Help Needed: Reliable Off-Road & Long Trip Vehicle - 5M Rs Budget

[Lakfk]

Hi everyone,

I’m new to cars and looking for some advice. People keep recommending Toyota, but there are so many brands and models I’m unfamiliar with, especially since I’ve never owned a car in Sri Lanka.

I’m open to all types of vehicles: pickups, jeeps, SUVs, etc. This will be my only car, and I plan to travel all around Sri Lanka, so some off-road capability is important.

Here’s what I’m looking for in a car:

    1.    Reliability
    2.    Good fuel economy
    3.    Good ground clearance (for off-road trips)
    4.    Decent boot capacity (like a RAV4, enough for three large bags)
    5.    Reasonable maintenance costs

It doesn’t matter if it’s old or not very attractive, as long as it runs well and has AC for use in traffic.

My budget is 5 million Rs.

Thanks in advance for your expert advice and suggestions!

🙏

[iRage]

Globally, Toyotas are known to produce easy and cheap to run, low cost of maintenance, reliable and durable. HOWEVER, In Sri Lanka...90% of the Toyotas are cess-pits. They are overpriced. They have gone through the ownership of cheap people who bought it for cheap running, so they were cheap on the maintenance (including using cheap chinese parts or fake branded parts after the owner gor duped). Then, because brokers and everyone around like to treat these cars like gold, they go through quick repairs to make look shiny and pretty (deep inside its nothing but trouble). I am not saying Toyotas are bad...it is just that 90% of them have been used like crap. The very few good ones around don't get sold or get bought up even before it gets advertised. Now some models actually get saved from such owners because they are perceived as gas guzzlers and do not make the neighbor's wife's panties notched up.

I do believe Mazda probably offers the best value for money in SL these days. They are underrated. Mostly owned by people who care a rat's rear end about at least keeping the car clean. Granted you won't find a host of cheap parts readily available at every parts store. Mitsubishi is probably next on the list of not being over-inflated and being able to find decent examples at reasonable prices. Especially those ones that were agent imported like Lancers and Galants.

Most common Nissan models have also been faced with the same plight as common Toyotas. Hondas... well, if you are looking at something like Civics... well, you get the Fast and the Furious-loving ricer boys.

You should decide on what kind of car you want. That would help you focus on some decent models and spend more of your effort in finding a good example. So, figure out if you want an SUV/Crossover, sedan, hatchback, etc. Think about the maintenance budget you can afford, petrol costs, etc..as well as what you want to do with the car.

Your criteria right now cannot be answered to. E.g. depending on whether it is a crossover, SUV or a sedan the definition of "good fuel economy" changes drastically (irrespective of brand or model). Then reliability is also the same, a manufacturer could have a few models that are robust but some that are problem magnets. 

[Lakfk]

@iRage

 

Thank you for the detailed insights. I’m more oriented towards a pick-up, SUV/crossover, or a Jeep. Any specific recommendations within these categories would be greatly appreciated. Good ground clearance is important. 

Edited May 26 by Lakfk

[iRage]

7 hours ago, Lakfk said:

@iRage

 

Thank you for the detailed insights. I’m more oriented towards a pick-up, SUV/crossover, or a Jeep. Any specific recommendations within these categories would be greatly appreciated. Good ground clearance is important. 

Well....if your current budget is 5mil, then you should be looking to buy something between the 4mil to 4.5mil range. You will need the extra money to fix issues soon after you buy it (preemptive repairs as well as little things you might not have detected during the inspection)

For crossovers you are looking at 1st gen RAV4, CRVs, Pajero iO and VItaras. They are all decent vehicles provided they have been maintained well. They all have their pros and cons (some are better as offroady things some are better at onroad things, some feel more refined than the other, etc... do a search on the forum. There are plenty of threads comparing these models). Now you are looking at late 90s models. If you want a bit newer crossover then you will have to look at things like Kias and Hyundais. Although I do believe for your budget you will be looking at the not so good vehicles on sale.

 

As for pickups...they are going to be very industrial compared to the crossovers. They are literally trucks. For your budget you are going to be looking at mid 90s (or so) N100 Hiluxes, D21 Nissan pickup trucks, etc... You will have to make sure that all the maintenance is good with these trucks. If you end up with a bad diesel engine it is going to be quite costly for you to repair it. Considering its age, these trucks would have had an engine overhaul. So you need to make sure that it was done properly.

You might want to consider something like a TownAce, Delica or Vannette Largo 4WD. I don't think a Hiace would be within your budget. If you don't need 4WD these vans will still have pretty decent ground clearance and if you can find yourself an actual WAGON variant with nice seats and upholstery in the back (not the van type with bench seats) you will have the best of both worlds (mind you a lot of delivery van type vans have been converted to wagon variants...which is fine as long as it has been done properly)

[Lakfk]

1 hour ago, iRage said:

Well....if your current budget is 5mil, then you should be looking to buy something between the 4mil to 4.5mil range. You will need the extra money to fix issues soon after you buy it (preemptive repairs as well as little things you might not have detected during the inspection)

For crossovers you are looking at 1st gen RAV4, CRVs, Pajero iO and VItaras. They are all decent vehicles provided they have been maintained well. They all have their pros and cons (some are better as offroady things some are better at onroad things, some feel more refined than the other, etc... do a search on the forum. There are plenty of threads comparing these models). Now you are looking at late 90s models. If you want a bit newer crossover then you will have to look at things like Kias and Hyundais. Although I do believe for your budget you will be looking at the not so good vehicles on sale.

 

As for pickups...they are going to be very industrial compared to the crossovers. They are literally trucks. For your budget you are going to be looking at mid 90s (or so) N100 Hiluxes, D21 Nissan pickup trucks, etc... You will have to make sure that all the maintenance is good with these trucks. If you end up with a bad diesel engine it is going to be quite costly for you to repair it. Considering its age, these trucks would have had an engine overhaul. So you need to make sure that it was done properly.

You might want to consider something like a TownAce, Delica or Vannette Largo 4WD. I don't think a Hiace would be within your budget. If you don't need 4WD these vans will still have pretty decent ground clearance and if you can find yourself an actual WAGON variant with nice seats and upholstery in the back (not the van type with bench seats) you will have the best of both worlds (mind you a lot of delivery van type vans have been converted to wagon variants...which is fine as long as it has been done properly)

Thanks! You’re fantastic! I think I’ll consider the Rav4, Pajero IO, and CRVs. My favorite is probably the Pajero IO. They’re all around 4 million.

Two more questions:

    1.    Manual or automatic?
    2.    What should I look for during the inspection?
 

Thanks again! 

[iRage]

2 hours ago, Lakfk said:

1.    Manual or automatic?

Most are going to be automatic. At the end of the day you should get whatever car is in better condition. In some models the manual has a slightly different automatic spec than the automatic, e.g. in the RAV4 the manual might have a center diff lock and the automatic wouldn't. but with the other models there isn't much of a difference.

2 hours ago, Lakfk said:

2.    What should I look for during the inspection?

There is a thread on how to buy a second hand car. Please go through it. The basics would be look for leaks (engine, gearbox, rear and front differential). Listen to any weird noises both in 2WD and 4WD modes (sometimes the rear differentia goes bad because of poor maintenance...especially with the Honda). Check that the electronics work. Check for any signs of accident damage. Check for condition of interior (the interior should be typica of a car with the mileage it shows...e.g. a car that has only 75,000km should not have an interior that looks like it has transported mating tigers for a million miles). Listen to engine noises, vibrations, etc...specific things to look for:

CRV : Rear diff goes bad if actual Honda hyperbolic oil is not used in the differential. Make the rear wheels work and listen to a whine.

RAV4 : The engine is fitted at a 45 degree angle. So the front of the car facing side of the engine is higher. If the oil level is not maintained, the gasket and valve seals of the higher side of the engine dry up and start to leak.

Pajero iO : If it is the JDM variant that came with the GDI engine...make sure that the fuel injection works properly. If possible try to go for an export model (i.e. a Montero iO).

After you have done an initial inspection and you like the car...take it to car checks or the agents for a proper inspection.