New Car

[Gonzo 419]

I think I need my frontal lobes checked sooner than later. Do you need another residence certificate, like you do when you get a Thai drivers licence, when you buy a new car?

 

Which car would you prefer, a Honda City or a Toyota Vios? I have driven the Toyota Vios, which drives very well with plenty of head room, but does not look as good as the Honda City. Is there enough head and leg room for my 6'2'' medium built frame in a Honda City? If not, the Honda Civic will be another option being a larger car. Is the Toyoya dealer diagonally across from the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital the best Toyota dealer and a reputable dealer in Pattaya?

 

What is the Honda dealer next to the hospital like? Is it possible to get a car from their show rooms at short notice instead of having to wait for three month to have the car deliverd?

 

Thanks for any sensible answers and ideas about similar medium sized cars are welcome. I am not really interested in larger cars or trucks, but could be inclined to show some interest in a Toyota Vigo 3.0, 2 wheel drive diesel.

 

I just want the car to drive around town. For longer distances I will still use the train or a plane.

 

I want to have a look at a car as soon as possible, as I am nearly well after a week at home with a rather bad case of a head cold or flue.

[short 215]

I recommend the Honda S2000 for daily commuting.

[thegrogmonster 111]

Hi Gonzo,

 

I have no idea what paperwork you need to have when buying a car.

 

Every year I hire a car for 5 weeks and the last couple of years we have ended up with a Toyota Vios. They are a great little car for every day use and quite good to drive. The only thing that I find wrong with them is that the driver's seat is not that comfortable. I always drive from Pattaya to Udon Thani and after a couple of hours or so I start getting a sore back. I have never had this problem with any other sort of car.

 

Cheers,

Groggy

[turboman 0]

Hi GM, I had the same problem with a sore back when I had the Honda Jazz, but with the Vigo now no probs. What I did get was a seat cover which is made up of small wooden beads which suprisingly helps when driving long distances

[Fondles 94]

Unless you have a work permit yes you will need a residency certificate from Immigration.

 

EDIT: What visa are you on ???

For some reason I have a sneaking suspicion you cannot purchase a car on a tourist visa, I may well be wrong though, maybe ask at immi when you go up there for the res cert.

Edited April 26, 2010 by Fondles

[LocalYokul 217]

I think I need my frontal lobes checked sooner than later. Do you need another residence certificate, like you do when you get a Thai drivers licence, when you buy a new car?

 

yes, just like Fondles stated

 

 

Is there enough head and leg room for my 6'2'' medium built frame in a Honda City? If not, the Honda Civic will be another option being a larger car.

I thought the City was just the new name for the Civic

 

Just like Vios is the new model name for the old Soluna & Altis is the new Corolla

[LocalYokul 217]

damn, they still have the Civic,

 

jazz, city, civic, accord, CRV & something called Freed

[Fondles 94]

Honda City and jazz share the same platform, leg room...Hmmm, when I had my city (09 model) I used to give a 6'3" 160kg work mate a lift home from work on occassions, he was pleasantly surprised at the amount of room in the vehicle, he did not drive it however.

[LocalYokul 217]

http://www.thaivisa.com/own_car_thailand.0.html

 

"

A foreigner who wants to buy a car and register it in his name, must hold a non-immigrant visa and either a work permit or a proof-of-address document from the Immigration Office.

"

[Gonzo 419]

Hi Gonzo,

 

I have no idea what paperwork you need to have when buying a car.

 

Every year I hire a car for 5 weeks and the last couple of years we have ended up with a Toyota Vios. They are a great little car for every day use and quite good to drive. The only thing that I find wrong with them is that the driver's seat is not that comfortable. I always drive from Pattaya to Udon Thani and after a couple of hours or so I start getting a sore back. I have never had this problem with any other sort of car.

 

Cheers,

Groggy

Hi Groggy, I met an English guy a few days ago and he rents a Toyota Vios from the Dusit Thani Hotel reception at the special rate of THB 20000 per month. He also drives upcountry and is full of praise of the VIOS. I picked up a price list at a the Carrfour supermarket a while ago, where some Toyotas were on display. There is a choice of 9 different models, starting with the lowest priced VIOS 1.5 litre J/5M (NO ABS) at THB 504 000 to the highest-priced VIOS 1.5 S/A LIMITED at THB 709 000. I would probably pick up any of those models in between, as long as there are automatic in this shit traffic and can be bought at short notice from the show room and not with a waiting period of three month, when I have to do a trip back to Australia.

Cheers

Gonzo

[Sammy 30]

If you are looking at the Vios and City you should throw the Mazda 3 into the mix. I think it is a nicer and better car than both the Vios and City.

[Gonzo 419]

Hi GM, I had the same problem with a sore back when I had the Honda Jazz, but with the Vigo now no probs. What I did get was a seat cover which is made up of small wooden beads which suprisingly helps when driving long distances

I will consider buying a 4-door Toyota VIGO 3.0 diesel, despite not needing a pick-up, or HILUX utility, the name of the same car in Australia. I had a HILUX 1983 model, which I sold after 15 years with 300 000 km on the clock. It only had the 2 wheel drive version, with a 4 speed manual gear box and a petrol engine. I used to drive on some very rough roads and seldom got bogged. There was always the old Tirfor winch to get me out of trouble went I went bush.

[doolish 14]

Hi,

Bought a Toyota Soluna Vios, automatic, three years ago, 5 year or 100,000K warranty. Disc brakes all round, don't know why they still put drum brakes on back wheels. You can adjust the drivers seat ie. recline, lumber knee height etc. tinted windows, and side windows mirror finish, for coolness, and very comfortable to drive. The longest I have driven, non stop, except for a petrol stop, is from Udon Thani to Pattaya, in under 8 hours, and I'm 70 now. Clocked over 60,000K since I've had it and not had any trouble with it. Still the orig. tyres, brakes etc.

All in all a very good car and would recommend it to anyone. I had to have a automatic because of problems with left arm, I was never keen on autos but this model has changed my way of thinking. Toyota was offering interest free H.P. so I took that, they do there own finance, at my home bank I was getting a good interest rate so kept that money there. Put the car in wife's name so that saved a lot of hassle.

Cheers Doug.

If you have decided on a model, hire a similar model for a few day and give it a good test. Not just around the block.

Edited April 26, 2010 by doolish

[Gonzo 419]

Unless you have a work permit yes you will need a residency certificate from Immigration.

 

EDIT: What visa are you on ???

For some reason I have a sneaking suspicion you cannot purchase a car on a tourist visa, I may well be wrong though, maybe ask at immi when you go up there for the res cert.

The last time I came on a tourist visa was 10 years ago. I have been getting a Non Immigrant O multiple entry visa ever since, which is good for up to 15 month, if you time it right. I prefer the visa runs every 90 days to the hassles with the officious Thai Immigration officials at Soi 5. I do two trips to my home in Australia twice a year, which count as visa runs as well and do another 2 visa runs to the Cambodian border twice a year.

 

Thanks for confirming what Local Yokul said, the requirement of a resident certificate in Thailand, which I will get tomorrow from the Immigration Office in Jomtien Soi 5 after getting a letter from a doctor at a clinic confirming that I am in good shape. The last time I was required to get a certificate from the Immigration office, I needed 3 copies of the picture pages of my passport, 3 copies of the page with my Non Immi O visa, 3 copies of my departure card and two letters from the doctor for the 5 year car and the 5 year bike licence.

 

The Immigration official also asked me for a copy of my chanote from the condo and a copy of the tabien baan house book. I did not have my tabien baan copy and she graciously let me off with a reprimand, without having to go back to the condo to get a copy. All the other people I know were never asked for the Tabien baan and chanote copy and still got their residency paper. Most of them don't even have a chanote or a tabien baan. They sure know how to fuck you around at the Thai Immigration Office in Soi 5. That is another reason why I prefer to do visa runs every 90 days, instead of getting a retirement extension.

[LocalYokul 217]

a retirement visa would meaning coming to Imm. only once/year, don't you think that's a decent option ?

there is of course the issue of having to have money in a Thai bank or being able to show monthly income of what they consider sufficient to survive in LOS for a year.

[MM 6,562]

Gonzo, I have a 2009 Honda City, am 6' tall, and find it a bit of a contortion to get into and out of the driver's seat.

 

At a minimum, go to the showroom and try entering and exiting from the driver seat a few times.

 

Also, I was very happy with the treatment and service at the Honda dealer north of BP Hospital. There is a sales guy there, a look krung, named Landon, who speaks very good English and can help you during the purchase.

 

In my case, I financed the car. I think a work permit and income statement is required for that.

 

As I recall, the wait was 1 week for the car to arrive.

 

If I were doing it again, I'd go with the Civic or some larger car.

[Gonzo 419]

I thought the City was just the new name for the Civic

 

Just like Vios is the new model name for the old Soluna & Altis is the new Corolla

Locul Yokul, You got this one wrong mate. The Honda City is a smaller car and has a 1.5 litre engine. The price of the Honda City starts at around THB 600 000. The Honda Civic is a larger car with a 1.6 litre engine and starts at around THB 800 00, I was told by a Thai woman down below in the car park. She bought the new 2010 model a few days ago, naturally on hire purchase. She bought a black Honda Civic straight from the show room and it took only 4 days before the car was delivered. I hope I will be so lucky, but there is no way I will buy a black car. I don't understand the Thai love affair with black cars in a tropical climate. You get into a black car after it is parked in the sun and you will sweat like a pig until the aircon kicks in sufficiently after a few minutes. You never have the same problem in a white car. We unloaded hundreds of cars every couple of months from Japanese or Korean car carriers and I sure know the differenc between a dark and a light-coloured car after it has been standing in the sun.

 

My Toyota price list lists includes 5 models of CAMRY, 4 models of INNOVA, 6 models of WISH?, 11 models of NEW COROLLA ALTIS, 9 models of VIOS, 3 models of AVANZA, 8 models of YARIS, 3 models of APHARD?, 5 models of FORTUNER, 12 models of DOUBLE CAB, 11 models of SMART CAB, 6 models of VIGO and 4 models of COMMUTER VANS. So you could be a bit mistaken here as well. Never mind, thanks for your input.

[Gonzo 419]

If you are looking at the Vios and City you should throw the Mazda 3 into the mix. I think it is a nicer and better car than both the Vios and City.

Many people are saying the Mazda 2 and 3 are better cars. I don't like the bubble shape of the Mazda cars.

[Gonzo 419]

Gonzo, I have a 2009 Honda City, am 6' tall, and find it a bit of a contortion to get into and out of the driver's seat.

 

At a minimum, go to the showroom and try entering and exiting from the driver seat a few times.

 

Also, I was very happy with the treatment and service at the Honda dealer north of BP Hospital. There is a sales guy there, a look krung, named Landon, who speaks very good English and can help you during the purchase.

 

In my case, I financed the car. I think a work permit and income statement is required for that.

 

As I recall, the wait was 1 week for the car to arrive.

 

If I were doing it again, I'd go with the Civic or some larger car.

Martin, I was afraid that could be the case. I will still give it a try as you suggested. My weight varies from 85 to 88 kilos, so I am not over the normal weight limit. If I have any problems getting in or out of the Honda City, I will buy the Honda Cicic or a Toyota Vios, or whatever there is available without a long waiting period. The Honda cars are just nicer looking, so I will try the Honda dealer first. It is encouraging, that you only had to wait one week to get you car as well. I will pay cash, so there won't be the need of a work permit or an income statement. Thanks for the input. I have put Landon's name into my notebook.

[thegrogmonster 111]

One year we hired a Honda Jazz and being 6 foot tall I had no problems getting in and out of it.

[Fondles 94]

Locul Yokul, You got this one wrong mate. The Honda City is a smaller car and has a 1.5 litre engine.

 

Sorry Gonzo, Yokul is correct, the City is the larger of the 2.

 

Honda City specs

Length - 4410mm

Width - 1695mm

Height - 1470mm

Wheelbase - 2550mm

Weight - 1155kg

Hondacity.com

 

Honda Jazz specs

Length - 3845mm

Width - 1675mm

Height - 1525mm

Wheelbase - 2500mm

Weight - 1050kg

hondajazz.com

 

 

EDIT: my bad, just reread thread, I thought Yokul was comparing Jazz to city, not city to Civic, Gonzo, you are correct the civic is the larger of the 3 !!!!

Edited April 26, 2010 by Fondles

[Gonzo 419]

One year we hired a Honda Jazz and being 6 foot tall I had no problems getting in and out of it.

The Honda jazz seems to be discontinued. The last model I could find is from 2009. Most of the cars mentioned can be seen in our condo complex and there are quite a a few Honda Jazz models. It seems to be a very small car with very little loading space in the back to put you shopping. I prefer to buy a sedan. A 4-door utility with an additional carry boy would be an even better option, I guess.

 

[LocalYokul 217]

that's weird, it was as if the CIVIC disappeared & was replaced by the City, now Civic is back,

 

Vios for me, but the Mazda does look nicer

 

for longevity I don't think you can beat the Accord

[Gonzo 419]

Hi,

Bought a Toyota Soluna Vios, automatic, three years ago, 5 year or 100,000K warranty. Disc brakes all round, don't know why they still put drum brakes on back wheels. You can adjust the drivers seat ie. recline, lumber knee height etc. tinted windows, and side windows mirror finish, for coolness, and very comfortable to drive. The longest I have driven, non stop, except for a petrol stop, is from Udon Thani to Pattaya, in under 8 hours, and I'm 70 now. Clocked over 60,000K since I've had it and not had any trouble with it. Still the orig. tyres, brakes etc.

All in all a very good car and would recommend it to anyone. I had to have a automatic because of problems with left arm, I was never keen on autos but this model has changed my way of thinking. Toyota was offering interest free H.P. so I took that, they do there own finance, at my home bank I was getting a good interest rate so kept that money there. Put the car in wife's name so that saved a lot of hassle.

Cheers Doug.

If you have decided on a model, hire a similar model for a few day and give it a good test. Not just around the block.

Hi Doolish, what are the hassles of putting the car in your own name? I know having to go to Immigration can be a bit of a nuisance. I think I can handle their disposition and unfriendly faces for a couple of hours. As long as I only have to deal with their officious behaviour, full of self-importance now and then, it's alright.

 

Getting the doctor's certificate is a bit of a joke. The clinic I visit hardly ever has the doctor attending his place. The two girls attending the reception only ring him when it is absolutely necessary. When I ask for a doctor's certificate, they open a drawer full of stamped and signed certificates. They just add your name, passport number and the date. You pay your THB 100 and off you go to the immigration office.

[ikkrang 490]

Gonzo: The Honda jazz seems to be discontinued. The last model I could find is from 2009. Most of the cars mentioned can be seen in our condo complex and there are quite a a few Honda Jazz models. It seems to be a very small car with very little loading space in the back to put you shopping. I prefer to buy a sedan.

 

It depends on how many people you transport in usual trips. With just the Mrs and I, the Jazz is more then adequate. The boot is pretty large in fact, due to the high roofline. On top of that, if you travel with only 2 in the car, you can flod down the backseat and the loading bay becomes huge. It looks and hadles like a small car, but in fact has very high interior usable space. I had trouble getting into a frontseat of a Honda City, and a Vios as well, without folding my head sideways, but with the Jazz with seat on low, just slide in without a hitch. Had my jazz now for nearly two years (the latest model) and am completely happy with it. frequently take long trips, like to Chiang mai or so, never had a problem.

 

And in town, it certainly beats a pick up truck in terms of handling.

 

I'd be very surpised to hear confirmation that it has been removed from sales, it has been a very succesful car to date.