Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Has anyone had any experience registering in California? I just imported a Delica from BC and drove back to California. I was able to get plates and tags at the Crescent City DMV on my way back to San Diego, but I am still awaiting my Registration and Title from the main DMV in Sacramento. I have a friend who just purchased a Delica from a guy in Portland that imported it directly for resale. He is having a hard time getting it registered here as it’s technically considered a grey market vehicle and falls under CA direct import laws. They are trying to send him to an Air Resource Board approved lab for emissions testing. Not that the Delica wouldn’t pass these tests, but apparently they can cost thousands of dollars! This has got me a little nervous about mine…If this turns out to be the case, I may be forced to sell it to someone in another state, or try to register it in another state.

I’ve seen multiple people that have successfully registered Delicas in CA, but it seems like it just might be luck of the draw when it comes to the CA DMV.
Any info would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

You probably have to reach out to a registered importer to find the proper regulations.

It really boils down to being a paperchase. You have to find the right forms, and get the right forms filled out.

Once you have those, you need to go into the DMV with the confidence that you are in the right, and that they need to register your vehicle. They won't want to do it because it is out of the ordinary, so you will often get resistance. Sometimes you may have to visit more than once to find a person that knows the ropes who can get it done for you.

Hello sjsd!

I currently live in Oregon but my official address is still in California. Last summer I had dreams of getting a Delica. Because I'm officially a California resident, I needed to either A)register it in CA or B) officially move to OR (I really should be a resident now... just lazy). I was hoping to go with option A. I talked to many, many, many people. I always ended up with the same response. If you don't have a sticker under your hood, you need to take it to the lab. Clearly I wasn't into this idea.

That said, I did talk to a very nice guy somewhere down in the bay area I believe. He said he got his from a friend who had imported it. Everything was great until he got pulled over one time and realized that his car wasn't officially registered like he thought it was. It was then a long process to get it registered and I think he really had to push and pull strings to make it happen.

Coincidentally, I found a Delica on craigslist in the bay area around the same time. Turns out it was an importer from richmond BC. They said its absolutely ready to register in Cali. It also cost a pretty penny. Till this day I am still confused on how that is possible... maybe they have a company they hire to go through all those "lab tests" and prove it? I just don't know.

I began to look for other vans. I looked at astros, mazda mpv's, VW's, quigleys, sprinters, fuso's, etc. But none were the same as a Delica.. in terms of price and functionality.

*** Long story short... if you don't go through and official importer, I think its REAL REAL hassle. ***

Thats my 2 cents! Good luck! I suggest you move to another state or talk to an importer and have a big wallet.

For anyone considering importing a Delica to California, you might wanna think twice. I'm just about at the point of giving up, selling mine and calling it a lesson learned. There are loopholes, but they may only last so long before you get caught. I wouldn't be able to drive mine as much as I'd like, or invest any more time/money knowing I may get screwed somewhere down the line. Here is a very informative thread started recently on a Land Rover Defender forum. Pretty much all these rules apply to an imported Delica as well.

http://www.defendersource.com/forum/f6/ ... 59447.html

sjsd wrote:For anyone considering importing a Delica to California, you might wanna think twice. I'm just about at the point of giving up, selling mine and calling it a lesson learned.

What did you end up doing in the end?

I'm in SF and wondering if I should start down the import route myself, or buy from someone selling inside the US, or not even bother trying to own an L300 at all. Would love to know your thoughts.

Thanks,

-- Dunstan

We sold over a dosen Delica's to California, the process it pretty strait forward ,and you don't need any loop holes. Please contact me directly
for more information.