Buying Second Hand Car

[RogueExpat]

Hi there,

A question for anyone who knows a thing or two about modern car systems.

Not knowing too much about these things, what are the chances of a digital odometer being manipulated to read, for example, 100,000 km's less than actual?

Is this a problem when buying s/hand in Thailand?

Thanx in advance.

[Spoonman]

Digi speedo's are easily manipulated.

[pattayabuggy]

Hi there,

A question for anyone who knows a thing or two about modern car systems.

Not knowing too much about these things, what are the chances of a digital odometer being manipulated to read, for example, 100,000 km's less than actual?

Is this a problem when buying s/hand in Thailand?

My experience is, and as with almost everything in Thailand, a gaurantee is not worth the paper it is written on, but maybe a reputable dealership OK, I can only pass on my experiences. Therefore my advice would be to look private, less likely anyone will try to pull a fast one with the odometer, and you will get a better price. So many web sites out there, www.bahtsold.com is an excellent one.

[sorensen]

Digi speedo's are easily manipulated.

Right, it can be done, but I think it is safe to assume it is not all that common in Thailand.

Still, when you are buying a used car in Thailand you buy it "as is", so check everything you can.

Check that date on the tires. All tires have a Week-Year stamp on them, but only on one side. 3604 = week 36 2004, but most likely 2 of the tires will have this number facing inwards.

So if the odormeter, year of the car and tires match, you are somewhat safe. Of course you can only do this if the car is still on its first set of tires.

The battery and airback also have a date stamp, if you want to check a bit more in details.

[katabeachbum]

Hi there,

A question for anyone who knows a thing or two about modern car systems.

Not knowing too much about these things, what are the chances of a digital odometer being manipulated to read, for example, 100,000 km's less than actual?

Is this a problem when buying s/hand in Thailand?

Thanx in advance.

any modern car with electronic odo can be adjustd in 5-10 minutes.

Its common on tent cars with several owners. If the car comes with service maintance invoices from maindealer, you can compare km-readings.

Also have a look at seats, doorsills, steeringwheel, pedals, and general wear and tear.

On the other hand I would rather buy a car with 200k highwaymiles than 100k BKKmiles

[RogueExpat]

So, from that I gather it would be better not to trust the odometer reading, especially from a car dealer.

Thanks for the input guys.

[guzzi850m2]

I have just bought a "new" 2006 Honda City from a dealer in Pattaya. The odometer said app. 37K km and the general condition of the car is very good. I told the seller that before I buy I will take the car to the local Honda dealer and have the car checked and they said no problem.

At Honda they confirmed that the car was to a 30K km check on a certain date according to their records which they printed out for me and that made me believe that the odometer had not been tampered with, and I ended up buying the car and so far I am very happy with it.

I friend of mine who used to be a auto mechanic electro specialist in London told me that cars made after 2002 or 03 can't be tamped anymore as the chip in the car will automatically change the odometer back to original settings if tampered with.

I asked Honda in Patts if the same applies here in Thailand and they said no (sadly)

[katabeachbum]

I have just bought a "new" 2006 Honda City from a dealer in Pattaya. The odometer said app. 37K km and the general condition of the car is very good. I told the seller that before I buy I will take the car to the local Honda dealer and have the car checked and they said no problem.

At Honda they confirmed that the car was to a 30K km check on a certain date according to their records which they printed out for me and that made me believe that the odometer had not been tampered with, and I ended up buying the car and so far I am very happy with it.

I friend of mine who used to be a auto mechanic electro specialist in London told me that cars made after 2002 or 03 can't be tamped anymore as the chip in the car will automatically change the odometer back to original settings if tampered with.

I asked Honda in Patts if the same applies here in Thailand and they said no (sadly)

Sorry to say your friend is wrong. When adjusting odo, the memory (chips) is adjusted too. Or actually the other way around the memory is adjusted and odo gives new reading as from memory.

Another way to tamper odo is to drive without having it connected, in some cars simply be removing braker for ABS or speedsensitive powersteering. This can normally be detected in OBD/chips/memory until its been deleted.

[HDRIDER]

Hi

I know they still do it on newer cars, know a guy there just found out that his car was turned about 20.000KM back

[guzzi850m2]

Hi

I know they still do it on newer cars, know a guy there just found out that his car was turned about 20.000KM back

Hi fellow HD rider,

How did he discover that and how did he know it was about 20K?

[HDRIDER]

HI

He got the car in for service in BKK and and they have all the service for the car on PC, they could see it had a service before at a higher KM, not sure how many KM service it was, you know today they use smart card, the key or whatever they use and its stored on the PC

Edited September 30, 2009 by HDRIDER

[guzzi850m2]

HI

He got the car in for service in BKK and and they have all the service for the car on PC, they could see it had a service before at a higher KM, not sure how many KM service it was, you know today they use smart card, the key or whatever they use and its stored on the PC

Okay thanks for that. Well I guess I should be okay then as my car is bought in Chonburi and been to service there as well (As I wrote earlier regarding the 30K service on my car).

[Bobr]

The memory chip that controls the odometer is one of the most desirable salvage parts from the many total loss wrecks that result from the driving here. Those cars that are repaired and sold as used are only as good as the body shop that built them (and I do mean built them). I've seen cars that were wrecked here stripped down to the bare unibody frame to be reworked, put back together and sold as used cars, complete with Chinese made knock off hoods, fenders, lights and other body parts. These same cars could never be fixed in the west but the low labor costs and high taxes on new cars makes it possible here. If you possibly can afford it, buy a new car here, you'll be glad you did. Every farang I've known in 4 years who has bought a used car here has regretted it for one reason or another. Usually they get a sad lesson when they take it to the dealer (usually Toyota) and someone with the proper knowledge there shows and explains to them where their "clean" used car came from. ALSO IF YOU BUY A USED CAR HERE, HAVE SOMEONE CHECK THE AIRBAGS. MANY USED CARS THAT HAVE BEEN WRECKED ARE SOLD WITH DEPLOYED (USELESS) AIRBAGS and this is a good way to tell if you are buying a piece of junk. I have Thai friends who run a body shop near Sattahip, and they make more money building and selling "used cars" from wrecks than they do fixing cars for insurance companies and customers.

Edited October 3, 2009 by Bobr

[katabeachbum]

The memory chip that controls the odometer is one of the most desirable salvage parts from the many total loss wrecks that result from the driving here. Those cars that are repaired and sold as used are only as good as the body shop that built them (and I do mean built them). I've seen cars that were wrecked here stripped down to the bare unibody frame to be reworked, put back together and sold as used cars, complete with Chinese made knock off hoods, fenders, lights and other body parts. These same cars could never be fixed in the west but the low labor costs and high taxes on new cars makes it possible here. If you possibly can afford it, buy a new car here, you'll be glad you did. Every farang I've known in 4 years who has bought a used car here has regretted it for one reason or another. Usually they get a sad lesson when they take it to the dealer (usually Toyota) and someone with the proper knowledge there shows and explains to them where their "clean" used car came from. ALSO IF YOU BUY A USED CAR HERE, HAVE SOMEONE CHECK THE AIRBAGS. MANY USED CARS THAT HAVE BEEN WRECKED ARE SOLD WITH DEPLOYED (USELESS) AIRBAGS and this is a good way to tell if you are buying a piece of junk. I have Thai friends who run a body shop near Sattahip, and they make more money building and selling "used cars" from wrecks than they do fixing cars for insurance companies and customers.

so true

every second hand cars vin number can be checked with any insurancecompany to see what amount for accidents have been claimed

[stingray]

The memory chip that controls the odometer is one of the most desirable salvage parts from the many total loss wrecks that result from the driving here. Those cars that are repaired and sold as used are only as good as the body shop that built them (and I do mean built them). I've seen cars that were wrecked here stripped down to the bare unibody frame to be reworked, put back together and sold as used cars, complete with Chinese made knock off hoods, fenders, lights and other body parts. These same cars could never be fixed in the west but the low labor costs and high taxes on new cars makes it possible here. If you possibly can afford it, buy a new car here, you'll be glad you did. Every farang I've known in 4 years who has bought a used car here has regretted it for one reason or another. Usually they get a sad lesson when they take it to the dealer (usually Toyota) and someone with the proper knowledge there shows and explains to them where their "clean" used car came from. ALSO IF YOU BUY A USED CAR HERE, HAVE SOMEONE CHECK THE AIRBAGS. MANY USED CARS THAT HAVE BEEN WRECKED ARE SOLD WITH DEPLOYED (USELESS) AIRBAGS and this is a good way to tell if you are buying a piece of junk. I have Thai friends who run a body shop near Sattahip, and they make more money building and selling "used cars" from wrecks than they do fixing cars for insurance companies and customers.

Not everybody like to buy a new boring 4 door Toyota or Honda Family car. If you like something different or special, like a classic car or a Honda Prelude, 2 door BMW Coupe, or whatever, there is sometime no other option than buying a used car. And if someone have a little bit common senses and know a liitle bit about cars, can save a lot of money, because some used cars have the same value over many years already. Classic Example: 95' 3 door Honda Civic automatic, 10 years ago, 250'000 Baht, today 220'000 Baht. You'll see, almost no depression of the market value. New 3 door Honda Civic is not available overhere. Similar Story with ohter cars, like Honda Prelude, Honda Legend, Toyota Celica, Toyota Crown, some classic cars or what ever. Where can buy them as new?

Not every used car was a total wreck, and by the way, the memory chip can be "reprogrammed" as well, so there is no need for salvage parts.

[Bobr]

The memory chip that controls the odometer is one of the most desirable salvage parts from the many total loss wrecks that result from the driving here. Those cars that are repaired and sold as used are only as good as the body shop that built them (and I do mean built them). I've seen cars that were wrecked here stripped down to the bare unibody frame to be reworked, put back together and sold as used cars, complete with Chinese made knock off hoods, fenders, lights and other body parts. These same cars could never be fixed in the west but the low labor costs and high taxes on new cars makes it possible here. If you possibly can afford it, buy a new car here, you'll be glad you did. Every farang I've known in 4 years who has bought a used car here has regretted it for one reason or another. Usually they get a sad lesson when they take it to the dealer (usually Toyota) and someone with the proper knowledge there shows and explains to them where their "clean" used car came from. ALSO IF YOU BUY A USED CAR HERE, HAVE SOMEONE CHECK THE AIRBAGS. MANY USED CARS THAT HAVE BEEN WRECKED ARE SOLD WITH DEPLOYED (USELESS) AIRBAGS and this is a good way to tell if you are buying a piece of junk. I have Thai friends who run a body shop near Sattahip, and they make more money building and selling "used cars" from wrecks than they do fixing cars for insurance companies and customers.

Not everybody like to buy a new boring 4 door Toyota or Honda Family car. If you like something different or special, like a classic car or a Honda Prelude, 2 door BMW Coupe, or whatever, there is sometime no other option than buying a used car. And if someone have a little bit common senses and know a liitle bit about cars, can save a lot of money, because some used cars have the same value over many years already. Classic Example: 95' 3 door Honda Civic automatic, 10 years ago, 250'000 Baht, today 220'000 Baht. You'll see, almost no depression of the market value. New 3 door Honda Civic is not available overhere. Similar Story with ohter cars, like Honda Prelude, Honda Legend, Toyota Celica, Toyota Crown, some classic cars or what ever. Where can buy them as new?

Not every used car was a total wreck, and by the way, the memory chip can be "reprogrammed" as well, so there is no need for salvage parts.

You're quite correct, but classic cars are somewhat of an exception to any general rule and really old low price older cars are just that, cheap cars you would expect to probably have a tarnished history that is reflected in the low price. It's the 1-5 year old cars here that have amazingly high resale value here, yet can be complete junk that are the risky ones to buy, especially for someone who knows nothing about cars.

[Cuban]

Ignore the odometer reading, it's likely to have been changed. Look at the engine bay for signs of age were the dust builds up but is difficult to clean, wear on carpet is a good sign, if the interior is too clean it will have been changed to hide this tell tale sign of constant use. If the back seat is replaced or shows a lot of wear it might suggest that the car has been a cross country taxi during it's life.

Likewise with the glass and paintwork, if it's too good for the age/estimated mileage walk away from the bargin car, as it is hiding something.

[frenchFARANGbkk]

From a car dealer voice, you shouldn't buy a second hand car in Thailand if you have the choice...