Road Side Assistance

[sanuk21]

Just went to start my 3 year old Toyota car and the battery is dead.

I live in Rawai and none of my neighbours has any jumper cables.

Obviously my first course of action would be to replace the battery .

Does anybody know phone no of a company that does home battery replacement?

or

Does Toyota or Viriyah Insurance do Roadside Assistance to jump start your vehicle to get to a battery shop?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Sanuk

[LivinginKata]

Suggest you walk to your nearest bike mechanic shop and they will fix you up, no doubt they will even go and buy you a car battery. Might even be a battery place near you.

Can't say I have ever seen roadside assistance like the AA or RAC in Thailand.

[stevenl]

Yes, take a bike and buy a new battery, or ask somebody to do it for you.

Is pushing the car to start it an option, or do you have A/T?

[NomadJoe]

Suggest you walk to your nearest bike mechanic shop and they will fix you up, no doubt they will even go and buy you a car battery. Might even be a battery place near you.

Can't say I have ever seen roadside assistance like the AA or RAC in Thailand.

Use the search function. There are several threads on the topic of roadside assistance already. Yes it exists here for both motorcycles and cars, and there are several options. I used to have auto insurance through Viriyah and it included 24hr road side assistance. I know AXA also does it. Car World Club (http://www.cwc.co.th/cwc/index.php) and RAAT (Royal Auto Association of Thailand http://www.raat.or.th/home) are also popular. It is also often available through the main car dealers. Honda Big Wing offers it for motorbikes bought from them. You can contact forum sponsor AA Insurance Brokers for more info. He knows this stuff.

[sanuk21]

Thanks guys for the prompt and good advice!

The car is not a manual or A/T but an i/CVT ....and no motorbike....

So I walked out onto the road as advised and within 100 metres found Saiyuan Service Center (Crash Repairs) next to Kalita on Wiset Road

They dispatched their mechanic on a motorbike with battery and leads to my home and gave me a jump start.

I drove the car back to their workshop, a new battery arrived on a saleng within minutes from somewhere in Chalong.

I went home less 2,500 baht .....no service fee charged.

Great service .....my neighbour says they do good crash repairs work too!

Thanks again guys!

Sanuk

[sanuk21]

Thanks NomadJoe

For future reference have you or has anyone else had personal experience using Viriyah 24hr road side assistance.

I couldn't find much about it on their web site.

I have had experience with their accident assistance and found it difficult unless you have a thai national with you.....even though I do have some thai language skills .

Sanuk

[Old Croc]

The battery on our 3 year old Toyota expired at Homepro recently. Apparently this is a normal life expectancy for these cheap little units.

My wife found someone to come to her and replace the battery on the spot. Good prompt service.

Unfortunately she can't remember who it was, and can't find the paperwork. I'll post details if the papers surface.

[surangw]

have you since bought your own set of jumper cables ?

[Somtamnication]

I have had two batteries die on me and my local battery shop has always dispatched a guy to replace. They never forget a nice falang with a tip.

And if anyone wants a true, old fashioned Thai mechanic who is honest, does not play games with your car and speaks zero English, please let me know.

(Between Dowroong and Zoo on Chao Fa East).

[NomadJoe]

Thanks NomadJoe

For future reference have you or has anyone else had personal experience using Viriyah 24hr road side assistance.

I couldn't find much about it on their web site.

I have had experience with their accident assistance and found it difficult unless you have a thai national with you.....

I never had to use the road side assistance. But making a claim once with Viriyah was difficult.

As a general comment on batteries, I believe a lot of batteries get replaced unnecessarily. It is often not the battery which needs replacing, but a problem with the charging system. A new battery may improve the situation temporarily but if the charging system is working properly and you keep the battery water topped up, it should last several years. Twice when I had a dead battery I had the Thai mechanic tell me he was going to replace it. I told him no, the problem isn't the battery. The bike wouldn't start due to some other reason. Sure enough I ever had a problem with the battery again.

[Old Croc]

have you since bought your own set of jumper cables ?

Not sure if this question was to me. However, Toyota supplied a case with the car, containing several items to help for a breakdown. Among them are a tow rope, triangular warning signs and a set of jumper leads.

The wife had the case safely packed away in the store room at home!

[IrishIvan]

trying to get a Thai to jumpstart a car is like pulling teeth bare handed. They think that their car will be damaged if they jumpstart your car, more voodoo <deleted> in LOS

[harrry]

trying to get a Thai to jumpstart a car is like pulling teeth bare handed. They think that their car will be damaged if they jumpstart your car, more voodoo <deleted> in LOS

With computers in cars it is quite possible too.

This is the recomended procedure:

http://www.racq.com.au/motoring/cars/car_advice/car_fact_sheets/jump_starting

[surangw]

have you since bought your own set of jumper cables ?

Not sure if this question was to me. However, Toyota supplied a case with the car, containing several items to help for a breakdown. Among them are a tow rope, triangular warning signs and a set of jumper leads.

The wife had the case safely packed away in the store room at home!

sometimes being tidy does not pay off in the long run

[fiddlehead]

I've never had a car battery last longer than 3 years here.
2 and a few months is more like the norm.

I understand this short life of car batteries to be related to the heat.
I top off the water regularly (I drop in at the place I bought it every few months and they check it and add accordingly)

The jumper cables for sale here are not the best.
They aren't as heavy as they need to be if the battery has been really drained.

I've jump started many of my neighbors cars and trucks here and my (Thai) neighbors have done the same for me over the years.

I've taken my battery out and put it in their car already if they were in a position where we couldn't get the jumper cables to the vehicle.

I have had batteries blow near my face a long time ago, so I always hook up the negative cable to the vehicle that's running LAST.

[Paangjang]

have you since bought your own set of jumper cables ?

Not sure if this question was to me. However, Toyota supplied a case with the car, containing several items to help for a breakdown. Among them are a tow rope, triangular warning signs and a set of jumper leads.

The wife had the case safely packed away in the store room at home!

How come i never got one of those? Did my ฿1,000,000 not cover that?

[Old Croc]

have you since bought your own set of jumper cables ?

Not sure if this question was to me. However, Toyota supplied a case with the car, containing several items to help for a breakdown. Among them are a tow rope, triangular warning signs and a set of jumper leads.

The wife had the case safely packed away in the store room at home!

How come i never got one of those? Did my ฿1,000,000 not cover that?

An extra with the top models.