Why Do You Never See The Asking Price Displayed On A Used Car

[nattydread]

if you walk into a used car showroom back in the UK and probably most Western countries the asking price is usually displayed on the windscreen of the car along with its year of registration

if I walk past a car lot back home and a car in my price range stands out I would then take the trouble to investigate further

every used car I have seen whether it be in a garage or parked at the side of the road never has the asking price displayed.......the exception to this has been a couple of sub 50,000 baht cars

that caught my eye that wouldnt have looked out of place in a scrapyard

so why is it that the Thais never display the price which in my opinion would get them more punters in hence more business?

[kartman]

They 'Sus' the punter that does inquire first before disclosing 'a' price.

[tom21]

as far as i know most western countries it is the law to put the price of a used car on the car ( dealers) in thaialnd it is not

[sezze]

Also , nobody want's to know the complete price but only how much they have to give as 1st pay-off . So you see the cars or non listed or as 20000 or 40000 or a nr like that . It would not attract more costumers since people who just can afford a car have allready 1 , and people who are very able to buy 1 buy new . A full 2nd hand price would scare off costumers rather then attracting them .

[stevenl]

as far as i know most western countries it is the law to put the price of a used car on the car ( dealers) in thaialnd it is not

Strange law IMO. In what countries would that be the case?

Agree with sezze, a lot of the second hand cars will be financed,. Sometimes you will even see a sign on the car saying '40000 Baht' or something like that, being the initial required downpayment. The same with motorbikes.

[happyaussie]

They usually have an A4 page with specs on the dash, window, seat. In Australia there's no law and it's usually only cheap cars which have price on windscreen.

[transam]

They 'Sus' the punter that does inquire first before disclosing 'a' price.

My answer too.

[simple1]

don't know where you live, but in Pattaya most used car dealers have the price quoted on the A4 paper description, not on windscreen

[chris2004]

They 'Sus' the punter that does inquire first before disclosing 'a' price.

Sure, if a thai walks in the price is say 300,000. If a farang walks in the price is 350,000.

[stingray]

as far as i know most western countries it is the law to put the price of a used car on the car ( dealers) in thaialnd it is not

It's different: To put a pricetag on a used car, the dealer need a License. License cost about 10'k per year. Most of dealers avoid to pay that amount of money, so they can not put price tags on their cars.

Another thing: Can not "play" around with a "trade in", therefore no price tag.

Private sales on the road is forbitten to put a price tag. Can only put the tag "Sale" and the phonenumber.

[rixalex]

You don't need price tags on used cars out here. Just think what the car is worth and then double that figure.

[transam]

as far as i know most western countries it is the law to put the price of a used car on the car ( dealers) in thaialnd it is not

It's different: To put a pricetag on a used car, the dealer need a License. License cost about 10'k per year. Most of dealers avoid to pay that amount of money, so they can not put price tags on their cars.

Another thing: Can not "play" around with a "trade in", therefore no price tag.

Private sales on the road is forbitten to put a price tag. Can only put the tag "Sale" and the phonenumber.

Interesting info.

[Darrel]

Also , nobody want's to know the complete price but only how much they have to give as 1st pay-off . So you see the cars or non listed or as 20000 or 40000 or a nr like that . It would not attract more costumers since people who just can afford a car have allready 1 , and people who are very able to buy 1 buy new .

I think this is correct. I noticed the other day several 2nd-hand shops displaying vehicles with "15,000" or "20,000" on the windscreen. These can only be monthly payment costs.

I find it hard to imagine why anyone would ever think about buying a used car in Thailand unless they just don't have the cash to buy new, and such people would probably be buying on credit also.

I looked very briefly at 2nd-hand prices and immediately put the idea completely out of my mind. Used car prices here are just plain absurd.

[BlackArtemis]

If it's 20k, it might be a down payment. And I can see many reasons to buy used. There are many models that simply cannot be had new. I find the new civics ugly and bloated and I like the 1993-2003 generations much better.

And no hope of finding something like a gen1 celica, 620 Datsun, or Caribbean new...

[rixalex]

I find it hard to imagine why anyone would ever think about buying a used car in Thailand unless they just don't have the cash to buy new, and such people would probably be buying on credit also.

I think buying on credit accounts for a very large percentage of sales with both new and used, but the key difference is, and the reason why people do buy these over-priced used cars that aren't much cheaper than new, is that financing a new car for one, requires a much larger initial down payment, and for two, requires passing a much stricter background check on the person's finances and their work etc. Plus of course there tends to be a bit of a waiting list for new. Some people, when they decide they want to buy a car, want and expect to be driving it the next day. Here it can take up to six months from deciding you are going to buy a car, to actually owning it, and some people can't be arsed with that.

[ignis]

I looked very briefly at 2nd-hand prices and immediately put the idea completely out of my mind. Used car prices here are just plain absurd.

Thai built cars yes, but look at the European car, you can get 2nd hand a good European car with electric everything, climate control, leather, ABS and Airbags for the same price, same year as a basic Thai built No ABS, No Airbags,

The European car cost 1 -2 million more here then the same size Thai built car new......

Look at Honda, if you see a Thai built Accord next to a Legend or Vigor, same year and price, most Thai's will go for the Accord, beats me why, both the Legend and Vigor have electric everything, climate control, leather, ABS and Airbags.

Thailand there lots of accidents yet safety appear to play no part in buying a car here....... you even see new'ish cars that they cange to a non airbag wheel, even the new still on red plates Mini bus yesterday had changed the wheel to a non airbag wheel !!

[ignis]

as far as i know most western countries it is the law to put the price of a used car on the car ( dealers) in thaialnd it is not

It's different: To put a pricetag on a used car, the dealer need a License. License cost about 10'k per year. Most of dealers avoid to pay that amount of money, so they can not put price tags on their cars.

Another thing: Can not "play" around with a "trade in", therefore no price tag.

Private sales on the road is forbitten to put a price tag. Can only put the tag "Sale" and the phonenumber.

Many cars with a For Sale sign on by the side of the road have prices ? maybe different provinces different rules ?

In Bang Yai there is always 3 or 4 cars parked on the side of the road together with price, [both sides of the road are Banks maybe repo cars?] and has been for past 8 years, most expensive was a slab side Benz S class @ 880,000 baht, normally see different cars there between 59 - 300,000

[stingray]

Also , nobody want's to know the complete price but only how much they have to give as 1st pay-off . So you see the cars or non listed or as 20000 or 40000 or a nr like that . It would not attract more costumers since people who just can afford a car have allready 1 , and people who are very able to buy 1 buy new .

I think this is correct. I noticed the other day several 2nd-hand shops displaying vehicles with "15,000" or "20,000" on the windscreen. These can only be monthly payment costs.

I find it hard to imagine why anyone would ever think about buying a used car in Thailand unless they just don't have the cash to buy new, and such people would probably be buying on credit also.

I looked very briefly at 2nd-hand prices and immediately put the idea completely out of my mind. Used car prices here are just plain absurd.

Not everyone want drive a Toyota Vios or Honda City.

They are many reasons to buy second hand cars! If you want buy a Toyota Crown, how can you buy a new one and where? Or if you want to buy a new Benz S Class, not everyone can trow a couple million baht for a car like that, therefore you buy a older W126 Body, between 200 and 300'k.

BTW a good W126 Benz wth Goverment approval (MOT Test) cost in Germany 6 to 8'000 Euro as well. So it's not that much overpriced here in Thailand. 8'000 Euro is also 320'000 Baht. Overpriced are only the new Ecoboxes, like Honda City and Toyota Vios. Another one: Some poster mentioned the Honda Legend. Again there are no new Honda Legend for sale. So you have to buy used, if you want a car like that. There are many cars you can afford for a normal price. For example a 10 year old Nissan Cefiro (and they are very good cars), you pay around 400'k. The new one cost 1.7 Million at that time. And a Cefiro you can't compare with a new Vios. It's a different car. A new Bemer serie 7, cost maybe 7 to 10 Million Baht. Therefore a 93 Model still cost arround 375'000 Baht and thats 5% of a new price. So this is actually not expensive. Yes, i know in Europe those cars are cheaper, but the new ones are much cheaper too, therefore the second hand prices are cheaper.

Many cars are not on the market here. In Switerland i just bought a 98 Camaro for 4'000 USD. But in LOS are no Camaros, therefore if you really beable to find one, it wil cost over a million. But here are no choices. and if i like and drive a Camaro in Switzerland, a Vios can never satisfy me at all.