Thread: Old Chevy vs. new Triton

I didn't want to write this earlier as I was afraid the deal sounds to good to be true and would falter somewhere along the way. But since yesterday it's done so here's the story:

On Tuesday I send our driver to the local Chevy dealer for the regular service of our delivery car.
As this car is required to work faultless on a daily basis (even the services have to be scheduled very carefully) it is taken care of and serviced quite well.

Nevertheless, It developed a very strange noise in 1st, 3rd and 5th gear lately, that got me to think that the transmission might be f...ed.

And certainly I received a call from the Dealer to come in - as there are some problems with the car. On arrival they showed me the screw that is opened to release the transmission oil. It was caked with metal dust.
I was informed that I could get a refurbished trans in exchange for 140.000 Baht.
I told them to do the required service and not to worry about the trans for now as I would go out shopping...

So I did and visited every dealer in town that offers anything resembling a vehicle, that at least with modification could be used as a delivery car.
Due to flood and the model change over at 4 major players I was getting quite disheartened on my round - as I got the feeling I would wait at least 4 month for a car.

What felt like the very last stop was a tiny Mitsubishi dealer who would have been able to supply a car within 2 weeks.
I thought the price of 428.000 was very reasonable.
Asked what they would give me for the Chevy, 4 years old and with 92.000kms on the clock they made a phone call and told me 250.000 Baht.
Now that sounded pretty sweet.
The difference between my old banger and that a sparkling new Triton would be a 178.000 Baht, from which I deducted 140.000 which I was expected to pour into the old one to fix it up. (140.000 at the very least!)
That left 38.000 Baht. I guess a no-brainer.

Now many will say, you could go and get a 2nd hand transmission for a lot less.
The bloke in the garage said the same.
But as stated above, that car is required to run. So no experiments. Especially since
the same Chevy shop took 3 attempts on fixing a clutch. On the 3rd they had the engine and transmission out in order to do so. (And I think that is where the trouble really started.) So I wouldn't trust this guys with more than an oil change.

Anyhow, since the Mitsu dealer was small and new, they didn't even have a show room sample, so I told the driver to stop by at the bigger Mitsubishi center 7kms along the road.
They had one very last single cab on the floor for immediate taking, all prepared with liner, window foil, matts etc, but wanted to see the Chevy in the flesh.
Because it was almost 5 and time to pick up the Chevy from the service, I called it a day and back we went.
The Guy on the garage reminded me to be careful with the transmission to which I almost replied that I already bought a new car. But I bit on my tongue as I didn't want him to call around, asking who's so stupid to trade that thing in.

The next morning we rocked up in the Chevy and they came up with 180.000 Baht trade in value. After 1 hour of haggling (actually it felt more like pretending to haggle) we stood at 210.000. I left, willing to return the dealer form the day before and sign the contract. My driver however, an avid Mitsubishi fan took me in the opposite direction, where he know one more Mitsubishi dealer. ( Yeah, that's right 3 dealers for the same brand on a 12 km stretch of road.)

Those guys, even being presented with the Chevy in the flesh, matched the 250.000 instantly, but told me they would need my car right away, while I would have to wait 4 weeks for the new one.
As stated above that was impossible and so they started to make a phone call.
The lady on the phone did some obvious acting, as the whole staff around had to restrain themselves to stop from bursting into tears.
On entering the premisses I had noticed 2 single cabs waiting for collection by their new proud owners.
After 2 minutes of phone call they told me I could have one of those right away.
I agreed and told them to go through that LPG modification they offered for 35.000 Baht, if they keep the full warranty.
They agreed and yesterday, 3 days later we picked up the new car.
I signed all the docs and got the provisional number. They suggested I wait till January for the final number as the car would then show a 2012 first registration in the book. (!?)

Since the car is a company car, I will have to let the accounting company work out how much of a VAT return I will get. (As much as I'm aware I'm supposed to charge VAT on the resold Chevy.)
My calculator shows something like 11.760 based on the price difference.
That leaves an 26.000 Baht net investment for the upgrade...

I cant really comment mate except green sent for a good read

It's sounds like you've done really well. Good on ya.

seems like a very good deal, where are the dealers mentioned? My Triton is due to be renewed soon.

Originally Posted by amazon777

I was informed that I could get a refurbished trans in exchange for 140.000 Baht.



Asked what they would give me for the Chevy, 4 years old and with 92.000kms on the clock

Out of warranty i assume ?

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Were the garage that bought your Checy piece of shite aware that the transmission was fuked???

If yes, then I suspect that it wasn't fuked at all... probably an easy/cheap fix.

He/She mentions a clutch, if so a manual box aint worth anything near 140k........

They been giving away Mitsu's for the last few years! after you buy them on ''0''% finance they give you another discount!

The Wife brought a us Isuzu 2 year ago at Bangkok Auto Show, only 2.5 Lt [ I wanted the Auto and bigger engine ] but never looked back.

I dont let Her Family drive it as I've seen the way they change gear or some times Don't change when they should!

reminds me, Driving in 5th in slow traffic stuffs the Box, big problem in Toyota's in Oz, $5000.00 + to replace transmission in Land Cruiser.

cost and simplicity is why we don't see many Auto's in Pick-up's in Asia, I prefer a Auto any day

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Were the garage that bought your Checy piece of shite aware that the transmission was fuked???

If yes, then I suspect that it wasn't fuked at all... probably an easy/cheap fix.

If not, then they will be coming back to you very soon...

Either way, you seem to think that you have done a great deal. These people are in the business of selling you a new car and fuking you over with a part-exchange; they've been doing so for years and years and are fully aware what they are up to. I suspect that you do not have full insight into the details.

If something seems too good to be true, then...

Nonetheless, good luck with your new vehicle; it's always nice to get a new motor.

I don't think that any of us can fault a car dealer - anywhere in the world.
And surely he's done good on this deal - twice.
1st he sold a new car at list price.
2nd he bought a 2nd hand car, that will appear on the market with a 80.000 Baht mark up shortly. (Fixed or not is up to his sales skill.)

He had every chance to check and test drive the car, as it was standing on his lot for an hour, his staff had a look at it and appraised it.
20m further he has 14 car lifts in his work shop and a lot of (qualified?) mechanics.
He took the car on looks alone and was busting so much for that deal, that he kept another customer waiting for his new ride.

When the first Mitsu dealer offered 250.000, they didn't even see the car. They asked for the year if was made and after a short phone call came back with the price. What if I would have delivered a crash victim with half the front missing?
So I guess they would have made good on the deal even if i would have dragged in that car on a tow truck.
A quick look at several used car websites seems to confirm that.

Now for anybody hoping to pick up that piece and getting away with fixing the clutch, because I mentioned it in my post...
Sorry, no luck.
The clutch was replaced a couple of month ago and when the problems persisted, the engine and transmission were taken out. I was in overseas around that time so haven't got the full picture, but even then the conclusion was that the problem is actually the transmission. (And yes, I've paid for the new clutch just weeks before.)

Anyhow, I'm aware that a good mechanic should be able the fix a transmission in a matter of hours. After all, its a very simple mechanical part.
But with this local dealer as inept as I experienced, and me not willing or able to shop around Pattaya or Bangkok for somebody who "might" be able to do it cheaper, the only option was to get rid of the car and get a new one.
Whatever way of action would have been taken, I'd be bleeding money.

I wanted to trade it in - as I would certainly not spend my days trying to shift it myself.
So, I'm glad that I escaped a scalping this week - twice.
First for the Transmission swap and then on the trade in.

Of course I would have preferred for the old Chevy to soldier on for another couple of years. That would certainly have been the cheapest option - as I'm still 180.000 Baht lighter in my pocket, one way or the other.
But under the circumstances, yes I thin I did well.

Originally Posted by mingmong

reminds me, Driving in 5th in slow traffic stuffs the Box, big problem in Toyota's in Oz, $5000.00 + to replace transmission in Land Cruiser.

cost and simplicity is why we don't see many Auto's in Pick-up's in Asia, I prefer a Auto any day

Here we could be onto something.
All my drivers love to do that.
If I drive with them and have a look at the rev counter - because they are so slow that the whole car is shuddering with every single combustion- they think, that I think, they are wasting my diesel and let the revs drop even further.

Originally Posted by oxyjohn

seems like a very good deal, where are the dealers mentioned? My Triton is due to be renewed soon.

All along Sukhumvit Road in Rayong.
The small one is slightly out of town towards Maptaphut.
The biggest and stingy one is next to Home Pro.
The one who got the deal is opposite Tesco Lotus.

They're both utter rubbish, but good luck.

Originally Posted by amazon777

He had every chance to check and test drive the car, as it was standing on his lot for an hour, his staff had a look at it and appraised it.

It's your obligation to inform him, and you likely signed paperwork to this effect.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Originally Posted by amazon777

He had every chance to check and test drive the car, as it was standing on his lot for an hour, his staff had a look at it and appraised it.

It's your obligation to inform him, and you likely signed paperwork to this effect.

BB, you almost got me worried.
Its Thailand after all.
But I went in yesterday and handed him a VAT receipt (on his 250k) which he called my office for.
Together with the fact that the he signed paperwork, that I gave him a 250k deposit (which is what he "paid" for the car), it would become quite a task to untangle that deal.
And exactly that was the idea with the trade in.

So, lets knock on wood.