Good New Motorbike Dealer?

[lukeskywalker]

I have decided to go ahead and buy a new Honda Wave or Dream as the used ones I've looked at seem to hold their value very well. I might as well buy a new one so that I know I'm buying a brand new, problem free bike with a warrenty and know that I'll be able to re-sell it (if I take care of it) for a very good price in a year or so.

So, can someone point me in the direction of a good Honda dealership? Also, can new motorbikes be hassled down in price or is sticker the price with no wiggle room? Are there any pitfalls or traps I need to worry about? I'm assuming the dealer will take care of license plate, registration, etc.? Are there any hidden fees besides the cost of the bike (eg registration, license plate, etc?). Will I have to take the motorbike back to the same dealer every 3 months for oil changes, etc. so that it stays in warranty?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

Luke

[briley]

Place on Haey Koew (how do you spell it?) is fine but best to buy from a local dealer, then going backwards and forwards is easier.

500 baht discount if you haggle hard. The profit for the dealer is in the credit deal (that you can not get not) rather than in the price of the bike.

The price includes everything, insurance licence registering, number plates and fitting and a helmet. You pay extra if you want 1 or 2 years theft insurance.

[siamshot]

Best experience over 10 years in buying, reselling and regular checks with Nat-Motors on Huey Kaew Road, left side before intersection with Canal road.

Highly recommended!

[rakchaingmai]

You can no longer buy the new honda dream i went last week to look for one and they said honda has made enough for a while until the new model comes out and they have sold out .

The best place for me is a place just over the river ping on the right hand side as if you are going towards the arcade bus station .

saengchaiphanich 100/4 kaewnavarat road a.muang chiang mai .

[mcgriffith]

I'd take Briley's advice and buy from the dealer closest to where you live.

As to the "required oil changes to maintain warranty" question- no, not really. You can go to any hole in the wall tire repair place for oil changes. However, if there is a major engine issue...and the oil is pitch black and the viscosity of water (as in you never changed it)- Honda will most likely hesitate on the warranty. Honda offers nearly free oil service at the recommended interval for all new bikes for 3 years/10K km. Looking at my receipts the average charge for my Wave was about 90 B. No charge for labor, just materials/parts like oil, filters, etc.

I've purchased 3 bikes from Nat Honda on Huay Kaew Rd. I've never had a problem with them.

[mrclough]

You can no longer buy the new honda dream i went last week to look for one and they said honda has made enough for a while until the new model comes out and they have sold out .

The best place for me is a place just over the river ping on the right hand side as if you are going towards the arcade bus station .

saengchaiphanich 100/4 kaewnavarat road a.muang chiang mai .

After using Niyom Panich near Airport Central and realising how useless they were on fault finding I went to the dealers mentioned above and they were fantastic. I also took my CBR 150 there when I had it for servicing & better tires etc. No problem at all. There are plenty of staff that speak good English too. Their service / repair bay is open and you can watch them working on your bike (advisable at all thai workshops!).

As and when I get another Honda, this will be the first dealership I visit.

[Beetlejuice]

There are probably hundreds of motorbike dealerships in Chiang Mai.

Some people are going to recommend certain companies as being the cats whiskers, others may say; no, don`t use this one or that one.

My advice is, stick with the big dealerships because at least you do have some come backs if in the event of a problem.

These days it`s dirt cheap anyway to have a motorbike regularly serviced or repaired at any motorbike shops and service centres, so keeping the bike in good working order is never going to be a big problem. Most of the time it`s so cheap to have a motorbike serviced or repaired that it`s hardly worth having to go back to the original purchase dealership, even if it is free under a service contract.

[indiawhiskey]

How much does a new Wave or Dream cost?

[wjmark]

Nat Honda on Huay Kaew Rd. I've never had a problem with them.

I cannot recommend the service there. They changed a tire on my Wave and put the wheel on very wrong (handlebars pointing one way, wheel pointing another!!!). Another time they badly scratched my new CBR mag wheel putting the tire on.

Also they rebuilt my CBR engine when all I needed was the electronic ignition box. That time (my bike wouldn't start) I asked that only the head mechanic work on my bike, and came back to find a junior flunky had spent all day running my battery down to dead (and then recharging it) time and time again - just to try and start the bike. Of course it wouldn't start - the ECU was bust. So finally (the next day) the head mechanic took a look at it, and changed my piston. After rebuilding the engine, it still wouldn't start. Then he realized it was the ECU. That experience cost me a lot of money - I had to pay for the engine rebuild that I hadn't needed.

I have never gone back - those are just problems off the top of my head. I remember there were lots of other little things over a few years.

Oh yes, the English speaking owner does not like to help with service problems either...

Buy somewhere else!

[mcgriffith]

Sorry to hear about your problems, wjmark. I have a friend here in my apt bldg who also had problems with a misdiagnosed engine problem at Nat, that almost had him sell his bike to a wholesaler for peanuts- it turned out he needed a minor part to make it right.

I bought a CBR150 in 2006, a Wave 100S in 2007, and a CBR250 in 2011 from them. Had all serviced regularly there, and have never had even a minor problem or complaint, scratched wheel, etc.

I guess it is just the luck of the draw when it comes to these things. I've heard horror stories similar to yours from people going to some of the other majors as well.

[CMX]

Here in CM the Honda distribution is mostly in the hands of one family. With the smaller bikes, this hardly matters, but it is noticable with more expensive types that prices (higher than BKK offerings) are locked together for some reason. Even independents show identical list prices.

Nevertheless, as you point out (OP), given reliability and resale prices, you can hardly go wrong with Honda - so long as the bike is in ample supply.

[Awk]

Sorry to hear about your problems, wjmark. I have a friend here in my apt bldg who also had problems with a misdiagnosed engine problem at Nat, that almost had him sell his bike to a wholesaler for peanuts- it turned out he needed a minor part to make it right.

I bought a CBR150 in 2006, a Wave 100S in 2007, and a CBR250 in 2011 from them. Had all serviced regularly there, and have never had even a minor problem or complaint, scratched wheel, etc.

I guess it is just the luck of the draw when it comes to these things. I've heard horror stories similar to yours from people going to some of the other majors as well.

To me it sounds more like the shop does not have too much clue, and as long as your bikes have no problems, which

I guess has been the case with your bikes, they will service the bike fine.

The problem is that if there is something wrong with your bike, be it a malfunctioning ECU, clogged carburetor, or

faulty electric wiring, you need somebody with a clue to look at it, rather than a clown repeatedly clicking the

"start" button until the battery runs out. I can do the latter just fine myself, thank you. ;-)

For CBR and up, I'd recommend Nat at the Piston shop. While he unfortunately does employ "junior flunkies" too,

he himself is both competent and honest, in addition to speaking English fluently.

Not sure if they service the smaller scooters/bikes though. Never seen any of them being serviced there, but perhaps somebody here with such a bike will ask and report back.