Vengeance

Maybe another forum member can help you, but out of curiosity, why do you need to carry 5L to 10L spare fuel in a small country like Sri Lanka? You can travel from Colombo - Anuradhapura and even come back (approx. 400km) with a full tank and there are plenty of fuel sheds open 24/7 around if you ever run out of fuel.

I heard that they have begun soil testing for the flyover at Rajagiriya so hopefully its not just another "never happening" promise. Agree with "gayanath". Sri Lankan Government should consider improving public transport (railway and buses) if they really want to reduce traffic. Building roads, expressways, flyovers etc will help, but all of them are temporary solutions as somehow people will manage to import more vehicles to fill those gaps. You see plenty of vehicles on the road everyday with just 1 person in the vehicle. For example, hundred of such people in hundred vehicles will only need 5 or 6 buses to travel to work, provided everyone is seated. Now imagine the road space required for the 5 or 6 buses compared to the 100 vehicles, that's how you manage traffic. The Sri Lankan government (irrespective of the party) will take another 100 years to understand this basic concept which the developed countries have been using from more than 20 - 30 years.

They might be rare here, but there are plenty available on eBay.

Sparks plugs and air filter are part of the engine tune-up process. Yes, change the plugs if you don't have previous service records, they won't cost you a lot. Go for Iridium ones if you intend to keep the vehicle for a while If you don't have any issues such as rough idle, engine misfiring, jerking, high fuel consumption, lack of acceleration, trouble starting etc you may be able to use the current spark plugs for a while, but please have their condition/gap inspected.

Yes, I've seen a few unreg ones on the "quick" site during the past few months. I don't think there's an agent yet (there wasn't one the last time I checked) so finding parts / maintaining won't be easy.

How about a poll so that you can narrow down the options?

How can you expect to find someone who has been to the service station when they haven't opened the particular branch yet?

Did you check online? https://www.google.com/search?q=honda+eg8+oxygen+sensor&safe=active&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=600&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjphKPKy9fMAhWFqY8KHbpVDfMQ_AUIBigA&dpr=1#safe=active&tbm=shop&q=honda+94+civic+oxygen+sensor If you find a compatible sensor, you can get it down through Shop&Ship, Aramex or Kapruka for a low shipping price as the sensor is not that heavy.

I was about to suggest cutting and polishing. I don't think its worth it to pay a hefty sum for cutting and polishing the entire windscreen for a few spots like those (I remember Mr.Sylvi charging around 15k from a previous thread, almost the price of a new windshield). How much did it actually cost you for the cutting and polishing the windscreen?

Its common practice to wait some time when the vehicle prices suddenly go up due to budget/tax/vat/dollar rate etc. People will not know the current market value of the vehicle and will post unrealistic prices. When another guy having the same vehicle sees the ad, he'll end up posting an even higher price. Heck, I called a 2002 swift owner a few months back when the prices went up due to the budget and he demanded some 3 million bucks. He's claim was that he was the first owner of the vehicle and that he had to pay 3 million something over a period of 5 years to settle the lease. How much common sense does he have? He was trying to get all his lease interest from the car buyer, lol. It'll take some time for them to understand that you can't sell a vehicle for any price you want just because the vehicle prices went up and they'll start reducing the price until the vehicle eventually sells, that's how the vehicle market works in Sri Lanka.

SL*C had a slightly higher reputation in terms of user reviews the last time I checked, please check the "Insurance" thread on AL and you'll know. Okay now don't get me wrong, I'm in no way trying to promote SL*C here and every insurance company has their pros/cons. Didn't you understand what I said? Its obvious that insurance companies will pay you if you have a comprehensive insurance. That's the whole point of having a full insurance, isn't it? What I said was that to get paid via a 3rd party insurance from the opposition, you have to go to courts (that means involving the cops) and the insurance company will only pay you if the court orders them to. In simple, insurance companies do NOT honor 3rd party claims unless the court/police is involved.

True up to a certain extent. Dust, leaves etc can enter through the exterior intake vents and come in contact with the evaporator's surface, this will eventually form layers of grime on the fins of the evaporator. Most of the small Suzuki hatchbacks don't have a cabin air filter (A-star, Alto, Zen etc). I've been using one for a while, but never faced such an issue. Just make sure you service the AC / clean the evaporator every year or so (depending on how much you use the vehicle) when the cooling efficiency reduces and you should be good.

The purpose of the cabin filter is to catch dust, grime, pollutants, small leaves etc from entering the cabin, so it'll probably help keep the cabin / vents cleaner. I've used cars without a cabin filter and didn't have many problems with it, the A/C vents did get dusty after a while, but I didn't get dust blown on to my face just because a filter was absent. So if the ambasador was made to work without a cabin filter it should work just fine without one, I don't think it'll be a problem unless you have infants in the car

Okay, so you have the 10th generation of the Hijet (S320), the mileage reading is probably genuine as the van is somewhat new. You can begin with the oil/fluid changes if you didn't get any previous service records. I couldn't find the user manual for your vehicle, but found the user manual for the Daihatsu Atrai (which is basically the same vehicle, just a different name is used in the Japanese market). The manual is in Japanese so you might have to convert it to English using a translator like "Google Translator", proceed with care as this manual is for the 2015 model so may have a few differences compared to the 2012 model. https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A95C95A002AEBA33!3400&authkey=!AL6wwHkJIbKGZLk&ithint=file%2cpdf Mods, I'm not sure whether I'm allowed to post links on the forum, so if this violates any rules feel free to remove the link

Can you show us a photo of what it looks like?

You've already done the first mistake, buying a vehicle from a sale. The odometer reading would probably have been reversed. Some sales re-wire the engine check light to the oil pressure light so that it doesn't light up even if there's a problem when the engine is running, but does light up when the ignition is in the "ON" position to show that its operational. Make sure there are no error codes using an OBDII scanner. Have the timing belt inspected by a mechanic and replaced if necessary since the vehicle is nearing 100k kms. What's the YOM of the vehicle? Begin with the basics, change the engine oil, filter, transmission fluid, coolant and brake oil if you intend to keep the vehicle for a few years, should help you out in the long run. You might be able to skip transmission fluid, coolant and brake oil if they are in good condition, but changing them is recommended if you don't have previous service records. Then check the fuel consumption, if its a bit on the higher side compared to the average values the vehicle gets (you should get around 12-15kmpl if you're light on the accelator), doing a tune up may help. Regarding the engine oil, you might have to check that in the vehicle manual or you can just call the agents (Softlogic Automobiles) and ask. The odometer reading might even be correct, but a car sale is involved so you never know

Wrong, insurance companies don't honor third party claims unless the court ordered them to do so, I confirmed this from SL*C when I got my insurance. Take my word for it, insurance companies will try their level best to avoid paying you or the other party for any damage caused irrespective of whether you have a premium or 3rd party insurance.

How about hardboard? You can get them in different sizes from local hardware shops. These can be resized / cut in to shapes easily using a grinder or a small saw blade (those small blue ones), plus they'll look a lot neater than cardboard. There are even thicker boards available, you can get these from pettah (turn left from 1st cross street) if you can't find them in hardwares.

Didn't you try using a cardboard box in there? You can get them from small retail shops ("sillara badu kada") for a few bucks.

Any good electrician who has enough experience will solder the wires before taping them as they'll corrode after a few years if not soldered preventing current flow and eventually cause malfunctions in the electrical system. It'll be a bit hard to trace this down if there is a lot of cutting and chopping in the wires. Additionally, you can get a multimeter and check the charging circuit when the engine is running every few weeks to confirm that the alternator is functioning. If it shows anything around 13V to 14V, you're good

Happy Birthday Trinity! Have a blast mate

Don't listen to most people unless they have proper evidence to back it up. I know a person who drives an Ad Wagon (YOM around 2000-2002 I think). He says the car is somewhat low on fuel (8-9 city limits), but due to the fact that its a heavy car and also being an automatic, that's pretty reasonable. Even most of the sedans in the same class will have similar figures. According to him, the vehicle is easy to maintain with parts being readily available and has a higher market / better comfort than the original wagon which was meant for carrying goods. Also have a look at the Mazda's available within your budget.

I saw a CS1 for 2.0M on the "quick" site a few days back, slightly higher than your budget, but if you can extend it there are many more options if you want a relatively new car. Hondai Civic (ES1/ES5 and ES8) and Nissan Sunny (FB15/N16) are valued from 2.0M to 2.3M. Nissan Ad Wagon (2003+) are valued at 1.6M. Mazda BJ5W, BJ3P and BJ5P will fall within your budget. You might also be able to squeeze an older Chevrolet Cruze or a Perodua Viva in to your budget as well (they are priced at around 2.0M). EDIT: Korean cars are not all that bad after all, if you don't plan on using them as a daily runner (although I know a few who use older Korean cars as daily runners), you just have to learn to live with one and get used to the maintenance and slight difficulty in re-selling.

He's a man with policies that even he doesn't understand at times. No offence intended.

I would personally prefer the one with crocodile clamps as you'll have to keep the key inside the vehicle and turned to "ON" position if you want to use the cigarette lighter socket to charge the vehicle. Charging cannot happen if there is no sunlight, it can be cloudy or shady, but you will still need some sunlight. You can leave the car parked in a garage and have the solar panel hung up on top of your roof or something.This is an energy conversion from light to electrical. On a photovoltaic solar panel, the electricity produced will be directly proportional to the sunlight falling on it, also the angle at which the sun's rays fall on the panel have an effect too. If you are mathematically savvy, for optimum energy capture, the sun's radiation will have to fall perpendicular to the panel (at 90 degrees). If the incident radiation falls at an angle on the panel, the angle of incidence wil be (90-theta) and the effective area of the panel will be Acos(theta), where A will be the area of the panel and "theta" is the deviation from the perpendicular of sun's radiation. This will reduce the effective area of the panel, hence reducing the energy captured. Since you haven't mentioned the voltage output of the solar panel, I'll assume its 16V. Energy of car battery = VIt = 16V x 75Ah = 1200 Wh Time to charge a completely flat battery = (Energy of car battery / Wattage of panel) x k (constant) = (1200Wh / 5W) x 2.5 = 600 hours Note that I'm multiplying by a constant k (for which I have used a value of 2.5) as we're considering a practical situation and hence the loss of energy has to be taken in to account. The wattage rating on the solar panel is the product of the open circuit voltage and the peak current (which we cannot get always due to variation in sunlight), when the solar panel is connected to a load (battery) the voltage will drop to about 12.5V and also all the energy supplied to the battery will not be stored, some will be lost as heat, so a combined loss factor of about 2.5 is ideal. So basically, a 5W panel may not be sufficient even though you don't allow the battery to go completely flat (you have to confirm the voltage using a voltmeter when the charging process takes place to confirm this), but a panel that produces about 15W - 20W would be highly recommended. Also keep in mind that car batteries are not meant to be deep-cycled, means that they should NEVER be allowed to go flat or even go close to being flat, this has a major impact on their lifetime. Sorry if this post looks confusing, please ask if you need any clarification EDIT: Also make sure that your panel has some sort of a charge controller built in.