Buying New Car(Finance) Mazda CX3 SP

[Johnniey]

Just been to the Mazda showroom and they offered me 40,000 baht discount on the Mazda CX3 SP, which is posted at 1,045,000 baht. I'm happy with the price and the extras, 1 year 1st class insurance, por ror bor, registration costs,  sun film, 24 hour road assistance for 3 years and service for 3 times.

I will have to pay 209,000 down and 16,000 a month for 5 years.

Then they said the interest was 3.25% but the website says 1.99%. I am happy to get the finance as I thought foreigners couldn't get it but said to hold until I did some research.

They said that 1.99% wouldn't get all the extras. I'm confused, are they trying to get one over on me? Maybe it is a simple case of working out which is the best offer, i.e how much all the extras cost. Any comments most welcome!

[stevenl]

The interest quoted will probably be simple interest, applicable to the full amount for the full 5 years. Do a proper calculation and shop around.

[Ace of Pop]

Walk Away.

[HampiK]

hmmmm,

so you pay 164'000 baht more for the car? (16K * 12 * 5) + 209K

For me this sounds expensive

[Colabamumbai]

If you want that particular car you tell them you will only pay the lower interest rate with all the extras in, or walk away.   Otherwise the extras are not free you are paying 1.25% for them.  Something is not right there.  I also doubt that they will let you finance it without a Thai signing the papers, either in their name or as a guarantor.

[DavisH]

It's probably a choice between the low interest or the high interest + discount. I doubt they are trying to put one over you. But it's worth shopping around at different dealers anyway. 

[akentryan]

Brother in law bought a new Mazda 3. Had so many problems they gave his money back.

[merlen10002]

All Motor dealers the world over get a kick back from the finance company, nothing is free if anyone thinks that they are very naïve, you have been offered  discount and extras, they are coming out of the extra interest they want you to pay and the profit in the car, only so much profit in any car and only so much they get out of the kick back from the finance. it is all simple maths. just most western dealers are a long way in front of Thai dealers, Thai dealers are at least 30 years behind Australia dealers.

Best thing to do is go to another dealer and get another quote , don't tell the second dealer about the first dealer until after they give you a quote,  bargain with both until you get the best price.

Nothing wrong with a Mazda they are good cars, can get a lemon in all cars even the most expensive ones.

I know ,, was a Motor Dealer for over fifty years.

[Johnniey]

5 hours ago, HampiK said:

hmmmm,

so you pay 164'000 baht more for the car? (16K * 12 * 5) + 209K

For me this sounds expensive

According to my calculations, it works out at about 5%.

 

Isn't this about the average for a loan?

[Johnniey]

3 hours ago, Colabamumbai said:

If you want that particular car you tell them you will only pay the lower interest rate with all the extras in, or walk away.   Otherwise the extras are not free you are paying 1.25% for them.  Something is not right there.  I also doubt that they will let you finance it without a Thai signing the papers, either in their name or as a guarantor.

They made it clear that they would give me finance, even telling me all the documents I would need - passport, house registration book, work permit, letter from work, 6 month statement from bank.

 

 

[Johnniey]

5 hours ago, Ace of Pop said:

Walk Away.

Thanks for the advice, any particular reason why?

[Ace of Pop]

As HampiK says you are paying 164 K extra for a depreciating asset.  Use your deposit to buy something within your means thats suffered the devaluation. Up to You. In 5/7 years it wont be worth much more than 300K. Buy a nice Honda City and be boring but sensible..

[Johnniey]

1 hour ago, Ace of Pop said:

As HampiK says you are paying 164 K extra for a depreciating asset.  Use your deposit to buy something within your means thats suffered the devaluation. Up to You. In 5/7 years it wont be worth much more than 300K. Buy a nice Honda City and be boring but sensible..

You have a point but I would hate a boring Honda City.  

It is within my means but I'd rather not sell my investments which can get more than the percentage of this loan.

Maybe it's better to see what interest I'd be paying if I took the loan over 2 years. Would that make more sense? I'm not a breadhead at all. I suppose the interest over 2 years would be 164 x 2/5?

[crickets]

I just bought a new mazda on finance under my name at 3%. They are pushing hard to sell them and they offer better deals than honda where i thought the salesperson was slightly retarded. You will need a thai guarantor and sign about 50 sheets of paper all in thai. I think the difference in interest is because they have to use a different bank for foreigners. I say its a good deal for you. 

[patyh]

A new car at 3% on finance is really bad. I got mine at 1.99% with 25% down and payment over 5 years.. That was for a ford.. 

 

But anything above 2% and I recommend you walk away and shop around.. No point paying that much interest.. 

[lj cm]

I tried the numbers on Calculator.net, and the interest you have pay, looks even worse: 7.632%

 

 

[NanLaew]

19 hours ago, Colabamumbai said:

... I also doubt that they will let you finance it without a Thai signing the papers, either in their name or as a guarantor.

If you have a WP and can pass a pretty standard financial test, usually with a 30% or greater down payment, it is becoming easier to get the car and the loan in your name; no need for Thai co-sign or any other involvement.

[Johnniey]

1 hour ago, lj cm said:

I tried the numbers on Calculator.net, and the interest you have pay, looks even worse: 7.632%

 

 

Thanks for that, it's looking worse!

[Ace of Pop]

14 hours ago, Johnniey said:

You have a point but I would hate a boring Honda City.  

It is within my means but I'd rather not sell my investments which can get more than the percentage of this loan.

Maybe it's better to see what interest I'd be paying if I took the loan over 2 years. Would that make more sense? I'm not a breadhead at all. I suppose the interest over 2 years would be 164 x 2/5?

Cant se a City as boring to drive.120 Bhp, blows Tunas away as i recall from years back, looks Yes, but are those Mini SUV s less so, id   find the 400 K Bht saved worth the boredom. Lots of Leo n Songs at the Locall.. Nan Laws right about the Finance side, but im too old to need or get any.

[Johnniey]

10 hours ago, crickets said:

I just bought a new mazda on finance under my name at 3%. They are pushing hard to sell them and they offer better deals than honda where i thought the salesperson was slightly retarded. You will need a thai guarantor and sign about 50 sheets of paper all in thai. I think the difference in interest is because they have to use a different bank for foreigners. I say its a good deal for you. 

Thanks for the reply! Surely they can't charge foreigners more interest, can they?

Do you have a WP?

[Johnniey]

3 minutes ago, Ace of Pop said:

Cant se a City as boring to drive.120 Bhp, blows Tunas away as i recall from years back, looks Yes, but are those Mini SUV s less so, id   find the 400 K Bht saved worth the boredom. Lots of Leo n Songs at the Locall.. Nan Laws right about the Finance side, but im too old to need or get any.

Gave up drinking years ago(by necessity rather than virtue) and never drank Leo when there was a 8% Volume equivalent called Chang  - 4 big bottles for 100 baht!

I was looking at the BMW X3 but thought I would save money with the Mazda(university costs in the UK are not cheap!)

Yes, I could  save more by buying a lesser car but there is a happy medium somewhere, depending on how much you value a car. 

[Ace of Pop]

Our Son has a Honda HRV using Honda Leasing. Its H.P realy, their website translates to nice English and is a Benchmark worth a read for Ferangs. Even i can understand it.!!!.  He did look at the Mazda but the Local Dealers are Truck Brains down South and finance too hi..  Honda only do Benzines with E85 engines that he likes. Good Luck,and the X3 ist worth the money, ive loked.,the Tunas better. Il wait for the next Civic Turbo, i think.

[Johnniey]

3 hours ago, Ace of Pop said:

Our Son has a Honda HRV using Honda Leasing. Its H.P realy, their website translates to nice English and is a Benchmark worth a read for Ferangs. Even i can understand it.!!!.  He did look at the Mazda but the Local Dealers are Truck Brains down South and finance too hi..  Honda only do Benzines with E85 engines that he likes. Good Luck,and the X3 ist worth the money, ive loked.,the Tunas better. Il wait for the next Civic Turbo, i think.

Actually, I've been looking at vdos on Youtube comparing the CX3 and the HRV. The HRV has more space in the boot and back seat but Mazda has more things that I like, esp the safety features, stops automatically in slow traffic due to front camera/sensors and sensors on the side which beep and have lights up on the wing mirrors when something is in the blind spot, also tells you if you are veering off the lane.

[Don Mega]

16 hours ago, crickets said:

I just bought a new mazda on finance under my name at 3%. They are pushing hard to sell them and they offer better deals than honda where i thought the salesperson was slightly retarded. You will need a thai guarantor and sign about 50 sheets of paper all in thai. I think the difference in interest is because they have to use a different bank for foreigners. I say its a good deal for you. 

 

They use Tisco. if you meet their lending requirements they don't care what country is printed ion  the birth certificate.

[JacChang]

Beware of the tricks the sales use to try to get you a "bargain". Personally I am a direct clear concise guy who only looks for the ultimate discount. I don't care about freebies, it only messes up with your conception of how cheap the bargain is. As a general rule, you always buy at 7-9% off the manufacturer suggested retail price. This is the number stated on the paper at showrooms available for all to see.

 

As you have stated 1,045,000. The max you can get discounted is 100,000. But you need to let the sales earn some money, so let's let him/her earn 20,000. The price you will buy is 965,000. Use this magic number to your knowledge and advantage. That without any freebies or tinted windows, nothing, the cheapest price you can get the deal is around this 965,000 price. Add the freebies that was offered to you by deducting from the 80,000 discount, if it's worth it, take it. If it's not worth it, save the money and buy the freebies yourself. For example, if they offer you 75,000 discount with free tinted windows of a reasonable quality, I would take it. As tinting costs from 5,000-10,000+.

 

Being doing this for years with all my car purchases, all the same, no surprises. Go on the last week of the month or last week of the quarter, some sales will even make the sale without earning anything so you can get 10% discount off MRSP, as they just need to meet the quota of selling 3-5 cars for that period, and they need that last car to make it.

[Johnniey]

2 hours ago, JacChang said:

Beware of the tricks the sales use to try to get you a "bargain". Personally I am a direct clear concise guy who only looks for the ultimate discount. I don't care about freebies, it only messes up with your conception of how cheap the bargain is. As a general rule, you always buy at 7-9% off the manufacturer suggested retail price. This is the number stated on the paper at showrooms available for all to see.

 

As you have stated 1,045,000. The max you can get discounted is 100,000. But you need to let the sales earn some money, so let's let him/her earn 20,000. The price you will buy is 965,000. Use this magic number to your knowledge and advantage. That without any freebies or tinted windows, nothing, the cheapest price you can get the deal is around this 965,000 price. Add the freebies that was offered to you by deducting from the 80,000 discount, if it's worth it, take it. If it's not worth it, save the money and buy the freebies yourself. For example, if they offer you 75,000 discount with free tinted windows of a reasonable quality, I would take it. As tinting costs from 5,000-10,000+.

 

Being doing this for years with all my car purchases, all the same, no surprises. Go on the last week of the month or last week of the quarter, some sales will even make the sale without earning anything so you can get 10% discount off MRSP, as they just need to meet the quota of selling 3-5 cars for that period, and they need that last car to make it.

Great advice, thanks!

[crickets]

Update on my new mazda. Army truck drove into thr back of it with my wife and baby. They are ok. It had 300km on the clock. The driver said he had been awake for 2 days training and had not slept. Neglegence. Drive a 5tone truck on public roads with no sleep. Their insurance is paying for it.

[Johnniey]

On 9/16/2016 at 0:29 PM, crickets said:

Update on my new mazda. Army truck drove into thr back of it with my wife and baby. They are ok. It had 300km on the clock. The driver said he had been awake for 2 days training and had not slept. Neglegence. Drive a 5tone truck on public roads with no sleep. Their insurance is paying for it.

Unlucky. What type of mazda  is it? What price and extras did you get?

[Johnniey]

On 9/15/2016 at 8:26 PM, JacChang said:

Beware of the tricks the sales use to try to get you a "bargain". Personally I am a direct clear concise guy who only looks for the ultimate discount. I don't care about freebies, it only messes up with your conception of how cheap the bargain is. As a general rule, you always buy at 7-9% off the manufacturer suggested retail price. This is the number stated on the paper at showrooms available for all to see.

 

As you have stated 1,045,000. The max you can get discounted is 100,000. But you need to let the sales earn some money, so let's let him/her earn 20,000. The price you will buy is 965,000. Use this magic number to your knowledge and advantage. That without any freebies or tinted windows, nothing, the cheapest price you can get the deal is around this 965,000 price. Add the freebies that was offered to you by deducting from the 80,000 discount, if it's worth it, take it. If it's not worth it, save the money and buy the freebies yourself. For example, if they offer you 75,000 discount with free tinted windows of a reasonable quality, I would take it. As tinting costs from 5,000-10,000+.

 

Being doing this for years with all my car purchases, all the same, no surprises. Go on the last week of the month or last week of the quarter, some sales will even make the sale without earning anything so you can get 10% discount off MRSP, as they just need to meet the quota of selling 3-5 cars for that period, and they need that last car to make it.

The salesman just called me offering another 10,000 baht off the price. Maybe as it's the end of the month or quarter.

Also said they would give me 1.99% if I paid 25% down.

[JacChang]

You need to let him know that you are serious about buying this car, and will make the deal soon. You will possibly sign the deal with other car dealers as they have offered you a more attractive deal. Near the end of the month, possibly 2-3 days before the last day. Show up at the dealer. Show uninterested, walk in, what offer does he have for you? He will make a lousy attempt to please you, but he fails to, prepare to walk away, he stops you, sit down. Say you will close the deal now at 80,000 discount, adjust this number if he has given you freebies. Or you be the boss and decline all freebies and buy them all yourself with the 80,000 discount, but do bargain for floor mats and key holders/chains. He will pretend to feel this is impossible. You have to maintain uninterested and ready to leave. At this point, he says "He needs to ask his manager." He walks away for 10 minutes returning with his manager who explains how this deal is impossible and he offers you a better deal than the sales person but still not the deal you want. Now is the right time to say mai pen rai, I will go to the other dealer then. At this point, he will stop you and the deal is made at 80,000 discount.

Make sure that nothing is missing from the stated contract on the paper. All the discount written and signed, and all the freebies.

Good luck!