Greetings from Japan

[fjef]

Its great to see a Delica forum for Canada! I looked a few years ago but didn't find this place so I've only been reading about their increasing popularity in Australia, New Zealand and in the UK.

I've living been in China and Japan for 22 years and will move back to Canada with my family in the Spring of 2008. I have been a Delica owner for about 6 years here in Japan and I did not think it was possible to bring one 'home' until recently. Now I know that it is possible, I am exploring all the options I have to make the most out of coming home with one (or 2).

I plan to either have mine fully serviced here before shipping or trade it 'up' for the same model - I can probably find one here in better condition than mine in the auctions - but I'm a bit attached to mine so I am unsure what to do. I'll ship it either to Vancouver and drive to Toronto or have it shipped directly to Toronto depending on shipping/moving costs and if I have enough time to enjoy the drive! I am still investigating cost and other logistics.

My current Delica is a '92 Exceed and it runs great but has 140,000 kms and has been living at the beach by the ocean in summer and skiing in the mountains in winter. By Japanese standards its a bit rough aesthetically but its in great mechanical shape - plus its the cold weather version which will help in Canadian winters so I'm not sure if I will bring this one or exchange it for a less used one.

I have an excellent auction connection (a close friend has an auction licence and I have purchased several auction vehicles through him - our commuter car is an amazing Toyota Prius bought through the auctions - I wish I could bring it back too) so I thought I would tell my story here and find out if there is anyone interested in importing and sharing shipping costs. If a couple of Delicas were shipped in a container, extra tires and other parts and accessories that are expensive in Canada and very cheap here, could easily be thrown in.

I much prefer the older P35W design - its a real truck and much tougher than the newer L400 models. The newer ones drive nicely but don't stand up or handle as well on snow or rough terrain. It will be very strange driving one in Ontario but with gas prices and the possibility of running it on bio-diesel, it would be crazy not to bring at least one back!

Here is a picture of my current bus:


Jef

[Schwa]

Nice to see another 'family' of vehicles include a Delica and 1st gen Prius! Good choice!

Ours has been totally trouble-free... the only thing it needed was the normal 12v battery replaced, which happened about 3 weeks ago.

[fjef]

Nice to see another 'family' of vehicles include a Delica and 1st gen Prius! Good choice!

Ours has been totally trouble-free... the only thing it needed was the normal 12v battery replaced, which happened about 3 weeks ago.

Our Prius is white too - its considered second generation here because the first ones (NW10) were on the road in '97 in Japan. The second (NW11) were 2000 to 2003 models and then came the third generation (NW20) which I will be looking to buy when I get back to Canada. We have 160,000 kms on our Prius now and it runs like new - no problems at all and the main battery was just checked and its at 97% of full capacity so it will be good for many more years. It will be sad to leave that car behind!

[jrman]

Welcome.
I may be incorrect, but I thought I had read somewhere that if you live in Japan for more than a year and owned a vehicle for over a year (with proof of course), you are able to by-pass he 15 year rule and import your own car back to Canada. It's possible that I heard about this through my business contacts - since many of them are Canadians who have lived in japan for many years and eventually made their way home.
Anyway - best do some research with the Canadian authorities if you do truly wish to keep the vehicles you have already.
Best of luck.

[fjef]

Welcome.
I may be incorrect, but I thought I had read somewhere that if you live in Japan for more than a year and owned a vehicle for over a year (with proof of course), you are able to by-pass he 15 year rule and import your own car back to Canada. It's possible that I heard about this through my business contacts - since many of them are Canadians who have lived in japan for many years and eventually made their way home.
Anyway - best do some research with the Canadian authorities if you do truly wish to keep the vehicles you have already.
Best of luck.

I think that is true but the vehicle has to be LHD and meet all of the import regulations -but I would not have to pay the extra import duties. If I had choice, I would bring back a Toyota Estima Hybrid van but these vehicles are nowhere near 15 years old yet and therefore would have to be converted to LHD and meet other Canadian specs. This is the way I understand it now but I am checking into all possibilities. If your contacts have any advice, please let me know!

[Green1]

I may be incorrect, but I thought I had read somewhere that if you live in Japan for more than a year and owned a vehicle for over a year (with proof of course), you are able to by-pass he 15 year rule and import your own car back to Canada

You are incorrect, that loophole was closed a long time ago.
The only way to bring in a newer than 15 year old vehicle is if you are NOT a canadian citizen or permanent resident, in which case you can bring the vehicle in for the length of your visa, when the visa expires the vehicle must leave, also, if you become a citizen or permanent resident the vehicle again must leave.

I think that is true but the vehicle has to be LHD and meet all of the import regulations -but I would not have to pay the extra import duties. If I had choice, I would bring back a Toyota Estima Hybrid van but these vehicles are nowhere near 15 years old yet and therefore would have to be converted to LHD and meet other Canadian specs. This is the way I understand it now but I am checking into all possibilities. If your contacts have any advice, please let me know!

sorry, completely wrong here, LHD or RHD is completely irrelevant, the only way to bring in a newer than 15 year old vehicle is either to meet the criteria I listed above, or to be the original manufacturer, certifying that the vehicle meets CMVSS, the vehicle can never have been sold at the retail level, and only a designated company (the manufacturer) is allowed to import it.
All other loopholes were closed a while ago.

[jrman]

Makes sense. Most the Gai-Jin that I do business with were living in Japan back in the late 1980's and early 1990's and in fact, none of them took advantage of importing the vehicles they owned while living there. There is 2 who are seriously considering becoming future Deli owners though!
Tks for the update.

[fjef]

sorry, completely wrong here, LHD or RHD is completely irrelevant, the only way to bring in a newer than 15 year old vehicle is either to meet the criteria I listed above, or to be the original manufacturer, certifying that the vehicle meets CMVSS, the vehicle can never have been sold at the retail level, and only a designated company (the manufacturer) is allowed to import it.
All other loopholes were closed a while ago.

Thanks - I am still having trouble getting accurate information here but I was quite certain that I need to work under the 15 year rule - I prefer the older model Delica to the newer ones anyway. I am still not sure if I can trade mine in for one with lower kms before I leave Japan or if I must own the vehicle for a year to bring it back - I have put a call in to the consulate here but they are slow to call back.

[Green1]

Thanks - I am still having trouble getting accurate information here but I was quite certain that I need to work under the 15 year rule - I prefer the older model Delica to the newer ones anyway. I am still not sure if I can trade mine in for one with lower kms before I leave Japan or if I must own the vehicle for a year to bring it back - I have put a call in to the consulate here but they are slow to call back.

As long as you own the vehicle it does not matter for how long you have owned it. (hence why I can buy a vehicle in Japan from my computer in Canada and import it immediately) The only limiting factors are that the vehicle must be 15 years old to the month of manufacture. You will need the Japanese de-registration and export certificate as well.

[fjef]

Thanks - I am still having trouble getting accurate information here but I was quite certain that I need to work under the 15 year rule - I prefer the older model Delica to the newer ones anyway. I am still not sure if I can trade mine in for one with lower kms before I leave Japan or if I must own the vehicle for a year to bring it back - I have put a call in to the consulate here but they are slow to call back.

As long as you own the vehicle it does not matter for how long you have owned it. (hence why I can buy a vehicle in Japan from my computer in Canada and import it immediately) The only limiting factors are that the vehicle must be 15 years old to the month of manufacture. You will need the Japanese de-registration and export certificate as well.

Thanks again - my auction guy/exporter contact here knows all this stuff for just about every country except Canada because so few cars are shipped here in comparison. He has been good at informing me of Australian regulations which don't help much! Now I need to sort out what the taxes will be and how to sort them out...

Jef

[Green1]

Duty is due when you pass customs, however as you were living in Japan and are moving to Canada bringing your "possessions" (including vehicle) with you, I would think that duty/taxes/etc are a little different (I'm thinking non-existent, but this is a bit out of my area of expertise...)

[Grungle]

fjef,

Not sure if you've seen these, but it's a pretty interesting series on the prius :

http://www.autospeed.com/cms/search/ind ... brid+blown

http://www.autospeed.com/cms/search/ind ... urbo%27ing

Quite extreme mods I'll admit, but he was very happy with the end result (with the turbo anyway).

Sorry if that's a bit off-topic, just thought I'd share...

[fjef]

fjef,

Not sure if you've seen these, but it's a pretty interesting series on the prius :

http://www.autospeed.com/cms/search/ind ... brid+blown

http://www.autospeed.com/cms/search/ind ... urbo%27ing

Quite extreme mods I'll admit, but he was very happy with the end result (with the turbo anyway).

Sorry if that's a bit off-topic, just thought I'd share...

Thanks - haven't seen that one. There are lots of people modding the Prius and a lot of them are documented at http://www.priuschat.com. The one in your article is a 1st generation ('97 to 2000) which was rather underpowered but in the 2nd and 3rd generations Toyota squeezed a lot more power out of the gas engine and added a larger electric motor and battery so I don't think anyone complains about power in the newer cars. When both gas and electric motors are powering the car, its very quick.

The really essential modifications I would like to see are adding a plug-in module and larger battery so you can charge your batteries via household electricity and use less fuel - especially for short distances.

I get about 1,000 kms on a 40 litre fill up - that's what makes me happy with the car - plus it burns cleaner than anything else on the road.

Jef