Advice on purchase of first car

[Duan27]

Hi there. I’m interested in purchasing a used manual car as my first ever car. I’m turning 20 this year and I’m somewhat of a casual car enthusiast, but I have little to no firsthand experience with the internals of cars, except the occasional fluid change.

I’ve driven around in 3 automatic cars of my parents, 2 that we own currently, but I’m interested in getting a manual myself to get to know the internals better and practice manual driving on.

I’d prioritize handling and driving feel, then reliability. Won’t be driving a lot as of now,  20-30 km per week or less. Fuel economy isn’t too big of an issue as so long as it isn’t a gas guzzler. My ideal price range would be close to 3 million, stretching up to 5 mil only if it’s gonna be an extremely worthy and sensible purchase in the long run. Ideally safety should be key too, but can’t ask for everything at this price range.

Right now I’m looking at some Honda civics (ek3/ es8) which are around the 3 mil price range, and also some eg8s which are somewhat cheaper. 

I’m interested in JDM/ Japanese cars in general as they seem to fit the reliability criterion pretty well, while some still can offer good handling. I had also viewed a bunch of converted Evolutions, STIs and also a B4 Legacy, most of which exceed the 5 mil mark or barely fit under it. As much as they’re probably better driver’s cars, I’m not entirely sure if it’s worth the premium for someone who’s just starting out, and I’m also unsure if I should be handling that much power in a car now itself. My parents will also probably be reluctant if it’s too powerful ig.

So I just wanted to ask the people here on thoughts about the cars I mentioned above as a first car, or if you have any other recommendations. Any advice regarding this topic or in general about a first car purchase is appreciated. Sorry for the long post xD 

Edit: I saw some crash tests of ek3 and I’m trying to reconsider options, seems like only a Volvo would do for safety in cars in that era. Doubt they’ll be great handlers but safety looks like top priority to me now.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Duan27

[matroska]

On 5/9/2023 at 5:10 AM, Duan27 said:

Hi there. I’m interested in purchasing a used manual car as my first ever car. I’m turning 20 this year and I’m somewhat of a casual car enthusiast, but I have little to no firsthand experience with the internals of cars, except the occasional fluid change.

I’ve driven around in 3 automatic cars of my parents, 2 that we own currently, but I’m interested in getting a manual myself to get to know the internals better and practice manual driving on.

I’d prioritize handling and driving feel, then reliability. Won’t be driving a lot as of now,  20-30 km per week or less. Fuel economy isn’t too big of an issue as so long as it isn’t a gas guzzler. My ideal price range would be close to 3 million, stretching up to 5 mil only if it’s gonna be an extremely worthy and sensible purchase in the long run. Ideally safety should be key too, but can’t ask for everything at this price range.

Right now I’m looking at some Honda civics (ek3/ es8) which are around the 3 mil price range, and also some eg8s which are somewhat cheaper. 

I’m interested in JDM/ Japanese cars in general as they seem to fit the reliability criterion pretty well, while some still can offer good handling. I had also viewed a bunch of converted Evolutions, STIs and also a B4 Legacy, most of which exceed the 5 mil mark or barely fit under it. As much as they’re probably better driver’s cars, I’m not entirely sure if it’s worth the premium for someone who’s just starting out, and I’m also unsure if I should be handling that much power in a car now itself. My parents will also probably be reluctant if it’s too powerful ig.

So I just wanted to ask the people here on thoughts about the cars I mentioned above as a first car, or if you have any other recommendations. Any advice regarding this topic or in general about a first car purchase is appreciated. Sorry for the long post xD 

Edit: I saw some crash tests of ek3 and I’m trying to reconsider options, seems like only a Volvo would do for safety in cars in that era. Doubt they’ll be great handlers but safety looks like top priority to me now.

Nice that you want to be trying a manual. 

EK3/EG8 : Good cars - biggest challenge will be finding an unmolested specimen - most of them have been riced out sad truth. Same would go for the converted Evo's - and you have to wonder if the conversions have been done properly. Legacy is a good option and i dare say with today's prices you can probably fit one in your extended budget. The problem with the Fast and Furious/NFS fan boy cars is that most of them have now been riced and abused. 

Few more mundane/plainer options i can think of that can be fun and reliable at the same time - my suggestion go for a slightly less dramatic car, keep some cash aside and mod it the way you like. 

- Lancer CS : Few manuals around within budget- fairly new 

-PUG 406 : Well within budget  @AVANTE will wax lyrical about it 

[AVANTE]

Avoid Evo and imprezas cause you might get caught with a botched or abused car. Sometimes without updated book even. Maintenance isn't gonna be cheap just because it's a mitsu/subie. 

Avoid B4 unless you are willing to have patience to maintain and feed it fuel. They drink alot. Heavy cars with the old inefficient EJ motor. Can have vacuum and turbo issues too. Otherwise its a nice car. 

Try EK3 Vi-RS, Civic FD1 (1.8L), Carina GT, Mazda 3 (BK5P), Copen, S660, Primera P11 with 2.0L (SR20) and Starlet GTs. Very economical and fun to drive choices. 

406 is a great driver, you can't get a jap with that mix of comfort and tight handling in that budget. Peugeot has their own handling dynamics game. 

But drive one and see how you like it, you need to be up on your maintenance game, considering it's a 20+ year old European in our Lankan environment.  Parts and mechanics aren't as common as for jap models. The wiring and plastics are quite fragile for our climate. Doesn't help that the French make cars with their own weird rules so you will see so many things that are different from regular jap/German cars. 

Volvo S60 is a nice left field choice, provided you can find a T5 with the 240hp 2.3 Turbo (if we even have any around) but it also falls into the same scenario as 406 in terms of maintenance. 

Another left field choice is the X chassis cars (Cressida, Chasers, Mark IIs). Mostly luxo barges but decent driving dynamics I have heard. 

There are other nice to drive euros in your budget such as B5 Passat/A4s and E36s. Problem is, I don't easily recommend euros to other people unless the person asking my advice is mental and into old euros as well. Masochists really. 

Don't fear high mileage. We once had a 406 with 330,000km. 

I'd rather have a well maintained high mileage car than a neglected low mileage one. A car sitting for too long can have problems too. 

All the above cars are readily available in manual too. Like @matroska said, nice to see more people wanting manuals.

Edited May 14, 2023 by AVANTE

[matroska]

On 5/13/2023 at 11:25 PM, Duan27 said:

If you don’t mind, would also like to like to know if you’d recommend a Mazda 3/ Axela BK too.  From what I’ve found by researching online and on the posts on autolanka, it seems to be relatively frugal (1.5/ 1.6 L), reliable, safe and also handles well.

Yep this is another car I would recommend - BUT as you correctly observed there are very very few Manuals in SL. The most commonly available manuals are the mitsus from around the latter part of the 2000's decade. 

 

17 hours ago, AVANTE said:

Primera P11 with 2.0L (SR20) and Starlet GTs. Very economical and fun to drive choices. 

These are some good options - the P11 would cost a lot less than your budget - you'll have plenty of spare cash to do any mods or if any repairs come up. Starlet GT's again very nimble and fun - affordable and cheap maintenance: be aware them being a bit common might be again overly modded cars. Eitherway most starlets will be cosmetically GT modded - and probably running 4EFE underneath. 

[Twin Turbo]

Consider insurance for the vehicle

[AVANTE]

On 5/15/2023 at 10:39 AM, matroska said:

These are some good options - the P11 would cost a lot less than your budget - you'll have plenty of spare cash to do any mods or if any repairs come up. 

Even I am curious, on paper the Primera is a good car. Why does it have a resale value lesser than some rare euros even. You're getting a 2L spacious sedan with a nice rev friendly engine, manual, Independant suspension, power everything and Sunroof. 

[iRage]

15 minutes ago, AVANTE said:

Even I am curious, on paper the Primera is a good car. Why does it have a resale value lesser than some rare euros even. You're getting a 2L spacious sedan with a nice rev friendly engine, manual, Independant suspension, power everything and Sunroof. 

Several factors....

1. Sri Lankan phobia of large capacity engines. In average SL car buyer logic, if the engine capacity is > 1500cc and fuel type is gasoline. Then it is a gas guzzler. On the bright side we have improved...2 decades ago it was greater than 1300 = gas guzzler.

2. The people in the market for buying a second/xth hand large vehicle would rather go for a Euro brand (those who have money to show or pretend to have some class) or go for a Toyota like a Corona/Carina.

3. People are turned off by the fact that it is a bit challenging to find body parts for it.

[Duan27]

On 5/11/2023 at 7:55 PM, matroska said:

Nice that you want to be trying a manual. 

EK3/EG8 : Good cars - biggest challenge will be finding an unmolested specimen - most of them have been riced out sad truth. Same would go for the converted Evo's - and you have to wonder if the conversions have been done properly. Legacy is a good option and i dare say with today's prices you can probably fit one in your extended budget. The problem with the Fast and Furious/NFS fan boy cars is that most of them have now been riced and abused. 

Few more mundane/plainer options i can think of that can be fun and reliable at the same time - my suggestion go for a slightly less dramatic car, keep some cash aside and mod it the way you like. 

- Lancer CS : Few manuals around within budget- fairly new 

-PUG 406 : Well within budget  @AVANTE will wax lyrical about it 

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer @matroska, really do appreciate it! 

I do agree on your point about the heavily modded cars, most listings I could find fell under that category. Legacy might still be a bit of a tough call with my parents, but will try. 

Thanks for the other 2 recommendations, will look into them, especially the 406.  Also looked at some 407 listings afterwards still within my price range, but from what I’ve read reliability seems to be a pretty big issue so it’s a no-go. 406 seems to be the best fit for now. 

If you don’t mind, would also like to like to know if you’d recommend a Mazda 3/ Axela BK too.  From what I’ve found by researching online and on the posts on autolanka, it seems to be relatively frugal (1.5/ 1.6 L), reliable, safe and also handles well. Only issue is that I could only find very few listings for manual cars,(around the 4 mil ballpark) and they come with pretty high mileage (least was almost 150k km), but can’t complain ig.

Thanks once again! 

[Duan27]

Appreciate the input, @AVANTE, @matroska & everyone else who posted. Will take what was said above into consideration.

Narrowed down the choices to FD1 Civic, Axela/ 3 BK, 406, Lancer CS & Primera P11 for now. Will be searching for a while more until finally deciding on a vehicle.

Will post an update on this thread once the purchase is done. Thanks again for all the help!
 

 

Edited May 17, 2023 by Duan27

[matroska]

On 5/17/2023 at 4:07 PM, iRage said:

. Sri Lankan phobia of large capacity engines. In average SL car buyer logic, if the engine capacity is > 1500cc and fuel type is gasoline. Then it is a gas guzzler. On the bright side we have improved...2 decades ago it was greater than 1300 = gas guzzler.

Same reason, I learn from old uncles  that Lancers and the KE74 with 1400 and 1500 CC engines were considered 'bad on fuel' in the 80's. 

 

On 5/17/2023 at 3:39 PM, AVANTE said:

Even I am curious, on paper the Primera is a good car. Why does it have a resale value lesser than some rare euros even.

I assume P11 ? Wouldn't say resale value is terrible. One reason is there are not too many primeras hence lesser spares, then the impression that they are bad on fuel. TBH Nissans of that generation generally return very similar fuel figures despite the engine size  

[Gummybr]

3 hours ago, matroska said:

I assume P11 ? Wouldn't say resale value is terrible. One reason is there are not too many primeras hence lesser spares, then the impression that they are bad on fuel. TBH Nissans of that generation generally return very similar fuel figures despite the engine size  

True that, had one at it was brilliant to drive. Fuel I managed to get 9kmpl city on my daily drive and around 12 outstation. Big fuel tank (60l if I remember correctly) I went to Jaffna through Mannar and pumped on the way just because I was not sure if I can make it. Parts very similar to the other Nissan models specially engine and running gear. Body parts never had issues. Guys driving Sunny's were shocked to hear my fuel consumption.

Resale: I bought for 1.3mil and sold for 1.7mil after putting almost 70,000kms in 1.5years, everyone was saying no market but I made a cool profit as well.

[matroska]

18 hours ago, Gummybr said:

get 9kmpl city on my daily drive and around 12 outstation

9 on city 12 outstation is decent -I used to get 8 ish on the family  B14 - might have been that i was new to driving then and was heavy footed. But also the 1.3 Sunnys B14/N16 never were good on fuel - relatively heavy lumps being pulled by smaller engines. 

[Duan27]

Hi there, it’s the OP over here again. Still on the search. Just wanted to ask about a couple of other manual cars I found to be quite interesting, but couldn’t find much information on others posts in Autolanka. 

One of them is the Suzuki Swift Sport ZC31S, I found a couple of listings on 2 websites. They don’t seem to be heavily modded or anything of that sort, and from what I’ve read about online on other websites, it’s generally a good driver’s car, mebbe somewhat underpowered to call it a hot hatch but enough and more for a first car. I could only find somewhat limited info on this car on AL though, in a couple of posts, but they seem to be pretty old so idk how well those hold up now. I prefer the look of the ZC32S from the last 3 gens, but couldn’t find any manual listings for that yet, and the automatic ones are still pricier. One thing I noticed is that these listings have been around for almost 2 months, or sometimes just got reposted recently. So I’m kinda concerned as to whether there’s any particular reason for its unpopularity, or whether it’s just a pretty niche car that isn’t the most common option people go far, probably because of rarity of parts etc? 
 

The other car that I was looking at is the Honda Crz. Again, couldn’t find much recent info about it over here, only a handful of posts from about a decade ago. Love the looks of it and it’s plenty powerful enough for me, though some still consider it to be too underpowered for its looks. Imo it feels like a pretty quirky car, with a bit more personality than a lot of other cars on the road, but that’s just me. Then again I also feel like it’s too flashy for a first car, though it’s really not crazy expensive tbh. Practicality is another area of concern, and as far as I’ve seen you can never comfortably seat adults in the back row. Rear visibility is not the best either. I’ve read on other sites that the battery might need replacing, but it’s way cheaper compared to any full electric car. From what I’ve seen online, the manual Crz is still a fun car to drive, as so long as one doesn’t expect it to behave as something it isn’t, as it isn’t really a sports car.

Would appreciate honest opinions of anyone here on buying these in 2023, and anything important to look out for. Still on the lookout for the other options mentioned earlier, but couldn’t really settle on something. Saw a couple of FDs listed a few months ago, but I’ve noticed that they seem to lack quite a number of options compared to the auto. Can’t find any listings now though. About the same for S60s, no T5s, and few listings in general. Quite a number of listings available for the 406 (and even the Mazda 3), and I’m still considering them as options, but I’ve also been looking at cars from a bit more recent years, so any change in safety is pretty substantial. 
 

Sorry for making the post quite long again, just wanted the input if anyone here on the cars mentioned above.

TLDR; Any thoughts on getting a Suzuki Swift Sport ZC31S or a Honda Crz as a first (manual) car? 

 

[AutoMiz]

@matroska , @AVANTE, @iRage, @Gummybr

I have been looking at the ZC32s to be able to replace my ‘15 Suzuki Stingray as a daily driver. Given that I have to rev it to get away from the flashing, horning traffic behind me, it doesn’t do as much fuel as expected, roughly 12-14 kmpl (15 on a good day). The ZC32s that I came across have auto transmissions (appeals to me coz Wife can drive in an emergency) with a fairly low mileage (approx. 68K & maintained at A*W) as well (but asking for around 6.5mil), and i was contemplating this since I need a bigger vehicle to cope up with a new addition to the family.

I'm not too fond of the Vitz (too mainstream) and the Fit (countless DCT issues, I’ve heard) and the new Swift RS (way off my budget).
I love how the ZC32 looks and drives (according to YouTube reviews) and I’ve heard that a realistic fuel economy is around 11-12, which I can live with honestly.

TL;DR, looking to replace my Stingray with a ZC32

Appreciate your opinions or advice on the above.

Sorry for piggybacking on your question @Duan27😬

Edited August 24, 2023 by AutoMiz
Adding more info

[iRage]

5 hours ago, AutoMiz said:

@matroska , @AVANTE, @iRage, @Gummybr

I have been looking at the ZC32s to be able to replace my ‘15 Suzuki Stingray as a daily driver. Given that I have to rev it to get away from the flashing, horning traffic behind me, it doesn’t do as much fuel as expected, roughly 12-14 kmpl (15 on a good day). The ZC32s that I came across have auto transmissions (appeals to me coz Wife can drive in an emergency) with a fairly low mileage (approx. 68K & maintained at A*W) as well (but asking for around 6.5mil), and i was contemplating this since I need a bigger vehicle to cope up with a new addition to the family.

I'm not too fond of the Vitz (too mainstream) and the Fit (countless DCT issues, I’ve heard) and the new Swift RS (way off my budget).
I love how the ZC32 looks and drives (according to YouTube reviews) and I’ve heard that a realistic fuel economy is around 11-12, which I can live with honestly.

TL;DR, looking to replace my Stingray with a ZC32

Appreciate your opinions or advice on the above.

Sorry for piggybacking on your question @Duan27😬

When you say ZC32S you are talking about an actual Swift Sports with the 1600cc engine ? In which case it is a really good car if you can find one that has not been hacked. It might have been maintained by A*W but please go get it properly inspected by Car Checks. Most of the Swift Sports were drag raced and driven by wanna be Speed Racer types. So make sure everything from the chassis/body, engine to transmission is okay.

If you are referring to the standard Swift of this generation, stay away from the Indian variants as they lacked basic safety equipment which made them very poor in that regard. The Japanese one is better as it is better equipped.

As for the Vitz..yes.it is mainstream...but if you do come across a good RS, G'sport or a GR Sport variant...do give it a look. It is a pretty good car on par with the Swift Sports.

[AutoMiz]

10 hours ago, iRage said:

When you say ZC32S you are talking about an actual Swift Sports with the 1600cc engine ? In which case it is a really good car if you can find one that has not been hacked. It might have been maintained by A*W but please go get it properly inspected by Car Checks. Most of the Swift Sports were drag raced and driven by wanna be Speed Racer types. So make sure everything from the chassis/body, engine to transmission is okay.

If you are referring to the standard Swift of this generation, stay away from the Indian variants as they lacked basic safety equipment which made them very poor in that regard. The Japanese one is better as it is better equipped.

As for the Vitz..yes.it is mainstream...but if you do come across a good RS, G'sport or a GR Sport variant...do give it a look. It is a pretty good car on par with the Swift Sports.

Yes, this is an actual Champion Yellow ZC32S with a 1600cc engine. I am yet to go and see this personally, and when I do, if it looks good, will be definitely going for a Car Checks report. If you don’t mind me asking, would you be able to advise on any quick tell-tale signs that would suggest the car has been hacked? 

As for the Vitz, somehow, the looks don’t appeal to me as much as the Swift does. But, I have to admit the ease of reselling and the value would definitely hold in the SL market rather than the Swift.

[Gummybr]

A customer of mine sold his Swift Sport recently, cannot remember if it was the first gen or the second gen. When I told him that he should have told me he said that the car had some damage to the under carriage as one of his employees had had an incident in it, and the employee had done a bad job of repairing it without my customers approval. When the car was returned it had been in running condition and with a noise coming from the suspension when the car was driven. I believe it was a Yellow car with auto transmission so as iRage said get it checked from a proper place. That repair could run into millions.

[AutoMiz]

4 hours ago, Gummybr said:

A customer of mine sold his Swift Sport recently, cannot remember if it was the first gen or the second gen. When I told him that he should have told me he said that the car had some damage to the under carriage as one of his employees had had an incident in it, and the employee had done a bad job of repairing it without my customers approval. When the car was returned it had been in running condition and with a noise coming from the suspension when the car was driven. I believe it was a Yellow car with auto transmission so as iRage said get it checked from a proper place. That repair could run into millions.

Makes an even better case to get a car check done. I’ll anyway be taking one of my more car-savvy friends along to get an initial idea, and move on to a more detailed inspection if the current owner is ok for that.

[AutoMiz]

4 hours ago, Gummybr said:

A customer of mine sold his Swift Sport recently, cannot remember if it was the first gen or the second gen. When I told him that he should have told me he said that the car had some damage to the under carriage as one of his employees had had an incident in it, and the employee had done a bad job of repairing it without my customers approval. When the car was returned it had been in running condition and with a noise coming from the suspension when the car was driven. I believe it was a Yellow car with auto transmission so as iRage said get it checked from a proper place. That repair could run into millions.

Makes an even better case to get a car check done. I’ll anyway be taking one of my more car-savvy friends along to get an initial idea, and move on to a more detailed inspection if the current owner is ok for that.

[iRage]

14 hours ago, AutoMiz said:

If you don’t mind me asking, would you be able to advise on any quick tell-tale signs that would suggest the car has been hacked? 

Well..there isn't a a science to it. You just have to see the condition of the car against the car for what it is...e.g. there is no way on heaven hell or or earth that a 200,000km car can look absolutely perfect as if it was just manufactured. It can be very clean and tidy and well taken care of but you will still see little signs like the wheel arch covers being slights ""used""", etc... Then on the other hand...if a car that is just 2 years old with 30,000km to look like it went through a battle field.

So in general....check the condition of the interior and the body. Are the carpets, seats, door panels, dashboards look clean ? or do they look all scratched up, torn, fixed up ? Are there signs of things been fitted and removed ?  Do the carpets, steering wheel, seats, etc.. look too worn out for a car that has done the mileage it says it has done ? If it is all clean and it doesn't look like someone vacuumed and rubbed interior cleaner on it to look shiny, then the previous owner probably took care of it. You can tell if something has been clean all along or if someone just did a rush job to clean it (kind of like if you go to use the toilet at someone's house...looking around the toilet in detail, you can say if the toilet is always clean or someone quickly cleaned it up because guests were coming).

Same with the body....is the car sitting properly ? or does it look like the car is sagging (you know...something seems off...the wheels don't look straight, it looks like the body just wants to touch the ground and sleep). Are there any signs of body kits, spoilers being removed or cheap parts added on ? Do the lights look faded and old ? Does the paint look very very bright and fresh but it looks thick and heavy or even just dull and flat? Are the panel gaps consistent (e.g. does the bonnet line up with the grill and the headlights equally on both sides)? Do all the panels of the car look like it has the same color ? Are there a lot of dings (remember, there may be a paint chip or two..but that is fine). Do some panels look like it has heavier paint or more dull paint than the other panels ? If a car has been well looked after, then the body is going to look consistent. There might be repaired panels (cars do have accidents and that is fine as long as it is fixed properly), but even then it just looks very close to the original panels (paint will look more or less the same even in the fixed panels..not too heavy, same color, consistent, no paint over spray, etc...). A cared for car...even if it has scratch or dent it will look natural okay (sometimes you get those scratches and dents that to fix you need to paint an entire panel that you just feel sorry to get rid of the original paint to fix a 5cm scratch/dent). A cared for car, the body will look clean and glow and will not be too much. I say too much because if you go look at a Corolla or Axio sold by a broker with about 68,000km...you will see that there is too much of shiny-ness and bling in it. 

Look at the under carriage....is it all dinged up ? Rusty ? Oily ? A clean undercarriage is always a good sign. The nuts and bolts and rubber bushings will look grey and dusty but not looking all dried up and rusted out (I am not talking about surface rust here...actual bubbly rust). Sadly in SL many service stations spray kerosene and all kinds of "undercoat protection" so all these cars will have a very greasy looking undercarriage (you know..the oily look when you put way too much lotion on your face or coconut oil on your hair...that kind of oiliness).

Then go on to the engine...drive it...does the car have unusual rattles inside ? Does the engine feel alive and active or does it feel lazy? Same with the brakes...does it feel nice and firm when you step on the brakes ? or does it feel like you are pushing a pedal connected to a rubber band ? If someone hacked the car (and cars like the Swift Sport can easily be done so by ricers) you feel that although the engine revs and moves and delivers the power, it feels lazy/worn-out and doesn't give you that fresh feel. 

So yeah....it just like a person....when a person is tired and worn out you sense it. Similarly you will sense it if you actually look and feel the car without getting distracted by gold badges and sport exhausts and stuff.

So..there is no exact science....just look if the car is average and clean and tidy and not over the top or overly worn-out. If you think it looks okay and you are interested, then take it to for a proper professional inspection.

[AutoMiz]

Thank you so much once again @iRage! This really gives an insight on what I’m to look out for, not only in this situation, but in any other situations as well. Will surely update on the progress.

[matroska]

On 8/24/2023 at 8:03 AM, AutoMiz said:

I'm not too fond of the Vitz (too mainstream) and the Fit (countless DCT issues, I’ve heard) and the new Swift RS (way off my budget).
I love how the ZC32 looks and drives (according to YouTube reviews) and I’ve heard that a realistic fuel economy is around 11-12, which I can live with honestly.

Late to the party - but if it's an actual Swift Sports - then that's a rare find. As iRage and Gummy mentioned get the car properly checked. 

RE the Vitz and FIT - other than being mainstream the vitz is rather underpowered, basic and lacks any excitement at all. The Fit GP5(I Assume and not the GP1) - the DCT Issues are there and at the same time the DCT makes it a blast to drive. If you take the Regular Swift  with the 1300 engine then I'd say Fit GP5>Swift > Vitz. 

16 hours ago, AutoMiz said:

If you don’t mind me asking, would you be able to advise on any quick tell-tale signs that would suggest the car has been hacked? 

Some red flags I've noticed personally are

- uneven gaps on doors/bonnet/boot lid etc.

- Sagging parts 

- Shoddy paint - like it's been painted in a hurry ideally a sale paint 

- Overall the car looks slanted towards a side

-  Interior bits and pieces are rattling and misaligned. 

-  Signs of dampness inside the car ( once when car hunting for a friend came across a  late 90's Corolla  that smelt like a wet dog inside - probably met with an accident and the doors are not properly aligned leaving gaps for water to seep through) 

- Car looks unnaturally shiny/blingy - seller is probably trying to hide something underneath layers and layers of wax 

[AutoMiz]

27 minutes ago, matroska said:

Late to the party - but if it's an actual Swift Sports - then that's a rare find. As iRage and Gummy mentioned get the car properly checked. 

RE the Vitz and FIT - other than being mainstream the vitz is rather underpowered, basic and lacks any excitement at all. The Fit GP5(I Assume and not the GP1) - the DCT Issues are there and at the same time the DCT makes it a blast to drive. If you take the Regular Swift  with the 1300 engine then I'd say Fit GP5>Swift > Vitz. 

Some red flags I've noticed personally are

- uneven gaps on doors/bonnet/boot lid etc.

- Sagging parts 

- Shoddy paint - like it's been painted in a hurry ideally a sale paint 

- Overall the car looks slanted towards a side

-  Interior bits and pieces are rattling and misaligned. 

-  Signs of dampness inside the car ( once when car hunting for a friend came across a  late 90's Corolla  that smelt like a wet dog inside - probably met with an accident and the doors are not properly aligned leaving gaps for water to seep through) 

- Car looks unnaturally shiny/blingy - seller is probably trying to hide something underneath layers and layers of wax 

No one comes late to a party on AL 😄.

Really appreciate your comments and advice. It does seem to be a rare opportunity, however the seller has been trying to sell for quite some time. From what I heard, the “market” doesn’t appreciate the 1.6 as much as the 1.3. I called the seller up after a month, and the car was still there. Is this a problem? 

Also, Yes, I was referring to the GP5. Also, I’ve heard various reports that the DCT on the GP5 is not faulty, but the way we drive and maintain it is the case. Any thoughts on this? Is there a particular way that these are to be done?

[iRage]

20 minutes ago, AutoMiz said:

I called the seller up after a month, and the car was still there. Is this a problem? 

Only seeing the car and maybe even giving a proper inspection will answer that question. It could be the whole Sri Lankans being afraid of >1500cc engines. OR it could be that the car is hacked or shows signs of mechanical/structural/etc... issues.

 

22 minutes ago, AutoMiz said:

I’ve heard various reports that the DCT on the GP5 is not faulty, but the way we drive and maintain it is the case

Maintenance is key to any component of the car including transmission. Even if you maintain it properly it still can fail and that is mainly due to our creep-crawl driving habits. The less you do that the greater the chances of the transmission surviving longer.

[AutoMiz]

Update: The car has been sold (advance taken). I was to go and see this first thing tomorrow morning… 😔

Maybe something better will come by… Thank you all for your valuable contribution and advice. It’ll really help me at least next time! 

[Gummybr]

14 hours ago, AutoMiz said:

Update: The car has been sold (advance taken). I was to go and see this first thing tomorrow morning… 😔

Maybe something better will come by… Thank you all for your valuable contribution and advice. It’ll really help me at least next time! 

Thats the spirit, dont worry something better will come up.