2m to spend & I have a short-list

[Jitar]

@OP: No Benz's made your shortlist?

Old ladies cars.

I used to discount them as being "only a car my father would drive" - old ladies drive in the back of taxis

Jeremy Clarkson's son could certainly agree with Benz being "only a car my father would drive".

[steveromagnino]

the main issue with 2nd hand if you are financing, is that you are stung 3X (2X for a Benz)

- higher interest rate

- you have to pay VAT on the financing (adding 7% onto the price of the car)

- you miss out on the BSI/maintenance deals

If you are a cash buyer, then 2nd hand is not so bad; if financing, then new usually works out better.

A ford Ecosport is a little subcompact Fiesta with high ground clearance. It is not a big car. it is noticeably smaller than a CRV or a Subaru XV (the XV is a much nicer looking car IMHO). If you want a cheap SUV with low depreciation ,then the CRV is almost a no brainer. While the Tucson, XV are all in some way nicer looking and cooler, the issue living in Chiang Mai will be servicing, and resale. Ford or a Nissan Juke (similar sizes) are both nice cars, but they are not in the same category; they are more like a Fiesta/Honda Jazz etc in size. Just higher ground clearance.

OP - the grey market will have Mini F56s before the authorised dealer; you might also like to call German Auto to find out when their stock arrives (possibly before Mini Ekamai which is the other dealer network of Millenium) as they are a NEW authorised dealer finally breaking the monopoly of Millenium for MINI brand. http://www.germanauto.co.th/ they rate as the highest (from memory) in customer satisfaction studies for BMW dealers in Thailand.

If you go grey, there are already F56s kicking around, you can visit www.one2car.com and the navigation is not so complex. The area on the mid right the 2nd field is in English with the car brand, and then the field below that 3rd field is the model. The grey bar in that same area is the search button.

http://www.one2car.com/search/Search_Result.aspx?Brand=B0005&Model=S0020&&Body=D2811

Here is an F56 available now. Grey though.

[triffid]

the main issue with 2nd hand if you are financing, is that you are stung 3X (2X for a Benz)

- higher interest rate

- you have to pay VAT on the financing (adding 7% onto the price of the car)

- you miss out on the BSI/maintenance deals

If you are a cash buyer, then 2nd hand is not so bad; if financing, then new usually works out better.

A ford Ecosport is a little subcompact Fiesta with high ground clearance. It is not a big car. it is noticeably smaller than a CRV or a Subaru XV (the XV is a much nicer looking car IMHO). If you want a cheap SUV with low depreciation ,then the CRV is almost a no brainer. While the Tucson, XV are all in some way nicer looking and cooler, the issue living in Chiang Mai will be servicing, and resale. Ford or a Nissan Juke (similar sizes) are both nice cars, but they are not in the same category; they are more like a Fiesta/Honda Jazz etc in size. Just higher ground clearance.

OP - the grey market will have Mini F56s before the authorised dealer; you might also like to call German Auto to find out when their stock arrives (possibly before Mini Ekamai which is the other dealer network of Millenium) as they are a NEW authorised dealer finally breaking the monopoly of Millenium for MINI brand. http://www.germanauto.co.th/ they rate as the highest (from memory) in customer satisfaction studies for BMW dealers in Thailand.

If you go grey, there are already F56s kicking around, you can visit www.one2car.com and the navigation is not so complex. The area on the mid right the 2nd field is in English with the car brand, and then the field below that 3rd field is the model. The grey bar in that same area is the search button.

http://www.one2car.com/search/Search_Result.aspx?Brand=B0005&Model=S0020&&Body=D2811

Here is an F56 available now. Grey though.

Thanks again.

I have now brought my final choice down to either the mk3 new Mini Cooper or the bmw 3201 or the golf gti mk7 in that order of preference.

All seem to be around 2.3m baht.

I am a cash buyer.

I put the golf last because it doesn't offer a maintenance package and not being a Bangkok resident I want that financial safeguard against problems cropping up. The Mini has a 3 year, and the bmw a 5 year package.

The bmw may seem a fuddy-duddy alternative to the hot hatches but there seem to be two quite substantial financial benefits - the 5 year package and the apparently much smaller premium over say the UK price as compared with the other two. Maybe this latter is because only the bmw is assembled here - I don't know, perhaps you can throw some light. Also there's always a chance the local dealer (Barcelona) may have a demo or newish 2nd hand car available an attractive discount. Finally the new 320 gets top class reviews everywhere I look.

For the Mini, thanks for the tip about german autos. The first question I would have for them is who will do the service in Chiangmai? I think Barcelona/BMW and Millennium ownership is tied together somehow. As to buying it on the grey market I am apprehensive about having say a Cooper S in Chiangmai without a maintenance package and presumably Barcelona would decline to service it? How does the warranty, maintenance, repairs etc work for a grey market Mini - in Bangkok? outside Bangkok? All this when the Mini has never been high in the reliability stakes - as I've gathered from the reviews.

I'd appreciate any comments you may want to make on anything I say above.

[Ace of Pop]

Just spend Your 2 Mill .O.P. Its turned into Dreamers Road Show now.

[frankphuket]

thought I throw in some comments, as I own two of the mentioned cars: a MINI GP and a Golf GTI MK6, both bought grey. The Mini second hand and the GTI new.

I live in Phuket.

Firstly 3 years ago when I bought the MINI I went to BMW to get things fixed....but after a few months and a few teething issues with the car, being 2nd hand, they told me can't come anymore. Found a good garage who is doing many Mercs, BMW and the owner drives a VW Golf MK4 (they do all the over 3 year old Mercs, as Mercs dealership seems to charge quite a lot). He can get all the spare parts, albeit it takes sometimes a while....which I believe it would thru the dealer as well.

Why did i buy the GTI grey....simple: it was only 1.95m at that time with full specs, whereas a lesser speced one was at VW dealer 2.6m. That was 2 years ago.

Reckoned that it would be hard to go that wrong to justify the price difference. Having said this, i had a DSG issue after only 10,000km....and was less impressed with VW that this would/could happen. Anyhow, it did cost me roughly 50,000 to fix....which I was rather upset about...but then again this was the only thing since 2 years and I am still 0.6m in the good so to say.

The GTI does loose quite heavily in value, as I was thinking of selling both cars and get just one....(parking space issue) and was offered only 1.2m for my GTI.

The MINI GP holds its value better and i was offered 1.45m.

Just for what it is worth...

Decided that both cars are still top and keep them as it isn't easy (see this thread) to find something nicer, better and more fun!

So, in short, I would not rule out grey...keep in mind it is a new car and the first 3 years there should not be so many things going wrong (should... I say....exceptions confirm the rule....see my GTI.........).

I have not driven the newer R56 Mini with the turbo engine, but can say that there is quite a difference between my R53 Mini and my GTI. The GTI is way more comfy, faster (it is tuned to 260hp) but maybe due to the MINI being a manual the GTI is also less fun.

I was told the new MK7 would be in the range of 2.6m..but of course information might have been wrong.

(I would not buy the car for that price though).

Not quite sure why the OP does not consider the V40, at only 1.69-1.89 it is really good value and has a 5 years warranty with surely more dealers around.

Is there a VW dealer in Chiang Mai?

Something else, quite nice:

http://showroom.one2car.com/carDetail.aspx?car_id=i10130011

I bought my GTI there. Can't comment on after sales service, as my car did not incl. any!

the main issue with 2nd hand if you are financing, is that you are stung 3X (2X for a Benz)

- higher interest rate

- you have to pay VAT on the financing (adding 7% onto the price of the car)

- you miss out on the BSI/maintenance deals

If you are a cash buyer, then 2nd hand is not so bad; if financing, then new usually works out better.

A ford Ecosport is a little subcompact Fiesta with high ground clearance. It is not a big car. it is noticeably smaller than a CRV or a Subaru XV (the XV is a much nicer looking car IMHO). If you want a cheap SUV with low depreciation ,then the CRV is almost a no brainer. While the Tucson, XV are all in some way nicer looking and cooler, the issue living in Chiang Mai will be servicing, and resale. Ford or a Nissan Juke (similar sizes) are both nice cars, but they are not in the same category; they are more like a Fiesta/Honda Jazz etc in size. Just higher ground clearance.

OP - the grey market will have Mini F56s before the authorised dealer; you might also like to call German Auto to find out when their stock arrives (possibly before Mini Ekamai which is the other dealer network of Millenium) as they are a NEW authorised dealer finally breaking the monopoly of Millenium for MINI brand. http://www.germanauto.co.th/ they rate as the highest (from memory) in customer satisfaction studies for BMW dealers in Thailand.

If you go grey, there are already F56s kicking around, you can visit www.one2car.com and the navigation is not so complex. The area on the mid right the 2nd field is in English with the car brand, and then the field below that 3rd field is the model. The grey bar in that same area is the search button.

http://www.one2car.com/search/Search_Result.aspx?Brand=B0005&Model=S0020&&Body=D2811

Here is an F56 available now. Grey though.

Thanks again.

I have now brought my final choice down to either the mk3 new Mini Cooper or the bmw 3201 or the golf gti mk7 in that order of preference.

All seem to be around 2.3m baht.

I am a cash buyer.

I put the golf last because it doesn't offer a maintenance package and not being a Bangkok resident I want that financial safeguard against problems cropping up. The Mini has a 3 year, and the bmw a 5 year package.

The bmw may seem a fuddy-duddy alternative to the hot hatches but there seem to be two quite substantial financial benefits - the 5 year package and the apparently much smaller premium over say the UK price as compared with the other two. Maybe this latter is because only the bmw is assembled here - I don't know, perhaps you can throw some light. Also there's always a chance the local dealer (Barcelona) may have a demo or newish 2nd hand car available an attractive discount. Finally the new 320 gets top class reviews everywhere I look.

For the Mini, thanks for the tip about german autos. The first question I would have for them is who will do the service in Chiangmai? I think Barcelona/BMW and Millennium ownership is tied together somehow. As to buying it on the grey market I am apprehensive about having say a Cooper S in Chiangmai without a maintenance package and presumably Barcelona would decline to service it? How does the warranty, maintenance, repairs etc work for a grey market Mini - in Bangkok? outside Bangkok? All this when the Mini has never been high in the reliability stakes - as I've gathered from the reviews.

I'd appreciate any comments you may want to make on anything I say above.

[worldfun]

as mentioned alternative service garages are recommended for best value and service. only problem of course is to locate a good one but as with anything in los if there is one buyer there will be at least one service provider

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[triffid]

Thanks to Frank for those comments and his experience.

There is a vw dealer in Chiangmai.

Minis - at least from Millennium, Bkk are serviced at BMW Barcelona Motors in Chiangmai. (Same owner I think). I don't know what happens for Minis bought from another Bkk dealer.

I really need to explore who in Changmai will service a Mini bought on the grey market, or bought from german autos, Bkk. Also what the price difference of grey vs dealer is.

Thanks again.

[OMGImInPattaya]

thought I throw in some comments, as I own two of the mentioned cars: a MINI GP and a Golf GTI MK6, both bought grey. The Mini second hand and the GTI new.

I live in Phuket.

Firstly 3 years ago when I bought the MINI I went to BMW to get things fixed....but after a few months and a few teething issues with the car, being 2nd hand, they told me can't come anymore. Found a good garage who is doing many Mercs, BMW and the owner drives a VW Golf MK4 (they do all the over 3 year old Mercs, as Mercs dealership seems to charge quite a lot). He can get all the spare parts, albeit it takes sometimes a while....which I believe it would thru the dealer as well.

Why did i buy the GTI grey....simple: it was only 1.95m at that time with full specs, whereas a lesser speced one was at VW dealer 2.6m. That was 2 years ago.

Reckoned that it would be hard to go that wrong to justify the price difference. Having said this, i had a DSG issue after only 10,000km....and was less impressed with VW that this would/could happen. Anyhow, it did cost me roughly 50,000 to fix....which I was rather upset about...but then again this was the only thing since 2 years and I am still 0.6m in the good so to say.

The GTI does loose quite heavily in value, as I was thinking of selling both cars and get just one....(parking space issue) and was offered only 1.2m for my GTI.

The MINI GP holds its value better and i was offered 1.45m.

Just for what it is worth...

Decided that both cars are still top and keep them as it isn't easy (see this thread) to find something nicer, better and more fun!

So, in short, I would not rule out grey...keep in mind it is a new car and the first 3 years there should not be so many things going wrong (should... I say....exceptions confirm the rule....see my GTI.........).

I have not driven the newer R56 Mini with the turbo engine, but can say that there is quite a difference between my R53 Mini and my GTI. The GTI is way more comfy, faster (it is tuned to 260hp) but maybe due to the MINI being a manual the GTI is also less fun.

I was told the new MK7 would be in the range of 2.6m..but of course information might have been wrong.

(I would not buy the car for that price though).

Not quite sure why the OP does not consider the V40, at only 1.69-1.89 it is really good value and has a 5 years warranty with surely more dealers around.

Is there a VW dealer in Chiang Mai?

Something else, quite nice:

http://showroom.one2car.com/carDetail.aspx?car_id=i10130011

I bought my GTI there. Can't comment on after sales service, as my car did not incl. any!

the main issue with 2nd hand if you are financing, is that you are stung 3X (2X for a Benz)

- higher interest rate

- you have to pay VAT on the financing (adding 7% onto the price of the car)

- you miss out on the BSI/maintenance deals

If you are a cash buyer, then 2nd hand is not so bad; if financing, then new usually works out better.

A ford Ecosport is a little subcompact Fiesta with high ground clearance. It is not a big car. it is noticeably smaller than a CRV or a Subaru XV (the XV is a much nicer looking car IMHO). If you want a cheap SUV with low depreciation ,then the CRV is almost a no brainer. While the Tucson, XV are all in some way nicer looking and cooler, the issue living in Chiang Mai will be servicing, and resale. Ford or a Nissan Juke (similar sizes) are both nice cars, but they are not in the same category; they are more like a Fiesta/Honda Jazz etc in size. Just higher ground clearance.

OP - the grey market will have Mini F56s before the authorised dealer; you might also like to call German Auto to find out when their stock arrives (possibly before Mini Ekamai which is the other dealer network of Millenium) as they are a NEW authorised dealer finally breaking the monopoly of Millenium for MINI brand. http://www.germanauto.co.th/ they rate as the highest (from memory) in customer satisfaction studies for BMW dealers in Thailand.

If you go grey, there are already F56s kicking around, you can visit www.one2car.com and the navigation is not so complex. The area on the mid right the 2nd field is in English with the car brand, and then the field below that 3rd field is the model. The grey bar in that same area is the search button.

http://www.one2car.com/search/Search_Result.aspx?Brand=B0005&Model=S0020&&Body=D2811

Here is an F56 available now. Grey though.

Thanks again.

I have now brought my final choice down to either the mk3 new Mini Cooper or the bmw 3201 or the golf gti mk7 in that order of preference.

All seem to be around 2.3m baht.

I am a cash buyer.

I put the golf last because it doesn't offer a maintenance package and not being a Bangkok resident I want that financial safeguard against problems cropping up. The Mini has a 3 year, and the bmw a 5 year package.

The bmw may seem a fuddy-duddy alternative to the hot hatches but there seem to be two quite substantial financial benefits - the 5 year package and the apparently much smaller premium over say the UK price as compared with the other two. Maybe this latter is because only the bmw is assembled here - I don't know, perhaps you can throw some light. Also there's always a chance the local dealer (Barcelona) may have a demo or newish 2nd hand car available an attractive discount. Finally the new 320 gets top class reviews everywhere I look.

For the Mini, thanks for the tip about german autos. The first question I would have for them is who will do the service in Chiangmai? I think Barcelona/BMW and Millennium ownership is tied together somehow. As to buying it on the grey market I am apprehensive about having say a Cooper S in Chiangmai without a maintenance package and presumably Barcelona would decline to service it? How does the warranty, maintenance, repairs etc work for a grey market Mini - in Bangkok? outside Bangkok? All this when the Mini has never been high in the reliability stakes - as I've gathered from the reviews.

I'd appreciate any comments you may want to make on anything I say above.

Maybe he doesn't fancy owning a Chinese car.

[ignis]

Maybe he doesn't fancy owning a Chinese car.

He could wait a month or so and get a sport car named car here MG

[keemapoot]

Maybe he doesn't fancy owning a Chinese car.

He could wait a month or so and get a sport car named car here MG

Based on the review in the BK Post that car will be a big...flop. A "Proton" experience is how they described it. I love how they mention that the only ones who will have any feelings for the brand all have gray hair.

[ignis]

Appears VW is thinking about a factory here, if so then VW prices will fall... will a 2 million baht price now VW be sold for less the 1 million new in a year or so time ?

Eg: Nissan Juke was near 2 million mark, now made here is 800,000 baht !! will a 3 year old one for near 1.5 million ever sell ? http://www.thaicar.com/used-cars/d81740/nissan-juke-.html

[OMGImInPattaya]

Appears VW is thinking about a factory here, if so then VW prices will fall... will a 2 million baht price now VW be sold for less the 1 million new in a year or so time ?

Eg: Nissan Juke was near 2 million mark, now made here is 800,000 baht !! will a 3 year old one for near 1.5 million ever sell ? http://www.thaicar.com/used-cars/d81740/nissan-juke-.html

Yeah V-W will likely be setting up a Thai factory soon but it will take at least a couple years to get it up and running; and then they might not produce the model the op is looking for.

[IMHO]

Appears VW is thinking about a factory here, if so then VW prices will fall... will a 2 million baht price now VW be sold for less the 1 million new in a year or so time ?

Eg: Nissan Juke was near 2 million mark, now made here is 800,000 baht !! will a 3 year old one for near 1.5 million ever sell ? http://www.thaicar.com/used-cars/d81740/nissan-juke-.html

If they decide to build the Amarok here (makes sense, but so far they're only talking about the Up!) they have two choices - sell it at competitive prices, or don't sell any.... They've surely learnt from their toe-in-the-water Amarok import program that Thai's just won't pay extra for trucks.

Edited April 17, 2014 by IMHO

[worldfun]

its all about tiny slow weak ecocars in LOS unlike in europe where they actually make the engine smaller & more powerful at the same time

so no golf gti, srirocco et all produced locally while bmw and the likes will continue their leadership with the mainstream models such as 3-series manu locally etc ^__^

[bkkjames]

A guy in my development has a newish looking vw tiguan. Reminds me of the new mazda cx5. Never seen another in th.

Sent from my LG-P970

[Jitar]

That is because VW tried to sell the Tiguan in Thailand for twice the price of the CX-5 or CR-V.

[bkkjames]

That is because VW tried to sell the Tiguan in Thailand for twice the price of the CX-5 or CR-V.

talk about a loss of face...3 million+ for that lol. No wonder I always see it parked.

[ignis]

That is because VW tried to sell the Tiguan in Thailand for twice the price of the CX-5 or CR-V.

talk about a loss of face...3 million+ for that lol. No wonder I always see it parked.

Not sure the price is wrong for the VW here, from the same group the Audi Q3 is 1 million baht more. as is the cheapest Porsche SUV that starts at near 7 million for the base model !!

Same price as the BMW X1 2.0lt

even the smallest Lexus SUV is over 4 million. so is 2.8 million for a VW Tiguan import that far off ?

[Jitar]

That is because VW tried to sell the Tiguan in Thailand for twice the price of the CX-5 or CR-V.

talk about a loss of face...3 million+ for that lol. No wonder I always see it parked.

Not sure the price is wrong for the VW here, from the same group the Audi Q3 is 1 million baht more. as is the cheapest Porsche SUV that starts at near 7 million for the base model !!

Same price as the BMW X1 2.0lt

even the smallest Lexus SUV is over 4 million. so is 2.8 million for a VW Tiguan import that far off ?

Seems it is considering they are as rare as rocking horse sh!t in LOS.

The Tiguan competes directly with CR-V and CX-5 in other markets so you would have to be a serious German Engineering / VW fanboy to pay the premium here.

[worldfun]

apples and oranges. get a clue guys!!!! not wiling to spend the dough go 2nd hand

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[Jitar]

apples and oranges. get a clue guys!!!! not wiling to spend the dough go 2nd hand

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However, second hand food can be very messy and a bit smelly.

[worldfun]

hahahaaaaa

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[ignis]

Seems it is considering they are as rare as rocking horse sh!t in LOS.

The Tiguan competes directly with CR-V and CX-5 in other markets so you would have to be a serious German Engineering / VW fanboy to pay the premium here.

The Tiguan as a full IMPORT will never competes directly with CR-V [built in Thailand] and CX-5 [built in Malaysia] on price in Thailand........

​The Audi Q3 has the same under pinning as the VW Tiguan, so are the same basically, yet the Audi cost 1 million more here

Edited April 18, 2014 by ignis

[steveromagnino]

Appears VW is thinking about a factory here, if so then VW prices will fall... will a 2 million baht price now VW be sold for less the 1 million new in a year or so time ?

Eg: Nissan Juke was near 2 million mark, now made here is 800,000 baht !! will a 3 year old one for near 1.5 million ever sell ? http://www.thaicar.com/used-cars/d81740/nissan-juke-.html

It will be 2017 supposedly when VW are set up to actually produce cars at the earliest, and while they might produce cars on the MQB platform (the base for the Golf, Scirocco, Tiguan, etc) there is little chance of them selling the cars talked about in this thread (Roc, Golf GTI) for sub 1m.

Nissan already sells the Juke at low prices in other markets, it was only expensive here because it was a grey import, also the grey imports tended to be decent versions of the car, the 800k version of a subcompact fiesta/tiida with a higher ride height and different body has the most basic engine and no turbo, no 4WD, no leather interior etc. That one for 1.5m I question if they can sell that though :-) that looks pricy!

By comparison, a Golf GTI which is currently around 2.3m new, would likely be priced higher than the Honda Civic so at least around 1.5m, and since it will likely be built in the same way as BMWs (not exactly built from scratch but built with imported parts) you would guess it will be at least on par with the Volvo V40, around 1.7-1.9m - lower than a BMW/Benz, higher than a Japanese car is where VW puts the VW brand. No point to price it cheaper than that, a Golf for around 1.8m baht is a very, very attractive price compared to a Benz A class or a BMW 1 series. The base model Golf 1.4 which I think Yarnyon sells new for around 1.6m would drop to perhaps 1.1-1.2m, but again, it is a more premium brand and a better quality car with a higher price in general than equivalent Japanese cars, so I really doubt you'd see one for under 1m.

Perhaps a base model Polo or Skoda Fabia, but that's like comparing an Altis to an Yaris, they are different size cars.

The Tiguan would be a major winner in the market, if they could get it to around 1.8m for a reasonable spec one, as that would sit it below the GLA and the X1, but above the CRV and the Craptiva etc. Again, that's VW's position, more premium interiors than the Japanese brands with a slightly higher price, so it feels like a European car inside and has cost savings sharing the platform with its stable mates.

Amarok will be pitched against the Ford Ranger etc and due to the tax, this is the one model you might see close to parity against the Japanese/US brands, but I still suspect they would focus on the versions that are most popular in Australia and the region, so probably no low end models, instead focus on mid to upper end of the pickup spectrum if they did launch here, around 800 - 1.2m baht....and people would probably pay it.

Difficult to know but if they did bring in a factory capable of producing multiple brands, Skoda, VW, Audi - then we might see some attractive prices on the Skoda and a price drop on the Audi as well compared to fully assembled cars coming in at top tax bracket....but again it's not going to be before 2016 at the earliest.

Edited April 18, 2014 by steveromagnino

[worldfun]

steve, excellent rundown of your insights to the likely scenario of euro-asian cars emerging thanks

the juke really is a weird car, but perfect example of the risk of buying grey and overnight loosing half of the value due to the car tax incentive system!

no fat chance in hell of anyone paying more than new price for an older grey import ever lol!!!

juke could be a fun car with the right engine I suppose a kind of hybrid between suv/sedan/mini/srirocco

Edited April 18, 2014 by worldfun

[Wong!]

That is because VW tried to sell the Tiguan in Thailand for twice the price of the CX-5 or CR-V.

talk about a loss of face...3 million+ for that lol. No wonder I always see it parked.

Why loss of face?

Thais gain face by spending big, whatever the real value may be.

[triffid]

I too appreciate Steve's comments.

I am down to the Golf gti or the Mini Cooper.

Regarding the go, I am prepared to ignore the slight possibility that in a few years it may be assembled here with a consequent drop in price. Since VW has no maintenance package I would be tempted to buy it in the grey market. Even the Mini has temptations in the grey market, if only because the dealers don't bring the manual.

However regarding both cars my major concern would be competent servicing in Chiangmai. If I bought either car in the grey market and the dealers refused to service and maintain I could be up the creek - since Chiangmai is not Bangkok in having lots of non-dealer but good garages.

All in all it seems best therefore to buy either car through the dealer and forget about the manual option.

[ignis]

Appears VW is thinking about a factory here, if so then VW prices will fall... will a 2 million baht price now VW be sold for less the 1 million new in a year or so time ?

Eg: Nissan Juke was near 2 million mark, now made here is 800,000 baht !! will a 3 year old one for near 1.5 million ever sell ? http://www.thaicar.com/used-cars/d81740/nissan-juke-.html

It will be 2017 supposedly when VW are set up to actually produce cars at the earliest, and while they might produce cars on the MQB platform (the base for the Golf, Scirocco, Tiguan, etc) there is little chance of them selling the cars talked about in this thread (Roc, Golf GTI) for sub 1m.

Nissan already sells the Juke at low prices in other markets, it was only expensive here because it was a grey import, also the grey imports tended to be decent versions of the car, the 800k version of a subcompact fiesta/tiida with a higher ride height and different body has the most basic engine and no turbo, no 4WD, no leather interior etc. That one for 1.5m I question if they can sell that though :-) that looks pricy!

By comparison, a Golf GTI which is currently around 2.3m new, would likely be priced higher than the Honda Civic so at least around 1.5m, and since it will likely be built in the same way as BMWs (not exactly built from scratch but built with imported parts) you would guess it will be at least on par with the Volvo V40, around 1.7-1.9m - lower than a BMW/Benz, higher than a Japanese car is where VW puts the VW brand. No point to price it cheaper than that, a Golf for around 1.8m baht is a very, very attractive price compared to a Benz A class or a BMW 1 series. The base model Golf 1.4 which I think Yarnyon sells new for around 1.6m would drop to perhaps 1.1-1.2m, but again, it is a more premium brand and a better quality car with a higher price in general than equivalent Japanese cars, so I really doubt you'd see one for under 1m.

Perhaps a base model Polo or Skoda Fabia, but that's like comparing an Altis to an Yaris, they are different size cars.

The Tiguan would be a major winner in the market, if they could get it to around 1.8m for a reasonable spec one, as that would sit it below the GLA and the X1, but above the CRV and the Craptiva etc. Again, that's VW's position, more premium interiors than the Japanese brands with a slightly higher price, so it feels like a European car inside and has cost savings sharing the platform with its stable mates.

Amarok will be pitched against the Ford Ranger etc and due to the tax, this is the one model you might see close to parity against the Japanese/US brands, but I still suspect they would focus on the versions that are most popular in Australia and the region, so probably no low end models, instead focus on mid to upper end of the pickup spectrum if they did launch here, around 800 - 1.2m baht....and people would probably pay it.

Difficult to know but if they did bring in a factory capable of producing multiple brands, Skoda, VW, Audi - then we might see some attractive prices on the Skoda and a price drop on the Audi as well compared to fully assembled cars coming in at top tax bracket....but again it's not going to be before 2016 at the earliest.

The Skoda Pickup may do well here ? The newest shape one look good, they even do a Pickup Yeti but maybe to small to compete even if fast in Thailand

[triffid]

Hard to ignore now the fact that half a dozen other themes have hitched a ride on my post.

[Oishii]

A BMW Mini would be nice. A good size compared to 1 series and not too common here. I've only seen 2 in my 1 year here.

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