April 30, 201312 yr Mrs decides she wants a new car last week. Fine no problem we will trade-in the current one. I know the price of the trade in value on the BKK Market is 600k. So thats what I want for it. She is not buying an expensive model but still expect some decent customer service on a 1million THB car. So first honda dealer: 1. I'll give you 560k for the trade-in. No thanks I want 600k because I know that is the correct price. No sorry cannot. It's upto you but I need 600k or I walk and go to another dealer. Cannot sorry. So I walk (The car the mrs wants is in stock at that dealership so they need to move it). Lost the sale.... (They called me back 3 days later said 600k is ok... .....doh too late dumb ass) Second Dealer: 2. Yes sir 600k for your trade-in is fine. They also have the car she wants in stock. Great deposit paid pick the carup 10am on Friday 3rd May. Cool book the day off work. This afternoon Sorry sir we checked the car it has a scratch so you cannot pick it up friday we need get another one for you. Ok when can I pick up the new one. 6-8 weeks........ So we have gone from taken my deposit pick the car up friday all paperwork complete to now wait 8 weeks more...... I don't think so. Please return the deposit...cancel the order. Lost the sale.... Third Dealer: Standby coming tomorrow.... Sigh..ok it's not a Premium brand but jesus even buying a 1mil THB car I do expect a little better customer care....
April 30, 201312 yr Popular Post I ordered a Christmas Turkey (in the UK), went to pick it up, the butcher said ''Sorry your Turkey had cancer''................................ ............................Hmmmmmmmm, must go to Tesco's now. This is TRUE.
April 30, 201312 yr May not be much of a consolation but Honda dealers are reputed to be among the better organised in Thailand. Toyota or Mitsu etc would probably be screwing around just a much if not more. The last couple of vehicles we bought, Toyota literally had not idea when they could deliver and we had to nag them to death. Mitsu could deliver but getting the extra staff right was a big drama for them despite verbal and written details in Thai. Good Luck with Honda Dealer #3.
April 30, 201312 yr Ordered a Honda 2 months ago - also ordered a few 'extra's' with it (spoiler and outer trim etc) was told two months wait for the car. Car arrived in 2 weeks !! Great.. We were told that because someone didn't get the finance and we were paying cash we got the ca)). We were told that the extras will take and additional two weeks.. Wife calls up 2 weeks later... Response 'We'll find out and call you back'... They never called back. Wife calls up 1 week later... Response 'We'll find out and call you back'...They never called back. Wife calls up another week later... Response 'We'll find out and call you back'...They never called back. Wife calls up 1 week later... Response 'We'll find out and call you back'... Wife gets a somewhat annoyed with them on the phone. So... 6 weeks after picking up the car - still no extras that we ordered and paid for... But, we got the car early so that was a bonus... We've had a similar experience with a BMW. Paid cash, jumped the queue somehow... Car delivered in two weeks...Spoiler ordered - 2 weeks delivery for spoiler... 6 weeks later we're still getting the run around... Its not about the brand - its about the industry... The Motor industry in Thailand has somehow managed to convince the consumer that they are lucky they get a car at all !!!...
April 30, 201312 yr So if you are still looking maybe you need to go back to the first dealer...........but then again maybe too late d...a... and they'll only offer 560k again. Life's a bitch!
April 30, 201312 yr Author So if you are still looking maybe you need to go back to the first dealer...........but then again maybe too late d...a... and they'll only offer 560k again. Life's a bitch! Yeh like I am really going to go back to a dealership who tried to rip me for 40k on the trade in. Then 3 days later realised their scam did not work.. Plenty more dealership options.....
April 30, 201312 yr So if you are still looking maybe you need to go back to the first dealer...........but then again maybe too late d...a... and they'll only offer 560k again. Life's a bitch! Yeh like I am really going to go back to a dealership who tried to rip me for 40k on the trade in. Then 3 days later realised their scam did not work.. Plenty more dealership options..... Hardly a scam. They trade it in to one of the tents themselves and want to make a margin on that. To get the best price for a second hand you have to sell it yourself and stay away from trade in.
April 30, 201312 yr Author Hardly a scam. They trade it in to one of the tents themselves and want to make a margin on that. To get the best price for a second hand you have to sell it yourself and stay away from trade in. Except every other dealer is offering 600k (Which is the correct trade-in value according to my contact). The tents sell it for 700-715k. If 4/5 dealers are all offering the same without hesitation apart from the one at 560k.....Kinda paints the picture about the correct price also. Perhaps scam was the wrong choice of word. How about dubious business practice? When they realised that they were not dealing with someone who had no clue. They come back and offer the correct value
April 30, 201312 yr I ordered a Christmas Turkey (in the UK), went to pick it up, the butcher said ''Sorry your Turkey had cancer''................................ ............................Hmmmmmmmm, must go to Tesco's now. This is TRUE. Dont post Humour here, just the Great I AM. with Pics.
April 30, 201312 yr I ordered a Christmas Turkey (in the UK), went to pick it up, the butcher said ''Sorry your Turkey had cancer''................................ ............................Hmmmmmmmm, must go to Tesco's now. This is TRUE. Dont post Humour here, just the Great I AM. with Pics. I am great, well the mrs said so Pics are censored.
April 30, 201312 yr Hardly a scam. They trade it in to one of the tents themselves and want to make a margin on that. To get the best price for a second hand you have to sell it yourself and stay away from trade in. Except every other dealer is offering 600k (Which is the correct trade-in value according to my contact). The tents sell it for 700-715k. If 4/5 dealers are all offering the same without hesitation apart from the one at 560k.....Kinda paints the picture about the correct price also. Perhaps scam was the wrong choice of word. How about dubious business practice? When they realised that they were not dealing with someone who had no clue. They come back and offer the correct value I do not think it's dubious business practice. You expect to get the best price & all the extras, they also try & make a Baht, this is why they call it a trade.
April 30, 201312 yr Hardly a scam. They trade it in to one of the tents themselves and want to make a margin on that. To get the best price for a second hand you have to sell it yourself and stay away from trade in. Except every other dealer is offering 600k (Which is the correct trade-in value according to my contact). The tents sell it for 700-715k. If 4/5 dealers are all offering the same without hesitation apart from the one at 560k.....Kinda paints the picture about the correct price also. Perhaps scam was the wrong choice of word. How about dubious business practice? When they realised that they were not dealing with someone who had no clue. They come back and offer the correct value I don't find anything dubious in the 1st dealer offering you 560k it's up to you. Go ask them they most likely have already sold the car you were looking at. Let us know how long it takes to get the 600k you want and car delivered.
April 30, 201312 yr I ordered a Christmas Turkey (in the UK), went to pick it up, the butcher said ''Sorry your Turkey had cancer''................................ ............................Hmmmmmmmm, must go to Tesco's now. This is TRUE. What has a turkey in the Uk, got to do with Thailand, or the Thai motor forum ? Oh I get it, the thread is too negative for the apologists, and as usual "ITS THE SAME AS THE UK"
April 30, 201312 yr Popular Post Hardly a scam. They trade it in to one of the tents themselves and want to make a margin on that. To get the best price for a second hand you have to sell it yourself and stay away from trade in. Except every other dealer is offering 600k (Which is the correct trade-in value according to my contact). The tents sell it for 700-715k. If 4/5 dealers are all offering the same without hesitation apart from the one at 560k.....Kinda paints the picture about the correct price also. Perhaps scam was the wrong choice of word. How about dubious business practice? When they realised that they were not dealing with someone who had no clue. They come back and offer the correct value I do not think it's dubious business practice. You expect to get the best price & all the extras, they also try & make a Baht, this is why they call it a trade. Agreed, nothing dubious about negotiating a deal that make them more profit.. I'm sure the OP tried his best to negotiate a deal that made them less profit - so who exactly is the bad guy here? LOL However, not going back to dealer #1 who has now met the expected deal and has the stock seems a bit cut-off-your-nose-to-spite-your face. New car purchases are NOT usually done as on the spot deals - it's very normal for negotiations to last several days. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the speed at which dealer #2 met the OP's expectations indicates a even better deal was possible... It's not like playing vendors at MBK off each other to get a new iPhone5 - relax, take your time, and then you might find out the deals on offer get even better than your expectations.... I should add that it would be very unusual if the new car dealer was actually buying your trade-in - that's just not how it works here. Most dealerships have a broker that pays to be on-site and trade used cars. In the case of dealer #1, he probably just had to shop around to find a buyer that would give him over 600K, making the 600K you want possible with some profit for his efforts..
April 30, 201312 yr For Negreanu please, which Honda dealerships were you doing business with? Jonros60
April 30, 201312 yr The problem we farang have is in any one year we as a group buy 2 or 3 thousand new cars, and in the same year the Thais buy 500,000. So dealer principals, salespeople or spanner twirlers aren't really worried about us. But I think they can jump pretty high for important Thais!
April 30, 201312 yr The problem we farang have is in any one year we as a group buy 2 or 3 thousand new cars, and in the same year the Thais buy 500,000. So dealer principals, salespeople or spanner twirlers aren't really worried about us. But I think they can jump pretty high for important Thais! Thai's are well over the 1M new cars/year mark, so yes, farang are definitely a minority segment. As a minority, the key to getting the right deal is to play along with the Thai way of doing business
May 1, 201312 yr Author interesting outcome with this. I explained the story in an email to Honda Thailand yesterday morning stating I am regular buyer and listed the cars I have bought with them over the last 6 years in BKK. Which was responded to politely that the matter will be looked into (Within hours!) Call about 8pm from the dealership (2) Sales Manager saying that they will have a car for my wife on Sunday - complete with an extra 40,000thb of Modulo as an apology... So it pays to complain, it pays not to accept second rate service from dealerships in Thailand and it pays to walk away from poor service, it pays not accept a known low offer on your trade in. Unlike some posters state here. Not sure my email had anything to do with the call from the dealership in the evening? - But seems a bit of coincidence. I have the sneaky suspicion that our allocated car we were supposed to pick up on Friday was changed to be given to someone connected or shall we say more valued than us.... So deal closed 6-8 week delay amazingly becomes 3 days.... 600k for the trade in Free Mats Free Film Free 1 Year Insurance 60k Modulo (20k was included in the original deal) Free Paintwork repair 3x Note that dealership 1 that offered 560k only offered Free Film and 10k Modulo. "Oh a Farang buying a car we can make a killing here...Somchai go get the CRV were off to ratchada tonight" - Wrong.
May 1, 201312 yr I've bought two new Hondas in the past 8 years, from two different dealerships, one in Bangkok and one upcountry. I still have one of the cars and take it for servicing regularly. In my experience, Honda dealers are among the best in Thailand generally; not just in initial sales service, but after service as well. This story is somewhat surprising, but glad it had a happy ending.
May 1, 201312 yr interesting outcome with this. I explained the story in an email to Honda Thailand yesterday morning stating I am regular buyer and listed the cars I have bought with them over the last 6 years in BKK. Which was responded to politely that the matter will be looked into (Within hours!) Call about 8pm from the dealership (2) Sales Manager saying that they will have a car for my wife on Sunday - complete with an extra 40,000thb of Modulo as an apology... So it pays to complain, it pays not to accept second rate service from dealerships in Thailand and it pays to walk away from poor service, it pays not accept a known low offer on your trade in. Unlike some posters state here. Not sure my email had anything to do with the call from the dealership in the evening? - But seems a bit of coincidence. I have the sneaky suspicion that our allocated car we were supposed to pick up on Friday was changed to be given to someone connected or shall we say more valued than us.... So deal closed 6-8 week delay amazingly becomes 3 days.... 600k for the trade in Free Mats Free Film Free 1 Year Insurance 60k Modulo (20k was included in the original deal) Free Paintwork repair 3x Note that dealership 1 that offered 560k only offered Free Film and 10k Modulo. "Oh a Farang buying a car we can make a killing here...Somchai go get the CRV were off to ratchada tonight" - Wrong. Glad you got what you wanted in the end, but I expect the same sort of result was also possible doing it the more polite, but more time consuming Thai way
May 1, 201312 yr Author Glad you got what you wanted in the end, but I expect the same sort of result was also possible doing it the more polite, but more time consuming Thai way Who was not polite? I was 100% polite with the dealers trying to sell me a car. However I will be firm. The Thai way sadly i am not Thai and spending a million baht. Not going to fit in with their concept of Face and Thainess. Business is Business. Thai's will generally try it on when they can get away with it especially with a foreigner. Polite and firm usually wins indeed you get more respect if you show that.
May 1, 201312 yr "Oh a Farang buying a car we can make a killing here...Somchai go get the CRV were off to ratchada tonight" - Wrong. With that attitude you'll always encounter problems like this.
May 1, 201312 yr Author With that attitude you'll always encounter problems like this. Bet your the life and soul of a party.....
May 1, 201312 yr What attitude.?. The O.P.s the Customer, Honda is a Worldwide Product. Hes been more than fair in the face of shoddy treatment. Thats why Honda increased the Modulo offer.Good for You.
May 1, 201312 yr Wow 60K Modulo! I was impressed until I found out what Modulo is. Fancy name for over priced plastic bits
May 1, 201312 yr With that attitude you'll always encounter problems like this. Dealers will try it on with whoever walks in the door - Thai or farang. Believe me of those million-odd Thai buyers a year a large number just walk in the door and drop the cash, don't even think about accessories etc...they just want their toyota/honda...cars are still a luxury item in this country and dealers treat customers as such....they know there are plenty of other customers who will buy the car with less fuss about negotiating.
May 1, 201312 yr What attitude.?. The O.P.s the Customer, Honda is a Worldwide Product. Hes been more than fair in the face of shoddy treatment. Thats why Honda increased the Modulo offer.Good for You. This attitude/thinking: "Oh a Farang buying a car we can make a killing here...Somchai go get the CRV were off to ratchada tonight"
May 1, 201312 yr Author This attitude/thinking: "Oh a Farang buying a car we can make a killing here...Somchai go get the CRV were off to ratchada tonight" No your right it never happens not just in the car industry. It's interesting that one's love of Thailand really does cloud their view on reality. The statement was made in jest. Lets all live in the happy version of stevennl Thailand where there is no wrong, no corruption, no manipulation. Or since you fail to see the humour we could analyse my statement made in jest: 1. Somchai - common thai name 2. Very possible the dealer salesman has a CRV or his colleague does, Honda dealership after-all. 3. A LOT of Thai's enjoy a night out in Ratchada from all social classes frequently! (Especially after they make some money or just after payday) 4. It is known by Thai's that foreigners are shall we say easy to separate from large sums of money (Just read Thaivisa for some examples - daily posts) and SOME thai's like to exploit that. So in fact my statement or attitude as you like to call it is very plausible, Agreed?
Create an account or sign in to comment