New Car Specs - The Hard To Find Bits

[innerspace]

Looking into buying a new car in Thailand and currently trying to weigh up the different options.

Browsing the websites has answered a lot but still quite a few questions.

1) MPG (of Km per L as I guess it is here)

Found some international sites offering comparisons, but the models are limited to the models in the websites country (mainly US or UK) and I would also presume that the same model may be a slightly different car in Thailand.

2) Delivery time

I know this is a big issue in Thailand and wouldn't really trust what a salesperson told me regarding it....

Any first hand knowledge would be welcome.

3) Devaluation

Cars here seem to hold their value ridiculously well compared to the west which is why I am not considering 2nd hand any more.

The Jazz I know is an exceptional value holder but not interested in that, so how does it fare for the others.

Browsing the classifieds gives an idea but only says what people think there are worth second hand, not what they actually sell for.

Also, how long is this likely to last? More and more of the population can afford cars on finance (or cash) and the second hand numbers are increasing, maybe this rebate will mean 4-5 years till the bubble bursts?

4) Reliability

Do they break down or run forever?

And when something goes wrong, are the parts/labour reasonable or ridiculous?

5) Auto or Manual

I have never been a fan of automatics but the manuals are only available on the bottom models.

If I was in Bangkok an auto would be the obvious choice, but Pattaya is not as bad traffic and will make regular trips away.

Are the extra features of the higher models worth taking an auto for?

How does AT affect questions 3 and 4?

The current candidates are as follows so any info on any of them would be great.

Mazda 2 Elegance Groove MT

Mazda 2 Elegance Spirit AT

Mazda 2 Elegance Maxx AT

Mazda 3 Groove

Mazda 3 Spirit

Fiesta 4dr 1.4L Style MT

Fiesta 5dr 1.5L Trend Powershift

Fiesta 5dr 1.6L Sport Ultimate Power Shift

Focus 4dr 1.6L Ambiente MT

Focus 5dr 1.6L Trend AT

City S MT

City V

City SV

City CNG AT

City V CNG AT

Also a couple of model specific questions...

The ford 4dr vs 5dr, whats the difference?

Honda brochure has "-" or "O" on most things. Does "O" mean included or optional? If optional, where are the prices?

[IMHO]

1. There is no established standard for rating fuel economy in Thailand, nor is there any requirement to publish that data, so it's rare to be able to find it through public sources. The Fiesta 1.5L and 1.6L do the best out of the models you've mentioned - the others are all within a few % of each other - but of course the CNG City is going to be a lot cheaper to run, if you are only going to be driving in areas that have NGV stations, and are patient enough to wait for several hours in queue during holidays and peak times.

2. Delivery times are subject to whole bunch of variables, and can vary dramatically from dealer to dealer - so there's no singe/easy answer.

3. The cars you're looking at will all have very good resale value, and should all be within +/- 5% of each other when it comes time to move on.

4. No car runs forever. There are no major/common issues with the cars you're looking at, however I would not expect a CNG engine to have the same long-term reliability as a gasoline engine.

5. AT is far more popular/desired than MT in passenger cars. MT will take longer to sell, and will not get the same resale value. MT will also very quickly piss you off in heavy Thai traffic.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Focus would be my choice...I'm seriously considering buying one myself. 5-door refers to a hatchback model.

[lujanit]

Something that you may not be aware of is that a lot of dealers will charge you 4 to 5k baht to test drive the vehicle of your choice if they do not have it on the lot. I believe that this is a type of delivery fee to the dealership. Just ask first, although when we were looking for a new vehicle all the dealers were up front about the fee.

[anon210]

Something that you may not be aware of is that a lot of dealers will charge you 4 to 5k baht to test drive the vehicle of your choice if they do not have it on the lot. I believe that this is a type of delivery fee to the dealership. Just ask first, although when we were looking for a new vehicle all the dealers were up front about the fee.

If anyone of them does that... Just call the headquarters of that brand. You will see you get your test drive for free and very quickly at that. Just farangs getting skinned by ignorance.

[lujanit]

Something that you may not be aware of is that a lot of dealers will charge you 4 to 5k baht to test drive the vehicle of your choice if they do not have it on the lot. I believe that this is a type of delivery fee to the dealership. Just ask first, although when we were looking for a new vehicle all the dealers were up front about the fee.

If anyone of them does that... Just call the headquarters of that brand. You will see you get your test drive for free and very quickly at that. Just farangs getting skinned by ignorance.

Maybe not just farangs. We have a Thai working for us and he deals with all the Thai related stuff (Gov Depts etc). When we were looking for a new vehicle he went on his own to Toyota in Ari and made some enquires. He came back and told us about the fee. So maybe gullible Thais as well.

[Benjie]

Something that you may not be aware of is that a lot of dealers will charge you 4 to 5k baht to test drive the vehicle of your choice if they do not have it on the lot. I believe that this is a type of delivery fee to the dealership. Just ask first, although when we were looking for a new vehicle all the dealers were up front about the fee.

If anyone of them does that... Just call the headquarters of that brand. You will see you get your test drive for free and very quickly at that. Just farangs getting skinned by ignorance.

Maybe not just farangs. We have a Thai working for us and he deals with all the Thai related stuff (Gov Depts etc). When we were looking for a new vehicle he went on his own to Toyota in Ari and made some enquires. He came back and told us about the fee. So maybe gullible Thais as well.

Depends, did you give him the money?

[mogandave]

Just go to the show and compare.

[innerspace]

The decision is currently swaying towards manual with 4 in the new shortlist.

2 slightly smaller/cheaper and 2 larger.

Mazda 2 Elegance Groove MT

City S MT

Civic 1.8 i-VTEC S MT

Focus 4dr 1.6L Ambiente MT

What would fuel consumption difference be between a 1.8 civic compared to a 1.5 mazda or city?

I presume a civic would use more, but is the difference really noticeable?

What about driving differences between these 4?

Comfort?

[lujanit]

Something that you may not be aware of is that a lot of dealers will charge you 4 to 5k baht to test drive the vehicle of your choice if they do not have it on the lot. I believe that this is a type of delivery fee to the dealership. Just ask first, although when we were looking for a new vehicle all the dealers were up front about the fee.

If anyone of them does that... Just call the headquarters of that brand. You will see you get your test drive for free and very quickly at that. Just farangs getting skinned by ignorance.

Maybe not just farangs. We have a Thai working for us and he deals with all the Thai related stuff (Gov Depts etc). When we were looking for a new vehicle he went on his own to Toyota in Ari and made some enquires. He came back and told us about the fee. So maybe gullible Thais as well.

Depends, did you give him the money?

I understand where you are coming from however this Thai guy is very honest. He has never tried to do anything like what you are suggesting. If more Thais were like him Thailand would be a better place.

Edit: No, we did not give him or any dealer any money to test drive any vehicle.