Did you buy this Mini assembled in Thailand.

[WarpSpeed]

^Still carries the mini name though..

[taotoo]

Seems excessive, but go ahead and pay that new car premium just for the smell.

But there ISN'T much of a new car premium here compared to my home country. Buying new here is a no-brainer.

[MMarlow]

Agree with you 100%. If this car was being re-assembled it's very unlikely that the passenger door would have been hung before the interior had been completed. This is not Thailand and I think that the fact that the OP has not come back to comment gives little creedence to his assertion that the photos were taken in Thailand. Just one more Thai basher.

The clothing that one of the workers can be seen wearing suggests that they are not Thais also, sturdy shoes and long trousers! I know I am generalising with this last comment but go to most breakers in Thailand and you will see mainly flip-flops and shorts.

If your language is English please read my OP there is no where I said I took the photo's why is this Thai bashing get your head out of your ass. As for Thai guy's wearing short's most would not be seen dead in short's so another of your stories shot down.

For the story on the Mini it's posted on a Thai web site and if you have a boy friend get him to call this number 0875522888 and you will gather more information,

Judging by the construction of your first sentence above, your first language certainly isn't English.

Your post stated that it was in Thailand, and you suggested that you may be familiar with the place as you also stated that they "do a good job". When I posted to ask you where the photos were taken there was no response. I think most people if they hadn't taken the photos would have responded to say so. That's why I thought you may have taken the pictures.

It could be seen to be Thai bashing because you suggested, without offering anything to back up your assertion, that the work done by the Thais involved could cause the vehicle to split in half.

As for most Thais "not being seen dead in shorts", I know that you're way off the mark there but perhaps you've never noticed this phenomenon in Thailand because it is actually you that has your head up your arse and I'm sure it's probably a little dark in there. As for stories being shot down, although I made a comment as opposed to making up a story, it's still flying. Perhaps you're firing blanks?

Finally, sweetie, don't assume that just because you may have a boyfriend we all have.

[MMarlow]

That is why I would never buy a s/hand car in Thailand

Why? Because you think Thaialnd is the only country in the world where cut and shut cars are sold?

Irrelevant comment. He was talking only about Thailand. His thoughts about cut and shut cars refer only, therefore, in this instance, to Thailand.

How do you know what his thoughts are, are you some kind of mind reader? And since when have you been the Irrelevancy Monitor? Or his spokesman come to that?

Have another read of what I posted and you'll see that I asked him a question, I didn't make a comment. Nothing irrelevant about my question at all.

[jacko45k]

Seems excessive, but go ahead and pay that new car premium just for the smell.

But there ISN'T much of a new car premium here compared to my home country. Buying new here is a no-brainer.

What would you say the difference is in Thailand.?

I certainly have seen near new vehicles being offered at 70% of their purchase price. (A year old and low mileage)

And I believe the auctions can yield some bargains if you can get into them.

Saving 250,000 baht and getting a 1 year old low mileage vehicle rather than a new one is attractive... the only other incentive is the included insurance, which I am told is poor insurance... along with the new car smell.

At the moment I still carry my home-country prejudice against the new-car premium and am considering the options.

[taotoo]

I would guess that cars depreciate about twice as slowly as in my home country (just a guess though). I suspect that 70% figure is not typical. An auction would be a lottery...

There are lots of incentives to getting a new car - knowing the warranty will be honoured, knowing it hasn't been bent in a crash, knowing it isn't stolen, knowing it doesn't have outstanding finance on it etc.

No doubt you can check on all of those things, but perhaps not as easily or reliably as in your home country.

[Lancashirelad]

"The photos" are not taken by the OP but are screen shots from a Thai company's web site.

I don't know if they're cutting the mini or stitching it back together, however If it is professionally jigged and welded, the weld is stronger than the rest of it. As another poster mentioned, stretched limos are cut in half and then have an extra floor and roof section welded in, so there are 2 joints.

A mini does not have a chassis.

Some of you will have bought & driven new cars that have already had accident damage repaired, but you will never have known it. They get bumped in yards, transporter decks accidentally lowered into the roof, roll away with the hand brake left off, all sorts. Most new vehicles aren't damaged, but certainly some are. I used to work for a main dealer and saw plenty of new cars in the body shop.

If anyone has any connections at any of these Thai businesses that sell grey imports I'd be grateful for details.

(No I am not planning to start selling them)

Edited December 25, 2013 by Lancashirelad

[WarpSpeed]

The weld is not the problem it's the metal around it which is heat weakened, it requires more then just spot welding to restitch and that fatigues the metal and thins it out.. A limo can be over-built as much necessary it's about support more so than performance,safety and handling like it is with a smaller car.

Technically your correct it doesn't have a chassis it's uni-body but still it's more commonly referred to as a chassis..