Crosswind

Usually, Interest Rate = Risk-free Rate + inflation premium + liquidity premium + market risk premium since the risk is lower (Because there is a security for the company) shouldn't leasing be cheaper than loans?

The only time I dealt with a leasing company was when I helped a friend to get a lease for a KIA Rio from Pe****'s Leasing. Here are the plus and minus points: Plus: Many companies refused to lease a Rio but these guys did it. Absolutely no problems with early settlements. No-nonsense way of doing the job. They just stick to the process. Fairly quick processing. Minus: You need to go there. They won't come to you. You need two guarantors who earn more than the lessor. You don't have much choice with insurance. Verdict: I am ok with them, unless I can find someone better.

Yes I got it done 2 months ago. If you want to get it done through the one day service, go on a weekday around 9 AM. There's no need to go there too early. I went there around 10.30 and still managed to get in token number 170-something. The first queue to get your token takes about 45 minutes. Thereafter, things are pretty quick. All you need is your NIC and your old license. There's no need for photos or forms or anything of the sort. If you need to change your address, you might need a letter from GS though. In my case I changed my address without a letter. But to be safe, take one. They will take your photo and your fingerprint there. When you sign on the signing pad, make it big. really big or else your signature turns up tiny on the license. You have the option of getting 5 year or 9 year license. 9-year license costs around 2900/- DMT Licensing division is now paperless. So whatever paper you give, will be returned to you. After you submit all forms, you can collect the license by returning the old card, around 4 PM. (Please note: DO NOT contact the Government Information Centre to ask this. They will give you the old procedure and send you on a costly wild goose chase)

Happy birthday bro!

Does that include Micros as well? Just a question on dat one. I saw one of those locally assembled cars recently (with KG- number) and it was a Toyota Carina Ti My Road but the registration book says "Emperor" for the make and "Super Saloon" for the model. I believe the chassis number is also modified by the local company. With this scenario, I guess it wouldn't be too easy to sell and would it be possible to get lease or something, if required?

http://img200.imageshack.us/i/img00186201103230855.jpg/ Somebody ought to tell the cops that 'banda pati' means BELT!

All the info u need about the Familia line up - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_Familia AFAIK its due to the bad reputation of the Sri Lankan Mazda agent

Intuitively that sounds correct. But both the measurements take place in the range of 600RPM - 900RPM. Since this range is less than the idle speed (correct me if I'm wrong here) I wonder if it makes much of a difference.

My post got duplicated. Tried to delete it but couldn't. That's the reason for this message.

You are obviously aware that octane is added to prevent engine knocking. There are many ways to increase the octane rating in petrol. The oldest method was to add benzene, which increases the octane rating. When people realized than benzene is carcinogenic, they switched to tetra-ethyl lead. Tetra-ethyl lead was a toxic compound which could cause lead poisoning. There was a global move to phase out leaded fuel. Many countries adopted additives like iso-octane and Ether. I believe Ether is added in most of the developed nations as the additive. Some of the poorer countries went back to adding benzene because its cheaper. Apparently Sri Lanka is one of them. US standards say that there should be less than 1% benzene in petrol (or gasoline as they call it). And they are going to reduce this number to around 0.6% sometime in the future. Going by this standard, less than 1% benzene in petrol should be a reasonable figure. US uses Anti Knock Index (AKI) and most of the rest of the world uses Research Octane Number (RON). Basic difference is RON is measured on an engine at a lower RPM than AKI.

These specification sheets are BS. To increase octane rating of petrol, either you have to add benzene, tetra-ethyl lead, toluene, iso-octane or something similar. From the specification sheets it looks like LIOC uses benzene as the additive. You can't have octane 95 and octane 90 with the same amount of benzene. 95 should have higher amount of benzene cos there's no mention of toluene or any other additive. However what I'm bloody shocked to see is that IOC petrol contains a frigging 8% Benzene, which is a known carcinogen (hello, lung cancer!). In most of the countries, benzene is not used any more as the additive for petrol and the benzene content in petrol shouldn't exceed 1%. I bet Ceypetco fuels aren't any better with the benzene volume.

I'm a bit of a railway enthusiast and I travel by rail quite often because I live about 15kms from Colombo. My daily rail travel is about 21kms in the morning. I leave home at 8 AM (train leaves the station at 8.05 +/- 10 mins) and reach my office at 9 AM on the dot most of the time. If I drive, I have to leave home at 7!!! Based on my personal experience, what I can say is the railway network is much better than many people think (at least in the suburbs now). The problems we had in the past were solved to a great extent by the Chinese S9 and S10 DMUs (the blue powersets). S10 DMUs have good pickup and they do travel at about 100km/h when running express. The connecting services are excellent between main line and coast line. For example, if you come all the way from Matara or somewhere, you can get off in Fort and there will be another train leaving for somewhere like Mirigama or Polgahawela within 5 minutes time. I also have to change trains in Maradana every morning and I don't have to wait more than 5 minutes for the connecting train. One problem I see is the stations on main line are located far from the population centers. Places like Wanawasala, Horape and Enderamulla are virtually unheard of by many. And people from populated areas like Wattala, Kadawatha for example, have to travel by bus. Another problem is public perception towards trains, which is totally wrong. That's why off-peak trains run empty between Moratuwa and Colombo but buses are packed! Some people are amazed when I say I travel all the way to Bamba from Enderamulla in less than an hour and for just 15 rupees. We are still not perfect. Trains do get delayed by 5-10 mins nearly every day and by 15-20 mins once in about 2-3 weeks. Hopefully, things will improve more, once the third line comes up between Dematagoda and Kelaniya (which is a bottleneck right now). The point I want to make here is many people have a poor perception of the railways in Sri Lanka, which needs to change. Our railway system is definitely not comparable with Japan or Singapore, but we are improving and hopefully we will also have a better service on KV and coast lines and the much needed metro towards Battaramulla will be a reality someday soon.

Speaking of railways, you will be surprised to hear how many lines were removed in Sri Lanka. Here they are: Dematagoda - Mutwal line (via Orugodawatta West, Kelanitissa, Bloemendahl) - you can still see the ruins of the stations on this line. Sometimes this line is used for carrying goods. Would have been very useful as a Colombo commuter line if this existed now. KV Line - Avissawella to Yatiyantoda Udupussellawa line - Nanu Oya to Ragala via Kandapola Sabaragamuwa Line - Avissawella to Opanayake via Ratnapura Indo-Ceylon Line - Medawachchiya to Talaimannar via Madhu Road and Murunkan Old Puttalam line - Goes up to some place close to Mannar via Vanathavilluwa

OK - an update on the whole scenario. The price is pretty much the market price. Maybe slightly less (around 25k or so). The finance company is quite reputed. They have maintained all paperwork, including the termination letter and order to seize the vehicle. It appears that they have a process laid down for the persons who seize vehicles. I don't know to what extent it is being followed or audited. Reason for seizing is quoted as the owner defaulting payments for 3 months and not responding to any communications. @Nira - sorry to say this buddy. You should always spend what you earn. If someone willingly gets a car, knowing very well that they might not be able to keep up with payments, it's not misfortune. It's pure stupidity. Seizing vehicles is an expense for the finance company and a high administrative overhead. They don't want that but they can't really help it. @harshan if the car has not been sitting there for a long, - No it hasn't. records show that it has been there for 10 days and has not used for any illegal activities - I really don't know about this one, but I guess I can make inquiries in the nearest copshed if it doesn't have any pending/outstanding legal proceedings - same again if all documents are clear - I think so and if you can get it lesser than the market value - 25k or so less, probably can come down by another 25k Be very mindful of the components/parts of the car - the car has a diagnostic system and I am planning to get it checked by the agent. however, I am yet to check the possibility of that with the finance company.

Japanese people have behaved with utmost dignity and decorum on the aftermath of the tsunami. No one has tried to rob others. Everyone has helped each other to overcome their grief. Quite the contrary to what we read about the aftermath of the tsunami in Sri Lanka - some people tried to rob jewellery from dead bodies and some were blocking the roads and demanded money from those who were going to the south to see if their relatives were ok. So I am not surprised that some of those sickos are in Autolanka too.

interesting... anything u like to tell me that will make me reconsider that decision?

Good point. I checked for that as well. There were some cars which were pretty much hacked (stereo removed, ancient battery, no spare wheel, no tool kit, things out of place in the engine room and so on... those ones showed obvious signs of hacking (though I suspect the owners not the people who seize. The guys who seize have to fill a checklist, which is presented to the customer). I guess it depends on how professional the finance company is (I am not saying that they are absolutely charming people who have never done any evil). But it's definitely something that needs to be checked. Perhaps I can request an agent's inspection for the car. On the other hand, if you buy a car from a private buyer, there are still risks arent there? Especially if you are not a car expert?

They showed me the paperwork including the order to seize the car. The car was seized and brought to the yard just 10 days or so ago. Is there any possibility of the previous owner laying claim to the vehicle? May be through courts or something?

Hi guys, I have my eye on a car which is seized by a finance company and currently in their yard. The company is not a shady business but they are registered with Central Bank and been in business for at least 30 years. The car appears to be in decent cosmetic and mechanical condition. Are there any legal implications or potential problems of buying a seized car (I mean problems not related to the vehicle's condition). Are there any precautions the buyer should take? Anyone who has bought such a car?

Bingo! Man u guys are geniuses. Morris Ital was one of the nails that sealed British Leyland's coffin. The car as well as the Ital marque lasted only four years. Once I walked to a car yard in Gampaha and saw an Ital there. I was told that only two or three were imported to Sri Lanka (don't know how true that one is but I had never seen an Ital elsewhere - including the garages that specialize in repairing Brit vehicles). The seller wanted 200000 for the car or he said I can buy the book only for 150000 Sorry the pic is not from Sri Lanka

Not a Skoda.

Not a Skoda. Let me give another hint: It aint Japanese, it aint Korean. In fact it wasn't originally manufactured in any Asian country.

Ok here's one from me. Hint: They got just a handful of these in Sri Lanka and I don't know if any of them are in running condition.

Goes to show that they can't fool the Autolanka members easily. Yeah. In the Pinto memos, the estimated cost to rectify the flaws was $121mn, but to pay off accident victims and people who die from the collisions, the estimated cost was $50mn. Based on this, they decided roll-out the Pinto with the problematic fuel tank. Tata had zillions of other problems with the production of Nano - shifting manufacturing facilities, public protests, delayed design, cost overruns, delayed production to name a few. So I bet they didn't even bother to test the damn thing. Yeah... they would have definitely 'missed' a lot of things. And you really don't know how many cars really caught fire and how many owners were paid off by Tata folks to hush things up.

Yup that's what I read too. Afaik they found this design error, after many excuses, blaming the customers many times and quoting 'isolated incident' for every Nano that caught fire.