LashNeo

So, I went to Autodrome last Tuesday and here’s what happened. I showed all my service records and bills and showed my tires to the manager at the service station. He went through all the documents and inspected the tires and even he could not come up with a good explanation on what may have caused this unusual wear on my tires. He checked the alignment of the tires as well and there was a slight misalignment which may have attributed to the ware but it was not the sole reason. I asked him that I previously ran on Dunlops, GT’s and Nankangs which lasted for more than 30K but why does these Bridgestones gone flat in just 15,000km’s? So, he was like, Dunlops are hard but these ecopias are built for comfort and fuel efficiency and they tend to wear of quickly even due to slight misalignments. But I asked him even so, you expect them to last at least 30k isn’t it? He acknowledged it but again re-iterated they have to be taken care of. In the end he offered me a new set of tires at a very low price. He offered 11k for 17k worth tires at a special discount which was actually a good deal. I didn’t have complete evidence to back my claim as I have lost one of my wheel alignment reports and he was saying that these tires can ware off even due to a slight misalignment. So, all in all people at the place was very helpful and I think the offer was reasonable as well. But, with his comments I was reluctant to go ahead with Ecopia’s again even though he promised me a higher mileage with them given that the wheel alignments should be done with them at 5000km intervals. So, my verdict on Bridgestone Ecopia 200’s (Thailand) is, it gives you a very comfortable ride with minimum road feel but that comfort is provided by sheets of rubber which melts like butter on sri lankan roads. So even with very good care, they will not last long. I believe when you purchase your tires; you need to consider the country of origin as well. I believe the durability of Japanese Bridgestone’s are still way ahead compared to the Thailand ones. And it’s time for tire hunting elsewhere…

That's the sole reason why i don't check tire pressure from the same place always. Even when i do it at a fuel station i always do it myself. Inner ware due to over inflation or outer ware due to under inflation would be clearly visible on the tires itself. But in my case; the tires have just worn off completely flat. Will see what the Autodrome people have to say.

You know me ne machan.. with all that car pissuwa i regularly check the tire pressure and keep it to the specs of the car.. What's so confusing is that the entire surface of the tire is flat. it's not uneven. tires have worn off like butter. Will share a pic or two when i get the chance. I drive like a maniac at times.. but no drifting at all

Is there anybody in the forum with experience on using Bridgestone Ecopia EP200's (Thailand) ? My set has worn off completely and i have done just about 16,000km's!!. Actually there's no tread remaining at all. It's really disappointing and I'm planning to take the car to the agents which is Autodrome and make a claim. There seems to be a factory defect on them. Othewise; how can the entire set ware off so quickly...

Travelled to the upcountry in a hired Daewoo leganza during my Honeymoon way back in 2008. That was one decent ride with great comfort and ride quality. Pickup was also good while travelling the upcountry roads. As i recall this was somewhat popular choice among rent-a-car guys those days mainly due to the comfort factor. But that was 11 years ago. Due to scarcity of parts most of these cars must be in poor condition now. Hence i guess its better to keep away from them. I know it seems like a good option mainly due to the damn low prices but in the long run you might regret. A decent car though...

The last time I went to an agent to repair a car was way back in 2008 when I owned my Sunny B14. It was A*W at Union Place. (Not sure whether they have it at the same place anymore) Those days it was allowed to be at the service area and I thought most of the Agents still allow it. Honestly, I also don’t feel comfortable leaving the car to the service personal and being in the comfort of the waiting room. I like to wonder around the car and do my own inspection while it’s jacked up coz you don’t get that chance at home. One can argue that it’s a nuisance to the service personal. But; they need to build that trust first with customers. Once the trust is built that their car is in good hands, people would not go and wonder around their cars. But yet, someone like me will always hover around the car due to pure curiosity ?

Yes, Toyota’s are relatively reliable compared to most of the other models. But, in Sri Lanka you have to pay a premium prize when buying a Toyota compared to other cars in the same range. So, for that premium prize, you can buy a relatively new car with more options. Honestly, when buying a car that old (Carina, Vitz etc.) I would not look for the brand, model etc. I’d rather look at the specimen itself to see whether it is in good condition. For an Example, I would go for a well maintained Nissan Sunny N16 over a Hacked Toyota Carina if they are in the same price.

That’s a good decision. Trust me, I’ve been a customer of Mazna for more than a decade now and I’ve been personally promoting their service since they surely do provide a good service. However; business is business. You need to be a bit vigilant when it comes to dealing with local businessman. I know that they brought down a load of used (but good quality) Mazda parts recently and they must be looking to push them to the customers as quickly as possible coz maintaining an inventory is a cost for any company. So, cannot blame them on that. At the end of the day your problem will be solved but you will be paying something extra. Actually; you can do few things yourself to see whether there’s actual oil burn. Do you notice things such as blue smoke from the exhaust? Oily spark plugs? Rough running engine? Etc. If not; better to fix the oil leaks first and then run the car for some time to see whether the oil level actually drops after the leaks are fixed. Furthermore; what was the condition of oil when you bought the car? Was it clear? Do you have any maintenance records from the previous owner? If the car was maintained properly for sometime, it’s somewhat hard believe that a sudden oil burning issue would occur. Maybe I’m wrong here and Mazna people have done a correct diagnosis. But, it’s your car and your money. So better to be open minded, I guess. Some of the guys at Mazna might be actually reading this post and they know me very well. But, what the heck I’m just being true to myself.

So, now the question would be can you source a good quality, low mileage, reliable engine for your BJ5W for below 75K from somewhere else? Have you checked on that? And also, did you got a second opinion on the condition of your engine? Maybe it does not need replacement. Just a service with few components may solve your issue. Coz, 240,000Km is nothing much for a Japanese Petrol engine given that the mileage is genuine and it was routinely serviced. Thought of suggesting that since you mentioned that you went to fix an oil leak at Mazna and you said that oil burns for about 1l for every 3000kms. So, maybe the oil was actually leaked but not burnt ?

I’d somewhat agree on the Rusting issues in Mazda’s. As per my 323, rust on the rear wheel wells was bit of an issue. You need to do a proper wash under the wheel wells or else rust tends to form. However; its not a big issue if you take good care of it. However; the rust issue of the ‘Spare wheel well’ (not the wheel wells mind you) which Hyaenidae has highlighted above should be mainly blamed on negligence of previous owner. I think there must have been a water leak in the boot which must have caused the rust and he must have fixed the leak without doing a proper paint job on the rusted wheel well. He must have applied some anticorrosive paint to cover it up. However; once I noticed the issue as described in above thread in 2012; I cut out the spare wheel well out and welded a new wheel well made out of new metal sheets and did a proper repainting job. After 7 years; It’s still holding on quite good. It was my bad for not updating the original thread with what I did. ?

is it between 20-22 or 20-28? if it's 20-22 then you already own one of the best cars to own in that league. Care to explain why you want to get rid of it?

Would you like to explain why? coz, here i'm an owner of a Mazda 323 for a decade which is truly worth every penny that was invested on it and two of my colleagues followed me and purchased an Axela and a 3 a year after my purchase and still holding on to them for nearly 9 years. Still no concerns for us to get rid of them though.. Happy owners all the way. for the first time i'm hearing a negative comment on a Mazda 3 here actually ?

I was also in the hunt for one of these but it's difficult to find them here. Actually there's one manufacturer who assembles these E'Bikes in Sri lanka but unfortunately they only do exports and do not sell them in local market

I don't think there's much of an issue with those models. they are assembled in sri lanka and parts are also readily available. They do exports to Europe countries as well and therefore i don't think there will be any issues with quality.

You can goto either DSI Bikes, Lumala or Tomahawk in Bambalapitiya which are actually located next to another around the same place. It's easy to compare the models and purchase the one which suites you. Lumala has the widest selection though.

@SipaThe problem in your post is you have not mentioned 'what is your expectation?'. You have just mentioned two requirements. It should be a sedan around 2 million. Maybe If you can tell more details about your exact requirement it would be easier to provide options.

Well, the general comment i can give about the BH series mazda is that it's a very decent and reliable car for it's age. A good workhorse which can be used as a daily runner even though its more than two decades old. Cannot provide you specific details as your question is very generic. You may wanna check some of the below threads to get further information since this car was discussed number of times in the past as pointed out by Davy. If you have any specific questions (such as fuel economy, parts availability etc.) you can ask them so that we can give you specific answers. http://autolanka.com/forums/topic/16570-low-budget-car-option/?hl=%2Bmazda+%2Bbutterfly#entry271360 http://autolanka.com/forums/topic/15880-best-sedan-car-for-13-lks/?page=0#comment-257846 http://autolanka.com/forums/topic/19718-good-family-vehicle-around-13-m/#comment-309708 http://autolanka.com/forums/topic/14041-what-is-the-comfortable-car-ae100-or-mazda-butterfly/?tab=comments#comment-215074 http://autolanka.com/forums/topic/17678-best-car-for-13m-with-good-fuel-consumption-full-option-easy-maintenance/#comment-291268

are you looking for a mazda familia registered in 1997 or manufactured in 1997? if it's 1997 registration you might be talking about either BG series or BH series. if it's manufactured in 1997; you are talking about the BH series which is commonly known as 'Samanala light' model in SL market. So, which model are you interested in?

Check at Mazna motors Aththidiya. I visited them last weekend and there was a newly arrived large shipment of used parts. they may have plenty of ECU's as well.

If your tires does not have any uneven wear or side wall damage and if there's some tread depth left; most of the little road side tire shops will purchase them. I mean the kind of shops that are not dealers but small timers who are mainly involved in tire puncture repair kind of stuff. will not pay you much though. expect something around Rs 500-1500 based on the condition.

Just out of curiosity.. if the pugs are such a pain in the a**; why would you go on and buy 3 of them? i mean you must have been convinced after buying two of them right? why on earth would you buy a third??

Yeah. they are nearly 2 decades old and plenty of miles on them isnt it? So, its rather normal to expect minor shifting delays. But if it's a huge Thud sound or else the engine revvs so hard without shifting; Then it needs some attention.

Yeah. as Stig has mentioned; they will fix it for free if its within 6 months. Anyways, did you check your gear oil level and the color of the gear oil?

Being an owner of a FB14 almost a decade ago i would always ask any person to stick with the mere 1000 idiots in this forum (including me) and stay away from it instead of following the majority of intellectuals who fantasize about the FB14. Fed up of repeating my horror story on and on in this forum. Anybody who wish to know can refer the below link. http://autolanka.com/forums/topic/15880-best-sedan-car-for-13-lks/#comment-257891

Its always good to plan ahead but seriously; planning ahead 10 years for purchasing a car is bit of a craze nowadays. We all know that the automotive technologies have begun to drastically change. Lots of technologies are hitting the market at a quick phase (Hybrids, EV’s, Fuel Cells etc). It’s really hard to anticipate the fate of a good old gasoline powered car in a decade in this vastly changing industry. By then, the gasoline powered cars could be mere antics. Some of the developed countries have already started to phase out gasoline cars from the streets. So, if the gasoline engine would slowly go out of production as a whole; it would not really matter the origin of your car as the demand for all gasoline powered cars would be very low by then. And based on the current rate of depreciation; the 60+ lacks you spend to purchase it would worth something like 25-30 lacks in 2028. Even though you may sell it for the purchased price, it has already depreciated. So, there are so many other aspects you should worry about and the country of origin would be the least. Who knows.. by 2028 Thailand may become one of the world’s automotive Giants. So, you might regret if you do not go ahead with this purchase after all