Crosswind

Hyundai Elantra (3rd Gen)?

Ah well... and I underestimated the knowledge of AL members. I wonder if anyone will shell out 3.2 mill for this. @schiffer - btw I've seen more Protons in Kandy than in Colombo. Is it just a mis-observation or is there any reason for that?

This might be teeny weeny bit tough but I have faith in AL members. Clues - 1. Not a Jap car 2. The local agent has just started to bring these in to sri lanka with an exorbitant price tag. I haven't seen any of these on the road so far.

Ah... how did I miss it... It's a Mazda Familia BJ3W or BJ5W

Looks like AC991 has a secret crush on JDNET

Last guess for me - Suzuki Liana/Aerio?

Kia Rio Hatchback (1st gen)

Yup it is the 12-Sri one you are talking about. Here's a pic of it from a certain notorious AL member's website http://preveen.multiply.com/photos/photo/6/71 @mani - sorry I didnt' see the post earlier.

It's doing around 10kmpl-11kmpl on the city and the only trips outside colombo is to Kandy and it clocks the same figures. There's a known issue with Cruzes (and swifts) with the suspension mounts. Nothing to panic. Any decent garage can sort that problem out. I owned a 2002 Cruze in the past (what they call the 'side antenna' model) and when I wanted to sell it, I put up an ad in AL classifieds. Three days later, the car was sold for 25,000 less than what I quoted. But I didn't quote an insanely high price. 'Some people' are born with their brains inside their buttocks. You can sell any car in this country if you quote a reasonable price.

Chevy Camaro

Got an e-mail this morning saying "Autolanka does not publish vehicles unless the full number plate is visible" Actually I think it's a good idea. BUT 1. Shouldn't the sellers be informed about this new policy (on the confirmation page or somewhere) rather than waiting for the seller to send the photos and then reverting back? 2. How come I still see cars advertised (a 121 and a black civic advertised on 4th July 2011)?

All the best to you, Vishwa and everyone else who is participating in this walk. As I understand, the team has reached about 25% of the $2million target with another 22 days to go. Makes me proud to be a Sri Lankan.

Thanks mate. Last thing I expected was a 'garage' to be on the net

Could someone please post ASNU Lanka's contact details (or Harris's contact details if anyone knows. Sent him a PM but didn't get a response)? Thanks in Adv

Simple answer - get yourself a Corolla 110.

That's the first thing that came to my mind too. Such a sorry sight. Not just the paint job but all in all, it's a very cheap restoration job.

The very first Micro (econo and previlege) was assembled in Sri Lanka and the engine was sourced from Renault (not sure whether from France or some other plant of Renault). The design was unique to Micro and components like the suspension was sourced from India. Body panels were fabricated locally and these caused a whole bunch of problems. Micro MPV (both the generations) were imported from Hafei as knocked-down kit and assembled in the Peliyagoda plant. Micro Trend (first generation) was also imported as a knocked-down kit from Hafei, what we called Hafei Lobo in this thread. Naza also did the same thing in Malaysia. Lobo was designed by Pininfarina for Hafei. Micro Trend (second generation) is rebadged Geely Panda Micro MX7 First generation was also imported from Hafei as a knocked-down kit and badged here. Micro MX7 Second generation is rebadged Geely CK2 As for the Malaysian automaker Naza, they are not any better than Micro in their business tactics. To import a foreign car to Malaysia, one must pay about 140% tax. But Naza owner has got a special tax concession from Mahathir Mohammad's government, which allows him to import cars tax free and sell it in their market. So the guy gets down Hafei Lobo, Pug 206, Kia Rio, Kia Pride and cars like that, fixes the Naza badge and sells it. That's why Proton and Perodua are going places but Naza is stuck in their homeground.

That makes a lot of sense. My interpretation of this is one consignment of petrol, perhaps from one or two storage tanks (most likely Kolonnawa) would have got contaminated. Whichever the bowsers that got filled from that consignment and gone around the country would have carried the contaminated petrol. This explains why it happens in random sheds, irrespective of whether the dealer is Ceypetco or LIOC. But this doesn't explain how 90 and 95 both got contaminated. BTW it seems octane 90 from Laugfs Dematagoda yesterday is ok (so far the Cruze is alright).

Search for the thread Permit Car Price List in this forum. As far as I remember, only Korando comes within your range. If that's the case it's not under a Government Employees' Permit.

Let me answer this question in 'sudda sinhalen'. "Diyawadiyawa wadi wunama hembirissawata beheth aran hari yanawada?" Don't try to do anything without knowing what the problem is. If the problem is caused by insufficient octane count, then adding an octane booster will help. But if that is the reason, there will be engine knocking before the fuel pump in ur car dies. On the other hand, if there is an added chemical or water in petrol, octane booster will not help. And Soltron is the last thing u want to add to petrol, even under normal circumstances. Pls search the forum about Soltron. Machan the problem is Ceypetco is government owned. So if we sue them for money, virtually we are suing ourselves. They will eventually recover their expenses via taxes and increased fuel prices in the future. But what I would like to see is the Ceypetco chairman without a job and those who are responsible for this cock-up (or sabotage, if that is the case) behind bars for a long time.

Ceypetco and IOC both get fuel from the same supplier so both should be affected. 95 is not any cleaner than 90. It's just added octane so 95 and 90 should be equally affected. Basically, we all are in deep trouble. Class action lawsuits are possible in Sri Lanka. I pumped from Laugfs yesterday and keeping my fingers crossed ryt now.

Machan, are you sure that was for the permit? Permit cars are not shipped for Hyundai Lanka's name but Mr. XYZ's name and the only way to give that vehicle to Mr ABC is to bond it and ex-bond it, which is an added expense (about 100000 I think) Not sure if Hyundai is doing that.

First problem is, what you get is an import permit. This means YOU are the importer. Hyundai Lanka just acts as your agent. Permit vehicles don't count to Hyundai Lanka (or any agent's) sales numbers. Manufacturers set their production targets based on sales predictions and these sales predictions are based on sales predictions by each country's agent under normal circumstances. Usually predictions are medium-term. All of a sudden when there's a permit issue in Sri Lanka, sales predictions go wayward, because hundreds of individuals like you try to import vehicles directly from the manufacturer. Manufacturers don't like this permit idea because this is outside their sales predictions and they have to deal with the administrative overhead of individuals paying for their vehicles one at a time. Automatically permit vehicles end up getting low priority because of this. Possibly the lowest priority at the manufacturer's end because Sri Lanka is such an insignificant market. Secondly, when you went to Hyundai with your permit, they would have told you to open an LC for 6 months or 1 year. Those who have at least a vague idea about economics know that this is a big risk. Believe me, no one... absolutely no one can give a price guarantee for that long for any manufactured product (let alone cars). So prices are bound to change... in other words, change = go up. So you should have had an idea what you are getting in to. Hyundai Lanka is not responsible for this because they are just the middleman. You are the buyer, supplier is the seller and the CIF/FOB is just the estimate. Also according to the permit conditions, supplier is paid on delivery not before production. These are the reasons for the problems permit holders so commonly face. If you have opened an LC, you have the option of cancelling the LC (even if it is irrevocable). You need a letter from the supplier (Whoever you opened the LC for) saying that they cant meet the requirements. Hyundai Lanka must help you to do this. Also you will need to pay the cancellation charges to the bank. Try to convince Hyundai Lanka to bear this cost. Then you can open an LC for another supplier. There are small time agents and car sales who can import a 1-year used vehicle on permit from Singapore or somewhere. Alternatively, you can travel to Singapore, pick a car yourself and get it shipped here (u will have to learn the process to do it). Price will more or less remain same but delivery time can vary. There's another risk - during the time gap which you cancel the LC and try to open a new one, if the government cancels the permit scheme then u lost everything.

Here are my thoughts about your choices: Honda City - 2001 17 lks Honda City - 2001 Reconditioned / 18 lks Pretty good on fuel, if the car is in good condition. Many of the Citys I've seen are hacked beyond recovery. Check the car thoroughly before u buy. Engine mounts, airflow sensor tends to give trouble. Parts are kinda on the expensive side. City tends to age quicker than other cars of the same year and tend to give more trouble, if not looked after. 18 or 17 is not a reasonable price IMHO March Beetle - 2003 Brand new/16.35 lks March Beetle - 2004 Reconditioned / 17.25 lks Bloody awful on petrol. But one good point about the March is it keeps running and running and running. Very reliable car. March beetle interior tends to lose its condition very fast. Check the interior and the usual stuff. 16.35 is a fairly reasonable price to start negotiating. suzuki chevrolet - 2004/2007(Reg) / 18.25 lks Suzuki Swift(Jap) - 2003 / 17.5 lks Cruze is my choice out of this whole lot. Simply because I own one. Cruze comes with climate control, retractable mirrors and many fancy options. If the car has original alloywheels with low profile tyres, original seat set with the chevy logo, center antenna (2004 is center antenna model), then 18.25 seems to be a good price. Try to negotiate! Both Swift and Cruze are virtually the same car inside but Cruze is much nicer looking and usually has more options. Known issues with both cars are the suspension mounts which notoriously give trouble once in a while. Apart from that, CV joints, rack ends, bushes and the other consumables are less durable than the March.

Majority of the time that's correct but not always. However, with Singapore cars, the country of origin would be Singapore but nearly all the cars are built outside Singapore.