Buying a mid-range family car; Hua Hin's dealerships

[buksida]

Thanks for the input, we're narrowing things down. Yes, dropped in at Nissan Pranburi yesterday and found them much better than Hua Hin, they have a lot more cars there also - showrooms in Hua Hin will not tell you to try another town as they want the sales commission themselves. They also want to sell off what they have in stock so you maybe limited with options and colours - Honda tried this yesterday so we'll visit Honda in Prachuap and Chumphon - I'm not accepting "mai mee" from a new car dealership!

Back to Nissan we had a look at the Livina which we assumed was a 7-seater to compete with Honda's Mobilio - its not, it is a 5-seater somewhat plastic looking car so decided against that. The Pulsar looked very nice and in the same bracket as the Civic, Focus, Altis, Cruze, Lancer, Mazda 3 at 800-950k. Beginning to think we may have to nudge the budget up a little to get something of reasonable size and engine.

Test drove Honda's Mobilio, a little basic inside but plenty of space and those extra two seats sure will come in handy. The ride was pretty average and what you'd expect from a mid-range family car, nothing to get the pulse raised here, it is practical and functional. As expected the 1.5 iVTEC CVT engine was a little under powered for the car and somewhat revvy, it did drive like a car though and lacked any "pickup wallow" in the corners. Overall it would be the sensible solution, top model RS with touch screen, free insurance, and a bunch of extra stuff such as rust-proofing, window tints etc, weighs in at 745,000.

The mistake then was to get into the top model HR-V and take that for a belt down the highway! What a difference, this machine was so much smoother, with the brakes, steering and ride being far superior - it is a totally different car. Plenty of poke out of the 1.8 iVTEC and I was doing 130kph before I realised it! None of the gear hunting we found on the Mobilio, it also had a semi-manual paddle shift on the steering wheel. The interior was also much better laid out and equipped but you'd expect than on a car that costs 30% more. Then comes the rub; the E model which is one above bottom is a sting at 970,000. These are in high demand according to Honda and there is a waiting list (unless we wanted the silver E Limited model at over a million that they had in stock).

Toyota had very little in this segment with the closest being the Avanza. There is also the new Fortuner which I would not drive if I was given one! The Chevvy Spin 6-seater warrants a second look, if we can find a dealership that has one.

On to Ford then to test drive the Ecosport. I was actually quite surprised at this car; pleasing on the eye, comfortable, smooth ride, no wallow and a much better seating position and all round visibility. Not as much 'go' as I'd like but again it only has a 1.5 Duratec engine, but at least it will be better on fuel consumption. Not as roomy as the Mobilio or HR-V inside but definitely enough space for our needs. The second from top Trend model weighs in at 764,000, the top one has a sunroof and leather seats. Ford also offered a cash discount and free insurance.

The wallet says Mobilio, the heart says HR-V, and the brain says Ecosport.

We'd like to enquire about the same cars in different showrooms now to see how things vary, it has become obvious that they all operate totally independently of each other! I also noticed a disappointing lack of colours available on most models, nearly every car you see these days is either black, white or silver, and these were the main colours offered. Guess this is a Thailand thing - uninspiring colours and under-powered engines!

[Terry]

.........The wallet says Mobilio, the heart says HR-V, and the brain says Ecosport. ..........!

I'd follow my heart - but then I'm a convicted Honda Fan.
The Mobilio is just plain ugly - though very practical.

Buksi - for what you want, I'd go for the Ford Ecosport.

I know of two guys who have them and they are well pleased with the ride, the performance in relation to the engine size and you can get some quite lurid colours too.............

Only problem is the dealer...........But I'm sure that can be solved.

[migrant]

.........The wallet says Mobilio, the heart says HR-V, and the brain says Ecosport. ..........!

I'd follow my heart - but then I'm a convicted Honda Fan.
The Mobilio is just plain ugly - though very practical.

Buksi - for what you want, I'd go for the Ford Ecosport.

I know of two guys who have them and they are well pleased with the ride, the performance in relation to the engine size and you can get some quite lurid colours too.............

Only problem is the dealer...........But I'm sure that can be solved.

Any other Ford dealers in the area? I've always liked their trucks

[Big Boy]

Yes, but same owners. I think Petchaburi is your next option North. Not sure about South.

[buksida]

Any other Ford dealers in the area? I've always liked their trucks

http://www.ford.co.th/en/locate-dealer

One in Chumphon.

[migrant]

Any other Ford dealers in the area? I've always liked their trucks

http://www.ford.co.th/en/locate-dealer

One in Chumphon.

Thanks! Maybe better service and around the same distance for us down below

[buksida]

Will report back, going down there tomorrow.

[doggie]

What about the HONDA dealership buying/service in Hua Hin
Any good
Or have to go out of town.. Planning to buy a Honda City ?

[buksida]

What about the HONDA dealership buying/service in Hua Hin
Any good
Or have to go out of town.. Planning to buy a Honda City ?

Best to shop around, they all offer different things, know exactly what you want and then try 3-4 different dealerships until you get the best deal.

Went to Honda Chumphon today, enquired about the same car spec and colour that Hua Hin said "mai mee" to, and lo-and-behold they have one! The only difference is that we had to wrangle a lot to get Chumphon to offer the free insurance whereas Hua Hin said yes to that straight away. They also wanted an extra 6k for the blue colour and we would have to pay the license plate and rego ourselves. It was also the model below the one we looked at in Hua Hin - will try Honda Prachuap and Pranburi next to see what we find.

Then on to Ford Chumphon to look at their Ecosport options, this dealership offered a whopping 70,000 baht off the price of the top Titanium model but again would not provide the free insurance. Overall though it was a better deal than in Hua Hin and closer for us for servicing.

[STEVE G]

I notice that on the Ford Thailand website they offer 0% finance on an Ecosport Titanium at the moment. ( I don't suppose they'll give you any discount on the price with it. )
http://www.ford.co.th/en/buying/latest-offers

[Bluesky]

Just went through the process with the Honda dealerships to purchase a HRV. Had concerns about Honda Hua hin with respect to servicing standards for the vehicle having spoken to,a number of Honda owners in the area. Ended up doing the best deal through Honda Pranburi. The showroom is not as flash as Hua hin. Of those I spoke to with respect to servicing all fairly positive about Pranburi. Sales staff excellent and did not make any promises that could not be met. We actually had written quotes from Dealerships we had approached and they met the best of those plus a little more. Hope this assists you.

[buksida]

It does, thanks. How are you finding the car, what model did you get, and what package did Pranburi offer? The HRV is our first choice at the moment (to hell with the budget)!

[Bluesky]

We found the best value for money was the E limited which has all the features we wanted and could not see the sense In getting the top of the line for the sake of a sunroof. We had also noted whilst the current HRV does not hav a built in navigator Honda have an app that can be downloaded For about aud $49.00 which will allow the navigator on my iPhone iPad to be utilized through the screen. I understand the 2016 model will have the Navigator. Also of the opinion that the HRV should hold its value well judging by the very short time they stay on the taladrod website (second hand car website) unable to wrangle a discount from any of the dealers however managed to get 1 class Insurance,rego, tint, front sensors and rain shields on top of windows as well as Bangkok rego (I stand to be corrected but it is better for resale from what I understand). The car was well prepared on delivery and ready to drive away when we arrived at the dealership. Handling so far is up to expectations with sufficient clearance to deal with the road surfaces around the Hua Hin hinterland. Performance, ride, comfort and manouverability quite good for the class of vehicle. Controls readily accessible and Instrumentation visually easy to locate. Only one point of irritation for me so far, I would have liked a remote release for the tailgate when you are loading the vehicle. I trust this is of assistance to you.

[PeteC]

Here's a sharp looking new, small Mazda if your going up to the level of an HRV. Pete

http://www.bangkokpost.com/auto/suv/700 ... h-urbanite

c1_700864_150921090025_620x413.jpg (53.94 KiB) Viewed 503 times

[buksida]

Good info Bluesky, will definitely be paying Pranburi a visit then. Honda do not offer cash discounts at all but prefer to load you up with extras. Interesting note on the Bangkok number plate, would prefer a local one but didnt consider the resale aspect.