Sometimes i forget how good us Brits have it when it comes to cars and driving pleasure. Ive spent the last 4 years between Bangkok and HK and the Clio a french baguette of all things is finally starting to make me miss home.
In Thailand there are outrageous taxes on cars literally triple the price of home, on top of that you have the extremely limited selections of cars for example Renault is not in Thailand at all, there are no Type R or RS etc at the dealers either. They exist but are all grey imports and will break you financially. 70,000 GBP for a focus RS 260,000 GBP for a 911, 40,000 for a Scirocco TSI you get the picture. Used cars are also banned from importation.
So when i moved to HK with slightly lower taxes than Bangkok think double not triple i though....great!! a developed country once part our mighty empire good roads mountains to hoon through and fantastic views. So i brought over all my cars and decided to buy a small car for the mountains...cue my 2nd affair with a 200.
I feel so lucky to have got my Clio in HK is perfect for what i use it for and i never use my other cars anymore so im selling them all and treating the Clio to some goodies instead....or so i thought.
HK is tiny thing like London there is only a few great driving roads, most roads have a speed camera every KM or less and as a result there is a deep street racing culture im not talking your macdonalds drag strip for dem mcnuggets i mean Accountants, Bankers, Doctors all sorts Hondas to Mclarens you can find in the mountains at night away from the cameras. But these not so secret delights are getting ruined by muppets that dont know the rules and the police are targeting it more and more. Once these roads are gone it will be fake plate time and the same people will take to the highways, some already do.
It also turns out HK is a nightmare for car mods and MOT, Basically they must be as it left the factory, you can put on coilovers and a cat back and that's about it. Your not supposed to touch your brakes other than routine maintenance, its illegal to take your rear seats out and drive around and the car cant be re registered as a 2 seater. Want to meg it? nope cant do that. Cage? nope cant do that either. I wanted to use the opportunity i have now to build the Clio of my dreams but legislation stands in the way.
I dont want to build a car i have to drive at 4 am to avoid the fuzz or get sucked into some underworld of street racing to get my kicks.
I miss home with sweeping country roads and space to stretch your right foot, lanes you can skid down and scare the local wild life. Local MOT stations you can give a wink to Dave and buy him a beer later when you get another year of hoonage secured. Sure you have the risk of a speeding ticket but thats the risk you take at least the speed limit is 60 mph and not 50 KPH.
Sorry for the epic rant guess im just homesick for the first time. being on here has also reminded me how great the car community is at home too and i miss that.
In Thailand there are outrageous taxes on cars literally triple the price of home, on top of that you have the extremely limited selections of cars for example Renault is not in Thailand at all, there are no Type R or RS etc at the dealers either. They exist but are all grey imports and will break you financially. 70,000 GBP for a focus RS 260,000 GBP for a 911, 40,000 for a Scirocco TSI you get the picture. Used cars are also banned from importation.
So when i moved to HK with slightly lower taxes than Bangkok think double not triple i though....great!! a developed country once part our mighty empire good roads mountains to hoon through and fantastic views. So i brought over all my cars and decided to buy a small car for the mountains...cue my 2nd affair with a 200.
I feel so lucky to have got my Clio in HK is perfect for what i use it for and i never use my other cars anymore so im selling them all and treating the Clio to some goodies instead....or so i thought.
HK is tiny thing like London there is only a few great driving roads, most roads have a speed camera every KM or less and as a result there is a deep street racing culture im not talking your macdonalds drag strip for dem mcnuggets i mean Accountants, Bankers, Doctors all sorts Hondas to Mclarens you can find in the mountains at night away from the cameras. But these not so secret delights are getting ruined by muppets that dont know the rules and the police are targeting it more and more. Once these roads are gone it will be fake plate time and the same people will take to the highways, some already do.
It also turns out HK is a nightmare for car mods and MOT, Basically they must be as it left the factory, you can put on coilovers and a cat back and that's about it. Your not supposed to touch your brakes other than routine maintenance, its illegal to take your rear seats out and drive around and the car cant be re registered as a 2 seater. Want to meg it? nope cant do that. Cage? nope cant do that either. I wanted to use the opportunity i have now to build the Clio of my dreams but legislation stands in the way.
I dont want to build a car i have to drive at 4 am to avoid the fuzz or get sucked into some underworld of street racing to get my kicks.
I miss home with sweeping country roads and space to stretch your right foot, lanes you can skid down and scare the local wild life. Local MOT stations you can give a wink to Dave and buy him a beer later when you get another year of hoonage secured. Sure you have the risk of a speeding ticket but thats the risk you take at least the speed limit is 60 mph and not 50 KPH.
Sorry for the epic rant guess im just homesick for the first time. being on here has also reminded me how great the car community is at home too and i miss that.
