Sura1973

Some says certain dressings improve the lifetime of rubber parts such as hoses and fan belts.. Yet I am not sure if it is right or wrong. I am having a similar battle these days to understand why our local guys don't put manufacturer recommended 0W20 engine oil and instead use 10W30 claiming that 0W20 is too thin and get vaporized in Sri Lanka. After thorough research with reliable web articles I understand that new small engines do need 0W20 immaterial of the ambient temperature to lubricate all the small internal gaps.. I am obsessed with doing technically and rationally right thing with facts and really get pissed off by the so called technical experts in local service centers who fail to prove their argument with facts.. This is the same situation with some human health related conditions and diagnosis in this country.. I think this ignorance is in the genes of Sri Lankans..

Thanks a million for that translation... As per what I red in internet there will be no damage but performance may vary. So I still await a better clarification as internet does not have enough resources explaining these cross boarder specification changes in grey market cars originally built for Japanese domestic use.

My car's (Boon) engine is Daihatsu's 1KR-FE (3 Cylinder/ 998cc) which is the same engine for Toyota Passo, Vitz, Wigo as well as Perodua Axia and Bezza. Underneath the car bonnet the recommended oil grade is mentioned as 0W-20. Other instructions are in Japanese yet I see they have refereed 15,000 km and 100,000 km as some bench mark mileage which I dont understand exactly what it is for. By the time I did my first oil change here in Sri Lanka the mileage was 3,000 km and hence I demanded the service station (accredited for the warranty period) to use the 0W-20. They said that for this engine they use 10W-30 (Caltex Mineral) which suits Sri Lanka's climate (Temperature). Also they said the 0W-20 recommended for Japan will lose its viscosity in Sri Lanka and would be thin like water soon. I googled immediately and found out a 1KR-FE's mechanical manual which had a range of recommended oils along with a temperature scale. I found 10W-30 was also there so for the time being I was convinced and let them use that oil. But I stared feeling skeptical if my decision was right as I find local service stations do not know what compliance means. I am attaching the pictures of under the bonnet notice and engine mechanical manual extracts. Please help me to sort out the questions below which I feel would be very helpful to every car owner. 1) Is this statement on picking up a suitable oil from a recommended range as per the ambient temperature is correct? 2) If my letting the service station to use the 10W-30 is not correct should I immediately go for a oil change to 0W-20 or should I do it after 5000km (next service) 3) What does this note in Japanese recommend ? Thanks ! Under the Bonnet notice 1KR-FE Engine mechanical manual extract

Thanks... The warranty for engine and gear box become null and void when we get the services done from non accredited places during the warranty period. So going to local agents of the car is not possible for that period. This is a common issue for all the grey market imports from Japan I think. The service station I refer is reputed for Hybrids and is said to have a mother company in Singapore. So I was somewhat convinced on what they mentioned on their sprays.. But I too feel odd to see any liquid patches on interior and engine bay plastics after leaving these places.. So will do that part my self in future.

Thanks... Actually I was referring those used for engine bay dressing .. These are done by most reputed service stations and the brand can not be detected as they use refillable spray cans... I wish they used proper ones as those service stations are accredited by SBT for warranty period of the vehicles.. Yer as you said in future I too think air cleaning is enough to be on the safer side.

Almost all reputed service centers use engine de-greasers. But I feel very bad when I sense the oily surfaces over the rubber and plastic components within the engine bay such as bulb sockets etc... Are the modern de-greasers designed not to damage the rubber parts? Should we ask the service station to not to put de-greasers / dressing etc?

I heard a lot on car sales including forging or not disclosing Japanese auction grade of the car and obviously manipulating the ODO meter etc.. It is said that most of those people buy cars at Auction grades R (damaged) or lesser than 4 and repair and change the documents before importing. (may not be all but this was what I heard from someone who is in the business). For these reasons I went for a personal import through a friend and got involved in the purchase from the Auction itself. It was much smoother than I thought yet you need to have tolerance for a few months to get the vehicle. It gives flexibility to chose from a large array of vehicles with different conditions and prices yet there can be disappointments such as you seeing the model you purchased being auctioned for a lesser price next day. Yet still it will save one to three lacks from the car sale price but in this case you are sure of the Auction grade and ODO of your car. For example I imported a Daihatsu Boon (exact original of Toyota Passo) of Auction Grade 6 (highest) with mileage just 1,800 km. All inclusive driving cost from Hambanthota to Colombo was Rs. 33/40. Actually there was this damn Yen increase else I could have got it down for 32/90 yet still I think it is worth. So just see the pluses and minuses between car sale and personal import and give a try. If you buy from a sale request all Auction related documents and check the lot number at www.nicoba.com where you can see the true details of most carts sold to Sri Lanka. Also I have seen genuine small scale importers who just bring down one or two cars at a time and sell with a reasonable margin and authentic documents. Look for that also.

Thanks all ! Yes the system issues, quality consciousness and planning etc are pathetic and we may not have any immediate conclusion. But being specific what do you think of; Destiny of used cars when it comes to second hand market.. Will there be a point that people would feel going for a used car is not worth? What will be the situation with supply of body parts and insurance premiums with a large number of different models coming in?

May be yes due to stuck of my connection... Thanks !

Hi, While the tax reduction is in favor for those who dream of a car I find it is bit scary to see the excessive number of prime movers from Hambathota with new cars as well as the increase of ads popping up for all sorts of used Japanese un registered cars. This is better than the previous influx of Indian made stuff but I really wonder how this is going to impact on the following. Impact on the second hand market price of registered cars.. Here I find different implications by engine capacity as well as the country of origin. Basically I wonder will there be any demand for good used vehicles. Traffic capacity of roads - During the past 2 years I find noticeable increase of cars in all main routes and I wonder if we are heading to a point of saturation where using a car (especially dyring rush hours) become a headache The number of accidents (in addition to fatal ones) are on a rise - This leads to repairs of all sorts for never heard models where I wonder how will be the availability of spares, especially body parts. Will this lead to huge increase in body parts as well as insurance premiums and long idle time of damaged vehicles until the parts are found? What will be the destiny of brand new imports and assembled vehicles as well as the grey market?

Hi, I imported my car through SBT where I have to get its services and repairs done only from SBT accredited service centers in Sri Lanka. I live in Kelaniya and according to the local agents Mag City and Hybrid Motors Lanka (near Khettarama) are the closest centers for me. What would be the best place out of these two and are there any other better SBT service centers around?

Thanks bro... Is it available at generic car shops?

Thanks.. Any suggestion like spray wax? This is often missed due to time it takes though at the beginning we all take the maximum care..

Nano Coat is said to be the most promising solution to protect the vehicle paint from acid rains etc.. but this is very expensive ranging from Rs. 45 k to 70 k. Instead what are the affordable methods and where are the available?

I observe many advertisements to sell Kia Picantos of 2016 and 2017 for a price tag less than 3m. I wonder why the owners tend to do so. Personally I loved that car but finally went for a Japanese one just because Picanto lacking rear leg space and average fuel consumption (as heard). But is there any other reason people changing the car this soon? Is it assembled in India and can that be the reason?

There was a link for international customers in Buyee.... I just got registered with pay pal yet did not check the shipping. Will see.

Thanks... Can we purchase from these Japanese Auctions? Then it will be great in case of hard to find small original parts like this.

Thanks... My categorization of this being high quality was partly due to its sound and , YES, also due to its price tag in LKR. Yes... it's from Fijitsu-ten and now owned by Denso-ten. I also feel to keep it just cos I can only afford a cheaper one as I do not exceed a certain total budget for this car purchase as there was a increase in price due to yen fluctuation when I cleared it. If I go for an alternative I might go for a low end branded one which again I find very difficult to distinguish from what they called "Thailand" products. I did research on the unit with much difficulty as the materials are only available in Japanese as this model seems only for the domestic market. Yet the diagrams showed the USB and Aux connectivity that need proprietary cables due to the customized jack details. The cables were found in ebay (but a very few).

Thanks... My use of the word "high end" was relative according to my knowledge so still this unit sounds pretty decent with the speakers that came with the car. I am unable to detect the speakers but the combination sounds better. As I had a total budget in mind for this car purchase I still do not feel to go for an expensive audio upgrade. The only thought to go for a cheaper one was due to the FM range and some easy to use features they have. For USB, SD and CDs as well as FM below 96 MHz the current unit gives pretty decent quality but with the difficulty of Japanese menus.

My Daihatsu Boon (Toyota Passo equivalent) came with a high end Japanese Navigation / AV unit. The model is Eclipse AVN R7W released in 2016. I also got its bootable SD card and user manual (in Japanese). This unit costs around 75,000 Japanese yen (more than 1 lack in LKR) While its navigation may not be usable here and its FM range is up to 95 MHz I am very much impressed by its Audio and Video quality. Good quality genuine Kenwood or Pioneer units costs above Rs 35,000 and that will be only for radio channels between 95 and 108 MHz. On the other hand the dealers say Thailand copies of the same would be around Rs. 20,000 without much quality difference. My car needs a 200mm wide screen (Toyota model) where Kenwood ddx 635, 935 and 616 are perfect fits. Hence I expect your views on making a reasonable decision. Any possibility in changing the language of the Eclipse AVN R7W in to English? Any option to translate PDF Japanese user manual into English? Any place to get such Japanese units customized to Sri Lanka (fitting additional USB cable and Aux In cable etc) ? Is it worth keeping the original set due to its value particularly considering re-sales? In contrary would Thai copies of Kenwood ddx 635, 935 and 616 give a satisfactory experience ? In case I replace the original unit are there places that buy them and sell back in Japan? Thank you for your expert views and thoughts !

Thanks mate.... To be frank your excellent analysis on cars in this forum, particularly on Suzuki Kei models, helped me immensely in making this decision

I have been lost in the current car market and finally decided to buy a 1000cc from Japanese auctions while suppressing my love for Suzuki Kei models. Being very scared for car deals this forum really built my knowledge and confidence on many aspects. By that time I started to search for cars made in 2016 and 2017 Toyota VITZ as well as PASSO had passed the 34 lacks point for basic packages while I was looking for bit of style, features as well as lot of leg room and space yet with a budget restricted around 32. Having studied several aspects I understood that the Daihatsu is a Toyota subsidiary and PASSO was originally designed by them. Afterwards I traced that the PASSO comes under Dihatsu badge as BOON. When I went through the recent auction statistics there was significant price difference between PASSO and BOON for the same package. All the parts are same but the PASSO prices had been exaggerated due to high demand for Toyotas in Sri Lanka. Hence I took the decision to go for a BOON through dealer a friend where he too did not know what BOON was. This week I accidentally won my bid over a BOON for 800,000 yen which is of G package with Safety (Toyota Smart Assist 2), wine red, diamond cut alloys, LED lights, Auction Grade 6 and just 2000 km done. This will be between 32 and 33 based on the Yen fluctuations by the time I pay. I had done research over 2 months on the auction prices of PASSO and BOON for each grade and started with lower bids just a 4 days ago. This was a trial bid (low end) and it just happened. That was the only BOON on that Auction day and the demand might have been less as I feel. On the same day a lower grade (XL) PASSO with Auction Grade 4.5 with 20,000 km has gone for 915,000 Yen.. I originally was looking for a BOON SILK (stylish) package with a lesser Auction Grade as it has stylish head lights, grill and RPM meter yet was also OK with the next G package (which I bought). While I am a new bie in car deals in unregistered segment I feel that I made a reasonable but risky decision with a slight doubt on the 2nd hand market for just missing Toyota badge .

Is Peddle Shift reliable when maintenance is concerned? I have heard that triptronic means problems.. Is that correct?

Thanks... 141 is out cos of crazy price tag due to Toyota badge which is beyond my budget. I would love to go for a Baleno as I love the design yet its Indian origin just haunts me as an average car user since Sri Lankan car market norms are very strange. On the other hand I had a look into Baleno and its interior is not actually resembles the quality feeling we get from out side... At the moment my mind is shifting between a Kei model and something like Honda GE 6 / Suzuki SX 4 (from 2008 to 2012)... I looked into a a range of Kei cars and I find the best option is to order a Wagon R from A*W in that case... Personal import segment has been very tricky for Wagon R when the waranty, credibility and options are considered. A personal import through a dealer would be worth if I can find a Spacia or Hustler around 26 lacks.. Those Keis with sales are either over priced or auction details are not credible..

Having done some research I feel for Fit GE 6 (non Hybrid). I hope there has not been an engine issue like in GP 1 as well as there will not be the burden of Hybrid battery replacement. Yet I would get the same Honda riding quality, decent engine power and reasonable resale value.. Fit GE6 of 2010/11 are available for less than 3m... Any feedback ?