zee boy

bumblebee - Regarding the 2nd hand market..Yes there is no solid 2nd hand market built yet for Hybrids..Anyway I think the SL 2nd hand market of vehicle is phasing out now..earlier people didnt have much choices other than the Toyota and Nissan so they could make their own market in SL, but now that monopoly is no more and you have lot of options to buy for a given price range..My first car was a FB 14 and at that time I didnt have much options other than the Toyota and Nissan cars..later on lot of vehicles introduced to the local market like Indian/Malaysian/Taiwan/Thailand/etc..now a person who tried to buy a FB 14 would buy a brand new Viva elite or a Indian Estilo...Likewise now people always have the option to buy a new car..I think looking at the budget GOV also intend to do so for some reasons..

Watchman - Dude- I do not want to convince anyone to buy a hybrid..what I am trying to share is the observations I made before I buy a hybrid..you can take it if it's important or you can leave it that doesn't matter to me..it is very advisable and will be a great investment for Axio user to move in to a hybrid considering below facts- 01) Hybrid is the trend for next couple of years - Even toyota has mentioned that all the vehicles they manufacture after 2016 will be non petrol vehicles. And also they have introduce new 16 hybrid models to the market..and all the premio and allion will be hybrid in near future 02) Once the Axio hybrid comes to play petrol hybrid will have less value and that's the reality.It's not only that value drops down but also it will be hard enough to find a buyer for a axio since for that price range anybody find a good sedan hybrid. 03) 2nd hand market od petrol is already dropped down and you can clearly see it if you check the week end news paper adds, below are some Axio advertisement found- ****.lk/en/toyota-axio-x-grade-2007-for-sale-gampaha-1 - 2.9 million ****.lk/en/toyota-axio-2008-for-sale-kurunegala - 3.1 million ****.lk/en/toyota-axio-for-sale-colombo-302 - 3.3 million these are few..if you check the newspaper you would know..and you know the price of new IST jeep model (2008) have dropped down to 3.1 million. Its not that the value of the vehicle is dropped its more likely that its harder to find a buyer for a petrol car which is around 3.5 milion. 04) Fuel consumption- I've had a petrol vehicle earlier and the fuel cost per month dropped down 50%. 05) Less maintenance cost - No difference in maintaining..same charges for full service.Oil changes less often. 06) Fear of battery and price- I have read that no hybrid battery has died even in Japan up to now and even it get damaged it's not the whole battery that need to replace..you can replace cells that has the issue..and also the battery prices also drops down gradually and you can find a hybrid battery for less than 100000Rs now and there are lot of Chinese and other batteries in the market.(They give 10 years warranty in japan) 07) Echo friendly - Hybrid use less gasoline so they give off less emissions 08) New technology and features - You can buy a car with all the latest features for a less price. 09) Hybrids are safer -Battery in a hybrid car is nickel laid instead of the lead acid battery that is found in petrol cars. The hybrid also require less gasoline. Because of these two factors there is less potential for there to be a disaster in the hybrid is in an accident. You may hate hybrids but I cant help that..the same scenarios did happen in SL when "AUTO" gear cars introduced. Well anyways....,If you buy a hybrid now ,after 2,3 years you will say you did the right thing. Anyway it's all up to you to decide and all I wanted to do was to share my ideas...

I think if you are planning to buy a hybrid then now is the time to buy a one, GOV still in the process of promoting them in Sri Lanka and once the trend line of hybrid is established the GOV will try to increase the TAX level to par with the normal petrol Tax level. Even at the moment 2nd hand market of petrol vehicles are falling rapidly due to the hybrid trend and once the AXIO hybrid come to the market the petrol market will go up side down and that will be the revolution point of migrating Petrol to Hybrid vehicles, The reason I see is, still lot of guys scared of buying a hybrid because all most all the famous hybrid cars in SL are specifically built for hybrid versions (ex:Insight/Prius/Aqua/Prius alpha/etc) but AXIO is the so called famous corolla vehicle in Sri lankan and once it turned in to hybrid all the corolla lovers will have to move in to hybrid world... Since you are a Axio owner I think it's better to take a action before it's too late... Axio market is terribly dropped down and I have seen some axio in the market for as low as 3.1 million (2008 axio)...

No..it's my first Hybrid Car service ...

Thanks for the details dpbatagoda, by any chance do you know the average cost per service at each of those service places?

01) Recommended place to do the service and prices 01) What is the recommended engine oil(s) and the prices 02) Mileage gap for each service 03) Good brand of the Air-filter & oil filter for Honda Fit Hybrid 04) Recommended shop to buy Airfilter & the oil filter and the prices Guys please share your ideas

I have used peoples Insurance...Have used 3 years and claimed 1 time, good service, nothing to complain, on a accident, you dont have to wait till an agent come, all you need is to give a call and move the car to a garage..check is ready within 2.3 days..

Any one knows about HNB Insurance?

Guys, I do not know if it is within the Auto lanka rule to discuss about insurance companies..But I would like to have a discussion on Insurance companies in Sri Lanka and the user experiences of them.. Which one has the best service Which one gives you the lowest rate Which one gives you the hassle free claim process etc Admins of Autolanka-please let me know if this is against your rules or whatever..I will remove the topic

Thanks Komisiripala.. I agree with you. Thanks iRage I will surely check that out... appreciate all your ideas guys..it helps a lot...

Thanks Charith H Jayasinghe and Crosswind for your valuable ideas. Dude Komisiripala - you have a serious problem buddy...I can imagine your mind set looking at your profile pic. Well I think few reasons why car buyers choose a specific vehicle model are- Reliability/Durability Interior Comfort Exterior Styling Gas Mileage Performance Advanced Technology Safety So I did not think it would offend someone if I get some clarifications on vehicle Performance and Gas Mileage..and you know It's not only me who concern on the Oil dude its just all car manufacturing industries including Toyota..as well as most of developing countries have taken this in to consideration. Don't get angry over everything buddy..world is beautiful out there... And thanks a lot for your serious note. It helps....

Guys- I am thinking of setting up an alloy wheel set for my FIT hybrid car. The questions I have is - Would it do any good or bad to the vehicle performance and fuel consumption as I have heard various stories on alloy wheel performance. Please advice.

You can import a FIT hybrid (Any color 2012/11, TV/DVD, REVERSE CAMERA, MULTIFUNCTION,BELOW 10000KM MILLAGE/ SMART KEY/etc/etc) with Auction grade above 4(A) for 30-32M..

Thanks iRage - actually I am buying the car from a Japan auction and it's not a brand new car, I also agree that I could have bought a car without the TV/Navi set but it's too late now. Anyway thanks for the info.

I am planning to but a FIT hybrid with Japana TV/DVD/FM/Navi/Revers Cam/etc set but I have heard that the TV will not work in Sri Lanka, also a Sri Lankan map cannot be installed to the Navigation system. Does anyone know any workaround to get the TV worked in Sri Lanka? Any workaround to install a Sri Lankan map in to navigation? Any workaround to set the full FM band limit to the FM system.? Appreciate you ideas !

Hybrid forever