What's the best value new car in Thailand right now?

[IMHO]

Look up what Pajero means to a South American Spanish speaker.

That's why it's called the Montero in Spanish/Portuguese speaking markets

Other car names are even arguably worse: http://www.oddee.com/item_93544.aspx

[NanLaew]

... Anyone want to buy my present CR-V .... only 80,000 km ... full service log (Honda) ... around Baht 550,000 ... have seen similar for Baht 600,000+ on secondhand websites. ...

Those +600k baht prices you are seeing are the sellers rather hopeful asking prices.

Mrs NL sold her slightly younger but similar mileage 'mint' CR-V about 6 months ago for 380 k baht from a chap supplying an Udon tent (it had Udon plates). Other tent outfits were offering her around 300 k cash with the car totally unsighted. They generally aren't interested in things like low mileage or a solid dealer service history like they are in the west. Pretty much anything greater than 5 years old is hard for them to shift due to the legacy of the repo surge after the 'first car buyer rebate' fiasco from a previous government. I recommend you pursue a private sale to get best price but I can't see you getting much more than 400 k baht for it. Good luck though.

[bubba]

Look up what Pajero means to a South American Spanish speaker.

That's why it's called the Montero in Spanish/Portuguese speaking markets

Other car names are even arguably worse: http://www.oddee.com/item_93544.aspx

How about the VW Passat, which sounds a lot like ประสาท (Prassat) or 'crazy'?

[Henryford]

Look up what Pajero means to a South American Spanish speaker.

I thought that name only related to Toyota Fortuner drivers.

[Ghostnigel]

Look up what Pajero means to a South American Spanish speaker.

I have a Pajero, but this is THAILAND, not South America...any w**ker should know what it means!!

(Don't delete that mods, because thats what it means in Spanish)

[fish fingers]

Apols to Jas21, didn't twig about the tax rise - I would love to see some kind of chart to see what cars are getting more expensive and what will come down in price..

I guess 2nd hand cars are not affected by the new tax

[DavisH]

Apols to Jas21, didn't twig about the tax rise - I would love to see some kind of chart to see what cars are getting more expensive and what will come down in price..

I guess 2nd hand cars are not affected by the new tax

In the Bangkok post it said the new pjs has emissions below 200 gms, so tax rise should be minimal for it. The 3.2 everest will exceed so will get a fair jump in price. Small cars I'm unsure of.

[Pdaz]

The Subaru BRZ is a proper car that most would even buy/drive in a western country.. It's a "bargain" in Thai terms.. Only 2 mil

RWD, 2 Litres, 200 HP and manual box option.. Only hatches worth considering are the Maz 2 or 3.. Everything else would only be bought by pensioners and female first time drivers in the West.. A Nissan March or a Jazz Really ?

Even the great Suzuki Swift is ruined by lack of two door, manual sport option..

[jacko45k]

Look up what Pajero means to a South American Spanish speaker.

I have a Pajero, but this is THAILAND, not South America...any w**ker should know what it means!!

(Don't delete that mods, because thats what it means in Spanish)

Well it doesn't mean anything in Thai, in fact there isn't anything written comprehensible in the local language.

It does what it says on the can.

[BigA]

I bought a brand new Vios before, and really liked it. It had tranny problems though, which I had to have fixed.

Last week I was at the Ford dealer where I bought my truck and they have the Fiesta promo for 494,000 baht. It is not the top model, but has plenty of features, AT and a 1.5 liter engine. I think far superior than settling for an Eco car. It is my understanding, the promo has sold so well that there is a waiting list.

[BeefSlapper]

Your opinion..

I would have to say the base model Nissan X Trail looks pretty good value at under 1.2M- up to seven seats, platform meant for an SUV rather than pick up, great reviews

Or the new Pajero Sport top spec for 1.4M

Or new Subaru Forester

[fish fingers]

Your opinion..

I would have to say the base model Nissan X Trail looks pretty good value at under 1.2M- up to seven seats, platform meant for an SUV rather than pick up, great reviews

Or the new Pajero Sport top spec for 1.4M

Or new Subaru Forester

will have a second look but was very underwhelmed by the Subaru at the launch

[mogandave]

The base model MuX is a good value at THB 999k with AT.

[fang37]

The final choice? There is no choice. We looked at Fortuner, Pajero , Honda & Isuzu SUVs.

The deal is -

I pay

They choose

That seems logical to me in LOS.

Final decision - Fortuner, color white, manual, diesel, leather seats, spoiler. I got to veto the GPS ie no.

[BBJ]

... Anyone want to buy my present CR-V .... only 80,000 km ... full service log (Honda) ... around Baht 550,000 ... have seen similar for Baht 600,000+ on secondhand websites. ...

Those +600k baht prices you are seeing are the sellers rather hopeful asking prices.

Mrs NL sold her slightly younger but similar mileage 'mint' CR-V about 6 months ago for 380 k baht from a chap supplying an Udon tent (it had Udon plates). Other tent outfits were offering her around 300 k cash with the car totally unsighted. They generally aren't interested in things like low mileage or a solid dealer service history like they are in the west. Pretty much anything greater than 5 years old is hard for them to shift due to the legacy of the repo surge after the 'first car buyer rebate' fiasco from a previous government. I recommend you pursue a private sale to get best price but I can't see you getting much more than 400 k baht for it. Good luck though.

Or you can buy my CR-V only 69K, New suspension and engine mounts (common prob) E85 converted, full service history and nearly new tires. 570K it is yours. Just bought a new Accord and need a pickup for my motorbike.

Other than that the little Mitsubishi eco car isn't bad. Bit of a dog but a good little car.

[JAS21]

... Anyone want to buy my present CR-V .... only 80,000 km ... full service log (Honda) ... around Baht 550,000 ... have seen similar for Baht 600,000+ on secondhand websites. ...

Those +600k baht prices you are seeing are the sellers rather hopeful asking prices.

Mrs NL sold her slightly younger but similar mileage 'mint' CR-V about 6 months ago for 380 k baht from a chap supplying an Udon tent (it had Udon plates). Other tent outfits were offering her around 300 k cash with the car totally unsighted. They generally aren't interested in things like low mileage or a solid dealer service history like they are in the west. Pretty much anything greater than 5 years old is hard for them to shift due to the legacy of the repo surge after the 'first car buyer rebate' fiasco from a previous government. I recommend you pursue a private sale to get best price but I can't see you getting much more than 400 k baht for it. Good luck though.

Or you can buy my CR-V only 69K, New suspension and engine mounts (common prob) E85 converted, full service history and nearly new tires. 570K it is yours. Just bought a new Accord and need a pickup for my motorbike.

Other than that the little Mitsubishi eco car isn't bad. Bit of a dog but a good little car.

Then you need my 2012 V-Cross, it even has an electric Carryboy Lid Edited August 10, 2015 by JAS21

[kotsak]

Look up what Pajero means to a South American Spanish speaker.

[slipperylobster]

The wife loves her suzuki ertiga.

Lots of flexibility and configurations with the three rows of seats. The third row is just for small kids, however. Under 800,000 and very comfortable. I can sleep in the back of it, on long trips. It has aircon front and back. Not too peppy though. Good mileage, comfortable, good storage and affordable. Very reliable.

Edited August 10, 2015 by slipperylobster

[mogandave]

The final choice? There is no choice. We looked at Fortuner, Pajero , Honda & Isuzu SUVs.

The deal is -

I pay

They choose

That seems logical to me in LOS.

Final decision - Fortuner, color white, manual, diesel, leather seats, spoiler. I got to veto the GPS ie no.

Saw the new Fortuner at a dealer today, it was pretty nice. It was a mid-grade in pearl white & dark leather, I liked the seats.

They also had a top-model in black with lighter brown/tan which I did not like the look of, but could not get in as it was sold.

I'm sure you'll love it.

[stephenterry]

Best buy is Honda brio amaze. It's poky, tight turning circle and spacious for a small saloon. Had ours for a year, zero problems and great fuel economy. 500k.

[JaseTheBass]

The final choice? There is no choice. We looked at Fortuner, Pajero , Honda & Isuzu SUVs.

The deal is -

I pay

They choose

That seems logical to me in LOS.

Final decision - Fortuner, color white, manual, diesel, leather seats, spoiler. I got to veto the GPS ie no.

Surprised you didn't look as the class leader (by a huge margin), rather than put your money on another underwhelming Toyota

[fang37]

The leader? Yes?

[bearpolar]

The wife loves her suzuki ertiga.

Lots of flexibility and configurations with the three rows of seats. The third row is just for small kids, however. Under 800,000 and very comfortable. I can sleep in the back of it, on long trips. It has aircon front and back. Not too peppy though. Good mileage, comfortable, good storage and affordable. Very reliable.

the suzuki has 93HP.. can't have that in thailand

Also remember you paid 25k$ for 93hp, i couldnt sleep

Edited August 11, 2015 by bearpolar

[JAS21]

The leader? Yes?

Maybe in your dreams ... but in your heart you really know it's the Ford, don't you ... just wish they would pull their finger out ... I'm waiting to go on holiday in mine

Edited August 11, 2015 by JAS21

[fang37]

A Ford? What would the neighbors think? Tut, tut!

[IMHO]

A Ford? What would the neighbors think? Tut, tut!

If they are car people, and read Thai language reviews, forums or Facebook, they will already know that the "EV" (Everest) is widely accepted as being superior to the "FT" (Fortuner, also sometimes the "FTR" in Thai) - only the most die-hard of Toyota fans don't agree. That's the car... not the service though

Most Thai commentators have come to the same conclusions posters here have come to: The Pajero Sport is the value for money buy, the Everest is the best in class, and the Fortuner is somewhere inbetween.

Isuzu still gets support from those folks that have heard it being the only car their AM radio DJ would buy for the last 30 years, but the Chev? It seems to be in no man's land now.

Edited August 11, 2015 by IMHO

[Briggsy]

Suzuki light truck.

[JAS21]

A Ford? What would the neighbors think? Tut, tut!

Hadn't thought about that ... your are right they have mainly Mercs, BMWs and Lexus. The bloke around the corner usually has at least four Porsche in his drive, but his house wants painting ... I'll post a pic of what's in his drive one day.

Mrs Jas likes the Everest and that is what we will get UNLESS when she tests drives it, she doesn't. She thinks it will be good for Doi Inthanoning

[keemapoot]

A Ford? What would the neighbors think? Tut, tut!

If they are car people, and read Thai language reviews, forums or Facebook, they will already know that the "EV" (Everest) is widely accepted as being superior to the "FT" (Fortuner, also sometimes the "FTR" in Thai) - only the most die-hard of Toyota fans don't agree. That's the car... not the service though

Most Thai commentators have come to the same conclusions posters here have come to: The Pajero Sport is the value for money buy, the Everest is the best in class, and the Fortuner is somewhere inbetween.

Isuzu still gets support from those folks that have heard it being the only car their AM radio DJ would buy for the last 30 years, but the Chev? It seems to be in no man's land now.

Yup, even the normally highly Japanese-centric BK Post has a new extensive review of the EV and grudgingly concludes "with a number of outstanding virtues, it probably is the vehicle in its class to beat -- for the moment."

Overall, they gave it an 8/10, but I found it hilarious they only gave it a 7/10 on styling. They have bought into the Japanese trend to make the SUVs (even large PPVs) more car-like in their styling. They reason that Thai people don't want their SUVs to look like their pickups.

[IMHO]

A Ford? What would the neighbors think? Tut, tut!

If they are car people, and read Thai language reviews, forums or Facebook, they will already know that the "EV" (Everest) is widely accepted as being superior to the "FT" (Fortuner, also sometimes the "FTR" in Thai) - only the most die-hard of Toyota fans don't agree. That's the car... not the service though

Most Thai commentators have come to the same conclusions posters here have come to: The Pajero Sport is the value for money buy, the Everest is the best in class, and the Fortuner is somewhere inbetween.

Isuzu still gets support from those folks that have heard it being the only car their AM radio DJ would buy for the last 30 years, but the Chev? It seems to be in no man's land now.

Yup, even the normally highly Japanese-centric BK Post has a new extensive review of the EV and grudgingly concludes "with a number of outstanding virtues, it probably is the vehicle in its class to beat -- for the moment."

Overall, they gave it an 8/10, but I found it hilarious they only gave it a 7/10 on styling. They have bought into the Japanese trend to make the SUVs (even large PPVs) more car-like in their styling. They reason that Thai people don't want their SUVs to look like their pickups.

Did he even drive the car though? - he doesn't say he did The Thai press drives happened almost 3 weeks ago... and I only see PR photos in the article...

That article also has 2 paragraphs on the MU-X/TB "fully independent rear suspension" - which it's not - it's a solid rear axle, just like every other PPV, hehe. On that, the Everest is unique in the segment because it actually has different front suspension from it's truck sibling as well (macpherson strut vs double wishbone) - not just different springs and dampers.

Also, according to my info, you need FE North of 13KM/L for a diesel to be emitting <200gm / KM CO2

Edited August 12, 2015 by IMHO