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New Expat First Car Considerations


night_rider

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2 hours ago, night_rider said:

Actually I was thinking about charging an EV with solar panels and having no fuel costs for the foreseeable future. 

Speaking of the virtues of Toyota, does anyone know if Lexus is built in Thailand?

Then buy the Nissan Leaf.

i had one,fucking awesome car.

No Lexus IS not.

they are built in Japan,Canada and the US.

As Ive also said before on here,the difference in built quality from Thailand to North America is night and day for nearly all manufactures.

The quality simply isn't as good.

If you possibly even think you can afford a Tesla's in Thailand,then well,you should be able to afford to put your own home charging station in your house.

But you are asking about vehicles under 1m,which wouldn't get you the "T" on a Tesla.

good luck with the rest of Thailand.

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16 hours ago, just hanging said:

my first car was a yarris, easy to control, lot of room inside, not much gas, enough power and mostly easy to park

I brought my Thai wife a  brand new Toyota Yaris 4 years ago for about 550,000K from a dealer in Bangkok when a promotion was  on.she uses the car every day including trips to Nong Knai from Pattaya.

Great little car for the cash paid never had any problems.

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14 hours ago, Skalliwag said:

I can buy and drive whatever I want,and I've repaired every make of car out there at some point.

i have a Toyota Tundra,white and my wife has a 2017 Toyota Corolla,silver and that's only because the first car I bought her was a 2006 Corolla and she absolutely loves them.

Buy the Toyota and fuck the BMW and Mini off.

They are now where near as good as people,think they are.

Actually,my expert opinion is that they are shit.Honestly.

Would never buy one,would never buy my wife one,would never advise any of my friends to buy one.

I just sold my Aston Martin Vantage and will buy another one of those,but honestly,it got to the point where I preferred to drive Wifey's Corolla.

Buy a Toyota and never have to concern yourself with the vehicle again.

Ive driven and repaired Tesla's and I wouldn't have one of those in Thailand either.

here would be a different story.

 

an Aston Martin Vantage, what a waste on a married guy....get a station wagon
 

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6 minutes ago, just hanging said:

an Aston Martin Vantage, what a waste on a married guy....get a station wagon
 

I sold it to buy another boat.

have two now.:Moon2:

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15 hours ago, Skalliwag said:

Owning and operating 2 Autobody shops for 17 years.Im 46 years old.

Owned a Ranger as a Courtesy truck,bought in brand new,as it was a cheap lease,sent it back,cause it's shit,took a beating on it and will never own a Ford again.

No,not even a Raptor.

My buddies that bought F150's cause they are cheap,will never own them again after seeing my Tundra.

They were so bad,Ford stopped making them,and when I climbed all over one in Thailand in January,I saw much of the same quality that I saw back then.lolol.

No thanks.

You have a Toyota and. Ford for the same price?

You would either have to be crazy,or a super fan of the blue oval brigade to buy the Ford.

 

Congratulations on reaching the grand old age of 46 yrs old not really getting the relevance but it probably makes you some kind of aficionado on cars.

What model year was the courtesy Ranger you couldn't get rid of quick enough ?

I'm not starting a war between Toyota and Ford but some facts are that the Ford is gaining market share (especially the pick up)and in general Toyota are losing their status as the Global number 1 OEM. 

Mainly due to the competition upping their game and some untimely recalls that of course has damaged their image.

For me I've never owned a Japanese car although driven them all over the world and I'd say they are a very nice comfortable car to drive and ride in.

Each to their own but I've owned two Rangers here in Thailand without any issues whatsoever maybe I've been lucky but then the demand for the car wouldn't be increasing year on year as it is now if it's reliability and quality was suspect,fact.

BTW don't take the first comment about your age serious just couldn't resist it.

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2 hours ago, Skalliwag said:

I sold it to buy another boat.

have two now.:Moon2:

Cool. Where are the pics? :D

Some of my favorite pictures here are those you posted of the (fast) boating trip you made for burgers at an island up there in the Canadian SAN JUANS. 

Just kidding...(Canadians call them the Gulf Islands for some obscure reason).

 The salmon fishing trip was great entertainment also. Love the boating pics. :)

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On 19/09/2017 at 00:30, night_rider said:

My initial thoughts were to stick with something built in Thailand to a high standard. Something like a high mileage BMW or mini Cooper. I'd appreciate others input.

BMW and Mini Coopers built in Thailand.

Really !!

What's the benefit of high mileage ?

New compact car best option all round for servicing costs, insurance costs and fuel costs. And well under 1 million Baht.

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8 hours ago, Skalliwag said:

I sold it to buy another boat.

have two now.:Moon2:

Wouldn't it have been cheaper to buy a pair of water skis?

RULES

1NQq.gif

There are only two types of people in the world, those who can extrapolate from incomplete data......

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What you do is of course up to you. 

With a budget of 1M, what I would not do is buy anything second hand in Thailand. I suspect "preventative maintenance" is an unknown term in the Thai language. I am not personally a good enough mechanic to buy someone else's problems, and even if I were, fixing other peoples problems is not my idea of retirement bliss. I would also not buy anything not Made in Thailand. I've got a nice pension, but not enough to waste on a ridiculous import tax structure. 

When I was first here, I started with Scooters (now have two Scooters and three motorcycles) I'd rent a different make and model scooter each month until I found one I really liked. Perhaps start out by renting different sizes of cars over here until local experience shows you which one is appropriate for you. 

For me, the last thing I did before I moved away from Pattaya was to buy a new Toyota "Isaan Special", financed by Toyota, in my name. The "Isaan Special" in this case being a 2WD Vigo Champ with the high suspension package and an automatic transmission. The automatic transmission was a nod to me being American and the driving over here (and shifting) being on the 'wrong' side. I've got many decades of manual transmission experience using my right hand, but none with my left. An automatic seemed the way to go for me. :-) My last vehicle in the US was a Ford Exhibition, that I loved, but wouldn't even consider over here, mostly because a vehicle that big is an enormous pain in the butt over here, and if you do have something that big over here, you have it to haul stuff around rather than just people. Four years after buying the truck here, I'd still rather ride the scooter into town (unless I need to pick up a bunch of stuff).

If I was staying in Pattaya, I'd have instead gone with the smallest sedan I felt comfortable with. I suspect that Toyota and Isuzu are the most popular vehicles on Thailand, but I don't have statistical data on that. I'm personally more fond of Toyota vehicles than I am of Isuzu vehicles, but I also know it's more gut-feeling bias. I bought a Toyota this time, and I am pretty sure if I end up buying another vehicle, I'll buy some sort of Toyota next time. Toyota has dealerships in even Podunk little small villages, they are literally everywhere. Going back to the not a great mechanic remark, a huge dealership network with a vehicle under warranty is important to me. 

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8 hours ago, Czmate said:

Congratulations on reaching the grand old age of 46 yrs old not really getting the relevance but it probably makes you some kind of aficionado on cars.

What model year was the courtesy Ranger you couldn't get rid of quick enough ?

I'm not starting a war between Toyota and Ford but some facts are that the Ford is gaining market share (especially the pick up)and in general Toyota are losing their status as the Global number 1 OEM. 

Mainly due to the competition upping their game and some untimely recalls that of course has damaged their image.

For me I've never owned a Japanese car although driven them all over the world and I'd say they are a very nice comfortable car to drive and ride in.

Each to their own but I've owned two Rangers here in Thailand without any issues whatsoever maybe I've been lucky but then the demand for the car wouldn't be increasing year on year as it is now if it's reliability and quality was suspect,fact.

BTW don't take the first comment about your age serious just couldn't resist it.

Sorry,but you did say that I might have an old fashioned way of thinking.

You may have thought I was old too,just clearing that up.

The Ranger was last generation,11,and it was terrible.Recalls of course,left me without it more times than with it,so I gunned it.Shitbox.

Ford maybe gaining market share there,as they never really had any to begin with,but they are losing it here.Toyota set to realease their deiesel in North America which is gonna really place the cat among the pidgeons.

Glad you've had luck with your Rangers,Good for you.You're lucky.

I looked at one in January when I was there,as the body style is completely different now,and I was not impressed with what I saw.Still sloppy stuff that isn't up to the same standards held by others.

Still stand by if I had a million baht,and the choice between the two,well there would be a shiny new Toyota in my driveway.

That little 3.0 Deisel they build could be one of the best engines ever made.

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On 9/19/2017 at 10:17, Tarl said:

Cool thanks. Mate of min has a 6 mth METV and was looking to buy a car and travel all over Thailand for 8 mths then sell it and return home. Will let him know that isn't an option.

I have a car and bike in my name on an METV, it IS an option, you just need to get a certificate of residence from Jomtien immigration. Not difficult to do.

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Cool thanks. Mate of min has a 6 mth METV and was looking to buy a car and travel all over Thailand for 8 mths then sell it and return home. Will let him know that isn't an option.

Why wouldn't he rent one for that period ?
15k a month x 8 = 120k..

Probably less than he'd drop in resale value, and he could drop it off the day before he leaves the country, no f....ing around for weeks selling it

Sent from my vivo 1713 using Tapatalk

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3 hours ago, Garzan said:

With a budget of 1M, what I would not do is buy anything second hand in Thailand. I suspect "preventative maintenance" is an unknown term in the Thai language. I am not personally a good enough mechanic to buy someone else's problems, and even if I were, fixing other peoples problems is not my idea of retirement Bliss. I would also not buy anything not made in Thailand. I've got a nice pension, but not enough to waste on a ridiculous import tax structure. 

 

That's a curious assumption as I had just the opposite assumption. Labor is so cheap I assumed everyone that could afford a certain class of car would maintain it. My only experience was being with a friend that stopped for AC service one day. They worked on his car immediately, no waiting. Done in 20 min or so and I think the bill was 300 Baht.

I also would only buy Made in Thailand to avoid the import tax. I just bought a car here last Spring and came very close to buying a Porsche Cayman as I've wanted one for some time and knew it was out of the question once I move there.

A side question. You never see convertibles in Thailand. I wonder why? I know Thai's are typically sun averse and honestly I'd probably keep the top  up during the day but in the evenings I'd think it would be nice for a drive.

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6 hours ago, night_rider said:

That's a curious assumption as I had just the opposite assumption. Labor is so cheap I assumed everyone that could afford a certain class of car would maintain it. My only experience was being with a friend that stopped for AC service one day. They worked on his car immediately, no waiting. Done in 20 min or so and I think the bill was 300 Baht.

I also would only buy made in Thailand to avoid the import tax. I just bought a car here last Spring and came very close to buying a Porsche Cayman as I've wanted one for some time and knew it was out of the question once I move there.

A side question. You never see convertibles in Thailand. I wonder why? I know Thai's are typically sun averse and honestly I'd probably keep the top  up during the day but in the evenings I'd think it would be nice for a drive.

Convertibles in Thailand?

You only see a few. It's just too damn hot and the thieves will rip thru that convertible top.

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8 hours ago, LazyJay said:

I have a car and bike in my name on an METV, it IS an option, you just need to get a certificate of residence from Jomtien immigration. Not difficult to do.

Ok thanks for that. Will let him know he can do it. He will be very happy. Appreciate the info.

7 hours ago, gusincebu said:


Why wouldn't he rent one for that period ?
15k a month x 8 = 120k..

Probably less than he'd drop in resale value, and he could drop it off the day before he leaves the country, no f....ing around for weeks selling it

Sent from my vivo 1713 using Tapatalk
 

Yeah I was just going on the advice from another member here. Will now let him know is doable. Thanks

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8 hours ago, gusincebu said:


Why wouldn't he rent one for that period ?
15k a month x 8 = 120k..

Probably less than he'd drop in resale value, and he could drop it off the day before he leaves the country, no f....ing around for weeks selling it

Sent from my vivo 1713 using Tapatalk
 

...and insurance about 25000b/year plus roadtax 6000b if the engine is over 2500cc otherwise half.

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7 hours ago, night_rider said:

A side question. You never see convertibles in Thailand. I wonder why? I know Thai's are typically sun averse and honestly I'd probably keep the top  up during the day but in the evenings I'd think it would be nice for a drive.

I'd go along with theft prevention and sun. Foreigners who buy cars, who might like a convertible (like me) are a tiny fraction of the car buying public. I don't think it would make good economic sense to make them over here for the few that would be sold. 

The part that confuses me is not seeing 2DR coupes, or 3DR hatchbacks. (I have started seeing 2DR Mini Coopers around town) By and large, the passenger car type vehicles I see around Thailand are almost exclusively 4DR sedans (and of course the three flavors of pickup truck body styles).  

There are exceptions though, yesterday I saw a Mercedes Benz 2DR convertible coupe with one of the in color custom provincial license plates from the Udon Thani Mercedes Benz dealer. That was some big money on the hoof.  

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  Most people back into parking places in Thailand and that's something I'd never done my whole life in America.  So when I bought a car here one of the requirements was a backup camera to help me learn this skill.   Now I'm a believer in back in parking..

 

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16 minutes ago, piloter said:

  Most people back into parking places in Thailand and that's something I'd never done my whole life in America.  So when I bought a car here one of the requirements was a backup camera to help me learn this skill.   Now I'm a believer in back in parking..

 

Interesting. I assumed the whole world backed in to parking spaces. 

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Long time German car owner here.  Benz, Porsche, BMW.  Bigger cars are better.  Love them.  If I ever move to Thailand no way I get one here.  Most likely is Honda CRV or Accord..  Or Toyota (I just like Honda's better not that they are better),  And buying used consider flooding in this place.  Was your used car bargain ever flooded?  New engine?  Involved in a road rage dispute with a crazed yaba addict who remembers the color and year of your car?  Nah.  Even if it costs more I'd buy new and be done with it.

At your price point your best choice IMO is the Honda HRV.  Sits up higher, plenty of room and not too big to park.  Personally I'd pony up a bit more for the CRV but up to you.  Whatever you choose best of luck.

 

 

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2 hours ago, piloter said:

  Most people back into parking places in Thailand and that's something I'd never done my whole life in America.  So when I bought a car here one of the requirements was a backup camera to help me learn this skill.   Now I'm a believer in back in parking..

 

This Vigo Champ I have now is my first vehicle with a built in backup camera. I wasn't so sure I'd like it, but now, I'd not want to get another car without one, especially in a SUV size vehicle. With a high tailgate there is so much stuff you just cannot see without having a camera back there. And with the way people ride Scooters over here, the chance of something/someone being back where you can't see them is pretty high. :-) 

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3 hours ago, jiz said:

Convertibles in Thailand?

You only see a few. It's just too damn hot and the thieves will rip thru that convertible top.

I love my convertible and have the top down most nights

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2 hours ago, piloter said:

  Most people back into parking places in Thailand and that's something I'd never done my whole life in America.  So when I bought a car here one of the requirements was a backup camera to help me learn this skill.   Now I'm a believer in back in parking..

 

I have done lots and lots of hours backing up, since my construction truck days, way easier to look in the side mirrors to back up, rather than over your shoulder, or camera, or rear view mirror.  Where I park now it is right next to two upright poles and I would hit them for sure with the camera only

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5 hours ago, fatjack1 said:

Long time German car owner here.  Benz, Porsche, BMW.  Bigger cars are better.  Love them.  If I ever move to Thailand no way I get one here.  Most likely is Honda CRV or Accord..  Or Toyota (I just like Honda's better not that they are better),  And buying used consider flooding in this place.  Was your used car bargain ever flooded?  New engine?  Involved in a road rage dispute with a crazed yaba addict who remembers the color and year of your car?  Nah.  Even if it costs more I'd buy new and be done with it.

At your price point your best choice IMO is the Honda HRV.  Sits up higher, plenty of room and not too big to park.  Personally I'd pony up a bit more for the CRV but up to you.  Whatever you choose best of luck.

 

 

Honda makes good vehicles and have a large dealer network.  Honda and Toyota both have good resale demand and values and newer Honda cars run on E85 fuel which at a little over 20 Baht per litre is even less than diesel.  The new Honda BR-V is a nice smaller SUV and worth a look.  About the same size as the HR-V it seems to be a bit more utilitarian to me and substantially lower than the CR-V.

Common sense is not very common.

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Pertinent precis of a conversation with my wife about 9 years go.

Me - i want a Fortuna
Her - no I don't like Toyota
Me - why not
Her - because everyone has one
Me - EXACTLY!!!??

With regard to people saying about the "Ford story" - yes its different now but its not all that long ago that it was nigh on impossible to get parts for Fords unless you waited 3/4 days. That has changed now - but the perception remains (especially with the Thais). There is currently a perception, especially among Thais, that Chevrolet are "no good". I can't comment as i have never owned one but if you go to one of the car auction houses you will immediately note that the Chevvies there sell at much lower prices than the more popular brands. As I said i have NO experience of Chevvies but would not be rushing to buy a car I was going to have issues selling in the future.

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