iRage

Feels like it right ? We did talk about a dark red/maroon one and then a blackish/greyish one. Not sure if someone owned it or we were just talking about it. So here goes...the one in SL is white. It is from one of our colonizing countries with an engine from the Far East. It is suggested that this car was designed with the market trends of the country from which the engine came from.

The model was to be a prelude of things to come with advanced features like being the first Honda car to come with a sunroof. It also heralded the start of a dealership line that was to cater to more youthful minded people (Honda Verno) where the model remained the flagship model until the introduction of the NSX. The badge name is rumored to have been first registered by Toyota and that they gave it to Honda amicably. Neither manufacturer has confirmed nor denied this and evidence is rather scarce. Oh yeah...second generation zenki.

Well...it depends on what you mean by vibration.... Depending on what you mean by "vibration" tt can happen for many reasons: suspension bushes gone bad control arms damaged brake rotors are excessively worn-out and the list can go on, especially without knowing what vibration means. Can you describe what you mean by "vibration" and when it actually happens (e.g. straight line on a smooth road, speed, when taking curves, etc..) ?

Carpets are optional on all cars except for a very few (mostly Chinese). It is mainly so that people can choose from multiple types of carpets from the manufacturer/dealership or go for aftermarket ones. Having said that, it is also market-dependent. In some markets (like in SL) when you go to the agent to buy a brand new car there would be carpets already included in the price of the car as there won't be any choices. In some markets, they are included with things like window visors, mud flaps, etc..just so that they can be made attractive against the competition.

That is a nice car. Has the potential to be something really nice. There are places that "customize" lights. Please don't ! They do complete injustice to the car by putting wierd LED lights that work in wierd patterns, etc... It will be really hard...and even expensive...but I would say please use the car as is..collect money and buy actual proper lights and trim bits. Then slowly start restoring the car. These things in good condition go for really high prices now.

IMO I feel it is with the newer cars that more or less all the agents are mentally screwed with and give BS stories and cover ups for everything. Here out my logic.... For older models, like E100 Corollas, EK Civics, and B12-B14 Sunnies, the agents know what to do with them and are equipped to deal with the cars. Partly because they themselves handled the cars (selling them) and therefore got trained and tooled (there would at least be one old grease monkey who was with them from those days). However, with these new models....they simply did not get trained or tooled properly as, on the one hand, they did not deal with the mass models we got down as grey imports. Secondly, the equipment, etc..requires capital that they simply did not have.

At first I was convinced that it was a Merc X-class. Although the mirror seems to be the same shape I am not entirely sure if the blinker on the mirror is that shape. So not entirely sure now.

Simca Vedette it is ! One turned up at last month's Classis Car Run...freshly restored (with a little bit of touching up needed) Over to you !

Does the engine rev normally and respond well when the car is not moving (i.e. you rev the car in idle at a full stop). How is the fuel feed to the engine ?

Okay..well it is an Isuzu Unicab. It has a V8 pushing around 70ish horsepower. This European beauty (or is it brute?) was one of the first cars manufactured at the newly acquired French plant of an American car manufacturer. As a result, it was sold under both manufacturers' names.

Well. When you have no claim bonuses it usually gets applied to lowering your subsequent premiums. So, by making your claims, you might have lost them. However, I doubt your premium would have increased by that much just by losing any bonus discounts. What might have happened is that they reassessed your risk profile and the valuation of your car along with the loss of the bonus discounts. This usually does happen in other parts of the world so I can't see why it wouldn't in SL.

The Fit is a fun car to drive. The Prius is not so exciting to drive but would feel more softer to ride in, and the extra space would make it feel larger than the Fit. Also, if you are looking for rear leg space...the Fit is not the greatest compared to the Prius. However...both these cars are going to have old Hybrid car problems where things like battery packs, control modules, etc...can have hissy fits (compared to modern Hybrid systems, these early-generation ones were quite..uhh...prehistoric). Replacing batteries is not a big job anymore, but the batteries (or components) can be costly. Also, when buying a second-hand car you need to be extra diligent about making sure that the batteries have been properly (and actually) changed and that the car has been maintained properly (looking at the age of the cars you are looking at one can say with 99% certainty that the battery would have had to be replaced or would need replacing). Also, most of these Priuses were used as taxis so they would have gone to the moon and back. This is not a problem if it has been taken care of and the Hybrid system is fixed as needed. but these cars would have rolled back meters, cover-up jobs on the Hybrid system, etc... Even a lot of the GP1s seem to have been owned by budget-conscious users who wanted a nicer-looking, cheaper ride than the Vit, Aqua, etc... Personally, if you are not going to be using the car that much, I would go for a petrol car. Hybrids, unused would be problematic (especially old ones). If you can get your hands on something like an Allion/Premio 240 (i.e. 1st gen) that would be a decent balance of comfort/luxury and mechanical simplicity (that makes it a lot more robust than a secondhand Hybrid). Also, I believe they are quite desirable so selling them off will also not be a problem if you take care of it properly. However, I believe these go for 6mil plus these days. But you could always go and negotiate (if you go buy a car from the actual owner the prices will be far less than what is being advertised or what brokers try to push them for). Finding a good specimen might also be a bit challenging and require a lot of patience/time. Other alternatives would be something like an Axela or Lancer from the early to mid 2000s (i.e. same era as the Prius, Fit and 240 Allion/Premio). These types of vehicles are usually owned by people who tend to like cars. So you will find more cars in better condition than the Toyotas and even the GP1. The only hitch is those who have them don't want to sell them these days (the same goes for good condition 240 Allion/Premio). A standard petrol car would be a lot easier to maintain as well (especially as a non-regularly-used car). and yes...expecting to get 15kmpl from an old pure petrol car is too much. If the car is in good condition and you are a light footed driver expect to get around 10kmpl tank average. You will get closer to 15kmpl on long highway trips and that is about it.

1. No idea 2. Fuel consumption depends on the condition of the car and can vary significantly. So no idea what your car would get.... but with a soft foot it can be guess-timated that an average condition car would get 10-11kmpl (tank average). Since it is a 1500cc 240 it should have a standard 4 speed automatic so that also contributes to lesser fuel economy than a CVT (personally i find the AT a lot better than the CVT and less trouble prone too). 3. Best you do replace it. Even though the crack might be superficial we really wouldn't know if the internals are damaged/corroded and affects current flow. So although you might not feel a miss or the engine might not have a noticeable stutter, the plugs might not be getting a smooth current or a current less than optimal. 4. It is recommended that you fix plugs from a reputed brand. Sadly, that leaves you only with options such as Denso, NGK and Bosch. You might save some money depending on whether you go for iridium, platinum or copper plugs. However, each plug type has different lifecycles. So, either way, you will be spending more or less the same in the long run (e.g. one type might have 10yr/100,000km life whilst another, copper mainly, will last for 2yr/20,000km). Your car probably would have come with platinum plugs, and that is probably what is recommended as well (although you can put iridium or copper as well). 5. No idea

Oh,...yeah...right...never occured to me Well..I think this car is quite a good learning moment..so...

Is there such a thing called a reliable car ? Every car has its niggles don't they ? It is just that some even with the niggles will keep running faithfully whilst others throw a hissy fit and take you to divorce courts for all you are worth Well..when you move away from the bone stock part it is normal to experience certain different sensations. Original stock parts are not the BEST part for the car but the optimal part for the car to function at its stated minimal capability. So when it comes to things like brake pads the stock pads would have things like braking efficiency, wear and tear, drive comfort, etc...at very modest levels. With after market parts (especially those that are upgrades) will actually have different thresholds for each/any parameters. So for pads like Brembos I would imagine braking performance, heat disserpation, etc... are at a far higher level than quietness, etc... Also, sometimes these parts work better with other upgraded parts.

We have one in SL？There are only a handful of known running cars left in Japan. Considering that they only sold a very very few it is quite interesting to actually see any on the road today. Yes...I suppose it was ahead of its time...an urban crossover like vehicle from the late 60s...would have sold like hot cross buns on Easter Sunday in current day and age. It used the engines from the Beret/Florian (sedan/coupe) and Wasp (pickup) of the period.

You are looking at nearly 30-year-old or more cars. Fuel efficiency will depend a LOT on the condition of the car (engine wear, gearbox condition, wheel alignment/tracking, etc...). If the car is in good shape for what its age is with average or less than average wear and tear, then yes...you could hope to get what @matroska had mentioned.

No idea....I didn't ask anything about the car in its current state. Just saw it being worked next to mine.

I think its the same one that is getting worked on next to the Trueno. Over to you ?

Since it is a Daihatsu Wake... Here it goes...should be easy.

You do know that in the Wake of all the certification issues the manufacturer has stopped the production and sales of a lot of its models including this one right ? Its been quite an awakening for Osaka Hatsudoki Seizo

Putting a side brake-pad materials, quality of the pads, etc...rate of wear is more dependent on driving style than it is on mileage. If you are heavy on the brakes and constant braker, then, irrespective of the mileage, the pads are going to wear off. Having said that I do have to side with @Hyaenidae on this. It does seem like an awful lot of niggles for a 6 year old Honda. Especially with such a low mileage and what seems to be a cared for car as well. I wonder if the non-1000cc Civics are also having the same level of niggles come up (and I mean actual issues and not the whole "known to", "possibly can" situations which every engine on the planet has but actual things that do happen). I suppose it is a case of "gone are the good old days".

CVT - Proper CVT maintenance. If not maintained properly it has a higher risk of failure. The hitch is these Toyota CVTs were quite frickle so even with proper maintenance one would only extend its life marginally and it is more or less a gamble beyond the 100-150 thousand mileage mark. When knew these units were categorized as non-serviceable units with a 100,000km duty cycle where at 100,000km the oi was to get changed and beyond that if it didn't work just to simply swap out. Needless to say Toyota had to go back on this approach. Right now Toyota recommends CVT fluid changes at 20 to 30 thousand kms. AC compressor - Known to go bad (it had to do with the type of compressor used to ensure better fuel efficiency). Most owners swapped out these compressors for those from older Corollas (121, etc..) so make sure that the work is done properly. Also, once the conversion is done it is known for the car to be less fuel efficient than what it used to be. ABS modulator - Again a problem from the period. So just make sure it works propery. Suspension bushings (rear ones are known to give problems and if not properly replaced there will be a knocking thud noise coming even if the shocks are new/good) Dashboard cracks (this was an issue on almost all mass produced Toyotas of the period..even if the car was in Japan, although if it was in Japan it was replaced under warranty). Engine sludge - Short of regular servicing and lack of proper driving has led these engines to build engine sludge irrespective of the car. For cars like the Axio, Allion, etc..the issue is people were cheap on maintenance, drove the thing at low rpm on short drives prevening the engine from proper heat and cooling cycles. Apart from that it is the usual old car buying stuff. Check the body condition...most have had poor accident repairs (i.e. catloy buckets with thick paint jobs). Get it professionally inspected at the dealer or check cars or both...

Well...if you have the list of things that need to be repaired from the CC report, can't you go and get a quote from the agents for the repairs ? If the issue is with the Hybrid system and the agents do not repair Subaru Hybrid systems then I would say go to a reputed Hybrid specialist and get a quote from them. Since Subaru Hybrids are not that common I doubt anyone will be able to give you a quote at the drop of a hat like for an Aqua or Prius or something.

Well...you never know...maybe it was sensible to do it, especially when they did an inspection every 5k. We do not know the exact circumstances and conditions the previous owner used the car in (remember just because you are driving in traffic does not automatically make it a hard run as well). Also, when they said 10,000kms it could have been a 10,000km average where sometimes it was changed at a 8 or 9 k-ish and sometimes closer or a bit over 10? The thing is..there is no exact science and a hard-fast rule to all this; short of actually doing a sediment analysis and determining if it should be changed or not at exactly every X kms I would say you would probably end at around 7.5k-8k. 5-6k would seem more natural for extreme use cases on a synthetic oil (we are talking about really bad fuel, excessive heat and dust and long high-stress on engine runs sort of use).