Coolest Car Under 2mb

[thedude]

If you were a single, urban male in your mid-thirties, what car would you pick (new or used) with a budget of no more than 2 million baht?

[chingy_]

import a nissan skyline

[Phil Conners]

I'd buy one of those minibusses and have it rebuild with leather sofas, TV, stereo and perhaps a home-office corner, then hire a driver ....

[taxexile]

i'd buy one of those 1960's mercedes that they use as taxis in yala and pattani , not sure of the model number , and restore it.

deep black paintwork , shiny new chrome , red leather interior and whitewall tyres.

[jonik]

The skyline comes in a lot of different engine sizes but the 2,8-3 litre is quite pop and hard to find.Also same with the merc. it's hard to find a good objekt with not so much miles on it. If you're looking for big engine and cool looks i would go for a jap car like mitsubishi 3000 gt nissan 350 zx ,comes with about 280 hp std.If you like to tune cars go for the toyota supra 94 and up ,wich comes with a very tuneable engine.The 2,8 original engine is good for 500 hp with some small adjustments.Add the veilside replica styling kit and you are quarantied to be noticed. Don't know about the taxes in thailand but a such car costs about 0,5-1 mill bath in japan.Buy it already tuned up and styled and you save a lot of money (close to 1-1,5 mill).

All you need then is a compatible driver.

[350torana]

Chevy Lumina(Holden Commodore) a tad under 2 million coming with a six pack with plenty of horses (2400 odd) and not many on the road . Of course the 5.7 v8 is preferred but way over 2 million i imagine .

[Harmonica]

I'd get 4 Toyota Solunas. If I went the finance route I'd get 10 of them! One big happy family of look-alikes!

[bkkmadness]

Import a Ford Capri, Mk 1, and don't be forgetting the fluffy dice.

[Im Luvvinit]

If you were a single, urban male in your mid-thirties, what car would you pick (new or used) with a budget of no more than 2 million baht?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Toyota Wish with leather and 18' rims, 1.2 million, buy a condo with the change

[Thetyim]

[pluto_manibo]

Subaru Impreza...Mitsu evo...If you are going for second hand ...you can pick up some nice 928 Porsche..or maybe 911's...928'S have awesome power and you can find them for between 1 million and 1.5 million...If you are worried about reliability,service and spare parts better get a japanese sports car....If adventurous get an american classic....I saw an add in the Bangkok post for the new Mustang gt..wonder how much that will go for....

[terdsak_12]

I recently got a 2003 model Ford Escape, 3.0L V6 so 200HP which will get you out of most tight spots, good rugged suspension for the dodgy roads in Bangkok and elsewhere, handy off road if needed, full leather interior, cruise control which is handy, sunroof for the evenings, 4 airbags for the safety concious people, took out the 6 CD changer and put in a 7" TV and MP3/DVD/VCD to keep the kids quiet, new 1.4 million, used 900K with a year of warranty remaining, and free servicing for the next year too. As it's a Ford I'll buy the extended warrant from Ford Thailand for around 20K a year to be on the safe side.

All round a great car for Thailand, and way cheaper than an equivilent Toyota Harrier 2 million+++!!!

[thedude]

thanks all for the ideas. i like Terdsak's Ford Escape option, good horsepower for the price, and also practical for Bkk roads. Although i am a bit concerned about the Ford quality. an ex-girlfriend drove a Ford and i remember it starting to produce plastic rattling noises after only a few months.

i'm inclined to avoid the old japanese supercars suggested by some as they are likely to have been thrashed to bits and you just cant be sure of all the aftermarket stuff beneath the bonet....but then if i were in my mid 20s maybe i might be tempted.

i've also been looking at second hand beemers, even though prices come in on the high end of the budget, they are well built and do tend to keep their value well after the initial depreciation.

any other suggestions?

[phuketsiam]

get a crv

[Plus+]

2 mil is not enough for any truly cool car, if new. Honda Accord V6 3.0 is probably the fastest of them all. Second hand market is tricky - you have a lot more options, but a lot more concerns, too. If I could find BMW330 for that price, I'd go for it.

[Heng]

I saw an add in the Bangkok post for the new Mustang gt..wonder how much that will go for....

What dealership? Looked but couldn't find that ad. I wonder if they'd have any left side steering wheel models.

[pluto_manibo]

It was in the classifieds. The name of the company was..TVR.co.ltd....They were also selling a few Ferrari's, a Lamborghini, Hummer etc....no prices though (probably run out of ink..)

[Heng]

Thanks Pluto.

[PvtDick]

How about the new Peugeot cabriolet? It's priced locally at 1.7 million.

[chonabot]

How about the new Peugeot cabriolet?  It's priced locally at 1.7 million.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nice enough for the wife I suppose......

[PvtDick]

Can i marry you?

[Digger]

What about Landrover Freelander - 2.5l petrol has 5 speed steptronix box and is fast, sits high up and being a landrover, comes with that built in aroma of quality that of course does not get carried over to actually being true - helps if you live near a delaership just in case it breaks down (which it would), but its got heaps more style than a Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute and Honda CRV. You can pick up a new but 2003 model for about 1.7m at Landrover in Bangna or out toward the airport at pre tax increased prices.

Another bet for something more sporty might be the Mazda MX5 - classic sport car for use in Bangkok and they even throw in the hard top for free. Cost is about 1.9m I think.

Edited March 29, 2005 by Digger

[chonabot]

Can i marry you?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What are your tits like ?

[Plus+]

Land Rover - 2.5l engine with 174 hp is too small for 1,600 kg vehicle. New Toyota Fortuner has 163 hp and is torquier.

Mazda MX5 is cool and you CAN buy the lower spec version for just under 2 mil. Good pick. Pity they don't offer turbocharged version here so you'll probably see yourself overtaken by Civics.

Alpha Romeo 156 with 160 hp and sexy looks also cost under 2mil.

What's cool here? Honda Jazz is cool, but not by farang standards. Mini is cool, but for under 2 mil you only get lower/slower models. Mini Cooper S is 2.6 mil.

Overall - Mazda. But I can't see myself in that toy car as a cool guy. I'll have to be sooo careful not to get overrun buy somebody and stay in the left lane all the time (as sport car drivers usually do here). I'd rather drive 220hp Accord in the right lane.

Edited March 29, 2005 by Plus+

[aletta]

There was a beautiful Citreon in the Post the other day,think its called the C3.

[PvtDick]

That's the one I was talking about. It's a cabriolet convertible. Not that that would be so useful in Bangkok...

[Digger]

Land Rover - 2.5l engine with 174 hp is too small for 1,600 kg vehicle. New Toyota Fortuner has 163 hp and is torquier.

Mazda MX5 is cool and you CAN buy the lower spec version for just under 2 mil. Good pick. Pity they don't offer turbocharged version here so you'll probably see yourself overtaken by Civics.

Alpha Romeo 156 with 160 hp and sexy looks also cost under 2mil.

What's cool here? Honda Jazz is cool, but not by farang standards. Mini is cool, but for under 2 mil you only get lower/slower models. Mini Cooper S is 2.6 mil.

Overall - Mazda. But I can't see myself in that toy car as a cool guy. I'll have to be sooo careful not to get overrun buy somebody and stay in the left lane all the time (as sport car drivers usually do here).  I'd rather drive 220hp Accord in the right lane.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Toyota is the common sense decision but soooo boring as is an Accord. Nothing against the cars but they hardly shout individuality. Alfa would be a nice choice except for the fact that they are on their last legs in Thailand and re-sale value would drop quicker than a hookers knickers at the sight of 10 crisp 1000 baht notes.

BMW 3 series are also getting pretty common sights and unless its an M3 or 330, nothing to be proud off. New Merc C class still has a huge amount of impressing power in Thailand, although with a hairdryer of an engine its amazing it goes as fast as it does (which aint that fast either). Perhaps wait for the new model Volvo s40 - apparently its a good car but not sure where it will be price wise and has the right prestige in Thailand.

[Plus+]

Yeah, no one would be impressed with Accord, but for the sheer power.

Volvo doesn't have the right image for a "cool" car. BMW 330 under 2 mil is difficult to find.

This is the problem - Thai market is too small to manufacture "cool" cars, and as soon as they import something - prices go through the roof.

Actually, second hand Subaru WRX plus some aeroparts for the better looks and you are cool for less than a mil. New Subaru cost 2.2 and they have dealers and service centers in Bangkok, unlike Mitsu Evo or Skyline.

[Phil Conners]

Maybe the OP should define "cool". A boy-racer would be way un-cool for me

[Plus+]

On Sunday there was 2Fast 2Furious on HBO. While from the first scenes of street racing I can totally agree that "boy-racers" are way overdone, the two Mitsus driven for the rest of the movie were sweet and to the point.