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Thanks guys..I'll call him and see. @Twin Turbo: Thanks for the suggestion. It would probably cost me a fortune to get this done at Toyota Lanka, so I'll pass that option

Hi, I'm looking for a good mechanic around Mount Lavinia (Dehiwala or Moratuwa also fine) to get the engine mounts repaired in my Corolla 110. There are a few Au*o Mi*a*'s around but I don't really trust them based on my previous experiences. I checked in the sticky topics about mechanics also but couldn't find anyone around this area. Any suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks!

Yes, agents would be the best option for sure. But the problem comes when they don't import the vehicle you wish for, and you then have to go for something else for a much higher price. Anyway it's a matter of personal preference and how much risk you are willing to take.

Thanks guys for all your helpful comments! @iRage: Yes it was the same company that I was referring to. A guy (sounded like a Pakistani) called me over the phone in the minute I sent a request for the car over their site. Apparently you need to put a deposit of 100,000 YEN to start anything. I too saw some mixed reviews on them over the net and as you said it has worked in both ways for different people. Yet there hasn't been any problems for the people I talked to who have bought vehicles from them. I guess they got lucky

Hi All, I'm planning to buy a new car and have thought of bringing down one from Japan because of the low cost associated with it. Since I don't have any experience at all in this, I would like know some information from those who are in this business or have already imported vehicles. 1. Is it true that even if the car is of '0' mileage it is marked as a reconditioned vehicle unless you buy it directly from the agents? 2. Is there any way of getting a warranty when purchasing a vehicle from an auction? I'm looking for a hybrid, do you see a big risk of getting it without a warranty? Is there any possibility of getting a warranty here (e.g. from S*erli*g')? 3. Some of my colleagues have directly purchased vehicles from a company in Japan called 'S*T' and got them cleared at SL using a clearing agent. Does anyone have experience with this? Is there any risk involved in this kind of purchase (other than changes in tax and currency rate)? Thanks!

@aps: couldn't see anything abnormal on the oil cap. Coolant level has been dropping for sometime though. There was a leak that I got fixed but still it's going down slowly. Guess it's the gasket leak. @Rumesh88: Yes unfortunately

Update: I showed the car to the guy at Moratuwa that Rumesh88 suggested. He found out that the set of plugs fitted during the last tune up was not the correct type and that the engine oil has become 'chocolate' like. He suggested to do another tune up because otherwise it's difficult to find the real reason for the problem. I went ahead and then it seemed like the distributor condenser has become black, so that also was replaced. After that was done and the plugs replaced, he did a compression test and found out that first cylinder had low compression (around 8). And there were air bubbles coming out from the radiator inlet also. So it seems like there is a problem with the gasket and I need to have it repaired. He said there is no problem with the TPS or the O2 sensor and that he has advanced the engine a bit, so not the pickup should be OK. It seems a bit better so far and I have to drive a few days more to see whether the efficiency has improved. The guys is quite knowledgeable and attentive, if the situation has got better I will give his details on the other thread.Meanwhile I'm planning to show it to another mechanic to confirm whether there is really a problem with the gasket, and if so get it repaired.

@Rumesh88, the problem is my car doesn't have a tachometer so I have no idea how the RPM changes during different scenarios. What I have noticed is that even though I have to accelerate too much to get the vehicle up to speed after a few seconds then I don't even have to accelerate, the vehicle just moves on. So what I do is I take the foot out of it and just let it go, especially when in medium traffic (maybe this is normal with AT). Btw it gives a high level of noise even in idle mode. Regarding oil levels, I had some problems with engine oil seals sometime back and I had them repaired. After that I haven't noticed anything abnormal about it. Do you know a place that I can go to get these things done, near Colombo south area?

Thanks for your answer. I too have the feeling that 155K is too low, so it could be that the meter has been adjusted somewhere. On the other hand I usually drive within the city (Mount Lavinia - Wellawatte) daily so the usage there is somewhat low. I have changed my driving style over the years and I'm getting something around 12-13 in my wife's A-Star (it's a manual though). And now I'm extra careful not to floor the accelerator and try to pickup as smooth as possible. About driving at low traffic, what I have noticed is that the consumption is even higher when driving at high speeds. I have seen this while driving at Marine Drive and obviously due to this I'm reluctant to put it to any highway due to the fact that I might need more than one tank fill up to drive in that speed for 100KM. One thing I missed to mention is that I've changed ATF also more than an year ago. The guy at A*N* said the engine is worn out because the plugs were burnt and asked me to fill Lanka S*p*r engine oil next time which lasts longer. I haven't changed oil after that, and the guy who checked the car recently said (after checking the dust inside the silencer) that engine is OK and there's no need to put any special type of oil. So now I'm more confused

Hi Guys, I've been following AL for sometime now but this is my first post Not that happy about it being another thread about fuel consumption but I really need the help from you guys. I have been using a 1999 Corolla AE110 (1500cc petrol AT) for about 5 years now and the current milage is around 155k KM. From the very first day the consumption hasn't been that good (around 8 km\l) but I didn't care much about it since it's an old vehicle, an auto and my first vehicle (i.e. not very driving style). But with time I was feeling that the pick up was getting slower and I have to accelerate a lot to get the vehicle up to speed, which in turn wasted more fuel. First I tried with things like fuel system cleanup and fuel additives but that didn't help. So last year I went to A$N* to get a tune up. The guy there also felt the low pick up and I got the injectors and throttle body cleaned and air filter and spark plugs replaced. There was an improvement in the pickup (though only for a few months) but no change in the consumption (in fact I think it has gone even lower now, around 7). Now after about one year the pickup is slow again and I took the car to a baas in Kesbewa and he cleaned the throttle body again and said if it doesn't help the next option is to check the fuel pump because the problem may be related to low amount of fuel coming from the pump (the reason why I have to accelerate a lot). Meanwhile I checked with T*y*t* L*n*a about whether a checkup would help, but a guy there said the problem is probably due to the age and the milage of the vehicle and if there are no warning lights no use plugging to the computer, and even a tune up may not help as I have already done it. Now my last options are checking the fuel filter and pump but I'm not sure whether that will help either. Do you guys have any opinions about what more I can do? If this is really due to the age then I might as well have to live with it, but I know other vehicles of this model do at least 9-10 within city. Any help is much apperciated! Thanks.