Best car for 4.5 M

[Yash88]

Hello guys, I want to know about the best car for 4.5 M budget. Second hand cars considered. Do you recommend a used BMW?  What are the pros and cons compared to Toyota cars? Maintenance and fuel efficiency etc. 

Tx. 

[AVANTE]

13 minutes ago, Yash88 said:

Hello guys, I want to know about the best car for 4.5 M budget. Second hand cars considered. Do you recommend a used BMW?  What are the pros and cons compared to Toyota cars? Maintenance and fuel efficiency etc. 

Tx. 

For 4.5 million, you must be expecting a bit if luxury and for that range, I personally wouldn't recommend an X1 or 320d (E90) as those cars have alot of issues.

Also try to mention your necessary criteria..best car can mean anywhere from a Rolls Royce Phantom to a Citroen 2CV.

[Yash88]

It will not be for daily long distance driving. Gampaha- Colombo  area. Should be comfortable. Vezel , axio , allion 260 , BMW 320i like. 

[iRage]

How old are you willing to go ? Because if you want comfort and performance...then you can also find a X120 series Mark X for that price range (yes..it has a 2.5L V6 engine but it is quite efficient).

[AVANTE]

1 hour ago, iRage said:

How old are you willing to go ? Because if you want comfort and performance...then you can also find a X120 series Mark X for that price range (yes..it has a 2.5L V6 engine but it is quite efficient).

I was gonna say that too! But not sure if OP is willing to maintain & go for a decade old car. There's a nice red colored one for sale right now. I guess you know the car personally?

If you really want some tech & efficieny, a 2017 Nissan Note E-power Hybrid is a good choice too. I heard it's comfy and its quick (0-100kmh in 8.5 sec, quicker than a vezel and way quicker than a premio/allion). Try to get one with very low mileage.

I would like to recommend the Suzuki Swift RS but I'm not sure the ride is as comfy as its rivals as swifts always have a sportier & stiffer setup.

And if you want some german feeling and a nice badge, a 2017 Audi A1.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2020 by □AVANTE□

[iRage]

24 minutes ago, □AVANTE□ said:

I was gonna say that too! There's a nice red colored one for sale right now. I guess you know the car personally?

 

I don't know the car personally but that car has some serious issues it seems...it has been for sale for like ever (more than a year). First it was put up for sale with some fancy description with a lot of references to V*P/Luxury/etc...and some different wheels...since then it just keeps coming up for sale quite frequently...so I am guessing people who looks at it just get turned off and if it did get bought people get scared and try to resell it. The seats have to be re-done (rather poorly as the shape is all messed up..especially in the back). Interestingly there have been many other Mark Xs that have come up for sale and successfully sold off and never to be heard of again....

Also...Mark X does not have a G grade  they are all G. The 2.5L is 250G and the 3.0L is 300G. THe seller seems to be more and more desperate everytime 

The G is the standard version that comes pretty packed up. The 250G came in a F Package (with some accessories removed from the 250G mainly for fleet sales) and the L Package (with more accessories than the 250G. The 300G had a Premium (with more accessories than the 300G). Both the 250G and 300G had a S Package which had some sports inspired features (including suspension).

Edited January 18, 2020 by iRage

[AVANTE]

1 hour ago, iRage said:

I don't know the car personally but that car has some serious issues it seems...it has been for sale for like ever (more than a year). First it was put up for sale with some fancy description with a lot of references to V*P/Luxury/etc...and some different wheels...since then it just keeps coming up for sale quite frequently...so I am guessing people who looks at it just get turned off and if it did get bought people get scared and try to resell it. The seats have to be re-done (rather poorly as the shape is all messed up..especially in the back). Interestingly there have been many other Mark Xs that have come up for sale and successfully sold off and never to be heard of again....

Also...Mark X does not have a G grade  they are all G. The 2.5L is 250G and the 3.0L is 300G. THe seller seems to be more and more desperate everytime 

The G is the standard version that comes pretty packed up. The 250G came in a F Package (with some accessories removed from the 250G mainly for fleet sales) and the L Package (with more accessories than the 250G. The 300G had a Premium (with more accessories than the 300G). Both the 250G and 300G had a S Package which had some sports inspired features (including suspension).

There's even a youtube video of it driving around and all. Looked nice in the outside, but didnt see any seat pics. Poor thing. We dont have any 300G here right? Also, is it true that Mark X are a bit tail happy under power compared to similar cars of size and power?

When it comes to cars, my worst nightmare is buying a car that I can never sell. Saw a white FC RX-7 with a 1.8L 4 cyl turbo engine that has been popping up in the ads since last September or so. There's a shabby condition, light blue Morris Minor Tourer 1000 for sale in a classic dealer in mawanella that has been rotting there for 3-4 years. Seller says he is waiting for the right offer (asking 1 mil).

Also iRage, are Mark IIs unsellable these days and are parts really scarce for them?

Edited January 18, 2020 by □AVANTE□

[iRage]

18 hours ago, □AVANTE□ said:

There's even a youtube video of it driving around and all. Looked nice in the outside, but didnt see any seat pics. Poor thing. We dont have any 300G here right? Also, is it true that Mark X are a bit tail happy under power compared to similar cars of size and power?

When it comes to cars, my worst nightmare is buying a car that I can never sell. Saw a white FC RX-7 with a 1.8L 4 cyl turbo engine that has been popping up in the ads since last September or so. There's a shabby condition, light blue Morris Minor Tourer 1000 for sale in a classic dealer in mawanella that has been rotting there for 3-4 years. Seller says he is waiting for the right offer (asking 1 mil).

Also iRage, are Mark IIs unsellable these days and are parts really scarce for them?

Tail happy : I have never had the back break out on me. When it did it was because I did punch it down   ....so if you do step on it aggressively it will break out. But that is a characteristic of all X chassis cars. They are quite well balanced (especially when the wheels are more towards the corners of the car like the Mark X) and feel quite light to the hand. Cars like the Gloria with equal power and weight feel a little bit heavier to the hand the diesel variants even more so (I think a Y34/33 Gloria is actually heavier than a Mark X). So that might give someone a sense of something like a Gloria being more stable than a Mark X. As for something like a Crown, which shares the same engine and drive train, the car has been subdued that  it actually takes a lot to break the rear off. Also it could be how the engine delivers power as opposed to how a Gloria would.

Mark II: Really ? I thought it was the opposite. I know a few people who are looking for Mark II, Chaser, Crestas in any condition for Tourer V (JZ) conversions and that seems to be pushing up the prices as well. Especially for the 100 series.

Parts...most of the running parts are shared with other Toyota models (the Mark X shared filters, pads, etc.... with other models like older MarkII,Cresta,Crown, Altezza and other popular Lexuses) so finding parts have not been an issue. Granted I probably oculd not have walked in to any random parts shop to find parts...but the agents and the other reputed Toyota parts dealers ahve always had parts for my Mark X and also for friends who have 110, 100 and 90 series Mark IIs. Only issue has been for the conversions..where they have not been able to find JZ engine components.

300G : I know of one 300G and heard of another which apparently is a super charged variant...

Edited January 19, 2020 by iRage

[AVANTE]

29 minutes ago, iRage said:

 Mark II: Really ? I thought it was the opposite. I know a few people who are looking for Mark II, Chaser, Crestas in any condition for Tourer V (JZ) conversions and that seems to be pushing up the prices as well. Especially for the 100 series.

Wait wait wait...tourer V conversions are a thing is lanka??? Damn, I thought car culture is dying in sri lanka.

A guy offered a good condition GX100 with a manual for 1.6mil which was a steal and my dad initially wanted to buy a mark II as he has owned & driven Cressidas & Coronas in the past, but the potential difficulty in finding some specific parts scared us off as my dad wasn't the sort of person who'd buy a car just to spend time in a garage.

I'd always wonder if cars like this would still be sought after due to the prevailing traffic & fuel prices in sri lanka.

There's this Chaser Avante (inspiration for my username) near my area and that thing is wicked! Burnouts, drags, what not.

 

 

 

Edited January 19, 2020 by □AVANTE□

[iRage]

16 minutes ago, □AVANTE□ said:

I believe that is Sabir's car....really nice guy...he had quite a few emotional journeys with a few conversions and finally got that beauty up.

Yes...Tourer V conversions are a thing in SL. Check on the SL JZ clubs on FB and Instagram. There are about 7 conversions now and a few more on its way.

To be honest...I believe you have a better chance of finding a Chaser/Cresta/Mark II in better and honest shape than an Allion/Premio/Axio/etc....people who bought most of them bought it for the car and not for a cheap ride and resale value. As I said..mechanical parts are easy to find...body and interior parts are a bit difficult. But with allthese conversions taking place that too seems to be changing a these guys bring down entire cars stripped from Japan...so body parts of Avantes and Grandes seem to be floating around amongst these groups.

Look out for the next Top Gear SL magazine. They have a feature on the X chassis conversions in SL.

Factory manual cars are really rare and actually go for quite high prices compared to automatics.

 

Edited January 19, 2020 by iRage

[AVANTE]

55 minutes ago, iRage said:

I believe that is Sabir's car....really nice guy...he had quite a few emotional journeys with a few conversions and finally got that beauty up.

Yes...Tourer V conversions are a thing in SL. Check on the Factory manual cars are really rare and actually go for quite high prices compared to automatics.

 

Yup, sabir mohammed. Quite a rare one too!

Also, I second that manual cars are now rare. Almost none for sale, especially no GX90s for sale. The BEAMS must be a treat! Nice to hear that mark IIs are getting the love they deserve!