azhar

Used Jap vehicle traders fear business decline By Azhar Razak Sri Lankan importers of used Japanese vehicles last week said that there had been a considerable slump in demand for reconditioned Japanese vehicles of late, as prices have gone up, making these vehicles being unaffordable to many, mainly due to a rule imposed last year allowing the importation of vehicles of only up to two years old. While requesting the government to consider extending this age of imported vehicles to two and a half years in its forthcoming Budget, they warn that Sri Lanka will likely to be infiltrated with lower standard vehicles produced from non-Japanese Asian countries, if the government fails to adhere to their proposal. “Japanese vehicles are increasingly becoming unaffordable to the majority of Sri Lankans because due to the two year old rule imposed last year, it has been very difficult to find vehicles in Japan, to fit this criterion,” President of the Vehicle Importers’ Association, y@ga p#re#a told reporters at a media conference held last week. Explaining further he said that in Japan, prices of most vehicles started falling only once a compulsory Road Licensing Test was taken at two years and therefore if the government increased the age of imported vehicles to two-and-a half years they could then buy at lower prices and pass that on to customers by reducing the price as older vehicles were also subject to lower duty. “In Japan, for brand new cars, the first road license is given for two years, so most users prefer to sell only after two years. If they sell earlier it is usually because of a defect in the vehicle. So it is difficult for us to buy two-year-old vehicles of good standard at a reasonable price,” Perera, who is also the Chairman and Managing Director at Auto Land, said. He noted that Japanese vehicles were far more superior to vehicles imported from other Asian countries with pollution not being a factor for consideration, until they were at least five years old, since they conformed with many international quality standards. “It’s advanced technology and durability that the Japanese cars afford as against the sub-standard cars that do not adhere to the Euro Standard Conformity that are being imported from Asian countries using outdated technology and redundant molds dispatched from developed countries,” Yoga said. He identified that the main reason behind the need of a Japanese car is due to the fact that Sri Lankans have enjoyed and experienced the use of Japanese reconditioned vehicles over the past 40 years. “If they were to be given the choice between a brand new and reconditioned vehicle, the majorities choice would be for the reconditioned vehicle,” Perera assured. Meanwhile, the Vehicle Importers Association, which represents around 100 used car dealers, further requested the Government to properly regulate the VAT component in order to avoid a double Value Added Tax (VAT) situation they were faced at present. “For vehicles imported before December 31, 2010 and being sold this year, we now pay VAT twice both at the point of clearing them from customs and again at the point of sale. The 12 percent VAT we have to pay twice for the same vehicle as the VAT reclaim from customers has been disallowed for vehicles that were in stock,” the Association President said concluding that if the above two proposals are taken into favourable consideration in the 2012 Budget, the importers will be in a strong position to supply a reasonably priced vehicle around Rs. 2 million since the majority of customers in Sri Lanka are those who are within this budget. http://www.thebottomline.lk/2011/11/13/page3.html

Maruti tops local car market Sri Lankan market for brand new automobiles is dominated by India’s Maruti as Maruti/Suzuki sold 1,373 cars in July 2011. According to data released by the Motor Vehicle Registration Department of Sri Lanka on average Maruti/Suzuki sold more than 1,100 units each month. As per these data, Toyota is leading the re-conditioned or imported used car segment. The best selling model was the ‘Alto’ which sold around 600 to 850 units a month. In July, 858 units were registered. Malaysia’s Perodua and India’s Tata cars were a distant second selling about 200 units a month. In July, 175 Perodua cars and 177 Tata cars were registered. Tata started selling its ‘Nano’ in Sri Lanka recently. Tata registrations have shot up to 179 and 177 in June and July from a low from less than 20 a month up to May. Among ‘reconditioned’ or used cars imported mainly from Japan, Toyota dominated, with more than 2,000 units being registered a month. But after May, when 2,368 Toyota’s were registered there has been a decline and accordingly only 1,705 in June and 1,316 in July have been registered. This drop has been resulted since rules of re-conditioned vehicle imports were tightened in April. This has resulted in a drop to 1,727 registrations in July from the peak of 3,110. http://www.thebottomline.lk/2011/08/21/motorist6.html Seat belts mandatory from October 1, 2001 The Sri Lankan government is to make seat belts mandatory for drivers and front seat passengers of motor vehicles from October 1. The Transport Ministry gazette on the Motor Traffic (Seat Belts) regulations states that the regulations will also be applied to lorries and coaches that are registered after October 1. People, who are less than 1.5 metres in height and with permanent disabilities are exempted from wearing seat belts. However, they are required to obtain a medical certificate to prove that they are unable to wear a seat belt. According to the regulations, no person will be allowed to sell or offer for sale or have in his/her possession for sale, any vehicle which is not fitted with a body restraining seat belt once the law comes into effect. http://www.thebottomline.lk/2011/08/21/motorist7.html

Oh no!!!! Does that mean you are NOT SURE whether the Rs. 7500 was for the immobiliser? Hehe...now you are putting me into trouble mate!!!!!!! Then probably it should have been for the registration!!!!!!! Who am I to believe now.....

I called the girl who took my advance and had a long argument on this immobiliser issue. First she said that Rs. 7500 would have been for the registration and not for the immobiliser, and this is wrong information i have got. Later when I insisted that "i have the invoice which says Rs.7500 for the immobiliser" just to trap her, then she covered it up saying "probably when your friend ordered it, we might have not told about this and thats why, we are charging a reduced price".."however since we have informed you and you have placed a signature on the agreement, you will have to pay the full amount," she said. Was this the case??

Thanks everyone for the very useful replies. Btw, LaRa did you only pay Rs.7500 for the immobiliser last month? Howcome they are quoting double the price now.. BTW, when I walked into the showroom on Monday, a customer who is working in Dubai, who was promised the car end June and still waiting was shouting at the staff saying 'you guys are cheating. I want the car now. First you said 2 months and later told me to call in 2 weeks for the last one month or so. Now I have come on my holiday thinking that I will have my car ready and still you are giving an excuse that RMV has not got my car in the allocation' Then he turned to me and said "Dont believe this stupid fellow. They are telling lies"....What an experience on the day I went to pay an advance! Btw, although I requested them to give me the delivery date in writing, they told me its not a part of their policy"... I guess their policy is to cheat people on delivery times......

Despite knowing about customers being cheated on not keeping up to the promised delivery dates and delays in waiting time, I ordered a Viva Elite MT on Monday at UniMo as recommended by most guys in this forum. However, I was informed that new Viva Elites are coming with a 'Immobiliser' as standard and this will be an additional Rs 15,000 to Rs. 17000 being added to the final VAT invoice. Besides promising that the vehicle will be in Sri Lanka end of October, they also told me that I would have to agree to be charged at new tax rates if the government decided to increase tax rates in the Budget due in November. I want to clarify two things.. 1) Is the price quoted for the Immobiliser reasonable (since a sales person told me that market rates were around Rs. 40,000 and its being factory fitted so its cheap)? 2) Even if the govt increase tax rates in November in the Budget 2012, it normally becomes effective from January 1, 2012 right unless they say its immediate which can also be the case as it happened last time around? So would I be safe? By the way, they have promised me the vehicle end October (WHICH I DONT BELIEVE)..Considering past experiences, when do you think would they clear the vehicle for me latest?

Yes you are spot on my friend...I went to the showroom today and got the price list. As you said, Standard Manual costs 14.95, Standard Auto 15.95 and Premium Auto was 18.95. Since my budget is around the 1.5mn mark I think I should go for the Standard Manual...BTW except the dark blue they have all other 5 colours. Now what should I select black or white? please tell me... I also found the doors to be a little out of the ordinary... Also worried whether second hard market will do well in say 5 years time when I plan to sell it... Can someone comment on maintenance and repairs with the Elite..How prone is it? More comments on this car is most welcome Also is Viva Elite better than the Micro Panda 1.3cc?

Most probably the guy referred to the 1000cc manual which was pre-tax hike 13.95 and now its 14.95. is this called VIVA without the elite? so most probably your car elite ezi might cost a little more than 100k more now. well its off my budget then....have to choose between viva 1000cc manual and k10 vxi i guess. recommendations please

Oh ok thanks..Then probably he meant Viva 1000cc and not the Elite..Will find out the Elite price tomorrow if possible by walking into the showroom

Yes machan, the Rs. 14.90 is for the Manual gear 1000 cc Viva Elite while the Automatic costs Rs.15.90..Thats what I was told when I inquired on the phone today..But as you guys say maybe I got it wrong as well..Maybe the person meant Perodua Viva 1000cc...not the elite..Are they different? If so then a choice between Perodua Viva 1000cc and Alto K10 vxi what would it be?

Yes machan, the Rs. 14.90 is for the Manual gear 1000 cc Viva Elite while the Automatic costs Rs.15.90..Thats what I was told when I inquired on the phone today

Hi guys, My budget is a little over Rs.1.5 million and since I am a first time buyer I would like to buy a brand new car. I want to choose between the Alto K10 Vxi which costs around Rs. 15,60000 at A*W or a Perodua Viva Elite costing Rs. 14,90000 for the Manual gear. Although I think fuel efficiency wise, Alto does better VIVA seems to have more options like Alloys, Airbags, Power mirrors etc. The car also has a better look and more space inside. After reading all your reviews, I found that however the ground clearance is lower than the Alto K10. Since I will need to use the vehicle mostly to drive to the North and East what do you guys think? Would it hit the bottom on the humps and give me a hard time with potholes? Also worrried about second hand market with Viva and spares? Please help..