Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club | Odometer Rollback

Nicely said.



Doesn't seem so nice somehow..

I am new. I know zero about importing, or any of the other options available to obtain a Delica. I'm just trying to learn, and I happen to like drawing my own conclusions, and dare I say this, I'm a bit suspicious about mileage claims. I see that some here are impatient with this discussion and I understand that it is repetitive. But perhaps it keeps coming up over and over again for a good reason. Maybe people are just interested in it and they want to discuss and learn more. Certainly the option for those who already know everything they wish on this topic, is to not read.

There may be other new users who are wondering the same things as I am and who even have likeminded trepidation about the foreign process of importing a vehicle from another country and not getting ripped off. In that sort of a discussion, I invite further open-minded thoughts, feelings and comments.

If I'm outside of the rules in any way for which these fourms are to be utilized, please school me, point me in the right direction to learn better protocol. Thanks.

My own, completely personal opinion, and I will hold no malice to the moderators if they delete it.

The most important thing in any forum like this is to read. Delicas have been in Canada for a while now. Issues have been discussed, sometimes several times. This isn't a write-only forum. Yours isn't the first Delica in Canada, nor is it the first JDM import.

In the last week or two there have been several threads, not just this one, on issues that have been extensively discussed before. The threads have had a strident, bitchy quality that I have found uncomfortable and counterproductive. I don't like what they have done to this forum.

In this particular thread, I don't see anything to discuss. There is little, if any, history of Delica odometers being messed with. It would be here if it was. Importers are very choosy, and if a van is a dud or in any way questionable, they walk away. The best Delicas come with documentation, including Shaken reports and service history, that shows they have been looked after, and that their condition is genuine. There is little point in a drawn-out diatribe on a "problem" that isn't actually a problem.

...laura

laura,

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, I think your advice is good and I will follow it.

my odometer was rolled back either in surrey where I bought it or in japan. Even if your odometer wasn't rolled back your gauge pod could have been changed. anyway in 3 years my alternator failed and thats it knock on wood.

How do you know this?

Alternator has nothing to do with the mileage count at all.

My first Pajero, the alternator went 3 times in 4 months. More specifically, it was the fault of the voltage regulator and batteries at the time.

My original Japanese batteries took out the first two voltage regulators which was my fault and the 3rd voltage regulator just happened to be faulty. Poor luck for me on those one's.

1st and 2nd L300 Delica. I went through 4 alternators between both.

3 voltage regulators (again Japanese batteries killed them my fault for leaving them in) and 1 bearing (offroading and mud getting in there - my fault as I didn't bother to clean it out and it burned out the alternator bearing/bushings a few days later).

Alternators have issues just like any other part of the electrical system. It's part of owning a vehicle.

No different than domestic.

Alternator is an alternator. Something along the electrical line is at fault always.

i must be reading it differently to some. the roll back and alternator where 2 different points. one the poster said he knows his was done but to my reading then confirmed that although it had been done the only problem with the vehicle in 3 years was the alternator. i see it as him saying although my car had a roll back there were no other problems apart from this. at no stage is he writing that the roll back and alternator are connected.

I didn't read them as connected, but I am curious to know how he knows that his odometer was tampered with.

On with the dead horse beating...

When I was first on the hunt for a quality paj, I looked at half a dozen from a few different dealers, and private. And I must say there was a HUGE HUGE HUUGE quality difference between most around 100k and a few at a particular dealer (probably not cool to mention names).. That dealer seemed to have the magic 88000 or 96000 kms, and all three trucks were thrashed, water logged, freshly undersprayed, stained interior, torn seats, steering wheel falling apart etc etc. I definitely walked away, but at the same time I was scratching my head wondering how they got away with it. I've seen well used trucks from the oil patch with 300k, and probably a million running hours, and still in much better shape than those three Pajero's with the mighty 88000kms. That couldn't have been a case of the previous owner(s) 'thrashing' on it. It looked 'and drove' like a very well used vehicle.

Its all buyer beware. I think if you're looking into a JDM vehicle you should know more than most - If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.



But I have one question regarding the Japanese service papers.. Are all JDM vehicles required to have them when they are shipped over? My dealer told me that they didn't have them and could give me no previous history. The truck was in mint shape both mechanically and cosmetically so I didn't think much of it at the time, but now looking back, it seems as though he could have at least provided the auction's report or was that just BS?

Not all vehicles are bought at auction, and the auction sheets aren't always reliable anyway. He may not have had the auction sheets to give. as for "service papers" it would be very rare indeed that you get any form of service history on a JDM vehicle (it does happen, but it's the exception and not the rule)

The only paperwork that "must" accompany the vehicle leaving Japan is the bill of sale, deregistration, and export certificate, anything else is purely optional, and may, or may not, actually exist. Some dealers will give you this paperwork (and indeed if they don't register the vehicle in Canada themselves you will require this documentation as well as the Form 1 document from customs when you go to register it) however other dealers who register the vehicle in Canada themselves may not give you this documentation, and in these cases you don't really have any need for it anyway.

Are we still chasing this zebra?

I hope we aren't... I think however the question about paperwork is legit, so I ignored the rest and answered that.

Thanks Green!!

And yeah, forget the rest of that post.. I had to rant to someone.....