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Bits of the wet timing belt could be blocking your oil pickup which is a known issue with all the engines with wet timing belts - oil starvation could cause knocking sounds too (and low octane fuel) Oil pickup partially clogged with timing belt bits

December update! Yes, I still have the Civic. Just had a check engine light come up on the way back home from Nuwara Eliya and ended up replacing the O2 sensor as it was faulty; cleanup with brake cleaner wouldn't solve it. Apart from that, I seem to have a weird knocking sound from the engine after my last service just 2 weeks back. They used 0w20 Motul 8000 Performax, which I saw was specific to India (it isn't listed anywhere on the global site nor are the specifications available), but it was ACEA C5 rather than A5. Not sure if that is causing a problem since I also got a low oil pressure warning light a few days back in Colombo, but it went off within like 30 seconds and didn't reappear. Oil level seems fine. I wonder if it's the C5 oil with lower HTHS compared to the A5 ones. Also, it's a little weird since after the oil leak fix back in Aug / Sep, my maintenance minder indicated a service due in December; this was within just like 3k km or so. Need to get this thing checked and also replace my engine under-guard since that was damaged as well; thanks to the wonderful holes and roads we have. By the way, I just checked my VIN on the Honda UK site and there’s a recall notice around the fuel pump. Apparently there’s a defect in the impeller that causes fuel to leak out, resulting in a fuel odor once parked. It apparently fails and the vehicle either stalls or refuses to start. I don’t think the recall is offered by the dealer here though. Might want to check your VIN and see too.

I don't know the details or specs much but the look of the Terra got my attention 😛just as I like the Fortuner, though I'm not able to buy either at this time in my life (or not in Sri Lanka)

I take your advise. But there are very few options for someone who needs an upgrade from a compact crossover to a mid sized one. With current tax system all Toyotas are out of the picture. Harrier having a 2L engine and RAV4 even bigger. CRV(gasoline) still has 1.5L engine and cannot find any RHD ones in Japanese auctions. I hardly think we can get down from Aussie this time with what happened in 2018. The agent will quote around 25 million for brand new ones for sure. Tuscon and Sportage were advertised with competitive price tags. Should look into them as well. Those are the only reliable ones come to mind with 1.5L engines.

Bl**dy h*** ! DON"T ! Get it off your mind ! Just don't !!

No. Nothing like carnet. For carnet the car needs to be registered under the foreign resident's name and the car can be in Sri Lanka only for a specific period of time (3 months right now). Expats working for international organizations like the UN, USAId, etc...get to have a duty free car for personal use during their mission. this is applicable to wherever we go to work at. No restrictions on what can be imported. Only think is it would be easy if whatever you are importing is within the prevailing requirements of the country (if it is not you just have to request permission). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs pretty much issues a letter certifying the expat's work in the country and makes a request to the Customs department to allow the importation of a car for the exapt. The custom's department in turn reviews the vehicle that is being brought in and issues a letter approving the importation. That is it. No we did not have to pay any of the taxes in the cusdec. If we choose to sell the car then if a local buys it he/she will have to pay the indicated duty (or prevailing one). If it is another expat with duty free privileges then they just pay us for the car and transfer the registration. Just under 20mil. Yes. But those prices like 9.9million for a Vezel, 9.2. mil for a Corolla. Not going to happen unless it is bottom of the barrel. But here is the thing. That 1.5L XTrail...sort of sucks. If you tell me you are going to buy one, I will make it my mission to talk you out of it. The EV motor pushes out about 200hp and about 300Nm of torque. Quite nice to get off the mark. But then the battery dies out and the engine kicks in. The 140HP ish motor makes a horrendous noise trying to keep the motor alive. So now although you have a motor that technically pushes out the equivalent of 200Hp...you are no where near that. To add to that, many owners in Japan are complaining that it is not as fuel efficient as the Serena. The Vezel with the eHEV Hybrid system is much better. Albeit it is smaller. So again...I feel the XTrail is going to get a bad rep in SL after a flood of imports (kind of like the previous model). Even the Serena ePower is the same. The only decent ePowers I have driven is the Note and the Kicks. THe lighter body makes a HUGE difference on the strain of the motor and engine. So the Premio/Allion crowd are going to hate these new cars...including the Corolla.

Yes...which is why I said I feel like the biggest used car price change in the local market would be for the small vehicles. As the vehicle gets larger the options are quite small. Even the Yaris Cross and X-Trail or Kicks with the smaller engine, the vehicle price itself is quite high (we are looking at about 2mil yen ish for YCs and Kicks and XTrails well over 3mil). Those prices the car sales advertise are prices bottom of the barrel The agent quotes 28 million for the brand new Xtrail Epower. I'm pretty sure a used one could be brought down just under 20 million even with luxury tax

For <1000cc, Hybrid Part is correct but for Petrol cars Excise Tax is Rs. 1,881,000/- per unit or Rs. 2,300/- per cmᶾ, whichever is higher according to current published tariff in Customs Website.

Yes...which is why I said I feel like the biggest used car price change in the local market would be for the small vehicles. As the vehicle gets larger the options are quite small. Even the Yaris Cross and X-Trail or Kicks with the smaller engine, the vehicle price itself is quite high (we are looking at about 2mil yen ish for YCs and Kicks and XTrails well over 3mil). Those prices the car sales advertise are prices bottom of the barrel. Exactly...and this is what worries me. The only way you get a Corolla without luxury tax is to get the bottom of the barrel cars at auction. So the risk of our guys buying the 1mil yen crashed up, gone to the moon and back three times over, stone's throw away from being a parts car and importing those are extremely high. Very very few....you are literally looking at cars that are registered between February 2022 to October 2022. Right now the number of Sports, Sedan and Touring with 1.2L engines within 2022-2023 is like 19. So the longer it takes for the imports to start the lesser the number is going to become. Axios are still manufactured. Albeit only as a business model. But I am sure our guys will know how to turn these in to WxBs. Yes...this explains why they are lobbying for increasing the age limit. Sadly, this just puts the consumer at greater risk (to purchasing dressed up junk cars). Now there is another issue here. Right now, Hyundai's local assembly seems to be going okay, and the cars seem to be quite decent as well (well...quite a departure in the right direction compared to the likes of the Pandas and other cars we made). Then they are supposedly planning on assembling the Santa Fe as well locally. Now...I don't get the obsession with trying to build our own cars, but this is an avenue to develop the local industry not specifically in vehicle assembly and manufacture but at least component development. What is going to happen to these investments once the flood gates are opened ?

Something like Carnet I guess. So hope you didn't have to pay all those indicated tax components then 🙂 Yeah if VAT will become payable in future at the time of importation, then this would stop and will be a good relief on public. If you can prove that VAT has already been paid, nobody should be able to add VAT again in a future transaction for the same item.

There are few interesting 1.5 L PHVs from Hyundai, Kia, Range Rover. Otherwise EV seems to be the other option considering the luxury tax threshold is now at Rs. 12 Mn. I was going through JDM offerings there is absolutely nothing that you could get down on a decent budget. No wonder the importers are lobbing to increase the age of the vehicles to 7 years so that they could get down the Allions/ Premios and Axios. I have seen few Corolla Sports 1.2L registered in June 2022 that may be a good option. But would still cost Rs. 15-17 Mn. Cost of importing a similar car in 2019 was Rs. 7.5 Mn. (all duty paid, for the permit around Rs. 4.2 Mn.)

Luxury tax calculation is wrong. For petrol anything above 4 mil is calculated at 100% for hybrid anything above 3.5m calculated at 90%. Electric anything above 6m is calculated at 60%. The 12m was only for the migrant worker permit. Also I think the 1000cc category is wrong need to check.

If the current tax system is going to be implemented for vehicle imports there will be an influx of 1L hatchbacks like Yaris, subcompact crossovers like Yaris Cross, Raize and 1.5L hybrid compact crossovers like Vezel, Yaris Cross hybrid(sub compact). Also 1.5L hybrid mid size crossovers like Nissan Xtrail has a chance to reach the sores compared to gasoline 1.5L ones like Honda CRV, ZRV or Toyota Harrier which is 2L due to taxation based on cc value

https://maps.app.goo.gl/DGgtknZRS7SH3jgu6 Is this the place you are referring to? I have never been to this place or haven't obtain any of their services though..

Hi all, Recently i changed my tires due to wear and tear and found out one of the Alloy wheels is damaged from the inside and there is air leakage, can you all please recommend a trustworthy place to do the repair, I did some dent repair for for alloy wheels for a different vehicle from a Borelasgamuwa place some time back and do not remembers the name of the place, they had many Euros that had come for Alloy repairs, anyone who know their contact number much appreciated if you can share the details.

If you can find a good specimen, FD1 is the best all the way. The normies found out they were excellent cars and ruined them and hyped the market. I would say wait for one and buy it. Kandy has some clean examples with 1st and 2nd owners. If you really cant find one, FD4 it is. Not as cool. But not bad at all. It’s just that the FD1 with all the options comes real close to a Euro. Those paddle shifter and open sunroof do wonders on good drives in the bends. Whats sad is, the FD series was 2.8 to 4 mil a decade ago. Funny how that works in SL.

It was brought in under an expat's duty-free entitlement (my wife gets to bring down a duty free car during her posting in SL). It is quite likely that it is paid at the time of import to customs. It would avoid a whole lot of black-marketing stuff that was happening so the government could secure the VAT component. From the consumer's point of view, it could minimize the snowballing of the VAT component (getting added on at each buying-selling cycle) and the taxation could happen on just the gain recorded.

Hello good people in Auto Lanka, I am planning to buy my first car these days and I am really interested in buying a Honda Civic FD Series car. So far I have noted few cars like this. FD1 Cars - 6Mn - 7.6Mn price range, (yr 2006 - 2008) FD3 Cars - 6Mn - 7Mn price range, (yr 2006 - 2010) FD4 Cars - 6.6Mn - 7.8Mn Price range (yr 2008 - 2010) So far I have done my homework and as per the findings through this website and other various sources, below is the summary of what I absorbed. FD1 - high performance, joy rider with power, hard to find a balanced (between the price and condition) vehicle FD3 - hybrid version, balanced power and efficient, battery issues, easy to bargain , bit cheaper than the other models. FD4 - latest, decent power, nicely maintained more vehicles, bit higher prices depending on the vehicle conditions. My Main questions are: which one/series I should consider when buying - any specific reasons?. what are the know faults and issues specific to the above models. How can I check if the car is not a garbage (generally) All of your valuable comments, thoughts and suggestions are welcome!! I am a work-from-home worker and I won't do over 50Kms per day, weekdays. but will be doing 150Km+ on weekends. - for now I am not considered about the fuel consumption but concerned about the time I will be spending in the garage!! The main reason I wanted to buy a civic is that, I love the vehicle from childhood, nice looking and even the more availability of aftermarket modifications. ======= side notes about current market, for future readers======= By the time this thread is started, the government says import restrictions will be lifted starting February 2025, with the tax structure remaining the same.

According to this tax breakdown it seems the VAT is now payable at the time of importation. Did you bring the car under some concessionary terms like some permit? I think vehicle importers or individuals, both will have to pay 18% VAT according to current regulations and tariff (and your case described above).

Exactly...and in most countries there really isn't a year of manufacture, it is the year of first registration, because of stock transfers and ex-stock. In Japan year of manufacture is year of first registration. None of the official documents say what the year of manufacture is. Here is the tax estimation done by the customs department for our Corolla. This was done in June of this year. They calculate VAT very well at customs. Don't know if this would be changed for vehicle importers. But if cars come in as direct imports via 3rd party importers, VAT may be charged at customs. The LKR valuation of the car was a bit less than 5.4mil (the yen was 1.96 LKR at the time, since this was our family car we didn't have purchase invoices from the time of import, so they took the brand-new value of the car and depreciated it to 85% (as the car was 1.5 years old at the time of landing). Same thing was done to one of my wife's colleagues last month. So for now they are still using the same approach as before. About the published prices by all those 3rd party importers...for many cars they have used the lowest auction-priced cars for the oldest entry-level grades (and in cases like the Corolla there is no way they can provide a none junk unit for advertised prices even if it is the lowest grade and LT is included). They also seem to have left out any profit margin for themselves (maybe they are willing to keep whatever bit they can make from the auction...doubt it though). Even the agent prices, what they have quoted, are base values for entry-level trims, so they are not revealing a lot either. So, in reality, you might end up paying through the roof just for having basics such as window visors and carpets . So yeah...the hyped up price increment which the brokers and the likes are peddling will come down. I doubt we will see the likes of 5-6-year-old Vezels going down to like 4 to 5 mil price tags we saw before the pandemic. What seriously worries me is this....at auction you can buy a 3 year old Corolla for even 1mil yen. The thing is...you don't want those cars. A lot of the cars imported in the past are rental cars in Japan which get sold off in 3-4 years but have nearly 150,000+ kms the least. But the rental cars bought down to SL barely have 50,000km on them.

It won't be the case always. Earlier, up to 3 years meant not from the year of manufacture but from the date of first registration. You could bring down a vehicle up to 3 years from the date of first registration and cancellation certificate of this first registration was a must to include in the documents to import and produce to Customs. So even this 7 year thing too would mean slightly older vehicles than 2018 will be brought down if above documents can be submitted. Excise duty, Luxury Tax maybe correct but VAT... VAT was not a component included in the motor vehicles tariff when we last imported vehicles. VAT was not paid, only Excise, Luxury (where applicable) and a VEL (Vehicle Entitlement Levy) of 15,000/- per vehicle. We were using the right side of above equation for Excise Tax. Taking a Vitz as an example in 2018, excise duty = 996 x 1750 (1,743,000/-) this was what I paid in 2018 for my car. But now that 1750/- per cm3 is 2300/- in current tariff. So there's no VAT paid earlier at the time of importation. But, if VAT becomes payable now, it's a whole different story. VAT base is so ridiculous that it takes excise tax (e) in it too. VAT base would be much higher than the CIF and think of 18% of that base. I think (just my opinion) that all those quoted prices may have been calculated using above Excise tax equation approximately (CIF + Excise Duty + Luxury Tax + VEL ) and because of uncertainty of VAT, they just say +VAT in advertisements. There will be a budget early next year and if they plan to go forward importing vehicles, there'd surely be revisions to current motor vehicles tariff. Then we can know for sure how they're gonna impose taxes on vehicles this time.

Yes it is. Oh even I don't know if Holden or any related models were available here, just got the photo from Web. The model I put here is Holden Commodore Fourth Gen VF (2013-2017) Model. So you or @Gummybr can take the next chance...

Can you upload a vid with clear sound? Q: was the engine bay de-greased/washed ? TT.

Was always fascinated by this after I read a review on a TG magazine about a decade back on the VXR8 So it’s the Holden Commodore/ Chevrolet SS/ Vauxhall VXR8 if I’m not mistaken? Didn’t know there were any in SL tho

Axio..yes...because a new one can be had for about the same price but not in high trim levels though. So while the typical uber trim Axious would go down the WxB trim level might be held up high by the oober-fan-boys and brokers. The alternative for the Axio WxB might be the 1,5L normal Corolla. Firstly, while Premios are advertised at 20 million, those I know who’ve purchased them seem to have paid between 16 to 18 million. So the actual trade prices maybe lower than what is advertised. Especially, when buying from an actual owner. The challenge is that there are no "Lankan" replacements for models like the Vezel, Premio, and Allion. The Vezel, now positioned as a more upscale option, costs about 400,000 yen more than the previous model when new and is reflected in the used car market as well. While the gasoline version is cheaper when new, it’s rarely available at auctions or elsewhere. When it does appear, intense bidding often drives its price up to match that of a low-end Hybrid (gasoline variants also tend to be more popular in African and other South Asian markets). As for the Premio and Allion, I don’t see their audience embracing the Corolla as a replacement. While Toyota aimed the higher trim levels of the Corolla to match the A/P, it simply misses the mark. Despite having similar or even larger external dimensions, the Corolla feels more compact and smaller inside. For the A/P crowd, the ride quality—especially in the gasoline variant—falls short. Unless it’s the WxB grade, most Corolla trims come across as "budget" or cheapish. The Corolla might see some initial popularity, but I feel many will grow to dislike it as an A/P replacement with time, particularly with the gasoline variant and its basic suspension setup. While the lower and mid-level gasoline trims of the Corolla might serve as a replacement for the high-trim Axios, they wouldn’t meet the expectations of A/P owners. Also, the Corolla is a Corolla. The Premio and Allion were associated to the likes of the Corona and Carina which were more premium cars than the Corolla back in the day. Adding to the challenge, there are virtually no other sedan options in Japan. The Mazda3 sedan is a rare sight, and the Civic sedan was quietly discontinued due to poor sales, leaving only the hatchback. Ultimately, the type of car doesn’t matter—it all comes down to supply. Currently, there seems to be an assumption that lifting the ban will allow unlimited car imports as long as there are buyers. I hope this won’t be the case. Just because the country might need, say, 20,000 cars a year doesn’t mean it can afford to import that many annually. It would be a shame if the government just opened the floodgates. We have an opportunity to have a proper controlled system ensuring vehicles in good condition are brought in. Looking at the pre-order lists circulating, it seems there might be limits to the available numbers, and everyone is scrambling to secure their share of the pie. As for the prices these sellers advertise, it’s clear they’re quoting entry-level models (judging by current prices in Japan) without any markup. Many high-trim levels may only be upscaled locally—similar to how we got our G Supiri Premiors. It’s amusing to see one group of sellers trying to convince people that prices will drop while another insists they’ll rise. It’s their usual tactic of creating confusion for their own benefit, even before imports have started. Adding to the irony, they’re circulating a copy of the gazette, but the cars they’re heavily advertising aren’t even listed among those allowed under the lifted ban. Classic dirty tricks at play! 1.8L HYBRID and 2.0L gasoline