.

10k deposit returned or not .

What kind of a signal not to buy a vehicle from this dealer do you need.

Now if you can get your money back good do it.

[Bagsida]

After all that has happened I would not even dream of taking delivery of that vehicle or another from this dealer...........

Yes, you a in right - I not will take any delivery from this dealer anymore, but I will try to get a direct delivery from factory engineered by the Japanese headoffice - it would´nt be the first time I managed something like that successfully, so why not try it.

Bagsida

[Bagsida]

My complaint about this incident (incl. the Phuket dealer & the BKK-Management) now arrived in in Japan !

If someone will need this really not easy to get contact (email & phone) to the Nissan Tokyo headoffice I will sent it by PM.

Bagsida

[Ping]

Bagsida - sorry to read about your car woes. If you manage to get your refund, put a few quid aside for those beers. Let us know how you get on.

Good luck - Ping

[pattyboy]

Judging by the feedback, I'd have to say that your experience was unfortunately typical.

I suppose the best route to take would be to buy a plain-Jane car (without options) and get things added and installed after you leave the dealership. Seems it would give you more control over the situation and be cheaper by cutting out the middleman (the dealership in this case).

[Flatouthruthefog]

My complaint about this incident (incl. the Phuket dealer & the BKK-Management) now arrived in in Japan !

If someone will need this really not easy to get contact (email & phone) to the Nissan Tokyo headoffice I will sent it by PM.

Bagsida

Good on you! And for the sake of the engineers who make basically very sound cars and Nissan's customer relations in Thailand PLEASE ensure that Tokyo sees these posts here!

Then move house, change your name - and never enter that dealership again..........!!

[seppl04]

bought an IZUZU MU7 4x4 at the Dealer on the way to Airport.

Got all what was promised, no try to skip one thing and service afterwards excellent

to sum up, next time will definitely buy there.

BTW purchased during one of their motorshows around town, but still NO problem in not getting what I was promised from the dealer

[Bagsida]

bought an IZUZU MU7 4x4 at the Dealer on the way to Airport.

Got all what was promised, no try to skip one thing and service afterwards excellent

to sum up, next time will definitely buy there.

BTW purchased during one of their motorshows around town, but still NO problem in not getting what I was promised from the dealer

Good idea - I really would like to buy that Navara, so in case Japan also not clear this case I can wait for the next motorshow on Phuket or better in march in BKK.

Bagsida

[LiveSteam]

Good idea - I really would like to buy that Navara, so in case Japan also not clear this case I can wait for the next motorshow on Phuket or better in march in BKK.

Bagsida

I was thinking of buying a Nissan X-Trail from the dealer on the by-pass road but now I am not going to. Thank-you Bagsida, you just saved me some time and trouble.

LiveSteam

[Bagsida]

Hi Live Steam,

what, you not like to make your own experience with this trustable dealer ? May be the dealer will give you are very good quotation and learned now how to set up and fulfill a contract, even I not think so .

I think the best will be to wait for the next motorshow in Bangkok with the usual Nissan promotions and buy a car in Bangkok.

Bagsida

[LiveSteam]

Hi Live Steam,

what, you not like to make your own experience with this trustable dealer ? May be the dealer will give you are very good quotation and learned now how to set up and fulfill a contract, even I not think so .

I think the best will be to wait for the next motorshow in Bangkok with the usual Nissan promotions and buy a car in Bangkok.

Bagsida

That is all fine Bagsida but I must still service the car at their service center. We have an old saying and it goes this way: "If a fish is rotten it's rotten at the head" I think I might look at the Ford Escape. Thanks Bagsida

LiveSteam

[Bagsida]

Hi Live Steam,

what, you not like to make your own experience with this trustable dealer ? May be the dealer will give you are very good quotation and learned now how to set up and fulfill a contract, even I not think so .

I think the best will be to wait for the next motorshow in Bangkok with the usual Nissan promotions and buy a car in Bangkok.

Bagsida

That is all fine Bagsida but I must still service the car at their service center. We have an old saying and it goes this way: "If a fish is rotten it's rotten at the head" I think I might look at the Ford Escape. Thanks Bagsida

LiveSteam

Do you know there is a second Nissan dealer near by Super Cheap (opposite). This dealer might have an better service, has 2 more branches on Phang Nga and gave me the advice not fit a front bumper which is not aproved for the Navara with airbags.

So think about it - if you want to drive Ford for more than 4 years o.k. but in the first 2-4 years in Thailand the loss in value of a Ford is bigger than by selling a Japanese car.

Bagsida

[LiveSteam]

Do you know there is a second Nissan dealer near by Super Cheap (opposite). This dealer might have an better service, has 2 more branches on Phang Nga and gave me the advice not fit a front bumper which is not aproved for the Navara with airbags.

So think about it - if you want to drive Ford for more than 4 years o.k. but in the first 2-4 years in Thailand the loss in value of a Ford is bigger than by selling a Japanese car.

Bagsida

Okay Bagsida I will try them near the Supercheap.

LiveSteam

[chickencurry]

What your getting just seems par for the course in almost any Thai based transaction I have had so far.. If it was me and they wanted to cancell the contract I would take the money and walk.. Imagine how much fun your services are going to be in that garage now !!

Bang on the money Livin!

Nxssxn can stxck 'xm!!

I just hate to think of the amount of iron filings they will add to your oil at the first service if you continue to push this. Just DEMAND your money back, walk down the road and look and think again.

Apart from turning out some of the ugliest vehicles to (further) disgrace Thai roads, Nissan dealership personnel are the pits in my (long Thai) experience.

The only thing the Nissan Japanese have done right in my view in the past 10 years is the NV Queencab. Great power to weight ratio, handling and looks. My Thai wife and i went to the Chiang Mai dealership, all ready to buy one 3 years back. It was a Sunday afternoon (when to be frank most cars sales places are closed up here!!) and the 3 young (smart) layabouts sprawling around the sales desk actually laughed at us and said in Thai "They stopped making that model long ago. Look, none in the showroom. You are too late. Go find a second hand one."

"Go find"!!!!!! Not "Sorry, sir and madam, let us find a nice slightly used one for you"!!

I was livid. Stamped out and 3 days later bought a used Suzuki Vitara with MUCH more space, 4x4 if we need it and a fraction of the price. GREAT dealership and total reliability.

And what did I see less than 3 months later? BRAND NEW Nissan NV Queencabs back in the showroom under a slightly different type name. Well, with that sort of 'customer relations' and ill-informed horse-shxt, Nxssxn cxn stxck 'xm!

May I ask which dealer you bought the Suzuki Vitara from? Sounds interesting... was looking at Honda Jazz but not sure about the issue with tank under seat and think something a little more rugged may be suitable for Nai Harn sois.

[Bagsida]

Today I made my complaint against this Nissan representative on the Bypass-Road at the customer protection office (from the Thai governement) located in the provincial hall Phuket.

Only so far at the moment :

I was not the first customer come to this office with a similar complaint against this Nissan dealer & they will send us an official invitation for a meeting at this office - for me new, but may be for this dealer weekly or monthly practice.....so we will see.

To be continued........

Bagsida

[Bagsida]

The end of the Nissan-Navara-Story :

After waiting more 2 month for a response from Nissan, saw the terrible crashtest of the Navara and meanwhile have bought a Mitsubishi Triton 4x4, yesterday I asked contacted Nissan / Japan once more :

Dear Mrs. P....,

unfortunatelly by today I not even got a response about the acknowledgement of my serious complaint about the practice of sales of Nissan Thailand – that´s not a good recommendation for Nissan worldwide and the whole management !

In the end and after the latest NCAP-Crashtest which the Navara failed entirely (1 of 5 points), I´m glad not have bought a Nissan Navara.

Meanwhile I am fully satisfied with my new Mitsubishi Triton (pick up directly from factory by myself), which I´ve bought last month.

With best regards,

......

Dear Mr. ....,

I did what I can to the best of my knowledge and I apologize if we have disappointed you. I sent your complaint to our global consumer affairs and to the my colleagues at Siam Nissan.

Best regards,

G....P....

Dear Mrs. P....,

thank you for your efforts and late response.

I think to send my complaint to Siam Nissan was completely the wrong way in this case, because the Siam Nissan management do nothing else than patronize their surreptitiously dealers in Thailand, some people even speak about corruption !

The better way would have been to send this incident, which is not the only one with this dealer on Phuket, to your headoffice or the best to your CEO Carlos Ghosn – I am shure he would be very interested to get knowledge about the practice in Thailand.

I am glad that it´s not my task to improve the management in Thailand and sell Nissan cars, because I think it would be a never ending story, if even the headoffice is not able to advice the dealers to fulfill their contracts.

It´s a crying shame, what cheating games Nissan Thailand tries to play with the customers.

Best regards,

.........

Like you can see, the Nissan Headoffice is really interested in customer satisfaction - they have done what they can do - the fish stinks from the head !

The End !

Bagsida

[keestha]

2 Years ago we were in the market for a new car, so we went to dealerships of all the makes in Phuket. I know very little about cars, so we didn't have any preference for a specific make or brand. Bizarrely enough at quite a few of these dealerships they seemed hardly interested in us. We finally settled on purchasing a Ford, and their service was fully satisfying.

[Ping]

Very unsatisfactory result from Nissan, Bagsida - but at least you spoke with your wallet, by buying a competitor's car. If other unhappy customers did the same, Nissan Thailand would feel the pinch and do something about it. Good luck with your Mitsubishi.

[fiddlehead]

Very unsatisfactory result from Nissan, Bagsida - but at least you spoke with your wallet, by buying a competitor's car. If other unhappy customers did the same, Nissan Thailand would feel the pinch and do something about it. Good luck with your Mitsubishi.

this whole thread just reminds me of the time when i had a problem with my radiator leaking.

I decided i wanted it done right so i took it to the Toyota dealer. I was a little surprised that no one wanted to wait on me, finally i found somebody to talk to and after a few redirects to other Toyota employees, i guess i got the one that dealt with things like this.

He said i'd have to get a new thermostat. I said, i didn't need a thermostat as it was the radiator leaking and it wasn't acting anything like the thermostat. He said ok, we'll fix it for you . Don't worry.

I came back about 6 hours later and guess what? they had replaced the thermostat and charged me about 1300 baht.

I drove it home and by the time i got there, the radiator was low on water and it was overheating again.

so, i took it to a friend who showed me a place that specializes in radiators. They pulled it out, and although i asked them to just put a new one in, they patched 6 holes in the one i had and said not to worry, it was guaranteed.

It lasted about 2 years and the patches apparantly fell out or whatever and the problem happened again. I went back to that mom and pop shop and asked them again to put a new one in. They just smiled and said "don't worry it is guaranteed" and fixed it again.

i wish i could get a new one put in but i know i'm not going back to Toyota to get any work done on it.

It just amazes me that companies would run a business like that. Oh well, Amazing Thailand! aye?