Supra_Natural

Sorry mate, can't seem to find it. Keep an eye on FB, it pops up every so often.

That's honestly surprising. Are they Sri Lankan?

Any vehicle over 10 years old will need maintenance and repairs, so you will need to set aside a sizable amount for that. Parts for anything are pretty expensive these days, so best to keep this in mind. None of these vehicles will be particularly cheap to run. The MG will be the newest, and there seem to be a fair number on the roads. But long term durability is something that has still not been established. The Vezel is likely to be the best on fuel, but those do have issues with the transmission. The Kias and Hyundais are pretty good but thirsty if you're looking at Petrols. Diesels need rebuilding earlier than Japanese diesels and are more likely to have been run hard. They also need Super diesel. Montero Sport is an old school truck and is only better than the others in a pure off road situation. Outlanders are generally considered to be reliable but how well the hybrid components will be with age is an open question. If you;re ok with fuel consumption of 5-6 in the city, a non PHEV version might be a good choice as they are pretty much bulletproof if reasonably well maintained.

If your friends giving you advice are living in Sri Lanka and not Europe, then their advice is basically useless. European cars like Volkswagens, Fords and Peugeots hold up much better over there for some reason than they do in Sri Lanka, which is why they are popular, or else the Japanese would end up dominating the sales charts as they do in most other places. Japanese brands are likely to be reliable (depending on how well the specific car has been kept of course), but you should not have too many issues with any of the abovementioned euro brands either. Just make sure to get a car with service history, get it inspected properly, and you'll be fine.

The only Capo that's for sale in SL at the moment has the older motor. And it seems to have led a hard life too. Other points are spot on.

You want a sports car, but you are looking at Civics and Lancers? Do you know what a sports car is? Kindly be more specific in your list of requirements and we might be able to help you out, because what you've said here is contradictory. Do you actually want something with two doors, or a more practical vehicle? Also, "a well rounded vehicle with reliable performance and modern features" is probably not going to be available for under 3.5 million, sorry to say. Sports cars by their nature are not particularly efficient, either.

Is your Honda Civic turbocharged?

Keep in mind that parts for even normal cars are now very expensive. So ensure that your repair budget is solid (Even 300-400k is not too much). I would vote for a EE (Petrol) or CE (Diesel) 9X series corolla wagon/van. Once the basics are sorted out, they are solid runners. They aren't super comfortable or particularly good looking though, and are super basic. Alternatively you could get a sedan version with some options. The BG series Mazda familia/323 is also a good option. They are very nice to drive and less likely to have been riced than Civics or Lancers.

Your information is kinda wrong there, noddy. The Astina and the Miata have nothing in common. Also the first generation Miata and the Fiat/Abarth 124 have nothing whatsoever in common. There was no 124 being manufactured during that time.

Had the same thought, ended up buying a CE96 wagon/van for considerably south of 1.5 mill. Seemed to be in ok shape with actual honest mileage. Still ended up costing about 35% of the purchase price in basic repairs to get it upto spec, mostly because of long term deferred maintenance and also the crazy increase in parts prices. If you're going this route, keep repairs in mind.

Hi @lahiru egodawatta, any progress on your search? Did you pick something up?

The E30 has always been on my list of "interesting" cars. Was very seriously looking for one about 15 years ago but for whatever reason it didn't happen. I kinda forgot about it until last year, when a combination of circumstances meant that the Miata had to be moved on and replaced with, of all things, an SUV. So I was looking for something fun that wouldn't break the bank and after considering various options, wound up with a 1990 E30 316i. It's a fairly solid car that needed some detail improvements, but I was a bit shocked to find how expensive E30s have become, and more to the point, how expensive their parts have become. Also noticed that there seem to not be many good 30s around anymore, most out there seem to have been ridden more times than Maradana hookers, and show the signs of it. So I feel that my car was a pretty ok buy, although I probably overpaid. Will try and post some updates on it, by and by.

Duplicate books should not be an issue as long as the car is in the name of the person you're buying it from, and the document itself is legitimate of course. For best peace of mind, it's always better to check with the RMV, but that is such a pain in the Ass these days that I don't know whether you'd want to. My personal view regarding number of owners is that I would much rather buy a car with 10-15 owners on the book that has been taken care of properly than one with 3 owners that has not. Also, in terms of condition of car, if you really can't find one that is in very good shape then look to getting something that needs some mechanical work but has good body and interior condition (no major crash damage etc). Mechanical stuff can generally be sorted out without as much hassle, but of course this is assuming there aren't a lot of major hidden issues. This is why getting a proper independent inspection done is a very wise choice.

Is there any reason you opted to go to the agents? Doing this somewhere else (using the genuine parts) would have cost significantly less.

Well as far as one stop shops for project cars go, I suppose you should talk to Lap57 or Platinum Auto. Then again since this is a diesel I don't know if they are the ideal choice, maybe you should talk to an off road guy since they have more experience with diesel performance. In that case try Bruce Motorsports.