Last question I think: Cars

[dab69]

I was there last May and for comparison saw a Prius new for sale there about $65,000 US, here about $24000.
Why bother? Of course a Thailand model would be lots cheaper there without import duty.

Taxis are plentiful and they know the streets and the way around town.

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[krobbie]

Thank you! I kind of feared it wasn't worth bringing them, but I have a few fun cars I will really miss driving.

But I was afraid they wouldn't be practical to have there, as they're barely practical to have here!

Thanks again.

Brandon,
Just a note: the Chinese Thai community have always been, how shall I put this ... well shod and I think you should continue your enthusiasm with cars when you arrive. There must be some old Mercs or BMW's around of an age. Start collecting again when you arrive. Then get yourself an old Toyota HiLux or such for crashing around the country.

Just a thought.

Cheers
krobbie

I have clearly gone round the bend, answering my own message.
.
.
.
I'm whining. Sorry. Is there any hope?

No. However, grandly you appear to be wheeled, the boy you are trying to impress is thinking of tractors and buffaloes. He may have been with a famous pop producer, the inheritor of an art fortune, a member of the Thai nobility or the brother of a white powder exporter, the night before.

The yellow notes you actually lay on him are going to impress more than your wheels.

[Beachlover]

Don't the cars in the US have their driver sides on the left instead of the right? I wonder if this would be a problem.

Many Thais are less impressed by this kind of thing than you think... either that, or they are overwhelmed (in an Alien world) or just feel a little inadequate.

Drivers can be lunatics in Thailand... 3 second rule becomes 1/2 second rule... driving is very instinctive and less reliant on rules/ettiquite. So drive something ordinary the first time you drive there... Thais often say Farang don't know how to drive... but I think it's just that we aren't used to driving in a more instinctive, every man for himself mode...

[dab69]

I get nervous riding in a taxi there.
not accustomed to the driving habits in such close quarters traffic.
Imagine if you were in such an expensive car in traffic there,
behind the wheel and name on the registration.
add motorcycles whizzing by between lanes of traffic
within a centimeter or two of your body panels.
then going home to bed wondering if your prize
will be there when you wake up. lojack for sure(car locator)
but probably too late.

In Bangkok, I think you are a lot safer riding as a passenger in a taxi than trying to drive yourself. Plus navigation is not easy unless you use a GPS, and I dont know how well they work here. Even taxi drivers get lost. Their driving habits can be a hair-raising at times, though much of the time around town they arent travelling fast enough for a serious accident, except to and from the airport. You can always promise an extra tip of he drives slowly!
If you want to travel in the countryside, a car would be a great asset, but as the previous poster said, a 4-door pickup or an SUV would be a better choice than an Italian exotic. Many of the country roads are quite good, but the variation of vehicles and travelling speeds as well as livestock on the road in many areas would mean the chance to open up a sports car would be rare.

[catawampuscat]

I was at Villa Market the other day and noticed several beautiful Porshes
and a couple of sporty Mercedes outside.

There is a wealthy farang here who drives
a Volvo? sportscar (two seater) convertible and is also said to own 6 or 7 other cars, including a yellow Rolls Royce. I have seen him driving the Volvo
with blasting music and wearing a sequinced cap and grinning broadly.

As far as impressing the boys, just drive up with your motorbike and they will be very happy to jump on the back seat and take off with you.. At least one farang expat I know, cruises Sunee Plaza and its environs with his motorbike and has to chase over eager boys off the back seat. Finding boys here is liking fishing in a barrel and you really have to try hard to be alone.. :cat:

[quiet1]

If I live in Bangkok or another large city, it is worth having a car?

IMHO, for Bangkok: no. Unless you want to park the car for use mainly on out of town jaunts.

Unless you have a driver to chauffeur you around and unless you have unlimited time and patience, a private car is probably not a good idea for getting around The Big Mango. Street traffic is horrendous.

In Pattaya, drivers are maniacs but you can get used to that. One problem here, though, is insufficient parking in many areas.

I think the awe factor of an exotic car will be wasted on most of the local gay fellows. (You'd mainly be a hit with the farangs.) Maybe a sexy motorcycle would impress your intended audience more?

You *really* need to make a reconnaisance trip to Thailand!

Taxes on imported cars are extremely high -- if you shipped any over, you would have to pay import duties (there is also the matter of "tea"money to the customs officer(s) -- IMHO an imported expensive car would make them drool. As previously mentioned, in Thailand, you drive on the left with steering wheel on the right. Imagine yourself on a two lane road behind a slow truck (or even slower farm truck) trying to pass - with wheel on the left, you would have to pull the car fully into the other lane in order to see -- the bus coming at you at great speed. :silent:

As mentioned, fancy cars probably will not attract the "boys" -- except for the ones in brown uniforms, who are notorious for pulling over cars for traffic violations (imagined or real) so they can collect their "fines" = right on the spot and better yet, no paperwork involved. :scratch: