How To Buy A Used Car In Sri Lanka

[thush123]

daihatsu mira is good or bad

can i know good bad point about this car

any knows help me

thanks

[harshadura]

thanks really useful

[erra_sg]

Really Helpful....!!!

[kasdesilva]

thanks

[Sanjaya88]

Great article. Thank You.

[rajia]

Very useful article as I`am looking get my first vehicle. =) Thank you Saturn.

[ROCKS996]

good post bro

[Sureshananth]

Great work mate,thank you so much

[HelaS]

Very nice guide indeed. Good work, mate. Thank you. Very useful for us amateurs.

[Gina]

Received useful advice.

[alpha17]

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOUR NEXT PURCHASE!!!One of my friend bought a 2017 registered and used premio.The car has done 31k kms.The car was bought for reselling.When I went to have a look, I found a service tag inside the front cupholder saying “next service 46XXX kms” and the service station is from the city where he had bought the car. When he noticed that I came to know about the truth, his face turned black and,acted like nothing has happened. Also stopped talking for a few seconds.So the true mileage should have been 41xxx kms. It seems that he has tampered the meter after buying the car, because the previous seller would never leave the service tag inside the car after changing the mileage.He is a very close friend mine and he still pretends like the mileage is true,even if he knows that I don’t have the money to buy it...Even by 10k kms,the mileage has been changed. Now it has become something like a trend☹️ Be careful on your next vehicle purchase guys.

Edited November 6, 2018 by Crosswind
Changed the font size to default

[Sat]

Do not buy from G# Auto L#nka near moratuwa.

Bought a toyota hatcback after transferring them the money and once we asked for the key, they did not provide us with the additional key.

Also we were kept waiting being unable to sign the transfer letter because thier justice of peace is getting late and was told to go to rnb and transfer by paying 16k the usual amount is 12k .

[vithanagevms]

Hello,

I’m buying Toyota premio 2010 G, I inspected the car at Toyota lanka, i got bellow report and quotation for repair. 

This is reasonable lower price. Odo meter tampered. 

Kindly advise. 

Edited January 25, 2019 by vithanagevms
Information

[Kelum7]

Thank you very much! Highly appreciated. 

[HaeylM]

Just like to add some info about counterfeit Jevic, JAAI and Bureau Veritas certifications. Many sellers including personally imported cars offer all kinds of certificates for vehicle condition, auction grade and milage. Just be careful of what you are looking for given the number of scams in sri lanka when it comes to buying a used car. 

Try keep note of the Chasis Number and verify it with their official databases to ensure that you have a legit ODO reading (at least when it came to Sri Lanka)

For JEVIC you can check it here https://www.jevic.com/jevic-initiatives/e-certificates/index.html

For JAAI certificate https://x272.secure.ne.jp/~x272031/contents/postmail/postmail.html

For Bureau Veritas and other certifications you can email them and they will respond within 3 working days usually.

Next be sure to check the vehicle interior and exterior condition to compare it with the auction sheet as some people alter auction sheets to make them look like Grade 4.5 and Grade 5 cars. ( go around with a torch, look under and over for dents and out of shape body panels, uneven coloring of panels, tampered seals and worn out panel nuts, Be sure to question the owner even just to hear him or her make up some BS. If you are going for a newer car it would be easier to identify repaired spots since many 2K paints in sri lanka do not match original factory colors and dont offer the sparkle(This is covered up by clear-coats and have a rougher texture than the factory paint)

Check out a few of the same model of car and check out a relatively new/unregistered car at a car sale, Do this to get a feel of the car's engine noise and feel. Feel for its idling and vibrations and compare it with what you buy. If its too rattly or shows signs of too much wear be sure to take your chances when deciding. Ask for timing belt replacements and other repairs. And politely ask for the last time it was fully serviced, maybe look for a service tage (this gives you an idea if the owner really cared for the car or just used it unattended).

Invest on an OBD scanner from Ebay and ask the owner if he is ok with a diagnostic scan( Many owners won't allow you to do this though)

And finally when you've made your mind, bargain with the owner for a reasonable deal by accounting any items that the car is needing attention such as tyres, panel damages, lights etc..

Finally just enjoy your ride. You may encounter repairs and maintenance but its all that makes you a proud owner of a car. Suck it up, ask for help from experts and enjoy your commute down colombo in rush hour, Driving down A1, Flying at illegal speeds down the southern expressway and modding your car to make it unique and valuable in your eyes!

 

[Chamith47]

woow , maxxa post

thank you very much, Saturn

 

[thusharak340]

Hi,

Not only used cars, but also so called unregistered cars also adjusted odometer, normally we do all maintenance based on mileage, if we face in a such case we will be facing a lot of issues even the vehicle is new.

I saw some articles where recently advertise having such issues,  please see below article how car sellers did this

 

**********************

 

 

Edited March 17, 2020 by iRage

[JakobTheGreat]

What are some reputable services, garages that can do an evaluation of a used vehicle before purchase ?

[AVANTE]

34 minutes ago, JakobTheGreat said:

What are some reputable services, garages that can do an evaluation of a used vehicle before purchase ?

Agents such as Toyota Lanka are reputable. Then there is CarCheck. Wonder how Greasemonkey's service is. 

[Deep0527]

Good job mate !! thumbs up !! 

[mazdaspeed]

On this subject – I’ve used Car Check and they did a decent job with a full inspection of the vehicle and shared some finding the owner also did not know – To be fair, I asked the  team to explain the findings to the owner as well – that way to be very transparent.

Either way I was very lucky as the Owner is a True Gentlemen to the last bit …. They are very hard to come bay when selling vehicles….

The report covered a lot of areas which helped me get to know how much I need to keep as reserves to get them fixed.  Also the seller knew that I was not bring a Maka - Bass to  to condemn the car ….

1.       There are a lot of fake 1^st owner, 2^nd owner cars out there … I’ve had my share of visits and arguments …. So golden rule – look for maintenance history …..  if there is nothing and still a first owner – be prepared to have some backup cash for fixes… there will always be something needed.

If there is a history, be prepared to pay a it more…. And when no history – well vise versa calming that  there is no history.

                  2.        DO NOT BE IN A HURRY -  there is always another good deal around the corner-  I initially regretted not getting a Ford which I loved but it served me well as I got a one off(Uncommon )   ride which I simply love…… - Now the seller of the Ford has put it up for sale again with less than 4 months usage asking an even absurd price.

 

 

 

[mazdaspeed]

On 1/2/2022 at 1:35 PM, pantheraleo said:

Hello Everyone,

Has anyone here used the car inspection services of Greasemonkey?

I have given an advance for a Civic ES8 Manual and would like to do a full inspection for any major damages just to be safe,

Sadly not  but can recommend Car Checks 

[matroska]

On 1/2/2022 at 1:35 PM, pantheraleo said:

Hello Everyone,

Has anyone here used the car inspection services of Greasemonkey?

I have given an advance for a Civic ES8 Manual and would like to do a full inspection for any major damages just to be safe,

No experience but Carchecks are pretty much ok. (at least in my experience) 

[BLL115]

HI Everyone

I am in the market for a Vezel 2015+. Can you please advise me on some tips to look for when inspecting it? I read the very informative and illustrative, first post (2007). Thank you, by the way for that. But I don't know if know if that can be implemented now 2021 , and will it be valid for a Hybrid?

Please bear with my ignorance, as this will be my 1st vehicle, I am trying to be a bit precautious.

 

 

[iRage]

11 hours ago, BLL115 said:

HI Everyone

I am in the market for a Vezel 2015+. Can you please advise me on some tips to look for when inspecting it? I read the very informative and illustrative, first post (2007). Thank you, by the way for that. But I don't know if know if that can be implemented now 2021 , and will it be valid for a Hybrid?

Please bear with my ignorance, as this will be my 1st vehicle, I am trying to be a bit precautious.

 

 

The basic principles of buying a car still applies and will apply for time to come...check for accident damage, check documents, look for tampering, maintenance records, etc....and these basic principles apply to any car. Then there is the foundation of it all...go get it properly inspected by a professional service like car checks or the agent or preferably both (they are both good at different things....point to note...the days of taking a baas with you and deciding if you buyit or not are gone...take the baas for the intiail inspection but get it inspected before you put down any money).

What does change is you need to research model specific issues through reliable sources and make sure that those are resolved (or if not resolved, the price reflects the work that needs to be done and that it is not being covered up).

For example....you can search the forum for information about Vezels and you will realise that there are issues with the DCT, the transmission software, and the hybrid system and its other integrated systems going bonkers. So you need to make sure that these have been addressed PROPERLY.  By properly, it means