Delica Auction Imported, Next Steps...

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hatescheese
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Delica Auction Imported, Next Steps...

Post by hatescheese »

HI Folks, I just purchased an Delica from the Auction and it will be landing in Vancouver mid May (I think New West), and I am curious about the next steps and if anyone knows what the "best practices" should be. Here is what I was planning on doing:

1. Get it Towed to a local shop for inspection and servicing. I was going to get all the fluids replaced and tune up done regardless of condition, and whatever needs to be updated for it to be insurable in BC.
2. Get ICBC inspection done, insure it, then start adventuring.

It was recommended from the importer that I get it shipped to my home, do an initial inspection, then take it to the shop.

Normally I would just do what an expert suggests, however I'm not mechanical and wouldn't really know what I was looking at. But this does beg the question, was this advice given out of fear of me being taken advantage of, or the assumption that someone buying a Delica should be mechanically inclined?

Does anybody have any suggestions of where I should take my adventure van for inital inspection? And is that a service shops normally do?
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BCDelica
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Re: Delica Auction Imported, Next Steps...

Post by BCDelica »

Are you familiar with the scheduling and pickup routine at the dock? It's well posted and explained nowadays. I've used Courtney Agencies for almost 30 years for vehicle brokerage fees, they can also prepay the dock fees. Your import agent in Japan can forward needed e-docs to your brokerage agent. This is handy, at the dock they accept cash or email transfers only, well as of last year as I haven't brought a vehicle in since a year ago.

That last vehicle cost just $600 to have shipped to Courtenay. Not bad considering ferry expenses, 2 vehicles on the return trip to the island, food, drink. I do enjoy the event of picking up a vehicle myself, having good memories of a couple of trips down the sunshine coast, returning with a convoy of 3 to 4 Delica's.

If you live outside the lower mainland, having it shipped to your home to go through preparing it for inspection is definitely recommended unless you're having a known, or well recommended, shop doing the work. And accept that costs will be greater this way. Beginning of 2019 I landed 2 near identical cars, one was shipped this way and the other shipped straight to a shop. The car shipped directly to the shop had a value of work done to it that cost far above the landed cost of the vehicle. These were 2 2004 BMW Z4's both near 35,000 km's. Also different inspection shops have different interpretation of the requirements, primarily as it related to codes on Windows and lighting. For example some Cdn tires shops require DOT approved lights only, the transport Canada clearly accepts other international codes! I consider a portion of the work to pass inspection not very mechanical in nature, and though I am happy to do mechanical work, identifying something needed for the vehicle to be safe and pass inspection

Where do you live?
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hatescheese
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:38 am
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Vehicle: L400 Chamonix
Location: BC

Re: Delica Auction Imported, Next Steps...

Post by hatescheese »

Thanks for the reply BCDelica-less :)

Not sure about scheduling and pickup routine but they importer said they would be in contact again once they got the arrival notice from the port. I've used JDM Connection Inc. for the whole process and part of the service is to handle all the port and customs processing, so I believe I just need to show up and pick it up (I assume lol).

Some people have recommended Rising Sun or Coombs Country Auto, I haven't reached out to anybody yet. I was kinda hoping I could just pick it up and drive it myself since that would be an adventure, but probably not the wisest decision. I live in Victoria so perhaps it would be best just to get it shipped to the island. Do you do your own repair work? If I were to ship it, should I go to the port and travel with it? Is that how you do it?
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BCDelica
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Re: Delica Auction Imported, Next Steps...

Post by BCDelica »

I've heard about JDM connections, I've done a similar service for people in the past, for a fee arranging everything. They would use an experience vehicle brokerage firm. Courtney Agencies quickly arranged deliver of a KIA truck last year. Just looked in my email, it was $627 for that delivery on a flat deck tow vehicle. I never saw the mini truck until it arrived at my door, very easy. When it arrives at the port you just can't show up at the port and pick it up, you need an appointment; JDM C should be experienced with that. Bring gas, possibly a portable battery charger, as you may need both. Stay close to who's driving the other vehicle when you pick it up yourself to drive home. And JDM C will provide you with the documentation needed to obtain a temp permit, point to point insurance is all of $18, before vehicle pickup. Whichever way you do it.

Coombs has a long history with JDM's inspections, wow I think I 1st talk to Glen almost 20 years ago first. I don't know of anyone closer to Victoria, maybe someone here has a good recommendation. Reid's service is the best for JDM's in Courtenay/Comox. I do prefer to do some mechanical work, getting the vehicle home to go over and ensure it will pass inspection. With my Surf I wanted the suspension upgraded, doing so myself and buying parts online was satisfying and saved mucho bucks. With a Z4 it needed a suspension replacement also, but that I wanted to be tuned better than I could do myself and had a shop do all the work. And for example, I've found on different vehicles installing daytime running lights is simple; For my Toyota Surf I jumpered a fuse, so the LED headlight are on when the engines running, for the Nissan Figaro, which I sold this year, I used a DLRL module, and the JDM BMW Z4 that's been our summer car these past 2 years I googled how to do this via a system setting - changing the car from Japanese to English was far more difficult.
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