Crosswind

Just read the silly comments by Parak in this thread. From what I noticed, Parak's hometown is Adelaide. Machan, could you please go to Hutt Street or North Terrace sometime and count the number of Lambos, Bimmers, Ferraris, Mercs, All kinds of limos, 8-Cylinder Commodores, 8-Cylinder UTEs. Also go take a look around the city and near suburbs to see how many free spaces can be actually found to park vehicles without costing and arm and a leg and then learn why people are compelled to walk/use bikes/take public transport. AND THEN talk about how Aussies 'walk to work' and "don't buy cars just to show off". Aussie or Sri Lankan or American or whoever, when people have money, they show off one way or the other. Did you know that Australia actually has a savings crisis among its citizens and the Government has been desperately encouraging people to save money for a rainy day. Why? Because Aussies waste money on material things (cars included). If in doubt, go to Rundle Mall on a Friday and see how many people are carrying bags of expensive items from big designer stores. Ask your Aussie friends how many times they have been to Bali or Fiji on Holiday. Isn't that showing off too? And how many of them are still paying the debts for the holiday they took last year? How much money is spent by Aussies on Friday and Saturday evenings for drinks? I'm not making a comparison between Aussies and Sri Lankans here. But your whole argument of Sri Lankans being show-offs and Aussies not being show-offs totally based on comparing cars they drive, is totally pointless.

Not a Fiat. Not a Euro. It's a Jap car. Quite a few of these came down to Sri Lanka in the 1980s. There were petrol and diesel versions, I really doubt if many of them are alive now, because the body was notorious for getting corroded.

Ok well, let me try to post one until tiv gets around to post one. I posted this one earlier but the image didnt get uploaded properly.

Rush is rebadged Terios. It's the same vehicle but with a Toyota badge and price tag. I know a couple of guys who brought down Terios with the permits they got. They are happy with it. Depreciation for brand new vehicles is common for all vehicles (with a few exceptions), not just Terios. More expensive the vehicle is, higher the depreciation, especially if its new to the market. However, prices stabilize after some time and move with the market.

Honda Ballade?

Looks like my previous post has been misinterpreted. Let me clarify it. Sometime ago when I advertised my wife's last car (which was very well maintained), the first question the callers asked was the odo reading. When I told them the odo reading (in excess of 100,000), many of them didn't even bother to come see it. If I got the odo tampered and changed it to about 60k, I'm pretty sure they would have flocked to see it and somebody would have offered me a higher price. Eventually I sold the car for a guy who didn't even ask me what the odo reading was, but went thru the paperwork and inspected the engine. People tamper the odos for a very simple reason - other people who buy cars are very concerned about it and they use it as a factor for deciding on the offer price. Stop looking too much at the odo reading and look at the actual condition of the car. Then nobody has to be cheated and be sad or be worried.

There's nothing to complain or be sad about. There are few silly things that our people seriously consider when they buy the car, such as the odometer reading, the number of owners in the book, tiny little dents on the body etc. In my opinion, these things have to be completely ignored when buying a car. Observing the owner's behaviour, observing the owner's driving habits, checking correct order of maintenance records, checking the engine condition thoroughly, checking the place where they park the car in the evenings are much more important. I've used cars which got 150,000 on the clock running way better than the same type car having 50,000 on the clock. The guy who complained about the tampered odometer said himself that the engine condition is good and he's very happy with the car. So what's the problem in the first place? Do people prefer cars which have done only 50,000 but never had an oil change until the day of sale? If we ignore potentially serious things but go nitpicking about things that can be easily covered up, then obviously people will fool us.

I heard the Oxford Dictionary is changing the definition of the word "STINGY" Definition: STINGY: Guy who buys a Prius with a solar panel on it and still complains about the fuel consumption

Do you honestly think that that is the only car sale/car seller/car owner in Sri Lanka which changes the odometer? Besides even if you buy a car from an ordinary user or a sale, you need to check the car thoroughly. And I mean THOROUGHLY.

Do you mean ANY car is ok? Don't you have any specific needs? For example, I would say Terios. But will it suit your needs? Here are some options: Toyota: Yaris, Avanza, 141 A*W: Sunny, Bluebird Sylphy, Swift Japan, Swift India, Swift Dzire (India) Mag City: Chevrolet Cruze (India), Chevrolet Aveo (India) Softlogic: Terios, Ford Focus (India I guess) and some other Fords Prestige: 320d, X1d Unit#d Mot#rs: Lancer, Montero Sport, Outlander, Zotye Nomad, Viva Elite Senok: Audi A4 Hyundai Lanka - Obviously you have seen the vehicles Carplan: KIA Sportage My personal choices (purely personal): Outlander, Lancer, Sportage and Terios

I just pushed a macho, one-of-a-kind, solid built, mid-range torqued, light-weight FZ-S rider off the road today with my car, while on my way to work Hope that was you.

How about diesel vehicles? Is this only applicable for hybrids and petrols?

Brand new Accents came to Sri Lanka from India, not Korea (at least that was the case in the past). Like all car sale guys, the agents claim they come from Korea when the buyer first inquires about the car. Another popular sales-talk is "assembled in India using Korean parts" - pure BS. How to test this is to open the engine compartment and check the VIN plate. If the VIN plate has "Hyundai Motor Company Limited" engraved on it, it's Korean made. If the VIN plate has "HMIL" - it's Indian made. HMIL stands for Hyundai Motors India Limited and it is abbreviated to fool people.

It's made in India. That's why its cheap. and it will come with all the problems of Indian cars.

are you trying to sell your car today?

Is this a Ford Deluxe or a Super Deluxe from the 1940s?

I got Turanzas on the two rear wheels of my car and GT Champiros on the front wheels (same size, just different brands). Purchased B/N a couple of years back. By looking at the wear, I would expect them to run about 50000kms. All four are made in Indonesia. No issues with both brands. They are quite comfy but absolutely nowhere near Yokohamas. The best tyres I used were Yokohamas on my Mini. Cost me an arm and a leg though.

I just had a bit of a superficial look at the calculation. Have some comments based on that. 1. Do the 1000 pounds include insurance too? 2. The tax tables you have attached are applicable for regular imports. If the gift permit scheme is still in effect, you will have a different tax structure. To gift a vehicle to a relative in Sri Lanka, you need to get a permit from the Export Import Controls department. The permit fee varies with the age of the vehicle. That could be about 7%-10% of the CIF value. Please search the forum for "gift permit" or "blue permit" to get the links. 3. Depreciation and taxes are calculated based on CIF and not the new car price of the agent. Details of the CIF value is obtained from the agent. If you are a BOI approved company, you may have special tax benefits. Otherwise it doesnt matter if your wife imports or donates it. PS. Between a Navara, L200 and Hilux; personally I prefer Navara anytime. It's a bloody good ride compared to the other two.

Between the two options you got: Personally I am biased against Corollas. But in your case: CK1 - Better appearance, good comfortable ride (assuming maintenance has been done properly). YOM 1998 will probably have an English number, which will be a few brownie points with the chicks AE100 - Better fuel economy, lower maintenance costs, better parts availability (some parts are interchangeable with AE110s that you see in every road, by-lane and mudukku). Between the two options, you will have a lower TCO with the AE100, despite the age difference. All this is assuming that the cars have been looked after properly.

This topic has been discussed before. *IF* the blue permit scheme is still in effect, you can gift a personally used vehicle to an immediate family member in Sri Lanka. The vehicle can be as old as 10 years but older it is, higher the permit fee. IT MUST BE right hand driven. Instructions are here: http://www.videshasewa.com/home/blue_permit.html (not sure when was the last update) You can get all the forms from here: http://www.imexport.gov.lk/downloads.php?Sid=1&&Lid=1&&Did=4 To double check whether the permit scheme is still in effect , you should contact Import and Export Control department. Contact details are here: http://www.imexport.gov.lk/contactus.htm

Your post sounds like you have made up your mind already and u are seeking some reassurance. Usually the members of this forum have varying and equally assertive opinions about different models and brands of cars. Are you willing to change your mind if the members say CK1 or CK2 are bad choices? Also, please do tell us what exactly are u looking for in a car? Is it fuel economy? Low maintenance costs? Comfort? Brand name? Appearance?

Absolutely no need. I went around 9.45 (in January) and got token number 170-something. Another member of this group went around 8.30 and got it done on one-day service on a different occasion. No need. Their old system and new system are not interconnected. They just get the information from the old system. This search can be done from NIC number as well. I only saw the flying crows. Didn't see any crows that ask for money. Perhaps they do exist but the process of issuing license is streamlined enough to make touting an unprofitable business. Not sure whether passing some bucks to the peons inside to expedite the process has better results. If you haven't had the experience of renewing a disfigured DL, you shouldn't be giving advice.

No expert on this area. But I have seen a few classic vehicles on the road, even with English number plates (modern version not the pre-1972 version). As far as I know, the Classic Car Club of Ceylon used to help the importation of classics by enthusiasts (perhaps they were cars owned by the same owners when they were overseas). You might wanna talk to them about it. Do a Google search for their website and contact information.

haha well... my apologies for the rather worked-up tone of my reply too. cheers buddy.

ok let me try to understand what you are saying here. You are saying a front disk rear drum Indian bike with 110mm tires and 120kg kerb weight is safer than double front disk rear disk Japanese bike with 140mm tires and 145kg kerb weight? And also the design of FZ-S that actually makes your whole body rest on your ba**s is more comfy than the more conventional design of the cibbie? And another point u mention is FZ-S (150CC) is better on our roads (which I assume you mean the roads full of potholes and traffic) than a 250 cibbie. And then you go on to say that CBR6 (which is a quicker bike) is better??? Does the 600CC engine of a CBR600RR fly above the potholes and the traffic??? Sorry man I don't see any logic behind your statements BTW, is your minister uncle giving permits for us ordinary sri lankans also to get CBR6s?? PS. I know people have different personal likings and opinions do differ. I respect differences in opinion but I don't like to see illogical meaningless misleading comparisons like this.