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Is It Me, Or Are Car Prices Too High!

westybrook

By westybrook
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Thetyim Platinum Member

Thetyim

Posted
Posted
Is there any country near LOS where you can buy cheap and then just drive it into the country?

If it saves big money I think I and many would!

Laos, Burma, Singapore are more expensive and Malaysia about the same price

When you drive your car in you will be hit for the tax/duty which will more than double the cost.

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helitool Senior Member

helitool

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OK, Cars imported into Thailand have a very high customs duty attatched. But what about the ones that are manufactured here in Thailand? There are currently 30 companies including Mercedes that make their cars here in LOS! Shouldn't they be reasonably priced? Riddle me that one if you will?

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doctormann Gold Member

doctormann

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OK, Cars imported into Thailand have a very high customs duty attatched. But what about the ones that are manufactured here in Thailand? There are currently 30 companies including Mercedes that make their cars here in LOS!  Shouldn't they be reasonably priced? Riddle me that one if you will?

It depends on your basis for comparison. If you've been used to paying UK prices for new cars then some cars that are assembled in Thailand seem a real bargain. I reckon that I would have paid 50% more in the UK for my Honda. On the other hand, cars here probably seem expensive compared to those in the US.

Second hand cars here do seem to hold their prices rather well - so much so that it really isn't worth while buying a car that's one or two years old. At least if you buy new you can be reasonably sure that the thing hasn't been thrashed half to death.

DM

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bkk_mike Platinum Member

bkk_mike

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Posted (edited)

New IMPORTED cars are expensive - because, first there is import duty (up to 80%), then car taxes applied (on the price including the import duty).

Pickups - are built in Thailand, so have no import duty, and are on the lowest bracket for car taxes - which is why pickups are cheap. And because Thailand is a big market for pickups (2nd largest in the world after the US), it's local suppliers producing a lot of the parts - so they've got a very high local % content.

As for the Mercedes - they're actually imported as kits (CKD), so "only" have 30% import duty, but they're still hit with a fairly high car tax due to engine size / bhp.

As for importing a used car - as a business it's illegal. If you have a work permit, you can import ONE car you owned while abroad (after paying the taxes/import duties), but can't sell it on for some time.

At some point, the prices have to come down. - the FTA with Australia means big Aussie cars have no import duty any more (still have the car taxes though). And Japan wanting the same deal as Australia is one of the big negotiating points with the Japan - Thailand FTA that's being negotiated at the moment. (Consider a Japanese-built Lexus, imported with no import duty instead of the current 80%, competing with the CKD BMWs or Mercedes assembled in Thailand - with 30% import duty - and you'll see why Mercedes and BMW are kicking up a fuss. They went to the hassle of setting up assembly plants here in order to get lower taxes, only to see the FTA possibly letting the Japanese undercut them with cars not even assembled in Thailand.)

As for used cars being more expensive here - it's mainly because a car can be kept on the road here for a lot longer than in Europe. - i.e. No real rust problems, at least for cars, and servicing and maintenance costs are VERY cheap. - i.e. We got a lightbulb replaced, at the dealer, and had change from £1. (I think it was actually 63 baht).

Edited by bkk_mike
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phormio Silver Member

phormio

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Posted
OK, Cars imported into Thailand have a very high customs duty attatched. But what about the ones that are manufactured here in Thailand? There are currently 30 companies including Mercedes that make their cars here in LOS!  Shouldn't they be reasonably priced? Riddle me that one if you will?

...

I just bought a Toyota Fortuner, manufactured here in Thailand and not available in the US, - its the rough equivalent of a scaled down Toyota Land Cruiser Prado(which I believe is available in the US). It cost about $30,000 USD, on par with what the Prado costs(think that its around $35K in the US, but I haven't checked recently on SUV prices in the States)

New IMPORTED cars are expensive - because, first there is import duty (up to 80%), then car taxes applied (on the price including the import duty).

Pickups - are built in Thailand, so have no import duty, and are on the lowest bracket for car taxes - which is why pickups are cheap. And because Thailand is a big market for pickups (2nd largest in the world after the US), it's local suppliers producing a lot of the parts - so they've got a very high local % content.

... Pickups are used on the farm by many Thais , the prices have to be kept down(ie, no or very-low taxes) because the farmers would otherwise be unable to afford them...

...

As for used cars being more expensive here - it's mainly because a car can be kept on the road here for a lot longer than in Europe. - i.e. No real rust problems, at least for cars, and servicing and maintenance costs are VERY cheap. - i.e. We got a lightbulb replaced, at the dealer, and had change from £1. (I think it was actually 63 baht).

And remember half-to-two-thirds of the price of an imported care are taxes. Taxes don't depreciate -when you resell you want to recoup the taxes that you paid on a new import. Let's also not forget that the Thai govt is getting huge bucks from the import tariffs on cars.

:o

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chaiyapoon Silver Member

chaiyapoon

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Posted
OK, Cars imported into Thailand have a very high customs duty attatched. But what about the ones that are manufactured here in Thailand? There are currently 30 companies including Mercedes that make their cars here in LOS!  Shouldn't they be reasonably priced? Riddle me that one if you will?

Wow! 30 companies make their cars in LOS! Be interested if you can name them.Never seen that many for sale.Doubt if there are 30 companies making cars in Asia these days.

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fxm88 Silver Member

fxm88

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Posted (edited)
As allways.

Supply and demand.

Really? How does that explain such low turnover rates at most of the used cars lots I've had the opportunity to shop around? Plenty of cars but no shoppers. Those cars aren't getting sold, at least not quickly. So how does it really work? It's like the old joke about the little girl selling lemonade on the sidewalk for $100.00 a glass: "But I only have to sell one!"

Edited by fxm88
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paulfr Gold Member

paulfr

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Posted

Yes cars are overpriced here.

But not all cars.

I bought my Toyota Corolla Altis for 800K THB.

That is about 20K$ in the US.

It feels as solid as my brother's Benz back in New Jersey.

I think it is quite a solid value.

And it will depreciate more slowly than in the US I believe.

So pick and choose carefully.

Lots of trucks are pretty reasonable too if you fit into that style.

Saw a beautiful one in the Toyoata showroom for 500k THB.

But if you want a Benz or BMW or Volvo ... watch out !!!

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bkk_mike Platinum Member

bkk_mike

Posted
Posted
OK, Cars imported into Thailand have a very high customs duty attatched. But what about the ones that are manufactured here in Thailand? There are currently 30 companies including Mercedes that make their cars here in LOS!  Shouldn't they be reasonably priced? Riddle me that one if you will?

Wow! 30 companies make their cars in LOS! Be interested if you can name them.Never seen that many for sale.Doubt if there are 30 companies making cars in Asia these days.

Don't worry - it's because he's counting wrong...

There are far fewer manufacturers actually building cars and/or pickups from scratch here. (Toyota, GM (Isuzu/Chevrolet), Mitsubishi, Honda, Nissan, Ford/Mazda, Kia(?) ). It's only if you add in local assembly of imported kits, which adds in the big European manufacturers, that you start to get close to his 30 (but even then I don't think you'd reach it - i.e. BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, Skoda, VW, LandRover, Kia(?) ASSEMBLE kits locally)

(Sorry - not sure if Kia builds here, or just assembles kits... - or, like Ford/Toyota, makes some cars in Thailand, and some elsewhere in Asean, and uses the intra-Asean low import taxes to transfer models between the different countries - i.e. Ford makes the Ranger pickup in Thailand, but imports the Escape from the Philippines.)

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loong Ruby Member

loong

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Posted
... Pickups are used on the farm by many Thais , the prices have to be kept down(ie, no or very-low taxes) because the farmers would otherwise be unable to afford them...

Don't know about pickups being used on farms.

But you try fitting 15 people, 3 pigs and a buffalo in your average car :o

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chuchok Ruby Member

chuchok

Posted
Posted
Is there any country near LOS where you can buy cheap and then just drive it into the country?

If it saves big money I think I and many would!

Laos, Burma, Singapore are more expensive and Malaysia about the same price

When you drive your car in you will be hit for the tax/duty which will more than double the cost.

When you export a car from Singapore, you are able to get a "duty draw back" and tax rebate etc.It makes some of the top of the line second hand vehicles very cheap.

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seeker108 Advanced Member

seeker108

Posted
Posted (edited)

Anyone know how the import duties work when bringing in a used car from Japan? Is it based on what you paid for it in Japan? Or current average value in Japan or Thailand?

I ask because Japan is one place where you can buy used cars real cheap. Last year, I almost bought a high performance Nissan that is not sold in USA, though there is some kind of collectors club that brings them in. I don't remember the model now (maybe Skyline GTR), but the value in the USA was about $9,000 for the 4 or 5 year old model I was looking at. Probably worth $12,000 to $15,000 in LOS. Cost In Japan was only $500!! :o

I passed it up because had I kept it in Japan I would have had to pay a $2,000 registration fee and parking in Tokyo cost $400 monthly.

Admittedly this was one of the better deals I saw when just looking casually for a month or so. However all used cars in Japan are inexpensive because of the high registration fee for used cars.

Hence my question on how the import taxes work in LOS

Edited by seeker108
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wilko Platinum Member

wilko

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Posted
Second hand cars in the UK can be very cheap, and yes they work and drive well :o

But when I look at prices of cars in LOS they are very expensive, even second hand cars, why is this?

In UK and Western Europe, second-hand cars are incredibly cheap. New cars in UK are still a rip-off. The cost of running a car in UK is astronomical.

US citizens are usually amazed at the high prices of cars anywhere outside the States.

In Oz, new cars are quite cheap if built on shore, but second hand are extremely dear.

Thailand has a similar situation to Oz, here the home made vehicles (mostly pickups) are quite cheap initially but retain there value much better than in Europe. It is worth remembering that if you buy a new or especially second-hand car here you will get substantially more of you money back than in UK. Couple this with the low cost of fuel, taxes and repairs, motoring becomes a better prospect. Most of your depreciation on a new car occurs in the first three years.

There are various reasons for the high prices; supply and demand is not the only factor. Unlike UK the roads aren’t salted, so rust is virtually no problem unless you drive into the beach/sea on a regular basis, the cost of repairs and lack of stringent roadworthiness laws mean that vehicles can be used well past what would be considered their sell-by date in UK. In rural areas, anything that moves forward regardless of condition will find a buyer.

Quite often the shear cost of labour to have repairs done in the UK makes the car a “right-off”. We know that in UK you often have to pay for or get 10 pounds for a perfectly good runner that has failed its MOT and has to be sent to the scrappy…

Mant Thai people are very fond of their motors; they are a potent status symbol and are frequently worth more than the property lived in by the owner – be that an individual or family. Just take a stroll down to any beach or waterfall at the week-end and be dazzled by the array of customised pickups and Honda Cities etc, truly a wonder to behold!

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Neeranam Star Member

Neeranam

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Posted
For example you go on autotrader in the UK or US and you can pick cars up for under 1000 pounds but in LOS I can not find them

Is there a good place to look for cheap cars (Website, auction etc...)

Thanks for the replys!

YOu can buy cars about 20 years old for under 1000 pounds.

Look for the sale sign on the roof, idf you can read.

QUOTE

... Pickups are used on the farm by many Thais , the prices have to be kept down(ie, no or very-low taxes) because the farmers would otherwise be unable to afford them...

Don't know about pickups being used on farms.

But you try fitting 15 people, 3 pigs and a buffalo in your average car

I know a guy with a 4 wheel drive pick up who doesn't live on a farm or have a buffalo :o Why?

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wilko Platinum Member

wilko

Posted
Posted
For example you go on autotrader in the UK or US and you can pick cars up for under 1000 pounds but in LOS I can not find them

Is there a good place to look for cheap cars (Website, auction etc...)

Thanks for the replys!

YOu can buy cars about 20 years old for under 1000 pounds.

Look for the sale sign on the roof, idf you can read.

In UK you can buy a 5 yr car old for that!

QUOTE

... Pickups are used on the farm by many Thais , the prices have to be kept down(ie, no or very-low taxes) because the farmers would otherwise be unable to afford them...

Don't know about pickups being used on farms.

But you try fitting 15 people, 3 pigs and a buffalo in your average car

I know a guy with a 4 wheel drive pick up who doesn't live on a farm or have a buffalo :o Why?

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wilko Platinum Member

wilko

Posted
Posted (edited)
OK, Cars imported into Thailand have a very high customs duty attatched. But what about the ones that are manufactured here in Thailand? There are currently 30 companies including Mercedes that make their cars here in LOS!  Shouldn't they be reasonably priced? Riddle me that one if you will?

Wow! 30 companies make their cars in LOS! Be interested if you can name them.Never seen that many for sale.Doubt if there are 30 companies making cars in Asia these days.

Don't worry - it's because he's counting wrong...

There are far fewer manufacturers actually building cars and/or pickups from scratch here. (Toyota, GM (Isuzu/Chevrolet), Mitsubishi, Honda, Nissan, Ford/Mazda, Kia(?) ). It's only if you add in local assembly of imported kits, which adds in the big European manufacturers, that you start to get close to his 30 (but even then I don't think you'd reach it - i.e. BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, Skoda, VW, LandRover, Kia(?) ASSEMBLE kits locally)

(Sorry - not sure if Kia builds here, or just assembles kits... - or, like Ford/Toyota, makes some cars in Thailand, and some elsewhere in Asean, and uses the intra-Asean low import taxes to transfer models between the different countries - i.e. Ford makes the Ranger pickup in Thailand, but imports the Escape from the Philippines.)

Thailand has the second largest motor industry in Asia after China and a lot of it is in Chonburi and Rayong - if you want to see the new Mitsubishi pickup, take a quick drive to Laem Chabang and look at the Mitsubishi plant there. there's hundred (thousands?) of 'em. If you can't be bothered, it's announced in the next couple of days anyway....

Edited by wilko
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thedude Silver Member

thedude

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Posted
At some point, the prices have to come down. - the FTA with Australia means big Aussie cars have no import duty any more (still have the car taxes though). And Japan wanting the same deal as Australia is one of the big negotiating points with the Japan - Thailand FTA that's being negotiated at the moment. (Consider a Japanese-built Lexus, imported with no import duty instead of the current 80%, competing with the CKD BMWs or Mercedes assembled in Thailand - with 30% import duty - and you'll see why Mercedes and BMW are kicking up a fuss. They went to the hassle of setting up assembly plants here in order to get lower taxes, only to see the FTA possibly letting the Japanese undercut them with cars not even assembled in Thailand.)

i think the duty on Japanese cars above 3,000 cc are going to be cut from 80% to 60%, and over something like 4 or 5 years. its not going from 80% to 0% like you say.

interesting to note also that the duty used to be 60% in pre-crisis days, the govt raised it to 80% during the crisis to discourage excessive import spending. now that the crisis is over, i wonder why they haven't reverted to the old rate. it would certainly give a boost to the car industry.

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seeker108 Advanced Member

seeker108

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Posted

i think the duty on Japanese cars above 3,000 cc are going to be cut from 80% to 60%, and over something like 4 or 5 years. its not going from 80% to 0% like you say.

interesting to note also that the duty used to be 60% in pre-crisis days, the govt raised it to 80% during the crisis to discourage excessive import spending. now that the crisis is over, i wonder why they haven't reverted to the old rate. it would certainly give a boost to the car industry.

Is this only on new or used also? And with used cars does anyone know how they figure what price to put the tax on?

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