Thihara

Don't buy reconditioned/used mounts. It's going to end up being a waste of your money and time.

@Rumesh Nope it's a 2007 Camry. I ended up buying that after getting feedback from this Forum, before I was set on a Geely I'm in Kandana. I'd appreciate if anyone can find me a good mechanic nearby, or if he's really good, even in Colombo.

It's a 2AZ-FE, yes agreed, the lesson I learned is the mechanics at the agent's can be of inferior quality. I actually had the PCV valve checked for blockage because I detected some blowback, however you are right, I don't know whether they cleaned anything (I really really doubt it). 81K deep hole I didn't knew/still don't know any really good garages for engine work, most place I asked haven't really worked on a Camry, so I stuck to the agent until this incident. I need the front stabiliser bars replaced along with the bushings, so going to get this done from the outside (already had the genuine parts shipped over).

Though it's an old thread, I wanted to share a recent repair experience I had at Toyota Lanka. I had a very very small oil leak from the engine, turns out I needed the cylinder head gasket repaired (The rubber one that sits between the engine block and the head not the metal head gasket), which didn't look like a very hard repair. I also had an intermittent squeal from the engine compartment and needed that fixed as well. I have done all of my repairs from ToyotaLanka until then, mainly due to the fact that I didn't knew any good garages (This was my first car). Their recommendation was to change the auto tensioner, belt, and the water pump due to a coolant leak. Didn't see anything wrong with those so I asked them to proceed and replace the cylinder head gasket as well. They managed to f**k up the gasket replacement so spectacularly, I don't think I could've done worse had I tried to do it myself. The gasket wasn't fitted properly, before the replacement the leak was barely visible (oil stain on the engine) now it was spraying a mist of oil. They did fix it the day after when I took it back, but I found small gasket pieces in the coolant (when I removed the cap) afterwards. Found it a few times, thankfully all of them seem to be gone now. And the icing on top, the squeak was coming from the the inverter pulley, which they replaced afterwards. I learned a few things from this fiasco, and now I found a shop in Japan that ships me Toyota Genuine parts via EMS (Roughly 30% cheaper even with EMS shipping fees), and now looking for a good garage that can work on my car. Still get the service done from them though, mainly for milage record and resale value.

I finally bought a car. A 2007 JDM Camry. Cost me 3.8 mil though. It's well worth it. Way better than an Allion or Premio. Thanks for everyone's help.

So I've taken your advice and changed my to buy list. Thanks Guys. I like the Nissan Teana, Toyota Camry and Toyota Accord, I also saw the Hyundai Elentra going around 3.4 mil for a 2012 model, not sure if there's something wrong with it though. But there seem to be a lack of second hand cars for Teana 2008+, and Accord 2008+. There are some 2007 Camry's listed. Does anyone know if 3.6 mil is a good price for a 2007 Camry?

I think the Emgrand has a G-Power engine. Seem to be german.

Supra_Natural, thanks. That helps a lot. ShintaroX, Like what? I'd appreciate the advice..

Alright guys, thanks for the advice. I'll go get myself a Toyota then.

MasterDon, Happy to be one of your firsts. :-P I added the Emgrand 7 because it seem to have favorable reviews and has quite a bit of german parts. Engine, Brakes etc. It does seem to be a class apart form the Panda's and MX7s. So for me it seemed like that a brand new emgrand might be a good alternative for a 10 year old beamer. sathyajithj99, I don't mind a few occasional repairs regardless of how expensive it is. I meant I don't want to get that BMW if normally it might need repairs every few months since it's old. Does that change your recommendation? Thanks for the reply guys. Schiffer, I asked for your expert advice, not your attitude so please f**k off if you have nothing but your attitude to offer.

Hi Guys, I'm facing kind of a quandy here. So I'm coming to the experts. I'm going to buy a new car and have the following options. Brand New Geely Emgrand EC7, imported by Micro. 3.2 Mil LKR. Made for the european market, has a 4 star safety rating, so not really "chinese crap". 3 years warranty in Sri Lanka, 5 years in other countries, so probably reliable. Looks good. Micro however doesn't really has a good customer service record. A 2004 BMW E60 520i Milage around 50,000 KM, About 4 Mil LKR. Well it's a BMW. Always wanted to own one. It's a 2004 model though. 5 series has more electronics. Good rep. But I don't want to end up having to do a very expensive repair every two months or something. Toyota Allion or a Premio probably around 2010 or a nearby year. About 4 Mil LKR. Good market, after sale value. Cheap repairs. I'm not really concerned about fuel economy. I'm just looking for a car I won't have to repair every few months. What do you guys think I should buy? Thanks.