Buying A Pick-Up

[mogandave]

With a new car you get get a three year warrenty. That means you pay for virtually nothing but fuel and service for three years.

A two year old vehicle with 52Kkm could well need tires & brakes. The Chevy is a nice looking unit, but it's on a whole new platform this year, so it's going to start loosing value faster and looking older faster now.

Used cars are okay for guys that do their own service and repairs, but for guys that know little or nothing about cars, not so much. The automatic transmission goes south in that 4WD chevy and you're into it for another 50K to 100K baht. If you're going to buy a used pickup, I'd stay away from an automatic.

Were I you, I'd buy a new Ford, Chevy, Isuzu or Mazda. All are on a new platform this year, you'll get at three-year warranty and if you take care of it it will still look like new in five years. They are all good, just pick the one you love the look of and go with it.

BTW, if you're not driving in traffic, an automatic is not that big a deal, and if you are not driving in mud 4WD is useless.

[katabeachbum]

Sophon. You have to compare, as you do, and find what is best for your needs I can only tell f rom my experience. First I find the brakes on all pickups are inferior. Naturally I dont know about the 2012 models and if they are better. But look, for example, at the brakes of teh popular Toyota Vigo. The front rotors are about the same size as those of the Vios, a car with maybe half teh weight. And two pot calipers (2 cylinders pressing on the rotors when you brake). My DMax is no better and also the standard Bridgestone Dueler tires are really crap. Especially in the wet. I changed the front brakes to 4 pot calipers and bigger, ventilated rotors. Much better.

Second, smaller or bigger engine? For normal, straight line driving, it does not matter much. Although the bigger engine may need a little less fuel as it is working more leisurely. If y ou dont use the power. But when you want to overtake a long truck with a trailer on a two lane road, you are grateful to have more power. You can never have enough power. The 3L Isuzu has 330Nm torque and 160hp as standard. And it is really not much for a truck weighing in almost 2 tons. Never mind a smaller engine. But more power, should you want it, is no problem.

I am, as you plan to be, out in the sticks and although most of the time, I only use 2wd. But the times I have been stuck and got out with the 4wd, I was grateful I had chosen that option.

As for gearbox many posters have suggested go for the auto and I agree. For your driving a manual would just be an obstacle you dont need.

If you have a lid or a canopy covering the loading bay, it will be good for your fuel consumption is the air drag on the car will be less. But a lid is not very good carrying dogs so for you a metal canopy would be preferable. Better quality than the plastic ones. A lid would set you back about 16-21000. It is electrically operated. A poster mentioned a metal canopy for 28000 I think.

If you buy a new car here, the dealer wont haggle over the price like is customary in Europe and thte US. But you will be able to get additional equipment like liner on the back, rubber mats etc. And possibly a better price for a canopy or a lid.

Test drive the trucks you like on various roads. Suspension, steering, noise, comfort etc. And try the brakes! Hard. If you are unable to find a demo car you like, maybe a car rental near you has one? Wont be too expensive for a day.

As you have been told also, the Chevy and the Isuzu are basically the same car. Major difference is inside the car.

Thanks a lot for your input.

So you recommend bigger motor, 4wd and AT, features that normally come with the 4 door models. Models with these features are way out of my budget unless I buy a newer used pick-up.

I know that the conventional wisdom is to buy new because used cars/pick-ups are too close in price to new ones. But I think that people are influenced by their experience of how cars depreciate back where they came from, and because depreciation here is slower they come to the conclusion that used cars are overpriced in Thailand. As mentioned, I have no car ownership experience from back home so I'm not burdened by past experiences/knowledge. To me a one/two year old 2010 Chevrolet Colorado 3.0 LT Z71 4dr 4wd AT with (supposedly) 52k km on the clock for 675,000 baht sounds like a better deal than a new Nissan King Cab GT Calibre LE 5AT for 735,500 baht (which is the cheapest AT model I have been able to find).

I do realize that buying used comes with a risk, which is why I am thinking about having any pickup I consider buying first tested by a professional company like TestCar. But from the replies so far it seems no-one has had any experience with them (or other similar companies).

Sophon

I d defo go for a new Nissan over a used any brand, unless you know the person selling and vehicles history.

ad Chevs 2011 terrible crash safet, and choice is easy