Buying a new car in pattaya, beware!

[monsterman 0]

Here is a couple of examples off what can happen when you order a new car from a Thai main dealer.

 

Colin ordered a new Toyota Vigo 4 door pickup on Sept 27th , top of the range model, required by Toyota to pay in full in advance , 876,000 baht. Given confirmation vehicle would arrive october 19th from factory.He goes to work in Alaska (oil man) 17th October and returns 20th December .Toyota know he is away until 20th december .

His wife goes to collect pickup on 6th Decmber and finds that Toyota dealer has sold it. They say another one will be ready for collection by him on december 21, He arrives back , no new pickup and he is still waiting today. Breach of contract but toyota refuses to refund money and he does not know when new pickup will arrive.

i have heard this many times before.

 

Mike orders a new Isuzu DMAX pickup , with specific colour options and Auto Gearbox, and leather seats, he waits 2 months loger than quoted for delivery , when it arrives it is manual gearbox, no leather , wrong colour and engine size.

Isuzu do not refund him or offer to get correct order, he is still waiting for lawyers to sort it out.

 

Meechai orders new Merc c180. Cost 2.6 m baht correct spec car arrives but after 2 weeks engine throws a rod , Mercedes dealer says it is not a warranty issue ,cost of new engine 760,000 baht , he is still waiting for repairs under warranty 7 months later.

 

Thes a a few of the great customer service stories i hear from friends about local auto dealers.

 

monsterman

[LocalYokul 177]

just goes to show, only buy what you can see with your own eyes

 

now in the case of the Merc, wow, not much you can do about that, but wondering lawyers couldn't have helped him save the money on engine repair...

[groover 248]

Meechai orders new Merc c180. Cost 2.6 m baht correct spec car arrives but after 2 weeks engine throws a rod , Mercedes dealer says it is not a warranty issue ,cost of new engine 760,000 baht , he is still waiting for repairs under warranty 7 months later.

 

During the warranty time ,which is I think 2 years for a new Mercedes, it costs the dealer zero baht to repair the car because the factory refunds the reparation to the dealer as long as the car is not older two years.

 

I do wonder how Thais deal with shit like that. I read again and again reports of people who buy a new product in LOS and shops/dealers who just refuse to accept claims when the product still has factory warranty

[jm49er1 0]

I bought a new Honda Jazz last July from the Honda dealership in Pattaya and had no problems whatsoever - we had to pay a 10,000 baht deposit to order the car. They told me it would take about 4 weeks for delivery. Almost to the day they promised the car arrived. I paid the balance due and took delivery. Have had no problems - just took it in for the first 6 month check, oil change etc - The girl that sold us the car came out to greet us and took care of getting us set up with the shop for the check-up -bill was under 1000 baht

[Gary 4,100]

I have purchased three new vehicles while in Thailand. I always bought them out of the dealer's stock because I don't like waiting nor do I like any surprises. None of them have required and warranty work so I have no idea what that experience would be like. I alway serviced them where I bought them if possible. I have always found the service courteous and efficient. I had a Toyota 4X4 that was a pain in the ass, It always had something wrong with it. I bought that Toyota second hand from a former friend of mine who owed me money. I should have let him keep the money. That said, the local Toyota dealer was quite good. One problem was the air bag light wouldn't go out. The dealer had most of the panels out and most of the dash. It turned out to be a loose wire under the last door panel he removed. The whole thing took several hours. My bill was 321 baht. A flickering oil light turned out to be similar. Another loose wire and that time it was even less money because they found it quickly. I really think that if Toyota put wheels on a big turd, Toyota fans would still tell you it was great. In my opinion Toyota is the most overrated vehicle in Thailand.

[monsterman 0]

Meechai has sued the local MB dealer , the car has not been repaired yet after 8 months.It is not Mercedes benz which is the Ploplem but the dealer.

 

Toyota and Honda have recently fallen down the overall JD Power reliabilty and warranty ratings in th USA.

 

monsterman

Edited January 16, 2007 by monsterman

[aussiedoug 0]

Your mate Meechai is suing the dealer for one of two reasons:

 

a. He is silly, he should contact Mercedes Benz(Daimler Chrysler) they are in the phone book. Unless he ran it out of oil and it threw a leg out of bed he will be covered.

 

b. He bought a grey import, that is, it is not an officially imported Mercedes and maybe the dealer is not an authorised dealer, then no factory warranty. There are also vehicles from japan brought in like this.

 

How I know this, I was a reputable Mercedes dealer for 30 years, they will honour warranty, even if it is sometimes a dodgy claim by the customer.

 

Paying the Toyota dealer in advance for a vehicle is just plain stupid, do you really think any thai would do that. Again, stop fucking around with lawyers, and contact the Toyota office and speak to a JAP, not some thai underling. If a dealer is really doing what you say, they will most likely pull the franchise off the offender, and they will get it sorted for you. The Toyota company is very careful with their reputation.

 

How do I know this, I was a reputable Toyota dealer for 25 years.

Edited January 27, 2007 by aussiedoug

[torrenova 644]

I would also ruffle feathers with the top brass not the local monkeys.

[elro 0]

Meechai orders new Merc c180. Cost 2.6 m baht

 

that's quite a few baht bus rides...

[Junior 1]

hi guys,

 

I have bought a new MB C-class at the dealer in Korat. The first weeks I had some probles caused by the 19 inch wheels, but they sorted it out. Good service there.

 

The best experience I have had was with the Ford dealer in Khonkaen, great service there. I can really recommmend this place..

 

See ya

[HILLY 9]

A new Jeep and a Volvo in the last 4 years. Excellent service and no cost for small repairs. Fast as well.