iRage

Said it before..saying it again....seeing the new 250 series and where Toyota has taken it (unless toyota says they messed up and takes it back to a smaller platform)...the J90 is and will be the best Prado they ever made. The last iteration of the 150 was pretty good but still the J90 was the best balance of analog and digital worlds. Maintained well it will hands-down outlast any of the new Prados.

Not a big fan of the 31 myself....it became a bit of a sloth crossover. Although, even the 2nd gen was quite as functional as the 30 series and in Japan it was offered with a manual transmission (well the GT trim was). The first-gen XTrail can actually fall under the ranks of the Patrol. It was quite capable at the time and was different. Was much capable than the RAV4 despite the RAV4 getting more of the praise. Let's not forget that the 1st gen also came with a SR20 stuck in to it I have to ask though...why a Prius Alpha ? It is just a station wagon. In which case you might as well go for a Corolla Fielder (even the E160 series). I am surprised he is 50:50 with the Terios. It is a bouncy little (little being the operative word) car. It was after all the Raize/Rocky of the time. I don't think you are going to find as practical and all-rounder of a car as the J90. I hope the guy who bought it is enjoying the car.

Yeah....for 8 mil you are going to be stuck with a basic Yaris or for the same price a well spec'd kei car. I would rather live with the high spec kei car. Talking one of my Lankan friends in to getting a NOne RS (manual) for a little less than the price of a Yaris (apparently). Probably....quite a few adverts for the Vezels, Yaris Cross and larger cars are now starting to state "On LC opening basis <+ something about the buyer being responsible for it>". I suppose that means they will not do anything with sourcing a car unless the buyer opens the LC and the purchase is guaranteed? This is why I feel cars like Premios/Allions (even high trimmed Axios ?) will not drop down as much as people believe it will (or like it to). On one hand there really isn't a replacement for these models and one actually needs to have a lot of disposable funds saved up (for most, including myself) 7 to 8 mil just lying around to drop as just 25% downpayment on a car is a no go (at least if one is to be sensible about things). True...the existing cars just need to be kept and let to depreciate over a lot of time (let people who paid hyper-inflated prices get some utility out of it and let subsequent buyers of these cars finance them under reasonable valuations). I believe the CB's intent is sensible. Those who should be importing cars are the ones who really really need to and have no locally source-able options.

Do some checking about the HR-V. The JDM variants did come with the CVT, but it was a time where the export variants actually had a normal Automatic as well (albiet the funky shifting tech ones Honda had at the time). For the Pajero iO, yes the GDI issue is there, but depending on the price it might be worth getting one and restoring the engine. If the GDI issue is what is keeping you away, look into the export variant (Montero iO). That had the non-GDI engine. There are quite a few of them in SL (I would say 50:50). As for the T30 XTrail...there are two GTs in SL as well. No idea where one is and the second is supposed to be with someone who is in love with it. Just for the heck of it....let's say you take your entire budget...any mid sized crossovers you could possibly import ? Also, I suppose something like a MG crossover would be out as I doubt those things (at least the current models) will last too long driving up and down estates.

you do realize that the charcoal canister is in the engine bay right ? The EVAC system has multiple parts that go all the way from the tank, to the fuel filling line to the engine When the charcoal canister is gone bad you will get a fuel smell when the engine is running and even after the engine has been shut off (soon after shutting off the engine or when there is a sudden change in the weather due to temprature changes). When you open the fuel lid when the tank is empty, how bad is the pressure release ? Check for fuel leaks. If there is no leak, and the engine is not running rich, your most likely culprit is going to be the EVAC system (most likely the charcoal canister).

Just so you know fuel smell can also be because of the EVAC system going bad (particularly if the charcoal canister is bad). It is quite common in SL because Lankans have a habit of over filling the the fuel tank. So fuel just floods the EVAC lines (more than it should) and eventually the canister goes bad and doesn't remove the fuel odor. Sri Lanka bein Sri Lanka, it never gets fixed. Even if you want to fix it Toyota does not make the part for it anymore. So your only option is to find a used one. OR find a compatible unit from a newer car (easier said than done) Not saying your EVAN system is pooched...just saying so you know it is a possibility.

Out of that list the 3rd gen RAV4 would be the easiest to drive and own. I have had 4 (the 3rd being my parents car till this day). Fuel economy is not that bad nor that good compared to its competition. One thing you need to look out for is to make sure the car doesn't have oil issues. The earlier versions had piston ring issues which led to oil burn. If properly maintained (i.e. regularly services) the likelihood of things going bad is low but in SL you never know. The facelift models had the issue resolved. CR51/41...not the most refined of cars. Very utilitarian. Easy to drive but also a bit stressful. Rear wheel drive, light rear-end...can get bit of a handful. I used to know people who drove around with sandbags in the back during the rainy season. 1st gen HR-V (I am assuming you are referring to the actual HR-V and not the one that is the Vezel). Fun little car. Most parts interchangeable with Hondas of the era (this also means you get the problems of other Hondas. Including the messy rear-diff which needs regular maintenance and whines without the actual Honda diff oil). Mechanically you will be set, however it is going to be difficult to find any sort of body part. Land Cruiser truck and Axio/Corolla. Okay..funcitonally might work. However practicality might not be as rosy. Finding a decent 70 series and a decent Corolla/Axio is going to be a hard task. The Corolla you are looking at is what wet dreams are made of for a certain market segment of Lankans. Downside to that is they are priced unreasonably and they are all shiney baskets of catloy with fake badges and cheap upgrades. Looking at your history with us on AL, this only means you are going to spend a bucket full of money and countless hours restoring it (which believe me is going to bring out a lot of bad tendencies out of you). Plus....your dad is 74 years old. You are doubling his burden by making him have to maintain two cars. Out of your list...my vote goes to the RAV4. It would feel the most modern and the best all-rounder. It might not be as off-road capable as the 70 series or a Prado but it can handle most average trails most people will throw at it. Get the newest one possible. Another option is something like a StarWagon or a SpaceWagon. Higher end ones come surprisingly well equipped (for its age) and has the durability of the L200 or Pajero drive trains of the period. If you are lucky...You might also be able to find a: a. 3-door shortwheel base 40 series Pajero. There are few of them (original) around, including a port auction with a fairly new registration. b. Mitsubishi Challenger c. Nissan Terrano (is the first gen X-Trail out of the running ?) d. JT series Vitara (2005-2008ish). RWD. Proper part-time 4wd or full-time AWD system, depending on the model. A bit trucking but fairly decent and capable. e. Pajero iO ?

Jimny is a wonderful litte car. However, on long distances you do feel the road fatigue. It gets loud and jittery and you feel it. That way a normal kei car (modern ones) are more comfortable. 8mil should be possible for a car that is around the 2-3 year mark since it is a kei car. Needless to say the Jimny Sierra will be significantly more expensive as the engine is a 1.5L. Fun fact...the Jimny Nomad (i.e. 5 door Jimny) was launched in Japan on the 31st of January. Went to look at the thing on the 1st of February. Not a bad car. I was told the order books were closed because there had been 50,000+ orders and delivery time is nearly 2 years. As for the prices in general...they all say X upwards, so the price quoted would be the lowest spec'd price, and for some of them, you really don't want the lowest spec. For 58mil you are probably looking at the 2.7L petrol LC250. That thing is horrendous. Do not buy it. The car is too heavy for the 2.7L petrol engine. The 2.8L diesel is barely sufficient but it is out of breath doing a 110 on the highway. Corolla for 14.5mil you are looking at a gasoline variant, probably a WxB closer to the 2-3 year mark, in which case you want the 3 year old car instead of the 2 year old car (Toyota sales people themselves say that the petrol Corolla was made to be cheaper to attract business clients as part of th eplan to phase out the Axio). Then, on the other hand, the Axio is probably newer than the quoted Corolla, but what sucks is you only get a business model, so it is very spartan. The new Swift...it is a nice car to drive but there have been engine reliability concerns. Mainly to do with the configuration rather than the engine itself. For a same amount of money I would buy the Vezel over the Corolla (especially if the latter is a petrol). Vezel is more refined, feels more roomy and more practical. Not much change in the Raize than what Lankans are used to. Same with the kei cars over there. Same old song, different melody. There really isn't much improvement in terms of ride and handling from the previous models. Yaris...the 1L still sucks. Hybrid or the 1.5L petrols are the decent ones. Much better ride than the Vitz. Interior still feels cheap and lacking in most grades. If you are going for the Hybrid or Petrol you might as well go for the Yaris Cross. Slightly rolly polly ride compared to the hatch but quite nimble. Not much different in terms of practicality over the hatchback but at least you get the added clearence (and hopefully AWD) but mostly the interior feels a bit more refined. If going for a Hybrid Yaris might as well go for an Aqua. Same platform, same power and drive train but a bit more refined packaging (that is how they market it here as well..Yaris for the youthful, Aqua for the more mature). Hilux...what you really want is the 2.8L diesel (same engine as the 150 and 250 Prados). This is not sold in Japan (except for a few grey imports) so it will have to be sourced from Thailand. The 2.8 is much more potent than the 2.4 which also is not too bad. The GR Sport of the JDM Hilux is mostly a dress-up kit. The export (Thai) GR Sport actually has more power, more torque and better suspension tuning (so again...export model is better than the JDM).

Yeah...got a bit of a shock when I saw the price....hope the resto is good and proper.

Okay.in the interest of keeping the thread going...I shall post a vehicle. This should be pretty easy if you have been on the usual SL FB car pages the last few weeks. Was considered to be rather ugly looking at the time with rather pig-like facial features.

I think it is because of the uncertainty. No one knows what is actually happening with car imports and after car imports. A group of people are worried that prices will tumble and are trying to sell them off. Complementing then you have the potential buyers who are waiting for imports to resume or demanding their prices. But seriously though....there really isn't much choice of what to replace it with is there ?

Okay...you should take your car to a garage and get everything sorted out. Your car can have issues ranging from cat converter going back, O2 sensors etc are going bad, gaskets going bad and fluids mixing up, carbon and sludge deposits, etc...your fuel can be contaminated, your oil can be contaminated (as you just simply top up and not do an actual change). You said your oil is not a good color...what color is it? Do you know if coolant is leaking into it? You said there is black smoke, which is a typical indication of an incomplete burn. This itself can be because there is insufficient air going into the combustion, the fuel is bad (moisture could have built up in the tank; if leaving idle for a long time, you should leave the tank full), to the spark plugs going bad (even though you changed it a year or so ago the car left idle could have caused them to go bad). Leaving a car idle and just starting it to charge the battery is not the best thing to do. There is no guarantee that the engine comes to the proper operating temperature (what you see n the dash is NOT the operating temperature of the engine and the oil !). There are other components that need to get lubricated which doesn't happen when you don't run the car, without this lubrication, gaskets, etc..can go bad if the engine doesn't reach operating temperature. Also if the car doesn't run there is no proper pressure running through air valves (intake and exhaust) then moisture can build up and even carbon deposits can build up. So it is really hard to answer your question because your car seems to suffer from lot rot (car illness that occurs when the car is just left parked for a long time).

Dude ! Oh dear....DUDE ! Why ? That Prado was the last proper Prado that had a balance of the 70 series ruggedness and 100 series comfort...a nice balance between analog and digital. The 120 was too wagonish and soft. The 150 carried the wagon-ness but towards the end went a bit back to its roots with gruntier engien choices but still was too digital. The new one is a big fat pig. So..yeah..sad to see her go. I don't necessarily think the used car prices are going to tank that much...especially for the larger vehicles. There are people quoting 77 (petrol...stay away) to 88 (diesel...manageable but a bit gutless on the top end) mil for a new Prado 250 (and again this is supposed to be the landed cost of the car...,nothing about the importers' margins). Compared to that, even a 10-year-old Prado for around 60% - 70% of that price seems reasonable and more affordable. Those who claimed a new Alto would be around 4 to 5 mil are now quoting 5 to 6 mil. So...I suppose flaring up season has ended and now its the actual roasting period. Despite the hoopla I don't think people will be able to afford bringing down as many cars as our people believe. But then our people are known to make really poor financial decisions. I think this is the ONLY good reasoning. ALL other reasons spell nothing but doom to the automotive landscape of SL. So let's pray that this guy had a very determined LC loving wife.

Your best way forward would be to call the import control/customs department and get information directly from them. Despite everything they are actually quite good at providing info. Things are so fluid right now no one other than the source themselves will be able to give you any reliable information.

That is the only thing they make now right ? Or at least they used to until recently...the jet influence can easily be seen in the cockpit design of their cars.