iRage

Legalizing is always a good thing. However, in a country where regulations and its practice is nothing short of a clown show you might be shooting yourself in the foot when it is not even your problem. As JC mentioned...stay away from anything that has a questionable book. To answer your questions, the best place (and frankly,should be your only place) in the RMV. Give a call and present the situation as a hypothetical scenario. Some of us can share experiences or what we believe is the regulation, but things change so much (at least in practice) that what was the case last year might not be so this year.

Most have been boy racerfied....Cynos...I mean c'mon why do you hate this poor kid ? Think of his embarrassment when a DX wagon gaps him I suppose something like a Peugeot from the 90s will not be his cup of tea ?

Well...dont trust a word coming out of anyone who imports and sells cars. Whatever they want to sell the most is the best car on the face of the planet while the others are garbage. as for the Aussie spec preference...never heard of it before. Granted for some models the Aussie spec is more practical for SL. E.g. Aus got a 1.5L CRV and the smallest engine for the Japanese market was 2L. So the Aus spec is cheaper to import to SL. There was a time the importers said that these CRVs were made in Japan, etc..but then people soon became aware that it is not always the case. So your assumption/belief is accurate. Where Lankans are concerned JDM is the "best". Even if the thing was made in SL, exported to Japan, coming from Japan makes it best. Followed by Toyota is the best. Even if it is a rust bucket falling apart. No...I can't afford to buy a new car in SL. My GRY is red...imported one in SL is white. Mine if a First Edition (so pre-facelift) the imported one is a facelift

This was so so hated back in the day. It was nice and cool and futuristic when first introduced but progressively owners got tired of it. The navigation system sucked...the vehicle info was not accurate...when some tried to change it to a much better nav system it was nnot possible. I know a few instances where people went to the extent of changing the dashboard just to get rid of it. You are not going to find a recon or replacement used unit that easily. So try to fix the screen or see if there are CANBUS conversion kits, etc...in Japan to install a different system. But if you don't want any fancy telemetrics from the car do you actually need CANBUS ? You could at the very least just install a basic AV system can't you?

😮 This is just ridiculous! But also I can see how our guys would abuse the system if it was not present. Sad state of the country I suppose. But...this is apparently applicable since you are sending it to someone and not actually importing it for yourself. About the infotainment system...in new cars the language can be changed. My Corolla Touring and GR Yaris are both JDM variants (like actual Japanese market variants) and everything from the info display on the speedometer to the warning messages some woman screams to the audio/video system is in English. The only things that are not in English are the built-in map/navi system (but Google maps and Apple are in English). Interestingly....the GR Yaris woman is British and the Corolla Touring woman is American.

This car's name reminds me of scissors and rocks. Anyway...despite its name...and sporty appearance it was never known to be a car powerful enough to blow any sort of wind, yet alone a strong one, that could even blow a beetle away. Okay..plenty of clues and hints and literally the name/platform itself for someone to actually name the car

How could I know which one you were referring to? But that Prado is a colossal clue though. The lettering on the speedometer would throw off a lot of people.

J90 series Land Cruiser Prado !

Yes...that is a good idea. Here is the issue: In the past, there were similar mechanisms that allowed such imports. Sri Lanka was quite liberal when it came to car imports, and for the most part, there was a reasonable balance. Remember, we had blue permits, pink permits, and before that, even imports on passports (import permission and duty credit through duty-free allowance accumulated by Lankan expats). But guess what? WE, our own people, led by our selflessly acting human rights-protecting car importers who fight to make Lankan's dreams of owning a car come true, completely and utterly abused every single mechanism that was there. Cars imported under blue/pink and other permits were on showroom floors/yards in no time. Even cars bought in through CARNET were sold off. CARNET used to be 2 years...then it became one year..then 6 months...and now it is 3 months unless you can show reasonable evidence for it to be extended. So there were cars older than the age limit, etc... So, can the government open up such schemes? Yes...will they? Probably not because they do not have the resources (including the know-how) on how to properly govern it (including their own internal corruption). Considering the amount of luxury vehicles coming in this can very well be a reality. Not sure if they will completely block it but perhaps introduce a quota system (like in Singapore). Right now the government seems to be okay because they are desperately trying to earn taxes (hopefully, they have a tipping point established for how much forex can be sent out). But then, on the other hand, the frenzy might slow down as well, which is what it is right now: a buying frenzy by people who seem to have been dying of vehicular starvation.

No..they are classified as 5 passenger vehicles. There is a rood mounted seatbelt for the rear center passenger. Granted, the rear middle seat seems rather uncomfortable with the slightly raised/shaped hump.

Part numbers ? OR are you referring to the model/type of the part (like K310, K311 etc..?). If you do an internet search you should be able to find that info either on EPC sites or by just looking at cars themselves.

It is an issue with Toyota CVTs of the period...loss of power and then slowly gives way. Other manufacturers had similar issues. It was a time when the technology was not well perfected. This is also the reason I said you should get the newest gearbox possible (e.g. if you have K311 you might want to see if a K311F works...or get one from the newest possible car you can find). Mind you...these are ripped from cars you know nothing about. So you need to accept the risk that these gearboxes themselves might break soon after putting it in your car. Make sure you go to a place that gives a decent warranty with pretty straight-forward exchanges.

I don't think it will be a problem; it is just that it is not the normal avenue, so there needs to be some extra legwork done from your side. As for the FOREX thing...that really wasn't a restrictive requirement even in the past, it was just a criteria for certain types of permits and as a check to ensure everything is legit; and then during the ban it was needed to file for an excemption for the ban. You need to understand Sri Lankans to figure out why these are put in place. Lankans go crazy and become the most devious specimens on the face of the planet when it comes to cars. If the checks were not there our people would be getting our neighbor's aunty's colleague's son-in-law living in Kenya to their long lost uncle who lived in London before passing away 15 years ago to their house-keeper's daughter now working in the middle east sending in cars. They would happily pay the expat Lankan's local relatives in Rs. thus impacting a huge part of the country's forex inflows. This also means there will be a bunch of people who would be shifting money back and forth in dubious ways (which by the way does borderline and sometimes is money laundering). Also, in the past this was also a part of motivating Lankan expats to save their USDs, GBP, JPY, etc in Lanka (there was a time where you would automatically get a permit for 20% of the forex remittances one makes, then at another time permits for government bonds purchased, etc...) So as long as it is a legit case, it should be given due consideration; it is just that you will have to go knock on a few doors. Even the customs department is likely to say no at first because they don't want to open a new can of worms with a whole bunch of migrated Lankans wanting to send in cars bought from their foreign held money.

You mean between the Z Play Package and the X (X is the base eHEV grade...the equivalent gasoline grade is G). In Japan the price difference is about 600,000-700,000 yen depedning on FWD or AWD. What do you get extra ? - Beige colored faux leather and fabric mixed seats (X gets black cloth) - Two tone color scheme - Sequential turn lights and more LED lighting - Navigation system and ETC as standard (useless in SL) - Wireless charging as standard - Exterior trim bits are different. - 18inch wheels vs 16 inch wheels Plus things like the panoramic sunroof, premium sound system and a few others are offered as manufacturer options for the Z Play but are simply not offered in the X at all. I don't think 600-700 thousand yen directly translates to 4.5million LKR so it could be that there are additional options spec'd out for the Z play or the profit margin is a bit higher for the high trim.

See...that is the thing...You need to talk to Import Control. You might even have to go to the Ministry of Finance and get the whole "no fund repatriation to SL" sorted out as well.

Yes and no. In the past with all permits in all the colors of the rainbow you had to show how much revenue you sent to SL or it was simply a matter of stating that it was a gift as you are gainfully employed, immigrated, etc...then for some permits you had to show how much money you had sent and how much time you have spent/lived abroad, etc...Then during the restrictions it was needed to get approval. So it all depends on what the person's status is, the purpose of the import, and under what status you plan to import the vehicle. The hitch here is that there actually is no "gift permit" anymore. So the import control department is the place to go (this car very well might have to be imported and registered under the exporter's name). They are quite helpful and will give the necessary advice on how the import can be done. It is all a matter of getting permission from one place to another and if one is willing to pay for it (heck with fees upon fees even an old car can be imported).

So..in the middle of no where of Ibaraki prefecture there apparently is a Daihatsu dealership with 3 of these things on display. A person in one of the car groups had come across is last weekend and posted about it on FB. The dealership owner is supposed to be a car guy Can someone else please take my turn ?

How good were you at playing charades when you were a kid? You need to up your game on misdirection with guided progression

Well...we sent our car in Japan to SL. You need to go to import control and talk to them. They will give you the necessary information. (EDIT: This is what you will have to do to get over the fact of not having to open a LC, whether you will be given a permit or not depends on your status and other factors)You pretty much have to give them information about the car including export certificates and inspections, show them that it was purchased with funds belonging to you outside of SL (you will have to show your employment and residence status in AUS), plus the car needs to meet existing import control regulations (i.e. age). This will require you to run to a few places like the Ministry of Finance (this may not be too difficult as you will be paying duty/taxes). If everything checks out, you will be given a letter permitting your importation, which leads to a permit, which leads to you being able to ship your car.

Which is why with modern cars and that kind of money the agents would be a safer bet. The whole JDM market models are better is thing of the past now. Even used car prices are not significantly lower than new cars like they used to be. True...the export variant models are limited...however if there is a sufficient market for it there are other ways to get the portfolio increased and even get CPO vehicles shipped in with can be given with some sort of agent support. However, sad reality is 99% of the buyers of cars like Toyota, Honda, etc...would happily pay 100mil on a car but wouldn't pay peanuts to maintain the car. Strange....I thought that vehicle importers association guy said it the other way around. I think in the case of the XTrail it is actually the Petrol Hybrid being cheaper than the electric. The front motor is 150kW and in the case of an eForce the rear is an additional 100kW. So the taxes as an EV are higher than a 1498cc petrol hybrid.

Plus wasn't there a small crossover that was recently launched starting at 9.8 or something ? Also, the Hyundais I suppose. The reason I am bringing these up because it is something like this with the dealer backing or a so-called-zero mileage Raize or Yaris or something through a guy who has no idea what they are selling (let's be honest looking at all the adverts around 90% of these importers have no idea what they are selling and I don't think they have the slightest idea how to provide proper warranty backing for these cars...and trust me they need them. There are constant software updates, recalls, things going wrong with all these electronic gizmos). You could also look in to what the agents have. But like someone else mentioned I would stay away from the small engined Hondas due to the wet belt. SIgn of the times and the designs do not age too well. Only a very few car designs these days will age gracefully. The issue is our officials do not understand the language. Even the whole muck up with Year of Manufacture vs Year of FIrst Reg is because some pundit figured out they knew something better. As for the importers...all the muck-ups that benefit them they keep quiet about and the muck ups that eat in to their profit is the end of the world (e.g. the whole 85% of MSRP estimation...a lot of the so called brand new cars these importers buy at inflated prices, like the LC250 - diesel VX is 6.8 mil at Toyota dealer but 8.5 - 9.0 mil at auction and 3rd party dealers, all come in conveniently undervalued at 85% of 6.8mil-ish plus a bit more). I think it is the other way around...because of the small engine capacity bringing it in as a Hybrid lessens the taxes but the government insists that it should be an electric vehicle.

Lexus GX550 it is ! Pictures of a recent import (along with some other LCs) at the port were getting circulated online the last few days. Seems like it is a non-JDM model as it is in a color that was not offered here as we only have the Overland+ (with its unique color packages) for now (because the model was recently launched in Japan).

I think I offended the OP by asking why and later saying his thought process was illogical

No it is not you

The new baby Kias are actually looking promising. Seems like they are decent performers as well. The 1L Yaris is still a lethargic dog but in a high trim it is actually a decent city car (rent or borrow a larger engine car to leave the city )