dealerships selling delicas

[PcSpecialist]

Anybody ever use/try these guys?

http://www.japanautodirect.com/

PcSpecialist

[Green1]

don't know much about them, but they are obviously not a canadian based company... you might want to check with them to see how far they'll take the import process, and if they have someone in Canada to see it through to the end..

[argo]

If you have a good broker in japan you can import a grade 4.0 or 4.5 for $7,000 or $8,000. Grade 4.0 usually being under 100k. But as you have said without the provenance of the auction sheet you don't know what your getting

I don't think there are too many sold by used car guys that are much better than 3.0 or 3.5

[ccautos]

These dealers are making a lot of money selling delicas . Next time you look at one for sale ask if the timing belt has been changed or even any of the belts ?? Has it had an alignment so it drives straight in North America ?? Have the filters been changed ?? What percentage are left on the brakes ?? How strong is the coolant ?? Has the transmission fluid been changed ?? Are the light fully DOT compliant ?? If they can`t answer these questions chances are they are making more money than they should . I have personally inspected several vehicles recently for customers looking to purchase and it is very poor how some of these dealers are preparing their vehicles . But as long as people go uneducated buying these and paying the inflated prices they will continue to make lots of money unfairly .

[ccautos]

The auction grading system is not entirely trustworthy . A grade 4 vehicle at one auction maybe a grade 3 at another . The grading is down to the individual inspector and is not always the same from auction to auction . Also an auction house may have a very good working relationship with a particular dealership and will give them a slightly higher rating on their vehicles . I personally have two mercedes wagons that were reported as grade 3 and grade 3.5 . The grade 3 is mint condition except for a couple of rock chips at the front . The grade 3.5 is faded has front spoiler cracks and several scratches all over the body . Is a grade 4 the best vehicle to buy ??? Buyer beware !!!!!

[josh]

ccautos,

good tips. when I bought mine the timing belt/water pump hadn't been done. After I bought it I was doing some reading and decided to change it, and that takes a nasty bite out of the pocket book. Also my headlights were never changed, and so that is another hurdle I have to cross soon. I wish TC was harder on dealers and easier on import owners.

Josh

[argo]

Even if you are told that belts etc. have been renewed the ONLY way to know for sure is to do a proper visual inspection. You cannot always trust that decals on the belt cover are genuine.

Service records and documentation is of little value if it is in a language you cannot easily interperet.

[Kuan]

yeah, nice tips!

Wish I had read these before I bought mine. Not that the seller wasn't honest, but the van had passed inspection without DRL or lights being changed which does add up. However, a lot of other things were fixed and replaced so well... live and learn I guess.

[PcSpecialist]

Here is the list of latest auctions with prices in US Dollars IN Japan. Note this does NOT include anything but the vehicle purchased in Japan..

http://english.auto.vl.ru/auctions/mitsubishi/delica/

PcSpecialist

[ccautos]

How does the prices in Japan help anyone ???? Try listing EXACTLY what it costs to buy , ship , insure , register , service and prepare to DOT standards . Include all fuel bills and international phone calls . It is no secret as to how cheap these vehicles are in Japan but try importing one and see that the purchase price is the cheapest part !!!! Each vehicle that goes through my shop needs at least $1600 worth of service work (including DOT lights) .

[argo]

When I was shopping around for a good Japan based broker I used the stats to check up on the info they where giving me, and found it extremely useful.

I use a broker for "purchase to order", Tell him what I want, how much to bid, and he sends me pics from the auction. If I tell him to proceed and he ends up securing one for me, he'll aquire it, send me a couple dozen pics with some details and then ask if I still want it. if I decline he sells it to someone else. Some used car dealers in Canada advertise vehicles on thier website with nothing more than one grainy picture they get from the auction.

I've been quite pleased with the service I'm getting, both from my broker in Japan and Al Thompson from courtney agencies. Al handled all the taxes, duties, Ag inspection etc for less than $1,100.

With the exception of a couple brief $.17 /min calls to Japan, all my corespondense is done via e-mail, which is free.

[northvanmatt]

Hello I know that i am very knew here but I have bought and currently in the process of shipping a delica from japan. I used Dane gillet @ japan auto direct. Here is his e-mail adress danegillett@gmail.com. I found japan auto direct through a friend who e-mailed me the link along with a host of others ( I will gladly share this info with any one who is interested). I went with japan auto direct because they have been in bussiness for a long time and deal with alot of cars in many countries. To be honest I just lucked out in getting Dane to anwser my e-mail. I just sent the company a message throught there web site and Dane anwsered. It has been a great experience. Dane has been awsome. He is british so he is easy to talk to and he laid everything out for me to decide if i wanted to buy. He found exactly what I was looking for at a very reasonable price. he showed me the auction sheets and took tons of pic of the vans for me and even gave his thoughs on the van weather to buy or move on to the next. I got a 91 super exceed high roof with sky lites and ice box. it has 68,000 kms and purchased it at auction for $2600cdn. It was an auction grade 4 and interior grade B and looks brand new.(I looked at the links in previous posts and I did not find any delicas in nice shape for thoses low prices you get what you pay for .) Shipping was $1600 in a container and from the time of purchase till it arives in vancouver is less than 6 weeks. Dane tacks on a $1000 finders fee and all said and done landed in van for $5200cdn. without any major problems here I should be able to get it on the road for a very reasonable price. There has been some stressfull nights and sending money to someone I didn't really know but I feel that I made the right decision. Buying in vancouver is not a bad Idea some offer a warranty and you get to look at your ride before buying. But on the flip side I did save money and it has been kind of fun at the same time. I know I do not have my van yet but Dane has been great and I put my full trust in him. A little long winded but i hope it helps also I know my spelling is awful (sorry)

[collector]

RE:JDM Wholesale in New Westminister BC (Annacis Island). I dropped by and took a '91 Crystal top AT (@ 85,000KM ) for a test drive. The thing REEKED of mildew, and at idle it ran so rough, I thought my damn dental fillings were going to fall out. (Salesman said it was due to the fact that the van was running Bio Diesel). He also said that getting parts from Mitsubishi Canada was "No problem at all!" (yeah, right!). I even tried to sign up for their online auction page out of curiousity, and have been waiting almost a week for approval to view it. Now I don't really regret it....Is it true that the 2.5L can switch from regular to Bio diesel without a conversion? (or was that more BS?)
No offense to anyone else who has had a positive transaction with this company, but it left me with a bad feeling...

[Green1]

Every diesel vehicle can switch between bio-diesel and regular diesel without any conversion.
biodiesel will cause problems at low temperatures though.
as for rough idle, without more information it's hard to tell, but that vehicle may have an issue of some form, it is most likely NOT related to the bio-diesel. I also don't know your experience with Diesel vehicles, you may need to adjust your expectations, diesels do idle more roughly than gasoline vehicles.

smells in these vehicles are unfortunately not uncommon... and the auction system in Japan does not penalize a vehicle for smell...

parts CAN be got from mitsubishi, however you have to order by part number and not by vehicle type.

as for their online auction site, email info@jdm-wholesale.ca and I'm sure they'll send you access immediately.

JDM has done well for me, however patience has been required... lots of patience, but they are willing to make things right when you have problems, and sell their vehicles with a warranty in case you have problems. (like the rough idle) I had several delays in my import process, however JDM covered every penny of my costs and always kept me updated as to what was happening. the end result wasn't quick, but was on budget and I am quite pleased with the vehicle I have ended up with.

[BCDelica]

It's true that any diesel can run biodiesel, though long term use of 100% biodiesel can be hard on fuel lines and pump seals in older vehicles. My van has ran on both biodiesel and waste vegetable oil (WVO), and idles no differently with biodiesel. Goes without saying that most diesels will idle smoother running on pure WVO.

There is some very mechanical owners around here that would agree that the van you looked needs some tuning or such.

Of the last two vans I bought at auction they can certainly vary; the 2 grade van I bought for work had a spotless, odor free interior with no visible rust on the under carriage, the 3.5 grade van I bought has a cigarette smell and some carpet stains that seem to be coming out easily with some surface rust underneath. This new one is by no means rusty, my friends 2003 Chev is far rustier on the underside!

My point is if that you import yourself you may have good and bad surprises when it gets here. Don't hesitate to get help with importing a Delica and have patience like Green1 suggested.