New Car Purchase Situation

[bangsaenguy]

Someone please explain what is going on with the car pricing and ordering issues going on. Wife decided she wanted a saloon car so we went to Honda to order a new Accord in December. We were told that we could not order until January because they were unsure of the price. 6 months delivery. No worries. We went back last weekend and were told that we still could not order until the Motor Show in March because a new model was coming. I thought the Accord model was fairly new. Still don't know the price.

[JoeW]

Did you try only one dealer or did you try more than one? Other dealers might have a different policy.

[Tywais]

The 2016 is a refresh/face lift and still same generation 9 as the 2015 which came out in 2012/2013. Some differences between 2015 & 2016 models though US version. However, hard to believe a 2015 version is not available. Also the price as of January 1, 2016 will have jumped due to the new taxes based on CO2 emissions.

[mgjackson69]

It seems to me that dealer does not want to make the sale.

On to the next.

[lovelomsak]

It seems to me that dealer does not want to make the sale.

On to the next.

+1

[bangsaenguy]

We only visited the one dealer. I will try another. Probably should wait until the Motor Show to see what else is new. Looked at the Germans but don't want to pay the maintenance fees.

[IMHO]

Honda have not yet revealed their 2016 pricing for the Accord - but it's anticipated it needs to rise by at least 200,000 Baht as a result of the Excise tax changes. That's a lot of money for nothing extra, so hopefully the delay means they're trying to value-add the model before charging that much more for it.

[DavisH]

Honda have not yet revealed their 2016 pricing for the Accord - but it's anticipated it needs to rise by at least 200,000 Baht as a result of the Excise tax changes. That's a lot of money for nothing extra, so hopefully the delay means they're trying to value-add the model before charging that much more for it.

That will push the top accord to around 2M. There are other options at that price point. Could never imagine paying 60K AU for an accord! Maybe look at an almost new second hand accord then?

[IMHO]

Honda have not yet revealed their 2016 pricing for the Accord - but it's anticipated it needs to rise by at least 200,000 Baht as a result of the Excise tax changes. That's a lot of money for nothing extra, so hopefully the delay means they're trying to value-add the model before charging that much more for it.

That will push the top accord to around 2M. There are other options at that price point. Could never imagine paying 60K AU for an accord! Maybe look at an almost new second hand accord then?

Yep, or look to a different segment - D seg is dying anyway, if it doesn't have a Euro nameplate.

[recycler]

For all I know at car dealers in Thailand is that the staff seems to get their sales training at the revenue department.

[IMHO]

For all I know at car dealers in Thailand is that the staff seems to get their sales training at the revenue department.

Good thing we have the internet, and forums like this then I guess

[stgrhe]

Skip the Accord and buy the new Nissan Teana 2.5 lit. We recently purchased one after first had considered the Accord and we are extremely pleased. The Nissan service and spare parts and better and cheaper too.

[JoeW]

Nissan Teana is a very good car. I always preferred it to the Camry and Accord.

When I lived in Japan, I drove a J31. Loved it. Engine pulled great.

[petermik]

There you go, good advice.....skip the Honda and go for the Nissan......never mind what the missus says its your brass

[IMHO]

Back in the J32 generation, the Teana was a clear leader in the segment - no doubt whatsoever.

Honda really did lift their game, and fixed most of the standout issues with the Accord in the latest generation though, so it's a lot closer competition now. You can even have a normal conversation in an Accord at highway speeds now

[mihalis]

Look around, and see who really wants your business..

[KhunBENQ]

Just repeating:

be prepared for a sharp price hike due to the rise in excise tax.

The wise government has found a new source of "luxury" tax by sharply rising tax for clean/modern limousines while tax on Diesel stinkers (pickups) has only been risen marginally. Be prepared for even more over-sized shopping carts.

There have been lengthy discussions about the tax hike in other threads.

Edited January 16, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[jinners]

It seems to me that dealer does not want to make the sale.

On to the next.

+1

More likely wants to but can't. He's probably not got the stock, or what he has is accounted for. If Honda are doing a refresh, planning will have been ongoing for months, so the build rate of the 15 reduced to soften the chance of having to discount the 'old' model when everyone now wants the new one.

[Mr Money Bags]

It seems to me that dealer does not want to make the sale.

On to the next.

+1

More likely wants to but can't. He's probably not got the stock, or what he has is accounted for. If Honda are doing a refresh, planning will have been ongoing for months, so the build rate of the 15 reduced to soften the chance of having to discount the 'old' model when everyone now wants the new one.

Bingo.

It seems to me that the most intelligent/correct replies to queries are rarely the first......

You're Welcome!!

[realenglish1]

Logical move . If the dealer does not want to take your order and money Go somewhere else. They have the business acumen of a Nat and it will

reflect in the after sale service as well. " Gee we don't have that part to fix the #$&$*# thing We have to order it from Japan. Our next shipment will be in about 5 months

You have to wait "

[seedy]

one Troll / Flaming post - and quoted reply - hidden

[bstafford214]

Well I would tell them they lost a customer and you go buy a Toyota, just as good as Honda, then see if they change their mind.

[mgjackson69]

It seems that dealers in Thailand would rather sell a vehicle "on order" rather than sell existing stock...if they can talk the buyer into waiting.

Which makes no sense really...they are floor-planning vehicles in stock, and at some point start paying interest.

[chiman]

Feel like I'm in a buy a new car in Thailand hang over.

Was planning to buy a Van for my office, and with the new tax looming in 2016.. I decided to start shopping in October. Found the van that made the most sense for my companies needs and booked it. In that process my secretary called 20+ dealers. You have to call as many as you can until you find one that's ready to do business.

During the shop for a van process, my partner made me aware that her car was now 10 years old and handed down at this point, so with my car now at 5 years, low miles, and paid off.. I figured I would be a car and give my car to my partner.

During the shopping process I did a deep dive into the Accord and Camry. Both very different but great category leading cars. But boring as hell... And it didn't feel right.

Then my partner told me about some promotions at Volvo, with the V40 being around the same price as the Accord and Camry..

The Volvo is on another planet compared to the Accord and Camry, so is the service and dealer.. Ended up getting the Volvo V60. I highly recommend checking out Volvo, the T5 engine is almost as economical as a hybrid. I also found the prices of Volvo in Thailand vs USA were much closer apples to apples than other brands.

Back to the point, if you didn't buy before Dec 31 2015, you are in for a price increase up to 30%. With that said, I think brands will all manage this differently. You better take your time and shop hard. And if your budget is around 2m, check out Volvo, just don't get the T4F engines, get the T5

Good luck

[stevenl]

I see the western arrogance is still alive and kicking, with all the arm chair experts thinking a dealer does not want to sell and they all know better.

[mgjackson69]

I see the western arrogance is still alive and kicking, with all the arm chair experts thinking a dealer does not want to sell and they all know better.

Can you demonstrate otherwise?

[Scouse123]

All these price increases are well and good until the masses decide, in the present economy, that they will hang on to their existing car for another couple of years in an uncertain climate.

Let's see what and how deep the ' sudden new found special ' discounting goes then.

[JaseTheBass]

Feel like I'm in a buy a new car in Thailand hang over.

Was planning to buy a Van for my office, and with the new tax looming in 2016.. I decided to start shopping in October. Found the van that made the most sense for my companies needs and booked it. In that process my secretary called 20+ dealers. You have to call as many as you can until you find one that's ready to do business.

During the shop for a van process, my partner made me aware that her car was now 10 years old and handed down at this point, so with my car now at 5 years, low miles, and paid off.. I figured I would be a car and give my car to my partner.

During the shopping process I did a deep dive into the Accord and Camry. Both very different but great category leading cars. But boring as hell... And it didn't feel right.

Then my partner told me about some promotions at Volvo, with the V40 being around the same price as the Accord and Camry..

The Volvo is on another planet compared to the Accord and Camry, so is the service and dealer.. Ended up getting the Volvo V60. I highly recommend checking out Volvo, the T5 engine is almost as economical as a hybrid. I also found the prices of Volvo in Thailand vs USA were much closer apples to apples than other brands.

Back to the point, if you didn't buy before Dec 31 2015, you are in for a price increase up to 30%. With that said, I think brands will all manage this differently. You better take your time and shop hard. And if your budget is around 2m, check out Volvo, just don't get the T4F engines, get the T5

Good luck

Great choice and you won't be wanting to top yourself on the drive to work as you would if you'd thrown away your hard-earned on a Camry.

[chiman]

No doubt that buying a car in Thailand is different than buying in most of the west. It can be stressful and frustrating as cars cost so much, you cannot see the car till after you have paid in most cases, and there are no lemon laws. Toyota is probably the safest purchase in terms of reliability and service, with the Fortuner being the best in terms of holding its value. A buddy purchased a pre owned and 3 years later sold it for the same.

I think all dealers want to sell, but there are good and bad sales people . My opinion after 3 car purchase here is that it comes down to finding a good sales person and that can be done by calling a bunch of dealers. This is how my THAI staff handle this, NOT me.

My Thai staff got pretty turned off by Honda, with no cars to test drive and very little stock on hand. We also found the Honda sales were unapologetic and somewhat unhelpful. With that said, about a month in one Honda sales found us a test drive and was super helpful. Toyota has a lot of stock.. And you can see how their marketing plays out from their home page. Download the sales stats from their home page. Toyota sells heads and shoulders more than Honda who sells heads and shoulders more than Mazda and so on and so forth. Bottom line, Toyota sells a ton more cars than anyone else for a lot of reasons mentioned above and stock available.

My first car was a Lemon, CRV.. Didn't drive straight. Honda couldn't fix it, had to take my case to Honda Japan. Honda Thailand tried to blame it on the Thai roads lol. Eventually got a replacement and it never saw a day in the shop for anything other than scheduled maintenance. Any car from any brand can be a lemon. With that said, hope my new Volvo is reliable.. I'm confident in what I see so far that Volvo will stand by their work in a better way than Honda did.

[OMGImInPattaya]

No doubt that buying a car in Thailand is different than buying in most of the west. It can be stressful and frustrating as cars cost so much, you cannot see the car till after you have paid in most cases, and there are no lemon laws. Toyota is probably the safest purchase in terms of reliability and service, with the Fortuner being the best in terms of holding its value. A buddy purchased a pre owned and 3 years later sold it for the same.

I think all dealers want to sell, but there are good and bad sales people . My opinion after 3 car purchase here is that it comes down to finding a good sales person and that can be done by calling a bunch of dealers. This is how my THAI staff handle this, NOT me.

My Thai staff got pretty turned off by Honda, with no cars to test drive and very little stock on hand. We also found the Honda sales were unapologetic and somewhat unhelpful. With that said, about a month in one Honda sales found us a test drive and was super helpful. Toyota has a lot of stock.. And you can see how their marketing plays out from their home page. Download the sales stats from their home page. Toyota sells heads and shoulders more than Honda who sells heads and shoulders more than Mazda and so on and so forth. Bottom line, Toyota sells a ton more cars than anyone else for a lot of reasons mentioned above and stock available.

My first car was a Lemon, CRV.. Didn't drive straight. Honda couldn't fix it, had to take my case to Honda Japan. Honda Thailand tried to blame it on the Thai roads lol. Eventually got a replacement and it never saw a day in the shop for anything other than scheduled maintenance. Any car from any brand can be a lemon. With that said, hope my new Volvo is reliable.. I'm confident in what I see so far that Volvo will stand by their work in a better way than Honda did.

Do you think Volvo will ever lower themselves into publishing an English language Thai website!!

I also don't see a T5 engine listed as an option on the V60...unless you order the Polestar performance package (and that's from Volvo's Global Website...don't know if it's even available in Thailand).

Edited January 16, 2016 by OMGImInPattaya