Saturn

As you will be buying a 10+ year old vehicle, set aside at least 300k to spend on repairs etc. This category of vehicle is pretty solid but people unfortunately tend to hack them a bit. Try to find a private owned vehicle which has been looked after well.. check the newspapers for some good deals. Good luck, let us know how it goes?

Can you confirm that your fan's are OFF when you start in the morning, till the vehicle warms up? start in the morning, and pop the hood, physically inspect if the fan's are running. If they are running then they could have been wired to run directly (which could cause your car to take longer to warm up).

Thankfully we have an Intel guy here (Fuzzo) who can provide a better answer, but in the mean time I will tell you what I know (or believe)... Celeron's are cut down budget processors where good stuff (like L1/L2 cache has been disabled/reduced/removed). Best to go for a normal processor than a Celeron. AFAIK the Celeron M is based on the Pentium M - a new (or actually old as of now) processor developped in Israel, based on P3 technology that tends to be part of the centrino platform and is a decendant of P3 architecture somewhat. So given the choice between Celeron and Celeron M, go for the Celeron M as it is more energy efficient (and based on newer architecture) Actually, right now both these architectures are obsolete and have been replaced by the 'core' architecture... or micro-architecture? Still... fuzzo will be able to fill you in with more details on this

Buying a brand new camera off ebay doesnt really make sense as you won't save much money and it's easier to purchase it direct from a reputed merchant online (vs from a seller on ebay). As suggested you can check out epinions for reviews.

1. Unregistered means a vehicle which doesnt have a numberplate and (presumably) hasn't been driven in Sri Lanka). This could mean the car is brand new or reconditioned (used in another country a few years and imported here). 2. Not sure why people prefer UK cars... I guess people who worked there perhaps.. are given an option to bring down a car for a lower price?.. Actually many cars come from Singapore these days... 3. Yes, better to buy from papers than dealer, as when you buy from a dealer you pay extra (for the dealer's profit). 4. I don't see taxes coming down. In theory this could happen but you are more likely to be struck by lightning or discover oil in your backyard. 5. For 2 Million - lots of options. You can get a brand new indian car (maruti or Alto) for just over a million, or you can get a reconditioned japanese vehicle for under 2m Some rough pricing examples: - 1m - 1.3m - english no Starlet late models (EP91 etc) - 1.3m - 2m - early model VITZ (99 - 2001 or so)? - True you could pick up a Nissan march, but Toyota's are better - If you look through Autolanka there are many nice vehicles.. for example there was a Glanza... for 1.6m I think. Good luck with your car hunt

Oh.. I was just refering to the ignition timing. You have a distributor model I think.. if so you can advance the timing a tiny bit and gain a bit more power/efficiency. Still since you are getting over 10km a liter you probably don't need to bother..

I think theres a valve which prevents water being circulated till the engine warms up - most people remove this valve in Sri Lanka. when it is removed, the car may take a bit longer to warm up. I'd suggest you to just use the car carefully (not rev the enging too high or load it up too much) till it's fully warmed up. Alternatively (if the valve has been removed) you can get a new one installed. Check if your fan is wired to run 100% (does it turn on when you start the car), or only when the radiator is hot? If the fan is running always, it can also prevent the car from reaching operating temperature sooner.

Don't believe everything they tell you Actually, LPG burns cleaner than gasoline, produces less harmful emissions and leaves less residue in the engine. Of course LPG has a bad reputation here because most of our people don't know how to install those systems properly...

The problem is not with the leaders, it is with the people - the same people who elect them and whose views they represent. Ergo, for the country to change, people would have to change the way they think. And I can assure that won't happen in our lifetime.

The Charade is a great car but most of the versions you see on the road today are pretty much dead. Due to the small engine size people tend to push them to the limit so they tend to have issues. That said, they are pretty fast and reasonably efficient, especially the petrol / turbo pre egg shape versions.

Zipzoomfly are quite a reputed store.. actually they used to be famous for hardware back in the googlegear days but now they have branched out a bit. I've never shopped there personally but I've always heard good stuff about them. AFAIK the best place to shop online is newegg. I do all my shopping there as they have good rates and really cheap shipping. They are also excellent for support/RMA issues. I've shopped with them for the last few years and never had a problem. Pricewise newegg's prices are pretty good for most hardware/cameras, either lower than or similar to other merchants. I've also purchased stuff from a few other vendors but newegg tend to stand out in a positive way.

Is this the article? http://www.lbo.lk/fullstory.php?newsID=892575245

dude.. seem's a shame to get rid of such a nice car. Rather than selling it, why don't you convert it to run on LPG? That should give you better mileage in terms of cost?

I'm amazed at how much effort and dedication they put into hindering the very people who actually pay their salaries (via taxes). Imagine if they used that energy to stop real crime instead...

If it's insane economy you want how about a new charade or toyota echo? Kei vans honestly aren't all they are cut out to be - economy wise they can do max 12 - 13 km/l, which sux considering performance is 0-60 in 60 (at least those are the figures I've been told on this category of vehicle). speaking of which if you just want to move around you could get a kei truck instead of a Kei van - they are cheaper and lighter (I know a chap selling a J series one for 500k approx) So if a Kei truck would be OK for you, consider that instead of the van Last but not least, you could also consider the Honda Beat which is a 4 wheel motorcycle or toy car depending on who you ask - it has the same engine as honda vans (650cc) but decent performance due to tiny size

How good is the S2 in manual modes?

I got a camera recently... quite easy via customs if you explain the camera is for you and its a typical consumer model. They might charge a nominal duty (like say a few hundred rupees). Of course if it's an extravagant camera (say more than $1000 retail) you are bound to get serious charges. Just make sure to look humble and explain its for your personal use. One tip: the customs people really know cameras. They know all the latest market models and pricing. (same goes for most common electronics I guess). wow.. s3is is a nice camera.. also the price isn't too bad.. but be carefull if you buy it off ebay, make sure you buy it off someone with good feedback who appears reliable.. BTW.. why are you buying it off ebay? why not pick it up via a retailer like Amazon?

I'm quite surprised to see a thread on eBay here.. had no idea so many people here used it. Well I've been using ebay since 2001 and have never had a major problem with them. It's like this - ebay is an auctionplace - so as such, you are dealing with people - individuals who you trade with. so to answer the question.. eBay is fine - you just have to be careful who you deal with. So far everything I ever purchased via ebay arrived fine.. Anyway, I have a few tips/suggestions: 1. Don't bother shipping to Sri Lanka. Just get someone in US to ship it to you. This is because most merchants dont offer international shipping and are suspicious of it (due to 419 scams). 2. Before you buy/sell, see feedback, and buy wisely, from people with positive feedback. 3. After buying your product, depending on size/value you can easily ship it here via FedEx, UPS, or even good old USPS (who are quite economical and reliable by the way). Hope ebay someday have a local version for Sri Lanka (like how they bought Bazee and made ebay india). would be nice to be able to trade here.

Hmm.. how about a small car like maybe an Alto.. you could get a brand new one for just over a million.. You can find these vans at some of the car sales.. like the ones at Dehiwala... I remember there were some sales which had lots of these vans.. hopefully someone here knows the location of one. Again, I would suggest you drive one of these vehicles over a good long route and make sure it's the thing for you because the driving experience is a lot different from a car (or normal van even). Just make sure this is truly the vehicle for you before you buy. Another thing.. being a van, there isn't much of a front, so in a front on collision you are pretty much screwed.. but you probably already know this... ...O/T... wonder if it would be possible to retrofit one with a real engine (and gearbox perhaps) and create a serious sleeper van... ps: Kelisa is a car I think.. not sure if they (perodua) make a van... re: leasing: I know a chap who leased one.. thru peoples leasing I think... eitherway it should be possible.. just check with a few of the companies..

http://www.thalondesign.com/ Like... Wow! The cars aint bad either.

Small vans typically fall into the KEI vehicle category (650 CC) except for a few like the suzuki which have larger engines perhaps. Prices are in the range of around 700 or so for a somewhat used ones. Used to be you could get an unreg one for that price but now prices are higher. I'm not exactly sure but I'm estimating still under a million. FINANCE: May be harder than a normal vehicle but possible if unreg/recently registered. Drivability: Well if you have regularly driven a 'normal' vehicle you will be disappointed with one of these for sure. On the plus side you get better visibility than normal cars but they are UNSTABLE - i.e. if you find potholes you have to almost swim across them. That said they are a unique experience and if you are a more patient driver you just may like them. Let me try to talk about the advantages/disadvantages: Advantages: - reasonably capable vehicles. If you look after them they are quite OK (same could be said for most other vehicles though). - slightly more efficient than a typical normal van/car (maybe 2 - 3 km/l more). Disadvantages: - Unstable - due to light weight and high center of gravity these vehicles are somewhat unstable and you have to drive them carefully. - slightly harder to drive. Due to the tiny engines - they have to be revved up a lot - so driving a stick shift version requires a bit of effort. - Very little power. Not fast in terms of pickup - particularly with AC - due to the small engine size it's very hard to pick up in a hurry so its hard to keep up with insane local traffic. - parts used to be very rare (but not so much so now). Recommendations: I think the Mitsubishi and Honda versions are good... as for Suzuki and others... not too sure. Conclusion: I think it would be simpler to buy a normal slightly used van if this is for personal driving. If you are getting it as a company vehicle, for a driver to drive then I guess it's fine. Suggestion: 1. Take one of these for a good test drive, and decide if this is what you want. 2. Have you considered tha TATA 207 diesel? It's not a van but it's pretty capable (and you could build something in the back to carry stuff if that's what you want to do)..

How do you define slow? Did you run benchmarks on the machine? Well most of the big brands like Acer, Compaq, Lenovo are recognised and supported worldwide. Make sure you get an international warranty/worldwide warranty. Some warranties are not international depending on the manufacturer and you want to make sure your product is supported worldwide. Hey why don't you have a chat with IBM Sri Lanka.. or Lenovo Sri Lanka? they have (or had) a local presence here... and are reasonably helpful. See Lenovo/IBM site for sri lanka here: http://www-07.ibm.com/lenovoinfo/lk/notebo...kpad/index.html

Manual or Auto? Have any of the following been checked recently: Plugs Injectors Air filter O2 sensor etc. How is the condition of the exhaust? Is it full of thick black soot? why not take it to a modern garage which has electronic diagnostics and ask them to run diagnostics on the system and see what's wrong with it?

Well aside from the badge most laptops are the same.. except for IBM... oops.. Lenovo... or whatever they call it now. There are a number of brands you can consider... Compaq... lenovo... Toshiba... Acer... etc... all are generally OK - just about any brand will do ok these days, heck even unbranded intel based ones should work fine (I think fuzzo mentioned barebones core2 based laptops a while back)? When you say power and speed, can you define what exactly it is you want to do with the laptop? Like do you intend to search for prime numbers or study protein folding? In which case you need massive number crunching ability so Core 2 duo and above could be the way to go.. On the other hand if you define speed in terms of graphics then a good onboard graphics card is a good way to go. As for memory, buy the machine and upgrade the ram, its cheaper than getting it with lots of RAM from manufacturer. As far as how much RAM you need... well 512 - 1gb should be OK for XP.... for vista 1GB - 4GB should be OK... One other thing I'd suggest is get a machine which has good cooling (doesnt heat up like mad) and has power saving options (e.g. Cool & Quiet if AMD or Speedstep etc for Intel).. I suggest you take a trip to Unity Plaza and browse around till you get a feel of some of the machines on offer. Can you tell me a bit about what you intend to use this machine for?

Hey! Nice photos your vehicle looks pretty good I would say no need to get anyone to 'tinker' it seriously. just find a good painter who can do a little touch up tinkering also you should be able to get a paint done including paint for under 40K I hope Good luck, let me know how it goes! Can you tell me, roughly how many km/l does your vehicle do? by the way, have you tried advancing the timing?