Malaysiaminilover

Category: Thailand

Cars in MML garage from Thailand

Drive to Thailand: In A MINI Cooper

It has always been my dream to drive a car to Thailand. A few days ago, I have decided to start my journey with a ‘05 Mini Cooper R50 from Penang, Malaysia to Phuket, Thailand. In Google map, the total journey is about 655 km and it requires 8 hours and 17 minutes for the entire journey. I care nothing about the 8 hours drive because I know it is going to be different when you are on your steering wheel.

Years ago, I was planning for this trip but during that time I was thinking to drive my 1972 MK3 Mini Austin. However, I gave up this mind and decided to go with my MINI Cooper R50 as it is newer and more reliable. The current mileage is 72,360 km (44,962 miles). Before the journey begins, I replaced four new tires for my car as the journey may continue to Surat Thani -> Hua Hin -> Bangkok -> Nakhon Ratchasima -> Khon Kaen -> Nong Khai -> Vientiane (Laos). I have selected Good Year GT3 175/65 R15 tires for both front wheels and Toyo NanoEnergy3 195/55 R15 tires for both rear wheels. The purpose of this setting is to test and review both Good Year and Toyo tires. Both of these tires are highly rated in many car related blogs and forums.

Brand New Toyo NanoEnergy3 195/55 R15 Tires

As for the engine oil, MINI always recommended Castrol Edge but I have selected BMW Super Power Oil SAE 5W-40 Fully Synthetic oil. This type of engine oil is made in Germany and it has a very good feedback from an experiment. It is more economical compared to the Mobil 1 and Castrol Edge. In fact, I do believe it will be good for any type car engines. We will see how the engine oil changes after 10,000km run.

So, what else to prepare before driving to Thailand? A GPS device (see what is the best GPS system for cars), a reliable car mounting kit, 12v car charger, a spare tire, and a steering lock. It is also recommended to bring some spares along such as hose, plug cable, coil, fuel pump, spark plugs, belts, and a length of wire, radiator cap and fuses.

The journey begins… It took less than 2 hours from Penang to Bukit Kayu Hitam as the distance is only approximately 150km. For those who never drive to Thailand, you will need to know that there are a few things to get ready before entering Sadao, Thailand. First, you will fill up your petrol station because the petrol price in Thailand is much more expensive. There are Petronas, Caltex and BHP at Changlun town. Second, you will need to find an insurance agent in Changlun town. There are a few but it is recommended to go for the reputable one. The Thai Insurance of coverage for MINI Cooper is only RM16 for 9 days and RM25 for 30 days. This is because the engine capacity for a MINI Cooper is only 1598cc. The Car Insurance of Coverage Thai is compulsory. You will be fined 10,000 Thai baht if there is any police road block and you can’t show them the insurance policy. This type of insurance covers body injuries ONLY and does not cover third party vehicle should you meet with an accident in Thailand. For drivers who want to purchase third-party insurance to cover someone else’s car during your trip, you will need to buy it at Hatyai town. Once the car insurance is settled and the fuel tank is full, the journey continues.

At Malaysia border, it is very easy as you can drive through the immigration and hand over your passport to the officers. It is about 1 km from Malaysia border to Thailand border. At Thailand border, you will need to park your car at the car park (on your left) and walk to stamp your passport. Proceed to the “Custom Form” area and hand over your car registration card. The officer will give you a SIMPLIFIED CUSTOMS DECLARATION FORM (For motor car and motor cycle temporarily imported or exported). This form stated your registration number, engine number, chassis no and some of your details. Read carefully and I notice that Malaysian drivers will be fine 1,000 Thai baht per day and up to a maximum of 10,000 THB if you don’t leave Thailand within the given date. Under the Guarantee Agreement, I noticed there is a sentence saying “I hereby guarantee myself to pay a sum of 7,500,000.00 baht upon a promise that if I commit a breach of this agreement”. A friend of mine who often drive to Thailand told me that is the amount of money you have to pay in case you lost your vehicle in Thailand. Thai government imposed this law is to avoid someone else from selling the car after they drive to Thailand. OMG! 7,500,000.00 baht is approximately $230,000 USD and that is the price for a brand new Lamborghini Huracan in the United States. My advice? Bring an extra steering to brake lock if you are driving to Thailand.

Once my car entered Thai border, the first town I drive through is Dannok. Dannok is a popular town for many Malaysians. My journey continues until I see a sign board YALA 179 km. I drive for another 60km and pay a visit to the famous Hatyai town. In Malaysia, it might take only 30 minutes for 60km distance but it takes me an hour to drive from Dannok to Hatyai due to the traffic and the road condition.

Day 1: Drive to Thailand: In A MINI Cooper

Day 2: Drive to Thailand: Hatyai to Trang to Krabi

Day 3: Drive to Thailand: Krabi to Phang Nga

Day 3: Drive to Thailand: Phang Nga to Phuket

March 30, 2015
Honda Thailand scrapped 1055 cars to convince its customers

Severe flooding happened in Thailand last year October has causes 1055 Honda cars to completely become scrap metal. These are brand new cars and sitting in Honda Thailand factory waiting for its new customers. Unfortunately, the flood water comes before the new customers. These cars cannot be sold because all of them had been sunken in flood waters and covered by mud. Honda tried to take action to save these remaining cars before the flood water comes but time is inadequate, resulting 1055 cars have to be the victim of the flood. Individual is able to save their car from flood but not Honda that has over one thousand cars sitting in the factory in Nikom Rojna industrial estate.

During end of December 2011, the flood situation eases after rain stops. Honda Thailand has to clean up the factory just like many other companies do. They have to clear these cars after they suffered a massive financial loss due to the factory being non-operational for several months. More than 60,000 units of vehicle could not be produced and now 1055 completed cars have to be cleared. We would have to say Honda did a great job in the scrapping process to prevent the cars from ever being sold. Every car is scrapped completely and become a piece of metal for recycle purpose.

There are six stations for the scrapping process. At first station and second station, brake fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, engine oil, and coolant were completely drained. Air condition refrigerant is discharge too in order to protect the environment during the scrapping process.Battery, wheels, exhaust pipe, fuel tank, car hood, bumper, side mirrors, and engine were removed before the car send to scrapping zone. Plastic parts, dampers, radiator, condenser, wiring, spare tire, and transmission were removed at third and fourth station.

Basically, the body and all other parts are killed in the process to prevent it from being resold again including suspension, sub-frame, brake pump, fuel system, and engine. At fifth station, wheels were drilled with holes or damaged by Honda engineers with fire gun to avoid someone have them cleaned up and resold. Other components get destroyed in this station. All the recycle materials including battery, rubber, plastic, aluminium, steel, and metal go to the right place for recycle in the last station.

The most painful part of the process is the total value of these cars which has not revealed by Honda. There are 217 units of Honda Brio, 213 units of Honda Jazz, 353 units of Honda City, 150 units of Honda Civic, 91 units of Honda Accord, 30 units of Honda CR-V, and 1 unit of Honda Freed out of 1055 cars. Base onThailand market value for the cheapest model for all cars, it is approximately 417 million Thai baht (approximately 13 million USD as of January 2012).

Honda’s mission is to convince their customers to believe their quality in new vehicles. Cars and parts affected by flood will never be sold. The process is being done inRojanaIndustrial Parkunder the witness of media companies, Honda dealers, Ministry of Transport and Communications, and some other government agencies. Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of every car is published atThailand’s Honda website. Source from Honda Thailand.

January 16, 2012
Cost to own a car vs. Cost to take taxi
Most of the people who depend on public transport in their daily life may think about getting a car for their own. Anyone can purchase a cheap car with low maintenance cost, low monthly car payment, as well as low cost car insurance. However, does one really need an own car when the public transport is so convenience at such low cost? Here we did a calculation based on a case study in Thailand.

In Thailand, the taxi is 35 baht once you get on it, every km after the first km is charged 10 baht accordingly. Let’s say you are going to travel 10 km from home to work everyday, it will cost 125 baht one day, and return will be 250 baht. In a month, we roughly work 22 days, the total cost of using taxi to work will be 22 x 250 baht = 5500 baht a month.

So, what about getting one cheap new car for 508,500 baht? Now we do a calculation if you get a Honda Brio for work. Honda Brio gives 47 mpg, which is roughly 19.8 km per liter of petrol. A liter of petrol cost 34 baht and the cost to travel 20 km a day in a Honda Brio will be (34/19.8) * 20 = 34.34 baht a day. In 22 work days, it will be 686.8 baht. Other than the petrol, there is a monthly car installment of 9746.25 baht. The total cost for a month is now 10,433 baht. So, owning a car may anytime cost you double compared to using taxi for work.

The true cost to own the car in 5 years time

In long term, the calculation will be different compared to what we showed above. There is something else is excluded, the value of the car. If you spend 5500 baht a month for public transport to go for work, in 5 years it will be 330,000 baht. You get nothing because the money you paid goes for the service. Well, you have someone drive you to work.

On the other hand, if you bought a Honda Brio 5-year ago, now you can probably sell it for 300,000 baht. In 5-year time, you paid a total of 584,775 baht for the car price including car loan interest. The cost for petrol in 5 years is 686.8 * 60 = 41,208 baht. The total cost to use the car for work in 5 years without including the maintenance fee will be 625,983 – 300,000 = 325,983 baht.

Here is the conclusion of having an own car to go for work and using taxi to go for wok.

Using car to go for work
- Pros to own a car: Flexible in time, convenience, and can use the car on weekend for other purposes.
- Cons to own a car: Extra monthly car payment compared to taxi, having extra cost like car insurance, car park fee, car maintenance, and some intangible cost like car wash as well as anti-theft accessories.
- True cost to own the car over 5 years: 325,983 baht excluded car insurance and maintenance cost.
Using taxi to work
- Pros to use taxi: Just sit and relax in the car and need no tired to drive alone. Taxis are almost everywhere in the town.
- Cons to use car: Extra cost may occur during weekend when you are going to somewhere else.
- True cost to use taxi over 5 years: 330,000 baht excluded extra cost during other day.
From the comparison we made here, the cost to own a car and cost to use taxi to go for work is more or less the same. The only different is that owning a car will have higher cost for every month. It is up to individual and which way you prefer. What will be your choice?
December 30, 2011
Bangkok: BMW Xpo 2011 at Siam Paragon 22 – 25 September 2011

If the recent Frankfurt Auto Show is too far for you to go, no worries, there is a small-size auto show held in Bangkok, the BMW Xpo 2011 at Siam Paragon. BMW Bangkok invites anyone to explore the latest design and innovation from BMW. This event will be held in Siam Paragon,Bangkok,Thailand, from 22 to 25 September 2011. For those who want to see the latest BMW Vision EfficientDynamics, now it is your chance. (more…)

September 24, 2011
Best selling cars in Thailand

Here is the top 10 best selling cars in Thailand for the year of 2010 with the number of cars sold in Thailand. Every country has its own culture, its road condition, the market needs, and how one car model is advertised in the country. With many reasons, the best selling cars in one country could be different from another. Check out the best selling cars in Thailand, the only country in Southeast Asia never colonized by any European power. Thailand, the land of smile. (more…)

July 12, 2011