Thailand European Cars Importers, Which Are The Most Famous ? Any Bad Experience ?

[bangkokstick]

Hello,

When looking for European car makes in Thailand it seems that many importers sell their cars at the same price as the official listed price, so I wonder if it is because these cars are already available and if there is no waiting list ?

Can you tell me the names of the most reliable car importers in Thailand, the ones that you can trust if you can trust any ? And what are reasons to buy a car from grey market instead of official shop ?

Thank you for your experience with cars importers.

[SeaVisionBurma]

Moving to the Motoring Forum - you should get more responses there.

[anon210]

Ok... You should maybe specify the brands you are interested in to get some valuable input. The other point being that there is "Grey imports" which are generally cheaper but have no manufacturer warranty. Then official importers which sell at the listed price. Just as a matter of fact, selling at listed price does not mean there is no room for negotiations... as with other sellers.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[bangkokstick]

Mercedes Benz and BMW.

Thank you for your help.

[steveromagnino]

Benz there are a load of grey market importers, almost all of whom were formerly Benz Dealers. e.g. CarMax Rama 9 used to be Benz Rama 9 (from memory). The upshot is that because they used to be a Benz dealer, they know how to service the cars, or at least so they claim (I don't personally know as I don't buy grey). BMW has fewer grey market dealers, although some are out there for the more exotic models, and there are a TON of Mini grey market cars around.

Basically, when buying grey, you usually pay less, or you get more options. When you sell the car the price is lower. There is no BSI (BMW 100,000km service which is real money saving) and no real warranty on the car if something substantial goes wrong, and the possibility of finding fixing something major more difficult (as you are reliant on grey market and outside the dealership servicing which is fine for oil changes, less fine for say, a gearbox rebuild).

BMW claim that each car can be tracked in Munich via their download system of diagnostics, and Benz and BMW no longer support grey market cars at all in order to try to encourage people to buy from the authorised distributor. VW cut their prices so now grey is only really available for specific models such as the low powered beetle. Audi, Porsche etc grey is very strong.

The way the grey market car comes in is either bringing in a model that doesn't exist, bringing in a 'new' car as a semi new car using a loophole, bringing in a 2nd hand car - and ideally fiddling the tax using a cooperative official so that the car ends up costing less. So if you buy grey, check every owner's document like crazy; commonplace for a Mini Cooper S to be brought in as a Mini Cooper, or for a JCW to be brought in as a Cooper S etc (tax based on power of the car). Worse still, some cars brought in as a 'rot pra-kohp' meaning a kitset car, and in some cases the car is pulled to bits then reassembled. Very difficult to sell such a car 2nd hand.

Can't speak to which are good which are bad but the bigger ones are people like SCG, CarMax, F1, Yuma, Setpoint, BRG etc.

Whatever you save when you buy you will lose a similar amount when you sell as grey market tends to be worth slightly less except for models like the Audi TTS where they are almost all grey. For unique models (e.g. the BMW 135i) then the problem will be trying to sell an orphan with no one holding parts that can service the car.

BMW and Benz are the most active authorised distributors....so are also the most active in trying to kill off the grey market. Hence Benz dropping all their prices and adding a lot more new models (coupe C, coupe E, A class, etc) to try to encourage people to buy authorised. Benz is about 40-50% grey, BMW I would have guessed is more like 80% authorised. Mini at a guess is something like 50%+ grey as a lot of the servicing for Minis is done outside the legit dealers anyhow (A-Motors, Mos, Sooper) all of whom also sell the cars now too. This might change if BMW ever increased the dealer network beyond the monopoly held by Millenium.

[IMHO]

What steveromagnino said, adding that I know several people who have bought gray imports from TSL and BRG, and are very happy with the service offered.

http://www.tsl.co.th/

http://www.brg.co.th/

[Naam]

There is no... real warranty on the car if something substantial goes wrong, and
the possibility of finding fixing something major more difficult (as
you are reliant on grey market and outside the dealership servicing
which is fine for oil changes, less fine for say, a gearbox rebuild).

BMW claim that each car can be tracked in Munich via their download
system of diagnostics, and Benz and BMW no longer support grey market
cars at all in order to try to encourage people to buy from the
authorised distributor.

both mere assumptions. there is warranty and the Benz dealers i know

still support grey market imports with service and repairs. evidence

the Benz a friend owns and the Benz we own.

by the way, i would call a price reduction of 1.8 million Baht on the Benz

we bought recently quite an incentive to forego the 3-Year official warranty

and accept a 1-Year warranty, not to mention the fact that the car was

available immediately instead of a waiting period of several months.

[steveromagnino]

@Naam

Yes, some models grey makes more sense. And yes, the ability to order and not need to wait is an incentive.

In some cases (.e.g. the E class 2 door) the grey was selling for 4.89m, once Benz Thailand introduced I think at 4.49m then the grey importers slashed their prices.

Which model was 1.8m cheaper buying grey? that's a massive difference, I presume a very niche line with a big engine?

Benz only offers a factory warranty and no free service so servicing is often done outside of the official distributor network. BMW on the other hand offers BSI which includes the cost of all the servicing as well, so that's perhaps part of the reason why Benz is 50% grey, whereas BMW isn't. Either car the cost of servicing using the official distributor is 'not so cheap' compared to a Japanese car. Whether some of the grey importers know how to service properly....well I cannot comment generally, but certainly for a car like a MINI it is easy enough to buy without worrying about service since the servicing centers outside of MINI Thailand seem like they have all the tools and experience to do everything including good ECU tunes and modifications :_)

Like I said though, for some cars it has an impact when you come to sell, for something like an Audi TTS not at all since they are 99% all grey.

[Naam]

Which model was 1.8m cheaper buying grey?

that's a massive difference, I presume a very

niche line with a big engine?

your presumption is correct Steve. its back

says 5.5 and this is what it looks like.

[Naam]

And yes, the ability to order and not need to wait is an incentive.

another advantage of the grey imports is that the cars come "fully loaded"

which is not always the case when buying "white", respectively it might cost an

additional bundle.

one can of course argue that a lot of the additionally loaded

things are "toys". but then even adults like to play with toys

[RAZZELL]

Which model was 1.8m cheaper buying grey?

that's a massive difference, I presume a very

niche line with a big engine?

your presumption is correct Steve. its back

says 5.5 and this is what it looks like.

5.5.JPG

What model is that? An AMG?

How much and where from?

RAZZ

Edited May 29, 2013 by RAZZELL

[steveromagnino]

@Naam

Anytime you are overseas and need someone to help 'warm the engine and drive it at 250km to stop the tires from er, getting too grippy' let me know.

[bangkokstick]

Thank you for your replies.

I am still wondering what to do and actually I "fear" visiting the importers because I could find what I want and buy it...

Most of your would buy grey mostly for which reason ? Get the car immediately ? Pay less ?

Which importer has brand at Chonburi ?

And what about the warranty ? How possible that Benz still supports grey markets when there was an official announcement saying that they won't ?

Is it E250 coupe on the picture ?

Thank you again.

[bangkokstick]

Now reading this I feel like I should not visit any importer...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/333778-buying-a-car-at-the-grey-market/

[bangkokstick]

What is said in this thread seems true:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/DSI-probes-luxury-car-scam-30207541.html

[IMHO]

The problem with grey imports is the massive influx of new operators on the scene over the past few years - many of which appear to be fudging paperwork and/or fly by night operations.

There are others that have been in business for a very long time, have substantial investments in both showroom and workshop facilities, and are widely trusted though...

A case of a few good apples in a mostly spoiled bunch?

It might pay to wait until the dust has settled a bit on the ongoing investigations and see who's still in business then

[thailandbeachisland]

Carmax seems to be the most famous and biggest importer in Thailand ?

[Jakethecake]

Does any body know of some smaller Importers?

Im also thinking of buying a import but want to really scope the market for prices from big/smaller importers.

Thanks

[ATF]

I've always found that an imported car will fetch a higher price than one built in Thailand.

I've driven a few BMW 5 series built in Thailand and they all had problems. Like the doors wouldn't close properly, electronic problems etc.

Also the leather on imported vehicles is far superior to Thai leather. I would suggest ripping out the heating system though it stores a lot of hot water.

Sometimes you'll need to upgrade the radiator.

Diesel engine imports are a no brainer, they run cool and much less temperamental than a gas engine.

[IMHO]

Does any body know of some smaller Importers?

Im also thinking of buying a import but want to really scope the market for prices from big/smaller importers.

Thanks

The smaller gray's advertise their inventory here the most: http://one2car.com/

[Skyboogie]

Which model was 1.8m cheaper buying grey?

that's a massive difference, I presume a very

niche line with a big engine?

your presumption is correct Steve. its back

says 5.5 and this is what it looks like.

5.5.JPG

Mercedes makes the most beautiful cars. By far my favorite brand. Have you seen the new S-class?

[dominique355]

The new S Class is officially only sold as S 300 Hybrid and in 2 versions, depending on the options. Unfortunately this S 300 is offered only in 3 colors: white, black or grey.

So if you belive that a tiny 4 cylinder 2 liter engine is not enough for this 2 tons vehicle or if you want another color, you need to visit a grey importer. I have seen one advertising the new S 500. Now we are talking!

Edited January 6, 2015 by dominique355

[goegoe]

hello, what is the situation with importers now ?

I plan to change the Benz and wonder if I should go to an official dealer as usual or look for importers ?

Thank you.

[MatteoBassini]

12 hours ago, goegoe said:

hello, what is the situation with importers now ?

I plan to change the Benz and wonder if I should go to an official dealer as usual or look for importers ?

Thank you.

I heard Pegasus Autohaus services the vehicles of the government like the highway patrol cars, motorcycles, and "special" vehicles used in escorts like S-classes.