Buy a car in Thailand as opposed to a scooter?

[Indrid Cold]

Big bike not a scooter! and not a silly one. Ducati Monster or Kawasaki Ninja are nice.

[A1Str8]

People say that mainly because of money issues. It all comes down to what they can afford. When somebody chooses a scooter instead of a car..in my opinion that is because thats what they can afford. Just think about it for a second: if I gave you the choice to pick one which one you would choose a scooter or a car?

Probably the car. And the folks who have the money to buy and maintain a car do have this choice to pick what they want. Others don't. So they usually just say..ah I dont want the car. No disrespect intended but usually that's the case.

But of course on the other side the traffic in this country is crazy. And thats a good enough reason for many to get a motorcycle even if they could afford a car so they are not going to spend the rest of their lives stuck in traffic jams.

[manarak]

Big bike not a scooter! and not a silly one. Ducati Monster or Kawasaki Ninja are nice.

Inconvenient in a city.

Besides not being able to pass in tiny spaces, finding parking space can be problematic.

[mogandave]

Lots of old riders and bold riders, but there aren’t many old, bold riders.

I have a bike and a pickup. Taking the bike is great, but only if you don’t have to.

[mogandave]

I have hardly driven my car in the past 4 months....

What abotu the next four months?

[stevenl]

I have a car and motorbike. Prefer to use the motorbike for short rides, up to 1 hour or so. With traffic much faster, no parking issues and a lot cheaper as well. For longer distances, big shopping or big rains the car comes in very handy. Have been driving and riding here for almost 15 years now, and was not involved in 1 motorbike accident.

BTW, I used to have a big bike, but sold it because it is not very practical but mainly because I think big bikes are dangerous here, the other traffic is not used enough to big bikes to consider them (reasonably) safe IMO.

[historyprof]

I've lived here on and off for 40 years and had cars, jeeps, trucks, helicopters and tanks for transportation.

The public transportation system is great and now I don't own a car or bike. Even smaller towns have song taus and tuk tuks and/or car and motorcycle taxis. I keep the phone numbers of a couple of taxis on the fridge and never have a problem getting around. A new AC taxi is 60 baht for 5 miles and 250 baht for 30 miles. There are also vans and busses of all sizes.

The whingers will whing about safety of vans but will never quote how many miles are driven per problem.

Nakhon Chai Air is the best bus company; never any problems.

Most big companies provide busses for employees to get to work.

Cardiac ambulance trucks can get me to the hospital in 15 minutes and have all the heart stuff on board.

There is snake truck here that collects dangerous snakes in 10 minutes, they also take care of burglers. I know all about the car/gun male complex thing but I really don't need that kind of subsitution so I do fine with public transportation.

[Indrid Cold]

Big bike not a scooter! and not a silly one. Ducati Monster or Kawasaki Ninja are nice.

Inconvenient in a city.

Besides not being able to pass in tiny spaces, finding parking space can be problematic.

Have you ever had a bike like the ones i mentioned? They are no wider then a scooter and they will fit at the scooter parking. And are imo far more convenient if you how to handle them.

[manarak]

Big bike not a scooter! and not a silly one. Ducati Monster or Kawasaki Ninja are nice.

Inconvenient in a city.

Besides not being able to pass in tiny spaces, finding parking space can be problematic.

Have you ever had a bike like the ones i mentioned? They are no wider then a scooter and they will fit at the scooter parking. And are imo far more convenient if you how to handle them.

Let's not split hairs, you wrote "big bikes", now you say big bikes, but small big bikes! 555

Still, the grocery bags remain a challenge.

[robblok]

People say that mainly because of money issues. It all comes down to what they can afford. When somebody chooses a scooter instead of a car..in my opinion that is because thats what they can afford. Just think about it for a second: if I gave you the choice to pick one which one you would choose a scooter or a car?

Probably the car. And the folks who have the money to buy and maintain a car do have this choice to pick what they want. Others don't. So they usually just say..ah I dont want the car. No disrespect intended but usually that's the case.

But of course on the other side the traffic in this country is crazy. And thats a good enough reason for many to get a motorcycle even if they could afford a car so they are not going to spend the rest of their lives stuck in traffic jams.

You make a reasoning error here, if they were both the same price I would go for the most convenient. Often that is the bike.

If you were buying for me and I could choose, no strings attached id go for the car as it is more valuable.

I got both.. and both got their advantages and disadvantages.

[Issangeorge]

After driving my Phantom back from town, and having a Thai guy on a motorcycle cut me off and causing me to drop my bike and severely injuring myself I decided no thank you. I have a pick-up and a car and an airblade (a relatively safe bike because of the braking) the only reason I took the Phantom at all was because I wanted to give it some use, it had sat in its parking spot for a long time. The scooter is fine in the village and small towns and cities, but a bike on the highway is to dangerous. If you can afford it buy both, and if you can afford it buy one of the newer scooters with ABS.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[yourauntbob]

I live in BKK and have a car, its a pain in the arse. If we were up country I would be happy to have it but after doing the math it costs me just as much after insurance, maintance, and gas than a taxi would be per trip. Convinence is nice, but I have been on the fence with selling it for a while now.

p.s. bikes are dangerous even if your a professional driver, not recomended for the faint of heart

[Gomyway]

@Issangeorge and all - what's always surprising for me is the people's believe in ABS as an universal remedy.

[transam]

We have a 4x4 auto truck and a Honda PCX . From my time here seeing road stuff mentality l rarely use the bike. In fact I would not own a small car either. Took risks in my life BUT now as I have made it to an oldish age I think about not taking silly risks in LOS regarding the roads. Soooooo, l sit up high in the truck feeling sort of safe. Not 100% but OK. Bike or small car broad sides my ride I will probably live to see another day.

[mogandave]

p.s. bikes are dangerous even if your a professional driver, not recomended for the faint of heart

Bikes are dangerous particularly if you're a "professional" rider...

[Issangeorge]

@Issangeorge and all - what's always surprising for me is the people's believe in ABS as an universal remedy.

I'm not saying it's a I universal remedy but one more thing to help keep you safe. I would think iy would be harder to drop a bike if you had ABS

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[Indrid Cold]

p.s. bikes are dangerous even if your a professional driver, not recomended for the faint of heart

Bikes are dangerous particularly if you're a "professional" rider...

Peanuts are dangerous too if you choke on them, have some faith and it will be ok.

[transam]

p.s. bikes are dangerous even if your a professional driver, not recomended for the faint of heart

Bikes are dangerous particularly if you're a "professional" rider...

Peanuts are dangerous too if you choke on them, have some faith and it will be ok.

The problem is that the local riders/divers all seem to be choking on peanuts at the same time when ever l go out for a drive.

[Heng]

Not having even a modest steel frame around you on the roads here is having a death wish.

[ChiangMai101]

More reasons to have a car: Aircon, the hairstyle factor and of course Songkran.

[robblok]

p.s. bikes are dangerous even if your a professional driver, not recomended for the faint of heart

Bikes are dangerous particularly if you're a "professional" rider...

Peanuts are dangerous too if you choke on them, have some faith and it will be ok.

The problem is that the local riders/divers all seem to be choking on peanuts at the same time when ever l go out for a drive.

Yes, I drive a bike and i see them go down too.. But they drive like crazy its no wonder they get hit. If your a careful defensive driver you can put the odds well in your favor. Sure if you are hit then your always safer in a car, however with a bike you can get out of situations where a car could get hit.

But in the end its all about how much risk you want to take and how much you want to enjoy life. That is different for all of us.

[Indrid Cold]

p.s. bikes are dangerous even if your a professional driver, not recomended for the faint of heart

Bikes are dangerous particularly if you're a "professional" rider...

Peanuts are dangerous too if you choke on them, have some faith and it will be ok.

The problem is that the local riders/divers all seem to be choking on peanuts at the same time when ever l go out for a drive.

But you are still alive, see, faith.

[MrWorldwide]

I've had Thai ladies offer me a lift in downtown BKK : in several cases, I got back to their car and thought 'Whoa ! You can park here ?' - local knowledge, feminine guile and brazen lawbreaking seems to go a long way. Others had their own drivers - a quick phone call and our chauffeur was on his way : we mock 'face' on TV, but that does impress me even if the cost is nowhere near what it would be in the West. Of course, it helps when they turn up in a late-model Beemer - a tuk-tuk wouldn't have quite the same impact

[mogandave]

p.s. bikes are dangerous even if your a professional driver, not recomended for the faint of heart

Bikes are dangerous particularly if you're a "professional" rider...

Peanuts are dangerous too if you choke on them, have some faith and it will be ok.

Faith without works is dead.

Peanuts aren't dangerous, choking on them is dangerous.

Riding a motorcycle is not dangerous, (professionally of otherwise) getting run over by a bus while riding a motorcycle is dangerous.

When your dead, it doesn't make an difference who's fault it was.

[Ace of Pop]

We live on a Mountain Road used by Ferang Bikers doing the Golden Triangle Run. We Old Coffin Dodgers sittin outside Mom n Pops love to see them.They Cheer us Up,allways speak,we love to see their Super Bikes,not like those misersble sods in Cars you see at Tesco Lotus.

[NoshowJones]

I think for most people its just about the expense. Also, if you live in downtown Bangkok and don't travel much, a car might be more trouble than its worth just because of traffic and parking - I imagine its much easier just to use public transport most of the time. I think another oft-voiced drawback is that is often easier to buy a vehicle in your spouse's name (which a lot of people do - me included), and this has lead many a husband into losing his car once its paid-off.

If neither of these is an issue for you, and you are here long-term, I can't imagine why you'd want to rule it out. I live out in the country, and its been a huge help to have our own vehicle. We got around strictly by scooter, bus, and plane for nearly two years before I finally went ahead and got something with 4 wheels. I can say that it has given us a great deal of enjoyment thus far. I actually did purchase in my wife's name - it is legally her car. It was extremely easy to get financing that way - payments are way cheaper than a rental car. Even if the wife were to steal it away and leave me without, I still feel like I've gotten good use of it, just like it was a long-term rental. Other than all the normal drawbacks of a car (just expenses really), there's nothing special to worry about - other than driving, people drive crazy here, be careful.

To the OP. Neversure, I have a car and a motorbike (Honda 125) I have had the car for about 3 years and now I am trying to sell it. It is not a pleasure anymore to drive in Thailand for me. I do the British style in driving which means I stick to the nearside lanes according to driving conditions. there are too many Thai drivers who drive far too slow and when I want to overtake, despite plenty of warning with my indicator, no one but no one will let me out. ie, I am driving in the inside lane, how many times am I forced to brake for some vehicle emerging from a side road, and like I said, no one will let me overtake, when I do manage to overtake some <deleted> is right up my ass flashing his lights.

It is much more safer and more enjoyable just using my motorbike and sticking to the hard shoulder.

[NoshowJones]

It's a very difficult question to answer.

Do you love riding bikes and are you a skilled rider? If no, buy a 4 wheeled vehicle, consider a pick-up truck they are tough and relatively cheap.

If you love riding bikes (like me) you can have a lot of fun riding bikes here and many expats here are having all sorts of bikes from a modest Honda Wave 125 to a +1.5 Mill bath Harley Davidson.

I stopped riding big bikes (Harley) when my son was born but I still ride scooters as they are very practical for small errands and the truck next to impossible to park in Pattaya.

I think about +90% of expats in Thailand have scooters because they are so practical for daily use and cheap to buy/run but many have a car as well.

Yes it's risky business to ride a bike here but life is one big risk, you can stay in your condo and still die or you can be out on the road living your life with a big smile on your face.

What exactly is referred to as a "scooter" a Fino or Click? I have a Fino, and also a Honda wave 125. is that also a "scooter?

[robblok]

It's a very difficult question to answer.

 

Do you love riding bikes and are you a skilled rider? If no, buy a 4 wheeled vehicle, consider a pick-up truck they are tough and relatively cheap.  

 

If you love riding bikes (like me) you can have a lot of fun riding bikes here and many expats here are having all sorts of bikes from a modest Honda Wave 125 to a +1.5 Mill bath Harley Davidson.

 

I stopped riding big bikes (Harley) when my son was born but I still ride scooters as they are very practical for small errands and the truck next to impossible to park in Pattaya.

 

I think about +90% of expats in Thailand have scooters because they are so practical for daily use and cheap to buy/run but many have a car as well.  

 

Yes it's risky business to ride a bike here but life is one big risk, you can stay in your condo and still die or you can be out on the road living your life with a big smile on your face.

 

 

What exactly is referred to as a "scooter" a Fino or Click? I have a Fino, and also a Honda wave 125. is that also a "scooter?

Im no expert but it has something to do with the engine placement. All the ones you name are scooters.

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[NoshowJones]

It's a very difficult question to answer.

Do you love riding bikes and are you a skilled rider? If no, buy a 4 wheeled vehicle, consider a pick-up truck they are tough and relatively cheap.

If you love riding bikes (like me) you can have a lot of fun riding bikes here and many expats here are having all sorts of bikes from a modest Honda Wave 125 to a +1.5 Mill bath Harley Davidson.

I stopped riding big bikes (Harley) when my son was born but I still ride scooters as they are very practical for small errands and the truck next to impossible to park in Pattaya.

I think about +90% of expats in Thailand have scooters because they are so practical for daily use and cheap to buy/run but many have a car as well.

Yes it's risky business to ride a bike here but life is one big risk, you can stay in your condo and still die or you can be out on the road living your life with a big smile on your face.

What exactly is referred to as a "scooter" a Fino or Click? I have a Fino, and also a Honda wave 125. is that also a "scooter?

Im no expert but it has something to do with the engine placement. All the ones you name are scooters.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[stevenl]

It's a very difficult question to answer.

Do you love riding bikes and are you a skilled rider? If no, buy a 4 wheeled vehicle, consider a pick-up truck they are tough and relatively cheap.

If you love riding bikes (like me) you can have a lot of fun riding bikes here and many expats here are having all sorts of bikes from a modest Honda Wave 125 to a +1.5 Mill bath Harley Davidson.

I stopped riding big bikes (Harley) when my son was born but I still ride scooters as they are very practical for small errands and the truck next to impossible to park in Pattaya.

I think about +90% of expats in Thailand have scooters because they are so practical for daily use and cheap to buy/run but many have a car as well.

Yes it's risky business to ride a bike here but life is one big risk, you can stay in your condo and still die or you can be out on the road living your life with a big smile on your face.

What exactly is referred to as a "scooter" a Fino or Click? I have a Fino, and also a Honda wave 125. is that also a "scooter?

I would call the bikes without gears scooters and the others motorbikes. So the Wave would be a motorbike, the Click, even though bigger engine, a scooter.