kush

I really don't know the value as the shipper had already cleared the goods even without my consent. I was not happy with the entire process as it was not very transparent. FYI value of the goods were over Rs. 100K with the robotized broom costing over Rs. 80K So can complain as what I paid was less than the VAT on actual value. However it was very much less on previous occasions.

I used to get stuff shipped usually sports goods, household equipment, sometimes vehicle parts, electronics etc.. Have been getting away with less than Rs. 5000/- Last shipment had a robotized broom and it was wacked with Rs. 16,000/- not a big amount when you consider the value. However, I guess it would have been much less if this was few months back.

How expensive is this to replace. One could change it every 50K km if this is the only issue in otherwise good car. All modern cars will have at least one issue may be injectors, turbos, DCT etc..

Garage number is needed if you need to drive the car before registration. I have driven few of my imports port to home (two from Hambanthota - Colombo on the highway) with only chassis number printed pasted without any issues. However this was before 2019, things may have changed. Importing a car without being a registered importer is quite cumbersome now even for an individual especially with getting IRD clearance. They request so many documents and virtually harass you. No idea about the process for the company. In any case you will need a importer to help you source the car and ship from where ever they may be able to help and give advice on this.

This is a age old thing I remember when I decided on the CRV in 2013 the story was that it was inferior to the JDM. My cousin's husband got a JDM while I went ahead with the Brand new. When the cars got delivered I compared them side to side and they were identical apart from the gear box / drive train and starter key. My car was higher spec and the price difference is was only 2-3 hundred rupees more for mine.

I would say Suzuki Fronx, Honda City or any 1.0 L Turbo any thing else too expensive.

Only time will tell. At the moment only few cars were cleared and came in to the market. Most of the middle class cannot afford or do not want to buy new cars at these prices. Due to absurd tax structure decent cars used by average middle class has become unaffordable. likes of Corolla, Prius. Only tin cans available sub Rs. 10 Mn. On the other hands there are RR, Ferrari, LR, coming in at over Rs. 100 Mn. which makes me wonder where the economy has heeded due the recent past. Looks like so many people have benefited from the economic crisis. When you take a typical middle class family number of months income that has to be put in to buy a car has gone up by 3-4 times. Eg: Wagon R. @ Rs. 3.0 Mn. on a 300K income 10 Times in 2018 Now @ 8.0 Mn. may be on a 400K 20 times this is not factoring the disposable income due to high cost of essentials. Corolla @ 8.0 Mn in 2018 and Rs. 28 Mn. now works out to 20 vs 70 Middle class migration has not stopped only the middle aged migration has reduced. Majority of middle class children end up migrating and starting their life in better countries. This is not only due to cars but other factors too. In 5-6 or may be 10 years we might not end up having any experienced professionals in this country.

My uncle got the 2018 previous generation. Pretty good in quality typical Toyota no nonsense ride and handling. Not Allion/ Premio/ Corolla but in par with the Vitz or may be little better. For the price cannot complain. New one comes with Toyota Safety Sense

Well the loss will be if you sell the vehicle. Anyone who brought the vehicle to keep it for few years will at least have the use of the vehicle and who knows in SL prices could adjust further due to currency depreciation or taxation changes.

Sub 1.0 L cars can be brought in at less than Rs. 10 Mn. Already Perodua is offed around Rs. 8.0 Mn. Toy#ta L#nka also will bring down their range including the Yaris which is a global vehicle. I was offered a Yaris @ Rs. 9.5 (2004) by a leading importer. There is Honda City, Yaris Active, Suzukis that can be brought down by the agent. If agents come in to the party soon the prices will stabilize as demand could shift from Used to New. So technically Vitz, Raize, Wagon R used prices should come down by at least 30-40% Anything above 1.0L and over Rs. 5.0 Mn. CIF will hold their value unless the owners shift to smaller cars.

This is what I have been predicting. International agencies wanted import restriction lifted, we need to hit IMF revenue targets so be it. In a country where people do not pay their direct taxes what option does a government have but to tax consumption. Victims of this unfortunately is the middle class salaried guy who pays their due to the govt and also end up having to pay exorbitant taxes to buy a vehicle be it new or used. No government did anything to correct this injustice and even if this govt takes steps it will take couple of years hence these duties will go on for at least till next budget in 2026. Secondly country simply cant afford imports at his time as we still have not got our revenues in place. Imports other than vehicles are also increasing. The amount of Double cabs orders from vehicle importers are unbelievable. Sometimes I wonder that we might bust the entire USD 1 Bn. on cabs. Looking at the current duty structure cabs seems to be more tax efficient where the taxes as a % looks like 100-150% (I stand to be corrected on this). If this is the case people will start buying cabs instead of cars which are inefficient and will start clogging our roads due their sheer size. In my view these high taxes should not continue as they will have longer term social repercussions. This was one of the reasons for the brain drain when a young guy start working their first dream is a car and when you have to pay USD 100-200K for a car that can be brought for USD 20-30K in Australia or Canada. A senior private executive could afford a C class Mercedes in 2018 now even the for the CEO this has become a dream. Other issue is when the value of the vehicles go up your insurance premiums go up my insurance cost has been increasing over the last 5-6 years. I'm hope and pray that some kind of adjustment will come in to this madness at least within next couple of years for all our sake.

I remember in 2019 when they released the permits auction prices in Japan for Allion/ Premio, CRV went up. Currently only few vehicles will be tax efficient mosty less than 1000cc and 1.5 hybrids. Only few selected models like Yaris, Aqua, Yaris Cross, Vezel that come in to my mind. Even the Corolla and Corolla Cross will be expensive. Given the low supply prices might moving up in the auctions. This may be the reason for vehicle importers to lobby in to this 7 year thing which will allow them to get Sri Lankan favourites like Vitz, Aqua, Axio and even Premio/ Allion if there are any.

Not even that i have seen few advertisements in FB market place with below market prices. However when inquired i get the feeling that they are not genuine sales. I believe there is a racket to bring the current market prices down by a certain segment. In a country where majority do not pay or underpay their taxes there is no way the government can afford to reduce taxes on spending. This is the only way we can recover taxes. Only victims in this process is very few people who actually pay taxes majority being middle class salaried who end up paying taxes up to 36% on their salary and when they save that get taxed too. If ever there is to be justice they should not allow anyone to bring down a vehicle who has not paid their taxes for the last five years. Better still may be imposed a license system based on taxes paid.

Even if the vehicle market is opened we need to make sure that LC payments should happen gradually not to shock the exchange market. When the bond restructure took place few months back some banks needed to buy dollars from the market and the rates went up by around Rs. 20. I don't have the exact figures but this would have been in millions. Moment this happened exporters kept their dollars expecting further depreciation that pushed the dollars more. CBSL at the moment does not have sufficient reserves to manage these shocks. Just imagine if we open LCs to USD billions and when they come in within a period of few months. Main reason for giving away of the restrictions is to satisfy the IMF and other donor agencies and to bring in taxes. So how the hell you are going to achieve that with lower taxes. Vehicle importers are lobbing for older vehicles to maximize their profits. New cars have gone up in prices and as a result used prices too. Universally people are hanging on to their vehicles for a longer time. In my view better to wait until this whole hulla balu is settled my be a year or so (we have already waited 5 years) until this whole thin is settled. Once we have more stability in the economy there could always be possibilities in tax reductions or some kind of permit systems that would bring down the cost.

That may be the case with the gasoline sedan and touring but the sport has double wishbone set up in the back. I have the GZ with sport seats best seats and suspension setup i have experienced in a Jap at this price. Car is very compliant and planted and my only gripe is low power from the 1.2L and the terrible CVT which takes ages to response. Not a big issue for office commute and highway but not a good setup for a spirited driving. A manual would have been much better but opted to CVT as the main requirement was city commute. It is not as comfortable as a Allion/ Premio and rear seats are not at all spacious, boot is small so Allion/Premio Axio fan boys will not like it. I find that low speed ride on poorly surfaced roads are bit jittery partly may be due to low profile tires.

There seems to be lot of lobbying and hype created by the vehicle importers in social media especially to bring down old vehicles. Motive they say is to make cars more affordable to the masses as the current used prices have gone out of proportion. If allowed this will maximise their profits and reduce the prices of sub 1.0L used car market. Given the current tax structure if continued I don't see significant reduction in anything over 1.0 L and JPY 2.0 Mn. CIF coming down in prices. I was going through non JDM Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Suzuki offerings and there seems to be few interesting models in 1.0 L, 1.5L Hybrid categories which will be tax efficient. If one is not hell-bent in getting a car from Japan which most probably not manufactured in Japan or only assembled in Japan using parts from other countries you may be able to get a brand new from the agent will warranty for the same price of a used JDM or little bit more. Cavet: There could be few differences in the material quality and some useless features.

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.)

My sentiments too But given the gullible nature of our car buyers and vehicle importers I would not be surprised if this scheme does not come in to fruit. If you see the number of lobbing social media posts this is exactly what they are lobbing for. In my view this whole duty structure need to be revamped in order to get a decent car for the lower middle and middle class. Other fact of the matter is most of the vehicles in the past came under different concessionary schemes and at a significantly less tariffs. If you are smart you really can get a good vehicle at less tax hence there were whole heap of 1.0 Audis, 1.2L Pugs and 1.5 L CRVs and C200s and of cause the Vitz, Allions, Axios. I was going through the web for JDMs and unfortunately majority does not come within this sweet tax brackets anymore. As they are not going to have any concessionary schemes we may all end up with Chinese and Indian crap. I was at the Colombo Motor Show and majority of the vehicles they show cased had very poor material quality and did not give much confidence that they will last. Apart from the couple of Korean built. Personally at those prices you will be better off keeping your current wheels.

Not to argue on your point or I'm not a proponent of the car mafia. Personally I have always bought brand new from agent exception being the Corolla Sport (1 year used ) and a FIT GP5 (zero mileage) both of which was not offered by the agent. If 7 years is allowed it will be 2018 upwards. Government has a Rs. 800 Bn. revenue target. In order to achieve this they need to bring down 150-200k vehicles if they are looking at small vehicles. That would cost approximately 3-4 Bn. USD which the country cant afford. So the suggestion of the vehicle importers is to increase the age threshold which will bring down the exchange out flow whilst retaining the revenue target. Personally I would bring get a brand new or stick with what i have until things settle may be a year or two. In any case there may be restrictions in the numbers allowed. How this is going to be achieved is still unknown.

I have a different view on this. From what I hear from the propaganda in the social media by the vehicle importers is they want to import used vehicles up to 7 years. Rational being that they will be still newer than what is available in the used market. In the current system duty is based on the engine capacity. There is no luxury tax on CIF less than Rs. 3.5 Mn. In the case of the government tax on a new Wagon R or a 7 year Wagon R will be the same. But CIF on a 2018 would be around Rs. 1.5 Mn. where as a a new would be nearly Rs. 3.0 Mn. So landed cost will be around Rs. 4.5 Mn for the 2018 and Rs. 6.0 Mn. for the new. Knowing our market most of the people will opt for the clocked R grade instead of the new as it is lot less tan the current market price of a 2018 ignoring he fact that they can get a 2024/5 for Rs. 6.0 which is still cheaper than the current market price. In this equation the vehicle importer and the government both wins as for given amount of foreign exchange you can import more vehicles there by more profit for the importer and more tax for the government. Besides this will enable the importation of Axio and the Allion/Premio that went out of production few years back. And also the Corolla Sport and the CHR with 1.2L

Stick to your Premio You will be able to achieve the expected economy from a hybrid or a diesel. Maintenance will be at another level from the Premio

If you are even thinking about 1-3 stick to your Japaneese

Man Rs. 55 Mn. is lot of money for a car even now As you mentioned is it a good time to invest in a car? I don't think car at that price could be considered an investment. At your budget you can get a good Merc or a Rang Rover What is your preference Car/ Suv/ Coupe/ Hot hatch High end market has crashed due to economic issues and there are good bargains if you look around and prepare to wait. Is is Rs. 55 Mn. or Rs. 5.5 Mn.

Agreed 100% By the way Swift RS Turbo is a good option. Descent performance, economy and handling with Jap reliability and ease of maintenance. I would rate it above the Vitz that would be the other option Interior is very plasticy (so it is Vitz) if you don't mind that sort of things.

This is the whole idea. When you are in Rome you have to be a Roman. Driving my Macan as a daily driver to work was rather painful affair due bumper to bumper traffic and the stress of having look out for the tuk-tuks and the occasional Mazda / Lancer guy who wants to do fast and the furious (no offense intended for the Lancer, I was one on the first to get one of the EX's down in 2007 and had a wonderful 3 years) Wagon R will keep up with the traffic up to around 50kmph which is more than enough to keep up with the city traffic and due to the size you can manure darn thing around people who hog the road not knowing which lane to keep on to. It can use the lane in parallel with motor cycles which a large car will not be able to do. It is at home with the tuk-tuks at busy city traffic. And parking, size, the turning circle and the ease of getting out of either side of the vehicle. I can't even recollect the number of times I had to park and walk due to not having a large enough parking slot. Believe me it is the faster in traffic and I have kept up with much faster machines with 3-5 times the power. Wagon R or any Kei car should be used for the purpose it was designed which is not the case in SL. Agree it is a pain to drive in the highway, for what ever reason if i get in to it I keep it around 80kmph at the curb side led let the faster traffic overtake me. It will do 100-120 kmph but at that speed if you will not have control over the vehicle. It accommodates my three kids with their school and sports gear. They are allowed to eat/ drink change believe me which is a requirement when you huddle them from class to class or practices. Once the seats are folded it can accommodate large appliances, small furniture (Wagon part) It is all about the intended purpose and how it fits you life. When it came to a decision which car to keep my wife choose the Wagon R over Kia Picanto. Picnato was much fun but the Wagon R was the more practical sensible option. It has given me 5 years of reliable service and sadly I have no alternate to replace. So most likely it will stay with us until the imports open up.