What Is It With Cars In Thailand?

[MikeOxtinks]

Why do Thais put up with the motoring costs here?

I have an old 2001 Toyota 4x 4 pickup, every 4000km the front gaiters need replacing, in the past eight years it has had 4 new batteries - 4K Baht a shot, the last one (genuine Toyota) lasted 18 months! These are almost 100GBP a shot!

The uk will provide a 4 year warranty on a battery costing less than half of this, and in my 30 years of motoring in the UK I have never had to replace a car battery, some being 15 years old.

The second point of this is the ridiculous prices of 2nd hand motors here - take for an example a car listed in Chiang Mai compared with a one listed in the UK.

Thailand - Honda Civic - 20 Years Old, +240000KM, severe front end accident, but "repaired" No MOT, no TAX - asking price 159,000 Baht (about 3400GBP)

UK - Honda Civic - 14 Years Old, good condition 59000 miles, 10 Months TAX and MOT no accident damage - asking price 17900 Baht (about 350 quid!!!!)

What is wrong here? is there some limited supply or are people simply willing to pay these stupid prices?

I saw an 1970's Datsun that looked older than the mountains of Chiang Mai for sale for 120000 Baht.

It beggars belief.

(I must admit I have to laugh at some of the Ads. where they post "For Sale By Owner!....I mean who else can actually sell the thing? A non owner?

The funny thing is, that Farangs seem even greedier than the Thais when selling second hand - they love to point out that their car for sale is "Farang Owned" and even if the thing is 10 years old they seem to think that they can they can get the new price less 10%!

Madness.

Edited May 10, 2012 by MikeOxtinks

[Spoonman]

What is a gaiter ?

If you dislike the price of cars here (New/Secondhand/replacement parts etc) be proactive and instead of moaning about it and vote with your feet and ride a scoot (or even walk) not as if anyone is holding a gun to your head, alternatively head back to the UK seeing as though it is sooooooooo much better there.

[thenervoussurgeon]

why are you all having a go at this guy? he asked a simple question on an open forum,respect it and give him a decent answer or shut the <deleted>> up.

[MikeOxtinks]

What is a gaiter ?

If you dislike the price of cars here (New/Secondhand/replacement parts etc) be proactive and instead of moaning about it and vote with your feet and ride a scoot (or even walk) not as if anyone is holding a gun to your head, alternatively head back to the UK seeing as though it is sooooooooo much better there.

A gaiter, is a rubber boot that goes over your front wheel drive half shafts to stop the crap getting in to your constan velocity joints. - They are not easy to replace and can become quite expensive. Plus they do not last long - and - yes I use Original toyota parts.

[MikeOxtinks]

why are you all having a go at this guy? he asked a simple question on an open forum,respect it and give him a decent answer or shut the <deleted>> up.

Thank You! I didn't think I was breaking any rules, if the topic needs moving just tell me, no problem. Jesus, you get attacked on this forum for no reason at all. I don't understand the mentality of some of these posters.

Probably no wonder this forum has such a bad rep.

[Spoonman]

What is a gaiter ?

If you dislike the price of cars here (New/Secondhand/replacement parts etc) be proactive and instead of moaning about it and vote with your feet and ride a scoot (or even walk) not as if anyone is holding a gun to your head, alternatively head back to the UK seeing as though it is sooooooooo much better there.

A gaiter, is a rubber boot that goes over your front wheel drive half shafts to stop the crap getting in to your constan velocity joints. - They are not easy to replace and can become quite expensive. Plus they do not last long - and - yes I use Original toyota parts.

Original Tojo parts from the UK or Thailand ?

Humour me will you. What does this gaiter cost (genuine tojo) UK vs Thailand.

Alternatively sell the girly FWD car and get yourself into a pickup, no issues with CV boots then.

Edited May 10, 2012 by Spoonman

[MikeOxtinks]

What is a gaiter ?

If you dislike the price of cars here (New/Secondhand/replacement parts etc) be proactive and instead of moaning about it and vote with your feet and ride a scoot (or even walk) not as if anyone is holding a gun to your head, alternatively head back to the UK seeing as though it is sooooooooo much better there.

A gaiter, is a rubber boot that goes over your front wheel drive half shafts to stop the crap getting in to your constan velocity joints. - They are not easy to replace and can become quite expensive. Plus they do not last long - and - yes I use Original toyota parts.

Original Tojo parts from the UK or Thailand ?

Humour me will you. What does this gaiter cost (genuine tojo) UK vs Thailand.

Alternatively sell the girly FWD car and get yourself into a pickup, no issues with CV boots then.

Now I can see that this is going to get moved into a Motoring Forum as we are getting specific - but a Genuine toyota Gaiter (only one) comes in at about 4000 Baht Fitted - they generally seem to last less than 25000-30000 km, I have had 4 sets fitted already.

The annoyance is that you get one split and take it to Toyota and ask them to replace both gaiters, and after an entire day you come back and find they have only replaced the damaged one, then 3 weeks later the other one goes.

Nothing here seems to involve preventative maintenance - I currently have two outstanding problems with the Toyota, one is that in cold weather on the first cold start I get 3 dashboard warning lights that flash every second for about 5 minutes, the BATTERY, THE OIL and THE TIMING BELT, after 5 minutes they settle down and never flash again until the next cold start - imagine explaining this to the mechanics!!!!

The second is some sort of problem with the throttle, everytime you get the throttle to about 3/4 inch from home the engine makes a sort of chuffing sound, it to me sounds like a faulty valve on a breather, almost like an intake leak and the engine sounds rough.

We replaced the battery today and they said the flashing lights were down to the battery (Bullshit - the flashing lights only occured after they repaired the starte motor and replaced the battery 18 months ago - but the weather isn't cold enough to reproduce the fault)

The chuffing noise was put down to "This is NORMAL" - when it is not true, as the chuffing noise only appeared in the last few months.

If you drive a car day in day out you hear every little thing, but Toyota simply said - bring it back if it gets worse - they never put it on a diagnostics machine or anything.....things here have to break before they are repaired.

The only time Toyota will be happy to repair whatever is wrong with my throttle is when the car breaks down completely, probably in a monsoon rainstorm!

[transam]

OP, do be quiet, your not in farang land now. Try understanding Thais THEN you will see how it is here. BUT, just for you, buy a Boliden battery, if you can find a supplier.

[TommoPhysicist]

The hot humid weather in Thailand destroys batteries, hot battery = dead battery fairly quickly. So only reliable for 2 years.

Why are second hand cars expensive.

Thailand doesn't put salt on the roads in winter, so the cars don't go rusty, so they hold their value.

Labour costs in Thailand are 50bht an hour compared to 50UKP an hour in the UK.

Large import duties on cars make it worthwhile keeping them running for a longer time.

I've found running an old car in Thailand to be extremely cheap, parts and labour cheap. Insurance and MOT testing cheap.

All in all, far better value for money than the UK.

[Spoonman]

Amusingly a car purchased for 1,000,000 baht in the UK has a resale value of 200,000baht 5 yrs later, a 1,000,000 baht car in Thailand has a resale value of 800,000baht 5 yrs later..............

That depreciation in the UK sure is value for money aint it !!!!!!!

[MikeOxtinks]

Spoonman-

For some reason I cannot reply to your post, but sorry, I thought you were using some slang for Toyota when you posted "TOJO" - I have no idea what TOJO is, I only used Toyota. Sorry for the confusion, and the long winded diatribe was not aimed at you!

Edited May 10, 2012 by MikeOxtinks

[brit1984]

The hot humid weather in Thailand destroys batteries, hot battery = dead battery fairly quickly. So only reliable for 2 years.

Why are second hand cars expensive.

Thailand doesn't put salt on the roads in winter, so the cars don't go rusty, so they hold their value.

Labour costs in Thailand are 50bht an hour compared to 50UKP an hour in the UK.

Large import duties on cars make it worthwhile keeping them running for a longer time.

I've found running an old car in Thailand to be extremely cheap, parts and labour cheap. Insurance and MOT testing cheap.

All in all, far better value for money than the UK.

Perfect answer

Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules

[aussiebebe]

I'll try to give a decent answer to the OP. Firstly the batteries;

The hot humid weather in Thailand destroys batteries, hot battery = dead battery fairly quickly. So only reliable for 2 years.

Why are second hand cars expensive.

Thailand doesn't put salt on the roads in winter, so the cars don't go rusty, so they hold their value.

Labour costs in Thailand are 50bht an hour compared to 50UKP an hour in the UK.

Large import duties on cars make it worthwhile keeping them running for a longer time.

I've found running an old car in Thailand to be extremely cheap, parts and labour cheap. Insurance and MOT testing cheap.

All in all, far better value for money than the UK.

I agree with your points but although the OP's batteries lasted 2 years, maybe this is specific to truck batteries. I had a Toyota Soluna battery last 5 years and the one is my present Honda City is going into it's 4th.

At Honda in Bangkok I pay labor charges of 300/hour and google threw up an 'Warranty Direct' survey that UK mechanics cost an average of 80 pounds per hour with some London garages charging 200. I think this answers the OP's question; A 14 year old Civic is worth so little because it will cost so much to repair.

A bit off topic, but another mistake foreigners make is failing to compare like for like. Even base model cars in Thailand have AC, metallic paint and electric windows whereas base-model cars in the UK are often sold without so seem cheaper.

[Spoonman]

Amusingly a car purchased for 1,000,000 baht in the UK has a resale value of 200,000baht 5 yrs later, a 1,000,000 baht car in Thailand has a resale value of 800,000baht 5 yrs later..............

That depreciation in the UK sure is value for money aint it !!!!!!!

It is almost as good as buying a house in London the way things are going!

This is what I am on about - but no one seems to be able to answer!

Why is the Thai Baht 48 Baht/GBP when not long back it was 91!!!!!!! What has made the Baht so strong,

The baht is not strong, the pound is now at its corrected level.

Must suck that a house in London devalues so much over 5 years, thank the queen cars are cheap.

BTW ToJo = Toyota, how much do the gaiters cost in the UK ?

[LucidLucifer]

why are you all having a go at this guy? he asked a simple question on an open forum,respect it and give him a decent answer or shut the <deleted>> up.

Thank You! I didn't think I was breaking any rules, if the topic needs moving just tell me, no problem. Jesus, you get attacked on this forum for no reason at all. I don't understand the mentality of some of these posters.

Probably no wonder this forum has such a bad rep.

Unfortunately you need to develop a thick skin if you're to post on any forum. I don't think TV is unique in that.

The hot humid weather in Thailand destroys batteries, hot battery = dead battery fairly quickly. So only reliable for 2 years.

Why are second hand cars expensive.

Thailand doesn't put salt on the roads in winter, so the cars don't go rusty, so they hold their value.

Labour costs in Thailand are 50bht an hour compared to 50UKP an hour in the UK.

Large import duties on cars make it worthwhile keeping them running for a longer time.

I've found running an old car in Thailand to be extremely cheap, parts and labour cheap. Insurance and MOT testing cheap.

All in all, far better value for money than the UK.

Fantastic answer.....

[soundman]

I have removed numerous off topic and nasty posts.

If you cannot be civil, or are determined to be a smart-arse, don't bother to post a reply, it will be removed and posting privileges may be revoked.

[MikeOxtinks]

OP, do be quiet, your not in farang land now. Try understanding Thais THEN you will see how it is here. BUT, just for you, buy a Boliden battery, if you can find a supplier.

I am not in Farangland now, nor have I been since 1997, but I would love to know what a Boliden Battery is! But foremost, I would love to know why Batteries in Thailand made by Toyota last only 18 months - apparently, it is not only here but it is 52% of complaints in Japan too!

I pity those poor sods buying those "HYBRID" things - imagine replacing those every 18 months - However I did read that GM reckoned that any user would get at least 10 years from them!

[MikeOxtinks]

I'll try to give a decent answer to the OP. Firstly the batteries;

The hot humid weather in Thailand destroys batteries, hot battery = dead battery fairly quickly. So only reliable for 2 years.

Why are second hand cars expensive.

Thailand doesn't put salt on the roads in winter, so the cars don't go rusty, so they hold their value.

Labour costs in Thailand are 50bht an hour compared to 50UKP an hour in the UK.

Large import duties on cars make it worthwhile keeping them running for a longer time.

I've found running an old car in Thailand to be extremely cheap, parts and labour cheap. Insurance and MOT testing cheap.

All in all, far better value for money than the UK.

I agree with your points but although the OP's batteries lasted 2 years, maybe this is specific to truck batteries. I had a Toyota Soluna battery last 5 years and the one is my present Honda City is going into it's 4th.

At Honda in Bangkok I pay labor charges of 300/hour and google threw up an 'Warranty Direct' survey that UK mechanics cost an average of 80 pounds per hour with some London garages charging 200. I think this answers the OP's question; A 14 year old Civic is worth so little because it will cost so much to repair.

A bit off topic, but another mistake foreigners make is failing to compare like for like. Even base model cars in Thailand have AC, metallic paint and electric windows whereas base-model cars in the UK are often sold without so seem cheaper.

At Toyota in San Patong I paid nothing for labour - they gave me 358 Baht back for giving them the old battery!

[MikeOxtinks]

The hot humid weather in Thailand destroys batteries, hot battery = dead battery fairly quickly. So only reliable for 2 years.

Why are second hand cars expensive.

Thailand doesn't put salt on the roads in winter, so the cars don't go rusty, so they hold their value.

Labour costs in Thailand are 50bht an hour compared to 50UKP an hour in the UK.

Large import duties on cars make it worthwhile keeping them running for a longer time.

I've found running an old car in Thailand to be extremely cheap, parts and labour cheap. Insurance and MOT testing cheap.

All in all, far better value for money than the UK.

I guess that the MOT here makes things a bit easier - "Has it got four wheels - does it look like a car, does at least one light work...ah what the hell..pass it!"

I took mine in for a test 2 years ago, it consisted of a microphone and an exhaust sampler a few revs of the engine (if it smoked they revved it again until it was clear and re sampled) then the underside inspection consisted of whacking you prop shaft spiders with a rubber mallet, andf it seems as long as you pay the tax and insurance to them......guess what it passes - I had three bald tyres, no kidding, they were like racing slicks and they never batted an eyelid! Two of the front four sidelights didn't work and one brake light was off - the rear reflectors were broken to shreds where my wifes brother backed into a wall,

The windscreen has a two foot crack on the passenger side, seems not to be an issue- it seems only about paying your cash, two free towels and two free glasses, but what the hell - who could ask for more!

I did take a peek at the inspection report, and despite my motor putting out a bit of black fumes when fully revved, it came in at about 10% of the legal maximum - So I guess you could still pass the test if your car ran on wood fuel , coal, or wood gas...saying that a lot of the pick ups in Chiang Mai that appear to be carrying loads of timber, are probably burning it in a wood stove under the bonnet...you know the ones, the Mazda Familias carrying 3 tons of wood!

No they are not selling it, they are running the car on it!

I noticed the guys at Toyota covered my car with cloths before they started work on it, they cover the seats, and every area they work on the bodywork - I guess they wanted to keep their overalls clean!!!

Edited May 10, 2012 by MikeOxtinks

[Heng]

If anything prices (and taxes) should be higher. Way too many cars and trucks on the road.

[brit1984]

If anything prices (and taxes) should be higher. Way too many cars and trucks on the road.

I think a congestion charge for Bangkok (and any other traffic hotspots) with the revenue spent on improving public transport would be more appropriate.

Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules

[BSJ]

The retail price on pick-ups is crazy! They make millions of em here. Haven't they figured out the economy of scale?

[Semper]

why are you all having a go at this guy? he asked a simple question on an open forum,respect it and give him a decent answer or shut the <deleted>> up.

Before you posted, there was only one reply to the OP.

[necronx99]

The retail price on pick-ups is crazy! They make millions of em here. Haven't they figured out the economy of scale?

Pickups are dirt cheap here. About half price of the same in Oz.

[necronx99]

OP. One answer. The Tropics, heat and humidity.

Batteries and rubber, on the whole, do not last well here.

For a Thai, new cars are a massive investment. Labor is cheap and older cars are maintained in good nick far longer than in the UK.

Everything has a flip side, are used cars too expensive here or is the market depreciation too savage in the UK?

[KhunBENQ]

Still I have no exact idea why 2nd hand cars are that expensive.

The arguments above are not convincing (not only import cars have a low impairment).

One explanation I heard:

1) Only very few buyers are able to pay cash

2) Of the majority, many buyers are not able to get a bank loan for a new (or used) car (bank loans not available to peasants, small businesses etc., available to government officials and white-collar employees)

3) 2nd hand dealers offer loans to those buyers and abuse their financing power for ridiculous prices and terms of loan.

[Gary A]

Used vehicles here are expensive because it cost very little to keep them repaired and on the road. In western countries, labor normally costs as much more than the parts being replaced. A mechanic in the west will be ten times, at a minimum, more expensive than here in Thailand.

Most Thai people just simply can't afford to have a big face by having new vehicles to show off.

[Berkshire]

Regarding batteries, my first lasted about 3 years, the second is on it's 4th year. Even though some is billed as maintenance-free, it does help to add water from time to time.

I do wonder about used car prices as they do seem high. Solution is to buy new.

[stevenl]

Still I have no exact idea why 2nd hand cars are that expensive.

The arguments above are not convincing (not only import cars have a low impairment).

One explanation I heard:

1) Only very few buyers are able to pay cash

2) Of the majority, many buyers are not able to get a bank loan for a new (or used) car (bank loans not available to peasants, small businesses etc., available to government officials and white-collar employees)

3) 2nd hand dealers offer loans to those buyers and abuse their financing power for ridiculous prices and terms of loan.

You might be better understanding this if you turn your question around: why are 2n hand cars back home so cheap?

I agree with other posters BTW, there really is no point at all in comparing prices between Thailand and back home.

[brit1984]

In conclusion, cars are expensive here but car ownership is very cheap