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Some Concerns?


Klord

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So I was on a hunt for a car for few months. Was initially planning to buy a used Honda GP1. Then decided to buy a GP5 as I saw 2014/15 GP5 being priced around 4 mil price range. 
Then I thought of importing a reconditioned one as I managed to stretch my budget a bit and spoke with a vehicle importer and asked for quotations. But he said now vehicle taxes has changed and cars like GP5 & Aqua (with 1.5l engine) costs more than before.

He suggested going for a smaller engine hybrid like Swift RS or a normal car like Vitz, both of which I have ruled out due to various reasons.

Enough ranting ?

I have several queries,

1. Most of GP5s advertised are around 50k mileage costing around 4 mil. Some are tagged as "agent maintained". If I buy an “agent maintained” one with records, would I be able to get a car in good condition as per the records  with a genuine mileage?

2. I see Honda vezels of 2013/14 priced around 4.3 mil. Has this been the case even before the taxing? Or do the hybrids with medium sized engines now have a lower price tag?

3. Will there be a policy change any time soon? (I know this is a stupid question considering the quality of our policy makers)

I am a newb to the fancy metal world. Any answer would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance. ?

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11 hours ago, Hyaenidae said:

1. Verify the records with the agent and you're golden. Make sure the car was maintained at the agent from the beginning (or from a very low mileage)

2. Vezels have a lower price tag owing to the DCT issue

3. No idea

Thank you for the quick response.

Can you please tell me how I can verify with the agent?

Im sorry, I have never owned a car and my father’s old Toyota is maintained by local mechanics. So this whole “Agent maintained” thing is a novelty to me. 

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14 minutes ago, Klord said:

Thank you for the quick response.

Can you please tell me how I can verify with the agent?

Im sorry, I have never owned a car and my father’s old Toyota is maintained by local mechanics. So this whole “Agent maintained” thing is a novelty to me. 

Visit one of their workshops with the owner (or have the owner consent via telephone) then check the owner's records against theirs. Check first and last records and the time/distance between services.

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1. It only means that the car was serviced and/or repaired by the agent.

On one hand the assumption is that the agent has qualified technicians who are familiar with the model and have been trained to properly service and repair these cars to meet manufacturers' specifications.

On the other hand..assuming that an agent maintained car is in good condition is just an assumption..not a guarantee. Agents do service bad conditioned cars....seen plenty of them..especially with popular Toyota, Nissan models. Agents give advice and recommendations on repairs that the vehicle needs that they observed during servicing. However, there is no guarantee that the repair was ever done by the agent (the guy could have just done the repair at a makabaas garage with cheap parts). These recommendations do not get logged (99% of the time) unless it is part of a requested inspection and is usually in the form of a service advisory in form of a quotation.The quotation does not necessarily get logged against the vehicles service history and show up by default. If searched within the system there might be a link to an issued quotation. Also sometimes its just a verbal advisory...(eg. in my Mark X the "workshop manager like guy" said the technician noted that brake pads will need to be replaced the next time. I got my wife to buy a set of pads from Japan...send it down...and fixed it myself...no record what so ever at the agent or the reputed third party garage that maintained my car) 

The plus point is that you can go and check the records with the agent and see if the things like mileages are accurate and if the services had been done on time and if the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedules had been followed.

So agent maintained or not...get the vehicle inspected by professionals

2. The Hybrids are plagued as people are scared of the DCT issue topped with the fact that people are aware of Hybrid system fixes (battery, etc..) that would be needed with time. The gasoline variants do not have the DCT issue as they do not have a DCT.

3. Is there an election coming around anytime soon ? Apart from that, apparently there are some good fortune tellers who do a good job in predicting political behaviorisms. 

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Honda GP5 or Vezel DCT issue comes mainly with driving style. Even the car maintained by agents, if the driver/owner don't know a thing about DCT then thereis fair risk in near future high repair cost in gear box. I think its better to go for a test drive in selected well maintained GP5 ( or Vezel ). Have them to drive through heavy traffic ( if available ) or upslope ( in a traffic). If the driver use accelerator to maintain car stationary in upslope or driver creeps through ( like below 5kmph ) when engine running ( not ev mode where engine turned off), then they don't know how to drive a DCT car. Don't buy it. Correct way is use break to hold the car in any given condition ( upslope or traffic ) and have good distance in traffic which enough to engage first gear ( in engine running mode where clutches start to engage ). Also if you listen carefully to car you can clearly heard slipping clutch.  One more thing. Hybrids have start-stop engine feature ( insanely high in colombo traffic ) which means starting the engine causing fair bit of wear and tear. Therefore its crucial for hybrid to maintain recommended ( 5000km ) engine oil change. Check for that also. 

Also don't get discourage in DCT issue ( there is none such other than no knowledge to maintain it) since GP5 and Vezel are well build reliable car.  GP5 is fun to drive :)

Good luck on your New Car !

Edited by virajn
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I know few people who do the oil change etc from the agent so that they can put "Agent maintained" but all other maintenance is done from outside with cheap part and duplicates.

I sold my mazda more than one year back with 40K on the clock. Would you believe its now on sale is the fast site with 42.5K reading and agent maintained ? the guy has only run 2500K in 15 months. 166Km per month. Considering the round trip from Kany - Colombo - Kandy for agent service i presume he mustv used the car to purchase bread at Handiye Kade.

So in short, agent maintained is no really something to bank upon.

Edited by Quiet
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1 hour ago, Quiet said:

I know few people who do the oil change etc from the agent so that they can put "Agent maintained" but all other maintenance is done from outside with cheap part and duplicates.

I sold my mazda more than one year back with 40K on the clock. Would you believe its now on sale is the fast site with 42.5K reading and agent maintained ? the guy has only run 2500K in 15 months. 166Km per month. Considering the round trip from Kany - Colombo - Kandy for agent service i presume he mustv used the car to purchase bread at Handiye Kade.

So in short, agent maintained is no really something to bank upon.

Oh ho,  thats your 6. Too bad the car is now not with good hands. 

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3 hours ago, virajn said:

Also don't get discourage in DCT issue ( there is none such other than no knowledge to maintain it) since GP5 and Vezel are well build reliable car.  GP5 is fun to drive :)

Not really. There have been at least three recalls on vehicles equipped with the Honda DCT around 2014. So the reliability issues are not purely due to the driving style. True, driving in Sri Lanka's stop and go traffic puts a unnecessary strain on the transmission so people have suggested driving on the first or second gear instead of D to prevent the transmission from shifting back and forth all the time. This apparently is a workaround. 

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Not really. There have been at least three recalls on vehicles equipped with the Honda DCT around 2014. So the reliability issues are not purely due to the driving style. True, driving in Sri Lanka's stop and go traffic puts a unnecessary strain on the transmission so people have suggested driving on the first or second gear instead of D to prevent the transmission from shifting back and forth all the time. This apparently is a workaround. 
That workaround doesn't work. Locking the transmission in 1st or 2nd gear doesn't stop the DCT from slipping when crawling forward - the only viable workaround is avoiding crawling as much as possible, specially when going uphill / when the car is loaded
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If you are new to cars, I think its best to stay away from the GP5/ Vezel just for the moment. They are not bad cars, but dual clutch transmissions need to be driven in a particular way to reduce wear and tear on the gearbox and both have had various software issues that have mostly been fixed via recalls.

The dual clutch units are bit on the expensive side for replacement though as a technology they are superior to fluid torque converter traditional automatic transmissions.

Both the Swift RS with the 1.0 turbo and the Vitz 1.0 are excellent cars. Out of these I would pick the Swift for better interior, more power and more add on's on the top end versions (the so called safety). The Vitz feels a little less premium compared and we are considering buying one for ourselves (having done a bit of research at this price point).

The GP3 is also a pretty good car. My wife owns one and it has been trouble free apart from regular maintenance and a new 12V battery. Do note the Hybrid batteries will need replacement soon as these are all now beyond the 5 year mark. They aren't as expensive as the Toyota ones because they don't have as much capacity and the system isn't as reliant on them as the Toyota Aquas/Prisus/Axios are. 

Just my 2 cents. 

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Thank you very much @Hyaenidae@virajn@Quiet@Davy, @iRage & @Jason Bourne for your inputs regarding my queries. So basically, "agent maintained" tag is not a viable source to measure the quality of car. I suppose at least we can confirm the authenticity of the mileage if its agent maintained. Correct me if I am wrong. 

@GK_007, it feels sad when a carefully treated car get ill treated. :( 

My fiancee think I am crazy to worry this much about mileage, history, look etc of a car when planning to buy one. Today morning I told her, that we (men) are more vigilant and considerate when selecting a car to buy than selecting a woman to marry. I have not received any text from her since then. ?

 

1 hour ago, iRage said:

Can we (I) know the reasons you took off the Swift and Vitz as possible candidates ?

Reasons are not something related the quality of Vitz and Swift. They are great cars on their own leagues.
I am 6’ 2” with a large body frame ?. I don’t like the feeling of being cramped up inside a car. As GP5 is quite spacious compared to both aforementioned cars, I decided it’s my go to choice. 

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Please,

Can someone shed some light to GP5 non hybrid version? I couldn’t find much information related to it in the forum. Saw a few cars advertised in online sites though.

I think I will be able to grab a good reconditioned specimen (within my budget limit) from Japan as they are comparatively cheaper than hybrids. Government Tariffs are not much of a concern as I know a person who is willing to sell his permit. ?

1. What is the approximate fuel consumption of non hybrid GP5?

2. Any specific problem associated with car or the 1.3 conventional engine? (I assume most of the other mechanics are same as the hybrid version, though car should be lighter)

Thank you...

Edited by Klord
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44 minutes ago, Klord said:

Can someone shed some light to GP5 non hybrid version?

A non-hybrid GP5 is not a GP5. It'd be a GK<something> based on engine size . Gk3 for the 1.3 I assume -someone like irage can verify that. 

Consider if it's wise to use a permit (you'd still pay around 2.3 M for the permit) 

take a look at this http://www.autolanka.com/articles/30-Budget-2018-Vehicle-TAX-Change.html.html and calculate the tax you will pay and see how much you will benefit. (consider the recent amendment to tax recently so the tax is slightly increased than this) 

2 hours ago, The Don said:

Both the Swift RS with the 1.0 turbo and the Vitz 1.0 are excellent cars.

well look who's back after a while :D  ....indeed the Swift RS is a nice car but nowadays a good one is rare as hens teeth. A friend tried to import an RS ( i admit he was looking for low mileage) and gave up eventually. 

Look OP - the GP5 isn't a bad car it's just that there's a bit of a gamble with all the various things that could go wrong with it. A friend of mine upgraded from an IST and (against my reasoning )he overpaid and got a GP5 but he is grinning ear-to-ear on how fun it is to drive and says it was 4.2 M well spent. 

 

6 hours ago, GK_007 said:

Oh ho,  thats your 6. Too bad the car is now not with good hands. 

it's a bit sad to see Mazda's also going down the buyya path.... earlier it was only Toyotas and Nissans  that were abused and used as currency. Next it's the Honda's and now sad to see Mazdas also falling into the wrong hands. 

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6 hours ago, Klord said:

Can someone shed some light to GP5 non hybrid version? I couldn’t find much information related to it in the forum. Saw a few cars advertised in online sites though.

 

A GP5 is a GP5 because it is Hybrid ! There are no Non-Hybrid GP5s :D. If you come across a GP5 (where the Vehicle ID plate/chassis # says GP5 and it has a petrol engine...walk away. I only say this because our Sri Lankans could very well yank out the Hybrid system and do some weird stuff to make the car run on petrol (seen a few 2nd and 1st Gen Prius with gasoline conversions.

GK3 = 1.3 Gasoline FF

GK4 = 1.3 Gasoline AWD

GK5 = 1.5 Gasoline FF

GK6 -= 1.5 Gasolike AWD

Edited by iRage
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19 hours ago, matroska said:

well look who's back after a while :D  ....indeed the Swift RS is a nice car but nowadays a good one is rare as hens teeth. A friend tried to import an RS ( i admit he was looking for low mileage) and gave up eventually. 

What did he buy at the end?

19 hours ago, matroska said:

Look OP - the GP5 isn't a bad car it's just that there's a bit of a gamble with all the various things that could go wrong with it. A friend of mine upgraded from an IST and (against my reasoning )he overpaid and got a GP5 but he is grinning ear-to-ear on how fun it is to drive and says it was 4.2 M well spent. 

When did he buy the car? Was it before the tariff increase? 4.2 M is a reasonable price for a good used GP5 nowadays.

14 hours ago, iRage said:

A GP5 is a GP5 because it is Hybrid ! There are no Non-Hybrid GP5s :D. If you come across a GP5 (where the Vehicle ID plate/chassis # says GP5 and it has a petrol engine...walk away. I only say this because our Sri Lankans could very well yank out the Hybrid system and do some weird stuff to make the car run on petrol (seen a few 2nd and 1st Gen Prius with gasoline conversions.

GK3 = 1.3 Gasoline FF

GK4 = 1.3 Gasoline AWD

GK5 = 1.5 Gasoline FF

GK6 -= 1.5 Gasolike AWD

Thank you for the information. Do we have these options in Sri Lanka? 

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1 hour ago, Klord said:

What did he buy at the end?

Extended his budget and imported a Used 2018 Honda Civic SR. 

 

1 hour ago, Klord said:

When did he buy the car? Was it before the tariff increase? 4.2 M is a reasonable price for a good used GP5 nowadays.

no no earlier this year...he bought it off the first owner here - who had it since 2015. But the car is a 2014 unit

 

1 hour ago, Klord said:

Do we have these options in Sri Lanka? 

no - there was always concession on hybrids so it was pointless bringing down a non hybrid back then. 

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On 7/19/2019 at 5:33 PM, Klord said:

Please,

Can someone shed some light to GP5 non hybrid version? I couldn’t find much information related to it in the forum. Saw a few cars advertised in online sites though.

I think I will be able to grab a good reconditioned specimen (within my budget limit) from Japan as they are comparatively cheaper than hybrids. Government Tariffs are not much of a concern as I know a person who is willing to sell his permit. ?

1. What is the approximate fuel consumption of non hybrid GP5?

2. Any specific problem associated with car or the 1.3 conventional engine? (I assume most of the other mechanics are same as the hybrid version, though car should be lighter)

Thank you...

There is a 1.2 version of honda jazz for sale in India & south africa. Engine code for this model is L12 while the japanese version has L13 engine. Also check with the agents. Maybe they are bringing down jazz?

Edited by DJR
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2 hours ago, matroska said:

Extended his budget and imported a Used 2018 Honda Civic SR

I was thinking the same. But then SR goes for 5.5 M+. How much did your friend spend for the SR? I assume its a UK imported one. 

2 hours ago, matroska said:

no no earlier this year...he bought it off the first owner here - who had it since 2015. But the car is a 2014 unit

No problem so far? Specially related to DCT?

2015 GP5s are priced around 4-4.2 M now. I am reluctant to buy second hand cars (used in Sri Lanka), because we are quite infamous  at ill treating vehicles. ?

 

22 minutes ago, DJR said:

There is a 1.2 version of honda jazz for sale in India & south africa. Engine code for this model is L12 while the japanese version has L13 engine. Also check with the agents. Maybe they are bringing down jazz?

Jazz is same as Fit. Bringing down Fit/Jazz seem to be not very economical with recent tariff changes. For 1.5l Hybrid, tariff itself is 4.2 M now ! Thats pretty crazy policy making.  

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On 7/19/2019 at 3:39 PM, Jason Bourne said:
On 7/19/2019 at 1:54 PM, Davy said:
Not really. There have been at least three recalls on vehicles equipped with the Honda DCT around 2014. So the reliability issues are not purely due to the driving style. True, driving in Sri Lanka's stop and go traffic puts a unnecessary strain on the transmission so people have suggested driving on the first or second gear instead of D to prevent the transmission from shifting back and forth all the time. This apparently is a workaround. 

That workaround doesn't work. Locking the transmission in 1st or 2nd gear doesn't stop the DCT from slipping when crawling forward - the only viable workaround is avoiding crawling as much as possible, specially when going uphill / when the car is loaded

Agree to @Jason Bourne. There is good discussion on this issue in this forum. Only advantage in Hybrid with DCT is ( Honda GP5 and Hyundai Ioniq hybrid) is on EV-mode clutches disengage giving peace of mind for no clutch slippery happens. 

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On 7/19/2019 at 5:33 PM, Klord said:

Please,

Can someone shed some light to GP5 non hybrid version? I couldn’t find much information related to it in the forum. Saw a few cars advertised in online sites though.

I think I will be able to grab a good reconditioned specimen (within my budget limit) from Japan as they are comparatively cheaper than hybrids. Government Tariffs are not much of a concern as I know a person who is willing to sell his permit. ?

1. What is the approximate fuel consumption of non hybrid GP5?

2. Any specific problem associated with car or the 1.3 conventional engine? (I assume most of the other mechanics are same as the hybrid version, though car should be lighter)

Thank you...

Sometimes back Honda dealer here advertised this model ( Jazz non-hybrid with CVT box ) but now website don't have that car. Better to check with Honda dealer.   

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I think there are not much (or not at all) non hybrid Fits available in Sri Lanka. Havent seen any yet. 

I am thinking of stretching my budget to bring down a 1l turbo Civic. That seem to be the only logical alternative to my situation. 

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On 7/23/2019 at 9:55 AM, Klord said:

I think there are not much (or not at all) non hybrid Fits available in Sri Lanka. Havent seen any yet. 

I am thinking of stretching my budget to bring down a 1l turbo Civic. That seem to be the only logical alternative to my situation. 

Yes. I’m yet to see a non-hybrid Fit for sale, except for the previous model. Another problem is that when you look for a particularly rare model, you’ll have to make some sacrifices. You might not get a selection of colours or grades, so you have  to just go for it for the sake of buying the non-hybrid variant.

Stretching the budget to go for a 1000cc Civic is a good idea. Anyway there are Toyota and Mazda models which are much better in reliability than the GP5. You can get,

2011-2012 Corolla 141 for around 4 million which is a relatively bulletproof car with plenty of agent maintained good examples available. Much more comfortable than a GP5 and has more presence and better ground clearance. But driving pleasure is not as good as the honda(would still be better to drive than the CVT equipped cars like Axio, Allion and  Premio, and will have more oomph due to the 1600cc engine)

Everyone’s choice - Boring 2010-upward Allion or Premio, really comfortable and really boring. Reliable if maintained properly. At the moment most ones bought for 2013-2014 Permits are up for sale due to new permits.

Mazda Axela or 3 2009-2012 between 4-4.5 million. Better than a Honda to drive. Most of them have been taken care of by the owner, as most mazda buyers go for a Mazda for driving pleasure and they are enthusiasts. Plus you’ll get some nice set of options.

If you can extend the budget a bit, you can get the new 2013- mazda 3 or mazda Axela. Mazda 3(brand new imports with 1600cc engine) have less options compared to the 2000cc JDM Axela Hybrid variant. Haven’t seen much JDM 1500cc non-hybrid Axelas. Without a doubt they have nice looks than any other in the list.

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