matroska

Ok then have a go at this

The visual clue was a bit confusing but this probably was the best clue. Ludwig Kraus would be the designer - and the parent company he saved was later involved in a massive emissions scandal in the previous decade

A nice quad-lamped Sedan that I used to love as a kid - had a brochure when I was like 4 or 5. Sadly almost every single one of these are scrapped, and their CR's are used to run Bighorns.

I had to merge threads again. You have to stop creating a thread for each model ... well the SB12 - does the plate on the car say SB12, and the CR? Back in the 90's it was common to swap diesel engines to petrol cars. Anyway originally the SB12 comes with the CD17 diesel engine -same found on the Diesel SB13 which is a very common car. Of course older diesel engined cars are not the most sought after for various reasons and the Nissan Diesel engines of that era - CD17/CD20's are not as bulletproof as 1C/2C from Toyota. The CD17 in particular is known to be economical but rather sluggish (on the SB13) We had a Diesel SB13 for a while about 20 years ago it was ok the car pulled ok not that fast, sounded like a lorry, it was easy to drive (specially for a noob - diesel manuals are easier) but that was a 10 year old car back then -now it's a 30+ year old car. Diesels are not bad originally but based on how they have been taken care of depends a lot on how they work now. A messed up diesel engine can be a lot more troublesome to fix than a petrol. The other problem with slightly lesser popular diesel engines like CD17's and 1N(toyota)'s are diesels were not very common globally. Popular in SL since diesel went at 50 Rs when petrol was 100 Rs. So parts for older diesel engines are a bit rare now (compared for petrols) for instance if you take a car like the Toyota Starlet P90 series you can easily find engine parts for the 4EFE engine (there are dozens of 4EFE engines for sale sent from yards from Japan, while parts are super rare for it's diesel variant the 1N) If you are going for this - check if the previous owners have done an engine rebuild in recent times. And importantly take along a diesel-competent mechanic with you, despite all that keep aside a few lakhs for repairs.

instead our society will exploit every possible loophole. An election gimmick aside, i don't see SL go back to importing vehicles - as for the prices of current vehicles dropping - even if they do start importing I don't think any new vehicle will be priced in a range for existing vehicle prices to drop - considering the potentially hefty taxes and exchange rates. These rumors' go in cycles - car sales, and buying and selling people first propagate a rumor that imports will open up and people sell in a panic at low prices. Then the car sale folk hoard a lot of vehicles. Then they start jacking up the price and spread a few rumors that imports will not happen for many years. Price goes up. Now they have exhausted their stock and the common folk (non-car-sale people) have also jacked up the price. Then again the imports are opening up in xxx months story goes on to drop the price. I have seen this trend for the past year or so. The used car market is now the car sales/brokers playground now - I have been a heavy critic of car-sales , brokers and buy-and-sell folk. This led to me being blocked and banned from a popular automobile group on social media(name refers to fast revs and racing)

Congrats on your purchase!!! That seems to fit your (or better-halfs) requirement well - there's ample space and the tech on these cars are simple. Actually I learnt a lot when we had a Kelisa - it is an ideal beginners car. RE the viva elite - prices are touching 4 Mill now - there are a lot of manuals converted to auto - using recon gear boxes from Daihatsu Mira's these are poorly done jobs resulting in various issues and most of the swaps are done using the gearbox designed for an 800 cc version of the Mira. Of course the VIN can be used to decode if it was an original Auto or not. Due to this people who own original Auto's kept jacking up the prices until a car that launched at 1.5 M just a decade ago is now going for 4M. This is just crazy and a result of the Sri Lankan mentality.

Merged Threads.

Well I think I found the car you posted and had the link removed - white one in Piliyandala? Well it does look like it came out the factory as an Auto. Compared to other models there are a few B12 original Auto's in the country. I came across one in 2019 (sedan) (made me ask this question on the reparability of old Auto gear systems. The California - personally I find it really nice to look at. A nice set of alloys goes a long way on these. Not very common so stuff like the rear glass panels and lights and lenses (rear - the front is the same as the sedan) will be a bit difficult to source. Cool and distinct cars that screams 80's.

It had to be another Pug

@Gummybr - your turn!

That Cresta was so neat at least on the photos. OP, if he's patient can do his homework , wait and swoop in on a good specimen when it comes up for sale - since everyone is clamoring for hatches and SUV's a biggish barge can be bought for a reasonable price - manual's are far less popular that too presents an opportunity.

Chinese off roader - the strip seen on the right hand side of the image runs along the circular front lamp. This is made by a company named after the most iconic landmark in the country - same brand buses were available in Sri Lanka 20 odd years ago.

hahah this was a give away ! the fancy dashboard put me away - I have only seen the older model of this and the meter-cluster/dashboard is a more mundane affair.

clues? my initial guess was a Mazda - by the design. But haven't yet pinpointed exactly what model.

are you related to @fiat fan? WOW! That's indeed a find. The FD series Civic's are pretty special - looks way ahead of their time and quite comfy. and a Manual to boot! While many people ask for advice very few do actually come back to the forum and tell us about what they bought! So hat's off for the follow up. Looking forward to hearing more about this car.

let's ask the resident Francois and Emmanuel - @fiat fan and @AVANTE

It's a pretty good car - not as commonly found as the Corollas, Sunnies, Lancers of the Era - therefore body parts are a bit of a nightmare. We did a bit of a hunt for one of my friends -most were mechanically sound but had small cosmetic issues due to lack of parts (winder handles, interior switches, lights, lenses etc) if you notice even in the classifieds most of these have the front turn indicator lenses missing. (TBH I had this issue even with my Starlet EP71 - so not just a Carina thing : parts for 80's Toyotas barring the KE wagons are not as easily found as for Nissans and Mitsus of the same era) Fine a complete car and you're good to go.

Probable reason why 99% T190 Corona's are the 2C Powered diesel variant. Now this is an interesting little bit of information I'm learning today. Sadly, this is the only option he will have for his budget if he want's to go with Toyotas.

Welcome to the Forum - are you looking for a particular type of vehicle Hatchback/sedan and is this for daily driving or a weekend warrior?

Nissan Primera P11 (SR20 preferably as opposed to the 1.8L SR18/QG18 and preferably manual) Other options would be Cefiro - Comfy, barge-like but slightly sofa-like and you expect a bit more from a 2L engine. At your budget you're looking at A32. A33 in the price range will come with a compromise but a bit of hard bargaining might fetch you one for around 2.5 A bit rare(ish) option - Toyota Camry/Vista SV40 - not the most sought after car so you can source one well below your budget. Yes they will be - he is missing the Carina by about 1Mill. Corona's are a little closer to his budget - the Carina is more sought after than the Corona in the local market- not sure of the historical context maybe @iRage can shed some light. Options : 1996/97ish U14 Bluebird's since OP is ok with manual. Diesel's are cheaper , manuals are cheaper, 301 and 65- numbers are cheaper. The only Corona from the 210 series will be a diesel CT210. YOM 1996/7 65- (people will pay more for the same YOM if it has G plates) A very good specimen in my neighborhood got sold for 2.5M (1996/65-plates) last week. CT190 Corona would be around 2M mark. Toyota Carina T190 series. Underappreciated sibling of the T200 series (AT211/212) you will find both auto and manual variants - YOM would be 1994-1995-ish and will have 19/300/301 plates. 406 is a very decent choice - you get more car for what you pay. I think this was discussed recently in another thread as well . In Summary If you could rotate the second '9' by 180 degrees - more options open up. Manuals, diesels and cars with Numeric number plates (300/301 etc as oppsoed to G,H etc) are more affordable. Do not be afraid to bargain - yes crazy prices are quoted in adverts but most of the time many vehicles get sold for 100/200 K less.

This is actually a good choice - despite the crazy quoted prices some cars get sold for much less - I'd say around 3.5-4.0 range would get OP a facelift model with all the bells and whistles - being a common car parts are fairly common and the car is relatively uncomplicated to maintain. OP can also consider the Tiida if he is ok with the looks. Those go for 4.5-5.0 range. Regarding the T21X series - the Corona is a lot cheaper than the Carina in Sri Lanka - it seems to have a less appeal among the masses. A corona would be well well below your budget and carina's price varies largely on Si/Ti , facelift is more sought after. This being Sri Lanka the number plate series is more valued than the actual YOM (1.3 = CS1 right?) CS3 would be ideal but might be above budget.

minivan with a hideous face - why would parents of generation ALPHA kids buy these with haRD earned money?

right so it's been a while - I think both of you answered correctly. It's a Datsun 720 Pickup. The image was from a crime scene where a famous actor-turned politician was assassinated 36 years ago. @iRage - stage is yours.

Hi And welcome to the forum. Well you're quite right - however it should be noted that inflated prices apply to certain vehicle types and models. Ah the joys approving a pull request from the comfort of your home at 10.30 PM after a heavy dinner still beats spending hours in the traffic right? May I know why in particular you are going for a 'small car' ? Because due to Sri Lankan's preference for small cars they are just grossly overpriced. I used to recommend Swift Beetle and Mazda Demio for potential buyers in this forum but these are just ridiculously overpriced nowadays. Since you do not drive to work daily and you mentioned travel why don't you consider a Sedan? It's a misconception that hatchbacks are super fuel efficient. Hatchbacks make sense if you have limited parking space. have to drive a lot daily in tight city traffic, nipping in and out and dropping kids off at school etc. Your usage pattern seems to align nicely with a sedan. Wagon R - is tiny and not at all suitable for long distance trips etc. Plus they are now 10 years old - constantly running at high RPM's and used as rental cars and taxi's are potentially problematic.

I thought you were focused on Sedans? Anyway the KE72(or 74 and rarely 73)was a very popular car back in the day. It seems Toyota's local popularity rose with this model The most common is the KE72 that comes with the 4K 1.3 L engine followed by the KE74 which has the 1.5L 5K engine. You will find a few KE73's which is actually the 'wagon' version - the Ke72 and KE74 (you will notice the vin numbers have 'V' at the end ) are actually vans i.e delivery vehicles. Compared to Lancers, Trad Sunnies and Corona/Carina's these will be less comfortable - these were after all delivery vehicles. Very basic cars but drive train is usually very reliable. The KE74 in particular is a joy to drive the 5K is more than enough power and torque for that light car. These wagon's are relatively affordable so you will probably be able to get a decent car for your budget between 1.2-1.3 million. Of course you'll have to be vary of corrosion and body condition with cars of this age. Mechanicals are usually simple and can be fixed. Try to find something that has been with a single user for a considerable time. Cars on open book would have changed hands multiple times - the problem is people on a tight budget buy them and when they find out they can't afford the maintenance skip on maintenance and sell it off to someone else and the process repeats. These cars can take a lot of abuse but there's always a limit - your friends' car would be a good example of the type of car to buy. Also suggest reading this thread - as we are more or less talking about the same requirement