buying a new car uk citizen

[br0wnd0g23]

Hi

I know this post has been done before. But can anyone confirm for me the process please.

We will be moving to chiang mai next month and we are looking to buy a new car. my wife will have an education visa, I will be in and out, so no need for a visa.

The documents i think you need are:

passport

appropriate visa

and letter of residence.

As a UK citizen, can i confirm that i would need to go to the UK embassy to get this letter of residence.

Also with regards to the timescale. how long after you pay the money, how long would it take before we could drive off the forecourt with the car.

appreciate any advice

thanks

[onthedarkside]

Cheaper to get the Certificate of Residence at your local Immigration office. It's really free but expect to have 500 baht asked. UK embassy will charge much more. If you happen to have a Work Permit or Yellow Tabian Baan (house paper ) then you don't need that certificate.

If the car is in stock then no reason why you can't drive away if you paid the money. Car is issued temporary plates (red) by the dealer and the real plates will be issued by transport department in a couple of months, pay the road tax at that time. Just insurance to be sorted out before you drive the car away. The dealer will sort that out.

[br0wnd0g23]

great thank you. i will contact the immigration office as soon as we have rented a place.

then hopefully we can get the ball rolling

cheers

[beau thai]

You are right to plan to buy new as 2nd's here are way over-priced and have an uncertain history.

Once you have chosen your make/model do check out the manufacturer website for promotional deals.

We found that the dealers often suppress those as it can be in their interest to do so.

It's a buyers market now and you should be looking for free fully comp insurance for the first year and 3-5 year warranty.

In my limited experience they seem less willing ton talk discounts as in the west, but I guess that depends on the popularity of what you choose.

We chose a Nissan with some misgivings about the small 1.2 3 cylinder engine but its actually very gutsy even on all-day drives 4 up! Much better than I expected.

If Nissan interests you, I have an English speaking female Thai friend at one of the main dealers so pm me if you wish.(I dont want to be seen promoting them on this site as people get very suspicious-without reason!!)

Good luck with your purchase. Oh, and I would suggest getting a Thai Driving License- an easy process that will need a medical letter issued here and less than a month old to confirm you are still breathing basically! As well as the Cert of Residence from Immigration mentioned above.

[Greenside]

New is nice but the 2nd hand car market is changing fast, due in most part to the government's insane subsidy policy a couple of years back. Secondhand dealers are massively overstocked both with older vehicles that people got rid of when Grandma bought her first car and now with almost new ones that people can't keep the payments on. Just driving around town it's clearly noticeable that there are far more cars for sale by the side of the road and I now often see someone popping a for sale sign on the roof of his car when they pop into Tesco to do the shopping. Also, there are lots of lease/purchase plans out there that hit you with a big balloon payment after the first 2 or three years so expect to see a lot of BMWs and Mercs available down the line a bit. Western depreciation is heading this way slowly but surely...

[br0wnd0g23]

thanks for the replies. Actually there a few different models from different dealers that we could be interested in. So we are not tied to a dealer and i reckon that will force them into reducing the price.

i can only ask.

thanks again

cheers

[kjhbigv]

thanks for the replies. Actually there a few different models from different dealers that we could be interested in. So we are not tied to a dealer and i reckon that will force them into reducing the price.

i can only ask.

thanks again

cheers

Very unlikely they will reduce the price!

In Thailand, the price is normally the price.

The negotiation is all about the freebies.....mats, window tinting etc etc.

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ChrisY1]

I'm late with this chat...but check the build date of the new vehicle.....we've been going through the new car thing with Honda for a new Accord...and so far all we've been told are lies.....they sales people are attrocious in my view.

Negotiated all the bits and then some....had finance arranged through Honda...was told it would be 1.29%....once the finance was arranged....then the calls started....interest now 1.69%......colour we ordered was not now available.....the extras the salesman negotiated were not going to be available....and so on.....we cancelled!