[Chalermchai Wongwaiwit]

Originally Posted by YWGT3

Relieved to know that your i8's problem is resolved. If you're contemplating on obtaining a BMW wall mounted charger, consider getting it outfitted with higher capacity cables (US$60.00 extra) than what the specification requires. The Bosch installer, who installed my wall mounted unit, said that these cables will allow for an easy, less invasive, and cost efficient replacement/installation when the Bosch i8 higher capacity chargers are introduced.

Two months ago I actually bought a BMW wall charger from a dealer in Calabassas, CA. for about $1,250 and was ready to bring it on the plane back to Thailand. Luckily I opened the box and found that the plug is different and had to return it. My car is UK spec and the plug is different from the one in US cars. Go figure!!

If I want a genuine BMW wall charger, it has to be on "special order" for about $4,000, and I will have to wait a few weeks. My dealer wants to sell me KEBA wall charger for about US$ 3,000.

You may all wonder how a Thai person can tolerate all these ridiculously expensive car stuffs. But that's the cost of living in paradise like Thailand. (But you must have the money)

P.S. Relating to the awful grid condition, I just had to repair my movie projector too because of busted power supply. Wish I could sue the Electric Authority of Thailand for the damage they are doing to all my toys!

Cheers to everyone and Happy Holidays!!

[MalibuBimmer]

Hey, that was my dealer! Bob Smith. (I affectionately call the dealership B.S. BMW.)

Chale - What do you do in Thailand? Other than drive your fleet of interesting cars?

[Chalermchai Wongwaiwit]

Originally Posted by MalibuBimmer

Hey, that was my dealer! Bob Smith. (I affectionately call the dealership B.S. BMW.)

Chale - What do you do in Thailand? Other than drive your fleet of interesting cars?

That's right! The one right by the 101 Freeway. I have a house in Westlake Village. My son is a sophomore at UC Irvine, so we visit him every 3-4 months.

What do I do in Thailand? I am just a lucky guy being born to my parents. My mother collected many pieces of land in area surrounding Bangkok for many years. Now those properties have become very valuable. Some pieces of land have appreciated more than 50 times!!!

The problem of Bangkok is the traffic. It can take you 1-2 hours to move less than 5 miles during rush hours. (No kidding!) So you can't live too far away from the center of town, though there is plenty of land in the suburbs. Ten years ago we started to have sky trains for mass transport. The only way to live and work in Bangkok is to be in a condominium along the sky train routes near downtown. Thus the massive value appreciation of land near the train stations. My family happened to own a few pieces of land near those stations. I have a BS in engineering and MBA in finance, so the logical thing is to me to become a real estate developer. (My parents are in machine tools business). I am now doing my third project which is a 1,750 rooms condominium right by a new sky train station.

My only passion is cars, no fancy watches or any bling. I have owned early versions of 911's, 911 Turbo, 928, Panamera Turbo, Mercedes SL, S Class, Audi TT, Audi A7 and always have at least one BMW in the past 34 years. I traded in my 2012 BMW 640i for this current i8.

All in all just a lucky guy.

Sorry for veering off from the topic of cars. I hope it is interesting for forum readers to know some crazy things about Thailand. (Still a paradise to me)

[Chalermchai Wongwaiwit]

By the way, my very first car was a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with a screaming bird decal on the hood!!! If I remember right, it had a 7,500 cc engine which is exactly 5 times the engine displacement of the i8. How far the world has come!!

[YWGT3]

The manual for the Bosch BMW i8 Wall mounted charger is outfitted with an over-current power protection component.

[MalibuBimmer]

Chale I'm your neighbor here in the U.S. Next time you're here PM me and we'll get together. I'll let you borrow the i8.

[MakisI8]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Most power companies offer, 'Whole Home Surge Protection' for a modest monthly fee. Ours is 9.99 per month and it covers power and cable. Not too bad for another layer of protection...especially since the most vulnerable item is no longer the home theatre! Lol

Surge protection does not protect your house from electrical surges. The 9.99 buys you insurance. The insurance pays for damages caused by surges.

[Chalermchai Wongwaiwit]

Originally Posted by MalibuBimmer

Chale I'm your neighbor here in the U.S. Next time you're here PM me and we'll get together. I'll let you borrow the i8.

Of course. I'll be in California again in the next 2-3 months. My wife makes good Thai food. Hope you can visit. . I'll pm you.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by MakisI8

Surge protection does not protect your house from electrical surges. The 9.99 buys you insurance. The insurance pays for damages caused by surges.

Actually that is incorrect.

There is an actual device on the side of my home. Inside of that device is a circuit breaker that sacrifices itself in case of a current flow above a certain peak.

Cheers-mk