Buying A Truck

[birdbirdbat]

I'm begining the process to buy a 2nd hand truck. Is there such of a thing as a blue book in the LOS? How are prices differnt from trucks in the US? They seem much higher after I do a conversion from Baht. Anybody know of a good website to look at? Bangkok post was dissapointing. Is there anything else I should know?

[chanchao]

In short:

Yes cars are expensive here to buy. Both new and (especially) second hand, there's no way around that. I think the US has some of the cheapest car prices in the world, compared to absolutely anywhere. In Thaiand new prices are more on par with Europe. Keeping relative income levels in mind, this makes car SERIOUSLY EXPENSIVE here, compared to anything else you can spend money on.

There is however an explanation for the relatively high second hand prices: maintenance. Cars not only keep their value very well in the baht-amount, they keep their ACTUAL value very well too. This is because maintenance is cheap. Cars that would be discarded as a complete no-brainer in the US or Europe, are still valueable here because fixing them up costs less. Nobody in his right mind would burn himself on a 10 year old vehicle in Europe; if anything goes wrong with it the maintenance (labour) bill would be astronomical. But a well maintained Thai pickup can run nearly forever.

So there. All of this is a long winded way of saying: Yes cars are expensive. To get a rough idea about what a typical car costs, pick up one of the Thai second hand car magazines. The ones with loads of small thumbsize pictures of cars in it, describing the model and year and how much they want for it. Mostly second hand car dealers advertise in these. While prices won't be the cheapest you can find anywhere, they do give a good indication and serve as a basis of comparing various makes and models and what they go for.

People will also sell their cars by just putting a sign 'for sale' (ขาย) on it, sometimes specifying 'urgent' or 'cheap' however without specifying the price (triple DUH!) If any Thais are reading this: If you so URGENTLY want to sell something, maybe you should consider stop wasting my time and your own and write on the $*#U$ sign how much you want for it!) sorry. Anyway, this again is best pursued after checking the prices in these used car magazines. Don't bother with the Bangkok post. Perhaps a local/regional Thai paper/magazine, but for sure not the BKK post.

BTW I bought a relaively new (1.5 years) second hand Ford truck from a dealer ('tent' they call these in Thai) and am VERY happy with it.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[chanchao]

As for which model truck to get, let me give you my VERY personal opinion:

Isuzu and Toyota are like king and queen on the truck market. Second hand prices are VERY high. But after shelling out, they keep their value second only to a Chateauneuf du Pape from a particularly exquisite year. Frankly I think these are best bought new for this reason. But not the Toyota at this moment as they should release their new model real soon. Isuzu released theirs last year (D-Max) and Toyota can't wait that much longer. While I like Toyota better (engine noise, 4WD ability and overall detail) I would either wait with a new one or get something else. As for Isuzu, the engine is seriously NOISY and it isn't exactly a sporty drive. This got marginally better with the D-Max and the last year of the model before that, but the 90's model is incredibly noisy. Great fuel economy though. It's also very highly valued!! Not the one to get that one.

Mitsubishi.. nice truck.. they've had the Strada model now for what seems like forever, 8 years or so. They've GOT to be due for an update. Could be a good second hand buy.

Nissan: Somehow with Nissan it always seems just too little just too late. After many, many, many minor changes their current model looks acceptable but now it's too late. Also I think the interior is cramped. No doubts on reliability though. Get one if you're in the business of moving water bottles or ice around town.

Ford/Mazda: These are exactly the same car! Part for part compatible with each other. After a little hick-up I had with the Ford dealer, I'm now getting my Ford serviced at the Mazda shop. Very spacious cars. Big difference between the 2900 cc non turbo and 2500 cc turbo engine though. The latter is real fast in accelleration and highway driving, as long as you keep the revs at or above 2000 rpm. Below that, the thing is dead. This makes it less suitable for off-roading or hauling heavy stuff up hill. The engine IS quiet though for a diesel. So nice if you mostly do on-road driving, which I suppose is all of us. Also very spacious cabin. However the turbo engine is thirsty. I can get 11 km to a liter when doing VERY careful driving around Chiang Mai. Normal driving is more like 10 to 1 and Bangkok driving it drops to 9 to 1. Compare that to the Isuzu, where even on the 3 liter turbo engine you get nearly 14 km to the liter without trying hard. On the 2.5 liter Isuzu you can even get 16 or 17!

Your mileage may vary

Cheers,

Chanchao

[astral]

I believe there is a Blue Book, but where I do not know. The insurance companies have one for setting values in policies

Check out your local Thai newsagent. Somewhere in the magazine section he will have books listing all the cars and trucks (pickups) for sale around the country. Don't worry a lot of it is in English, though the help of a Thai friend will not go amiss, especially once you start making phone calls. This will give you an idea of the market prices.

Note also models here may not be what you are used to at home

[ajahnlau]

There are a couple magazines that publish new and used prices. The mag is in thai but the models and prices all in eng. Easy to compare sugg. prices by looking at a few of the ads.

[Thetyim]

Very good and accurate post there from Chanchoa, listen to his advice.

[sbk]

I thought I would add some advice from my Thai husband; the reason he has never really been interested in buying second hand from an unknown person is because of the cheap labor and maintenance it is possible to buy a truck or car that has been in a major accident and it doesn't show. Often people will have a major crash and then fix it up so it looks good and then sell it, but of course, after a major crash, it will never be as good as before. Check carefully!

His last bit of advice: buying from a known, reputable dealer (like a Ford or Isuzu dealer) is better than buying from a private owner or a tent dealer. And he adds, he feels buying from a private owner is better than buying from a tent dealer.

Just to add one last note, we own an 11-year old Isuzu pick up truck. With regular maintenance it is still running beautifully (only major repair has been to replace the water pump), we get great gas mileage and it is the best for hauling heavy loads (forget Toyota for hauling heavy stuff). It has very little rust (amazing since we live next to the sea) and the interior is still in excellent shape. We were recently offered 200,000 baht for our truck, a new one is now around 600,000-700,000.

[Thetyim]

I disagree, the reason Isuzu give good mileage is because mid range torque is compromised in favour of economy.

The Toyota has a much better torque curve and so is better for heavy loads.

[sbk]

Interesting, my husband has been carrying loads of coconuts for over 15 years, with his Isuzu and his dad's Toyota and has found the Isuzu superior in hauling heavy loads over distance. Perhaps it depends on road conditions, here he is driving on rough dirt tracks and he feels the Toyota's weight is too light and feels unstable when hauling the really heavy loads over rough terrain.

Regardless, be careful buying second hand, the best option is to buy the truck from someone you know, especially best to know the history of the truck, it is very easy to repair major damage here and keep it well hidden.

[chanchao]

I guess it's easy to get religious over which is better, just like you can debate at length about why Apple or Linus is better than Windows, or why Sony Ericsson is better than Nokia, or, or, .. . .

Isuzu seems more popular in low-land Chiang Mai compared to Toyota. (They're more popular nationwide on average, but in Chiang Mai this seems more so). I have a feeling that's because there's a particulary high-priced dealer here who has the monopoly on Toyota sales, which makes them less competitive in terms of options, trade in value when trading in and financing in case you're not paying cash.

In mountain aireas though, be it Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai/ Mae Hong Son etcetera you see almost EXCLUSIVELY Toyota. If mountain people have a car it's virtually guaranteed to be a Toyota pick-up.

BTW, did everyone here catch that Top Gear show on 'the reliability of the Hi-Lux pick-up"? That was totally hilarious; they tortured the thing in ever increasingly outrageous ways to see where it would break down. (Like crashing it into a tree, dropping stuff on it, drive it into the sea before the tide comes in, set it on fire and so on. The RealVideo is on the Internet somewhere.

Ah, here it is, whaddayaknow:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/prog28/toyota.shtml

Go see it, it's awesome, and strangely disturbing when you love trucks. ;-)

Cheers,

Chanchao