Honda Bike Dealers In Chiang Mai

[resrea]

Hi,

I've decided to bite the bullet and buy a Honda Air Blade this week - the only dealer I have so far found is one in Thaepae Road, they are asking 54,900 Baht - I was just wondering firstly if the dealers are competitive and if I might get a better deal elsewhere - and, if so, where those dealers might be located - also if anyone knows of a good Honda dealer with some English as the Thaepae Road one has little English and as yet I have very little Thai - which makes an already difficult negotiation even more difficult,

thanks in advance,

Phil.

[mcgriffith]

Well, you have N. Panich on Mahidol Rd., S. Panich on the east side of town, Nat Honda on Huay Kaew Rd., and your aforementioned dealer on Tapae Rd.

My experience here (I have bought two 2007 Honda motorcycles in the last 12 months) is that there is very little discounting off of list price. All the Honda franchises offer buyers a package which includes 5 scheduled check-ups (oil change, etc.), free 3rd party liability insurance for the first year, etc.

Perhaps if you buy a unit that has been sitting on the floor (unpopular color, minor blemish/scratch) for a while, you might get a deal- but IMHO think it is rare. Look for a maximum discount off list of 500-1000 B, maybe a little more. There simply isn't that much mark-up on new small bikes....they produce and sell them by the 100's of thousands (if not millions). If you are buying a bigger bike (BMW, etc.) I'm sure they have a lot more leeway with pricing.

Shop around at all the dealers, find the unit in the configuration and color that you want, and work your best deal- good luck!

[amexpat]

Funny, I bit the bullet and bought a Honda Air Blade last week at Nat Honda on Huay Kaew Rd.

I paid 54,000 with the included insurance, maintenance, and a Thai-size jacket. I didn't like the free helmets so they discounted one I liked 100 bt. Whoopee! The theft insurance for 1,400 seemed like a good bet, too. The manager guy speaks english pretty well. The salesladies not so well but there is very little negotiation to do and they were very pleasant and efficient. I chatted a bit with a falang who was in for maintenance and he raved about the quality of the dealership.

Make sure you know exactly what to take to immigration. They will give you some papers but if you are renting your residence you also need a rental contract and signed id of the owner.

Luvin the Air Blade.

[mcgriffith]

As a postscript, I should mention that I bought both my 07 Hondas at Nat Honda.

There is one older saleswoman, Nuch, who speaks fairly good English.

The manager guy that amexpat mentioned above is the owner; English passable.

I am very happy with this dealership, particularly the service dept. which is very fast, competent, clean and efficient.

[PeaceBlondie]

I had no idea an Air Blade cost about 10,000 less than a CBR150. Isn't that about the price of a Suzuki Raider 150? Okay, so I'm comparing durian to longan, but 54K sounds a bit much for a tiny scooter. Maybe I'm mistaken.

[kash]

we've got a click, same as airblade me think. its a wonderful bike, excellent acceleration (despite being a auto, not compared to the CBR150 of course) and much more fun riding in the city, compared to the wave 125i we've got. so I think they are a great buy, may I ask the OP why a airblade and not a click - is there any vital difference except two instead of one suspender in the back?

[resrea]

Hi kash - and thanks to everybody for your input,

we've rented a click and they are fine bikes to get around town on for sure - I finally opted for the Air Blade for a few reasons:

Huge storage space under the seat.

Combi brake that applies the appropriate pressure to both brakes at once - strikes me as being a great idea as, riding in Thailand, I do find I have to brake in a hurry quite a lot - the disc brakes apparently provide awesome stopping power and the combi brake seems like a good safety feature.

Twin shock absorbers - great for riding with a pillion passenger - - - - - -

here's a couple of links that will tell the story better than I can:

http://www.aphonda.co.th/2006/promotion/page85.asp?id=758

http://www.review-stuff.com/honda-air-blade.html

best regards,

Phil.

[amexpat]

All that plus a smooth liquid-cooled engine, tires wider than you might expect, big turn signal indicators, and even a parking brake.

My experience is very limited but it handles like a whole different machine than the 110cc bike (no name = nobody offended) that I rented before.

[kash]

All that plus a smooth liquid-cooled engine, tires wider than you might expect, big turn signal indicators, and even a parking brake.

My experience is very limited but it handles like a whole different machine than the 110cc bike (no name = nobody offended) that I rented before.

click has liquid-cooled engine, and same tires as well if you choose the extra packet with alloy rims

[thaitot]

Combi brake that is new to me. I do not know anything about it I must read. Personally that would scare me .I need to control front to rear to suit different situations on my CBR Rain to dry pavement But I guess I may be from the old school .Anti-lock I understand