Buying a car : Toyota Vitz (LED Ed. vs Safety 1 pkg) and Toyota Aqua

[Thushara Rathnayaka]

What is the different between Toyota vitz 2016 led and safety 1 package?

 

Is it worth to buy aqua/ Prius C 2014 manufactured car with 130,000 KM mileage for personal use? (Battery has been replaced)

Edited July 18, 2023 by iRage
Merged two threads by the OP on the same topic

[iRage]

11 hours ago, Thushara Rathnayaka said:

Toyota vitz 2016 led

Here is the equipment list for the LED edition from the pamphlet. 

It was offered in only some of the body colors the Vitz was offered in. There are some differences in the seat fabric/pattern, color of plastic dashboard and other interior panels, etc...

The main addition for the LED Edition is the LEF headlights which apparently also can have auto levelling and auto lights (con-light).

Plus it has come with smart keys.

Note that this might slightly change depending on the base car (special edition cars like this are based on a normal trim variant of the car), the options the owner in Japan chose and the time period the car was sold as well.

Safety Edition (i.e. Safety 1) I believe came with Toyota Safety Sence C. The stripped down very basic version of Toyota Safety Sense. So it would have had things like lane departure warning, pre-collision warning, auto highbeam.

I am pretty sure we have a thread discussing Safet I, II, III...please search for it.

 

[Thushara Rathnayaka]

2 hours ago, iRage said:

Here is the equipment list for the LED edition from the pamphlet. 

It was offered in only some of the body colors the Vitz was offered in. There are some differences in the seat fabric/pattern, color of plastic dashboard and other interior panels, etc...

The main addition for the LED Edition is the LEF headlights which apparently also can have auto levelling and auto lights (con-light).

Plus it has come with smart keys.

Note that this might slightly change depending on the base car (special edition cars like this are based on a normal trim variant of the car), the options the owner in Japan chose and the time period the car was sold as well.

Safety Edition (i.e. Safety 1) I believe came with Toyota Safety Sence C. The stripped down very basic version of Toyota Safety Sense. So it would have had things like lane departure warning, pre-collision warning, auto highbeam.

I am pretty sure we have a thread discussing Safet I, II, III...please search for it.

 

Thank you very much 😊

[Thushara Rathnayaka]

Is it worth to buy aqua/ Prius C 2014 manufactured car with 130,000 KM mileage for personal use? (Battery has been replaced)

[iRage]

@Thushara Rathnayaka I merged your two threads together. This way it will be easy for forum members to answer your questions and help you to make a decision about the cars that are out there.

[iRage]

6 hours ago, Thushara Rathnayaka said:

Is it worth to buy aqua/ Prius C 2014 manufactured car with 130,000 KM mileage for personal use? (Battery has been replaced)

Whether something is worth or not can only be answered by you. It will depend on how much money you have and what you will use the car for and if it is worth for you to spend that money to do what you have to do with it.

Now...whether you should buy an Aqua or a Vitz depends. How much will you use the car ? If you are not going to use the car for that much, then a Hybrid is not the best option for you (if the car doesn't get used the battery won't go through its charge/discharge cycles and the cost of the batteries etc will not be offset by the savings in fuel).

Secondly...it depends on which car is in better shape. When you get the car inspected before buying...which car is better ? The Vitz or the Aqua ? Go with the car that is in better condition.

[Thushara Rathnayaka]

3 hours ago, iRage said:

Whether something is worth or not can only be answered by you. It will depend on how much money you have and what you will use the car for and if it is worth for you to spend that money to do what you have to do with it.

Now...whether you should buy an Aqua or a Vitz depends. How much will you use the car ? If you are not going to use the car for that much, then a Hybrid is not the best option for you (if the car doesn't get used the battery won't go through its charge/discharge cycles and the cost of the batteries etc will not be offset by the savings in fuel).

Secondly...it depends on which car is in better shape. When you get the car inspected before buying...which car is better ? The Vitz or the Aqua ? Go with the car that is in better condition.

Thanks 🙏.. I am looking for buying my first car. That's the reason I am thinking of too much. Most available aquas are above 75k mileage. Few vitzs are available with low mileage. I got to know that the engine of vitz is noicy and low power due to three cylinder 990 cc engine. Whereas aqua has 1490cc engine and motor. 

My weekday travelling may be arround 25 KM and weekend it is arround 300 KM.

[iRage]

16 hours ago, Thushara Rathnayaka said:

Most available aquas are above 75k mileage

Don't trust the mileage in any car in Sri Lanka. 99% of the cars have their mileages rolled back. Even the people who import cars from Japan have the mileage rolled back before the car is sold in Sri Lanka.

16 hours ago, Thushara Rathnayaka said:

got to know that the engine of vitz is noicy and low power due to three cylinder 990 cc engine. Whereas aqua has 1490cc engine and motor. 

Yes...the 1L engine in the Vitz is old and is low on power. So, the engine has to work extra hard. If you are going to run a lot, which it seems like you do. Then yes..a Hybrid makes sense. If all you are doing is just running around Colombo during traffic...and not too much of it...then even the Vitz 1L is okay.

Edited July 19, 2023 by iRage

[matroska]

On 7/18/2023 at 8:09 PM, Thushara Rathnayaka said:

My weekday travelling may be arround 25 KM and weekend it is arround 300 KM.

For a 25 KM weekday drive - assuming city driving the Vitz will be quite sufficient. It's not he ideal car for 300KM drives each weekend though. In that case the Aqua makes sense - of course the aqua is a much more interesting car to drive as opposed to the vitz which as you corectly mentioned is a bit underpowered and unrefined. The plus is the vitz runs very simple tech and idiot proof - as in it's very difficult to mess up even by a dodgy mechanic  

[Thushara Rathnayaka]

On 7/20/2023 at 9:56 AM, matroska said:

For a 25 KM weekday drive - assuming city driving the Vitz will be quite sufficient. It's not he ideal car for 300KM drives each weekend though. In that case the Aqua makes sense - of course the aqua is a much more interesting car to drive as opposed to the vitz which as you corectly mentioned is a bit underpowered and unrefined. The plus is the vitz runs very simple tech and idiot proof - as in it's very difficult to mess up even by a dodgy mechanic  

Is there a relationship between colour and price of a second hand vehicle?

[iRage]

2 hours ago, Thushara Rathnayaka said:

Is there a relationship between colour and price of a second hand vehicle?

Yes but no but in SL yes...

Some colors are optional colors when the car was new. Sometimes that makes it a little bit rarer. So, the rarity and the additional cost when buying it new sort of gets transferred over.

In SL...it more or less to do with people and the car sales owners. Car sales owners make up fairy tales about some exterior and interior color combinations being "luxurious", etc...and our people fall for it. So they pay extra for it. Then we also have people (globally actually) who desire certain colors for reasons of either religious or social beliefs. So those colors can become expensive. Some colors have a reputation mfor being hard to maintain or hard to fix if there was an accident...so those colors (like candy flaked or pearl paints) loose value whilst basic or common colors will be more expensive

[matroska]

12 hours ago, Thushara Rathnayaka said:

Is there a relationship between colour and price of a second hand vehicle?

As irage mentioned some colors when new cost more (some colors are base colors for example rally red in the Honda FK6 UK model was the base model and every other color cost 500 GBP more - but in this particular model that distinction is no longer there when it comes to resale) and that sometimes get's carried on down the line. 

But in the common/majority Sri Lankan scenario, it's usually Jayantha from a kohuwela car sale with his floral shirt and DSI leather slippers that create these 'trend's for example there was a time that a Maroon Premio with Beige interior (Bej interiyal in Jayantha-speak) was the epitome of the automotive industry. it was THE car and mostly used by them to haggle down prices from people and to increase the value when they sell. Then there are other factors - for example some cars like Honda Fit's came in very feminine color/trim combinations and those were not popular with everyone. Then there are some colors that just look good for particular models so naturally people tend to prefer them. When it comes to older abuse magnets like corolla KE72's, Trad Sunnies, L300 and Lite Ace vans, people simply prefer to go for white just because most people buy them as cheap workhorses and white is usually the cheapest paint. 

in your case, the vitz, probably the second hand price based on color is mostly a car-salesman myth. 

[Thushara Rathnayaka]

On 7/24/2023 at 9:54 AM, matroska said:

As irage mentioned some colors when new cost more (some colors are base colors for example rally red in the Honda FK6 UK model was the base model and every other color cost 500 GBP more - but in this particular model that distinction is no longer there when it comes to resale) and that sometimes get's carried on down the line. 

But in the common/majority Sri Lankan scenario, it's usually Jayantha from a kohuwela car sale with his floral shirt and DSI leather slippers that create these 'trend's for example there was a time that a Maroon Premio with Beige interior (Bej interiyal in Jayantha-speak) was the epitome of the automotive industry. it was THE car and mostly used by them to haggle down prices from people and to increase the value when they sell. Then there are other factors - for example some cars like Honda Fit's came in very feminine color/trim combinations and those were not popular with everyone. Then there are some colors that just look good for particular models so naturally people tend to prefer them. When it comes to older abuse magnets like corolla KE72's, Trad Sunnies, L300 and Lite Ace vans, people simply prefer to go for white just because most people buy them as cheap workhorses and white is usually the cheapest paint. 

in your case, the vitz, probably the second hand price based on color is mostly a car-salesman myth. 

Hi is there any specific tyre brand which is fitted in vitz cars when importing from Japan?.I have seen most lower mileage vitz equipped with Yokohama while few had bridgestone tyres. Any idea about average life time ( in terms of km) for factory fitted tyres?

[matroska]

13 hours ago, Thushara Rathnayaka said:

Hi is there any specific tyre brand which is fitted in vitz cars when importing from Japan?.I have seen most lower mileage vitz equipped with Yokohama while few had bridgestone tyres.

Correct me if I'm wrong @iRage - but there is no 'consistent' brand of tyres on JDM imports right? I'd assume it depends on the dealership? I've seen dunlops too. 

[iRage]

14 hours ago, Thushara Rathnayaka said:

Hi is there any specific tyre brand which is fitted in vitz cars when importing from Japan?.I have seen most lower mileage vitz equipped with Yokohama while few had bridgestone tyres. Any idea about average life time ( in terms of km) for factory fitted tyres?

Out of the factory almost all day-to-day Japanese cars come out with Yokohama, Dunlop, Goodyear or Bridgestone tires. It mostly depends on the size of the tire, the type of tire needed (e.g. Eco tire vs. non-eco tire, tire size, radials vs standard, etc...) and which manufacturer has and can supply the most cost efficient tire.

E.g. in the new Corolla the WxB grade with 17 wheels come with Bridgestones and G or X grades with 16 or 15 wheels come with Dunlops.

So the tire manufacture will change depending on these things as well as time period (i.e. in 2017 they might use Dunlop but in 2018 they might put Yokohamas).

It becomes constant only for special cars like sports cars where the car's performance depends on the tires  (e.g. GR Yaris RZ High Performance or the GR86  RZwill ALWAYS come with Michelin Pro Sport 4S tires, in fact the catalog will have pictures of the tire)

Depending on how much and how the car has been used or even if the tire has been damaged; the owner in Japan might need to change tires when you get the road inspection done...so when that happens people might go for a brand other than what the car came with. 

@matroska in Japan the wheels are typically a manufacturer option (or standard) so it is picked at time of ordering and then put on at the factory itself with the tire the manufacturer has set for it. Once the car comes to the dealership you do have the option of putting on a different set of tires if the dealership carries anything different (most of the time not, unless you feel like putting a set of WxB wheels on your X grade Corolla). If not, you have to go to a tire shop and get it swapped. Most people do not do this on stock wheels because it can be expensive (we have to pay hefty tire disposal fees and the chances are that we would get a really bad offer for the old  stock tires even if they just had 50km on them).

[iRage]

On 7/24/2023 at 1:24 PM, matroska said:

When it comes to older abuse magnets like corolla KE72's, Trad Sunnies, L300 and Lite Ace vans, people simply prefer to go for white just because most people buy them as cheap workhorses and white is usually the cheapest paint. 

There is actually more to it than people preferring it in SL for its cheap/easy-ness..here is some absolutely worthless knowledge.

In Japan, cars like the KE72/74 Corolla van, Elephant back Corolla, TownAce, LiteAce, Vanette, etc...are commercial vehicles. They are used by everything from small businesses to large companies.

Toyota, Nissan, etc... sold white colored vehicles of these models than any other color (second place was silver and then off white/cream). Why ? Because when companies buy them, they usually put on company logos, signs, etc. It so happens that white was a color that was neutral enough that any colored business logo/sign would work on it. 

The same thing continues today. Cars like the Probox, Succeed, Lite/Town Ace, Vitz base grades, etc...are sold more in white than any other color.

BUT if you take the same car...but passenger (i.e. non commercial) variants, then the color availability is much more.

So...even if Sri Lankans wanted a KE72, etc...in a color other than white it was really hard to find one. In fact, lime green and navy blue KE72/74s were quite sort after (the maroon for some reason did not get that much attention)...so importers like Indra motors would bring down white ones and paint them in those colors and charged a hefty amount.

Secondly...you are likely to find more white, black, silver, light blue cars in Japan because they are modest, non-flashy colors. So people prefer cars in those colors as to not attract too much attention or seem like they are flashing off.

 

[matroska]

On 7/26/2023 at 11:55 AM, iRage said:

So...even if Sri Lankans wanted a KE72, etc...in a color other than white it was really hard to find one. In fact, lime green and navy blue KE72/74s were quite sort after (the maroon for some reason did not get that much attention)...so importers like Indra motors would bring down white ones and paint them in those colors and charged a hefty amount.

that's an interesting little titbit of info about indra repainting them - since they are unregistered of course the new colour would be in the book, even though the plate on the car indicating the original colour (specially Toyotas) Nowadays owners of these, go for white when repainting due to availability and cost - there are a LOT of these cars in white, whereas the CR mentions different colours. 

[iRage]

13 hours ago, matroska said:

hat's an interesting little titbit of info about indra repainting them

All the big importers did it...then the small timers did it as well (there used to be a lot of independent car importers). 99% of the time (especially with the small importers) they were not full paint jobs though. So when you open the bonnet or the doors, the engine bay or the door jabs would be white  So original non-whites were fetching a premium price. 

The thing is...even painting it white is not that easy and requires a lot of skill

[matroska]

2 hours ago, iRage said:

All the big importers did it...then the small timers did it as well

Might very well explain my Starlet EP71 having 041 as color in the engine bay tag while the CR says it's 'Gold'  someone down the line had re-painted it white and I stuck with white when repainting since it's naturally what goes with the blue interior. 

[Thushara Rathnayaka]

Can I know whether there is vitz safety edition 3 car manufactured in 2018? I have seen adds claiming edition 3 made in 2018. Btw is there any benefit over paying premium for edition 3? Thanks 😊

[iRage]

16 hours ago, Thushara Rathnayaka said:

Can I know whether there is vitz safety edition 3 car manufactured in 2018? I have seen adds claiming edition 3 made in 2018. Btw is there any benefit over paying premium for edition 3? Thanks 😊

According the available catalogs, the Safety Edition III was released in (May) 2019. Safety Edition II in (May) 2018 and Safety edition in 2017. So its unlikely that the 2018 is a SFIII. Two ways to find out of it is legit....

1. Look at the safety features that are there. The other thread you read shows what Toyota Safety Sense Package features were available for which edition.

2. Look at the "MODEL" code on the ID plate. See where the ID plate (it will be on the door pillar or on the firewall in some cars. It is the metal plate that shows chassis number, color, etc...<see photo for reference>. The Safety Package Editions were manufacturer packages. So Toyota put ID codes that help you identify them.

There should be a code that says DBA-KSP130-AXHNB. 

The above will change depending on the model year and the engine size and the grade of the car you are looking at. DBA is the safty standard the cars of the period were subject to. That will change depending on the year and the safety standard that was applicable for the year. KSP130; KSP part will change depending on the engine...KSP is for a 1.0L engine and NSP for a 1.3L engine (you wont find any other engine variants in SL so I won't bother>. AXHNB is the code for the Vitz'  F trim level. So the normal F, F Safety Edition, F Safety Edition 2, etc...will all have this code. (Safety Editions came nly with the F grade..I am 99% sure of this)

Now how to tell if it is a Safety, Safety 2 or Safety 3...

In the model code...after the AXHNB part there will be -<additional letter>

So

F : AXHNB

F Safety Edition : AXHNB-S

F Safety Edition 2 : AXHNB-T

F Safety Edition 3 : AXHNB-V

So ..now you can know...

However, be careful, some brokers are dirty enough to actually make fake ID plates. So double check chassis numbers and stuff as well (i.e make sure plate looks original, chassis number on the frame and hidden areas and ID plate all match up)

Whether paying a premium for the Safety 3 package is good or bad is up to you. For starters, if it is a legit Safety 3, then you should be getting a newer car (2019+ model vs 2017 or 2018 model). In Sri Lanka it might not be the case but in most parts of the worls a newer car will somewhat mean lesser number of owners (so less chance of an idiot owning it), lesser road taxes, etc...

Secondly, the SF3 has more safety features. In my view safety features are the most (if not only) valuable thing on these cars. SIlver door handles, funky lights, navigation systems for Japan, etc...mean nothing compared to equipment that can save your life or save the lives of others.

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by iRage

[Thushara Rathnayaka]

2 hours ago, iRage said:

According the available catalogs, the Safety Edition III was released in (May) 2019. Safety Edition II in (May) 2018 and Safety edition in 2017. So its unlikely that the 2018 is a SFIII. Two ways to find out of it is legit....

1. Look at the safety features that are there. The other thread you read shows what Toyota Safety Sense Package features were available for which edition.

2. Look at the "MODEL" code on the ID plate. See where the ID plate (it will be on the door pillar or on the firewall in some cars. It is the metal plate that shows chassis number, color, etc...<see photo for reference>. The Safety Package Editions were manufacturer packages. So Toyota put ID codes that help you identify them.

There should be a code that says DBA-KSP130-AXHNB. 

The above will change depending on the model year and the engine size and the grade of the car you are looking at. DBA is the safty standard the cars of the period were subject to. That will change depending on the year and the safety standard that was applicable for the year. KSP130; KSP part will change depending on the engine...KSP is for a 1.0L engine and NSP for a 1.3L engine (you wont find any other engine variants in SL so I won't bother>. AXHNB is the code for the Vitz'  F trim level. So the normal F, F Safety Edition, F Safety Edition 2, etc...will all have this code. (Safety Editions came nly with the F grade..I am 99% sure of this)

Now how to tell if it is a Safety, Safety 2 or Safety 3...

In the model code...after the AXHNB part there will be -<additional letter>

So

F : AXHNB

F Safety Edition : AXHNB-S

F Safety Edition 2 : AXHNB-T

F Safety Edition 3 : AXHNB-V

So ..now you can know...

However, be careful, some brokers are dirty enough to actually make fake ID plates. So double check chassis numbers and stuff as well (i.e make sure plate looks original, chassis number on the frame and hidden areas and ID plate all match up)

Whether paying a premium for the Safety 3 package is good or bad is up to you. For starters, if it is a legit Safety 3, then you should be getting a newer car (2019+ model vs 2017 or 2018 model). In Sri Lanka it might not be the case but in most parts of the worls a newer car will somewhat mean lesser number of owners (so less chance of an idiot owning it), lesser road taxes, etc...

Secondly, the SF3 has more safety features. In my view safety features are the most (if not only) valuable thing on these cars. SIlver door handles, funky lights, navigation systems for Japan, etc...mean nothing compared to equipment that can save your life or save the lives of others.

 

This is so informative. Thank you very much. I have seen several fake adds claiming vitz safety 3 edition 3 , 2018. 

[Thushara Rathnayaka]

Considering the opinions received from experts and the information gathered through other sources I am thinking of going for Suzuki swift RS model. May be mild hybrid 1300 model or 1000 turbo model. Any specific attention should I pay when selecting swift car?

 

( Reasons I am not going for vitz , it's slightly overpriced for available features and car could have been over used in Japan/ not going for aqua, difficult to find well maintained car, most available cars manufactured in 2015 which means 8 years old and there could be issues in hybrid battery and ABS /not going for fit gp5 , difficult to find good car,most available cars manufactured in 2015 which means 8 years old and DCT issues could be there) Thanks 

Edited July 30, 2023 by Thushara Rathnayaka
Add new paragraph

[matroska]

On 7/30/2023 at 8:25 AM, Thushara Rathnayaka said:

Considering the opinions received from experts and the information gathered through other sources I am thinking of going for Suzuki swift RS model. May be mild hybrid 1300 model or 1000 turbo model. Any specific attention should I pay when selecting swift car?

 

( Reasons I am not going for vitz , it's slightly overpriced for available features and car could have been over used in Japan/ not going for aqua, difficult to find well maintained car, most available cars manufactured in 2015 which means 8 years old and there could be issues in hybrid battery and ABS /not going for fit gp5 , difficult to find good car,most available cars manufactured in 2015 which means 8 years old and DCT issues could be there) Thanks 

Well I have to say this is a far more 'exciting' choice. While I have very little experience with the car - it was on my list when I was looking for a car 5 yeas ago. The Boosterjet on the 1.0 Turbo variant packs a punch and is overall really nice car. Ground clearance is a bit on the low side but you can get used to it and since the car is shorter will not be a huge deal. I have not heard of any common issues other than this thread - do take a look. 

Once you do eventually buy the Swift - a few photos and a write up here will be more than welcome  

 

[Thushara Rathnayaka]

6 hours ago, matroska said:

Well I have to say this is a far more 'exciting' choice. While I have very little experience with the car - it was on my list when I was looking for a car 5 yeas ago. The Boosterjet on the 1.0 Turbo variant packs a punch and is overall really nice car. Ground clearance is a bit on the low side but you can get used to it and since the car is shorter will not be a huge deal. I have not heard of any common issues other than this thread - do take a look. 

Once you do eventually buy the Swift - a few photos and a write up here will be more than welcome  

 

Thanks for your valuable answer...

Btw is there various models in Suzuki swift RS 2017 hybrid?

😁🙂

Edited July 31, 2023 by Thushara Rathnayaka
Mistake

[iRage]

16 hours ago, Thushara Rathnayaka said:

Btw is there various models in Suzuki swift RS 2017 hybrid?

You mean like special editions ? RS..no I dont think so. They just made some improvements to some of the components and features as the model got older. The special editions are in the other grades, XG I think...they introduced a XG Limited and a MR Limited (based on the XG) which had additional safety equipment (like side airbag curtains) as standard. So you got the XG Limited, XG Limited without safety package and MR Limited.

I think the RSt <the RS with the 1L turbo engine) had a standard RSt and RSt with safety package.