Found some good deals online, some through thaivisa classifieds. A few questions:

1. Most trucks in town seem to be either Toyota or Isuzu. Any problems getting other brands serviced, i.e. Nissan?

2. Any recommendations for 2nd hand sources in town?

3. Any experiences good/bad with the car auctions behind (formerly known as) Carrefour?

Appreciate any input! Thanks to all.

My advice is: that unless you are a fully experienced mechanic and would recognise a lemon when you see one, or personally know the history and previous owners, never buy a second-hand vehicle in Thailand.

They do all sorts of tricks in order to make a heap of <deleted> appear road worthy.

You buy second-hand, you do so at your own risk.

> 1. Most trucks in town seem to be either Toyota or Isuzu. Any problems getting other brands serviced, i.e. Nissan?

Nope. Any of the major brands are just as easy and cheap to get serviced. You can count Chevolet in there too, as they're so similar (near identical) to the Isuzu truck. My definition of 'major brands' is "everything, except Tata".

> 2. Any recommendations for 2nd hand sources in town?

Check some of the web forums. Chiangmai2car.com and others.

> 3. Any experiences good/bad with the car auctions behind (formerly known as) Carrefour?

Not really, other than that you cannot take them for a test drive. So you better be real good at used-car-Zen, and not get unlucky. And they tend to make less effort at auctions to make them look nice, clean them up, etc.

> 1. Most trucks in town seem to be either Toyota or Isuzu. Any problems getting other brands serviced, i.e. Nissan?

Nope. Any of the major brands are just as easy and cheap to get serviced. You can count Chevolet in there too, as they're so similar (near identical) to the Isuzu truck. My definition of 'major brands' is "everything, except Tata".

> 2. Any recommendations for 2nd hand sources in town?

Check some of the web forums. Chiangmai2car.com and others.

> 3. Any experiences good/bad with the car auctions behind (formerly known as) Carrefour?

Not really, other than that you cannot take them for a test drive. So you better be real good at used-car-Zen, and not get unlucky. And they tend to make less effort at auctions to make them look nice, clean them up, etc.

Thanks--appreciated. Leaning towards a private party purchase and forgoing the used dealership/auction.

> 1. Most trucks in town seem to be either Toyota or Isuzu. Any problems getting other brands serviced, i.e. Nissan?

Nope. Any of the major brands are just as easy and cheap to get serviced. You can count Chevolet in there too, as they're so similar (near identical) to the Isuzu truck. My definition of 'major brands' is "everything, except Tata".

> 2. Any recommendations for 2nd hand sources in town?

Check some of the web forums. Chiangmai2car.com and others.

> 3. Any experiences good/bad with the car auctions behind (formerly known as) Carrefour?

Not really, other than that you cannot take them for a test drive. So you better be real good at used-car-Zen, and not get unlucky. And they tend to make less effort at auctions to make them look nice, clean them up, etc.

Thanks--appreciated. Leaning towards a private party purchase and forgoing the used dealership/auction.

And don't hand over any money untill your name appears in the blue book.

I just bought a pickup Nissen BigM 2.5l Turbo Diesel, 2 door extended cab.

17 years old, no rust, 150,000bht.

Other costs

Transfer fee 970bht

Tax 960bht

Insurance 990bht

Bought it from a dealer, it was parked outside his house with a sign on top.

I seem to have done everything wrong, did a test drive, pointed out some things I wanted fixed.

When he fixed the stuff, I paid cash & he handed over the book and transfer documents.

Met him at the transport office a few days later to help me register it, but he wasn't really needed, very easy.

I have to pick up the registered book in a few days.

Looked at many trucks, something decent was 300k, lots of stuff I wouldn't buy at 200k.

At 100k it gets really iffy, loads of obvious faults. I was lucky to find this one for 150k, plenty worse at 200k.

I looked at a 2.5l Mazda B2500, 110k, speedo broken, no power steering. Engine seemed good, all tyres bald, private sale. Again parked by the side of the road with a sign.

Edited August 30, 201114 yr by ludditeman