Bmw, Toyota Allion, Or Geely Emgrand 7

[Thihara]

Hi Guys,

I'm facing kind of a quandy here. So I'm coming to the experts.

I'm going to buy a new car and have the following options.

Brand New Geely Emgrand EC7, imported by Micro. 3.2 Mil LKR. Made for the european market, has a 4 star safety rating, so not really "chinese crap". 3 years warranty in Sri Lanka, 5 years in other countries, so probably reliable. Looks good. Micro however doesn't really has a good customer service record.

A 2004 BMW E60 520i Milage around 50,000 KM, About 4 Mil LKR. Well it's a BMW. Always wanted to own one. It's a 2004 model though. 5 series has more electronics. Good rep. But I don't want to end up having to do a very expensive repair every two months or something.

Toyota Allion or a Premio probably around 2010 or a nearby year. About 4 Mil LKR. Good market, after sale value. Cheap repairs.

I'm not really concerned about fuel economy. I'm just looking for a car I won't have to repair every few months.

What do you guys think I should buy?

Thanks.

[Ruslan]

DVVT is Daihatsu's trade name for VVT technology. Some of the Corolla Altis assembled in Indonesia comes with engines with DVVT in them. This is actually a copy of Toyota's own 2ZZ-FE (?) engine. Most likely Emgrand uses this engine (copy of a Toyota engine). Geelys of the past have used chinese copies of Toyota engines anyway.

Under no circumstances would I believe that the Emgrand has German components in it. It may definitely have China-manufactured parts from German brand-names in it. It may come with a Bosch ECU and ABS but those will be made in China, not Germany.

Corolla Altis came with either 1.8L 2ZR-FE (Dual VVT-i) or 1.6L 1ZR-FE (Dual VVT-i). some of the JDM specific Allions and Premios came with 2ZR-FAE (Valvematic) Engine. i think DVVT and Dual VVT-i is two different technologies / tradenames (Although there might be similarities)

Edited April 19, 2015 by Ruslan

[iRage]

Corolla Altis came with either 1.8L 2ZR-FE (Dual VVT-i) or 1.6L 1ZR-FE (Dual VVT-i). some of the JDM specific Allions and Premios came with 2ZR-FAE (Valvematic) Engine. i think DVVT and Dual VVT-i is two different technologies / tradenames (Although there might be similarities)

For some reason I always thought Daihatsu's DVVT stood for Dynamic VVT (kind of an extension of the base VVT) and not Dual....no idea about the actual tech

[Kavvz]

So I've taken your advice and changed my to buy list. Thanks Guys.

I like the Nissan Teana, Toyota Camry and Toyota Accord, I also saw the Hyundai Elentra going around 3.4 mil for a 2012 model, not sure if there's something wrong with it though.

But there seem to be a lack of second hand cars for Teana 2008+, and Accord 2008+. There are some 2007 Camry's listed.

Does anyone know if 3.6 mil is a good price for a 2007 Camry?

Well thank goodness for the chaps at Autolanka. I almost fell off my chair when I read that you were going to drop 4 mil on one of those Chinese cars, just because it was brand new! You should buy everyone who steered you away from that crazy thought a round of beer!

Oh, and remind me to post a link to this thread when any newbie complains of the existing Auto Lanka members!!

Edited April 19, 2015 by Kavvz

[Supra_Natural]

So I've taken your advice and changed my to buy list. Thanks Guys.

I like the Nissan Teana, Toyota Camry and Toyota Accord, I also saw the Hyundai Elentra going around 3.4 mil for a 2012 model, not sure if there's something wrong with it though.

But there seem to be a lack of second hand cars for Teana 2008+, and Accord 2008+. There are some 2007 Camry's listed.

Does anyone know if 3.6 mil is a good price for a 2007 Camry?

After 2008/2009 there were far fewer Teana/Cefiros and Accords sold in our market (perhaps because the prices were just too high because of the duty, people ended up buying prestige brands instead especially when the permits became available). The Camry somehow did better, probably because of the Toyota badge.

The asking price for Camrys seems to be around the figure you quoted but you should be able to do some bargaining as these cars aren't in demand like the Premio/Allion. Most of the Camrys for sale at the moment have been on sale for a month or two at least. If you can stretch the budget a bit try to get a JDM import (usually they are 07/08 but registered in 09/10) because they have slightly nicer interiors with fabric instead of the not very convincing fake leather and better kit levels including side/curtain airbags. They have asking prices around the 4 range but can be bargained down.

As for the Elantra, nothing wrong with the car, everything wrong with the idiotic Sri Lankan car market.

[Crosswind]

Here's a tip. Could you make a trip to the A*W showroom (Automall) in Borella and check out their used cars?. I've seen some cars (X-Trail, Cefiro/Teana, An Audi and even a Z) that came in there for trade-ins which have been lying there for months. They will quote exhorbitant prices but they are open for bargaining. Try to talk to the managers there and you might pick up a good deal.

if you are not worried about fuel economy, bargain hard. If they quote 4 million, don't be afraid to ask for 3.2-3.5. You might even get it, because cars like Teana and Camry are only bought by people who are not bothered about fuel economy. 2012 Elantra is a good car but 3.4 might be too much in the Sri Lankan market. Another wonderful car is Kia Cerato. Trust me, you will love it. Elantra and Cerato are the same vehicle with different body styles and badges. You should target around 2.8-3.0 mill for these cars.

[The Don]

IRage I think DVVT == VVT-i

To be honest some of these might not even be trade marks. So different manufacturers might use them, and sometimes they might be shared under licensing anyway.

[iRage]

IRage I think DVVT == VVT-i

To be honest some of these might not even be trade marks. So different manufacturers might use them, and sometimes they might be shared under licensing anyway.

Hmmm.....did a search and the only thing that popped up was an entry in Japanese wikipedia and all that said was it is based on Toyota's VVT...so it could very well be just VVT with a fancy name...

[Thihara]

I finally bought a car. A 2007 JDM Camry. Cost me 3.8 mil though.

It's well worth it. Way better than an Allion or Premio.

Thanks for everyone's help.

[ferrarif50]

Congrats on your new car !!! nice

[Magnum]

Wow! Some one who was looking for a Chinese car ended up buying a plush Camry!

Edited July 2, 2015 by Magnum

[JFLanka]

I finally bought a car. A 2007 JDM Camry. Cost me 3.8 mil though.

It's well worth it. Way better than an Allion or Premio.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Congratz on your new car mate..

Some pictures would be nice...

[tuner88]

I'm no automotive "expert" but usually when someone is not sure if they wan't to buy a euro or a jap that probably means that person isn't quite ready for a euro yet.

The late Richie Benaud used to say "When in doubt go for spin"

similarly "When in doubt go for the Japanese"

In this case the premio it is.

couldn't agree more mate

[Clark's son]

pics pics pics

[SamG]

I finally bought a car. A 2007 JDM Camry. Cost me 3.8 mil though.

It's well worth it. Way better than an Allion or Premio.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Congratulations on your buy mate !!!

When the forum helped you make your decision, you should return the favor by sending some pics . (Just saying )