Car Financing

[Jimbo]

Does anyone have any experience with car financing in Thailand.

Is it difficult or easy? Do you need to have lived a certain amount of time in Thailand to be in the possition of getting financing? Do you need a Thai to guarantee for you? Can you get 100% financing or is there a certain percentage you need to put down as down payment? Do car dealers finance themselves or only through finance companies.

Thanks

[Felt 35]

If you stay here for more than 4-5 years it can be an alternative. Its low interest and instead of moving cash from abroad it can be a kind of hire to own! I was thinking about the same thing because I’m looking for a new car. I bought my last car cash ( Honda) but want to buy a larger one and was thinking about down payment with 50% cash and the rest through a finance company. I asked Honda about necessary documents and they told me this:

1. Passport

2. Work permit, or receipt of notification (receipt of notification from immigration)

3. Bank passbook or Bank’s statement for the last 6 months.

4. One Thai citizen as Guarantor who have to provide houseregistration, ID-card and Bank passbook or statement for the last 6 months.

How long you have been here its not important as long as you have the necessary documents. Usually you have to pay at least 15% cash as down payment.

It’s the finance companies that take car of the finance.

The back draw and inconvenient thing as I see it is that you have to go to the Bank every month for the payment. They could not or would not automatically deduct my bank account.

The car dealer also keeps the car registration book and some dealers also keep one set keys. So sure you will feel that you’re not the owner, not yet!

Good luck.

[kwiz117]

Everything Felt 35 has written above is the same I heard sometimes back.

But the problem is, can you find a Thai to sign for you as a guarantor? For me, I can not ask this from any of my Thai Friends coz I feel bad and if they do not like, still they might say yes because of the friendship. Anyway, that is what I think.

I think the best is to pay Cash or satisfy with a lower model that you can afford for the money you have.

[wcr]

I've just bought a car this week on finance. I have been here 9 months.

I have a company and the dealership said to buy the car in the company name as it would be easier. I put down 50%, I needed a copy of all the company papers and stamp, copy of passport and visa, copy of company bank book, Thai guarantor (this was my partner who is also a director of my company) bank book, id card and house book. And that was it, passed in one day by the credit company, picked up my new car next day .

If I put it in my personal name, I would have needed to give them a copy of my work permit and also got a residency certificate from immigration.