Looking To Buy A Car In Phuket

[nashslash]

Ok I’m looking to buy a car in phuket…I didn’t want to pay the earth but looking at the price of second hand cars (totally ridiculous compared to the UK) I’ve decided to look at new.

Baby on the way forces purchase.. my poor motorcycle..

It seems that Toyota and Honda seem to have a massive market share here. So any recommendations for either of those two manufactures or particular model to look at please. I’m looking for something that I would be able to resell in a few years time also without much problem too.

My misses is pregnant so ideally we would prefer a four door car as its going to be easier to get the baby into his/her car seat when it comes along.

Engine size isn’t a issue as I’m normally driving miss daisy. Max budget I’m hoping to spend is about 450,000 baht? Will I be in luck? Before I take a look round the dealers or will they laugh at me ?

Please feel free to recommend any other manufacture also if a good one springs to mind and model of car too.

[WorldTraveler]

For your budget, I would suggest that you buy from a private owner that can provide you with all of the service history. If you buy from a dealer, you will pay an extra markup and may not be able to get accurate service records. Online places to check. Phuket Gazette classified, Phuket Post, <A href="http://www.bahtsold.com">www.bahtsold.com</A>, I suppose that you could also put the 450K toward a new car but then you are looking at monthly payments for several years. I would say Toyota and Honda are the most popular brands here.

[AjarnChan]

Have you looked at the various Proton offerings ? They are made in Malaysia, parts are available, and they are good value. To be honest I think they are your limit for a new vehicle for 'only' 450,000 Baht. They are not the largest cars on the roads though, and personally I get pretty nervous travelling in any car in the 'insane' roads of Phuket, especially at Motorbike rush hour times; so I stick to my Ford Ranger PickUp for 'safety', and a damned good view of the road ahead.

One thing to bear in mind is that although prices do seem high relative to the UK vehicles can often last longer here. No winters with salty roads to cause them to rust and rot away. A well looked after vehicle can last decades here and so it keeps it price better than in Europe. For example we also have a Toyota Starlet, over 20 years old, well over 200,000 km and still going strong. Of course a decent make of car can last anywhere, I have a 20 year old BMW, and Jaguar back in Europe that always start no matter how long I have been away.

Good hunting, and congratulations on the baby.

PS - final thoughts ~ reselling in a few years time will be easy, but of course you will loose heavily if you have bought a new car. Secondhand prices are high but new vehicles loose a lot of value very quickly, as they do everywhere.

Edited July 21, 2010 by AjarnChan

[Peterocket]

Have you looked at the various Proton offerings ? They are made in Malaysia, parts are available, and they are good value. To be honest I think they are your limit for a new vehicle for 'only' 450,000 Baht. They are not the largest cars on the roads though, and personally I get pretty nervous travelling in any car in the 'insane' roads of Phuket, especially at Motorbike rush hour times; so I stick to my Ford Ranger PickUp for 'safety', and a damned good view of the road ahead.

One thing to bear in mind is that although prices do seem high relative to the UK vehicles can often last longer here. No winters with salty roads to cause them to rust and rot away. A well looked after vehicle can last decades here and so it keeps it price better than in Europe. For example we also have a Toyota Starlet, over 20 years old, well over 200,000 km and still going strong. Of course a decent make of car can last anywhere, I have a 20 year old BMW, and Jaguar back in Europe that always start no matter how long I have been away.

Good hunting, and congratulations on the baby.

PS - final thoughts ~ reselling in a few years time will be easy, but of course you will loose heavily if you have bought a new car. Secondhand prices are high but new vehicles loose a lot of value very quickly, as they do everywhere.

I disagree, new cars in Phuket hold their value better than any country I have ever visited. I believe some people who bought new cars 3-5 years ago ended up making a profit selling their cars after the change in currency rates.

I check used cars listings quite regularly and there are loads of 10-20 year old cars selling for 120,000 upwards (quite often double this), personally I think this is one place where it is much better to buy new.

[petercallen]

The base model Toyota Vios is 499000 baht, you may be able to negotiate free extras like license and insurance

and extended warranty to be included in this price, they included these for me but i did not buy the base model.

If you can afford to buy a new car its the way to go, cars hold there value very well here much better than overseas.

When i checked out second hand cars 4 years ago they where asking about half price for a 8 to 10 year old

car and amazingly they all had between 90000 and 120000 kms on the speedo also they are very good at making

old cars look near new.

In my opinion buy new you will not regret it.

[xylophone]

Stick with Toyota, Honda, Isuzu as all hold their value well. With Proton you may never be able to sell it!!!

Go through the classifieds on the Phuket Post or Phuket Gazette where you can get some newish cars for sale, and negotiable despite the asking price. The dealers look for these sales and often offer 150k less with cash in hand AND they get a few.

Good luck.

[ESB7]

Buy new definatly, second hand prices are way too high, so when you sell in a few years you havnt lost too much anyway, you willalso get a 3 year warranty and free servicing so shouldnt have any extra running costs. Honda Jazz is popular but I think entry price is about 560,000... Buying used you just dont know the history and will probably end up paying out in repairs over a few years.

[LivinLOS]

One thing to consider is Thais have a herd mentality when it comes to car brands.. Toyota / honda / BMW and of course Merc are prized (in different ways) and have amazingly high values.. Yet Audi / VW / Volvo are not and second had are far cheaper.

There is a parts and servicing issue, I have a superb VW specific mechanic, who can get any and all parts, and knows and understands my golf.. But before finding him I had some hassle as Thai mechanics seemed to be very much 'only understand xxx Brand' I had Thais back away in fear over the AC and an AC system is pretty much an AC system.

A big limo like an Audio 100 late model or A6 can be found for 180 - 250k and I would far rather drive one of these, with its leather, seats, smooth ride on poor roads, etc etc than some econobox vios or (shudder) proton, which the budget would maybe go to new. Yes you will need to really check the car out, yes you need to be a little 'aware' of the car and maintenance, a big p[roblem could cost big, but on the flip side they have depreciated about as far as they will, or at least will only depreciate slowly after that. I have been offered more than I paid for my car multiple times and have had it 3 years or so now.

[petercallen]

One thing to consider is Thais have a herd mentality when it comes to car brands.. Toyota / honda / BMW and of course Merc are prized (in different ways) and have amazingly high values.. Yet Audi / VW / Volvo are not and second had are far cheaper.

There is a parts and servicing issue, I have a superb VW specific mechanic, who can get any and all parts, and knows and understands my golf.. But before finding him I had some hassle as Thai mechanics seemed to be very much 'only understand xxx Brand' I had Thais back away in fear over the AC and an AC system is pretty much an AC system.

A big limo like an Audio 100 late model or A6 can be found for 180 - 250k and I would far rather drive one of these, with its leather, seats, smooth ride on poor roads, etc etc than some econobox vios or (shudder) proton, which the budget would maybe go to new. Yes you will need to really check the car out, yes you need to be a little 'aware' of the car and maintenance, a big p[roblem could cost big, but on the flip side they have depreciated about as far as they will, or at least will only depreciate slowly after that. I have been offered more than I paid for my car multiple times and have had it 3 years or so now.

My econobox vios is the S model and when i was in Australia in February i could have bought a brand new Camry, drive away

with 3 years road side warranty and all the extras for the same price as i paid for the Vios.

It is very reliable and comfortable to drive and has plenty of power is easy to park and if i ever have a problem it can be fixed anywhere in Thailand.

I expect with a Audi unless you are in a major population center if anything went wrong you would have big problems.

[LivinLOS]

Yes thats partly what I tried to emphasize.. Its a trade off between risk and ease of repair and size and comfort of vehicle.

I think given the idea you dont crash it, a large audi can be bought, owned 3 or 4 years, and sold with maybe a 50k - 80k depreciation.. IF nothing goes wrong.. IF something does go wrong, thats when you pay the penalty.

I also have a strange upside in I like driving a car that you dont see everywhere. But I realize thats part of my odd mindset and appeal of being a tribe of one.