buying a car used

[dvolante9]

Hello everyone, so I just found out I will be in Hua Hin for at least another 3 years and I am looking to buy a car. I dont want to spend alot of money, im hoping to spend only about 3-4k US$. I am thinking of something simple like a 1999 or 2000 toyota camry or corolla or something of that sort. They sell for about a grand back in the states but I dont know how much they are here or where to buy them. Thanks for the help in advance!

[NOKYAI]

I'm sorry to have to tell you that second hand cars here are really expensive! I think they are 4x UK prices, not sure about the US. You wil not get much for that price, you probably need 2x that at least. There are a number of garages at Pranbury which seem cheaper than HH.

[PeteC]

Play around with this site:

http://www.thaicar.com/en_index.php?gcl ... 4godsgIAjQ

I put a 1999-2000 Camry into their search engine and most came back in the 390,000 Baht area which is about $13,000 unfortunately. Pete

[Gérard]

I agree with the high prices for used cars and I can add that buying a 10 years' old car in Thailand is quite risky since maintenance is usually very low. Buying from a foreigner would certainly be better, and then I recommend you to pay for that car only after checking if all is OK at the local traffic division.
When I buy a vehicle, I go to the Traffic division with the seller and give the money when I get the documents in my name.
3 days ago, I had to cancel a transaction after the technical check-up revealed that the motorcycle I wanted to buy had fake serial numbers... Interesting point is that the Thai owner was able to go with his bike and will probably try to sell it in another less fussy province...

[VincentD]

You'll certainly not get anything viable for less than 200,000 baht.

European makes are generally cheaper on the secondhand market for the same age as their Japanese counterparts. The main reason for this is that the locals believe maintenance costs will be higher so tend to avoid them. It is not too difficult to pick up a single owner car and check with the dealerships for service records, have done this in the past. A bit more difficult with Japanese makes.

Diesels are more expensive secondhand than petrol engined models. They are considered cheaper to run as the cost of diesel is still heavily subsidised. (Note that this may not necessarily be true. I did a run up to Rayong and back in a modified Saab 900 turbo running 95 octane benzine; I then did a similar run in a Toyota Tiger 3.0 diesel. It cost more in actual costs to use the diesel. Plus with the Saab, it was capable of more than 200 kph, the Toyota maxxed out at 130...)

Avoid anything that has LPG. They will have problems.

It might be an idea to poke around the dealerships and find out if their demo models are for sale, they are much cheaper and almost new. Plus you'll get the same guarantee for parts and service that you would get for a new car. You'll be able to sell it later for almost as much as you paid for it three years down the line.

Or... Get a new car, use it for three years and then sell it. You won't lose too much given the high resale values. Japanese brands preferred for this option.

[dvolante9]

Thanks everybody for the options, I knew the used cars were expensive but I didn't know it was that bad D: anyway I will try some of the suggestions here and let you all know what happens.

[outbacksteve]

I bought a 15yo Jap sedan for 130.000 baht. Done 3000 clicks so far and it's running like a clock. The only problem so far is a broken ac belt due to a seized idler . Just took it in to have checked for tax renewal and it passed all the tests. I dare say if I sold it a year or 2 I would lose very little. My 2 cents would be buy Jap. Cheers