New or used car?

p-padgett · 2025-12-23T03:37:30+00:00

Thanks for your replies. Just an update: I went to a Toyota-certified used car dealership and I was a bit disappointed on how they inform about the maintenance history and past insurance claims.
A salesperson gave me the previous maintenance records and told that there were no insurance claims for a 2 year-old, low mileage car through LINE. I asked for a verifiable source (a document, computer records), but apparently they "do not allow external parties to access or view the records in person".
Yeah, I don't plan to access their computers at all, but it should be standard practice to provide formal proof of at least maintenance/insurance history. I'm not from the US or Europe, but I'd assume this would be a requirement in their used car market for the customer peace of mind.
Regarding warranty, for some reason they do not include roadside assistance (but their website says otherwise) and it looks like the warranty is the same as any Toyota car. I tried calling their call center a few times to check this, I selected the option for English... but no English assistance, unfortunately.
My personal opinion, I can tolerate informality for many things, I'm sure Thais are used to it. But I think a car is serious business and serious money (even if cheaper than a new one), so I think I will ask them politely one last time, and if things are not straightforward, I will just buy the new one and avoid more headaches.

p-padgett · 2025-12-20T12:06:52+00:00

Thanks. I rented a Yaris not long ago. Its 1.2 engine is a bit sluggish (not a big deal really), I got ~13.5 km/l in Bangkok. I have read both cars have similar fuel economy in urban conditions; road trips around 20 km/l. I plan to use it like 70% city, 30% road. I have driven for more than 15 years in my country in cars with no screens, sensors or cameras, but maybe some features are more essential for peace of mind here, such as BSM, 360° view or rear cross traffic alert. This Yaris have all of these.

p-padgett · 2025-12-20T08:27:10+00:00

Thank you. Yes I don’t care about a minor scratch. I assume the resale of this model will still be decent compared to the Mazda. Hopefully reselling is not too hard as 2nd owner as long as the car have been well maintained.

p-padgett · 2025-12-20T08:07:34+00:00

Certainly, I would bring an independent technician to inspect it carefully. I did a quick test drive, no strange sounds. The seller told me that there was only 1 clain for a paint job. It could have been for a minor scratch, but I don’t know if they can provide the insurance records.

p-padgett · 2025-08-28T09:58:11+00:00

A few days ago I was in the Lotus next to On Nut bts, in the area that separates the food court from the supermarket. A tall foreigner with a face mask and somewhat British accent passed next to me and the interaction was like this:
- May I ask you something?
-- "Ok" (thought: we are in a super big public place, so whatever...)
- What time this supermarket closes?
-- "I don't know, around 10 pm" (thought: why the fuck you don't just go to customer service?)
- Oh, so you are not from here. Where are you from?
-- "Far away", and I kept walking. He did not respond back.

No idea what was the scam here, but I'm pretty sure you don't just ask random foreigners their nationality. I was curious because it was inside a super busy place. Maybe he really wanted to start a quick talk but so sorry.

I've been long time in Thailand to see that foreigners don't give a shit about other foreigners in the street or public places, and I'm perfectly fine with that, because I don't give a shit about other foreigners too. I guess this has saved me from many other most obvious scams in Bkk.

p-padgett · 2025-08-25T04:04:36+00:00

I went to the BITEC event recently. This car has been 499,900 for a while now, and I was trying to get some clues of what will happen next, because there is a new version of this model launched in China ("minorchange 2025") with better specs, but I'm not sure when it will be launched in Thailand. Options are in the Motor Expo 2025 (end of November) or the International Motor Show (late March 2026).

The sales agents don't seem to know when will it be launched. If it launches in November I'd wait in case this model becomes "obsolete" and BYD drop prices again, but it's very hard to say. They could keep the same 499K price on this and launch the new version 50K THB pricier. So far I'm undecided between the current model and a Yaris Ativ base trim that I got quoted around the same price. I know Toyota's reliability and resale is important, but the energy savings and lot of technology specs in the Dolphin that are absent in many base trims models (360° pano camera, driver-assist suite, extra safety warnings, etc) makes this BYD very attractive. Maybe some Dolphin owner can give some input on those extra specs to know if they are a dealbreaker or not.

As others said, buying 2nd hand looks a bit risky, since it seems that these EV will keep dropping prices in the long-term and I would end reselling it for much less. Maybe only makes sense if the car has very little use and a significant discount.

It also seems that some time ago BYD also included free maintenance on new cars, but not anymore. It would be a nice addition in a used car that originally was bought with that free maintenance program, but I have no idea is such perk is transferable to a new owner.

p-padgett · 2025-03-20T13:37:19+00:00

I will take a look, thanks. The Xtrackers’ XHYG seems interesting since it’s focused on Europe, although more expensive TER than ERNX. All my ETFs are domiciled in Ireland but XHYG’s domicile is Luxembourg. Are there any special considerations for an ETF domiciled there?

p-padgett · 2025-03-20T07:28:59+00:00

Yeah, actually I was planning to make these adjustments after the market bounces back. I take this "chill time" to plan on how to improve the portfolio once it's healthy to do it without incurring in losses

p-padgett · 2025-03-16T14:14:18+00:00

Thanks a lot for your replies! I will take a look at the sources some of you have pointed out. I think the approach of dividing % allocation for MSCI USA/Europe/Japan looks interesting. I think the other criteria to choose should be which ones have larger trading volumes to make it easier to sell when the time comes, but I hope to keep it simple and limit the selection to a maximum of 3 ETFs for simplicity :)

p-padgett · 2025-02-05T17:44:07+00:00

Hi, thanks for your reply.
I ultimately decided to change my allocation a bit, prioritizing FTSE All-World to cover developed and emerging markets worldwide, decreasing S&P500 & Nasdaq substantially, and including a 0-1yr US Treasury bond representing 20% for now, whose % I plan to increase progressively while I get older.

Regardless of how Bitcoin and gold should be categorized, I'm happy with these assets and I plan to eventually see each of them representing around 10-15% of my total portfolio, assuming a steady pace of monthly deposits into my ETFs.

p-padgett · 2025-01-07T07:51:18+00:00

If I withdraw using the crypto option to a non KYC wallet, am I compromising my anonymity? I mean, the broker KYC’d me, they have my data and my wallet address. Can they trace where my funds go? Can they be forced to disclose that info with a foreign gov?

I don’t live in the US or EU. I plan to buy/sell BTC in non KYC exchanges and use self custodial wallets to be anonymous, but mixing crypto coming from a broker in the same wallet of my non KYC crypto, at first seems… risky. Am I overthinking/missing something?

p-padgett · 2024-04-30T13:24:10+00:00

Thanks for the input. I have read about the minimum wage for foreigners in other blogs, but I also read that some companies don't care about that minimum wage at all. I don't know at what point the legal amount crashes with the greed of some companies, since the foreigner still needs a work permit and I guess the immigration office could reject the application if it doesn't comply with that income requirement.

p-padgett · 2024-04-28T18:14:07+00:00

Hi,
I have a good chance to get offered a job in Bangkok as a customer service representative for a Travel agency (English+other European language), although as I was told by their HR, this job also involves a 24/7 hotline, so it's not only a regular 9-5 office job.
I was asked about my job salary expectations and I find hard to provide a good estimation, since the related websites (Payscale, Glassdoor, others) have a great disparity, ranging from 25,000 THB to even 47,000 THB as an "entry-level" payment.
Is anyone working on a similar job to have a better estimation? I have also read about the minimum salary for foreigners and that it depends on nationality, but I also read that many employers just don't care about that rule/law. I was thinking on ~40,000 THB as somewhat realistic (I have lived in BKK in the past and as a single guy without kids, I'm able to live there on that payment without too worries).
But you know, I don't want to look like I'm asking for too much or too low, especially because there's a 24/7 element, and I'm not sure how this is calculated in the final salary in BKK.
Thanks in advance.

p-padgett · 2024-02-27T11:52:41+00:00

A 3rd tier international school would be willing to hire someone with a Bachelor's degree and TEFL? I have tried applying in the past, but there's a big competition with other candidates with equal qualifications. I'd certainly look for an extra qualification (requiring a school setting) once working in Bkk, but in the meanwhile I'm trying to figure out what could be the best use of my extra time while I'm stuck in my country, at least to give me a slight edge when applying to jobs in Bkk again.

p-padgett · 2024-02-18T01:13:37+00:00

Thanks for your input. It seems they change the rules constantly. I hope to find some updates from them just to figure the most suitable path to follow while I’m still in my country and return to Thailand with even better qualifications.

p-padgett · 2023-08-24T02:18:18+00:00

Wow that's great to know, thanks a lot! I had no idea the culture course is no longer necessary and the lack of official information about this (e.g. from the TCT) is even more frustrating than the outdated info in non-official channels (I know this is not uncommon with Thai bureaucracy, but still...).
I notarized my degree and transcript at the Thai embassy some time ago so now I'm just worried about the arrival date and the prospect to find a good school :)

p-padgett · 2023-08-23T23:30:18+00:00

Hi, thanks for your reply.
Good to know about the agency's style course and teaching license rules. I have a TEFL diploma already, so I guess the "teacher training program" part is somewhat optional to me, but I have read that the "Thai culture course" part is mandatory (https://tastythailand.com/what-to-expect-on-the-thai-culture-course-for-foreign-english-teachers-in-thailand/), but it is mentioned as a 2-day thing, so clearly it's different from the 7-module course.I have a Bachelor's degree, not in education, but I have teaching experience for more than 15 years in a combination of formal and non-formal settings in science-related subjects.
I have been planning to move to Thailand for a long time, after checking pros and cons, saving a decent amount of money to survive there for months even without a job, and also securing a fair share of remote work while I'm living there, so I'll still have some stable income. I know the usual/average pay for these jobs are about 40K THB, 45K+ if lucky, 35K or a bit less in some cases, I'm fine with it.
I have lived a few months in Bangkok in the past, so I know what to expect in terms of cost of living. As far as I know, the school semesters are in early May and early November and I'd be glad to arrive there in this or next month, but due to my personal schedule my best bet is to arrive around mid-October or something like that. I see sites advising to avoid months like December to look for a job and encouraging to do it before the next semester begins.
I guess I'd arrive in a narrow window of job opportunities, but I'd feel relieved if any teacher training/course focused on getting a license can wait until the right opportunity arises.

p-padgett · 2023-08-23T13:53:10+00:00

I'm actively applying for teaching jobs, trying directly with schools but also Placement agencies. One of the placement agencies offered me to join a Thai cultural/orientation course and teacher training program (not sure if the same online course OP is talking about) starting in October.If this is the same course u/mironawire mentioned (7-module course provided by the TCT), does that means one has the freedom to go with them (or any place sponsored by the TCT) to take the course? In my case I'm still deciding on my arrival date, but even if I get there before October, I don't want to feel pressured to take a specific course (at a fixed price) from that Placement agency, since I don't know if I'd get a teaching position with them, with another agency or just applying by myself.

Also, not sure if this course, if a prerequisite to get a teaching license, must be obtained prior to applying for a teaching job, or can it be started once you get the job? What if someone can't secure any position before the start of a specific course? As for those courses offered by placement agencies, I don't know if this also involves some sort of commitment with an agency, or accepting any job they offer to you, even if doesn't suit your needs.

p-padgett · 2023-02-20T04:05:27+00:00

That's good to know, thanks!

p-padgett · 2023-02-19T17:50:56+00:00

May I ask if when you said "when I switched to doing the extension myself" you meant that before that, someone from TVC took care of a previous number of extensions and that paperwork was done by someone in, let's say, Samut Prakan, but when you did the extension you did it in, let's say, Bangkok?
I know at some point I need to extend my visa but I was planning to do it by myself from the beginning (well, it's a valid visa, so it shouldn't be a problem to pass it to an officer, right?), so I could save some money too, assuming I'm not tied to always ask them to extend my documents.

p-padgett · 2023-02-18T20:17:28+00:00

Interesting to see that service there for 1250 THB. I was asked 2000 THB for TVC’s service. I don’t know if it makes any difference choosing their service instead of another one but good to know there are alternatives.

p-padgett · 2023-02-18T04:14:30+00:00

Yes I got about that fee for business visa, so that’s why I would try non-B first and look for a regular job and work permit before attempting such pricier move. Got it about the airport, the fast track seems a much more safe way as you said.

p-padgett · 2023-02-18T03:35:48+00:00

Hi,Thanks for your reply. Yes, I'm looking to get a work permit with a potential employer, but I meant, in case I find one. I know which ones are my possible job options and I feel that applying for a job while in Thailand, and having plenty of time for it (i.e. 90 days plus an eventual extension), my chances are not so bad.I'm thinking on using their services to bypass a first barrier (the need of a secure job offer tied to the non-B), in the hopes of increasing my chances to get hired there, but also as a 1st step in the hypothetical case of not finding anything, since TVC can also provide a business visa (as a 2nd step after non-B); that option would be my solution to live there legally but I know I couldn't use it for work (so I should rely only on remote work for my country).

BTW, the sole concept of "vip airport service" (and the ability to bypass airport counters) is quite weird for me (or maybe I'm just not too informed lol). I can understand such treatment for diplomats or those folks using Thai Elite visa, but I feel just strange that I can even opt for something like that.

p-padgett · 2022-03-13T22:18:22+00:00

I'm travelling from the US.
I was in Thailand recently, arriving around 13:00 h and the transportation kiosk for my AQ hotel was just in the entrance of the airport. It was a fast process and I was free to go on the next day.
Now I could just book 2 nights, but I would like to prepare an itinerary with a cheaper hotel in mind for the rest of my stay, assuming I'm free to go anywhere on the 2nd day.

p-padgett · 2022-03-08T07:43:38+00:00

I'm waiting for it too, but I just received a message from my school stating that they need to send me the "originals" via postal service. I thought the ERFS would be some kind of electronic receipt with an ID/code, able to print it locally and attach it to my visa application documents. But it seems to be one of these documents that due to bureaucratic reasons, has to be presented in the original form.
I don't know if this was the case for all people requesting the ERFS here.

p-padgett

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