galilee Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Hi, I m hesitating between buying a city car or a pick-up truck in the next few weeks. As i know nothing about mechanics and maintenance fees in Thailand, i d like to get some advices. pros and cons? Thanks a lot. (my choice would be the new Ford Ranger or the new Honda Civic) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonman Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Buy a country car. it will be the best of both worlds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignis Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 If you looking for that size car, myself believe the new 2014 Mazda 3 is far better than the new Civic... Have a Mazda BT50 and yesterday was at the service center, so had a good look at the new Mazda 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Get a truck...especially if you are upcountry at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace of Pop Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 I go along with ignis ,the 3 is better value,im just concearned their sevice dept is clonker based here and not benzine.As for a truck,well perhaps esential 20 years ago in Northern areas, but there are still lots of fields to plunge into should You wish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobo42 Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Really depends on where you live and where you will typically drive. I'm very happy with my truck, but I live up north in a rural area. I think if my primary driving was done in Bangkok or a large city, I would prefer a car. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jitar Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 (edited) Bobo is spot on, the choice really depends on where you are going to drive and what size and style vehicle you need. The purchase price and running costs of a Civic or Pickup are similar but the driving style is very different. Cars are less cumbersome in tight car parks etc so are a good choice if you mostly drive in the city and do not need a larger vehicle. High speed stability and braking is better than pickups but the difference is not that significant at sensible speeds in LOS. The new Mazda 3 does look good. We have an older 3 and the Mazda dealers have been fine. Pickups have a lot of advantages if you need to move more than a few passengers or drive in areas prone to flooding or rough surfaces etc. E.G. they can drag a ton of people and stuff across a typical potholed country market carpark with grounding or getting stuck. Decent test drives are hard to get in LOS so if you are not sure, rent for a day or two to try. Edited May 24, 2014 by Jitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 I go along with ignis ,the 3 is better value,im just concearned their sevice dept is clonker based here and not benzine.As for a truck,well perhaps esential 20 years ago in Northern areas, but there are still lots of fields to plunge into should You wish. You keep going on about clonkers while i only see one in their vehicle offerings here. Sent from my LG-P970 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murrinman Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 the price of fuel for a city car is approx. 10 baht more than the price of pick up fuel threes a compelling reason if nothing else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 As said, depends where you are going to be based and main use, and how much travelling you do. I live up country in the sticks abit znd have a Mazda city car for running around and into the city, and a Toyota pick up if I am going any distance as the roads can be lethal. Pick up also better in rainy season up here. Horses for courses my friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittenKong Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 the price of fuel for a city car is approx. 10 baht more than the price of pick up fuel threes a compelling reason if nothing else The fuel may cost more per litre but in normal domestic use you get a lot more km per litre in a modern city car than you do in a pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittenKong Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 I live in Jomtien and I was faced with the same question. In the end I bought a pickup because: more practical in floods, over bad roads etc makes me more visible to other drivers extra metal and weight may protect me more in case of accidents lower purchase and ownership taxes reduce total cost vehicle should retain its value better/last longer handy if ever I actually want to move large objects Downsides to pickup: costly tyres idling in traffic uses nearly as much diesel as driving at 50kph can be tedious to park/manoeuvre If I lived and drove solely in Bangkok I probably would have got a car instead, if only for the practicality of parking etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignis Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 the price of fuel for a city car is approx. 10 baht more than the price of pick up fuel threes a compelling reason if nothing else The fuel may cost more per litre but in normal domestic use you get a lot more km per litre in a modern city car than you do in a pickup. ?? sorry don't follow, the OP is talking about the 'City Car' as a Honda Civic, so both would do about the same KM per litre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murrinman Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 im running a 2.5 litre turbo diesel and im getting approx. 1100 k's per tank at 30b per litre compared to 40 odd baht I'm pretty sure the diesel pick up is the way to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittenKong Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 The fuel may cost more per litre but in normal domestic use you get a lot more km per litre in a modern city car than you do in a pickup. ?? sorry don't follow, the OP is talking about the 'City Car' as a Honda Civic, so both would do about the same KM per litre The figures will vary enormously according to type of usage, but the Honda Civic appears to use about 6-7lit/100km. My diesel pickup uses quite a lot more in normal daily driving. My notion of normal domestic use is trips of maybe 2-20km with traffic. If your normal daily driving is 500km on the highway at a constant 90kph then you will get very different figures and a diesel pickup would certainly be economical for this. As always, YMMV and without knowing exactly where and how the OP intends using the vehicle we cant really comment on his likely fuel costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keemapoot Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 The OP hasn't returned, but we need to know a lot more about his needs to give him the right advice. For example, if economical purchase price and fuel economy is paramount, I would suggest a Honda City CNG, but just noticed on the Honda Thailand website that the CNG model only seems to be available in the older model, not the all-new model just out. Not sure what that is all about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonman Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 im running a 2.5 litre turbo diesel and im getting approx. 1100 k's per tank at 30b per litre compared to 40 odd baht I'm pretty sure the diesel pick up is the way to go You get 1100 from a tank around town ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanBBK Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 All depends what the car is used for. Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wong! Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 I would (and did) go for the truck. The Civic is a bit long in the tooth and the Ranger is the best truck available here. Sent from my GT-P3100 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galilee Posted May 24, 2014 Author Share Posted May 24, 2014 Thanks for all the comments, just to clarify a lil, i live in Krabi(Aonang) so good quality and pretty new roads, no traffic at all but my wife and I are moving almost every week to Phuket or Lanta for business ( 150 to 400kms round trip). We have to bring with us 3 to 15 pax... in the last case we usually rent a minivan... To respond to some of you, i like very much the new Mazda 3 (2 or 4 doors) very nice design and i heard a lot of good things about Mazda engines but Madam looks more interrested by the Civic . As have mentioned KittenKong, the maintenance cost (tires, ect...) is more expensive for a pick-up and that s what i d like to know precisely. If, anyone of you gets any experience with the Ford Ranger Wildtrack i ll be glad to hear about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 im running a 2.5 litre turbo diesel and im getting approx. 1100 k's per tank at 30b per litre compared to 40 odd baht I'm pretty sure the diesel pick up is the way to goYou get 1100 from a tank around town ? I would be surprised Sent from my LG-P970 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wong! Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Thanks for all the comments, just to clarify a lil, i live in Krabi(Aonang) so good quality and pretty new roads, no traffic at all but my wife and I are moving almost every week to Phuket or Lanta for business ( 150 to 400kms round trip). We have to bring with us 3 to 15 pax... in the last case we usually rent a minivan... To respond to some of you, i like very much the new Mazda 3 (2 or 4 doors) very nice design and i heard a lot of good things about Mazda engines but Madam looks more interrested by the Civic . As have mentioned KittenKong, the maintenance cost (tires, ect...) is more expensive for a pick-up and that s what i d like to know precisely. If, anyone of you gets any experience with the Ford Ranger Wildtrack i ll be glad to hear about it. Not sure why anyone would listen to a woman's opinion when just about to spend a large lump of money on a new car. Sent from my GT-P3100 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonman Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Thanks for all the comments, just to clarify a lil, i live in Krabi(Aonang) so good quality and pretty new roads, no traffic at all but my wife and I are moving almost every week to Phuket or Lanta for business ( 150 to 400kms round trip). We have to bring with us 3 to 15 pax... in the last case we usually rent a minivan... To respond to some of you, i like very much the new Mazda 3 (2 or 4 doors) very nice design and i heard a lot of good things about Mazda engines but Madam looks more interrested by the Civic . As have mentioned KittenKong, the maintenance cost (tires, ect...) is more expensive for a pick-up and that s what i d like to know precisely. If, anyone of you gets any experience with the Ford Ranger Wildtrack i ll be glad to hear about it. Can you post up a pic of the 2 door Mazda 3 please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotsira Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Thanks for all the comments, just to clarify a lil, i live in Krabi(Aonang) so good quality and pretty new roads, no traffic at all but my wife and I are moving almost every week to Phuket or Lanta for business ( 150 to 400kms round trip). We have to bring with us 3 to 15 pax... in the last case we usually rent a minivan... To respond to some of you, i like very much the new Mazda 3 (2 or 4 doors) very nice design and i heard a lot of good things about Mazda engines but Madam looks more interrested by the Civic . As have mentioned KittenKong, the maintenance cost (tires, ect...) is more expensive for a pick-up and that s what i d like to know precisely. If, anyone of you gets any experience with the Ford Ranger Wildtrack i ll be glad to hear about it. As well as the tyres that Kitten Kong mentioned. The yearly road tax is also much higher for a 4 door truck than a car. But the diesel trucks are more economical on long distance driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Thanks for all the comments, just to clarify a lil, i live in Krabi(Aonang) so good quality and pretty new roads, no traffic at all but my wife and I are moving almost every week to Phuket or Lanta for business ( 150 to 400kms round trip). We have to bring with us 3 to 15 pax... in the last case we usually rent a minivan... To respond to some of you, i like very much the new Mazda 3 (2 or 4 doors) very nice design and i heard a lot of good things about Mazda engines but Madam looks more interrested by the Civic . As have mentioned KittenKong, the maintenance cost (tires, ect...) is more expensive for a pick-up and that s what i d like to know precisely. If, anyone of you gets any experience with the Ford Ranger Wildtrack i ll be glad to hear about it. The yearly road tax is also much higher for a 4 door truck than a car. Is it...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotsira Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Thanks for all the comments, just to clarify a lil, i live in Krabi(Aonang) so good quality and pretty new roads, no traffic at all but my wife and I are moving almost every week to Phuket or Lanta for business ( 150 to 400kms round trip). We have to bring with us 3 to 15 pax... in the last case we usually rent a minivan... To respond to some of you, i like very much the new Mazda 3 (2 or 4 doors) very nice design and i heard a lot of good things about Mazda engines but Madam looks more interrested by the Civic . As have mentioned KittenKong, the maintenance cost (tires, ect...) is more expensive for a pick-up and that s what i d like to know precisely. If, anyone of you gets any experience with the Ford Ranger Wildtrack i ll be glad to hear about it. The yearly road tax is also much higher for a 4 door truck than a car. Is it...? Yes, it's calculation is based on engine size and 4 doors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Thanks for all the comments, just to clarify a lil, i live in Krabi(Aonang) so good quality and pretty new roads, no traffic at all but my wife and I are moving almost every week to Phuket or Lanta for business ( 150 to 400kms round trip). We have to bring with us 3 to 15 pax... in the last case we usually rent a minivan... To respond to some of you, i like very much the new Mazda 3 (2 or 4 doors) very nice design and i heard a lot of good things about Mazda engines but Madam looks more interrested by the Civic . As have mentioned KittenKong, the maintenance cost (tires, ect...) is more expensive for a pick-up and that s what i d like to know precisely. If, anyone of you gets any experience with the Ford Ranger Wildtrack i ll be glad to hear about it. The yearly road tax is also much higher for a 4 door truck than a car. Is it...? Yes, it's calculation is based on engine size and 4 doors. OK, what is it for a 4 door small car.? A new 4 door truck is 6800bht, reducing with age... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittenKong Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 OK, what is it for a 4 door small car.? A new 4 door truck is 6800bht, reducing with age... I think I only paid about 5000B for the second year of my 4 door 2.5l truck and I always believed it cost more for a car. It's a fairly small percentage of total costs anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 OK, what is it for a 4 door small car.? A new 4 door truck is 6800bht, reducing with age... I think I only paid about 5000B for the second year of my 4 door 2.5l truck and I always believed it cost more for a car. It's a fairly small percentage of total costs anyway. Perhaps stuff has changed but I think all 4 door trucks until 5 years old are 6800bht. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittenKong Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Thanks for all the comments, just to clarify a lil, i live in Krabi(Aonang) so good quality and pretty new roads, no traffic at all but my wife and I are moving almost every week to Phuket or Lanta for business ( 150 to 400kms round trip). We have to bring with us 3 to 15 pax... in the last case we usually rent a minivan... As have mentioned KittenKong, the maintenance cost (tires, ect...) is more expensive for a pick-up and that s what i d like to know precisely. "No traffic at all" sounds nice! Doing a regular weekly trip like that I would want to avoid using petrol (gasoline), for maximum economy. Tyres for my truck are about 5000B each, but of course they dont get changed very often. Other maintenance costs dont seem to be noticeably different to a car and I do feel that my pickup is more solidly built than many cars are, and so may last longer with less maintenance. I could be wrong about that though. Personally I would stick with brands that are well-represented by dealers in the areas you go to often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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