Import from Auction vs. Dealer

Adam · Post by **Adam** » Tue May 08, 2007 3:58 pm

Here it is. I've been reading the forum for the past week or so getting familiar with everyone else experience and I made an appointment to go look at Delica Super Exceed (1990, 140k) at dealer north of town on the weekend. Sticker price somewhere around $12,000.

Then I get a call about a requested I submitted to Terra2Imports. A Delica matching my specs (P35W, 1992, 100k) is coming up for auction. The only problems I can see are that I have to pay for a $300 inspection before I place a bid (confirming this as we speak) and that it only has an auction grade of 3.

EDIT: The inspection fee does not apply to an auction, I have to rely on the grade alone, which looks like a C for the interior.

Here's an explaination of the auction grade in case you need them:

http://www.terra2imports.ca/faq/entry/2/27/

The recommended bid on this is $7,000-9,000. So here is what I'm wondering:

How often do these P35W come up for auction? Do I need to jump on this?
Has anyone bought a grade 3 Delica, how bad/good is it?

Any opinions would be appreciated :D

Green1 · Post by **Green1** » Tue May 08, 2007 5:14 pm

grades vary from auction house to auction house, I bought a grade 3.5 with a B interior and have been quite happy with it, that said however, I don't think I'd want anything any lower. mine has surface rust on the bull-bar, lots of stone chips on the front (some turning mildly rust coloured) the decals have obvious sun-fade, and I did discover a small rust patch (about an inch long) beside the sunroof.
The interior is intact, however it does have a few small stains, and 2 of the seats (driver's seat and passenger side middle row seat) show significant wear. 1 of the power sun shades didn't work, and none of the power curtains worked.

All in all the vehicle was in better condition than pretty much any 15 year old vehicle around here, but far from pristine. My goal for the vehicle is a project vehicle to modify and make work hard at events, as such I find that saving a bit of money and not getting show-room condition was worth it as I'm likely to just scratch it up anyway. (that and I find it hard to bring myself to modify a vehicle that is pristine)

it's really up to you, if you are looking for something to bash around the bush with, a 3 is probably fine, however if it's going to be something to show off and drive around town in, you'll want higher.

All that said, what's a grade 3 at one auction house may be a 4 at a different one...

crushers · Post by **crushers** » Tue May 08, 2007 5:30 pm

i do not understand why anyoen would use a broker that doesn't offer a warranty. go here:
http://www.luxuryimports.ca/faq/importinfo.php
and chat with Rizvi, he is honest, will do the same job right to the vancouver dock.

in the end you will end up with the same unit for less...

Post by **BCDelica** » Tue May 08, 2007 5:40 pm

I too will give the thumbs up for Rizvi, also I have heard plenty of good things about Wayne.

:D

Adrock · Post by **Adrock** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:12 pm

get the cheapest ride you can and bash the hell out of it...

i don't know why my sentiments aren't shared by the rest of the group.

maybe because the cheapest is like 10k. But still, its fun as hell.

I don't know what my auction grade was but i doubt it was very good, 15 inch long dent/scrape in the side, faded decals, i believe at least part of it was repainted, the lower white, because upon cleaning one day i found some masking tape with some spray on it. Chips in the front are surfacing and rusting now, that were not visible before, which leads me to believe the bumper wasn't in great shape and the problem got masked. Don't know if this happened at the dealer level, auction level or what, but I am going to start a thread about it as I have been meaning to for a while. My interior is missing some handles and some plastiv covering bits but the fabric is nice. Engine drives and gets me places and thats all I really want.

Adam · Post by **Adam** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:42 pm

Adrock wrote:get the cheapest ride you can and bash the hell out of it...

i don't know why my sentiments aren't shared by the rest of the group.

maybe because the cheapest is like 10k. But still, its fun as hell.

OK, maybe I should clarify it's intended use. Family of 5, camping, hardly any bashing the hell out of it (at least until the boys are old enough to drive I guess). Mainly, I'm trying to save $$ by getting a better mileage van than the one I have and converting it to WVO. The fact that the Delicas are damn cool is just a bonus

MardyDelica · Post by **MardyDelica** » Wed May 09, 2007 10:25 am

Hi, you also have to consider the other things you have to do on this van, condition of the van when it arrived here.the average cost to spend for this delica from new headlight compliance, timingbelt new original,brakes, water pump, 2 tensioner , New tires LT, Change all fluids & other parts to make this van works good in the Road, about 2,900 to 4,000. so its up to you to think which way to go. i usually change everything i mean full compliance, before i sell it to the dealer that buy my delica.grade 3 or 4 usually sometime the same condition as Green 1 said. you could only see the condition when it arrived here in Vancouver.
Cheers :)