Here’s an article I found that you might be interested in when you’re staying in Thailand:
After I arrived in Chiang Mai and lived here for several months I never even considered driving here and never had any thoughts of buying a motor vehicle. Why? Because the traffic seemed just too busy with vendors with carts, bicycles, mortorbikes weaving in and out, drivers of cars and trucks not adhering to the rules of the road and with dogs laying out in the streets reluctant to move. And this is from a person who has driven a car since he was 18 years of age.
My means of transportation when I first arrived was the tuk tuk (or touk touk) which is three wheeled motorcycle with a small bench seat at back covered by a canopy. Either that or a red taxi which is pick up truck with two bench seats placed in back and also a canopy. It was red taxi or tuk tuk at first and then on the back of my girlfriends motorbike. It may look at bit odd but it isn’t uncommon here. A lady weighing 40 kilos driving the honda motorbike powered by a 100 cc engine with a big farang “foreigner” sitting on the back of the motorbike.
But then the time came where we needed to rent a car. We wanted to go to Myanmar and this gave me a chance to get my retirement visa stamped close to the one year period of it’s issue date. As the drive would commence at about 4 a.m. in the morning and be primarily highway driving I agreed to rent a car. The car was remted from North Wheels. As usual in my meticulous ways I checked every rental place I could here in Chiang Mai. Prices were close and North Wheels won it. They had the largest fleet, the best insurance, free pick up, and 24 hr. service in case of trouble. Some of their competitors had marginally lower prices but I think it is because there cars are older.
Well it took a little getting used to. First of all where I am from the steering wheel is on the left side of the car and not the right side and the shifter on my right hand side and not on my left as is common here. Also I have to drive on the left side of the road. But off we went and we made it there and returned in once piece. It was about a 4 1/2 drive there and same coming back. Not that much traffic but what you will find is that for half the trip there is nowhere to pass. You will witness reckless drivers passing on turns and up and down hills where they shouldn’t because they cannot see far enough ahead. The trip is up and some hilly terrain- very hilly.
Will you need to rent a car?
The climate here in Chiang Mai is either warm or hot during the day and warm or cool at night. I arrived on November 23 and during the first 3 months I did not see a drop of rain. It was sunny every day, warm during the day and pleasantly cool in the evenings and at night. If you were sleeping with the window open you would require a blanket.
My girlfriend told me that the time would come where we would get rain every day. Hmmm. She must be exaggerating I thought to myself. Perhaps rain every 2 or 3 days but not “every” day.
Well I was proven wrong. Starting in May we got rain every day. At times a quick shower during what seemed like the same time each day and ocassionaly a continuous rainfall. It was at this time that I realized that we should buy a motor vehicle. The drive on the motorbike at the time to here beauty salon was just too far and with rainfall it took even longer. The other consideration was that when we went shopping for groceries we were buying for 4 of us. Her mother, her daughter, her and me. A fair bit of groceries to carry by a big farang on a motorbike. So I went to look at cars or should I say trucks. Motorbikes outnumber cars here about 3-4 to 1 and trucks outnumber cars here by about 7-8 to 1 reason being is that they are taxed less than cars and therefore more affordable.
First of all I went to Nissan to look at their new trucks. The prices ranged from about 360,000 baht or $9,700 U.S. for a truck with one row of seating for 3 people. For seating front and rear for 5 people the price was approximately 460,000 baht or #12,200 U.S. Excellent prices if you are used to buying vehicles in North America. The price gets even better once you take into consideration that the price for the larger vehicle with seating for 5 ncludes first class insurance for one year, it includes a front bumber, rear bumber, includes the alumiunum castings on the side that you would step on to get in and out of the vehicle and a liner for the turck body and also an attachment where someone inside of the body of the truck could hold on to when they are standing up. All in all lots of extras and a great price.
I almost went ahead with that purchase. Now keep in mind that the most popular vehicles makes here are Toyota, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, then Nissan and then Ford way down the list. We decided to look at used vehicles probably because I thought either I or Wan who had yet to learn to drive and would be driving the vehicle may bang up the truck. At one of the dealerships they did an impeccable job of preparing the vehicles. They were cleaned inside and out and including the engine and engine compartment. The color was good as was the mileage which was only 17,000 km. at a price of 400,000 baht. We added the front and rear bumpers for about 4,000 baht and we were ready to cruise. /p>
The truck is mainly used to drive Mommie to school and for grocery shopping. On ocassion we make a trip to the hot springs or reservoir.
So what have I learned that I can pass on:
1/ If you come here on vacation you will probably not need a rented car unless you plan on seeing the sights out of town. If you come here to live long term you may want to buy a vehicle and probably a pick up because of the price. But chances are you will need it that often and you can get by on a motorbike and renting a car on ocassion. That is the case if you live here alone. Should you meet a lady then things change and you may want to buy a vehicle.
2/ Buy a used pick up as the driving will take getting used to and it may get banged up by you or by your girlfriend who may want to learn to drive it.
3/ Buy a popular make as it is easier getting service. So a Isuzu, Mitsubishi, or Toyota pick up or a Honda car. The driving is alot easier for you and the girlfriend or wife if you have an automatic. Hard to find but keep it in mind.
4/ Stay with a small engine as most of the driving will be city driving and you do not need the horsepower. Keep the money in your pocket as the oil Sheiks have enough of our money.
5/ I decided on getting auto insurance and it cost me about 19,000 baht or about $500 U.S. for a year. After one year the insurance contacted me and said if I wanted to renew the rate would be 30% less as I did not have any claims. What? Are they nuts? Don’t they know that in North America if you do not have any claims and have an impeccable driving record for SIX YEARS that the insurance companies will still increase your rates. So this is your call. If you do not feel that comfortable with the traffic then get the insurance and especially if the girlfriend or wife will also be a driver. After a year you can decide to renew or drop. There is a mandatory insurance here for motor vehicles. If I remember correctly it costs about 1-2,000 baht or $30-$55 U.S. and doesn’t cover much but it is mandatory. And should you decide to sell your vehicle and if you have insurance remaining you will not get a refund from the insurance company but rather the insurance is carried forward to the new owner. So that being the case you can ask more for vehicle.
6/ I have written an article about driving here in Chiang Mai. If you want to rent a car or thinking about buying a vehicle I suggest you read the article over.
7/ The driving here some getting used to. But once you do it is reasonably easy. You have to watch for vehicles running red lights VERY COMMON here. You have to watch for vehicles passing where they shouldn’t and expecting you to move out of your lane- VERY COMMON here. You have to watch for vendor, dogs, motorbikes, and more but I have faith in you. If I can do it anybody can do it.
8/ I am recommending North Wheels Rent A Car. Largest fleet, best insurance, newer vehicles and they know how to treat their customers. Recently I decided to recommend a few of the service providers in Chiang Mai. If you are a visitor you can spend half of your time checking out hotels, car rentals, restaurants, and the like. Best to spend it on having a good time and take my recommendations in good faith. My goal is to see that you have a good time here. Good enough to decide to return here in your retirement.
If you are interested in vacationing in, retiring to Thailand or Chiang Mai then you should visit a website designed to help people by providing interesting and essential information and also deals on accommodations and vacation packages.
Just visit:
http://www.retire-on-550-month.com
10 comments
roughneck839 says:
February 2, 2009 at 6:48 am (UTC -5 )
Buying a house in Thailand what are the pit falls?
I’m thinking about buying a house in Thailand maybe Pattaya I think what are the bad points about buying in Thailand
gordon69_scot says:
February 2, 2009 at 11:50 am (UTC -5 )
Foreigners cannot buy house, only through company. Or put it in Thai name
References :
Khun Bob says:
February 2, 2009 at 11:52 am (UTC -5 )
You can buy a house but you can't own the land you can only lease the land for 30 years and then can renew the lease once for another 30 years. You can get a condo but can't live on the first floor. You can't borrow money to buy a house (some expections for businesses using Bangkok Bank but it's outrageous fees and exchange rate for the loan) here, so your need to buy with cash. If you own a company you can buy the land under the company name. Better off coming here and checking out the situation before buying.
Rent for a year and see if it's the right thing for you.
References :
seafrontane says:
February 2, 2009 at 11:54 am (UTC -5 )
You will never own your property.A better idea is to rent as it is very inexpensive to do this.I have been travelling to Thailand for the past thirty years and have always toyed with the idea of buying property out there but you will never own it.What I do instead is stay in a hotel in Pattaya for about three months from January – March sometimes longer.I will be there in January and can recommend a very good hotel which is very comfortable and clean and you would not believe how cheap the room rates are with a buffet breakfast included.Only thing is you would not want to live in Pattaya in the rainy season.Best months are November to March..If you would like the name of the hotel you can email me via yahoo questions and answers-good luck.
References :
gavin S says:
February 2, 2009 at 11:56 am (UTC -5 )
You can buy a house or anything else in Thailand BUT not in your own name. and thats where the bad points start, too many to list
References :
mark m says:
February 2, 2009 at 11:58 am (UTC -5 )
I thought you buying a house in Turkey not in Thailand.
References :
gbkawaguchi says:
February 2, 2009 at 12:00 pm (UTC -5 )
You can buy a house, you cannot own the land your house stands on. You would end up leasing the land. Thai law currently prohibits it. You can buy a condo. The quality of construction and dual ownership are some of the problems. The quality of construction can be a issue. You have to watch it. Dual ownership, if you do buy a condo or house you should hire an attorney to make sure you have clear title to the property and all the paperwork is filled out properly.
One issue, no one discussed is that you will probably be painting the exterior of the house every 5 years or less. The weather conditions there beat the heck out of the paint, heat, humidity and rainfall. No paint can stand up to that much. So you would have to keep in mind that you will be doing outside work almost constantly.
Oh yes and probably having major work on the house every 10 years. If you maintain the outside well, it may last longer. When I first researched Thailand to live in, I wondered why the banks ONLY had 10 year mortgages. That is why, about every 10 years many the Thai tear down and rebuild because of the weather just beats the heck out of the structure. That is true of not only residential buildings but, commercial buildings. That is why you see shabby, dull, drab buildings and very new buildings. Those who think ahead will know that have to rebuild or redo every few years.
It’s probably better to live in a nice apartment or hotel and you can be a nomad. And probably cheaper than a mortgage. This way you can try different areas and see where you would like to live.
Good luck
References :
KGP says:
February 2, 2009 at 12:02 pm (UTC -5 )
As a foreigner you can only buy a condo if 51% of the owners in the project Thai .
You cannot buy landed property in your name . If you are married to a Thai you can place it in her name but you would have no legal rights to it .
The best way around it is to buy in the name of a Thai then execute a separate lease agreement . Lease agreements are only valid for 30 years so she can lease it to you for 30 years with an option to extend for 30 years .This is just the right to live there only .You do not OWN the property
Here i would like to draw your attention to section 540 of the
Civil and Commercial Code :-
“The duration of a hire of immovable property cannot exceed 30 years .If it is made for a longer period , such period shall be reduced to thirty years , The aforesaid period may be renewed , but it must not exceed thirty years from the time of renewal “
References :
jbrook68 says:
February 2, 2009 at 12:04 pm (UTC -5 )
i own a house in thailand and the pitfalls are it is far cheaper to rent and the money left in the bank will make more then in a house as the secondhand market in thailand is very poor
i own a new 3 bedroom bungalow on a new Development you can rent that for 7000 baht for 1 month but to buy about 1 million upwards do the math
References :
http://www.udonthani.co.uk/
John T says:
February 2, 2009 at 12:06 pm (UTC -5 )
its just the wrong country to buy a house in. You will end up loose all your money – one way or another. Listen to what I say. Forget it. Rent, rent, rent and survive. Its so cheap, and if you have the right connections, you can rent a fine house for around 3000B/month. (2km from the coast, and similar at Jomtien Beach)
References :
just living here since 91