Auto Guru's Help Me, Going To Purchase In This Week

Ripper · October 24, 2007

I think KIM also has a point mates

I vote for politely disputing "facts" stated by certain members rather that going after them a little rudely.

I'm sure our topic starter is wise enough to see through the clutter especially when the majority backs the most sensible opinion

Rajeev_j · October 24, 2007

Hi all Thanks for your precious comments. That will help me a lot.

i dont want you you guys engage in vigorous arguments with each other due to this.

Hope you all post your thoughts on this forum topic.

Thank you again.

Edited October 24, 2007 by Rajeev_j

Pericles · October 24, 2007

i mean, having being a owner of a 97 YOM vehicle, when i know its not! what do you expect me to do?

I, the MODERATOR, expect you to give the rebuttal politely. Like guys like Don do all the time when there is a disagreement.

FYI, I too have a 97 vehicle, and I'm not all riled up over it. Also, said 10 year old vehicle has done maybe 6k in the nearly two years its been with me. Doesn't mean it doesn't get into operating temps or that it doesn't rev much. Weekend usage, after all.

That said, there are always little things. Need a new battery coz a cell had gone bad in the old one, etc etc. belts need replaceing. That kinda thing doesn't show in a brand new car. Doesn't mean ur STUCK in the garage, but a certain amount of garage going is needed. Also, unless you see the car and figure out how it has been used, there is ALWAYS a certain amount of uncertainty in buying a second hand car. Never know how its been used, and Toyota's are not imune to problems if treated badly, that Top Gear pick-up notwithstanding. Personally, now awaiting the next big expence, new tires! Thats gonna set me back a bit.

nira74 · October 24, 2007

I've got a Sprinter and that does about 10-12 in Colombo with AC and 15+ on open roads...
once i've got an insane 17 on a return trip to Habarana

Considering the sprinter is a bigger car as opposed to a Swift... my money is still on the Toyota when it comes to fuel consumption

The 17- sprinter-cielo (1500cc) i owned some years back (1987 yom..) did 10+ in colombo, 15+ outstation and could top 140 km/h when I put my foot down. For me that was an almost perfect balance of performance and economy for a first car... bought if for only 375k and sold it 4 years later for 450k..... ah, those were the good old days....

pissa · October 28, 2007

There was no intention of mis-leading the topic starter. Just stating my opinion. Just to re-iterate, I personally think that Toyota’s are way ahead of the Swift. No doubts. I personally own a 10 year old Toyota (diesel) and I will not exchange it with a swift for anything! In fact I will be changing it to a brand-new Toyota within the next few weeks.

The above is the general situation which applies most of the time. But this context is different. Let's look at this scenario again. The most important fact here is (which no one seems to be paying attention to) that the guy wants to use the vehicle for ONLY 2 years. Now lets look back at the options.

Let's assume that the Toyota was used well and maintained well. The car has done 64K, so assuming the potential buyer is an average user, he will be going past the 70-80 range during the period he uses, where he will have to change all the belts, change the fuel filters, oil filters etc. replace front suspension bushes, wipers, batteries and most likely tires and the list goes on. (this comes from the experience of using a very stable and sturdy, Toyota, which unfortunately is not maintenance free as some would like to believe), having undergone the major maintenance cycle at 75k, the guy will the proceed to sell it at the end of 2 years (just after going through all that pain).

If he buys the swift, this has done only 32k, for the next two years, he can safely take it up to the 50k mark and sell it with a bear minimum maintenance (can't think of anything besides the obligatory oil changes) after all A*W offers a warranty upto 50k for brand new swifts. So therefore after the 2 years, he can nicely sell it off with a peace of mind, without having to spend, time, money on the car. In this context, IMHO swift is a better option.

As always, one cannot make a decision without actually inspecting the two, but considering ALL the facts laid, above is my view

Edited October 28, 2007 by pissa

Nilantha · October 29, 2007

[if he buys the swift, this has done only 32k, for the next two years, he can safely take it up to the 50k mark and sell it with a bear minimum maintenance (can't think of anything besides the obligatory oil changes) after all A*W offers a warranty upto 50k for brand new swifts. So therefore after the 2 years, he can nicely sell it off with a peace of mind, without having to spend, time, money on the car. In this context, IMHO swift is a better option]

I bet, you can’t use swift for two years without having to spend, time, money on the car

The Don · October 29, 2007

[if he buys the swift, this has done only 32k, for the next two years, he can safely take it up to the 50k mark and sell it with a bear minimum maintenance (can't think of anything besides the obligatory oil changes) after all A*W offers a warranty upto 50k for brand new swifts. So therefore after the 2 years, he can nicely sell it off with a peace of mind, without having to spend, time, money on the car. In this context, IMHO swift is a better option]
I bet, you can’t use swift for two years without having to spend, time, money on the car

I beg to disagree knowing a number of Swift owners of that generations, who have had little or no trouble with their motors over the last few years they have been using them, I mean a friend of mine uses one quite regularly and the dude treats his vehicle with absolutely no respect but it just absorbs the abuse and goes on and on. This is what people have come to expect from Japanese vehicles, and that is not limited to Toyota.

to the best of my knowledge, the Swift of this generation has no known serious design or manufacturing issues, and seems to be very well build,

There seems to be a good market in SL for this particular version of the Swift as its competitively priced, and a lot of other models have disappeared beyond that particular budget,

The decision here comes down to an issue of personal preference, and usage, not an issue of build quality.