Buying 2nd Hand (used) Cars In Thailand Cheap

As a new member to OrientExpat, and soon to be an expat in Thailand, I am amazed at the prices being quoted on the internet for used cars...

In the UK it is quite possible to pick up a used family car (sedan for example) for less than £700 or US$1300.

Does anyone know of the sort of places where 'cheap' second hand cars might be sold?

I imagine local advertising papers, or cheap car lots? Do these exist in towns?

Particularly interested in Rayong since that is where I will be based initially.

Any replies greatly appreciated.

[was hoping to get hold of a right-hand drive Toyota Camry, does not matter about age]

Regards.

try this site, got plenty of use car to pick from.
http://www.one2car.com/

I've turned my company's 11 years old Honda Civic (4 door) for trade-in last year when I bought the present car I drive. The car had more than 400,000 km on it and it was in such a state that it looked like it had more value as a scrap than as a car (indeed I have to pay to get rid of that car if it were in my home country). Not only did the car need to be serviced every other month but a lot of things have started to fall apart in the interior. The trade-in price we were quoted for that car was 190,000 Baht. A brand new car of the same model would have cost 4 - 5 times as much, so you can go figure...

Personally for how little you can save for going 2nd hand I wouldn't buy a 2nd hand car in Thailand. Not worth it in my opinion. It's not just Thailand but you have to be prepared to pay more for some of the amenities we take for granted in the west in a developing country like Thailand. Cars, quality education for kids at int'l school, internet are among some of them to name a few. Sometimes you just have to give them up or accept to pay more than in the west, it's part of the price you have to pay to live cheaply in Thailand.

In Thailand, pick-up trucks are generally cheaper and have good value for money than passenger cars because of lower excise duty of 10% compared to passenger cars starting at 30% depending on the engine displacement and other specifications (my SUV built on same platform as pick-up truck falls into 20% duty bracket). On top of the excise duty, import duty starting at 80% of CIF value will apply to imported cars in Thailand. Cars are expensive here but the brighter side to it is they hold value for a long time.

What is your budget for a car anyway?

This post has been edited by Nordlys: 10 July 2007 - 05:50 AM

I wonder how this will be affected by FTAs that Thailand has signed.

Quote

Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Nordly, how is your company preparing for the prospect of cheaper imports from countries like Australia?

Frankly there's not much we as a small-time family owned sub-contractor making piece parts like us can do to acclimate ourselves to the changes in business environment other than to stay as least labor intensive as possible and to diversity our customer base (only a quarter of our sales comes from auto industry anyway) and to keep our faith in our customers.

I haven't kept myself updated with what the deal is with Thai - Australian FTA, but I think it's highly unlikely that Thailand has signed any agreement that opened its door for the local auto industry (I don't mean indigenous) to come into direct competition with imported CBU (complete build-up) and their spare parts.

Thailand has only recently signed FTA accord with Japan that includes auto sector but the only category of cars that will be subjected to lower tariff rate are luxury cars over 3,000cc in engine displacement (Lexus, etc, but high excise tax remain unchanged) that are not assembled locally in Thailand as far as Japanese brands are concerned, therefore not coming into direct competition with any locally assembled cars except perhaps BMW 8 series made in Rayong. And Japan - Thai FTA only provides 5% annual cut in tariff from present 80% until it will be completely scrapped but up for a review every few years. And that's the best concession Thailand could offer to a country whose auto makers have made significant investment in Thailand now that they make more cars in Thailand than any other countries in SEA, significantly contributing to Thailand's trade balance. I know for Thailand it's a double-edged blade situation, but frankly I think the Japanese automakers were hoping for a little more concession especially after shifting the entire one-ton pick up truck operation from Japan, for establishing the only R&D center in Asia outside Japan in Thailand and to use Thailand as a launch site for the first of series of IMV (Innovative International Multi-Purpose Vehicle) project (Toyota Vigo and Fortuner).

Either way FTA is supposed to bring mutual benefit. Even though car sales in Thailand is down from the previous year for the first time last year since 1997 due to the uncertainty in the politics and rising oil price + rising interest rate, we have recently been informed by our customer (which is probably world's largest auto parts maker) to prepare for the volume increase probably due to the increase in the export.

I understand Chevrolet Lumina is rebadged Holden, and I'm not sure if it's locally assembled in Thailand at GM's eastern seaboard plant in Rayong or imported from Australia (probably latter), but I hardly spot that car on the streets of Thailand.

Most of the cars exported from Thailand are shipped to other ASEAN countries under AFTA, and to the middle east and Africa, not to developed country like Australia. And I'm sure Japanese majors already assemble some of the world-standard cars like Camry, Accord, etc assembled in Thailand in Australia too. I understand some of the pick-up trucks sold in Australia are imported from SEA. Do you see any car there that are made in Thailand?

This post has been edited by Nordlys: 17 July 2007 - 11:53 AM

I don't think that there are any cars in Oz fully made in Thailand (but I could be wrong).

I would guess that many parts come from Thailand though and that you would probably know more than me about that..

You might be interested in this. Car industry has the know-how to survive threats

I'm assuming this pick-up sold in OZ as Hilux to have come from Thailand under Thai-Aussie FTA (if not from South Africa).

http://www.toyota.com.au/hilux

Interesting. How does the price compare with the same vehicle in Thailand. Today's ex rate 28.72

4.0L VVT-i V6 Petrol 5 spd Manual Pickup from $23,990 = THB 688,992

Though I know Toyota Thailand exports them, 4.0L V6 version is not available in Thailand. Only 2.7L benzine, 3.0L diesel with intercooler turbo or 2.5L diesel for domestic market AFAIK. I have an SUV that was built on same platform (ladder frame) and shares the same 3.0L diesel engine (intercooler turbo) as one of those Hilux Vigo pickup.

See links below for prices in Thailand (inclusive of 7% VAT + 10% excise tax).

Double Cab 4X4
http://www.toyota.co...go4x4_price.asp

Double Cab 4X2
http://www.toyota.co...ab4x2_price.asp

Single Cab 4X4
http://www.toyota.co...ab4x4_price.asp

Single Cab 4X2
http://www.toyota.co...ab4x2_price.asp

There are also most basic version called Standard Cab and "PreRunner" available in Thailand.

This post has been edited by Nordlys: 17 July 2007 - 07:04 PM