Buying a car in thailand

[Bob Chittie]

I'm considering buying a car. Nothing fancy. Maybe a mid 90's Accord or Civic. Any advice on how not to get ripped off? In the US I'd take the car to a mechanic before buying. In Thailand, I've heard that the mechanics are often working with the dealers and will basically lie to you. Any way to avoid this?

Also, I'd prefer to make monthly payments. Any advice regarding financing in Thailand would be appreciated too. ie. Is there any penalty for paying it off early? What's a decent interest rate? What percentage of the total price is usually required as a down payment? Thanks.

[KevinN]

What I have found is that generally the posted price is on the sign in the windshield and the down pmnt. and the payments per month,total number of pmnts, and the total price is all listed,and as far as I know the dealer carrys the contract,at least thats what I have found here where we live and up in CM. most is an advertised low down but then when a farang asks the down will be about 30% I have never looked in BKK.

Now thats just my experience,but you do have to have a non-immig.visa.

But as far as I can see, When a Thai sells something,it is pretty well used.

[kwiz117]

It is not a complicated thing to do in Thailand provided you can fulfill with the minimum requirements.

Let me tell you the bit I know..

If you buy a Second-hand Car, obviously it will have a risk attached to it compared to buying a normal car. Sometimes it is hard even for a qualified mechanic to recommend you coz these guys change the broken parts by fixing used parts imported from Japan. It is not like buying a used car in Europe. So better to avoid it. If I want to buy a second-hand car, I will always look into a one owner car and try to buy directly from the owner than buying from a Car Sale.

If you need a new car, then you can always go ahead with a reputed Dealer coz the prices are very similar among them. You can bargain for Extras like Spoiler, Alloy Wheels, CD, Reverse Sensors etc and for the first Insurance to pay by the dealer. That will vary from Dealer to Dealer.

The mode of payment.

If it is Cash, no problem as they love Cash.

If it is a Finance Lease then normally you need;

1. Visa

2. Work Permit

3. Minimum Down Payment [normally this varies from 10% up and for some brands it is a fixed amount like Bht 60,000 ]

4. Proof of your financial status such as Last 3-6 month Bank Statements, Letter from the Employer with you’re Salary Slip, Last 3-Month Salary Slips.

5. House Registration Form

The problems you might face;

The Finance Company will ask from you to provide a Thai Guarantor and that Thai Guarantor should have a fixed Sufficient Income Source to pay your minimum Monthly Payment, to avoid the "disapering without a trace" posibility. This is because you are not Thai and they will also ask for the House Registration Form of the Guarantor.

You can avoid the Thai Guarantor if you have a good track record and a history of atleast 1 Yr as an employee or a business owner in Thailand by paying a higher Down Payment Amount. For example they might ask for 50% up..

Interest Rates are between 3%-4% per annum range and will vary on the Amount and the Period of the lease.

Period of Payment is normally between 1 Yr to 5 Yrs for a new car.

Two Finance Companies that I can recommend for this are;

1. Citi Corp Finance

2. Tisco Group

[Pls. try to find the websites for telephone numbers and more details]

Hope this will help you;

Good Luck

[Edward B]

I have to agree with the little Sri Lankan. Second Hand cars are best left to the locals - no telling what you're gonna get. Prices aren't that much higher for new cars. Cash up front is cheaper. Check different dealers, even same models in different ampers and provinces will differ.

[Begs]

From what i have seen second hand, a new car is not that much more if the second hand one is only a year or 2 old, i hired a new Honda City a few times, looks like a cockroach , but a very good car, and at the price they are new i think they are a good buy, i may end up buying one myself.

[Bob Chittie]

Thanks Kwiz. That's the general feeling I get about used cars. I've laready gotten ripped off in the US so I've got to think my chance in Thailand of getting a fair deal aren't real good. Maybe I'll look at something new. As far as all the financing requirments, I'm not sure that I will meet them (I do have non-im visa), but I will go speak with them and check it out. Thanks again.

[jonniebkk]

cannot agree with comments re buying used cars in thailand. like anywhere, there are good deals and bad...just have to know what you are looking for. i am speaking about pattaya in particular as that's where i live. i bought a 10 month old used toyota sportrider from one of the dealers lining sukhumvit road about 5 months ago. that makes it about a year and a half old now. it was like new when sitting on the lot and had a little over 10k kilos on it at the time. it now has about 23k kilos. comparing the price for a like minded new sportrider, i saved about 20% on the price by buying the one i did. i did find a good buy i admit. i have not have a single mechanical problem yet and it is also still covered by toyota's warranty.

like anywhere, it helps if you are a mechanical expert or can take along a friend who is. look over the car carefully for signs of an accident and of course, test drive it. also be sure to check registration...the person selling it actually owns it!!! i also took along a thai lawyer with me to check over the registration and sales contract to make sure all was in order. her services cost me all of B1000...money very well spent. at her suggestion, held back about 15% of the money for the truck (paid cash) until they had completed the change in registration (which they did for free...the dealer did the paperwork/legwork, i had to pay the actual gov't. fees). otherwise, easy as cake.

a friend of mine also bought a used truck within the past 8 months here in pattaya. his was a 10 year old isuzu SUV. again, checked it out for accidents, mechanicals, and test drive. it checked out and he bought it and has been very happy with it.

with used cars/trucks, you can find some good deals because thai people often get in over their heads financially and have to sell assets. often they buy more new car than they can afford so end up having to sell it fairly soon after they buy. therefore, you sometimes get lucky and find a real bargain or someone over a barrel. the dealer told me the previous owner wanted to open a beauty salon for his wife so had to sell the fancy truck for start-up capital and bought a small compact car instead. also in pattaya at least, you also find many expats in over their heads financially and so you can low-ball them when they have to sell cars/trucks too.

and by the way, you can buy and register a car (at least a used one) all with a tourist visa (in pattaya at least).

[Jeepz]

Thinking about moving to LOS when I retire. I have an older (1973) Mercedes 450 SLC that I'm pretty fond of. It's standard american left hand drive. Would it be impossible (or financially unreasonable) to try and ship it to Thailand and pay the import fee on it?

I checked pricing on a couple of websites for new cars there and WOW! Jeep Wrangler is like $40k new. Uhmm, seems like I could buy a condo for that, at least some places.

Jeepz

[dr_Pat_Pong]

They'll tax you out of existence for the car. Leave it home

[jonniebkk]

yeh, forget about bringing your car to thailand. whatever its value, count on paying that same amount in excise and import duties at customs. plus the shipping costs. plus, when they see an MB...rich farang bells go off so even more tea money may be requested.

except for sentimental reasons, why bring a car over anyway. thailand is the "detroit" of SE Asia. many many makes are made or assembled right here. all japanese makes are well represented, as well as most euro and american brands too. new japanese models are about the same as usa prices if made locally and not imported models (harriers, lexus, infiniti, etc) and trucks are cheap at $15-20K.

[Axel]

Jeepz, no used or second hand cars allowed to be imported into Thailand.

There are some rare exceptions, not worthwhile to search for or to consider.

Left-hand drive is a further handi-cap. You drive in LoS on the left side and your handle is on the right.

Import of CBU (completely built up) costs you 250-300 % until the car is on the road and here I am talking about new cars.

There are some guys, who promise to bring a used car in. Finally, your licence is faked and cannot be renewed for that reason.

Having said all this, I understand your feeling, 1973 is an old lady. Keep here in her stable and drive her once in a while when going back.

Ever considered to become a member of a vintage-car club? May be they can take car for yours while away.

[Jeepz]

Thanks for the info. I was hoping that some "grandfather" clause for older cars might exist. But I guess I'll just have to shop the built in Thailand market when it comes time for wheels.

Jeepz

[kwiz117]

Thinking about moving to LOS when I retire. I have an older (1973) Mercedes 450 SLC that I'm pretty fond of. It's standard american left hand drive. Would it be impossible (or financially unreasonable) to try and ship it to Thailand and pay the import fee on it?

If I were you,

I will be very much concerned about the Bus Drivers and Taxi drivers when driving a 1973 Beauty in Bkk roads. Also the “Motor Cycle” guys.

Better to drive a Toyota, Nissan or a Honda and just drive like the way we drive in Asia. Actually I am an expert in it.

Your Car is safer in US than you are in Bangkok. B)