Buying A New Car

[Back Sida]

Hello,

as I'm and my family will relocate to Thailand end of the year, I need to buy a car.

As second hand is actually not a good option I like to buy a new one.

Now my questions:

Do I need to finance the car or is it better to pay it cash?

Can I finance even my wife has no income?

Or if I buy cash, can I buy it on my name?

If pay cash, do there give then a discount? And if how much I can expect or negotiate?

Would Ford Cars are effected (delay of delivery/ or not available at all)by the flood?

Thanks for any useful information.

Regards

[MoonRiverOasis]

1) You can pay cash, but usually you'll have better negotiating power if paying on finance as the dealership/salesrep both make extra commission.

2) If your income comes from abroad, you can act as a guarantor for your unemployed wife, so long as:

• Your income has been deposited into a Thai bank account for at least the last 3/6 months (length required varies by lender)
• You can provide a letter or documentation explaining where your income comes from (e.g. employment letter)
• You have a non-immigrant visa
• Your marriage is legally registered in Thailand

Note: if you work in Thailand and have a valid work permit, you can finance the vehicle in your own name or act as a guarantor.

3) If paying cash, yes the vehicle can be registered in your name. To do this all you'll need is an address confirmation letter from immigration or your embassy.

If paying cash you will have less bargaining power than financing. Discounts off sticker price are very unusual in either case though - the norm in Thailand is that you negotiate in free accesssories, insurance and registration charges into the deal in lieu of a reduced price.

[zorro1]

1) You can pay cash, but usually you'll have better negotiating power if paying on finance as the dealership/salesrep both make extra commission.

2) If your income comes from abroad, you can act as a guarantor for your unemployed wife, so long as:

• Your income has been deposited into a Thai bank account for at least the last 3/6 months (length required varies by lender)
• You can provide a letter or documentation explaining where your income comes from (e.g. employment letter)
• You have a non-immigrant visa
• Your marriage is legally registered in Thailand

Note: if you work in Thailand and have a valid work permit, you can finance the vehicle in your own name or act as a guarantor.

3) If paying cash, yes the vehicle can be registered in your name. To do this all you'll need is an address confirmation letter from immigration or your embassy.

If paying cash you will have less bargaining power than financing. Discounts off sticker price are very unusual in either case though - the norm in Thailand is that you negotiate in free accesssories, insurance and registration charges into the deal in lieu of a reduced price.

excellent reply . Finance = kick back. Its always a laugh when some one strides into a dealership and then makes an offer. And then says

" you give me good deal, i pay cash!' as if the dealership would accept beads and shells.

some advice for the OP dont buy aftermarket products ,rust proof, tint,and sctoch guard. dealers actually make more on the over inflated products than on the new car itself in many cases. If you want the products get them done later direct with the supplier at a fraction.

[krading]

If you finance you'll end up paying a lot more than than any discount you might be able to extract for cash.

[naboo]

I've just purchased a Ford on finance with 30% downpayment, no guarantor, over 2 years work permit, over 3 years in Thailand on original visa with 6 months bank statements showing a regular, fixed income. It would have been easier to have a Thai guarantor, but wouldn't want to ask someone to guarantee a loan for me. Being married would have been even easier.

All of the above are important when getting finance. Some finance deals are good - esp 0%! However, note that the way interest is calculated here is different to what you may be used to.......

Purchase price - 800,000 Baht

Down - 200,000 Baht

Loan value - 600,000 Baht

Interest rate - 2.99%

Loan term - 5 years.

Total interest - 5*2.99 = 14.95%

Total interest payable = 14.95%*600,000 = 89,700 Baht. This is equivalent to a 6% loan rate in the UK.

At this point, if you were buying 2nd hand (which you have ruled out) you would pay 7% of the loan value in VAT on top, so 689,700*1.07 = 737,979 Baht, giving a total loan cost of 137,979 Baht, equivalent to a 6.9% loan rate in the UK, definitely not the 2.99% advertised! I went for a new car at 0% finance after working all this nonsense out!

Putting the car into a Thai person's name would have meant that they would have received a tax rebate of up to 100,000 Baht, being married you may want to consider this.

As long as you have a non-imm visa, you'll have no problems putting a car in your name otherwise.

[MoonRiverOasis]

If you finance you'll end up paying a lot more than than any discount you might be able to extract for cash.

That depends in what currency your savings are parked, how much interest it attracts as savings, and how good you were at negotiating the finance rate on the car

definitely not the 2.99% advertised! I went for a new car at 0% finance after working all this nonsense out!

It *is* the 2.99% as advertised, however in Thailand car finance is flat-rate though, not APR as you'r accustomed to.

Could you imagine the difficulty in trying to explain how APR rates work to the average Thai first car buyer?

[zorro1]

If you finance you'll end up paying a lot more than than any discount you might be able to extract for cash.

Mate. that mindset comes from backyard mom n pop dealers selling cheapies for cash. You cant cook the books of a toyota dealership LOL nor would they want to.

Most on the ball dealerships pay the salesman a commission if the intro to the finance manger is done correctly

have a guess where the biggest income comes from in a new car dealership? No not the cars

answer= finance dept. Thats a fact

along with finance both volume and rate profit they sell .gap insurance, extended warranties etc

AVG PER new car profit in a good finance dept is around $2000-$3000/car

AVG PER new car profit is around $1300/new car

[MoonRiverOasis]

some advice for the OP dont buy aftermarket products ,rust proof, tint,and sctoch guard. dealers actually make more on the over inflated products than on the new car itself in many cases. If you want the products get them done later direct with the supplier at a fraction.

Agree in concept, with two notes:

1) Take whatever accessories you can get included for free (never pay over sticker though), and 2) Insist that all accessories included in the deal are genuine - many dealers will supply inferior copies if they think they can get away with it..

[Back Sida]

Hello,

and thanks for all the answers so quick.

As we did not lived in LOS for the last 9 years, there is no bank record.

OK I have a account with a bit of money on and my wife also but no regular income record.

I will not work in Thailand. I work oversee, but wife will stay in Thailand this time.

For how long not clear jet, so the 100000 tax refund is also not a option because we

don't know if we like to sale the car before the 4/5 years.

I get probably a non immigrant O visa (multiply entry.

According the calculation example of Naboo is paying cash cheaper than finance.

So I think I will go for that option if I can buy it in my name. (you know what I mean )

Letter of income would be not a problem but my money will not be transferred to LOS.

We have a house in LOS, would that be OK as guarantee to the bank or finance office?

How about my last question about availability of Ford Cars because of the flood?

Thanks and regards

[MoonRiverOasis]

How about my last question about availability of Ford Cars because of the flood?

One Australian media source has said that Ford production has been effected by the floods, but that has not been corroborated by any local sources, and there's been no official announcements by Ford to say that production has been impacted - as would normally be customary.