kush

I don’t know about the temporary or permanent but they have acquired additional land (paddy fields) for the project at Pore, and they are filling up.

Best is to personally import, most of the car importers import “R” – repaired grade which sometimes have very low mileage. If you buy directly from an auction you will have access to the auction sheet which gives a basic indication about the condition of the vehicle.

Try S***e T*****g for Yokohama or you could try a cheaper brand GT Radial has identical size for much less.

The best option would be to take the vehicle to the agent and get the mileage verified from ECU, apparently this cannot be tampered with. I was told that this facility is even available with D* S***a M****s (Valuer) this is if you could get the seller to agree for this.

CCTV is a good idea if someone is real time in surveillance, which would be not that practical in a house. What is the point of having video footage if the house is robbed anyway. My personal experience, my credit card was stolen and the culprit tried to use it at a ATM, through the bank I got the video to police about 3 years back so far nothing has happened. For a house personally I would go for a good quality alarm system which would be able to cover more points than few cameras.

What you need is a facia adaptor kit for a double din system. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-JETTA-05-DOUBLE-DIN-STEREO-FACIA-KIT-CT23VW01-/260694783063?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cb29eb457#ht_665wt_1035 Once you get it you could fix a unit from any main stream manufacturer Personally I would avoid Chinese unbranded ones as they do not give the level of audio video quality offered by known brands like Kenwood/ JVC/ Pioneer

Difference between the Toyota and the Audi as it age will be the frequency of the visits to the agent. I wish we have data on the visits to get things rectified during first 3 years for each brand, I mean in SL. My be Auto Lanka could facilitate this.

Try S******d M****s apperently they are not so expensive. Recently my cousin took his CRV for 10K service. (First time he took the vehicle as it was imported used) and the bill was less than Rs. 10k. It was just a routine service with oil and oil filter change, but I thought the price is reasonable.

Technically you could drive this car for Nikan (0 cost) if you fix a solar unit to charge the battery. Add about another Rs. 600-900k for the solar unit for around 4.5-5.0 million this might be a better option for a Prius. Having said that I personally feel that the technology is still not time tested in our climate (temperature, humidity, dust) all that could have serious impact on the battery performance and life. My appreciation goes for the people who would be testing this car in SL roads like the pioneers of hybrids thanks to whom the confidence of hybrids have been build up here. And if anyone wants to take the plunge for heaven’s sake think about all the others in their internal combustion engines and “GIVE WAY WITHOUT CLOGGING THE ROADS”

I use a Corolla 141 for the last 5+ years, the car up to recently was used as a second car and has done 30k. I get 8-9 Colombo, 10-14 out station (Generally 12 with a best of 18 in the express way) It was maintained by T****A L***A up to recently and I switch to DIY recently as I noticed that they were starting to rip off. Last service @ 25k cost me over Rs. 19k for the oil, oil filter and spark plugs with a tune up. They also wanted to change the belt, brake pads and air filter and quoted over another 49k, I told them that I don’t have money at the moment and they got a disclaimer signed. I brought the stuff from G* M****S (Genuine Toyota) and replace them myself and cost me only Rs. 28K. My view is if you go there for routine service most of the time you get rip off, however I would still advice anyone to use them for tune ups and a issues which needs diagnostics as they have the necessary equipment and technicians.

Mondeo, a close friend owns a 2.0 Ghia. Excellent vehicle, mechanically reliable compared to the VW and the Volvo. There were couple of electrical issues in the radio and climate control. He sought parts down from ebay.

Try ebay, some suppliers deliver to SL Since they go as vehicle parts sometimes you may have to pay little duty. If you are lucky it might get delivered straight to your address.

I was comfortably cruising did not notice that I was doing 120 kmph until I looked at the speedo when the bus overtook me. What I have noticed is that you need to keep an eye on the speedo otherwise virtually impossible to judge the speed.

I was over taken by a bus on E01 last Saturday (10th Aug ) while doing 120 kmph

4.5 A/A, silver, remote key (no push start), 27,500 km

Last week a friend got down one for Rs. 3.050 Mn. (Personally imported)

Not worth even considering unless you buy a 4 year old car use it for 1 year and import, in which case your tax will be based on the 40% valuation. If you want to get down the 1 year old car go and buy a permit it will be much cheaper and less hassle.

I don’t think one should base the decision purely on this forum as most of us are petrol heads and therefore the views are biased towards performance, handling, driving pleasure where as for the rest of the population (95%) it does not matter. This is why the best-selling sedan car in the world is Toyota Corolla. Prius is a very good car it is comfortable, spacious, economical, has reasonable handling and is a very practical car. And when you look at the absurd tax structure in this county hybrids really make sense.

Why dont you buy a Prius, will do 16 kmpl in city. Quality and space is better than Axio and in par with Allion. You should be able to get a 2010-2011 for your budget or little bit more.

I don’t fully agree, of cause if the brake pads are sticking to the disk this could happen. But also one should be aware that the brake pads are supposed to wear and generally after a long journey you will notice brake dust in your wheels. If you use inferior pads you will wear off the disks and also might experience brake fade.

20-25k seems normal especially on an Auto. Having said that driving style will also make a significant difference. More sedate driving could make your brake pads last longer and will also improve the fuel economy. I have been told that certain brake pads from third party last longer but may be with lesser breaking performance and as this could be a matter of life and death I would certainly not encourage anyone to compromise on the brakes.

1.0 - 1.5

So in essence one could bring down a M5 paying duty for a 518, may be not at the same rate because of the engine capacity but same CIF for duty. What a country wish I had the cash.

OMG all those poor souls who imported basic Monteros and pricing them around 10.0 Mil

Since the vehicle is new I’ve been only using in eco mode with moderate throttle, When I took delivery it was indicating 4.5 km/l which has now improved to 8.5 km/l. Of cause this with mainly weekend commute with less traffic.