Who Is The Land Rover Expert In Sri Lanka

[landy_man]

guys..there are mainly 2 land rover guys in sri lanka. Indika , a man who knows his job very well and Osanda (will talk about him in here) ...i dont want to give my opinion until i see it from all of you. Please feel free to give your feedback.

[Asanka76]

guys..there are mainly 2 land rover guys in sri lanka. Indika , a man who knows his job very well and Osanda (will talk about him in here) ...i dont want to give my opinion until i see it from all of you. Please feel free to give your feedback.

Can we discuss about individuals(or organizations) here..? How ethical is that for high standards we are maitaining here

[defender]

Newly joined...a controversial topic.I think you landy man is trying to sling mud at somebody isnt it? Osanda is the target i feel!! so go ahead Landy man dont wait till others ..and please dont make this a window to annoy anyone.

[Devinda_Z]

é topic suggest that ppl say which mechanic is best ,but i fear that this may snowball into a rather messy situ...

may i suggest a poll with all é other garages as well which handle Land Rovers?

pls note there r quite a few other's besides those two!!

[Hola]

Newly joined...a controversial topic.I think you landy man is trying to sling mud at somebody isnt it? Osanda is the target i feel!! so go ahead Landy man dont wait till others ..and please dont make this a window to annoy anyone.

Hey man, after along time!

[landy_man]

Hi,

Firstly Mr.defender I would like to emphasis No mud slinging business here. I have my real life experience which i would like to share with others.... Defender , havent you had any deal with Osanda..I guess you have not. coz if you had, you wouldnt say like that. i am a real victim of Osandas crap. I do not intend to annoy enyone.

Members..please explain your experience had from those land rover guys. then we can decide..

Edited March 2, 2007 by landy_man

[Devinda_Z]

well i get most of my work done by Thilak & co. At COlonial - work is good and everything comes with a guarantee - BUT they're rediculously over priced!!!!

they blame VAT & chage a minium 100% premium on virtually anything!!

[fuzzo]

in the past i have posted regarding bad/sketchy experiences i have had with various mechanics etc.

so i don't think there is anything wrong with posting about bad service you have received...

Edited March 3, 2007 by fuzzo

[miniace]

Hi,

I have my real life experience which i would like to share with others.... . i am a real victim of Osandas crap.

Members..please explain your experience had from those land rover guys. then we can decide..

Landy go ahead with your story with all possible details.

[landy_man]

miniace, i would rather wait until i hear from others...otherwise people will write biased to what i have written. will keep this post a non biased one.

[miniace]

Respect your policy ,but the thread is couple of days old now....trying our patience over curiosity or something ?

[Devinda_Z]

Landy_Man - see for starters there arent many Land Rover owners on é forum - i can piont out 3 ppl who reply LR related posts - thats it

so if ur gonna share,like Mini said ,go ahead n do so-

cuz if there is a lesson to be learned from ur story then its well worth us hearing abt it...

so go ahead?

[landy_man]

because u guys insist me i will reveal my story. i bought a exmod 110 from a army auction at anuradhapura couple of years ago. those days i didnt know what type of a man osanda is. i gave him the chasis and some body panels (of no use) which i got from the auction and he took over the restoration business. agreed price was 12 lakhs.

at the start he showed me some nice parts and said he is going to put those bits on my jeep. he said he can give it to me in 5 months time. he wanted 8 lakhs beforehand. i gave that too. i went almost everyday to see my vehicle and he was telling me rubish and all the 12 lakhs was taken before even the body parts were fixed. he said he is putting a turbo 19j engine but i was given a 12j non turbo engine and that was drinnking oil. i didnt want to argue coz i was told by my friends that he is not a guy to mess around even itss their fault. they dragged it for 16 months and i brought the car home with no real happiness. the paint started bubbling off literally 3 months after. engine was drinking oil. i had a rear disk brake axel. he had changed it to a old drum brake without my knowledge. those days i didnt know about these things. but now i do.

he had a good deal and ripped me off. i bought this because i loved to own a land rover. i spent every cent to make my dream a reality. but still after spending 12 lakhs for the restoration i drive some crap vehicle. i really regret for the mistake. i know some of my friends who got their jobs done from indika - rajagiriya. those vehicles are superb..body wise and mechanical wise.

but i feel upset to face him because i went to see him before i handed the job to osanda. osandas words fooled me and i gave the job to him.

now i feel ashame to take it back to indika. looking at indikas work i really understand the mistake i have done..but its too late now.

folks..we spend our hard earned money for a vehicle because we love them..not for some crook to play around and fool us.

Edited March 4, 2007 by landy_man

[Devinda_Z]

i hear your story man.... not é first either...

but Land Rovers are things you shouldnt delve into unless you've got a strong stomach , fat wallet & lots of time to waste n a fair bit of techinical knowledge..

But dont think any other mechcanics are any better!!!!...indika's work is good no doubt - but even he or his golaya's at least need to be kept a close eve on when working as they're know no knick n swap parts as wel!!

19j's r a mess & belive me a good N/A 12J is a far more reliable unit to run...

i've seen é way this guy Osanda has done Turbo conversions - although he tell u its a 19j all he does is take a 12J & cut é sealed end of é Exhuast manifold & run heavy rubber piping to spool a Garret Tubro...

its soo shody it scared me when i 1st saw one such vehicle..

even i'm in a fix now cuz i need some tinkering work done & dont have a Land Rover specialist to work on it - cuz of é unique Aluminium pannels & steel frame structure i dont think my usual ppl car ppl are well versed in é LR intricasies enough to handle it...

é best it to train a mechnica whom u personally know n trust to do é work in your own home itself - parts can be bought here & wut ever else u should try n do a personal import from é UK...

u can love LR's to pieces but these vehicles are heart brakers cuz they're sooooo difficult to handle...

there are others such a Ranith-Hyde Park Motors / New Multi Auto works in Udahamulla who do work...

Then there's Souhain Mallalgoda of Extreme motors

& finally é beloved old agents - Colonial Motors...

there r many other small time guys like Nalin who do little jobs but basically é simplest thing to do is to get your own personal mechanic or start learning to diagnose & fix your problems your self - & NO i'm not joking or being sarcastic - this is wut i've concluded to be é most effective solution over 5 years of Land Rover ownership....&yet i've not gotten any of it down myself - its hard life...

[landy_man]

guys..there are mainly 2 land rover guys in sri lanka. Indika , a man who knows his job very well and Osanda (will talk about him in here) ...i dont want to give my opinion until i see it from all of you. Please feel free to give your feedback.

''Osanda'' I see him like a piece of shit. He has only a big mouth and wordscbut NO work.. sadly we have to accept that.

I wish if he can reform some day. Hope it will happen this life...

Edited March 5, 2007 by landy_man

[Devinda_Z]

''Osanda'' I see him like a piece of shit. He have only big talks but NO work.. sadly we has to accept that.

I wish he will reform some day. Hope it will happen this life...

but i still feel u should have asked him about very glaring issues like é Rear Axel!!!??!!

machan if u want i maybe able to decipher é code on your chasis n let u know exactly what specification your vehicle was when manufactured - so drop me a mail with á full chassis no if u like to know..

i dont blame u for hating a guy who did something that wretched to ya machan - but i doubt anyone is perefect - finding a trust worth mechinic is é biggest hurdle u've gotta face in terms of Land Rover ownership!

[ferrarif50]

sad 2 hear ur story landy man.... anyway i felt that Osanda is a BIG TALK, NO WORK guy long time ago when hes bullshitting on auto vision ...

[mishiran]

Hey People,

How about Nigel (Bruce Motorsports). I think he's the best!!! I think he is a miracle mechanic!!! He recently tuned my car to accelerate like a rocket!!! He usually dosen’t work on cars, but he did it as a favour!!! Well i have seen him repairing a lot of Landrover's & Defenders, Converting Landrover series jeeps in to Defenders, and other 4x4 jeeps etc.... So I personally feel that he's the best!!!

[Devinda_Z]

Hey People,

How about Nigel (Bruce Motorsports). I think he's the best!!!I think he is a miracle mechanic!!! He recently tuned my car to accelerate like a rocket!!! He usually dosen’t work on cars, but he did it as a favour!!! Well i have seen him repairing a lot of Landrover's & Defenders, Converting Landrover series jeeps in to Defenders, and other 4x4 jeeps etc.... So I personally feel that he's the best!!!

hmmm are these é Outdoorsman ppl?? or another party? based where?

&last i checked é bulk of AL's members were NOT senile & thus font size 7 was uncalled for!!!

[The Don]

Devinda, just a small note if I may contribute about the tinkering your LR needs,

Alluminium on steel structures is not as a unique concept as you may think since all the buses follow the same concept, and most pannels on LR's are flat, and I think a lot of them are also riveted in thus you should not worry too much about finding a LR specialist to do it,

I am sorry man but I can't recommend a tinker myself, cos all the people I have been involved with I have my reservations about, but you might note how buses get done up quite regularly so its not such a big problem.

If anybody is interested I do know a good mechanic, he is no LR expert, but he is the kind of chap I would leave my car with and wait for his call that its ready cos he is very efficient, trustworthy, and he gets the parts down himself, and up to now I have been very satisfied with his work.

I have posted his details and so has Hefraz in fact, so maybe he can help with mechanical work though I am not sure as I drive a petrol car,

The Don

[Gummybr]

hmmm are these é Outdoorsman ppl?? or another party? based where?

&last i checked é bulk of AL's members were NOT senile & thus font size 7 was uncalled for!!!

He is based in Malabe on the road side just passing Talahena on the right side of the road. He is a good Land rover driver/mechanic as well.

[lakshank]

Ha ha..Landy_man...So here i found another victim of Osanda. 9 and half Out of 10 people who had gone to osanda say the same story. Looking at your post Mr.Landy i think you are lucky to come at least with a crap land rover from osanda. I will give you guys my story.

I gave osanda a 300Tdi complete engine+box to do a complete conversion to my 12j 2 years ago. I was not in sri lanka and i had faith on him. guys ! hope you all know the 4x4 challenge which was in Habarana in 2004. Osanda used my engine for that race.. what type of a man he is. If he asked me for it i would have defenitely given it. but he didnt. He is a thief. I got to know about this from different sources. But i couldnt believe. i met Manjula (LR club president) and got the list of drivers+veicles+engine,chasis numbers log...he he there you go osands engine no was from my engine. He never told me about this. this is totally not acceptable.

About 2 days after bringing the vehicle home the battery ran flat. i took it to a electrician..and guess what. my altrnater was nacked. You know the "pan gas" , they were inside alternater.

I took it to Indika for a full check up coz the vehicle was overheating. Sump was hit on a rock and was leaking. radiator was covered with mud. he has taken my genuine exauhast and put a one made with GI pipe. My engine was shipped directly from UK(16000 miles) by me.

I never recommend any one to Osanda.

We have to appreciate good things critisise the shit. Indika is a genius.. he restored my second one and no wonder that is like brand new. i see the difference in front of my eyes. both the jeeps are parked in my garage. I loved land rovers and still love them.. tears come to my eyes every time i see my jeep done by osanda.I have spent about 10 lakhs and i myself could have done a better job than osanda.

One more thing Devinda..Osandas first turbo was fitted by Indika..Do you know that. I met the guy who own that land rover. he said osanda couldnt start the jeep after fixing the turbo. they had to get help of indika to start it. he he..but if you talk to him he sounds like he know everything.

I have loads of complaints about him . but have no time to type those as i am busy with my ffice work..(boss is around)

but could not resist this post..because its my subject.

[Devinda_Z]

Virtually every Landy i've seen in é last yr alone , if its been touched or bought from Osanda has been taken to either Indika Or New Multi to have it sorted cuz OM has b*ggered it someway or another...

absolute shame....but...but kavada hari it'll be "Anunta kala dé , thamanta pala dé " né....

[landy_man]

Machan Devinda,

I am not in sri lanka those days. i will give you the chasis no as soon as land in. the vehicle is 1995 brand newly imported by SL Army. I registered it and got a 57 - number coz there had been a period where they issued a civil numbers apart from the yuha number. so after the life time in army they can run with the civil number.

Lakshank ..sorry to hear your story man...but i think we learn by the hard way...sad thing is that the hard way is so much hard to afford.

Edited March 6, 2007 by landy_man

[miniace]

Landy man,Its sad to here your story.You are in good company of LR owners/enthusiasts now.future is better I feel.Good luck pal!