Supra_Natural

I'll eventually write the Miata story in the Cars of a Lifetime thread. Had it for just under 3 years, drove it all around the country, sold it at the end of last year.

Update: 6 years after the fact So its coming up for 6 years since I asked this question on the thread and the 6 is still very much around. It truly turned out to be a great idea and has provided superb service to date. Had done 14k when we got it and now is approaching 90k. In terms of expenditure, other than the usual servicing and brake pads etc, the only major expense was engine mounts, which were needed at around the 75k mark. Oh and also shocks were replaced at 80k. At the same time the steering rack had a bush kit that was replaced. Total cost of the repairs was around 275,000 at the time. It returns 8ish to the liter in town/12-13 outside and 15 plus on the highway and still drives well. As it approaches 100k I'm guessing there will be some suspension work that will be needed. The paint finish seems to have deteriorated a bit over the years, but that could be because the driver washes it every day and it isn't waxed much. Interior has held up motsly well, but the steering leather has faded and will need re-doing. Recently it has started giving an issue where the switch that detects that the transmission is in Park doesn't always do the job, so the car won't fully switch off. Shifting out and back solves it, but I assume that will need replacing soon. All in all, it turned out to be a pretty solid choice and will likely be sticking around for a while yet. Made me so much of a Mazda convert that I got myself a 2016 2 Sedan as the daily, and ended up replacing the Jaaaag with a 2015 MX5 Miata as well!

1969 Volkswagen Beetle Part 1 - How NOT to buy a Volkswagen Right, well here we go then. For as long as I can remember, I've been interested in cars, apparently by age 4 or 5 I could recognize makes and models from some distance away, and I obviously had quite a collection of toy cars (Matchbox at the time, Hot Wheels hadn't made it to SL). At some point in my childhood though, I took a detour towards planes and for a while the car interest petered out. Then at about age 11 or so I started reading the good old MOTOR magazine (and occasionally was given a copy of CAR or Autocar from the UK by a family friend), which brought the interest back into focus. I was fortunate in that my parents both had vehicles of their own (will eventually make a post on them too), so you can say I grew up fairly well versed in automotive stuff. By the time my driving license rolled around, I had already been thinking for a few years what my first car would be. Obviously the budget was not big, I had about 400k with some help from my folks, so that was what I was looking to spend. Back in the early 2000s that kind of money went a lot further than it seems to do today, and there were quite a few choices available. But for reasons that to this day I'm not entirely sure of, I had my focus set on a Volkswagen Beetle. One reason could be because my grandfather owned a black 1959 example from brand new until the year 2000, and I had quite a few memories of outings in that car with the grandparents. Why didn't I just get his car you ask? Well my grandfather apparently had no idea that I would be interested in the car and when he stopped using it, he ended up giving it away for free to a work colleague! I tried to get (pay him and buy) the car back at the time but the guy didn't want to part with it. So I ended up having to search the marketplace. Online adverts were still in their infancy, so most of the hunting was in the weekend papers and the Motor Mag. I read as many VW books and articles as I could find and talked to VW mechanics where I could find them so I thought I had a pretty solid idea of what to look for. Fellow AL member @milindu had a couple of bugs as part of his collection and was nice enough to let me see what a good one looked like. He wasn't selling any of his, but he WAS selling a KE25 Toyota Corolla Coupe, in absolutely mint condition, for 200k (and he offered me a discount on that too). For reference, it was something like this, but MUCH tidier Anyway I had beetle blinkers on so I stupidly passed on the 'rolla, which ended up being bought (and lovingly maintained to this day) by one of his mechanics. So I went on hunting beetles, over a couple of months I looked at every single beetle that came up for sale, and i mean EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Overall I think I looked at around 30 cars and they all had some fault or the other. There were really nice ones quoting 400-500k but I didn't want to blow everything I had on buying the car (probably the only sensible decision I made at the time), so I wanted to spend no more than 250k on buying. Now my priority was a car that was mechanically and structurally sound, figuring cosmetics could be worked on later and I told my self I would buy a car that was a regular runner, so mimimum problems would exist. Unfortunately after 30 cars my stock of patience (always low in an 18 year old) ran out, and car number 31 happened to be an example that was cosmetically very nice, but had been sitting unused for some months. The seller was a nice old uncle and he assured me everything was working well, My mechanic gave it a look over and pronounced it acceptable, so 220k changed hands and I had a car! The plan was to drive it around for some time, figure out the quirks and then sort it out. However as they say, the best laid plans......

Damn, completely forgot that I started this thread, must get around to posting up soon. 😅

You can probably get a D8 406 though for that budget right?

If you are ok with a non mainstream option, but one that is significantly newer and from a brand with a longer track record than the Chinese options, I would suggest looking at a Suzuki Ciaz. It's a car many people seem to overlook, but actually is a very strong choice in that bracket. The best way to describe it would be a modernized corolla 121, and that is actually a compliment. The diesel option in particular has strong performance and genuinely staggering economy. @Devinda_Z would back me up here, he had one until very recently and was shocked at how good it was.

I suddenly had the idea to start this thread so everyone could tell the stories of the cars in their lives. Basically, any and all cars that you owned or had in the family, write a post (can be about a single car or about multiple, your choice), the more descriptive the better, and of course put pictures if you have them. The point is so that we all read and appreciate the stories of the cars each of us have had over the years which have grown our passion (or is it insanity?) for the automobile. Let me know if you think this is interesting, I'll put my first one up soon if so.

Somehow missed this thread before, best of luck with the project! It's really good to see a starlet that hasn't been riced, they are becoming a rare breed! Toyotas of this particular time period (90s/very early 2000s) appear to have been some of the best built vehicles of all time and should be able to keep going indefinitely if looked after.

Dear Mr Wijesinghe, I observe that you still have your tendency to deviate several miles from the topic at hand. And you seem to be aware of it as well, based on your reply so I do kindly request that you attempt to stay within the boundaries of the topic as far as possible. While some of us do enjoy hearing about the automotive history of the island, I feel a lengthy screed such as this would have been better suited to the thread that was created specifically for that purpose years ago: If you would be so kind as to keep your responses to general questions as brief as possible, and put the longer descriptions on the above thread, that would be greatly appreciated. This way we can help answer a members' questions as efficiently as possible, and still be able to also appreciate your rich and varied automotive historical insight. Thanks.

Mr Wijesinghe, With all due respect, your knowledge may be wide but in this instance it is a bit out of date and you are just plain incorrect. Vehicles made from around the 1980s onwards are perfectly capable of running for any length of time as long as they are well maintained, as long as @Tharaka Samarasena does his due diligence when selecting a vehicle and keeps it well maintained, he will be able to use it without any problems. Kindly do not spread misinformation.

He wants a car newer than 2000 YOM.

Oh boy, that isn't exactly an easy budget to find anything decent in this day and age, especially since you want it to be YOM 2000 at the earliest! If fuel economy and cheapness to run are your major criteria, then an Alto would probably be the best bet, but I'm not sure if there will be any auto ones in the price bracket. If you want a more substantial car than an Alto that will still be ok to run then I would suggest looking at the K11 March, but finding a solid one might be a challenge. A slightly bigger option would be a Perodua Kelisa. Another Nissan that is kicking around that general price is the AD Wagon, which will give you a load more space, and still not be too expensive to run. It's a bit basic though. If Toyota is your thing, Solunas seem to be around that range, they are decent cars from what I know (basically a tercel with different front and rear, but they are looked down upon by the lankan baiyas because they were made in Thailand. Quite a few were around, so you might be able to find a decent one. A left field option is a Ford Laser, it is almost entirely a Mazda 323/familia, but sells for less due to the badge. It will definitely be a nicer drive than most of the above, but ford specific body parts might be a challenge. Keep in mind that all of these options are basically 20 years old by this point. Mechanical parts should be ok for a few years yet but body and trim bits will be getting scarce for everything but the Altos. Keep that in mind when looking. Also, it is generally good practice to keep a reserve of about 200-300k for any repairs that the vehicle might need, it's usually best to get everything done in one go so you can use it without a hassle.

E30 still looks fab, sad that it had to go! I understand the sentiment though, in the middle of moving some things around myself! Can't wait to see what the V8 looks like, just be VERY careful leaving cars & coffee! 😅

Wow, haven't seen you in ages man! Hope all is good. By the way, whatever happened to the Go Kart type project you were thinking about, finished it off?

Good to see some old names popping back up, even good old Mr Wijeysekera. Must see if we can get some of the old crowd to post again. I know I haven't been able to be around much due to life getting in the way, but will try to fix that now. Realised the other day that I've been an AL member for 14 years, joined at the same time as @Devinda_Zmore or less. The personal fleet has gone through a lot of changes over the last decade and a half and even now is in the middle of some. Still haven't owned a Supra sadly, and that is looking more and more unlikely as the years pass. Still, one can dream.

Precisely why you should consider doing that particular project.

Dude, thread from 2014....

Based on what I've heard, even TL themselves are no longer quite as good as they used to be. Mostly because the people actually turning wrenches are usually just there to get their 2/3 years of experience on the CV and then jump abroad.

Still no reason to resurrect a thread that last had a response 14 years ago.

If you want a left field option, I would suggest taking a look at a registered Mazda 2 sedan or hatch. It will be MUCH better on the winding roads than any of the cars you've mentioned above, has decent ground clearance, and you should be able to pick one up within your budget. Have had one for 4 years now and it is really a very good car.

Kanishka is the head technician there, yes. He knows the older cars quite well.

Why are you responding to a question posed 14 years ago?

Go to Ultimate Motor Works, they are pretty good with the older BMs.

Why would you do that though?

It was new about 5 years ago