Foreign Driver Crashes Car into Motorbike and Minivan in Patong

[Asmerom]

Can anyone tell me of a garage to take a Honda Jazz for a little uncomplicated body work?

No skilled panel bashing required. Yellow Pages comes up with NO RESULT for HONDA Chiang Mai !! It fails to mention the big Honda repair place just after Tesco on the Hang Dong 108 Road where they gave me an estimate of 8000 baht; about 4 times my price. The narrow metal strip which runs the length of the Honda Jazz just below the doors at the bottom of the car on each side needs replacing or the old one needs refixing. Just one side. A guy at North Wheels said maximum 2000 baht. But they go to a repair shop in Saraphi.

[orang37]

Sawasdee Khrup, Khun Asmermom,

We recently posted here on our positive experience with body repair at : Khun Somkhot's Garage

But, we were repairing a 22 year-old Honda with bumper, rear, light and signal-light damage: your mileage may vary.

There's a huge Honda dealer and repair center on the east side of the Superhighway as you go out of town on Thanon Charoen Muang: make a right after crossing the Superhighway, get over in the far left lane, and go down half a kilometer or so. Their prices tend to be astronomical. Their mechanical staff walking around in white outfits is pretty cool to see, though.

We have had success in finding replacement signal lights and such at a big auto-wrecking depot and parts shop (but no idea whether they'd have anything for the Jazz). Proceed across the Superhighway east from Charoen Muang, on the way to Bosang, and take the first right before the right turn to the Oriental Dhari Devi : during business hours you'll see fork-lifts out front of the shop on your right. Immediately, after you see the fork-lifts, turn right, and they are twenty meters on the right down the soi.

In addition to stocking parts salvaged from wrecked cars, they also have cheaper replacement parts made in Taiwan, China, etc (far cheaper than Japanese original replacement parts at the Honda dealers).

Good luck, ~o:37;

Edited March 9, 2010 by orang37

[elektrified]

We have had success in finding replacement signal lights and such at a big auto-wrecking depot and parts shop (but no idea whether they'd have anything for the Jazz). Proceed across the Superhighway east from Charoen Muang, on the way to Bosang, and take the first right before the right turn to the Oriental Dhari Devi : during business hours you'll see fork-lifts out front of the shop on your right. Immediately, after you see the fork-lifts, turn right, and they are twenty meters on the right down the soi.

In addition to stocking parts salvaged from wrecked cars, they also have cheaper replacement parts made in Taiwan, China, etc (far cheaper than Japanese original replacement parts at the Honda dealers).

It's called Loong Ruat. They have every part for every popular car in Thailand there. If they don't have it in stock they will get it from their stock in Bangkok after you leave them a 20% deposit.

Example: I needed a motorized rear-view mirror (a drunk motorcycle rider knocked it off then took off) for a Honda City. I went to the dealer and it was 8,000 Baht! I went to Loong Ruat and they wanted 2500 Baht for one. I talked them down to 2000. They called me 3 days later to say it was in stock. I was very surprised to see that is was in "like-new" condition with a brand new gasket in the original Honda plastic wrapper.

[millwall_fan]

A guy at North Wheels said maximum 2000 baht. But they go to a repair shop in Saraphi.

At the risk of stating the obvious, if North Wheels use the repair shop in Saraphi and its within your price range. Why don't you use them too?

[Asmerom]

Sawasdee Khrup, Khun Asmermom,

Khun Somkhot's Garage

There's a huge Honda dealer and repair center on the east side of the Superhighway as you go out of town on Thanon Charoen Muang: make a right after crossing the Superhighway, get over in the far left lane, and go down half a kilometer or so. Their prices tend to be astronomical. Their mechanical staff walking around in white outfits is pretty cool to see, though.

Good luck, ~o:37;

As fortune would have it, by 12:19:22 I had long watered the garden,bathed and motored into Chiang Mai to try my luck at an Isusuki (something like that) garage(Kaeo Nawarat Road) where the well manicured lady in charge of all the greasy mechanics directed me to the very place you so helpfully describe above. I recognised it immediately as the whiter than white outfits of the well manicured mechanics shone like stars out onto the Superhighway from the dull and practically invisible frontage of the Big Honda Repair Centre.

One of the galaxy warmly welcomed me and reckoned he could fix it for less than 1000 baht. this compares with the 8000 at the Hang Dong Road Honda dealers. I was delighted. I bartered his two day requirement down to two and half hours which I largely spent exploring the cavernous cornucopia of Makro, filling a trolley with 4000 baht of probably unnecessary essential goodies which included a few crates of tipple.In this heat, as you and others well know, you do need to drink.

Back to Honda and the white coats; "600 baht", he said. "It's still unstable", he added ; meaning perhaps the glue hadn't yet hardened. I'm not really sure if they've just spat on it and pushed it back in place but I'm hoping, provided the lady at the hire company is short sighted and has forgotten her spectacles, I wouldn't be in the least surprised if she didn't notice anything amiss. Admittedly the gaps are a bit wide, and he couldn't do any painting in so short a time. Maybe I'll spray a can of silver over it. It's only a few scatches. But I do know, had I not made an effort and just returned it needing repair they would charge me 5000 baht. No question. So it was worth a try. I'll only know when I return it next week.

No man could be less mechanical than me so the extra details regarding the auto-wrecking depot and parts shop located near the Oriental Dhara Devi and some fork lift trucks fell on deaf, timorous ears. I now see electified has identified it as Loong Ruat and was clearly pleased with its service.

Many thanks for your efforts.

[Asmerom]

Asmerom : "A guy at North Wheels said maximum 2000 baht. But they go to a repair shop in Saraphi."

At the risk of stating the obvious, if North Wheels use the repair shop in Saraphi and its within your price range. Why don't you use them too?

Good question. But I'd already asked a lot of this North Wheels guy in getting him off his behind in the office to come and examine my car parked in the street. It wasn't till he'd volunteeed some useful infomation that he discovered I'd rented it from a rival Company--"Jouneycnx". At that point I felt a bit reluctant to tax his goodwill further by asking him to give me the address of said garage in Saraphi which he'd also said was about 20kms away. I really felt I should be able to find a Honda repairer nearer to town and as it turned out, there are at least two, one of which finally did some sort of a job in a very short time ; for 600 baht.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Asmerom

[ataloss]

I really felt I should be able to find a Honda repairer nearer to town and as it turned out, there are at least two, one of which finally did some sort of a job in a very short time ; for 600 baht.

Great; and their names and location are....

[orang37]

... snip ... Great; and their names and location are....

Sawasdee Khrup Khun AtALoss,

If you read the posts on this thread, the information will appear in your eyes, and, hopefully, make it into your brain, and become processed into answers: unless, that is, you are dedicated to living up to your name.

best, ~o:37;

[Asmerom]

I really felt I should be able to find a Honda repairer nearer to town and as it turned out, there are at least two, one of which finally did some sort of a job in a very short time ; for 600 baht.

Great; and their names and location are....

orang37 : "There's a huge Honda dealer and repair center on the east side of the Superhighway as you go out of town on Thanon Charoen Muang: make a right after crossing the Superhighway, get over in the far left lane, and go down half a kilometer or so. Their prices tend to be astronomical. Their mechanical staff walking around in white outfits is pretty cool to see, though."

1. orang37 gave directions (in his post above) to the Honda Dealer which actually did the repair for me. I would just add, as you motor South down the East side of the Supehighway

(Route 11) its well after Carrefour and just less than 100 metres past MAKRO. I found it difficult to see until I was on top of it. You'll enjoy the waiting room ; its a bit like a one bed Condo with a good TV,comfortable sofas, a couple of computers, lots of drinks and even biscuits. No scones.

2.Going South on the 108 Hang Dong Road past TESCO is the HONDA dealer/repair place which quoted 8000 baht and rendered me a bit hazy about its location. I cannot remember just how far past Tesco it is. Just keep going slowly till you see it on your left, of course. Again, I found it invisible till I was in front of it.

3. I see in the much talked about "Book of What Where and How" there is mentioned a Honda Speciality Garage, "Noom Honda", 80, Bamrungrat Road, Tel : 242 130 Mobile : 081 881 6857 Way

over the River on the East Side of town. Sounds interesting

Oops ; I see orang37 has just nipped in before me with a slightly more ascerbic response.

Edited March 11, 2010 by Asmerom

[krakatoa]

Does it really matter whether it is a Honda, a Mazda, a Mitsu or whatever.

The OP does not want to deal with the Honda dealers, but there are probably hundreds of body shops (no I am not referring to massage parlours) in CM.

You only have to look at how these ?*?&?%?$?@? drive they would probably have more body repair shops that the entire US.

Just go to one of them and get a "job done commensurate for what you pay"

Is that a big deal ??

This is almost like some backpacker asking at which noodle shops can I survive on Baht 35 a day.

If people cannot afford a car they should not have one "end of story"