Sold car

[emilymat]

Two posts in one day, blimey.

 

Anyway, had to get this one off my chest, as I find it so odd and contradictary to what most westerners are used to.

 

Because leaving Thaialnd I needed to sell my car, but did not want the hassle of private adds, auctions etc. So I took it back to the main dealer from whom I bought it 5 years ago . They had a nose around the car and offered me a price I washappy with (10,000 more than I was thinking of advertising it for).

 

So, having checked all the paperwork,we agreed the deal - although I did not know I had to go to Jomtien for a residents certificate for selling, I thought it was only needed for buying.

 

Armed with the certificate, I went back to the dealer and asked him if he wished to test drive it, 'No sir! no need.'    I then offered him the service history with all recepts etc.  "Not want, Not important".

 

There's the difference. In the west two of the key 'musts' are a test drive and documented service history, both of which were considered unimportant here.

 

It was clear the main dealer was acting as some form of 'agent' for a used car franchise. So, it begs the question of how many cars are for sale  on forecourts without the selling agent having them test driven or checking if they have a proper service history.

 

Now for the motorbike.

[jadee]

Congrats on selling your car but was the price reasonable? I sold my car two years ago and I tried selling it to the dealership. I had the same experience: they didn't test drive or check the service history before making an offer. However, they offered a very low price. I declined. When I sold to a private buyer, they did want to see the service history and they wanted a test drive, but they paid almost triple what the dealership was offering ie a fair price for the car. 
I agree with you, there certainly are many questionable cars on lots. I think you can trust the main second-hand garages like Toyota Sure etc as they have their own certification program. However, all the 'tent' places are another story. My first car in Thailand back in 2007 was a second-hand Toyota from a tent-dealer - an electrical fault caused a fire and it was a write-off. Never again.    

[emilymat]

Thanks. That's interesting.

 

My problem was that I had a dead line to meet. I also had taken the view that I needed to price the car at a competetive price. (I'veseen too many hanging about on forecourtsfor agesbecause of 'overpricing'.I didn't have that luxury and I wanted things to be stress free as much as possible.  Also, many cars you see, when looking for comparison's,  have no actual cash price displayed. The often have the hire purchase details on a card in the windscreen,  giving a final inflated price.

 

I read a post on here some time ago that suggested you should take the 'value' of the car on your insurance as a rough guide. I did this and priced my car at 90% of that. Maybe I underpriced but it's stess  free and  I can buy a much superior second hand car in the UK for what I got here (The UK second hand market is sensible and not like here).  Thekicker might have been I hadonlydone 27000 kms in 5 years. Tend to  whiz about on the m'bike.

 

Oh yes of course, when I bought the car 5 years ago the exchange rate was far superior to now and by sending the money back to my  UK bank today, the cash depreciation between buying and selling is far less.One of the few  plus's from the weak pound.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

I"m sure you realize now but you need another certificate of residence for the motorbike sale.

 

Good luck with the return to the homeland.

[onemorechang]

why you going.

good or bad  ?

[KittenKong]

I also see the advantage of getting a fast sale and not having to deal with a string of loser private buyers. But prior to selling to the dealer I would have gone to the many used car places on Sukumvit, all of which will pay cash for a car as far as I know. The more offers you can get the better idea you have of the value. The vehicle auction might be worth checking out too.

When I sold my car in Europe before leaving permanently I advertised it at 15% less than it was worth, but with the proviso that I would accept no offers and that the car would stay in my possession until the day I left the country. This was acceptable to the buyer and to me.

 

As for the service history, it may be that people put less store by it here because it can probably be entirely falsified for a few hundred Baht.

[emilymat]

11 hours ago, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

I"m sure you realize now but you need another certificate of residence for the motorbike sale.

 

Good luck with the return to the homeland.

Thanks. Got that at the same time as for the car. Nice bike, should sell easily.

[emilymat]

5 hours ago, onemorechang said:

why you going.

good or bad  ?

 

 

Bad I'm afraid.  Bereavment,  but have kept my options open by renewing retirement visa, which gives 12 months breathing space. So, that's why disposing of car quickly was pretty unimportant. Thanks for asking.

[onemorechang]

Sorry to hear that.

 

[NanLaew]

When Mrs NL was offloading her last car, there were 3 dealers offering cash without even seeing the vehicle. The last dealer she went with came to the house with cash but wasn't interested in looking at it or the service history either. Made me wish I hadn't forked out for new treads to replace the slicks a couple of weeks earlier! The second-hand (pre-owned if you're American) car market certainly has different priorities in LOS.

[emilymat]

7 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

When Mrs NL was offloading her last car, there were 3 dealers offering cash without even seeing the vehicle. The last dealer she went with came to the house with cash but wasn't interested in looking at it or the service history either. Made me wish I hadn't forked out for new treads to replace the slicks a couple of weeks earlier! The second-hand (pre-owned if you're American) car market certainly has different priorities in LOS.

I agree with you, it's strange.

 

Before I bought my new car 5 years ago I wasscratching around looking at second hand. A friend at the golf couse said his wife had one to sell.

 

I met herand we discussed the price. This is th kicker......She said 170,000 baht. I then asked her how much she paid for it and she said 150,000 15 months ago, but I have spent 20,000 an new tyres etc!

 

In other words, they do not seem to appreciate depreciation!.  I think they would be staggered to know I have  my eye on a car (via Autotrade on the web), an Alpha Romeo with fsh etc at a price equivelent to 70,000 baht. (ie 1500 gbp).    You would be hard pressed to find anything reliable for that price in Thailand. Oh yes, and all you have to do in the UK is to make one signature of purchase on the log book and send it off.  Not millions of signatures and certificates of residency. I exaggerate  of course, but you know what I mean>

[sandgroper2]

18 hours ago, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

I"m sure you realize now but you need another certificate of residence for the motorbike sale.

 

Good luck with the return to the homeland.

Yes. you will need a cert. of res. for sale of motorbike.

[NanLaew]

8 hours ago, emilymat said:

I agree with you, it's strange.

 

Before I bought my new car 5 years ago I wasscratching around looking at second hand. A friend at the golf couse said his wife had one to sell.

 

I met herand we discussed the price. This is th kicker......She said 170,000 baht. I then asked her how much she paid for it and she said 150,000 15 months ago, but I have spent 20,000 an new tyres etc!

 

In other words, they do not seem to appreciate depreciation!.  I think they would be staggered to know I have  my eye on a car (via Autotrade on the web), an Alpha Romeo with fsh etc at a price equivelent to 70,000 baht. (ie 1500 gbp).    You would be hard pressed to find anything reliable for that price in Thailand. Oh yes, and all you have to do in the UK is to make one signature of purchase on the log book and send it off.  Not millions of signatures and certificates of residency. I exaggerate  of course, but you know what I mean>

 

Nothing stranger than ignoring a decent, documented service record but upping the price based on the ugly after-market rims, body kit, 'crystalline' window tint, chrome doo-dads and the fuzzy dice.

 

The Alfa sounds nice. Going to get myself one of those used Chrysler 300C  thingmies when I go home.