Less profit of isaan food shop owners?but big new cars!

[Dave 74]

I must get a sticker on my car: 'small, but paid for'.

Haha.

A fool in the eyes of a Thai. Who no doubt (bizarrely) looks down on you from his Camry that is on a 240 month payment plan and will actually pay back 7 times the cost of the car.

[Kwanting]

Most people here know everything about money but nothing about economy!

It's all about education!

[Dave 74]

^ No, it's all about culture.

You could educate a chimp in Dusit Zoo that giving 70% of his monthly food away so he can swing on a shiny diamond studed tire every day and call it his own in front of everyone isn't worth it and he would understand.

Edited March 24, 2014 by Dave 74

[thailandbeachisland]

You do not come from USA ? People also buy many things that they cannot afford there !

[thailandbeachisland]

I must get a sticker on my car: 'small, but paid for'.

Sent from my GT-S7500 using Tapatalk 2

Yes, I always think that cars that are already fully paid should have a special number plate to show that we are not poor monkeys...

[ChoakMyDee]

I must get a sticker on my car: 'small, but paid for'.

Haha.

A fool in the eyes of a Thai. Who no doubt (bizarrely) looks down on you from his Camry that is on a 240 month payment plan and will actually pay back 7 times the cost of the car.

This is actually not true. The interest for a car is quite low and very reasonable...nowhere near 7 times the price of the car..as a matter of fact not even 2 times the price of the car. You should be careful what you say on Thavisa; people who don't know any better might believe you.

[AndersM]

Every shop here in village selling same, some fat crackers I cannot eat

Hey lostinisaan why so derogatory towards the OP? You some great linguist or just a tosser?

Didn't you see that OP seems to be very unhappy about almost everything? Then it's really time to go back to Novosibirsk, or wherever he comes from.

Why would somebody explain about everything here? I like this place and made it to my home since more than 12 years.

How original. Thanks for your insight.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[majhiggins]

I saw a new Honca Accord 2.4 in a showroom the other day. 1.700 million Baht. The same car i the USA (brand new 2014) less than 1/2 the price. It's not just the cars they drive that seem impossible to afford but that the sales prices are double, or more, than the price of the same car in the USA. Actually worse than that because the USA model generally comes with more standard luxury items, like a sunroof. I have two graduate degrees in business fields and for the life of me after 8 years in Thailand, I have no idea how this economy operates! There is no "law" of supply and demand, for example. If supply exceeds demand, the price should drop. Why then are about 1/3 of all residential properties vacant in Nakhonratchasima, their prices are astronomically high for an average Thai (a new condo in Korat costs more than a single family house in most middle-class US cities) and they keep building more un-wanted houses and condos as fast as they can slap them together? I see an economically horrible day of rekoning coming for this place. Of course, that is horrible for the 'haves'. It might be a great boon for the poorer Thais to suddenly be able to afford their own homws for a change.

[SantiSuk]

Quit dissing the Thais. Who do you think introduced them to consumerism?!!

[monkey4u]

i guess it's not just issaan shops, it's everybody everywhere... last 2 months alone 4 new cars in my soi previously honda wave-only. they (can) hardly drive the car but they make it up with washing and polishing it every week :-)

anyway, i'm glad it's cars and not the obligatory macho pickup with moron-soundsystem.........

and yet nobody seems able to explain why the millions of second hand cars we see for sale are still so overpriced ...

If normal rules of supply and demand were in force, then the 10 year second hand old Vios would be worth 10000 Baht, not 200000 Baht.

The car still has 180,000 owing on it.

Look at some of the used cars being sold privately online

A 5 year old Pick up is the same price as a new one

[swissie]

I saw a new Honca Accord 2.4 in a showroom the other day. 1.700 million Baht. The same car i the USA (brand new 2014) less than 1/2 the price. It's not just the cars they drive that seem impossible to afford but that the sales prices are double, or more, than the price of the same car in the USA. Actually worse than that because the USA model generally comes with more standard luxury items, like a sunroof. I have two graduate degrees in business fields and for the life of me after 8 years in Thailand, I have no idea how this economy operates! There is no "law" of supply and demand, for example. If supply exceeds demand, the price should drop. Why then are about 1/3 of all residential properties vacant in Nakhonratchasima, their prices are astronomically high for an average Thai (a new condo in Korat costs more than a single family house in most middle-class US cities) and they keep building more un-wanted houses and condos as fast as they can slap them together? I see an economically horrible day of rekoning coming for this place. Of course, that is horrible for the 'haves'. It might be a great boon for the poorer Thais to suddenly be able to afford their own homws for a change.

Nevermind the above, nevermind post 27. As long as Wife/Family function as the main advisers for the Farang as far as finances/investments are concerned, Farang is on the safe side.

Cheers.

[sean in udon]

A member of my family in Buriram Province was a local schoolteacher. Absolutely laden in debt his teaching salary used to pay off his loans every month

Eventually the crunch. He's now lost his house, his car and his job in the local school and is living with my wife's grandmother.

I think his cautionary tale is probably being repeated over and over.....

I think it is being repeated over and over.... All over the world.

I am aware of 3 couples/families in the UK that live from month to month with overdrafts to the limit and all loaned out. What they pay in interest is ridiculous.

My favourite bit is the loan to consolidate your payments. Cool, let's do that. Couple of months later and they've got some financial breathing space. Ooh, that means we can get an iPad on credit and still have some money left over each month. Six months later and they're in exactly the same position before the consolidating loan. Morons.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[thailandbeachisland]

I saw a new Honca Accord 2.4 in a showroom the other day. 1.700 million Baht. The same car i the USA (brand new 2014) less than 1/2 the price. It's not just the cars they drive that seem impossible to afford but that the sales prices are double, or more, than the price of the same car in the USA. Actually worse than that because the USA model generally comes with more standard luxury items, like a sunroof. I have two graduate degrees in business fields and for the life of me after 8 years in Thailand, I have no idea how this economy operates! There is no "law" of supply and demand, for example. If supply exceeds demand, the price should drop. Why then are about 1/3 of all residential properties vacant in Nakhonratchasima, their prices are astronomically high for an average Thai (a new condo in Korat costs more than a single family house in most middle-class US cities) and they keep building more un-wanted houses and condos as fast as they can slap them together? I see an economically horrible day of rekoning coming for this place. Of course, that is horrible for the 'haves'. It might be a great boon for the poorer Thais to suddenly be able to afford their own homws for a change.

Yes it seems that you do not understand because people do not pay tax as in US or EU they don't mind to make immediate profit...

[socksy01]

Keeping up with the Jones'es - maybe someone else nearby has a new car. FACE