General Outline For Buying New Car From Authorized Dealers

[OMGImInPattaya]

1. Type up a complete list of everything you want.

2. Negotiate the biggest discount you can get on the list price and see what extras they offer.

3. Tell them the items that you do not want and insist they're not included.

4. Now present them with a copy of your LIST with all the things that they have offered ticked off.

5. Do not pay for any insurance have it included.

6. Tell them you do not want red plates. I eventually got mine for free.

7. Make sure when you inspect the car you do it thoroughly. Better to take someone who knows about cars with you as a double check is worthwhile.

8. Repeat everything with 3 dealers including one in Bangkok, preferably the Main Dealer if you're talking to a branch.

9. Be prepared to start negotiations immediately after lunch and do not leave until they are locking up the showroom, unless you have everything you wanted. The pressure is on them!

10. The deposit is more likely to be 50,000 baht.

11. Make the payment of the balance by direct transfer to their bank, do it on-line and then email the receipt to them. If the dealer is in BKK then ask them, if they do not offer, to ship it your local dealer?

12. Deal with the Sales Manager.

13. Ask for the impossible!

Wow you're tough...I wouldn't want to try to sell you a car

[JacChang]

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Process I used.
Saw vehicle in dealer was asked by girl there if I was interested in it. Negotiated price and additions, service, liner, etc. Paid 5000. Next day went to check car. They called the girl who did the deal who was on a day off. She came with her girlfriend and they drove me to the bank to get cheque. While there the two young ladies got hungry so went to a medium resturant to eat. (this I thought I would pay for but not worried,) Girl paid bill for food as a thank you for buying the car. Went back collected the car. Paid for the plates depsosit got reminded there was only a little petrol in tank so dealer drove me to the nearby petrol station and put 1000 bahts fuel in. She paid. Drove back to dealer dropped the sales girl off and went home.
Returned and got services done and a month later the lady phoned me as she had the English manual for me.
Painless buying.

Nice to hear your buying experience was so smooth. However, reading about the generosity of the salesgirls and the dealer leads me to believe there may have been allot of fat in the price you paid for the car.

I'm hoping to put my dealer on a low-fat diet. I guess I'll know in my case if I succeeded if they take me to lunch and buy me extra gas as well

I was going to ask harry the same thing too. Seems like he was the "perfect customer".

To the OP, if you would like to know, the "low-fat diet" price is roughly 8-10% off from the retail price. I don't know how much xtrail is now, but I'm thinking 1.4 million? You can expect 110,000 off the retail price. Laugh off any 10,000-30,000 discount they throw at you, that is just you being in the exact spot they want you to be. Remember you are the buyer, the one with the most power, don't let them change the game.

Do atleast about 3-5 dealers, you will be surprised at the differences. How one dealer could only give you the best 20,000 discount plus a lot of freebies after talking for 3-4 hours, while another one, instantly gives you 100,000 off as you walk in to negotiate. Let them push you to buy, don't be the urgent one. When they ask what's stopping you? Reply, price too high.

OP: Point 8 was different for my Toyota: In-province-only (faked) red plates are free, for "real" ones I had to deposit 2000 Baht. And the insurance (1st class) was free for the first years, tax and PRB (compulsory insurance) were free.

I got 30,000 Baht discount on the listed price without negotiating at Phuket Motors...

I didn't get into the nitty-gritty of negotiations yet, but the salesman said full first year insurance (Yivayah), rubber floor mats, and a license plate frame (400 baht) he could do. I told him the free 400 baht frame on a 1.5M vehicle was the deal closer

But seriously, besides those offers, I'm shooting for window film and the chrome exhaust tip finishing.

I would like to give a tip regarding freebies. Aside from window film and pick up liners, from my own experience, sometimes they put a lot of free stuffs on the paper with prices next to it. It is wise to deduct those freebies and actually exchange it for cash discounts, AND when you actually go pick up the car, you will find those "accessories" are actually still there. Get what I mean? These stuffs are already free to the dealer, and they would have given it out anyways or it already came as part of the car package. But in order to impress you, they like to put it all on the table for you to be amazed at. So it's a bite in their own ass, when a customer actually uses this against them to reduce the price even further, and in the end when the time comes for delivery of the car, guess what? Those stuff are still on the car. Remember, these do not apply for everything, window film and liners, if declined, will not be on the car. My teana I declined the chrome exhaust tip, saved a few hundreds to thousands, then on delivery, still there.

It's wise to walk in the service center, and check out other xtrails, see what they have all in common, then I am sure your car would have it as well, it's not an "accessory" like they claimed.

[OMGImInPattaya]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Process I used.

Saw vehicle in dealer was asked by girl there if I was interested in it. Negotiated price and additions, service, liner, etc. Paid 5000. Next day went to check car. They called the girl who did the deal who was on a day off. She came with her girlfriend and they drove me to the bank to get cheque. While there the two young ladies got hungry so went to a medium resturant to eat. (this I thought I would pay for but not worried,) Girl paid bill for food as a thank you for buying the car. Went back collected the car. Paid for the plates depsosit got reminded there was only a little petrol in tank so dealer drove me to the nearby petrol station and put 1000 bahts fuel in. She paid. Drove back to dealer dropped the sales girl off and went home.

Returned and got services done and a month later the lady phoned me as she had the English manual for me.

Painless buying.

Nice to hear your buying experience was so smooth. However, reading about the generosity of the salesgirls and the dealer leads me to believe there may have been allot of fat in the price you paid for the car.

I'm hoping to put my dealer on a low-fat diet. I guess I'll know in my case if I succeeded if they take me to lunch and buy me extra gas as well

I was going to ask harry the same thing too. Seems like he was the "perfect customer".

To the OP, if you would like to know, the "low-fat diet" price is roughly 8-10% off from the retail price. I don't know how much xtrail is now, but I'm thinking 1.4 million? You can expect 110,000 off the retail price. Laugh off any 10,000-30,000 discount they throw at you, that is just you being in the exact spot they want you to be. Remember you are the buyer, the one with the most power, don't let them change the game.

Do atleast about 3-5 dealers, you will be surprised at the differences. How one dealer could only give you the best 20,000 discount plus a lot of freebies after talking for 3-4 hours, while another one, instantly gives you 100,000 off as you walk in to negotiate. Let them push you to buy, don't be the urgent one. When they ask what's stopping you? Reply, price too high.

OP: Point 8 was different for my Toyota: In-province-only (faked) red plates are free, for "real" ones I had to deposit 2000 Baht. And the insurance (1st class) was free for the first years, tax and PRB (compulsory insurance) were free.

I got 30,000 Baht discount on the listed price without negotiating at Phuket Motors...

I didn't get into the nitty-gritty of negotiations yet, but the salesman said full first year insurance (Yivayah), rubber floor mats, and a license plate frame (400 baht) he could do. I told him the free 400 baht frame on a 1.5M vehicle was the deal closer

But seriously, besides those offers, I'm shooting for window film and the chrome exhaust tip finishing.

I would like to give a tip regarding freebies. Aside from window film and pick up liners, from my own experience, sometimes they put a lot of free stuffs on the paper with prices next to it. It is wise to deduct those freebies and actually exchange it for cash discounts, AND when you actually go pick up the car, you will find those "accessories" are actually still there. Get what I mean? These stuffs are already free to the dealer, and they would have given it out anyways or it already came as part of the car package. But in order to impress you, they like to put it all on the table for you to be amazed at. So it's a bite in their own ass, when a customer actually uses this against them to reduce the price even further, and in the end when the time comes for delivery of the car, guess what? Those stuff are still on the car. Remember, these do not apply for everything, window film and liners, if declined, will not be on the car. My teana I declined the chrome exhaust tip, saved a few hundreds to thousands, then on delivery, still there.

It's wise to walk in the service center, and check out other xtrails, see what they have all in common, then I am sure your car would have it as well, it's not an "accessory" like they claimed.

Thanks for the tips. The X-Trail is a brand new model in Thailand (just started sales this month) so I'm thinking there may not be a much wiggle room on the price. On the other hand, thailand is in somewhat of an economic slump right now and car sales are down so there may be more incentives offered by dealers or manufacturers to the dealers. I like to think I'm a pretty good negotiator and I don't "fall in love" with a car when I'm buying it so I should do ok. I already have a perfectly fine vehicle so no rush and I can certainly walk away from a bad deal. This purchase is just a treat for myself as the old CRV had put in 13 years of service so looking for a fresh young gal to have on my arm (this is Thailand after all).

The X-trail I'm looking at is 1,551,000. I may try your suggestion of whacking off 10% as an opening offer and see what their reaction is. I can always go up but not down (.well I could but you know what I mean). In Thailand, I know that if they actually let you walk out the door your offer really was too low.The Nissan official spec sheet shows pretty clearly what's already included for my trim level. I also have the official accessories brochure for the X-Trail so it's pretty easy to see when negotiating the extras what is really already included on the vehicle and what is really an extra.

[KittenKong]

How did you guess? Yeah, it was the new Nissan dealer in front of the Ambassador Hotel (where any big nosed looking farang is greeted in Russian when you walk in the door..."das veedanya" ) There is one other Nissan dealer out by Bangkok Pattaya Hospital and ones in Leam Chabang and Sri Racha. If I get ambitious I may get quotes from them too. I'm not one to travel here and there and spend allot of time to save a few bob on an already expensive purchase.

I went to all the dealers you mention, except the one by the Ambassador which did not exist when I was buying (I have been in there since).

The Leam Chabang Nissan one was best at that time though they didnt speak much English.

In the end I bought another brand but with all the brands I found that the in-town Pattaya dealers were uniformly useless and not really interested in making a sale at all, except perhaps at full list price. The new ones out of town are much better (but for how long?), and now I go to one of them for all my warranty servicing.

Bangkok dealers I contacted would deal over the phone or by email, and buying from them is not really hard as they deliver here and will also do the vehicle registration locally if you prefer. If I was buying new again I would certainly look very seriously at the Bangkok dealers.

The "few bob" I saved was 25,000B in my case, so worth spending a bit of time on especially as I have nothing much else to do with my time. I enjoy comparisons and the learning experience anyway.

I saved that 25,000B by playing one dealer off against another. I dont think I would have got it in Pattaya any other way.

[OMGImInPattaya]

How did you guess? Yeah, it was the new Nissan dealer in front of the Ambassador Hotel (where any big nosed looking farang is greeted in Russian when you walk in the door..."das veedanya" ) There is one other Nissan dealer out by Bangkok Pattaya Hospital and ones in Leam Chabang and Sri Racha. If I get ambitious I may get quotes from them too. I'm not one to travel here and there and spend allot of time to save a few bob on an already expensive purchase.

I went to all the dealers you mention, except the one by the Ambassador which did not exist when I was buying (I have been in there since).

The Leam Chabang Nissan one was best at that time though they didnt speak much English.

In the end I bought another brand but with all the brands I found that the in-town Pattaya dealers were uniformly useless and not really interested in making a sale at all, except perhaps at full list price. The new ones out of town are much better (but for how long?), and now I go to one of them for all my warranty servicing.

Bangkok dealers I contacted would deal over the phone or by email, and buying from them is not really hard as they deliver here and will also do the vehicle registration locally if you prefer. If I was buying new again I would certainly look very seriously at the Bangkok dealers.

The "few bob" I saved was 25,000B in my case, so worth spending a bit of time on especially as I have nothing much else to do with my time. I enjoy comparisons and the learning experience anyway.

I saved that 25,000B by playing one dealer off against another. I dont think I would have got it in Pattaya any other way.

I didn't know the Bangkok dealers would work over the phone...I may get a "city" quote too then. I just wasn't prepared to run around Bangkok getting "real" quotes from different dealerships.

The Nissan at the Ambassador seem pretty eager to deal and their Russian English speaking salesmen are at least easy to deal with. However, these cars are pretty much commodity items as there are fixed trim levels from the factory and then the few dealer standard options (window film, some chroming, floor mats, etc.) so other than price, not much dealing to be done and cash pricing is pretty easy to negotiate in any language

Again, thanks for your feedback. I'm sure with all the friendly advice I've received in response to my op I will make a decent and uncomplicated vehicle purchase.

[OMGImInPattaya]

So I'm thinking maybe a deal that looks something like this:

Nissan X-Trail 4WD 2.5V:

List Price: 1,551,000

Nissan Official Accessories (Official Nissan Prices):

1. All Season Floor Mats B 2,200

2. License Frame 400

3. Exhaust Pipe Finisher 1400

4. Car Cover 1400

On these, the dealer has offered the floor mats and license frame. I'll negotiate for any of the rest.

Un-Official Dealer Add-ons :

5. 1 year first class insurance (35-45k?)

6. Window Tint Film

The dealer has offered the insurance. However, they insure with Viveruh and I'd just as such stay with Bangkok Insurance. I've been with Viv before and no problem but the Bangkok Ins. office on Sukie is more convenient. Probably wouldn't get the full cash value if took this in case as Viv probably offers it at a discount to the dealers as most buyers probably stay with them after the first free year so.

I like the 3M film, Cryistoline or something, that's been recommended on the forum. I don't think the Nissan dealer has this. What's the cash value of the typical dealer film job?

Additional Official Nissan Accessories:

I'm wondering if any of these are worth getting. I don't expect to get these for free but are they worth paying for?

7. Body Side Molding B 11,000

8. Rear Bumper Step-guard 3,200

9. EC Mirror 3,500 (what is this...self-dimming mirror or something?)

10. LED Kicking Plate (front door sills) 7,800

The concern I have with the side molding as the way it's pictured, it doesn't look like it will protect the car from door dings in parking lots and the edges tend to collect dirt and grime.

Are the LED kicking plates worth getting...they look kinda cool but other than that?

So the deal:

B 1,431,000 (8 percent off list or B120,000), dealer to include Nissan accessories 1-4 above. In addition first year insurance, window tinting, red plate, 1st year registration and government road tax, and half-tank of gas (30 litres). Oh...and lunch with one of the salesgirls!

Does that sound reasonable? It seems like an aggressive opening offer right. It is only an initial offer and there's room to negotiate on the price. (I hope the dealers not reading this )

[keemapoot]

Better get ready for sticker shock if you want Crystalline. By chance, I took one of my cars in today to the local 3M shop for a redo of a side window, and inquired about the cost of the windshield. 7500 Baht for windshield alone. I forgot to ask about the cost of a total job, but you can figure it out.

[JacChang]

Nissan Official Accessories (Official Nissan Prices):

1. All Season Floor Mats B 2,200

2. License Frame 400

3. Exhaust Pipe Finisher 1400

4. Car Cover 1400

Can I suggest if it's to be paid or able to be discounted, that you give up on the 1) 2) and 4).

I had negotiated for a car cover and when I pick up my vehicle it was some aftermarket cheap 200-300 baht car cover. I was expecting genuine NISSAN cover stated on paper. I am a very careful guy and an engineer before, so I take good care of my stuff, but the car cover ripped after using 4-5 times. The material was just too lousy. Do not take or pay for anything from the dealer, UNLESS IT"S FREE. If it's not free, take it out and discount the price further.

All Season Floor Mats, very easy to get cheaper and higher quality ones from outside. And Thailand does not have a problem when you are looking for floor mats, they have it everywhere from supermarkets to auto parts stores.

License Frame, it's main purpose is to advertise which dealer this car is bought from, SO it is in the dealer's interest to put it on your car as a form of advertisement, in fact they should pay you for that. I wouldn't be surprised if you declined it and discount the price further, and it's still there on delivery of vehicle. Frames could be purchased outside for 200thb ish.

Window Tinting I recommend 3m personally, have used it for many years and never a problem. At night time, it gives you perfect sight, which other films I cannot say so. Other films will have a slight blur when viewing bright lights causing a halo effect. I used very dark 3m tints, only problem is parking in dark areas, windows will need to come down, but otherwise I enjoy it, more privacy, and "cooler" temperature wise on the skin. This you can negotiate with dealers, as usually they offer me choices such as 3m or vcool, and show me the price differences. Dealer prices for tinting should be cheaper than your own private tinting. But for your reference if you decide to tint outside with 3m, for all windows, you are looking at 10,000 to 12,000. Never ever do only windshield alone, that is the most expensive form of tinting. TIP: I prefer the windshield tinting as a whole piece as opposed to a strip on the top. Just makes the windshield feel more spacious with a better viewing. In Thailand's hot weather and glaring sun, you will appreciate it.

And your killer deal price is spot on But don't bring it out too early, may scare them away. Inject it 2-3 hours into the game. Reason is, they need to feel you are a solid customer and they have "invested" a lot of time into you already. Too late to back out. But if you walk in with that figure, boom, they have a good reason to let you walk, because you are the last customer they want. They want customers who pay 1,480,000 and will be more than willing to serve them first. However, if they feel you are serious and could be their customer, they won't reject your killer price. Remember 10% is the max max, if the registration and insurance they are throwing in, costs 20,000, do give them their margin, and decide how much the sales should earn, and how much the dealer should earn. 10,000 to sales, 10,000 to dealer is bare minimum I would think. I don't care about the dealer, but care about the poor sales.

[IMHO]

Inject it 2-3 hours into the game. Reason is, they need to feel you are a solid customer and they have "invested" a lot of time into you already.

I normally only give them maybe 10 minutes, and then my business card with instructions to call me when they want to see things my way

The more a salesperson "invests" in you time-wise, the more they expect you to become "gleng jai" and bend to their every wish - that's Thai salesmanship 101.

All you need to establish is that you are a buyer, not a tire kicker. Once you've done that (could take you 2 minutes or 2 hours I guess), if they haven't yet reached the deal you want, get the heck out of there. You might have to wait 2-3 days to get a call back, but once you do, they are on the backfoot, not you, and the deal will go the way you want it to.

One more thing @ OP: Do not under any circumstances show that you are romantically or even physcially interested in the sales girl, or she will own you, bad (you mentioned something like this earlier).

Edited December 25, 2014 by IMHO

[bkkjames]

Inject it 2-3 hours into the game. Reason is, they need to feel you are a solid customer and they have "invested" a lot of time into you already.

I normally only give them maybe 10 minutes, and then my business card with instructions to call me when they want to see things my way

The more a salesperson "invests" in you time-wise, the more they expect you to become "gleng jai" and bend to their every wish - that's Thai salesmanship 101.

All you need to establish is that you are a buyer, not a tire kicker. Once you've done that (could take you 2 minutes or 2 hours I guess), if they haven't yet reached the deal you want, get the heck out of there. You might have to wait 2-3 days to get a call back, but once you do, they are on the backfoot, not you, and the deal will go the way you want it to.

One more thing @ OP: Do not under any circumstances show that you are romantically or even physcially interested in the sales girl, or she will own you, bad (you mentioned something like this earlier).

Especially true if your wife is with you.

[KittenKong]

10. The deposit is more likely to be 50,000 baht.

I have only ever been asked for 5000 baht deposit.

I paid only 5000B also. I would not have paid more even if they had asked me to.

[Skyboogie]

Just bought a bt-50 from Biz Motors. They gave me a heavy discount on the overall price. Then installed a reverse camera, JVC dvd touch screen head unit and a carryboy tonneau cover for me. The freebies I got were 3M film (legal), first year insurance, bed liner with nice chrome tie-downs and quality floor mats.

With everything including the installations, registration fee and the interest rate I still came out well below the sticker price.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Nissan Official Accessories (Official Nissan Prices):

1. All Season Floor Mats B 2,200

2. License Frame 400

3. Exhaust Pipe Finisher 1400

4. Car Cover 1400

Can I suggest if it's to be paid or able to be discounted, that you give up on the 1) 2) and 4).

I had negotiated for a car cover and when I pick up my vehicle it was some aftermarket cheap 200-300 baht car cover. I was expecting genuine NISSAN cover stated on paper. I am a very careful guy and an engineer before, so I take good care of my stuff, but the car cover ripped after using 4-5 times. The material was just too lousy. Do not take or pay for anything from the dealer, UNLESS IT"S FREE. If it's not free, take it out and discount the price further.

All Season Floor Mats, very easy to get cheaper and higher quality ones from outside. And Thailand does not have a problem when you are looking for floor mats, they have it everywhere from supermarkets to auto parts stores.

License Frame, it's main purpose is to advertise which dealer this car is bought from, SO it is in the dealer's interest to put it on your car as a form of advertisement, in fact they should pay you for that. I wouldn't be surprised if you declined it and discount the price further, and it's still there on delivery of vehicle. Frames could be purchased outside for 200thb ish.

Window Tinting I recommend 3m personally, have used it for many years and never a problem. At night time, it gives you perfect sight, which other films I cannot say so. Other films will have a slight blur when viewing bright lights causing a halo effect. I used very dark 3m tints, only problem is parking in dark areas, windows will need to come down, but otherwise I enjoy it, more privacy, and "cooler" temperature wise on the skin. This you can negotiate with dealers, as usually they offer me choices such as 3m or vcool, and show me the price differences. Dealer prices for tinting should be cheaper than your own private tinting. But for your reference if you decide to tint outside with 3m, for all windows, you are looking at 10,000 to 12,000. Never ever do only windshield alone, that is the most expensive form of tinting. TIP: I prefer the windshield tinting as a whole piece as opposed to a strip on the top. Just makes the windshield feel more spacious with a better viewing. In Thailand's hot weather and glaring sun, you will appreciate it.

And your killer deal price is spot on But don't bring it out too early, may scare them away. Inject it 2-3 hours into the game. Reason is, they need to feel you are a solid customer and they have "invested" a lot of time into you already. Too late to back out. But if you walk in with that figure, boom, they have a good reason to let you walk, because you are the last customer they want. They want customers who pay 1,480,000 and will be more than willing to serve them first. However, if they feel you are serious and could be their customer, they won't reject your killer price. Remember 10% is the max max, if the registration and insurance they are throwing in, costs 20,000, do give them their margin, and decide how much the sales should earn, and how much the dealer should earn. 10,000 to sales, 10,000 to dealer is bare minimum I would think. I don't care about the dealer, but care about the poor sales.

Thanks for the feedback. However, I don't think I'll spend hours haggling with the dealer. I'm more like IMHO in this respect. Present the deal and dicker a bit around d the edges and close the deal...let's not waste anyone's time. There is no financing or trade in so the deal is pretty uncomplicated.

Should get in the dealers any day now and will report back the final numbers.