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Buying a new car in Thailand


Toy Boy

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The below post was made many years ago by Tommy Dee, or Secrets Tom as he was back then, on the Secrets board. I thought it was useful as I was looking at buying a car, so I kept a copy. I thought it would be worthwhile reposting it here as it's mostly still valid, I think. I'm sure anything that no longer applies will quickly be pointed out. Anyway, here it is, credit to Tommy Dee.

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This is gonna be a long one, so look away if you it is of no interest to you. I just bought a new truck here. I have been “in the trade” for 30 years and was amazed at the way it works, which I investigated. And I saved 80K off the sticker price .

New Car Buying System in Thailand Explained

Where ever your mother country is, the likelihood is that the car buying experience here will be significantly different than at home. Car Prices are higher and they actually retain their value. Wandering into some dealership with your latest rental on your arm, pointing at one and saying “same same” may work for you, but understanding their process here will save you a bunch of money.

In the States or the UK or where ever, you go to a main dealer and they will have from 100-500 vehicles in stock, new and used, for you to choose from, the dealer will usually have them on a “stocking plan” which means he pays the maker or a finance company to “rent” his stock until its sold. The result it that he will have plenty to choose from. Thailand is different ( no surprises there then).

Thai Dealers will have perhaps 10 new units on show, and not a single used one for sale. But they have a central manufacturer’s storage location in most areas that they draw stock from. So if you choose a white one with pink stripes, they can either “locate” the unit locally from Manufacturer’s stock, or order it from the factory to your specs ( as in the US.. factory Order).

In your mind you need to split the difference between Thai built and imported cars. The import tax on imports ( to protect Thai work forces) is very high which is why you can see a 20 year old shit box merc or Volvo that would make £200 in the UK.. for 150-200K bath.

Thai built cars are well constructed and in my opinion ( 30 years in the business) some of the best vehicle on the road. The only reason that a buyer will choose an import is to feel “special” or make a statement that “I have big money”, that’s really it. Now there is nothing wrong with that, its your baht, but “prestige” is the only motivation for such an excessive expense. And its worth remembering that 1st class (fully comp) insurance here only covers a new vehicle up to 80% of its replacement cost! Yes folks, that’s how it works, don’t believe me, call your agents J

Just as in your home country, the salesman will try and sell what he can deliver quickly, he wants his commission, and that works for me, but if you are selective, don’t be pushed, he can order to “your” requirements.

Just like at home he will quickly throw in some “gifts” as “special promotion” or what ever. You will ALWAYS get a years full insurance, free registration and first years tax, this is not special to you trust me, and the first 30K bath they give you off the window price… that’s given away faster than a hooker drops her pants. The deal has just started.. trust me!

There are two major parts to the deal, the new vehicle and the trade in. these are completely separate deals. You are doing TWO deals when you trade in.. lets look at negotiating the new price first.

Its in our nature to negotiate each option separately, trying to get the best price. Forget that! Choose your car and get them to write down the basic price, together with the discount ( which will be 30K BTW that’s their standard “walk thru the door” offer to all unless you look like real easy prey).

Then let them suggest the options. Don’t say a word, just smile and let them add them. Only when its finished and they total it up, mention that it’s a little too expensive.

This is the trick, they will discount for “you” FROM THE BASIC PRICE ( so if the basic car was a Mill, they discounted you 30K , now they will discount you another 10-20 off the BASE PRICE). Now you can delete options that were added at your discretion. The revised base price has now been written down! There that was easy wasn’t it!

Now, when you first went in, they looked, thru the window, at your trade in and promised you a high price didn’t theyhahaha... its of no consequence to them, they don’t buy used cars, and they wont be buying yours either. Once you come to “buying time” they will call a trader in who will crawl over your car and revalue it, at a much lower price, pointing out whats wrong with it.

The first price was a bait, to keep you on the hook. This is now reality, we are talking real money here, not pipe dreams. THE TRADER IS BUNGING THE DEALER A COMMISSION THAT YOU ARE PAYING. REMEMBER THIS.. YOU ARE PAYING THE DEALER A COMMISSION TO BUY A NEW CAR FROM HIM NOW!!!

f**k that! Cal your thai friends or PM me, I can give you the number of a few of these traders, they will do the deal direct and save you upwards of… that lovely 30K you were discounted on the new car.. for your trade in. BUT YOU STILL WILL GET THE DISCOUNT ON THE NEW CAR.

Since the trade in ( part exchange) and new car sales are NOT RELATED in any way, you can sit back as they write down their “appraised value” for your old car on the paperwork.

IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT THE FIGURES ARE.. at this stage, this is just their offer to sell, you are not commited. Sit back and look like a sap, an easy sale. The crunch is gonna come soon….

Now.. heres an example of a deal. IF THEY HAVENT WRITTEN IT DOWN YET IS BECAUSE THEY WANT YOU TO BE CONFUSED .. ask for a sheet of paper and write your own deal down with them ( seriously)

NEW CAR…1,000,000
Initial discount (30,000)
Extra special discount (25000)

TOTAL NEW CAR PRICE 945,000

INCLUDING ( “freebees”) 1 year 1st class insurance, tax, registration, floor mats, tinted glass, window spoilers, rear spoiler kit, furry dice)

LESS TRADE IN..300,000 baht

PLUS..( which you may or may not buy.. up to you)

Chrome door handles..5k
Power bed lid 35K
Upgrade CD Player 35K
Etc etc.


Now tell them you don’t want the extras “just yet” as you are working on a budget but may buy later. YOU WILL STILL GET THE ADDED DISCOUNT.

NOW TELL THEM you may trade your old car in or you may give it to your son/daughter/wife/gerbil. but you will let them know while they get the new car ready over the next few days ( so if you get offered less for it which is unliely.. you have their offer on the table still)

SO YOU WRITE DOWN the bottom line prices with and without the trade in and without all the extras

They will agree, but that will take up to an hour. Who cares, you just saved a bunch of money.

Next call the trader, or me for their number. Your 300k offer will suddenly become 330-350, ( trust me)

You JUST SAVED an extra 80K bath over and above the 30K they will always give you, and got a bunch of free items that are worth a lot.

I don’t know if this makes sense, I have written it in a hurry, but I just wiped about 80K off the window price of my new truck and got a bunch of freebees. Yes I had to work, it took 5 hours with the dealer and a few visits from the traders, but that’s a good deal of money to me.

Remember, just cos they smile and she has nice tits, she is a salesperson. They see you as an easy target. Do you think the intelligent Thais pay sticker prices???

REMEMBER: if the dealership wont play ball.. go to another dealer. I covered 5 before I got the deal I was happy with!

Edited by Toy Boy
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21 minutes ago, Pumpuynarak said:

Chance would be fine thing lol, when i bought my Fort 12 years ago it cost 20K GBP at the then xchange rate of 75 bht to the GBP,  the exact same Fort would now cost 45K !!!

I think i'll wait lol

 Yeah xrates are pain in the arse, am thinking of moving less money over and financing the rest..... or just buy 2nd hand.

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43 minutes ago, tommy dee said:

-i bought the fab mobile then, what 9 yrs ago.  120K on the clock and still going strong.  no one but me has driven more than 100 clicks at any one time in it.  few things need doing  but a bloody good truck/wheel barrow/ash tray

Good to hearTom, likewise i got the best all round car i've ever had, i love it, a Fortuner 3 litre turbo diesel, 2 or 4 wheel drive, 165k on the clock, nearly 13yo and looks and drives brill, only TWO problems in the time i've had it the alternator packed in cost 500bht to sort and i've had new shockers on the rear.

I'll get another one in a heartbeat cos i can drive it to Bangers or an Isaan village in comfort. I've had a Ferrari, M3, SLK Merc, Audi TT, TVR, Escort Cossie but this one beats the lot.     

Edited by Pumpuynarak
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  • 2 weeks later...

I also got the Fortuner 5 years ago.  It's basically the Rab 4 comfort package on the super tough hilux truck chasis.  We only drive around 12,000km/yr so assuming no accidents this could be the last vehicle I have to buy.

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13 hours ago, tko said:

I also got the Fortuner 5 years ago.  It's basically the Rab 4 comfort package on the super tough hilux truck chasis.  We only drive around 12,000km/yr so assuming no accidents this could be the last vehicle I have to buy.

Great vehicle init, i can't quite believe how good it still looks and drives even after nearly 13 years but i don't abuse cars and have it serviced ever 6 months by the main Toyota dealer in Korat. I've never ever had a car this long in my life but there's no justification in changing it particularly when you consider how much it will cost to change, think exchange rate, when i bought in 2007 it cost 20K GBP at the then 75bht to the GBP, now to replace it would cost 43K GBP !!!

Admittedly when i bought it cost 1.5M bht and is now 1.7M bht but that increase is only to be expected, like you i think it could be the last vehicle i need to buy judging by how its wearing.

Edited by Pumpuynarak
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fortuna was the best back then,.  as with all the SUV  they are basically the same chassis as the pickups BUT with one big difference.  coil springs in the rear, whereas the pickups have leaf springs.  i wish i could swap to coil in the fabmobile/pickup.  but other than that,  my car/wheelbarrow/boat has been the best.  had it wrapped last year as the wite paint was beingcoming absorbant.  sun, hand great and poor paint quailty will do that.  the wrap ws around 23K.  its bulletproof

 

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1 hour ago, tommy dee said:

had it wrapped last year as the wite paint was beingcoming absorbant.  sun, hand great and poor paint quailty will do that.  the wrap ws around 23K.  its bulletproof

and that is a great idea Tom, you might not be aware/remember but Gogolover had his SLK done, it looked the dogs bollox.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Late to this thread, good info here when buying in LOS. When I got married in 2016, we drove the wifes BMW around, I just wanted my own wheels though. So in Sept 2016, convinced her to work with me and we bought a Honda CRV for me. Used from the dealership, never had an SUV before, was skeptical at first, but I had to give it up, great piece of machinery at the end of the day. I could not have got that deal without wifeys Thai language skills and negotiation tactics. 

Fortuner, Mitsubishi Pajero, all of the Japanese SUV's get high marks for sure. 

I do think the Range Rover will be my next purchase though LOL!  Great price huh? 

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34 minutes ago, Yessongs said:

Late to this thread, good info here when buying in LOS. When I got married in 2016, we drove the wifes BMW around, I just wanted my own wheels though. So in Sept 2016, convinced her to work with me and we bought a Honda CRV for me. Used from the dealership, never had an SUV before, was skeptical at first, but I had to give it up, great piece of machinery at the end of the day. I could not have got that deal without wifeys Thai language skills and negotiation tactics. 

Fortuner, Mitsubishi Pajero, all of the Japanese SUV's get high marks for sure. 

I do think the Range Rover will be my next purchase though LOL!  Great price huh? 

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The price of that Rangerover is over 3 x what it would cost to put it on the road in the UK.

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14 hours ago, Horizondave said:

The price of that Rangerover is over 3 x what it would cost to put it on the road in the UK.

Not only that but the Range Rover has some serious mechanical issues which won't be helped by the state of the roads in this country.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/7995497/range-rovers-most-unreliable-car-suspension-brakes-problems-new-data/

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  • 1 month later...

Not every dealer will give you easily a discount. Nissan is taking of a wopping 80k off a X-trail without asking but Honda cars are selling like hotcakes and there will be a strong NO when you ask for a cash discount, after the sales staff listed all the free extras.

But there is still some room, if you come up with the right point, such as an upcoming motor show (there are 2 each year in BKK), where cash discounts of 40k are common for a middle class car. In my case the Honda sales manager phoned his boss when I mentioned the December motorshow and was offered a 30k discount if I signed the same day.  

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 9/10/2019 at 4:26 PM, Yessongs said:

Late to this thread, good info here when buying in LOS. When I got married in 2016, we drove the wifes BMW around, I just wanted my own wheels though. So in Sept 2016, convinced her to work with me and we bought a Honda CRV for me. Used from the dealership, never had an SUV before, was skeptical at first, but I had to give it up, great piece of machinery at the end of the day. I could not have got that deal without wifeys Thai language skills and negotiation tactics. 

Fortuner, Mitsubishi Pajero, all of the Japanese SUV's get high marks for sure. 

I do think the Range Rover will be my next purchase though LOL!  Great price huh? 

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My sister has just bought her husband a new Range Rover Vogue, V8 diesel with every extra added, Bose stereo, full white leather and 2 video screens in the back seats etc.
He drove it twice and it’s now been back in the dealership for over month with starter faults. Well north of £100K for a car that doesn’t work. At least they were given a replacement RR to run around in. 

 

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40 minutes ago, KhunDon said:

My sister has just bought her husband a new Range Rover Vogue, V8 diesel with every extra added, Bose stereo, full white leather and 2 video screens in the back seats etc.
He drove it twice and it’s now been back in the dealership for over month with starter faults. Well north of £100K for a car that doesn’t work. At least they were given a replacement RR to run around in. 

 

Range Rovers (Chelsea tractors 😂😂😂)  are known since a few years for very bad reliability in the UK and overseas.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-7680649/amp/The-65-000-Range-Rover-Sport-reliable-new-car-buy.html

 

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7 hours ago, KhunDon said:

My sister has just bought her husband a new Range Rover Vogue, V8 diesel with every extra added, Bose stereo, full white leather and 2 video screens in the back seats etc.
He drove it twice and it’s now been back in the dealership for over month with starter faults. Well north of £100K for a car that doesn’t work. At least they were given a replacement RR to run around in. 

From

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to 

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OMG!

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I have no brand loyalty. I think all the Thai built vehicles are quite good. The only advantage in buying an import is the big face value. I don't have to impress anyone. I bought a new top of the line Isuzu three years ago. Four wheel drive and three liter diesel. They had a special deal that if your family drives an Isuzu, they give an additional 45,000 baht discount in addition to a regular decent discount. The only drawback is that it had to be in my wife's name. Anyways it cost 866,000 baht out the door including some goodies and a years insurance.It has been flawless and I really like it. Great fuel economy and lots of power.

Two years ago I bought my wife a new vehicle. She had a top of the line Ford Focus Ghia. (1.3 million baht) She hated it from the day I bought it. This time I told her to buy whatever she wanted so I wouldn't have to hear her complain. I did limit her choice by giving her a budget of 800,000 baht. After taking a month or so to decide, I was surprised that she chose another Ford. She likes her Ford Eco-sport. It too is top of the line and she was finally able to get the price down to 800,000 baht. She likes the idea that it has a lot of ground clearance and she sits higher than in a car. She never did like the low slung Focus and never felt safe in it.

She really wanted a Mitsubishi Pajero but no way was I going to pay the 1.4 million price. In the future she may get another new vehicle but I think my Isuzu will last until I am no longer able to drive. I bought my last pickup new in 2004. It was a Nissan Frontier and I still have it. It serves as her farm truck.

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