Need help to choose a fun car

[thaicbr]

New Volvo V40S 2.0L Turbo, 213HP 1.82Mil Fun car, relative inexpensive, good looking, safe car. BUT unknown resale value, may be difficult to sell to Thais at all.

New BMW 328i, 3Mil Brakes my budget by far

New Merc CLA 250, 2.65Mil Very beautiful car inside and out. Brakes my budget but I might be able to handle it. But it is one year waiting time for one.

New Mitsubishi GT 2.0, 1.05Mil Nice car, looks good but only 154HP Any simple aftermarket tuning available in Thailand?

2nd hand BMW 325ia, 1-1.5Mil Premium car, fun to drive, the worst depreciation on the first owner. BUT not new, unsure mileage and history.

Volvo has not had a performance model like the V40 before; in the reviews it seems to rate pretty highly although not a pure sports car it is getting good reviews and may surprise you as a more popular car than the run of the mill S60/S40s of old; it will depreciate worse than the BMW or Benz but after 5 years, all of them will drop at least 50% so at least you are paying less upfront so cost in baht terms should be not so different.

Conservatively (you might do better than this)

e.g. Volvo buy 1.8m sell in 5 years 700k lost 1.1m in depn

Benz buy 2.5m sell in 5 years 1.25m lost 1.25m in depn

CLA you should test drive the A250, I found the dual clutch unacceptably poor; looks the part but couldn't handle the dual clutch arrangement or lack of engine note; also Benz has no maintenance included so that's a slight cost that Volvo or other new car wouldn't have (assume that's probably 100k over 5 years for the benz).

Mitsi has bad resale; would probably go for the Ford Focus Sport with 175HP rather than a Mitsi.

Personally I think the FT86 is a lovely looking car, but 7+sec to 100km is crazily slow, and for that sort of money you can get more performance although if you are doing track days etc, then the 86 is probably perfect in some respects.

If you are willing to look 2nd hand, and want a driver's car, then the Mini Cooper S; Audi A1 grey market 185HP if you can find one; Fiat Abarth; TT; Golf GTI Mk 6; Scirocco are all pretty attractive and in some ways any of them would be as much of a driver's car than the BMW (having owned BMW in the past I really don't get the appeal of the mid range Beemers, the M level is indeed a beast, but 325/328 are a bit mundane). the various chips and after market exhausts mods etc are all worth doing once the car is out of warranty; you will not get decent power out of a 116/118 BMW no matter what you do and the 125i is only available grey - BMW is not a car I would probably consider to buy grey.

BTW the Scirocco TSI 2.0 and the R are not so different; both FWD and you can easily get an ABT or APR tune for about 60,000b and a new airintake to get similar horsepower although the engine is different in each; 2nd hand Sciroccos are running around 1.5m for a 2 years old low km car. Definitely a lovely car with some style and having driven a worked APR stage 1, they are dead simple to get to good performance level very easily; a fairly passionate owners group as well with access to aftermarket parts. The VW dual clutch works, in the way that the Benz one doesn't. I personally think the Roc is a better body shape than the TT which has no rear seat to speak of and is about to be replaced as a shape. Roc if you call VW directly at say Wipawadee I think you will find they will quote you around 1.98m for a new scirocco BTW, or around 1.8m for an ex demo. Rocco you can change out the springs, put new rims on and so forth all easily done; a few of the 2nd hand cars have all this done already for 1.5m.

Another option would be 2nd hand Impreza.

For 2m new the choices are a little limited; 2nd hand low km 2 years old you have a wide choice of cars all depends on what you think would appeal to you to drive and if you plan to fiddle with the car.

Thanks Steve, So it is down to Sirocco, Volvo V40S or a TT, all European cars. The TT look really great and premium but the 2.0L is only available as gray import. V40S looks and feels premium and it is a safe car and i get a brand new one for what it is worth. Volvos aut gearboxes are not too happy with chip tuning according my friend at Volvo who have seen countless ruined gearboxes due to chip tuning :-s .. The Sirocco looks like, i don't know, not to bad... But it will probably have the best resale after 3-5 years.

I thought Mits was much more popular than Ford here. People does not seem to be all to happy with their cars, customer service, repairs etc. Would you really go for the Ford... Let me know more as my GF thinks it is better to just buy a cheap car here as we plan to live in Europe during summer months (May-Aug) and buy something nicer over there like Nissan GTR (3.5Mbaht against 10Mbaht here) or even a Porsche to play with during our 4 month annually holiday over there.

Seems like your GF is clever.. The Ford Focus is more powerful and better equipped than the Mitsubishi. That's the one i would go for.. as for popular.. they weren't that popular in the past because they had a dated range.. Now though with the new range and many more service/sales places.. It's as good as any tier 2 manufacturer.. and better than some.

ps: it's also European spec as far as i'm aware.

Edited November 11, 2013 by thaicbr

[BSJ]

I don't see anything new in LOS under 2 million that would be a fun machine. Some may come close..........

[steveromagnino]

I would say the toss up is between the V40 Volvo as is and the Ford Focus if buying new....and the Scirocco if buying ex demo/2nd hand; like I say get your GF to call them and you might be pleasantly surprised on what is available.

Example Rocco 1.49m-1.55m gets you a tuned, decent car

http://www.taladrod.com/w20/Search/TbSch3F_Inf.aspx#mk:26+md:364

You are right, the Volvo guys won't be happy to modify (I did actually look seriously at this but also the only approved modifier that still gets warranty is polestar, and they don't have a modified T5 V40 kit yet and no plan to do) and it voids the warranty so not worth it until 5 years from now or whenever it runs out. Maybe Heico provides, I don't know.

The Ford Focus S is much, much slower than the other two, and really is only a glorified hatchback with marginally better pep than the equivalent Toyota or Mitsi anyhow; the equivalent ST is not available here. I would agree that the current Ford range means they are moving from back of the pack tier 2, to front of the pack tier 2 possibly even tier 1 compared to the Honda/Toyota duopoly we see in Thailand. It's been quite a while since Mitsi has had a look in here in Thailand, reputation is of expensive servicing and poor resale (similar to a lot of Euro brands including VW, Volvo etc) except you are getting a pretty basic car to start off with. Again, new models might change that.

I agree, steer clear of the TT simply because it is reaching end of its life for the Mk2, and the practicality of the beast isn't so great anyhow.

One other option is the Veloster, looks the part and performance midway between the Focus and the Euro cars you are considering; however some might bawk at paying 1.79m for this level of car when you could get the Volvo (or even an almost new Rocco) for similar coin.

For sure, might want to consider that if you have a performance car back home, then buying a most basic people moving beast here is simple and cheaper. But for me, once you have acquired the joy of driving decent cars, then it's hard to go back to something more agricultural unless to serve a purpose (like towing or moving 7 ppl or something).

[IMHO]

I don't see anything new in LOS under 2 million that would be a fun machine. Some may come close..........

The V40 has 213HP and does 0-100 in 6.9s, which means it probably does the 1/4 mile in high 14's or low 15's. That's not too bad. Plus it's a turbo, so should be easily tunable to get down into the 13's without losing too much drivability - that's Porsche Cayman speed (sans the handling).

Pity about their dealer network in TH though.

[IMHO]

One other option is the Veloster, looks the part and performance midway between the Focus and the Euro cars you are considering; however some might bawk at paying 1.79m for this level of car when you could get the Volvo (or even an almost new Rocco) for similar coin.

I can't imagine why anyone would buy a Hyundai over a Volvo in TH. Hyundai is a much dirtier word than Volvo after their unforgettable / unforgivable sudden exit in the 90's that left all their TH customers high and dry.

If the Veloster was around 1.2M (which is more like what it's worth), that would be a different story though.

[WarpSpeed]

IMHO did I see you doing a video on YouTube about the VW Scirocco @ the Thai auto show?

Nope, I'm not a presenter

Ah but it wasn't a presenter, so that's not a denial.. Anyway I won't pursue this anymore on the open forum, if you'd like to PM or not that'd be fine. This gentleman was well read, spoke perfect English (sounded to be American) was obviously Thai/American and how I'd picture you and your insider knowledge based on his related profession.

Edited November 12, 2013 by WarpSpeed

[WarpSpeed]

New Volvo V40S 2.0L Turbo, 213HP 1.82Mil Fun car, relative inexpensive, good looking, safe car. BUT unknown resale value, may be difficult to sell to Thais at all.

New BMW 328i, 3Mil Brakes my budget by far

New Merc CLA 250, 2.65Mil Very beautiful car inside and out. Brakes my budget but I might be able to handle it. But it is one year waiting time for one.

New Mitsubishi GT 2.0, 1.05Mil Nice car, looks good but only 154HP Any simple aftermarket tuning available in Thailand?

2nd hand BMW 325ia, 1-1.5Mil Premium car, fun to drive, the worst depreciation on the first owner. BUT not new, unsure mileage and history.

Volvo has not had a performance model like the V40 before; in the reviews it seems to rate pretty highly although not a pure sports car it is getting good reviews and may surprise you as a more popular car than the run of the mill S60/S40s of old; it will depreciate worse than the BMW or Benz but after 5 years, all of them will drop at least 50% so at least you are paying less upfront so cost in baht terms should be not so different.

Conservatively (you might do better than this)

e.g. Volvo buy 1.8m sell in 5 years 700k lost 1.1m in depn

Benz buy 2.5m sell in 5 years 1.25m lost 1.25m in depn

CLA you should test drive the A250, I found the dual clutch unacceptably poor; looks the part but couldn't handle the dual clutch arrangement or lack of engine note; also Benz has no maintenance included so that's a slight cost that Volvo or other new car wouldn't have (assume that's probably 100k over 5 years for the benz).

Mitsi has bad resale; would probably go for the Ford Focus Sport with 175HP rather than a Mitsi.

Personally I think the FT86 is a lovely looking car, but 7+sec to 100km is crazily slow, and for that sort of money you can get more performance although if you are doing track days etc, then the 86 is probably perfect in some respects.

If you are willing to look 2nd hand, and want a driver's car, then the Mini Cooper S; Audi A1 grey market 185HP if you can find one; Fiat Abarth; TT; Golf GTI Mk 6; Scirocco are all pretty attractive and in some ways any of them would be as much of a driver's car than the BMW (having owned BMW in the past I really don't get the appeal of the mid range Beemers, the M level is indeed a beast, but 325/328 are a bit mundane). the various chips and after market exhausts mods etc are all worth doing once the car is out of warranty; you will not get decent power out of a 116/118 BMW no matter what you do and the 125i is only available grey - BMW is not a car I would probably consider to buy grey.

BTW the Scirocco TSI 2.0 and the R are not so different; both FWD and you can easily get an ABT or APR tune for about 60,000b and a new airintake to get similar horsepower although the engine is different in each; 2nd hand Sciroccos are running around 1.5m for a 2 years old low km car. Definitely a lovely car with some style and having driven a worked APR stage 1, they are dead simple to get to good performance level very easily; a fairly passionate owners group as well with access to aftermarket parts. The VW dual clutch works, in the way that the Benz one doesn't. I personally think the Roc is a better body shape than the TT which has no rear seat to speak of and is about to be replaced as a shape. Roc if you call VW directly at say Wipawadee I think you will find they will quote you around 1.98m for a new scirocco BTW, or around 1.8m for an ex demo. Rocco you can change out the springs, put new rims on and so forth all easily done; a few of the 2nd hand cars have all this done already for 1.5m.

Another option would be 2nd hand Impreza.

For 2m new the choices are a little limited; 2nd hand low km 2 years old you have a wide choice of cars all depends on what you think would appeal to you to drive and if you plan to fiddle with the car.

Spot on Steve, and it is worth mentioning that ABT is in Thailand and an authorized VW tuner so not likely to effect warrantee either..

[DJH77]

How about a Mid 90's, Honda NSX, there are a few in one2cars for sale. I think they have to be the best value Super Car in Thailand, Bang for Bucks, one third the price of a comparitable Ferrari without the relibality problems and i think the Honda NSX would be relatively simple to maintain compared to European exotics. I am considering one myself. Any thoughts on this IMHO.

[IMHO]

How about a Mid 90's, Honda NSX, there are a few in one2cars for sale. I think they have to be the best value Super Car in Thailand, Bang for Bucks, one third the price of a comparitable Ferrari without the relibality problems and i think the Honda NSX would be relatively simple to maintain compared to European exotics. I am considering one myself. Any thoughts on this IMHO.

Actually, that's an interesting choice. The NSX has aged very well IMHO - much better than other Japs around this vintage. Given their scarcity in TH, I don't think too many people would suspect a well looked after one's actual age...

The challenge will be finding one that's still stock, low KM's and has MT. I imagine cars like this have probably changed hands a few times already, and probably had the misfortune of being owned by a young boy racer Thai at some stage (I pity the current owner of my old Skyline GTR hehe )

At this age, you can pretty make be sure you'll need to retrim the interior, and if memory serves correctly the tires on these were odd aspects, so you'd want to look into that as well. If/when it breaks down, you can probably expect it to be off the road for while waiting for parts (IIRC it shares nothing mechanical with other Honda 3.0L's), and if in an accident, you're going to need to find a master at working with it's aluminum panels. Not major deterrents for a 2nd or 3rd car though

[TramsRepus]

Thanks Steve and all others for your invaluable input and information. It looks like its going to be a Sirocco after all...or a Ford if GF has something say about it which i doubt ;-)

Im going to read all i can about tuning the car. I had a brand new 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX STI 10.5 years ago which i tuned to 330hp and still had a monster APS VF40 turbo charger, a huge intercooler, clutch, flywheel etc etc laying around ready for the next step +400hp. Later that year in December i moved to Thailand and had to sell it and all the tuning stuff and all other toys... So with a Sirocco in my garage, im seeing where this is going.

Now it is time to convincing GF, and then call around.

[steveromagnino]

Scirocco it's pretty simple to just either purchase one almost new (since you are tuning it the warranty is probably not useful anyhow) which has some of the following (I also considered a Rocco before getting a Mini Cooper S which I have also, ahem, modified most of the items below to get to around 200HP)

- modified free flow exhaust

- free flow air intake

- modified software/ECU

- new springs (to drop the car to the height it should have been from the factory which is about 20mm at the front and 25mm at the rear)/coilovers

- boom sounds

APR or ABT are two of the good tuners here, not so cheap though - in general buying a tuned car is almost guaranteed to result in a cost saving as the price of a tuned car is the same as a non tuned one - I don't really believe that the thrashings from boyracers in a low enough mileage car should be an issue:

http://www.goapr.com/products/?vehicle=Scirocco

Note the Roc tsi, Golf gti, Audi TT are basically the same engine for the most part (ignoring that the R is a different spec motor) and all of them easily you can get to decent power pretty easily - in my opinion VW tend to understate the power anyhow of their cars; I'd guess most of the time the Roc tuned smashes a Mini tuned, but the WRX would be quicker than both of them thanks to being able to get that power to all 4 wheels. Mini handling is a strong point, but the Roc is no joke, it's a lovely lovely car.

BTW just saw my first CLA on the road today (see quite a few A classes now, seen a few V40s) and I'd still say in order of looks the Volvo looks the best from the front; the Rocco from the back, and the CLA looks grotesquely ugly from anything back from side; it is too small to pull off the CLS look so ends up looking bulgy and fat with a too high roof line; this despite the fact that someone over 180cm can't sit in it without hitting the roof. It's an Altis size car, swooping like a CLS.....not done well at all.

Edited November 12, 2013 by steveromagnino

[EvilDrSomkid]

For tuning a Scirocco 2.0TSI, Unitronic now also has a distributor in Thailand. Starting with 200chp is not bad. Stage1 tune is 250chp, IIRC.

[TramsRepus]

First VW dealer called asked 2.15M for a new Sirocco and i had to wait till Febrari for a white one with black leather. Only the golf is discounted to 1.98M :-(

What do you think about buying a Demo car? Probably no brake-in have been done in such car and maybe it have been driven hard with cold motor too.... or am i imagining too much here ;-) All Siroccos seems to have that terrible orange leather interior which i don't like. But that cant cost much to change, right?

Edited November 12, 2013 by TramsRepus

[TramsRepus]

Ok, I found a low mileage 9100KM, produced in Dec 2012 but sold as new in April-2013. Price 1,78. Strange is that it has a second owner already. The story is that his friends doughtier did not like the car so he bought it with only 2500km on the clock. He is not a dealer, just like play with cars. Orange leather though :-(

What do you guys think. Is it a good deal or should i wait till February?

Edited November 12, 2013 by TramsRepus

[b19bry]

For me Honda CRZ, scores on all 3 points. Sure, some will scorn and say it's not a performance car but handling wise it's a fun car to drive.

It's also bound to have much better residual than any of the European alternatives and as a Hybrid a good choice if you're driving at all in BKK.

Only downside is the manual gearbox version is not available in Thailand.

[steveromagnino]

CRZ is not the CRX type car; rather it's more along the lines of the Veloster (looks awesome, but is pretty slow) - 9sec to 100kmphr is going to be way too slow, that's slower than a Focus - also I do not share the optimism that the car will hold it's price so well; hybrids aren't proven yet at all; once they get to 5 years the next owner will be worried when they have to replace the batteries (this was pointed out to me for the BMW hybrid 3 series which is a bit of a beast in terms of performance....but the batteries are only expected to last 8 years then you have to replace them). And it's at the end of the day, only a Honda fully imported, with all the same problems as any other boutique car (including the Roc).

The Honda also has a fairly worthless backseat, same problem as the Mini - so for some ppl that's fine, for me if I was considering the CRZ, I'd probably just get a 2nd hand Audi A1, Abarth or Cooper S, all of which would smash a CRZ in every performance department and have a more usable interior.

And don't get me wrong, I like the CRZ a lot, it's a cool little car, just not really a performance car.

For the Roc 1.78m seems a little high, I think you can find cheaper than that, check out taladrod.com for instance this one 1.69m and done around 20k with a black interior (they did come originally with 2 colours black and the brown color) and that should be negotiable; a lot of these Rocs 2nd hand are owned by VW/Porsche type dudes who bought it as a fun car to tinker with, they didn't buy it as a daily driver so a lot of them have pretty low kms. Prices in Thailand 2nd hand I'd be offering something like 10-15%/150k less than the asking price, and the end point will be something like 10% off the asking.

http://www.taladrod.com/w20/Search/CarDet3.aspx?cib=1270007

For any ex demo check how long it has actually been around, you can find out from the VIN number on the windshield there is some program online that tells you down to the month when it was made. I would not worry too much about warming up/cooling down as normally you test drive with the dealer in the car. They don't seem to like people giving them sideways thrashings (we did but they didn't seem to appreciate it much). If they will give you 3 years warranty on a (likely) 2012 car (best case) with about 8,000km then that's a sweet deal even if you need to pay slightly more. The biggest thing that can go wrong though is the DSG (apparently) and if you tinker with the car, then you may be better off to just buy 2nd hand or not worry too much about the service, since it likely will be covered by the tuning company, not VW themselves.

Here is a place for tuning stuff for the Roc get your GF to translate, but it's reasonably clear what is what if you don't read Thai

http://www.vwsociety.com/webboard/index.php?PHPSESSID=mc1urm4rb78a4rtu6s796dont5&board=3.0

Edited November 12, 2013 by steveromagnino

[TramsRepus]

I see, but this 1.78M car is only 7 months old, It will be 3-4 years old when it is time for me to replace it. The one you proposed will be 6-7 years old then. Doesn't the years matters here?

Steve, Thanks again for your thoroughly and informative posts here.

Edited November 12, 2013 by TramsRepus

[steveromagnino]

I see, but this 1.78M car is only 7 months old, It will be 3-4 years old when it is time for me to replace it. The one you proposed will be 6-7 years old then. Doesn't the years matters here?

Steve, Thanks again for your thoroughly and informative posts here.

I would say when the car is 5 years old say, then the selling price will be around probably 800k-1m (Rocs seem to hold their value quite well so far) depending on if there is a new model. One that is another 2 years older is probably 600k-900k.

My comment was simply that there is probably more than 200k worth of tuning gear on that car, so it makes sense and anyhow since you will likely have a warranty issue should something go wrong, might as well pay less and get much the same end result.

Or at least, be confident you can negotiate 1.78 down to around 1.65-1.68m (at a guess).

If you can contact multiple Volk dealerships, you may find one of them with an ex demo for around slightly higher than the 1.78. Try VW Wipawadee and ask to speak to K Tarn (said Dtarn, rhymes with barn); she seems very smart and helpful.

Note I have no connection with VW just love the Roc and the Golf.

[TramsRepus]

I showed the new Golf MK7 for my GF... Now she want a Golf MK7 instead And i have to say the new model looks great too, especially the new cockpit area which looks more refined. But I ain't paying 2.7M for a Golf, period It looks like the Scirocco is up for minor update 2Q 2014 as well, but maybe not on Thailand.

The owner dropped it from 1.83 to 1.78 and did not accepted my 1.7 offer.

I can still not forget the Volvo V40S T5 though... Looks and feels great and packed with modern toys. My Volvo friend still think i should buy one and wait for Polestar which he say will have a tuning option for the car. But who wants to wait

I will call VW Wipawadee now...... Need to google a phone number first.

EDIT: I cant finds any VW dealer at Wipawadee, at least not in English. Went to VW-thai website to try to find the dealer but it redirects me to a English Singaporean website of some reason.

Edited November 13, 2013 by TramsRepus

[frankphuket]

Hi TramsRepus,

just thought I give you some of my thoughts as I have always looked at "fun" cars and have a Mini Cooper S JCW GP and a VW Golf GTI (2012).

The GP i bought second hand and had to do some work to get it into top shape, was thinking of selling it, but it is just to much fun and a manual....which i really like.

The GTI is a superb car (comfy, refined, good for daily usage, yet a 'hooligan' when pushed)....although after 1 year and 10,000km i had DSG problems (a leak) and had to spend about 50,000 Baht to fix it....not too impressed, but once this had been done it is back to being a great car. Just wished it would be a manual....I would trade in mine for a manual version every day of the week (but never seen one in Thailand yet...)

The Golf has a nicer interior then the Rocco and if your wife likes the MK7, why not a MK6 two doors instead (this is the model i have). Not THAT much different in looks department. I remapped mine to about 260hp (never measured, but it goes a lot faster than my GP). And i believe you would not have to worry about brown interiors as i believe most had black leather....

I did also look at a V40, but never tested it yet....would only worry about handling and the auto in it, which might spoil some of the fun the engine surely could bring.

cheeers

[TramsRepus]

I think i found it, different spelling though ;-) But i have already talked to them. 2.15M no demo cars.

Laksi (TS)

address: 201/14 Moo 4, Vibhavadi Rangsit. Laksi Talat Bang Khen, Bangkok 10210. tel: 0 2973 3373 fax: 0 2551 1224 email: website:

[EvilDrSomkid]

I showed the new Golf MK7 for my GF... Now she want a Golf MK7 instead And i have to say the new model looks great too, especially the new cockpit area which looks more refined. But I ain't paying 2.7M for a Golf, period It looks like the Scirocco is up for minor update 2Q 2014 as well, but maybe not on Thailand.

The owner dropped it from 1.83 to 1.78 and did not accepted my 1.7 offer.

I can still not forget the Volvo V40S T5 though... Looks and feels great and packed with modern toys. My Volvo friend still think i should buy one and wait for Polestar which he say will have a tuning option for the car. But who wants to wait

I will call VW Wipawadee now...... Need to google a phone number first.

EDIT: I cant finds any VW dealer at Wipawadee, at least not in English. Went to VW-thai website to try to find the dealer but it redirects me to a English Singaporean website of some reason.

Try looking for VW Ram Intra. They also do ABT tuning.

[steelepulse]

Here's how you can make that FT 86 have some power. This is the first one brought into Thailand. Not sure if still covered under warranty though.

[TramsRepus]

Here's how you can make that FT 86 have some power. This is the first one brought into Thailand. Not sure if still covered under warranty though.

hehe, anything worth doing is worth overdoing, moderation is for cowards

[alyx]

If you really want a nice and fun car, not "so" expensive, my advice, kind of biased as I own one, is the CLA and, trust me, it has everything you want to have in a car if you do not mind the one year queue. Furthermore although it is slightly above the budget, the resale value would be quite good

This being said, considering Thailand's road and Bangkok's traffic jam , a 250 is too much but I guess they only import that horsepower

Now, in Thailand, I own a car and a bike which I bought (both) for a fifth of the CLA Thailand's market price Of course the car is quite cheap but does serve my needs as we are using it some week-ends on journeys greater than 50 kilometers, fun and safe to drive I might add. The bike being THE fun and fast mode of transportationn. Just between us, I have always hated wasting my time ( in the traffic and elsewhere)

My conclusion is that, unless one can afford a Bentley, Maserati, ( new quadroporte to be launched on November the 21st) , an Aston Martin or two, there is no point in owning an expensive car unless one has "expensive" friends

Stick to a cheap car, which value will eventually decrease but the loss will be minor.

Buy a bike, if one is careful ( about the other users of the road and is old enough to show off at the traffic lights rather than speeding on the highways which, by the way , are not allowed for bikers), a bike on which one can put more money ( I would not buy a second hand one, neither a car nor a bike, for various reasons)

As a matter of facts it all depends on what you want to do with it bur if you really want to have a nice car buy and use one in your own country, if you happen to visit there, buy a nice little car and a bike here, invest or enjoy the rest

By the way, you can always buy a nice un expensive car and have it modified in a good garage

Edited November 13, 2013 by alyx

[alyx]

You spoke somewhere about a four month holiday

I guess you will be travelling around then. One thing, be wary of buying Porsche or other coupe of the kind as, apart from a couple of regular size bags , you will not be able to bring anything else

Edited November 13, 2013 by alyx

[TramsRepus]

Reading about the GT86 and it is a lovely car indeed. A lot of tuning options. I found a kit which adds another 100HP on the WHEELS for only $5200. Hmm, im almost sold. There is a 2012 model on for sale at 2,1..... A lot of money for a toy

[IMHO]

Reading about the GT86 and it is a lovely car indeed. A lot of tuning options. I found a kit which adds another 100HP on the WHEELS for only $5200. Hmm, im almost sold. There is a 2012 model on for sale at 2,1..... A lot of money for a toy

You shouldn't get too wrapped up in acceleration numbers IMHO - give the 86 a drive, it's a whole lot more fun than the paper numbers suggest.

If you've just stepped out of an RB9 you'd want more HP in it, but for the average weekend hack it strikes a great balance between fun, drivability, and not being too dangerous if you happen to sneeze on the throttle.

An extra 100HP without additional modifications to wheels,tires,suspension would probably just make it extra twitchy and too drifty (is that a word?) - it doesn't need HP to break the rear loose, and turbo lag would kill the whole sensation of the car IMHO.

[steveromagnino]

For what it is worth, I have thought a bit about your situation, TransRepus, and I would point out the following:

- if you want a car with the practicality of a 4 door/hatch, then really the choice between a Scirocco and the V40 is the right one

- if you want to start driving in formula drift :-), then the GT86 is a nice car, but it will require mods out of the box to get it to let go easily, and it's a bit above your budget; however it really is worth a look because it is a relatively new model of car; the only issue is the only 86 I would consider (myself) is a manual, which will be more difficult to sell after

- if you are going to a 2013 close to full price car new or close to new, I'd lean towards the Volvo because it is a 2013/14 model; the Roc is getting past it's mid life as it really is a 2009 model for Thailand - this means in late 2014 or early 2015 it is foreseeable the Roc would be superceded by a new Roc based on the GTI mk7/MQB platform, and with stablemates the Audi TT coming in 2014 (supposedly) - financially it may also be that the Volvo holds its value slightly better as a result 5 years from now for the same reason

- if you are getting ex demo around early 2012 type model or even earlier, and at the right price, then lean towards the Roc

- if you plan to do a lot of mods, then lean towards the Rocco because as it stands now the Volvo parts are not around to fiddle with; also there are some options to buy some of the performance parts cheaper now than what they were selling before as the car reaches its midlife

[Minpin]

How about a Mid 90's, Honda NSX, there are a few in one2cars for sale. I think they have to be the best value Super Car in Thailand, Bang for Bucks, one third the price of a comparitable Ferrari without the relibality problems and i think the Honda NSX would be relatively simple to maintain compared to European exotics. I am considering one myself. Any thoughts on this IMHO.

Actually, that's an interesting choice. The NSX has aged very well IMHO - much better than other Japs around this vintage. Given their scarcity in TH, I don't think too many people would suspect a well looked after one's actual age...

The challenge will be finding one that's still stock, low KM's and has MT. I imagine cars like this have probably changed hands a few times already, and probably had the misfortune of being owned by a young boy racer Thai at some stage (I pity the current owner of my old Skyline GTR hehe )

At this age, you can pretty make be sure you'll need to retrim the interior, and if memory serves correctly the tires on these were odd aspects, so you'd want to look into that as well. If/when it breaks down, you can probably expect it to be off the road for while waiting for parts (IIRC it shares nothing mechanical with other Honda 3.0L's), and if in an accident, you're going to need to find a master at working with it's aluminum panels. Not major deterrents for a 2nd or 3rd car though

I tried this route a couple of years ago and the NSX was top of my list. Looked at 4 cars.

All for sale were 3/4 owners, hideous interiors, crazy aftermarket parts.

I was looking for an untouched car.