RHD illegal headlights still on Delica's today

[psilosin]

Also keep in mind that pretty much any import sold in Canada prior to 2006 will most likely not be compliant...not because the dealer/importer/owner was pulling a fast one but back then it was not an issue with the inspection. Thats why a lot of Landcruisers, Surfs, Townace Vans, Seras and anything else that was the hot item back then may still be driving around with original headlamps etc.

[danfromvan]

And sadly giving all of us a bad name every time they blind a driver coming the other way at night.

[Kakah]

I bought my Deli in 2008 from the dealer not mentioned in the first post. At the time of purchase I asked specifically if the changes that needed to be made to make the van legal to drive here in B.C. had been done. I was told that yes, the lights and tires ect had all been looked after. I discovered that this was not the case when I got pulled for a vehicle inspection a year later. That was a rather expensive bill.

He is/was a nice enough guy and pleasant to deal with, but he did lie to me, without a doubt. Regardless, I feel that it is fully my fault. It's my responsibility to make sure everything was kosher, which I obviously didn't do, I just assumed. I'm not very mechanically inclined and when my vehicle was running well I was happy enough to just assume that it was all good. I should have looked into it more!

I get a lot of questions here in Chilliwack about my Delica and I'm always friendly and help as much as I can, but when people question me as to where they can find a Delica of their own I seem to never be able to remember where I bought mine.... Of course I list off as many other dealers as I can remember.

[loki]

I bought my Deli in 2008 from the dealer not mentioned in the first post. At the time of purchase I asked specifically if the changes that needed to be made to make the van legal to drive here in B.C. had been done. I was told that yes, the lights and tires ect had all been looked after. I discovered that this was not the case when I got pulled for a vehicle inspection a year later. That was a rather expensive bill.

He is/was a nice enough guy and pleasant to deal with, but he did lie to me, without a doubt. Regardless, I feel that it is fully my fault. It's my responsibility to make sure everything was kosher, which I obviously didn't do, I just assumed. I'm not very mechanically inclined and when my vehicle was running well I was happy enough to just assume that it was all good. I should have looked into it more!

I get a lot of questions here in Chilliwack about my Delica and I'm always friendly and help as much as I can, but when people question me as to where they can find a Delica of their own I seem to never be able to remember where I bought mine.... Of course I list off as many other dealers as I can remember.

I don't think that it was your fault at all, if you bought a chocolate bar and took it on a plane only to get arrested and cavity search because it wasn't chocolate at all but a stick of plastic explosives in a chocolate bar wrapper you would say that was your fault, and with the van you didn't just assume is was kosher you asked and where told yes.

[mararmeisto]

While not fully conversant with the letter of the law, this is what I've learned over the years of owning an imported vehicle:

• it is the owner's responsibility to ensure the vehicle is compliant, at all times
  if the vehicle WAS compliant but IS NOT NOW compliant, it's the owner's responsibility
  a peace officer or an inspection officer can require an inspection for an obvious infraction, a suspected infraction or because they think you should have an inspection REGARDLESS of the date on the decal on your windshield or the date on the inspection paper you show them (you could drive out of an inspection and be directed to get another inspection)

And all of those above points apply to ANY vehicle in BC, not just the 15+yr imports (that's for all the peace officers and inspection officers that are letting the 1970s NAMPOS with the spider-web-windshield and the draggin'-on-the-road-spark-generatin'-muffler drive by while you've got me pulled over to the side of the road 'cause you just KNOW that there's gotta be something 'wrong' with my vehicle 'cause I'm driving it from the right).

Now, all that being said, if the importer/dealer says that the vehicle is compliant, sells the vehicle as being complied, gives you the paperwork as being complied, and it's not, you should broach the subject with them - look at the tires, look at the headlights, make sure all the lights work, etc, etc, etc. We're about to have a vehicle complied/inspected, and by far the single greatest expense is the tires: more than 700$. Getting the brakes done, or the muffler, or the headlights, or side marker reflectors, or a windshield, or, or, or, the fact remains that one of the simplest things to change is generally the most expensive.

In short, if the dealer says the vehicle is complied and it's got the little sticker on the windshield, check it over, 'cause once you sign the papers and drive off the lot - IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!

Good job on the public service announcement jfarsang.

[Super Mario]

Hello All Thanks to our ' Great Delica Guy' for pointing out my Illegal Lights. My trip to the dealer has rewarded me with nice new E-coded headlights. Too bad it wasn't done the first time.
So i hope this has put an end to the headlight flashes from other drivers that i got, on what seemed a regular basis !!

Super M

[tigger]

I'm picking my Delica up on Jan 20. New headlights, wiring, etc. Also new tires (215/75R15 Wranglers) - 5 of them including the spare. Nothing wrong with the old tires...in fact they were pretty good - 195/75R15 Bridgestone 700's. Still in date period, but not DOT stamped. I'm also moving the spare from underneath to up front. I hear this may cause overheating, so may need to replace thermostat as well.

Another subtle item to be aware of is wheel alignment. Japanese vehicles are set up for opposite side road camber. This should be switched for NA driving. Not a regulation, but good practice.

[danfromvan]

Is that why my tires are wearing unevenly on the front? The alignment seems fine as it doesn't pull right or left, but the outside of my fronts are noticeably more worn. I thought it was the cheap Chinese tires (DOT approved) that the dealer put on before I bought it but maybe not.

The L300 alignment settings were posted on the site earlier and I was going to use them when I buy a new set. I wonder if those numbers were for left or right hand driving? I'll try a search for them again.

[bikepoor]

Gosh, what an odd thing! The Deli that I bought from a fella from Australia, that had a great big poop load of problems, and spent tonnes of money to get the bus home because all of the parts that had been replaced, that according to the dealer,had been replaced. And when I pointed out on a previous forum that I thought the dealer may have stretched the facts a little about the repairs that they said had been done. By cracky if that very same bus that i'm driving today from that very same dealer doesn't have the very same headlights in it that he stated had been changed, to pass inspection with everthing else that has had to have been replaced because it was original.
I live in Calgary. Unnamed dealer knows who am am, because he called me a liar on this forum when I brought up my issues on a forum about dealer pros and cons.

The words class action come to mind.

Never burn a bridge as you leave, you may need that bridge to return.

Bikepoor

[bikepoor]

Sorry to start this again folks, but I started going back even further on this nonsense, and pulled out all the original compliance papers from the original importer/dealer , and found that the tires that had to be replaced by the first owner because they wouldn't pass Alberta inspections were not DOT approved, yet had been passed by the importer/ dealer. Not gonna go into original battery's, timing belts, fuel pumps, tie rods, fan belts, suspension bushings, AC tested in the middle of winter, yet worked perfect, brakes, etc..... but yeah things change if you can blame everything that fails on a promise that the van was better than new, and everything that happened in the next couple of months was because of a pending road trip from a bunch of kids, from the land down under that made the mistake of telling the dealer that they were taking the bus on an extended road trip, even if it didn't happen for month's after the bus was purchased, and most of the failures happened in the first months coming to AB from BC..

But again, no names mentioned.

Karma. Do good things to people, and good things will happen to you. Do bad things, and Karma will come back and bite you in the ass!
Earl (Bad quote, but very fitting)

Bikepoor

[dah_hunter]

Well at least sometimes they get whats coming to them..

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loca ... lumbiaHome

Though i Doubt the RCMP are very concerned with a Delica that has incorrect headlights..

[danfromvan]

Who is this Gerry S? He doesn't show up as a registered user and his user info has stopped appearing on his posts. It used to show that he had only posted about 3 times, now that has disappeared. From this post and the others on accident damage, methinks he is a disgruntled vendor.

The exact same rules were in place 3 to 4 years ago and even earlier. There is no excuse for stating that a Delica is complied when it is not, neither then nor now.

[Green1]

3 years ago I had trouble finding any importers willing to import a 1991 L300 as nobody yet knew how to find the LHD headlights for them (different headlights from the 1990 version) The fact that they cared proves that this was definitely a known issue 3 years ago. If the vehicle was brought in earlier and has the sealed beam headlights, then it's effectively a non-issue anyway as they are available at any gas station.
So basically, there is no excuse at all for anyone not having the compliant lights, it was a well known issue long before these vehicles were imported.

[bikepoor]

But his response and attacks were all done smooth as _ _ _ _ !

Bikepoor

[mararmeisto]

Who is this Gerry S? He doesn't show up as a registered user and his user info has stopped appearing on his posts. It used to show that he had only posted about 3 times, now that has disappeared. From this post and the others on accident damage, methinks he is a disgruntled vendor.

Yes, Gerry S. seems to be a bit of a wraith...

Mark, did you have a hand in this poster's digital disappearance?