Practicalities of buying and owning a car in Thailand

[wildwildbill]

Hi all

 

Move to Chiang Mai in a few weeks and have a budget of around 120,000 for a car. Nothing too flash (no chance of that eh on this budget) but something safe and practical to get the family from A to B. I am a bit of a DIY mechanic in the UK but a bit clueless to the practicalities of buying and owning in LOS. So my questions are:

 

Transferring ownership - basically I head to the government office with the seller, blue book and then pay an admin fee to sort? Does the cost vary by vehicle? How swift is the process?

Insurance. How easy is this to sort and what sort of budget should I expect? 

Tax - this is done annually right? Does this vary from vehicle to vehicle

Roadworthy test - how strict is this? What is the cost? When is it done? 

 

Anything else I may also need to bear in mind? 

 

Cheers

[oldgent]

Haha sorry for laughing but 120,000 will get you a really shit car but you may be lucky

[pgrahmm]

Look at some of the CM Facebook pages like 2nd Hand Chiang Mai....

Every once in awhile there's what appears to be serviceable older cars, Toyotas, Hondas.....Sometimes they are moving back to their home country & have to sell....

Stay with the brands that everyone can work on & get parts for....

[pgrahmm]

[craigt3365]

My friend is selling their 10 year old Honda for about that much.  40k KM.  Beautiful condition.  It's hard to find cars like these as many are advertised in Thai language only sites.  Like this one.  They are just putting a sign in the window and parking it near a busy street here in Pattaya.  Insurance is easy.  Try AA.  Don't know about the transfer issues.

 

 

[jeab1980]

When you get one. You will need a certificate of residence passoort copies ect to register it in uour name. Yearly mot vehicles over 7 years old only about 10 mins last year cost us 200bht.

Compulsary insurance is roughly 600bht if i remember rightly, tax vaies upon the car look in blue book it will tell you what tax is yours will be the same now every year for an older car. Then for a car that old I'd go for 2nd class insurance. Direct asia will quote you on.line. eady to transfer once you have your copies and cer of residence. Word of wisdom make sure the car is registered in the province you buy it from or you will have to change the plates. As it can only be registered to you in the province the car is registered in.

Edited July 23, 2017 by jeab1980

[Maejo Man]

I sent you a PM :)

[nanglong218]

For 70k I'd give that Saluna a spin around the block. The rubbish I've looked at around here that they ask 300k for is a joke. Tatty condition, never serviced. Anyone in Buriram region got something half decent worth looking at.  

[wildwildbill]

1 hour ago, nanglong218 said:

For 70k I'd give that Saluna a spin around the block. The rubbish I've looked at around here that they ask 300k for is a joke. Tatty condition, never serviced. Anyone in Buriram region got something half decent worth looking at.  

Yup been speaking to him. It looks tidy but the blue book is in someone else's name and he lives in BKK and the car is in CM!

[wildwildbill]

15 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

My friend is selling their 10 year old Honda for about that much.  40k KM.  Beautiful condition.  It's hard to find cars like these as many are advertised in Thai language only sites.  Like this one.  They are just putting a sign in the window and parking it near a busy street here in Pattaya.  Insurance is easy.  Try AA.  Don't know about the transfer issues.

 

 

Ask them to send me a PM

[bogozy]

Very easy to buy an used car. Passport and my yellow house registration book in my pocket, I went from Phetchabun to Uttaradit, to buy a car. Together with the seller we did go to the DLT office of Uttaradit. They make some paperwork, and make a new insurance and pay tax, within two hours we exchanged the ownership and no necessary reregister the car in Phetchabun. I am using an Isuzu registered in Bangkok, and a Toyota registered in Uttaradit no any problem. Can make the roadworthy test and pay for insurance and tax, at any office  in Thailand.

If You buy a well maintaned used car from farang, You can not be disappointed so much. A common car easy and cheap to service. I prefer to pay for a fitter sometime if necessary to repair, something, than to pay for a new car's monthly payment to the financing Bank. If I am shortage of money the car is standing in the garage, awaiting for repair. The bank has no patience for awaiting so much time, they are reposessing tha car. The market are full stuffed with reposessed cars.

 

[OMGImInPattaya]

If you'd be interested in a nice little SUV, first gen. Honda CRV, that's been well maintained with about 130k on it, PM me for details.

[emilymat]

17 hours ago, nanglong218 said:

For 70k I'd give that Saluna a spin around the block. The rubbish I've looked at around here that they ask 300k for is a joke. Tatty condition, never serviced. Anyone in Buriram region got something half decent worth looking at.  

I bought a 1999 Soluna last December.  Has 239,000 km but runs a treat. Engine oil etc is perfectly clean.

 

Cost 85,000 baht. The only downside is that it does not have power steering, but you soon get used to that and it is only a problem if you park in the wrong place, with a tight turning circle.

 

Mind you, second hand car prices here are ludicrous. In the UK the same car would probably have cost around 25,000 baht at most. Guess it's the exchange rate partly responsible.

[nanglong218]

Never paid more than 5000 quid (8k AUD)  for any car, run them into the ground, buy another with one careful lady owner.  I  don't get this place, they are dirt poor but go into hock to the bank for a seven year car loan, a big macho SUV. Five years was the max when I was in the business.

[jeab1980]

10 minutes ago, nanglong218 said:

Never paid more than 5000 quid (8k AUD)  for any car, run them into the ground, buy another with one careful lady owner.  I  don't get this place, they are dirt poor but go into hock to the bank for a seven year car loan, a big macho SUV. Five years was the max when I was in the business.

Theres the rub they cant get a loan to buy a second hand car but can for a new one. One crazy system. SIL wanted needed a car estate or pick up to run and expand her buisness. She tried to get a loan to buy a second hand car from two banks neither would lend her any based on the estate she was looking at 90k cheap reliable runaround. But they would lend her the money to buy a 0 to 3 year old car.

Lent her the 95k to be paid back at 7k a month14 months. Buisness took off big style with the introduction of car paid me back in 7 months. Banks are to blame for the terrible debt in this country without a doubt.

[nanglong218]

20 hours ago, jeab1980 said:

Theres the rub they cant get a loan to buy a second hand car but can for a new one. One crazy system. SIL wanted needed a car estate or pick up to run and expand her buisness. She tried to get a loan to buy a second hand car from two banks neither would lend her any based on the estate she was looking at 90k cheap reliable runaround. But they would lend her the money to buy a 0 to 3 year old car.

Lent her the 95k to be paid back at 7k a month14 months. Buisness took off big style with the introduction of car paid me back in 7 months. Banks are to blame for the terrible debt in this country without a doubt.

Banks have to protect themselves and their all important shareholders, They won't lend against an aged depreciating asset because it can become worthless over night when the engine goes pop. You need collateral. When I bought my first truck the bank took everything,  the house deeds, insurance policy, even my few British Gas shares,  they stripped me bare. I paid them back in 2/3rd the loan period, then I did it again. 

As they say "the first million is the hardest". Well done Ian, you have helped your sister in law onto the first rung of the ladder, may you both thrive and prosper.

[LammyTS1]

Used car prices are ridiculously overpriced here. 

A car I once owned back home, cost me the equivalent of 30,000 baht, but here? Same age, lower spec & with higher mileage will cost 300,000 baht! 

[nanglong218]

I'm so isolated here waiting for a long term visa. I won't invest any more until they give me the right to stay.  Stepson in Oz says go to BKK for a reasonable priced car.  Rediculous prices, country the same.

[jeab1980]

Just now, nanglong218 said:

I'm so isolated here waiting for a long term visa. I won't invest any more until they give me the right to stay.  Stepson in Oz says go to BKK for a reasonable priced car.  Rediculous prices, country the same.

There are some bargains to be had you have to be prepared to travel if necessary. As for cars in BKK i personally have been to see 4 cars there 3, I wouldnt have given them a third of what they wanted. The fourth was ok but well over priced as I belive most in BKK are.

Not sure what you mean about visa but thats for another thread.

What you have to remember here is new cars depreciate fast but then prices stabilise. You wont lose much money on resale of a second hand car. Look on bhat sold. A lot of falang trying to get rid as there going home but beware.

[nanglong218]

By visa I mean I'm not prepared to leave anything here if they throw me out, I'm under consideration at this time.  I'm after a reliable little run around which will get me to the pub and Watsadu. When I need a ute I'll hire my neighbour's for 500thb a day.  Thanks for the heads up on bahtsold. I have a bad tooth which my dentist in Jomtien needs to pull so maybe I can find an excuse to head that way.

[wildwildbill]

Bought a 2002 Honda City today for 95,000. Its in pretty decent original condition with one family owning from new and 172K on the clock. Will probably need a few baht spending on it to get it how I want it but it was a million miles better than the re-sprayed old wrecks I saw for not much less.

 

Took nearly four hours to transfer ownership. Why do the Thais love admin and queues so much?

[JaseTheBass]

Kaidee is our favourite website for looking at cars we're not going to buy. It's only in Thai but easy enough to work out.

Sent from my Cray II supercomputer

[nanglong218]

I am now the proud owner of a 15 year old Toyota Soluna, 120k, 145kkms on the clock, gutless and basic, air con needs a pump up, but about as much as I want to pay for a car I use twice a week for a trip to Tesco or Makro.  When those big, macho SUVs appear in my mirror I check for the motorbike coming on the inside and give them space to pass. Now I'm going to lose half a day re-registering the thing. Sit there all day with a bunch of docile people who think this is normal,,,er no,, we all do it online or by post.