The Mazda Demio Thread

[ravindasenarath]

2 hours ago, Davy said:

You can tell if it's a CVT or not based on how the RPM moves with the speed of the car. It behaves differently to a conventional auto. The needle rises and stays in one point while the speed of the car keeps increasing. Did you take it for a test drive? If it's a guy trying to make a profit out of the car by doing a "sale paint" job, I doubt he even knows if the car is actually a CVT or not.

As for minor things like remote not working, door lock not working, those things can be easily repaired. It's a 10 year old car after all. Plus, you can bargain and get the seller to lower the price even further. When I got mine, the antenna was broken (got a genuine one from eBay), the driver's side mirror was not auto folding (got it repaired for 500) and there were a few scratches on the front bumper. Don't let small things like that stop you from buying a good car. Not saying ignore everything, and go for it, but you really must learn to draw the line appropriately by weighing the positives and negatives. 

Anyway, you saw it personally, so I'm just going to give you the benefit of the doubt. If it's as bad as you say it is, then well... poor Demio. Being a fully loaded one too.

That car is AT for sure @Davy. All other features and not CVT. Weird combination. 

BTW I found a well maintained Suzuki SX4. I made a offer. So there is a chance that I might not be able to join Demio club. 

[Jor-el]

4 hours ago, Davy said:

You can tell if it's a CVT or not based on how the RPM moves with the speed of the car. It behaves differently to a conventional auto. The needle rises and stays in one point while the speed of the car keeps increasing. Did you take it for a test drive? If it's a guy trying to make a profit out of the car by doing a "sale paint" job, I doubt he even knows if the car is actually a CVT or not.

 

Better off not buying that then, what if the bugger never changed ATF/CVT fluid ?

[Davy]

4 hours ago, Jor-el said:

Better off not buying that then, what if the bugger never changed ATF/CVT fluid ?

Or worse, used regular ATF on the CVT box. So yeah. 

[ravindasenarath]

Guys I bought a Suzuki SX4 hatchback. Sadly I couldn't find a good Demio to buy. Still a big thank go to generous people who share their knowledge to help me( and others who read this conversation later ). Thank you very much. 

[Jor-el]

1 hour ago, ravindasenarath said:

Guys I bought a Suzuki SX4 hatchback. Sadly I couldn't find a good Demio to buy. Still a big thank go to generous people who share their knowledge to help me( and others who read this conversation later ). Thank you very much. 

Can we see her?  

 

[hrm]

12 hours ago, ravindasenarath said:

Guys I bought a Suzuki SX4 hatchback. Sadly I couldn't find a good Demio to buy. Still a big thank go to generous people who share their knowledge to help me( and others who read this conversation later ). Thank you very much. 

Congrats !!! Enjoy your ride.

[ravindasenarath]

12 hours ago, Jor-el said:

Can we see her?  

 

Of Course @Jor-el. If Demio lovers do not mind photos of a SX4 on their thread. 

[Davy]

26 minutes ago, ravindasenarath said:

Of Course @Jor-el. If Demio lovers do not mind photos of a SX4 on their thread. 

Congratulations! Good car the SX4. Was Suzuki's Rally car for some time too.

To keep things organised, I think it would be better if you can share photos in one of the SX4 threads. Maybe this one. Once you've shared, just drop a link here to that post.  

[ravindasenarath]

Sorry for the late response guys. There you go. Right after a bath. 

My buddy - Suzuki SX4 2007

Few things I can say about the car is it is nippy on acceleration. Must have something to do with VVT engine. I reset average fuel economy when I left Nugegoda to goto Galle. Until Pannipitiya in moving traffic I got ~6.5. After Pannipitiya there was a terrible traffic where it took around 45min to get to highway entrance avg economy dropped to 4.8. I drove at 110kmph(2.5 on rpm meter) and at the end fuel economy of whole journey is 12.1kmpl. 

Album is in my google photos cloud. It better not to bring up old thread I thought. 

[Jor-el]

2 hours ago, ravindasenarath said:

Sorry for the late response guys. There you go. Right after a bath. 

 

Did you get a cut and polish done? 'cause mamma mia! that car is shiny *_* Very impressive for a 2007 car. Congratulations are in order! Here's a hearty congratulation from me  

Some interior pics would be nice to see, if you have the time to spare.

 

[ravindasenarath]

1 hour ago, Jor-el said:

Did you get a cut and polish done? 'cause mamma mia! that car is shiny *_* Very impressive for a 2007 car. Congratulations are in order! Here's a hearty congratulation from me  

Some interior pics would be nice to see, if you have the time to spare.

 

Thanks @Jor-el. Actually previous owner did it . Sry forgot interior. Added to the album now. 

[Komisiripala]

1.5” closer to the ground. I beg of you. And you have a winner! 

[Davy]

22 minutes ago, Komisiripala said:

1.5” closer to the ground. I beg of you. And you have a winner! 

I can see all the Demio owners on the thread lowering their cars now.  

[Davy]

What is a holiday without some DIY?  

I managed to get hold of a used spoiler from Australia and bring it home with me (yes, I actually carried a spoiler into the airport and checked it in ). Got it for dirt cheap at about 4000 and I removed it from a wrecked car myself. No painting required as it's the same colour as mine.

I expected the spoiler to be mounted by 4 screws, because that's how I've seen it being installed in one of the YouTube videos I saw. But the spoiler I picked up was actually mounted to the car by 2 screws in the middle and 4 clips. I reckon the spoiler in the YouTube video is an aftermarket replica of the original. This made it a bit more difficult to install because even the diameter of the hole drilled need to match the size of the clip. Bigger hole means the clip will pop out and a smaller hole means the clip will never go in. Here's the spoiler:

The two screws in the middle are quite long, so the spoiler could not be laid on the car to get measurements of where the holes should be drilled. So I decided to make a mould of the spoiler - out of paper. I wet the underside of the spoiler with water and laid pieces of newspaper in an overlapping fashion. On top of that base layer, I glued several layers of newspaper (again in an overlapping fashion). Let it dry out in the sun and voila... we have a rigid mould like it was made out of cardboard! A technique learnt in primary school finally pays off - some of you guys might remember this.

I marked the edges of the spoiler using a marker and cut the excess paper out. Then separated the mould from the spoiler (since the first layer of paper was laid out using water, it doesn't stick to the spoiler and is easily separated). Placed the mould on the car, aligned it and secured it using masking tape. Now we know exactly where to drill.

After spending hours drilling, painting the drilled holes (to avoid corrosion), using gasket maker around all holes (to avoid water seeping in), the spoiler was installed. The two screws fastened and the clips snapped perfectly into place. Job done.

I've got more updates about the car and I will share them when time permits. Was excited after installing the spoiler, I had to post this.  

Edited February 22, 2018 by Davy
Corrected typo

[fookie]

Looking Good @Davy !! Neat Job ... Every DE should've come with a stock spoiler as it improves the looks quite a lot . Hope your dad is happy with the purchase ...

[K.o.N.o.S]

Nicely done Davy 

[Chamara war]

On 16/03/2015 at 4:47 PM, fookie said:

1& 2 ) I am yet to see a facelifted demio in SL . May be coz of the hybrid craze people stopped importing demio's .

3. A new one pops up about once in two months in AL . However all the specimens I have seen are white.

4. I think there could be additional options offered by the dealer as well . Since there are ones with key less entry , smart key, steering mounted controls and HID lights though bit difficult to find. For instance my car is 1.3 one with the aero style bumpers just like the sports package.

http://www.mazda.co.uk/buying-owning/accessories/mazda2/2007-06/exterior-styling/DF71V4051F/

Most of the demios I have seen in SL are very basic ones without the RPM meter and fog lights.

The new Demio , looks very pleasing . Japan car of the year I guess , though yet to see one in SL.

Mine one is 2009 1396 capasity and it does have a rpm meter and on average it does 14km/l

 

[Chamara war]

On 17/03/2015 at 1:46 AM, SamG said:

Let me add my 2 cents here.

1. I've see only 1 face-lifted one in all my life. I guess it should be very difficult to find.

2 & 3. I came across 3 DE5FSs in AL during last 12 months. All were in white as fookie said.

4. Again, most Demios in SL are basic ones as fookie said. I've found a 2007 DE3FS with CVT, HID, factory alloys and multi-function steering about a year ago (which I bought ). Rare one to find though.

Demio is bumpier compared to other cars in the category. It's not bad as long as you stick to the original shocks at least to the front. Using KYBs to the front was worst thing I've done to the car. So, my advice is to use originals at least to the front.

I owned a Maruti 800 and Corolla AE100 previously. Those are the only cars I have experience with. Demio is a better car by a country mile. Two of my friends who own a Toyota IST 2004 and a Honda Civic EK3 1998 drove my car. They loved the Demio over theirs as far as the handling is concerned.

Colonial Motors and Mazna Motors are taking a good care of Mazdas. Nothing to worry in that department.

Finally the fuel figures. It returns me about 9km/l in Colombo. I drive in the heaviest of traffics with heavy throttle to drop my wife to the office in time . I guess the figures are not bad considering that. I got 19.55 km/l @ 90km/h on the Southern high way. It has always given me 16+ km/l in outstation regardless of how I drive (I keep records with "My Cars" mobile app. So I have all figures with me. ).

Mine gives around 14.5km/ l. And while driving on normal roads its not comfy n makes noice. Any idea why is this. 

Overall the bestcar i drove

[Davy]

5 hours ago, Chamara war said:

Mine gives around 14.5km/ l. And while driving on normal roads its not comfy n makes noice. Any idea why is this. 

When you say "not comfortable", what do you mean exactly? I've found that the manufacturer recommended tyre pressure (32 PSI front and 30 PSI rear for the 15 inch rims) is excessive for local conditions. What tyre pressure do you have and what's the rim size (14" or 15")?

As for the noise, do you get a vibration through the steering? If yes, it might be a worn out steering rack. You need to get the suspension checked out from where exactly the noise is coming.

[Mbw]

Hello all,

I found a demio 2007 which has pedal shifters and its a cvt 7 speed triptornic gearbox. My only worry is if i had to replace the gearbox at some point, will it be difficult to find a reconditioned gearbox? I've contacted Colonial motors, but their only answer was Mazda Demio has a good market now, so won't be a big issue..

[Davy]

4 hours ago, Mbw said:

Hello all,

I found a demio 2007 which has pedal shifters and its a cvt 7 speed triptornic gearbox. My only worry is if i had to replace the gearbox at some point, will it be difficult to find a reconditioned gearbox? I've contacted Colonial motors, but their only answer was Mazda Demio has a good market now, so won't be a big issue..

If it's the white one you're talking about, I've been eyeing that car for a long time. Been in the classifies nearly a year (wonder why). One of a kind Demio that one.

If it has a 7 speed tiptronic CVT, then it's got to be a DE5 (1500cc) and not a DE3 (1300cc). Most of the Demio DE series examples you see locally are DE3 variants. Anyway, the DE3 also came with CVT, so the transmission itself might be the same unit. My father drives one with CVT and if you properly maintain it, you shouldn't have any issues.

Colonial is useless IMO. Call Mazna Motors and ask enquire from them. They have quite a lot of brand new and recon parts in stock and will even import parts for you if they are not locally available. They would have come across this particular variant of the Demio.

[Mbw]

9 minutes ago, Davy said:

If it's the white one you're talking about, I've been eyeing that car for a long time. Been in the classifies nearly a year (wonder why). One of a kind Demio that one.

If it has a 7 speed tiptronic CVT, then it's got to be a DE5 (1500cc) and not a DE3 (1300cc). Most of the Demio DE series examples you see locally are DE3 variants. Anyway, the DE3 also came with CVT, so the transmission itself might be the same unit. My father drives one with CVT and if you properly maintain it, you shouldn't have any issues.

Colonial is useless IMO. Call Mazna Motors and ask enquire from them. They have quite a lot of brand new and recon parts in stock and will even import parts for you if they are not locally available. They would have come across this particular variant of the Demio.

Thank you! It is a black colour car, with1.5 engine(DE5FS). Does DE3 has paddle shifter? Will the same cvt gearbox fix for DE5? This car is 2007 and the mileage is around 98k. Owner said he has all the service records and he has done all the services at Colonial motors. Sounds good for me! He has mentioned the price for 2.9mn and will it be worth for that range?

[Davy]

5 hours ago, Mbw said:

Thank you! It is a black colour car, with1.5 engine(DE5FS). Does DE3 has paddle shifter? Will the same cvt gearbox fix for DE5? This car is 2007 and the mileage is around 98k. Owner said he has all the service records and he has done all the services at Colonial motors. Sounds good for me! He has mentioned the price for 2.9mn and will it be worth for that range?

The CVT variant of the DE3 doesn't have paddle shift. Even the regular DE5 doesn't have paddle shift. The car you're looking at is a sport version of the DE5. Pretty rare IMO, at least in Sri Lanka and treading into the Hot Hatch territory. 

If the car has a good service history with Colonial, and if the mileage checks out, then I don't see any issue why you shouldn't buy it. According to AutoLanka classifieds, even DE3 Demio goes for around 2.7 - 3.1 million. So I think 2.9 for this is a fair deal. 

I'm not exactly sure if the CVT in the DE5 is the same one as the CVT that comes in the DE3. Mazna Motors or Colonial should be able to answer this. 

Edited April 18, 2018 by Davy

[Mbw]

Thank you Davy! I'll have a look at it first..! Update you later! ☺

[Davy]

4 minutes ago, Mbw said:

Thank you Davy! I'll have a look at it first..! Update you later! ☺

Good luck! If you buy it, please don't forget to post lots of photos here.