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They cannot stand even a small scratch and will immediately take their car to the garage to touch up the paint. Similarly, if there is just a small noise coming from the car, they will waste no time in getting it fixed.

Garages in Thailand, therefore, are never short of work - whether it is repairing engines, a paint job, fixing electrics, suspension, brakes, clutch or even to patch up tyres.

But as carmakers improve on the quality of their products and as the lifestyle of Thais undergoes a change, some jobs are disappearing. For example, tyre repair shops, commonly found at every fuel station or community, are not so common anymore these days.

The same holds true for alternator repair shops, which have shrunk in number. Alternators these days have become more complex making it more difficult to repair. Car owners, on the other hand, do not want to leave the vehicle at the repair shop for the whole day just to repair the alternator. Now they just pay for a new one or a buy a used one instead.

There are also fewer radiator shops these days. Radiators, these days, are made up of many types of metals glued together with special adhesives and chemicals.

Mechanics who are very good at overhauling engines are not doing too well either, save the exceptional ones. These days, car owners are advised to replace the engine with a used one rather than overhaul the old unit.

But there are also many mechanics and garages that can survive if their work is satisfactory to the customers, especially garages that offer paint jobs. That is because Thai car owners are so conscious of getting scratches on their car's body repaired.

When looking for a paint garage, car users in Thailand would usually look for one with a paint shop that uses 2K paint system (it uses two components - base coat and clear coat).

They would also look for a shop that uses the same paint as the one used by the carmaker. Even if there is only minor rust or a few scratches over the body, owners cough up money to paint the whole car so that the colour stays even all over.

My advice to car owners when they ask me about this is not to give much importance to slight scratches over the body. Just wash the car and then wax it gently. Do not make an insurance claim in order to get a "paint splash".

That is because when you sell the car later and the buyer checks the record, they will find out that you had the whole car re-painted. This makes them think that the car had met with an accident that requires new paint for the whole car. This would lower the resale value significantly.

Meanwhile, for those who plan to buy a new car, I suggest that you go for bright colours such as white, silver, gold, red or yellow because they have lower accident rates than black, grey, dark green or dark blue.

Cars with bright colours are easier to look after and when a paintwork repair is required, it is also easier than darker colours too.

Ultimate in Luxury

The Luxury LS 460 is a wonderfully comfaortable car fitted with all mod cons, althoough not necessarily the most fun vehicle to drive.