Thread: The trials of buying that new car

Well they decided that they could not do the refit today as their teams are now all offsite.

So of the remaining two options they have decided to remove the film and return the deposite. Given that they now have the film as waste on the floor, so for them there is no more commercial risk than leaving the film and us not returning on the 5th. One if left wondering what their motivation is.

• As a point of principle they cannot Andre the idea of letting us leave their site with waste film we might not return to replace.... Unless we give them all their money first.
  
• The realise they are not good enough to do the job right , so there is no point trying again.
  
• They don't like lippy customers who complain about their work

All in all, it's been a complete waste of a day, and now we have to start looking for film again, obviously not this huper optik stuff.

Given that cars take 3 months to get from bkk to cm, perhaps the red plates take even longer.

Would ou put the driving through a checkpoint and pissing off pile of murderous, armed chaps with huge amounts of impunity, might show a curtain lack of imagination on the part of the driver, or is it well known that the only people who would do this are people who have enough patronage to make the lives of the police truly miserable if they did open fire?

these were just traffic cops with notebooks in their hands

no way would they get their guns out for someone "not seeing them"

as for patronage, it was only a Honda Civic so hardly someone important

Originally Posted by hazz

Given that cars take 3 months to get from bkk to cm, perhaps the red plates take even longer.

Dealers only have a certain number of red plates, one they run out, they have to wait for them to be returned when the earlier sales get their white ones.

You seem to have run into a lot of boondoggles here Hazz.

And they seem quite keen to get them back, eventually, ms hazz has to put a 10k deposit down for her red plates. They asked for a higher deposit because she's getting the white plates herself rather than paying them to do the job for her... I think they are concerned she keep the red plates for a year or more.

She's planning to register the car in 2013, to keep its value up, wait for a day with good fortune to get the white plates nd a good license number; she does not like the current 2 letter combination they are handing out at the mo as its bad luck or something.

As for the film, she got some recommendations for a good fitter and went with huper optik, fitted by some outfit down at klong toe or what ever it called. She seems much happier this time

Originally Posted by hazz

ms hazz has to put a 10k deposit

Too high.

I paid 5k deposit.

^as its a deposit, you get it back to the sum is not too much of an issue. But saying that, if she had paid the dealer to sort out the white plates (3500b), then they would have taken a 3000b deposit. I suspect that the 10k deposit is to encourage people to pay the dealer to get the white plates

I didn't bother with a red plate. It seemed a waste of time. Just drove around with no plates and told the bloke at Ford to get a wiggle on with the paperwork. Waited 3 or 4 months maybe.

Never seen anyone driving round bkk without a plate of some discription, I guess out in the sticks you cross less police districts in your life and people know each other a little bit better. I think in bkk, driving without plates will make you magnet for every bent bib out for his tea money

I got stopped in Nong Khai with no plates. He had the hump as I made him walk 30 or 40m to reach where I was stopped. He asked why I had no plates and I said he should phone the dealer. He grunted and walked off.

I paid a 5k deposit for the red plates and the white ones are free, including the dealer doing all the leg/paper work.

white plates were not something that the dealer offered for free with their cars, they did offer quite a generous range of accessories you could choose from. the others didn't either, you would have thought they all would like yous did.

still as ms hazz is a civil servant and works less than 2km from the registration office DIY white plates were probably always on the books. it will be interesting if the experience will be the usual demonstration of pointless red tape and general crap as seen at immigration or a joy of well thought out efficiency as seen when you get you driving license. she recons the white plates are same say if you take whats on offer or next day if you want to choose your number

Originally Posted by hazz

still as ms hazz is a civil servant and works less than 2km from the registration office DIY white plates were probably always on the books. it will be interesting if the experience will be the usual demonstration of pointless red tape and general crap as seen at immigration or a joy of well thought out efficiency as seen when you get you driving license. she recons the white plates are same say if you take whats on offer or next day if you want to choose your number

It's a simple process.

They inspect the vehicle. Scratch off the paint around the chassis number with a wire brush (kunts) and fuck around for 30 mins or so. They you go to the office and they give your number. The plates turned up a week or so later. There were 2 guys from ford who made sure everything happened as it should for their customers.

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

I didn't bother with a red plate. It seemed a waste of time.

I always thought red plates were kept on for face gaining - " its a new car"

Your car is not registered until you get the white plates, if you keep the red plates for a year, then the paper work says the car is a year younger than it really is. Ms hazz is waiting for the new year, so the car is a 2013 car and not a 2012 car. You also avoid paying car tax whilst you have a red plate.

But i guess your right he primary reason for keeping the red plates is medical, the treatment of he crippling syndrome fragile ego

Originally Posted by hazz

then the paper work says the car is a year younger than it really is.

Easy to look online for the real manufacture date of any vehicle. Not that it makes much difference, as the price of 2nd hand cars here is a joke, especially if you have a boring piece of crap in silver.

Didn't get silver

They are not even in boring silver. It is worse, boring f-g grey!

most cars are boring anyway

just utilitarian household objects

Better half is still waiting for luck license numbers to become available and its government budget season so she's hasn't got the time to do the paper work anyway.

However, I am quite surprised by the car, we are using about one third of the petrol that we were with the old car.

On short trips of 2-4km and when we are stuck in bad traffic we are getting 14-23 km/l

On longer trips on the mail roads where we are getting relatively consistent speeds of 40-60km/hr we are getting 20-30km/l

On the intercity expressways where were getting 100+km/hr, where the car eventually stops being a hybrid, we are getting a fairly consistent 24-26km/l

Originally Posted by hazz

Your car is not registered until you get the white plates, if you keep the red plates for a year, then the paper work says the car is a year younger than it really is. Ms hazz is waiting for the new year, so the car is a 2013 car and not a 2012 car. You also avoid paying car tax whilst you have a red plate.

But i guess your right he primary reason for keeping the red plates is medical, the treatment of he crippling syndrome fragile ego

Doesn't matter when your car is registered. The date of manufacture is on the compliance plate.