Hi guys

I've been living and working in Thailand with company and work permit for several years.

Its time I got a car

I'm looking at a downpayment of about 400,000 baht on a 800,000 baht car

The bank (Siam Commercial Bank) told me finance is possible with my passport, work permit and bank statement

my questions is...

do I need to go through the bank, or can I just go straight to the car dealer to get finance direct from them?

Is there is difference in interest rates / payments etc if I go to one or the other?

thanks for your help!!

Ben

Have a talk to Tanachart, pretty sure you will get a better deal, most dealers will assist...if its your first car, they will most likely want a Thai national to co-sign for you as well

For new car u need to go directly to car dealer...i bought new car last month and i went directly to thanachart bank and they refused to loan..they said they deal only in second hand car..but they do loan if they have tie ups with dealer...so in my case thanachart finance my new car but i contacted dealer directly....

Anyways nowadays rates are same for most banks..so contacting banks wont make any difference but u need to have thai co-signer if this is ur first car..if tht is the problem contact tisco bank directly..

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Last time I was looking at cars I had my mind on buying 2nd hand, but all the dealers were offering finance at 12.5% pa. Given the relatively high prices of 2nd hand cars the thought of repaying 160% over 5 years was not appealing. I ended up buying new and paying 2.55% pa with Siam Commercial Bank. I came away thinking that I would only buy a second hand car if I could pay cash or if I only needed 1 year's finance. Then again, I never thought to approach the bank directly for the finance. Would be interested to hear what rate they offer...

If your not 100% fixed on the make and model you want many are doing 0% or low interest rates, putting so much down should get a very low rate.

Beware of the loan structure as well. Many are not simple interest loans and you pay the full load of interest regardless of when you pay off the loan.

Beware of the loan structure as well. Many are not simple interest loans and you pay the full load of interest regardless of when you pay off the loan.

Agree with this and be careful , they add everything upfront so no benefit whatsoever if you want to pay off early.

Edited April 13, 201214 yr by CharlieH

As mentioned in some other replies i would say its better going direct to the dealer and get finance for a new car. I got finance although i do not work in Thailand by having gf's sister as guarantor. You may need this also depending on finance. I got a five year loan on about 2.5% p.a which i think you would struggle to get finance that cheap through a bank, as loan rates here are high i my opinion compared to uk. Regarding early repayment, as some have suggested you do not benefit from early repayment on a car loan, but equally i would be surprised if the banks do not put an early redemption penalty on their loans (after all, they do not want you to repay early because that is where they make their money), you would have to check around. Anyway the idea of a loan is to make repayments more manageable for expensive items so as long as the finance is cheap then to me that's fine. Stick with buying a new car and play hardball to get as much thrown in for free. Avoid second hand, as with their high costs, expensive finance and unsure histories they will end up costing you more than a new car.

Good luck.