tiv

Most businesses, thrive in grabbing opportunities and exploiting the tiniest loophole, and in this instance JKCG are no exception. I found it funny when people at the launch were mentioning the agent, as another reason for choosing BYD. I'm quoting someone word to word " ...positive is its imported by JKH So there's value there"

I mean just because their supermarkets function slightly better than their main competitor  how did they suddenly become a trusted agent for EVs? Do you expect them to function any different to other agencies? 

I do hope at least some of the 1000+ potential consumers have a means to ensure they do not end up getting screwed. At the same time, customs/GOSL need to have a proper direction than acting like headless chicken - at the moment they seem clueless (heck even with Temu/ali express packages) it's almost as if customs are like "oh um wait ...we have not decided what to do with this...so hang in there till we think of something".  They need to get their $4it together. 

@matroska..the customs department has been one of the most questionable institutions for decades. I strongly believe it was in their (the individuals') interest to keep things foggy. 

So as a follow up to the conversation,

Well we cancelled the Atto3 Order,

imho its a good car, the mother company is good enough, cars are tech laden, with the times blah blah, 

But the reason why we let go was purely JK;

1. Like i mentioned prior, their correspondence is abysmal, its like we beg them for the car. Given the troubled times they are having, they should at least have staff capable of comforting the blow. The cancellation itself was a 7 day operation, with a lot of begging, calling bosses, almost like a Govt. unit mission.

2. Imagine doing that with a warranty commitment for 8 years, on a tech laden car with finicky electronics and an aging battery, hell no!

3. The charging network, despite JK claiming to have 20 charging stations and the sheer volume of EVs being dumped into the road network, in the event that I need a charge, I might have to lay at a charging point for 2-3 hours. Even with the other charger companies

4. Their after sales care, almost 50% members who are avid BYD fanatics have gone feral after the pathetic service centers they run, esp. the Kandy one. Lack of trained staff, poor etiquette what not.

5. Customs matter and hype; according to my knowledge, I mean even if its 150 or 100kw the whole hoo haa is going get every vehicle pinged at the customs, and then possible recalls to customs what not. Not worth the hassle.

6. It costs almost the same figure in fuel cost to charge these in a charging station thus..

Lastly another isolated concern, the jokers at CEB have declined the on grid connections at all 3 of my properties claiming grid congestion. So end of that also.

So decided to go with the flow and get down a less blingy Vezel, will be importing it myself straight from a Jap Dealer so cost wise it maybe approx 3mil more than an Atto3. 

Rear shocks leaking @50K?  

No way that mileage is accurate 😁

story seems to be legit by the now second owner, used by an elderly lady,

Car was imported with 6600km and used by the current family since 2019.

Kinda does not add up but like you said coz I have an old rocky that has 285,000km and I changed the original factory adjustable dampers last month, that also coz they didn't leak but the bushings were not salvageable. Tried teflon inserts but it made the problem worse.

Well, you can't make a blanket assumption about parts like that...my AE101 Corolla Wagon has 56,000km and it just got its second suspension set put on. First was in 2014 when the car had just 15,000km. Even if the car doesn't run just sitting idle does put a toll on the dampers. Plus the rubber bushings start to dry up and then wear off.

As for the car market...I also feel that as predicted by some, the car prices have not seemed to have come down that much. Used Jimny becomes 7.2mil after repairs and the cheapest new import is 8.2. Everyone capitalizes on the fact that the extra 1mil that is needed is not something easy for most to come by (if it was then they would have gone and bought the new car anyway).

I was looking at a personal import via an importer. Low mileage jd64 660cc jdm. This is narrower than the jd74 1500cc model.

Comes to around 8.4 8.5

Not worth it for a kei 2 door. For that money one can fetch a well done up Land cruiser 70 or 73 or get a fixer upper and go anal on it.

If I sell something I own I might consider a 2017 one low mileage one.

That's nice, that's a good price but you will need to do some work on it to get a bit more performance. Wider track, maybe a turbo upgrade etc. interestingly the 5 door comes only with the 1.5l and is made in India.

you mean the 2017 one? or the JB64 2023 one?

Yea its gone to pathetic levels. 

Average Sri Lankan = Petrolhead 

The current trend aside, for a third-world country that has been yo-yo-ing with bankruptcy for a few generations , Sri Lankans have an unhealthy and almost American-like obsession with private vehicles.

"Sri Lankans have an unhealthy and almost American-like obsession with private vehicles"

Because we have a very distorted view of what "personal success" is and how we value people.

@iRage - "sports" car is the most abused term in sri lankan motoring circles. I recently saw a Diesel Starlet NP70 described as a "sports car" since it has two doors  by it's seller. 

@matroska of course ! In SL a "Sports Car" is anything that has one or more of the following:

• alloy wheels
• a rear spoiler
• mounted fog lights
• a beet can
• two doors
• smoked/tinted lights
• pop-up lights (or removed lights for a car)
• covered in stickers

actually the list is way too long to type out over here...

@fiat fanKandy is kinda becoming a haven for old school off roaders, few colleagues of mine have also jumped in the bandwagon and now have started restoring two datsun pickups (aka emboss body in local lingo). Not to mention the countless 80s 90s Land cruisers coming up.

My neighbor bought a 32- Nissan Patrol Y61 SWB and I've been drooling at it since. Despite being a gedi, it is mint!