Honda Jazz New Or Secondhand

[kimamey]

I'm planning on moving to Thailand to live with my gf in Mahasarakham in May 2012. We're thinking of buying a car for various reasons such as taking her mother to temples, getting to work when it rains and because I have balance problems so I'm not sure yet about riding a bike. After renting a Jazz this time last year we think this is a good option.

Because of the supply problems she may have to order it before I go out so I need to have some idea of the specs of the different models. For some reason Honda Thailand don't seem to do an english language version of their website. I know it's Thailand but I'm sure there are a lot of expats who buy new cars. Unfortunately the UK site isn't much help as I'm guessing even the top of the range Jazz in LOS doesn't have heated seats.

One other question is should I go for secondhand as normally cars depreciate quickly from new? I know others have said on here it's not worth it as Thais tend not to look after their vehicles but I'm wondering since we're talking about a car rather than a pickup and I was thinking of buying from the Honda dealer if this might be a good option.

Any thoughts on this or other options anyone thinks might help would be appreciated.

[transam]

If you can afford it, buy new. You must remeber or think about where you live and the actual use it will get. Jazz is very low so you must think about road conditions in your location.

[caphant]

Riding a bike can be a good way to get yourself killed in thailand for people with limited experience or driving big bikes, I enjoy bikes and i have still have 2 of them but it really isnt a great idea for the majority of roads, small towns up country is fine and familiar roads in your area, so regardless of your confidence in balance i think your making a sound decision opting for a 4 wheels.

regarding the jazz, buying new is fine as depreciation sometimes doesnt make buying second hand worth it especially for honda and toyotas. also if your fine getting the first generation jazz you can find those for well under 400k. The new jazz looks and drives better but i didnt mind the old one as a city runabout....as transam said poor ground clearence for the jazz, new civic etc means these arent great out of urban spaces.

[kimamey]

If you can afford it, buy new. You must remeber or think about where you live and the actual use it will get. Jazz is very low so you must think about road conditions in your location.

Yes that's a good point. The roads are OK apart from one part in the north of the village (about 5km from Mahasarakham) that seemed to be breaking up in January this year and was certainly worse than late 2009. I think there was some building work being done and a lot of water and no repairs had been done. May be different now. I think the worst area for ground clearance is the driveway to the house but at least I've tried a Jazz on that so I know it's OK and I can at least fix that if it gets worse. In some ways I'd prefer a pickup in terms of picking up bikes if they break down and carrying bigger stuff plus of course those times when you can't avoid going "offroad" a bit. Not sure if it would suit the gf though as although she took a car test she's only used bikes for years. The first time I visited we drove from Bangkok and she had a go as well. I was a little worried about her drifting from side to side and completely confused by her slowing to about 30 to 40 km/hr on a ramp joining a main road and on Highway 2. Turns out it was a hill. I think the only hill she had driven on was the ramp into the ground level car park in town. Still whilst I'm there she is getting better.

To be honest here in the UK where I live I have to drive along a road for nearly half a mile in 2 out of 3 directions over speed humps. On the plus side all the young guys with their lowered suspensions and deep bumpers/fenders have to drive very carefully while I can just drive fairly normally.

[Onnutrd]

I'd consider looking at a secondhand honda jazz cars, there's a Honda Jazz dealer just up the road from me and they've always got some pretty good prices. I looked one time and saw that the total KM was'nt too bad either for the years on it. Any help just flick an email.

[culicine]

Jazzes are way too expensive second hand - try 400-500K for a 6-7 year old cars. Then you have unknown history to deal with. Does it have a full book service (the book should be available). Was it affected by recent flooding? The kms aren't much to go by - my civic has 190K kms on it and still in great condition as I've looked after it.

For toyota and honda you are much better off buying new. Even second hand mazda 2/3 are quite expensive these days. Then you will have peace of mind for the warranty period.

[caphant]

I have seen jazzes for low 300-320k for the idsi and 340up for the vtec, all with less than 120k, some with half that. these little cars usually dont rack up highway miles like you see on larger civics and accords of the same year. In my experience the price asked online or listed in papers is very much a sellers fantasy price and the vehicle can be got for less. Private sellers always better since buyers need to account for that 50-100k baht markup the dealer slaps on top when locating and lowballing a desperate private seller or as is auction car. With the flood and all the issues culicine listed above, its usually a better idea to buy new as cars retain much resale value especially whilst model is still current and give you the peace of mind a warantee affords.

[kimamey]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll end up going for new as I won't be there to have any part of the buying (apart from paying of course). I was only thinking of second hand from a Honda dealer but only if the price difference was enough. I suppose it's always possible they might have a ex demo model.

I noticed that my query about specs in engish didn't get a response but fortunately I've found a PDF in english after a bit of guess work on which link to click. A good reason to practice my Thai I suppose.

[caphant]

I noticed that my query about specs in engish didn't get a response but fortunately I've found a PDF in english

Here you can find specs at end of informative/marketing brochure http://brochures.hon...rochure_14.aspx#

[transam]

If you can afford it, buy new. You must remeber or think about where you live and the actual use it will get. Jazz is very low so you must think about road conditions in your location.

Yes that's a good point. The roads are OK apart from one part in the north of the village (about 5km from Mahasarakham) that seemed to be breaking up in January this year and was certainly worse than late 2009. I think there was some building work being done and a lot of water and no repairs had been done. May be different now. I think the worst area for ground clearance is the driveway to the house but at least I've tried a Jazz on that so I know it's OK and I can at least fix that if it gets worse. In some ways I'd prefer a pickup in terms of picking up bikes if they break down and carrying bigger stuff plus of course those times when you can't avoid going "offroad" a bit. Not sure if it would suit the gf though as although she took a car test she's only used bikes for years. The first time I visited we drove from Bangkok and she had a go as well. I was a little worried about her drifting from side to side and completely confused by her slowing to about 30 to 40 km/hr on a ramp joining a main road and on Highway 2. Turns out it was a hill. I think the only hill she had driven on was the ramp into the ground level car park in town. Still whilst I'm there she is getting better.

To be honest here in the UK where I live I have to drive along a road for nearly half a mile in 2 out of 3 directions over speed humps. On the plus side all the young guys with their lowered suspensions and deep bumpers/fenders have to drive very carefully while I can just drive fairly normally.

My wee mrs learned to drive in our 4x4 Vigo auto, no probs, and great when l am inebriated.

[Spaniel]

I bought a new Jazz in June 2009 and highly recommend it. Great car. When you order tell the dealer to get you a English language owners manual. Ther're available but dealer will have to request it. They will also give you the thai one too.

[kimamey]

I bought a new Jazz in June 2009 and highly recommend it. Great car. When you order tell the dealer to get you a English language owners manual. Ther're available but dealer will have to request it. They will also give you the thai one too.

On my 3 trips I've rented a Chevvy Optra, Toyota Vios and a Jazz the last time. Gf seemed to prefer the Jazz and it does seem to have a lot of space for the size.

Good point about the English language manual. All the rental cars have Thai ones even though I suspect most renters are not Thai speakers so they aren't much use although they do provide a bit of light relief when the gf tries to translate for me.

Sorry it's taken so long to reply but I've been booking flights for gf and daughter to visit in April plus for me to return with them. Booked with Qatar the 5 star airline. Not much sign of 5 star performance during my online contact with them. Just giving me a headache.