I‘m German and we went to Thailand with car over Sadau border. I make this now for about 3 years, stay 7-8 months in Thailand with my girlfriend and in summer I go back for working in Germany.
You can get TV 2 times per year in Penang. They want see proof of found in your bank (5000€ in my case) On your way back, you should have 20k baht cash(!) to show at immigration on border for sure!