Need To Buy A Pickup Truck In Isaan, Upto 250K Baht

[johnson36]

My wife has inherited some money in England and would like to buy a pickup for her dad when we visit Thailand in Dec / Jan. Her parents live between Undon Thani and Sakhon Nakhon. I think the village is about 90 kms from Undon Thani.

We will be flying there on the 2nd Jan and staying till the 7th Jan and then returning again on the 16th Jan for another 3 days. In this time she wants to buy a pickup for him.

This is causing a real headache for me as I am supposed to find something. I have been dealing in cars / motorhomes in the UK for over 20years but I dont fancy my chances of finding something decent in Thailand. My wifes Uncle has a good job with Nissan, not sure what he does for them but he travels all over Thailand. I told her he is in a much better position than me to try and find something. I can't see him doing anything though.

So that brings the problem back to me. Where do I start looking ? Are there any reputable dealers in Undon Thani ? What make of pickup is best for the money she wants to spend ? Nissan / Toyota / Isuzu / Ford ? roughly how much will insurance be for her dad ? he is about 50 yrs.

[anon210]

With 250 K, you will have a hard time to find a decent second-hand pickup in Thailand. Double the amount, and you can get a new one (which will be preferable).

Supposing you want to buy new, the timeframe is a bit short in Issan, unless the pickup model you want to buy is held in stock. Maybe buy in BKK?

[stevenl]

If buying second hand, look at Mazda/Ford/Nissan/Chevrolet. Much more reasonable prices compared to Toyota/Isuzu.

[johnson36]

With 250 K, you will have a hard time to find a decent second-hand pickup in Thailand. Double the amount, and you can get a new one (which will be preferable).

Supposing you want to buy new, the timeframe is a bit short in Issan, unless the pickup model you want to buy is held in stock. Maybe buy in BKK?

Thanks for the reply.

There is no way I am going to let my wife spend 500k baht (£10,000) on a pickup for her dad. I have never spent that amount in the UK for a car for myself and I use a car everyday.

The whole thing really plsses me off. The main problem I have with it is that he doesn't need a car. They have a motorbike and a skylab, and where they live that is all they need. I cant think when the pickup would get used. To get to their farm land they take a short cut down a track that you could only use a motorbike on and the market town in only about 5 km's away so going on a motorbike is fine. Her uncle in the same village has a pickup and so do a few other guys so if every there is a need to go to the big town about 30km's away and buy some large it is never a problem. My wife is trying to think of reasons to buy the pickup. One reason is that her father could pick us up from Undon Thani airport when we visit. Now does that make sense ? we visit once a year and we give her uncle 1000 - 1500 baht to pick us up and take us back and her mother and father come a long to. My wifes idea is spend 250k+ on a pickup, then pay the insurance + fuel + repairs through the year etc and then he can pick us up thus saving 1000 baht. It is like banging my head against a brick wall trying to teach her some common sense.

[transam]

Perhaps, again l say perhaps, your lady might just be showing ''show'' to the family.

If me, l would forget it.

[johnson36]

transam.

correct.

I the village's its all about show, they all seem very jealous of each other. If you have a car / pickup it makes others think your doing ok. But it is a lot of money to spend just to make others jealous.

My wife has an 11 year old daughter who lives with her parents in the village in Thailand. It would make more sense to save the inheritance money for her future, education etc. I did get her to open an ISA in the UK in April and she put the full £5640 allowance in, I am hoping she will want to top it up next April, this ISA is for her daughter in the future. I will also add some money to it next year, I probably offer to match what my wife puts in.

I really do think that Thais don't like to save, they just want to spend the cash the second they have it.

If her uncle comes up with something through his contacts at Nissan I will certainly have a look but I am not going to ruin my holiday going round dealers in Bangkok or Udon Thani.

[anon210]

With 250 K, you will have a hard time to find a decent second-hand pickup in Thailand. Double the amount, and you can get a new one (which will be preferable).

Supposing you want to buy new, the timeframe is a bit short in Issan, unless the pickup model you want to buy is held in stock. Maybe buy in BKK?

Thanks for the reply.

There is no way I am going to let my wife spend 500k baht (£10,000) on a pickup for her dad. I have never spent that amount in the UK for a car for myself and I use a car everyday.

The whole thing really plsses me off. The main problem I have with it is that he doesn't need a car. They have a motorbike and a skylab, and where they live that is all they need. I cant think when the pickup would get used. To get to their farm land they take a short cut down a track that you could only use a motorbike on and the market town in only about 5 km's away so going on a motorbike is fine. Her uncle in the same village has a pickup and so do a few other guys so if every there is a need to go to the big town about 30km's away and buy some large it is never a problem. My wife is trying to think of reasons to buy the pickup. One reason is that her father could pick us up from Undon Thani airport when we visit. Now does that make sense ? we visit once a year and we give her uncle 1000 - 1500 baht to pick us up and take us back and her mother and father come a long to. My wifes idea is spend 250k+ on a pickup, then pay the insurance + fuel + repairs through the year etc and then he can pick us up thus saving 1000 baht. It is like banging my head against a brick wall trying to teach her some common sense.

Ahem... As Transam said, I would not follow up on the idea. Buying a pickup just to pick you up sounds a bit like using a sledgehammer to crush a nut. If her father is a farmer and needs to carry his crops to the market, I might understand, although, apparently until now it never was an issue.

I am a bit astonished that you pay money to the uncle to pick you up. Is that not something normal to do when relatives visit? I am sorry to say so, but you may have given some bad habits to your family.

[johnson36]

Freemindxs

Her uncle doesn't ask for money but my wife gives it to him anyway, I don't mind because its her money which she has earned working in England and I do like the bloke. A couple of years ago though another man with a car in the village asked for 1800 baht to take us to Undon Thani which is about 80 or 90 km's away. My wifes mother was not happy at all that he had asked for that much.

I have nearly talked her out of buying pickup on this next trip in Dec/Jan. I have told her how difficult it is going to be to find a good secondhand pickup. Then there is the extras, from the day she buys it she will have to pay for the insurance, fuel, tyres, repairs etc etc. All this for something he doesn't even need. I asked today if her mum or dad had asked her for a pickup, she said no.

I've got about another 9 weeks to work on her before we go to Thailand. She has still got a few things to pay for in finishing off the house she has been building over the last 2 years. Now in building the house she has had very good value, I estimate the cost to be about 300 - 350k on a nice plot that was given to her by a grandmother, so I can't get my head around why she would want to buy pickup about 12 yrs old for 250k, doesn't look good value to me.

[stevenl]

I am a bit astonished that you pay money to the uncle to pick you up. Is that not something normal to do when relatives visit? I am sorry to say so, but you may have given some bad habits to your family.

Seems to be pretty standard here, to at least pay for fuel etc.

[VocalNeal]

Must be a typo here and there. It started off as her dad and it's now her uncle?

A rule of thumb maybe never give anyone a gift that will increase there economic burden. It's like giving a child a toy that requires batteries. Who buys those? If they can afford all the running cost OK.

There are many reasons for wanting or needing a pick up. I know one family who had a sick family member and had to often ask for transport to take him to hospital. Not always available in the middle of the night. Daughter bought them a pick up on credit, which was also used in the off season as a mobile vegetable shop.

Every case is different.

But 250,000 is not enough for anything good, in the conventional truck sense, unless you are very lucky. When I was looking for a cheap truck, any and every used truck started at 200,000 - 250,000. Mostly all tarted up junk. If it purely for utilitarian use you might get a used Suzuki for that?

Edited October 16, 2012 by VocalNeal

[johnson36]

VocalNeal

Thanks for the reply.

I don't see any typo regarding Uncle / Dad, I think you must have miss read something. My wife is wanting to buy a pickup for her dad and it is her Uncle who she currently pays to collect us from Udon Thani airport and take us back there.

I did think about the Suzuki supercarry, I have heard they are about 300k new ? not sure how true that is, I am also not sure how legal it is for people to ride in the back ?

[John 1]

VocalNeal

Thanks for the reply.

I don't see any typo regarding Uncle / Dad, I think you must have miss read something. My wife is wanting to buy a pickup for her dad and it is her Uncle who she currently pays to collect us from Udon Thani airport and take us back there.

I did think about the Suzuki supercarry, I have heard they are about 300k new ? not sure how true that is, I am also not sure how legal it is for people to ride in the back ?

Look up the suzuki thai site and you will find the price cheap for a small 1ton truck, as for riding in the back anything goes.you will most likely get 20 in there against a pick up of only 12.

[johnson36]

Thanks John I will have a look

[anon210]

VocalNeal

Thanks for the reply.

I don't see any typo regarding Uncle / Dad, I think you must have miss read something. My wife is wanting to buy a pickup for her dad and it is her Uncle who she currently pays to collect us from Udon Thani airport and take us back there.

I did think about the Suzuki supercarry, I have heard they are about 300k new ? not sure how true that is, I am also not sure how legal it is for people to ride in the back ?

Look up the suzuki thai site and you will find the price cheap for a small 1ton truck, as for riding in the back anything goes.you will most likely get 20 in there against a pick up of only 12.

It is never legal for people to ride in the bed of a pickup, but I have seen numerous pickups speeding on thai highways, with people or even kids in the bed. Useless to say that those persons are all dead meat in the case of a major accident, or maybe even just violent shocks with only crumpled metal.

So, it is fair to say that anything goes as long as it takes place in the country. Within Bangkok, you will not be able to access the expressways with more than one passenger in a single/crew cab (green plates). In the city, same thing, plenty of pickups with passengers in the back (often manual laborers being shipped back to dormitory or home).

[John 1]

VocalNeal

Thanks for the reply.

I don't see any typo regarding Uncle / Dad, I think you must have miss read something. My wife is wanting to buy a pickup for her dad and it is her Uncle who she currently pays to collect us from Udon Thani airport and take us back there.

I did think about the Suzuki supercarry, I have heard they are about 300k new ? not sure how true that is, I am also not sure how legal it is for people to ride in the back ?

Look up the suzuki thai site and you will find the price cheap for a small 1ton truck, as for riding in the back anything goes.you will most likely get 20 in there against a pick up of only 12.

It is never legal for people to ride in the bed of a pickup, but I have seen numerous pickups speeding on thai highways, with people or even kids in the bed. Useless to say that those persons are all dead meat in the case of a major accident, or maybe even just violent shocks with only crumpled metal.

So, it is fair to say that anything goes as long as it takes place in the country. Within Bangkok, you will not be able to access the expressways with more than one passenger in a single/crew cab (green plates). In the city, same thing, plenty of pickups with passengers in the back (often manual laborers being shipped back to dormitory or home).

Is there a law no people to ride in the back of a pick up?

[johnson36]

Only 2 weeks now till we travel to Thailand. I have been looking on Taladrod.com and I see there are quite a lot of Nissan Frontier's advertised around 200K baht. Please can you give me some advice on buying a Frontier ? things to look for etc, models to buy or not to buy.

Here are a couple examples:

http://www.taladrod.com/w20/Search/CarDet3.aspx?cib=1020790

http://www.taladrod.com/w20/Search/CarDet3.aspx?cib=1024042

http://www.taladrod.com/w20/Search/CarDet3.aspx?cib=1024399

http://www.taladrod.com/w20/Search/CarDet3.aspx?cib=1001702

[Hedghog]

Its her money,let her do what she wants with it,when its gone its gone.

She expects you to take care of the future.

Which is the norm

[Boyce]

Buy him a new Honda Wave 32,000Baht . he will use that more than a truck.

And save the rest, for your future plans.

[simple1]

Could well be that the reality is she wants to provide a vehicle for one of her family members to use & doesn't want to tell you. It's fairly common that someone such as a brother has been putting pressure on your wife claiming he will use it to make a living and so on

Edited December 11, 2012 by simple1

[JoePai]

Explain she would be do far more good (and earn better ‘face’) by spending the money on bringing her daughter to the UK for a proper education instead of abandoning her in the jungle.

[eaustev]

Only 2 weeks now till we travel to Thailand. I have been looking on Taladrod.com and I see there are quite a lot of Nissan Frontier's advertised around 200K baht. Please can you give me some advice on buying a Frontier ? things to look for etc, models to buy or not to buy.

Here are a couple examples:

http://www.taladrod....spx?cib=1020790

http://www.taladrod....spx?cib=1024042

http://www.taladrod....spx?cib=1024399

http://www.taladrod....spx?cib=1001702

One of the reasons that the Frontier are cheaper second hand is that they are reputed to be a bit heavy on fuel. You would have to bear that in mind in the projected ownership costs.

[johnson36]

Buy him a new Honda Wave 32,000Baht . he will use that more than a truck.

And save the rest, for your future plans.

We bought him a new motor bike a few years ago, its still good

[johnson36]

Its her money,let her do what she wants with it,when its gone its gone.

She expects you to take care of the future.

Which is the norm

So you think I should let my wife waste her money away ? don't you think it might be better I help her to get good value with her money ? remember she has a 11 yr old daughter to think about. What you say above maybe the norm for you but not for me. I like good value and don't like to see money wasted.

[johnson36]

Could well be that the reality is she wants to provide a vehicle for one of her family members to use & doesn't want to tell you. It's fairly common that someone such as a brother has been putting pressure on your wife claiming he will use it to make a living and so on

No.

She has no brothers or sisters. Pickup was just for her dad, to make him look good, its all about show mate.

[johnson36]

Re post # 1.

I mention my wifes Uncle who has a good job with Nissan, well he has proved to be useless. He has made 1 phone call to the Nissan dealership nearest to my wifes village. He just said, "no good, be too expensive to buy there" we thought he had contacts within Nissan. What happens to all the older part exchange vehicles ? I assumed there might be some computer system showing stock at the various dealers around Thailand. He lives in BKK, I got my wife to mention we had seen vehicles 200 - 250k on Taladrod.com, I was thinking he might want to look at some for us or with us when we arrive next week, his reply, " no good, a lot of flood damage cars for sale in BKK ". Very frustrating for me as he has not said one positive as to what to do, only what not to do.

Anyway my wife said her mum and dad could go to look at the other dealers in the big town near there home. You know the ones selling overprice cars from forecourts along the main road in the town. I already told her I would not be going to any of them to buy. She said it wouldn't hurt for them just to go and look. So they did. My wife rang her mum after they had been on Monday morning. Her dad said 250k was no good there, can't get for that price. When my wife finished on the phone (well skype) she had a thai telephone number wrote down, I said whats that for, she said for the man at the garage, why ? because he got a car they like, ? I ask for more details. Turns out they want the 4 year old Isuzu Rodeo for 560k (£11.4k), wife says "its ok she can pay 250k now and then she can pay 6000 bt per month" I think that is for either 5 or 6 yrs, I don't know for sure as I don't know the interest rate on the loan. I say that is never ever going happen, your not spending upwards of £11.4k on a pickup just to make other people in the village jealous. I must add that myself and my wife currently run about in the UK in a 1999 Nissan Vanette which I bought 2 yrs ago for £950, its probably worth about £600 now, but its very tidy and does the job I want it to do, I am sorting out 3 of my properties so its handy for building materials and getting rid of rubbish. I explain to her that I don't buy for myself a vehicle worth £10000 or £15000k is because I don't need one, the exact same reason why your dad won't be getting one, I don't need to show off and I don't need to make the neighbours jealous.

I show her a couple more vehicles on Talarod around 200k that are in Sakhon Nakhon, about 100k from her village. She agrees that on the photos they look good and that sort of thing would be ok. I say well im only giving you ideas and without seeing them I can't be sure they will be any good, but they are maybe worth a look. She says ok and telephones her mum and dad again. She says to them, if we find something on the internet for you to look at not too far away for 200 - 250k will you have a look. They say a point blank " NO, to old we don't want ". This just confirms to me why they want a pickup, to make the neighbours jealous. Not to actually use because when it comes down to a 250k pickup or nothing they choose nothing, because they will feel shy owning an older pickup.

After a couple days her dad is still sulking like a kid that can't have what he wants. Other members of my wifes family agree with me, why does he need one so expensive. Anyway he can sulk all he wants now because he's getting F*** all now, we are not even taking the 250k now. We are going to try and sort out the internet for her daughter and there is a few more things to do on the house my wife has built for them. Oh but I did go to a sports shop last week and I bought him a new pair of leather trainers so he will feel more comfortable when he's walking / running. What do they say " first class walking is better than second class motoring " or is it the other way round

Edited December 19, 2012 by johnson36

[stevenl]

You really have made a bad impression here, which will lead a tremendous pressure on your wife from her family.

[johnson36]

Are you saying the right thing to do is to tell my wife she should use a large amount of her money to buy her dad exactly what he wants ? An £11400+ pickup so he can make the others in village feel jealous of him. Is that a good enough reason to spend that amount of money when there are more important things to buy or pay for in the future. I am only 41yrs young and my wife 30yrs. Why would I want to blow my considerable inheritance on making a few people in the North of Thailand jealous of my wifes parents.

My wife has almost finished the house she has built for them, god knows if she got any thanks for that but it seems to be forgotten already. It wasn’t expensive, about £8k or less and has been built over the past few years. She got very good value with both materials and labour. The simple fact that she has built a really nice house for £8k is just another reason why I would not want her to spend nearly one and a half times as much on a pickup which he has little use for. Don’t forget they have a motorbike, bicycle and one of those 3 wheel skylabs, so they are not stuck for transport. Nearest market is only 3 or 4 Km’s away and big town about 20 Km’s.

Her dad has acted like a big kid wanting more so he needs to be treat like one.

I see from your photo you have a lovely baby, are you going to bring that child up to be a proper young adult by buying it every thing it wants ? I think not. If at 16 yrs old you offer to buy that teenager a 50k motorbike and they kick off, spit dummy out, start crying etc because they want one that costs 110k what will you do ? You can guess what I would do. This older generation in the village do not seem grateful as they automatically expect that the children will provide them with money, cars, gold and houses. Well they can expect all they want now, my priority is my wife and her daughter. I don’t see what is wrong with that. If I make myself and my wife skint then how can we help her daughter and have a good life ourselves ? There will not be any pressure on my wife now from her dad, the subject is closed now, he had his chance, he threw the offer of £5k back in her face and now the offer has been withdrawn. He can sulk all he likes now. The offer will be resubmitted when we go back June / July time next year. But if I don’t think he is been grateful it will not happen, I don’t want my wife to have to talk him into excepting a gift of £5k.

Edited December 19, 2012 by johnson36

[anon210]

Are you saying the right thing to do is to tell my wife she should use a large amount of her money to buy her dad exactly what he wants ? An £11400+ pickup so he can make the others in village feel jealous of him. Is that a good enough reason to spend that amount of money when there are more important things to buy or pay for in the future. I am only 41yrs young and my wife 30yrs. Why would I want to blow my considerable inheritance on making a few people in the North of Thailand jealous of my wifes parents.

My wife has almost finished the house she has built for them, god knows if she got any thanks for that but it seems to be forgotten already. It wasn’t expensive, about £8k or less and has been built over the past few years. She got very good value with both materials and labour. The simple fact that she has built a really nice house for £8k is just another reason why I would not want her to spend nearly one and a half times as much on a pickup which he has little use for. Don’t forget they have a motorbike, bicycle and one of those 3 wheel skylabs, so they are not stuck for transport. Nearest market is only 3 or 4 Km’s away and big town about 20 Km’s.

Her dad has acted like a big kid wanting more so he needs to be treat like one.

I see from your photo you have a lovely baby, are you going to bring that child up to be a proper young adult by buying it every thing it wants ? I think not. If at 16 yrs old you offer to buy that teenager a 50k motorbike and they kick off, spit dummy out, start crying etc because they want one that costs 110k what will you do ? You can guess what I would do. This older generation in the village do not seem grateful as they automatically expect that the children will provide them with money, cars, gold and houses. Well they can expect all they want now, my priority is my wife and her daughter. I don’t see what is wrong with that. If I make myself and my wife skint then how can we help her daughter and have a good life ourselves ? There will not be any pressure on my wife now from her dad, the subject is closed now, he had his chance, he threw the offer of £5k back in her face and now the offer has been withdrawn. He can sulk all he likes now. The offer will be resubmitted when we go back June / July time next year. But if I don’t think he is been grateful it will not happen, I don’t want my wife to have to talk him into excepting a gift of £5k.

No worries Johnson36, you made the right decision. Thai families tend to demand everything from their children if they can afford (or even if they cannot!). I know of a relative of my wife's family (she and I are not thais!) whose family in law is pressuring the spouse to buy them a Toyota Fortuner (for obviously no professional use as they are city dwellers), just because they live abroad.

Keep strong and firm in your decision, and if your couple is strong, that will not be an issue for the two of you.

[stevenl]

Are you saying the right thing to do is to tell my wife she should use a large amount of her money to buy her dad exactly what he wants ?

Strange question, not at all what I said. Your decision will put tremendous pressure on your wife from her family, that is what I said. I think you gave them too much freedom in the process, they probably would have been happy with a 250K pickup in the first place, but after seeing other options they wanted something more expensive.

[Johnniey]

I can't believe some say you can't buy a decent one got 250k.

You can.

For 150k you can get a good enough one. Check one2car. com.

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