My dear wife and I have been shopping for a new car since the announcement of the possible 100,000 baht Tax Rebate. We have been to all the major players from Honda to Toyota and everything in-between. I am interested in the least expensive base model vehicle. I only need something that has air-condition and can keep us dry.

The dealerships advertise the base model in the newspaper, online and in the dealerships with massive signs showing the under 400,000 baht car. The issue is not one dealership would even let us look at the base model. One dealership even suggested I pay 5,000 baht and he would order one for me just to see.... but the catch is it should arrive in October and the 5000 baht is, like the salesperson put it, a non-refundable "viewing fee".

Maybe I do not understand the way business is done in this wonderful kingdom. Why invest in an advertising program but not want to sell the product?

Well, you're obviously looking at a Nissan March - in which case there's a waiting list for any model, so there's no particular reason anyone would want to rush (or even facilitate) to sell you the base model. Without you as a buyer, they're probably waiting a whole 15-30 mins for the next deposit (and commission).

This is only exacerbated by the fact that the March outsells it's only competition (the Honda Brio) by an embrassing 20:1.

Sorry to be so blunt, but you asked for the reason why

Note that the supply:demand ratio is only going to get worse and worse over the next year, so expect even lower levels of service quality as time (and complacency) progresses.

It's sounds like you're a cash buyer. You've just misunderstood the advertising. If you're going in all cash and no frills, you have to realize the dealer will earn no money from selling to you. They'll earn the most commission from placing the buyer in the most expensive finance plan. Securitization of debt is exactly what perpetuated the last housing bubble in many countries; predatory lending to sub-prime borrowers is the best situation for the lenders as they earn the most interest. You see the same thing in Thai car adverts; the lowest lowest monthly repayments are for loans with the longest amortizing period and the highest interest rate.

Even for finance, the dealer will make amazingly little commission from a base model sedan - you can ask them when you buy - literally a few thousand baht. This is quite in line with every other country; throughout the past decade, many US car makers actually sold sedans at a loss unless the customer stipulated options and accessories. This is the reason Toyota became the best selling sedan; GM and Ford neglected to invest in their aging sedan models and made all their profits off trucks and SUVs. Sedans were offered just to keep fleet average fuel economy within federal limits.

spot on...

It's sounds like you're a cash buyer. You've just misunderstood the advertising. If you're going in all cash and no frills, you have to realize the dealer will earn no money from selling to you. They'll earn the most commission from placing the buyer in the most expensive finance plan. Securitization of debt is exactly what perpetuated the last housing bubble in many countries; predatory lending to sub-prime borrowers is the best situation for the lenders as they earn the most interest. You see the same thing in Thai car adverts; the lowest lowest monthly repayments are for loans with the longest amortizing period and the highest interest rate.

Even for finance, the dealer will make amazingly little commission from a base model sedan - you can ask them when you buy - literally a few thousand baht. This is quite in line with every other country; throughout the past decade, many US car makers actually sold sedans at a loss unless the customer stipulated options and accessories. This is the reason Toyota became the best selling sedan; GM and Ford neglected to invest in their aging sedan models and made all their profits off trucks and SUVs. Sedans were offered just to keep fleet average fuel economy within federal limits.

This is only exacerbated by the fact that the March outsells it's only competition (the Honda Brio) by an embrassing 20:1.

Yeah I consider myself a bit of a car spotter but I saw a Brio for the first time about a week ago and thought it was a grey import. Rarer than rocking horse shit round my way.

WELL....................... After days and days of rude, ignorant and dishonest new car dealerships we FINALLY found our golden child. We visited so many Honda, Mazda, Toyota and Nissan dealers that I had to actually keep a journal to remember the details. We accidentally stumbled upon a Nissan dealer on the North end of Phahon Yothin past the Royal Thai Air Force. My wife and I were treated with kindness and respect by Siam Nissan Mahanakorn near Phahon Yothin 25. May, the salesperson, along with the Finance Manager, Sukit, and Nok, the Bank Representative did there absolute best to speak clear and understandable English. (They did not, I repeat they did not, play the speak Thai to her and English to him game.)

I made it clear to them we only wanted the least expensive Nissan March model with manual transmission. We were told by every dealer it would take more than one month but they could not be sure. After having this same conversation with May on Sunday she looked me in the eye and said no problem. We can have the car two days after your finance is approved with the bank. She said that would be Wednesday and the car will be ready Friday at 17:00. We get a call from May on Wednesday saying that everything is approved and the car will be ready at 15:00, not 17:00, on Friday.

We arrive at 15:00 on Friday as planned. The car was ready and waiting for us in the staging area. May, the salesperson, and Raywat, the Service Manager, spoke English to us and went over every detail about the car, the warranty and the maintenance schedule. They made sure both my wife and I understand everything. They even asked permission to explain a couple of things in Thai to my wife that she did not fully understand.

We can whole heartedly recommend May and the guys at Siam Nissan Mahanakorn. I will keep you posted on our future experiences with the service team.

Sounds like you got lucky - my guess si it was probably booked before by someone else, then their order upgraded due to the first car buyer rebate. In any case, good to hear you finally found some decent customer service - without good Thai language skills, it can be difficult..

It is normal to place a deposit on a car and wait for delivery. Most dealer simply do not have the funds to stock them.

I did get refunds 3 times from 3 deposits that I had placed then changed my mind for one reason or another.

If your willing to drive around. Last week I went to 7 Nissan dealers and in the end between the dealers found every color and model avalable for the March in stock.

I had one March that i got last December.. Loved it, drove it 20,000 km in 10 months and just sold it for 15,000 less than I paid for it. Not bad I thought,. I have a new arch on order since I like the dealer near my home that I have used before, they say it will be a month to get what I want

Pay a Deposit.?. NEVER. If i ordered something spect up, that may render it unsaleable to Joe Public, no problem, but for a base car never have, never wiil, call me when its here,never had it questioned. They can spot a soft touch.

It is normal to place a deposit on a car and wait for delivery. Most dealer simply do not have the funds to stock them.

I did get refunds 3 times from 3 deposits that I had placed then changed my mind for one reason or another.

If your willing to drive around. Last week I went to 7 Nissan dealers and in the end between the dealers found every color and model avalable for the March in stock.

I had one March that i got last December.. Loved it, drove it 20,000 km in 10 months and just sold it for 15,000 less than I paid for it. Not bad I thought,. I have a new arch on order since I like the dealer near my home that I have used before, they say it will be a month to get what I want

"I did get refunds 3 times from 3 deposits that I had placed then changed my mind for one reason or another".

Times that by10 others that have done the same and a salesman have had there time completey wasted going through the sales procedure , test drives and paperwork only to have the customer pull out AFTER committing and shaking hands on the deal. Car sales man can be a pain but its a tough job dealing with the public as well.

Thats a good point Zorro , why bother when theres someone on a list, its gone in a flash anyway.

It is normal to place a deposit on a car and wait for delivery. Most dealer simply do not have the funds to stock them.

I did get refunds 3 times from 3 deposits that I had placed then changed my mind for one reason or another.

If your willing to drive around. Last week I went to 7 Nissan dealers and in the end between the dealers found every color and model avalable for the March in stock.

I had one March that i got last December.. Loved it, drove it 20,000 km in 10 months and just sold it for 15,000 less than I paid for it. Not bad I thought,. I have a new arch on order since I like the dealer near my home that I have used before, they say it will be a month to get what I want

"I did get refunds 3 times from 3 deposits that I had placed then changed my mind for one reason or another".

Times that by10 others that have done the same and a salesman have had there time completey wasted going through the sales procedure , test drives and paperwork only to have the customer pull out AFTER committing and shaking hands on the deal. Car sales man can be a pain but its a tough job dealing with the public as well.

All par of the course for a sales person, what ever they are selling, win some lose some, but l would say that most folk that walk into a motor dealers are looking to buy, not kick tyres.

With all these long delivery times, before even thinking about a test drive, the buyers first question should be, what's the deliver wait on this model.

It is normal to place a deposit on a car and wait for delivery. Most dealer simply do not have the funds to stock them.

I did get refunds 3 times from 3 deposits that I had placed then changed my mind for one reason or another.

If your willing to drive around. Last week I went to 7 Nissan dealers and in the end between the dealers found every color and model avalable for the March in stock.

I had one March that i got last December.. Loved it, drove it 20,000 km in 10 months and just sold it for 15,000 less than I paid for it. Not bad I thought,. I have a new arch on order since I like the dealer near my home that I have used before, they say it will be a month to get what I want

"I did get refunds 3 times from 3 deposits that I had placed then changed my mind for one reason or another".

Times that by10 others that have done the same and a salesman have had there time completey wasted going through the sales procedure , test drives and paperwork only to have the customer pull out AFTER committing and shaking hands on the deal. Car sales man can be a pain but its a tough job dealing with the public as well.

All par of the course for a sales person, what ever they are selling, win some lose some, but l would say that most folk that walk into a motor dealers are looking to buy, not kick tyres.

With all these long delivery times, before even thinking about a test drive, the buyers first question should be, what's the deliver wait on this model.

Agreed most are looking to buy. What most people think is that car sales people are dishonest or shifty but what most people dont know is that car sales people think the same of customers

A good example is the salesman may spend 2 hours with a client, do everything right, be curtiouse and honest and is often screwed down to a nothing deal, Customer gets the final and best price and leaves, only to buy the same car down the road in 10 mins flat when the guy beats the price by $50

It is normal to place a deposit on a car and wait for delivery. Most dealer simply do not have the funds to stock them.

I did get refunds 3 times from 3 deposits that I had placed then changed my mind for one reason or another.

If your willing to drive around. Last week I went to 7 Nissan dealers and in the end between the dealers found every color and model avalable for the March in stock.

I had one March that i got last December.. Loved it, drove it 20,000 km in 10 months and just sold it for 15,000 less than I paid for it. Not bad I thought,. I have a new arch on order since I like the dealer near my home that I have used before, they say it will be a month to get what I want

"I did get refunds 3 times from 3 deposits that I had placed then changed my mind for one reason or another".

Times that by10 others that have done the same and a salesman have had there time completey wasted going through the sales procedure , test drives and paperwork only to have the customer pull out AFTER committing and shaking hands on the deal. Car sales man can be a pain but its a tough job dealing with the public as well.

The Times I asked for a refund of the deposit was on the Honda Brio. I ordered it 1 year prior to them even making one. Spent 5 minutres to make the deposit. due to the problems in Japan they said an additional months wait, and the size of the car was smaller and the quality not as expected so I cancelled after 1 year wait.

Another time was when the dealer could not deliver when promised. This Tata truck sale was also done in under 3 minutes. Knew what I wanted, walked in and placed the deposit. Was given a date to pick it up and they could not deliver.

I don't ever spend much time with sales people, Their lack of information about what they are selling.

As a side note. I have had a deposit on a new Mitusbishi Colt that is due out in March next year. I will have waited over 24 months. I have seen one at the auto show and assume it will be like they showed me. The factory is still under construction, I have been to the site.

Nothing wrong with cancelling due to delivery issues however nearly all cancellations are due to buyers remorse and usually because they found a better deal elsewhere.

A good example is the salesman may spend 2 hours with a client, do everything right, be curtiouse and honest and is often screwed down to a nothing deal, Customer gets the final and best price and leaves, only to buy the same car down the road in 10 mins flat when the guy beats the price by $50

Another POV is, If the customer was a genuine buyer, it's only a lack of salemanship that can lose the deal - even if the buyer is shopping purely on "price". That's because "price" is not as objective as it sounds when talking the context of cars, due to the way perceived value can be manipulated with trade-ins, finance, insurance/rego and accessories.

Personally, I do all my negotiating before handing over any cash, but I can appreciate a "greener" shopper finding a better deal elsewhere and wanting to change - nothing wrong with that IMHO, so long as you give everyone the chance to compete.

Nothing wrong with cancelling due to delivery issues however nearly all cancellations are due to buyers remorse and usually because they found a better deal elsewhere.

I wish more would cancell their Citys in Phuket, so I can get one for my GF