Thread: Which car?

Originally Posted by Airportwo

here it is set by a "cartel"!

Yep, they are sneaky fukers, that's for sure. But, even in the UK; my best mate had a second hand car lot, and the dealers were always on the phone to him, but usually with older vehicles that didn't go through their own dealer network...

Originally Posted by Airportwo

It is accepted that in the UK you will get the best price for your car by trading it in against a new car,

I never found that - a private sale was always the best option if you had the time, then go to the dealer with cash; I suppose in recent years as dealers have set up their own finance routes as a further area of profit for them that this may be less so now.

Originally Posted by Airportwo

I'm British Bettyboo

Originally Posted by rickpattaya

I am British 'BettyBoo'

Sorry gents. No insult intended.

Originally Posted by rickpattaya

Amazing Thailand.

True, and let's hope they get the price up for you - an extra 50k would be very nice indeed. Please post how you get along with the vehicle too; I'll be really interested cause I'm already bored of the Honda City I got for the missus ( I never wanted a car here, but now we have one...).

Airport2: any closer to deciding what you're gonna get?

No offence taken BB and thanks for the advice. I will of course post the results late in the week.
Airport. Whatever you decide to get, give Pattaya Ford main dealer a miss unless you are very patient man.

Cheers, Rick

Pay 100 Baht to get your car valued online: Red Book Thailand

Originally Posted by rickpattaya

Do they really believe that we are so stupid as to fall for the ridiculous games that they play.

Of course.

The greatest satisfaction however is allowing them to continue with the charade then expose it at the very end just when they think they have succeeded. The ensuing loss of face is worth all the irritation of having to deal with these child-like imbeciles.

Originally Posted by Airportwo

Rick, I have been here over 20 years now, it seems the longer I stay the more disappointed and disillusioned I become with Thai’s

I figured them out as a bunch of c*nts within the first few months of staying here.

Look on the bright side, there's loads on the board that have been here for years and still don't get it.

Cheers.

^ No problem Rick, I had an illusion of a car lot where the cars were all going to be "good uns"! reality is, it will be the same as any other. Which was why originally I wanted to buy new so I didn't have to go through dealing with the clowns, any dealings with Thai males seems to have a huge downside! so try to limit my exposure to them as much as possible.

Originally Posted by Airportwo

^ No problem Rick, I had an illusion of a car lot where the cars were all going to be "good uns"! reality is, it will be the same as any other. Which was why originally I wanted to buy new so I didn't have to go through dealing with the clowns, any dealings with Thai males seems to have a huge downside! so try to limit my exposure to them as much as possible.

I get your drift Airport, it would be a dream situation. I honestly would not buy anything here second hand, too risky.
Anyway good hunting mate and I wish you luck.

Cheers, Rck

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

I never found that - a private sale was always the best option if you had the time, then go to the dealer with cash; I suppose in recent years as dealers have set up their own finance routes as a further area of profit for them that this may be less so now.

That dealers prefered cash has always been a bit of a fallacy IMO, 25 years ago I had a Honda (motorcycle) dealership in the UK, the last thing you wanted was a cash sale, people with very little money made us far more money! The longer the term of the HP agreement the higher the percentage they had to pay back, which gave us a higher kick back from the finance company, I can' remember what it was now, but it was substantial.

I think you can actually buy a decent secondhand car in Thailand if you are willing to look. It is always better to buy from a farang that seems to take good care of the car and has some idea of preventative maintenance and engine driven machinery. I definatly would not place any Thai nationals in this category. Many of the contributors to this thread seem to be auto savy and probably have a genuine love for the automobile. Find someone that has pampered a two door beauty, stike a good price and you have solved your problem. Be patient and good luck to you.

Buying used does require some mechanical savvy.

Knowing how to spot wreck repairs and tell tale signs of a high mileage car with the odometer rolled back.

A lot of the used cars out there are corporate lease returns. Generally these are good buys. They haven't been in big wrecks and have had reasonably good maintenance. The 2000 Corolla I have was one of those, excellent car indeed.
I've had to do the brakes, cv-joints, tires, struts, but all that is cheap compared to the depreciation you get when you buy new.
Just the savings from paying new car insurance have paid for the repairs and service. In 5 years I put over 100k kms on that car and it's value has held.
It's used and the paint is getting faded, no big deal!

Got the escape and I am very happy with it. I managed to get an extra 20K from the deal, so a little happier about that as well.

Cheers, Rick

Here in US with so many cars, get a friend who is a dealer to take you to Dealer Auction, Orlando, Fl. has a (47 bays selling cars at once) 12-14,000
cars in one day. You can find any color, interior in common cars Below low NDA book value. high mileage less yet. lots of lease cars with factory warrantee left
Cars 2 or 3 year sold 1/2 of new. Real bargains Buy a car from copart.com
on line, wrecked or stolen not wrecked. Use a friends licence.
I just bought a 2000 Toyoto PU (small truck) 81K milesfor $1850 with wrecked front fender, hood headlight from aftermarket (tiwan) cost $164.
Paint 60.00 I put together & I painted . I will drive for 2 years sell for $ 4000.
never lose any money. I bought a Honda S-2000 sports car, stolen missing
headlights, (kids want them high projectial ) Leather seats, dash cluster,
I got car for 4700. Bought 2 more s-2000s for parts and sold extra engines
6 speed trans, seats, etc got my car 03 S-2000 for free value 14K then,3 yrs
ago. still have car. It is hard to go to Thailand and see how high cars cost.
Can I person buy a wrecked car from insurance co. or from wrecking yard
to fix and drive in Thailand? Sure would like to hear from somebody in the know.
Thanks so much. Also like to buy a acura 4 cyl v-tech twin cam engine
called b-18 c 170 hp and put in a 90-96 civic hatch, fast as a gt Mustang
gets 30 mpg. fun car worth about $3000-4000 whole car in US Thanks Farmer

Originally Posted by farmerfloyd

Can I person buy a wrecked car from insurance co.

Yes you can
There are auctions every month

Think we all realise that the used car market demands high prices, which is both good and bad. I sold my Tribute a couple of days ago, I had decided the lowest price I would accept was 190k, I got 390k which was an unexpected surprise.
If you have the money, new would have to be the way to go, unless you are willing to put a lot of time and effort into finding a second hand motor or are just plain lucky, dont think there are too many bargains waiting to be snapped up!
Boring Toyota closely followed by Honda appear to be the best brands!
Theres an off chance I may be lucky as the dealer who we sold the Tribute to called to say he has just bought a 2.0 Altis with 2k kilometres on it still on a red plate, that some farang bought and didnt like! maybe too good to be true, going to go see it in a few days, he is asking 840k which is a saving of +160k

Went to test drive the Honda Jazz/City and the Mazda 2 today. Impressions were as follows.

Honda City 1.5 SV AT (SBS)

They only had this model to test drive, idealy I am looking for a manual gearbox and the Jazz but they said I would have to order it, they had none to test. This model had the paddle shifters and the auto box which was interesting but... what a disappointment. The engine seemed to struggle in every gear. When I nailed it, the engine and exhaust gave out an almighty whine. The paddle switches for the gearbox are an expensive gimmick and are obstructed badly by the stalks on the steering column. The gearbox seemed confused at times when I accelerated and decelerated in traffic. The shift was jerky and not at all seamless. Ride was harsh and handling not impressive; too mechanical.
On the plus side, the spec of this model is good, it looks expensive inside and out, however if I ordered the manual version I would be stuck with cheap looking beige colour inside and limited choice of options, almost none in fact. No airbags on the base model put me off too. A car these days should have them standard, not only on the higher end models. It looks good, but looks aren't everything and I think I would get annoyed having to drive this.
This model has rear disc brakes and they make a difference. Braking is responsive and sharp, almost too much so at slower speeds. On the manual models the rear discs are drums. I also didn't like the chrome door handles on the auto models, cheapens the look of the car. No two door models available.
Prices for the City start at 534,000 for the S MT and rise to 694,000thb for the SV AT (SBS).
Prices for the Jazz are similar from 562,000thb for the S MT to 705,000thb for the top model, the SV AT(SBS).
Overall: Look great even in the basic configuration. Let down by poor ride and handling and low spec and no option on the manual models. If you are buying one you'd have to get the manual, the auto box is a total honker. No airbags on the base models until you spend 650,000thb either, so safety is an issue.


Mazda 2 1.5L Maxx Sedan AT

What is it with Thais and automatic gearboxes? There's a manual box available on the Mazda 2 (contrary to what Fresh Prince posted earlier) but damned if you'll be able to find one to test drive! First impressions of the 2 weren't that great coming straight from the Honda showroom, as it isn't as impressive visually as the City, especially in sedan configuration. The back end looks too high and sits at an almost awkward angle. Still, I am more interested in the hatchback, which wasn't available to test drive. The driving position is comfortable enough, but what is immediately apparent is this car is just so much better to drive. It feels more responsive, it is nippier, handles better and the shifting from the auto box was right on the button. Under heavy acceleration it doesn't whine, just ups the revs and gets on with the job; sure and steady.
The interior is not as good looking as the City however, it feels a bit lacking in some areas although saying that it is perfectly acceptable. The lower models come better spec as standard with better stereo systems and driver's airbag.
Prices start from 535,000thb for the Hatchback Groove Sports MT (1.5L) up to a dizzy 730,000thb for the Maxx Sports 2Navi which is a limited edition with double-din navigation system in the dash.
Overall: A solid performer especially for daily city driving, I could live with this. Again, options on the manual gearbox model are limited to colour choice only. The ride can be harsh at times due to stiff suspension but it outclasses the Honda. Leather interior could be an attractive feature but again, not available with MT.

So there you have it, I just wasted a day driving these for my missus to choose one over the other. Personally I would go for a red Mazda 2 MT hatchback. It's good value, looks stunning with black interior and is nicer to drive than the Honda.

She refuses to drive a red car however, so back to the drawing board.

Originally Posted by rickpattaya

Got the escape and I am very happy with it. I managed to get an extra 20K from the deal, so a little happier about that as well.

Well done, mate. Hope it works well for you.

Originally Posted by Airportwo

the lowest price I would accept was 190k, I got 390k which was an unexpected surprise.

Excellent news...

Originally Posted by Airportwo

If you have the money, new would have to be the way to go

Fully agree.

Originally Posted by Airportwo

Boring Toyota closely followed by Honda appear to be the best brands!

Fully agree - the best options and boring.

Originally Posted by Airportwo

he is asking 840k which is a saving of +160k

Sounds very good; maybe too good to be true???

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

Honda City 1.5 SV (SBS)

I've got that 644k.

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

Overall: Look great even in the basic configuration. Let down by poor ride and handling and low spec and no option on the manual models. If you are buying one you'd have to get the manual, the auto box is a total honker. No airbags on the base models until you spend 650,000thb either, so safety is an issue.

It's just an average city car, perfect for Bkk, but no fun to drive; easy, very easy, to drive.

Difficult to sell a manual, and a total nightmare in Bkk traffic. No way would I entertain a manual in Bkk - the traffic gets worse every day.

That's why I got the 644k model - airbags and solid brakes. The 700k model has bigger wheels (look horrible to me...), rear parking sensor (I got that free), a different stereo/consol thing (the standard stereo is very good), mirrors that automatically retract (useful, but not for 0k...). I think that's it.

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

So there you have it, I just wasted a day driving these for my missus to choose one over the other. Personally I would go for a red Mazda 2 MT hatchback. It's good value, looks stunning with black interior and is nicer to drive than the Honda.

They are not much fun it is true. Fun would be the 1.6 sport Fiesta...

FP loves his Mazda, they do seem to have personality - the Honda has none, I'd be happy to change it soon, though it does its job perfectly; a city car with a huge boot (don't underestimate how useful this big boot is), loads of rear leg room (how many folk will your car carry?) and so far excellent Honda service and reliability (obviously from a 6 month old car).

Would I get a Honda City again? Umm - yes, it's a perfect city and shopping car; but, isn't there something more interesting??? (Maybe a Focus hatchback would be my choice if I bought again, but it'd be an extra 150k, so I could get the Civic, oh for an extra 100 I could get the 2.0D Focus, but 100k more would get a Camry...) For 650k the City, Mazda 2 and Focus are good - you can't go wrong with any of the three.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Difficult to sell a manual,

Look at how many manual Honda's there are on one2car.com.

I can't find one manual 08-10 Jazz on there, you'd have the whole market to yourself.

Damn! Gutted that they've now brought out the manual gearbox mazda 2. I'd have snapped that up in a heart beat.

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

Maxx Sports 2Navi

I think I saw one of these today. First thing I noticed was that it had a completely different set of spoilers on it, but they could have been after market additions, then when I caught up to it I couldn't read what the badge on the back said. It possibly said 'Navi'.

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

Leather interior could be an attractive feature but again, not available with MT.

I'd check again with the sales girl about that because It wasn't an option on mine and they took it somewhere off site and got the job done.

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

730,000thb

This sounds about right. I paid 690,000thb and they wanted another 35,000bt for the navigation system, but as at the time it was an after market option so the finance guy wouldn't include it on the finance.

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

There's a manual box available on the Mazda 2

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

Groove Sports MT (1.5L)

Arrh, see what your saying now. Yep sorry, that version was available. I was only looking at the Maxx Sport.

I don't think the lower end models have the 'keyless' system which I now find invaluable. The keyless system will play a big deciding factor in my next car, I don't think I could go back to keys.

^ Interested to know why? thought it was just a gimmick, havn't experienced one? You must still have keys?

Originally Posted by Airportwo

^ Interested to know why? thought it was just a gimmick, havn't experienced one? You must still have keys?

It just saves a load of hassle. Yeah you still have a key fob in your pocket.



But it just stays in your pocket and never needs to come out. Saves rummaging around trying to find them. Especially if your carring something and your hands are full.

Then to get in the car, just press the black button when you pull the handle.



As long as the keyfob is within 80cm (I think) it opens.

Then to disable the immobilizer and start the car, just turn the switch.



That only works if your sat in the seat so probably about 80cm again.

The switch is removable in case the keyfobs batteries die, revealing a standard key hole.

And the keyfob breaks open to be a standard key if that happens.



It's just lazyness on my part but now I've got used to it, it would be tough to go back. Plus I always know where my keys are. In my pocket.


Oh forgot the last bit. When you close the car door you just press the button to lock it and set the alarm. The switch inside controls the immobilizer.

Would have been better if they could have done it so that when you walk away from the car it does it for you.

Looks good, I hate keys rattling around while in the ignition!

Originally Posted by The Fresh Prince

I don't think the lower end models have the 'keyless' system which I now find invaluable. The keyless system will play a big deciding factor in my next car, I don't think I could go back to keys

They have the keyless central locking but not keyless ignition.