Further to topics in the Terra2 Post and others

[psilosin]

I personally would not buy a dealer vehicle through Terra2 because you are now paying 2 middlemen(even they say that). The auctions are the way to go and Terra2 seems to be good at getting vehicles, but you have to pay for the service.

Good clarification there. I agree, if buying direct from auction, the support structure of using an import service company like Terra2 or J-SpecImports can be a definate advantage and worth some extra $ rather than blindly bidding based on a couple small photos and a copy of the auction sheet.

[jkellas]

Thanks Guys,

Well I just did hear back from Terra2 and they have been real busy it seems clearing multiple shipments this week.

So Sean the clarification is great. I don't know if you had a chance to look at my spreadsheet, but if it is even remotely close, it would seem to indicate partially doing it yourself (E.G. hiring Courtney agencies, as well as geting someone else to unstuff the container, etc.,) provides little gain or possibly costs even more than using a service like Terra2. At the moment my spreadsheet has it costing almost $1,000.00 more to do it partially yourself, but if you deduct the agent's service charge and auction fees on the Japan side it would still be more. Obviously if you live in the Lower Mainland it may be feasible to go to appointments in Vancouver with Customs, unpack the container, etc., but if you have to stay in a hotel and give up 3 days or so of your life it is not so advantageous to do it yourself. It would seem that it is still worth it to be proactive and search out the multiple auction sources in Japan yourself if you want to find a real cherry like the one that Luxury Imports found for themselves rather than hoping someone else is going to find it for you. Anyway have a look at the spreadsheet and see what you think.

http://www.deetfree.ca/delica.htm

Also check out the post in the photo section I made about the 2003 Right Hand Drive Delica my significant other found listed on eBay Philippines, you may find it of interest. I did not realize there was such as thing as a RHD, or did the picture simply get reversed when they posted it?

[Green1]

94 Octane Gas
2 Battery Jump Starts: Complimentary

ummm... I hope you don't require the Jump starts, and I sure hope they don't give you 94 Octane Gas in your diesel Delica....

[jkellas]

I just realized I need to educate myself better. I assumed all Delicas were LHD, Diesel, and 4WD or "AWD" as it were. But, I see one listed as gas here:

http://www.terra2imports.ca/import-japa ... 229297.htm

-Is this an error or are there gas Delicas?
-Are there 2WD Delicas?
-Did they make a Left Hand Drive model? (See one here: http://www.ebay.ph/viItem?ItemId=280107301806)

[crushers]

yes, there are gasser Delica
Yes, there are 2 WD Delica (U G L Y)
Yes, there are LHD Delica
yes, there are 2WD Delica truck
yes, there are 4WD Delica truck
yes there are gasser trucks and one ton and dumpers, cube vans ec

[Green1]

-Is this an error or are there gas Delicas?
-Are there 2WD Delicas?
-Did they make a Left Hand Drive model? (See one here: http://www.ebay.ph/viItem?ItemId=280107301806)

There are gas Delicas. there are 2wd Delicas. both are rare, but do exist, the same basic vehicle did exist as the "vanwagon" in the states as well (LHD obviously) LHD is also common in other countries, the Delica isn't just in Japan.
I have never seen a LHD or gas Delica that is as high spec as the RHD diesels though.

As for that ebay item... they do make LHD Delicas, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't originally one of them, note the position of the hand brake and the automatic gear selector, both indicate RHD, so I think that's actually a conversion...

[argo]

You get what you pay for.

I've had Al at courtney broker all my vehicles, he uses Prime link logistics on this end for unloading storage etc. Prime link see a lot of vehicles coming over, some are good some are not.

If I where looking for a broker in Japan, I'd ask the guys at Prime link who they would use.

I would not consider buying locally, why not use the same brokers in japan that the curbsiders here use ?

You have to wonder why used car salesmen here make it sound like an absolute nightmare to self import ?

[sean]

94 Octane Gas
2 Battery Jump Starts: Complimentary

ummm... I hope you don't require the Jump starts, and I sure hope they don't give you 94 Octane Gas in your diesel Delica.... Shocked

I hope I do not need the jump starts either but you never know, interior light left on by accident, not running for 30 days on an older battery etc.. Nice to know that they have thought of the possibility. Just another thing I do not have to worry about.
As for the gas, mine is a diesel (going to WVO when it arrives) :) but the form they give to spell out the costs is a generic one and most of the vehicles ie sports cars are not diesel.
One of the main reasons I am bringing over a deli is because it is a diesel. I wouldn't think of bringing a 2wd or gas over.
Sean

[argo]

Regular gas in Japan is 94 or higher. They run lots of high compression engines. Something alot of these high performance guys don't realize is that thier skylines and fairladies need to be fed high octane fuel in order to run properly.

[MardyDelica]

Hello, Everyone delica picture you see in the philippines , if 4X4, Diesel & middle door same as our delica its converted locally in the phils. as i came from the phils. this is common in my homegrown country ,as Phils is the biggest importer of used car from japan, a total of about 50-70 thousand a year, used car came from japan mostly diesel cars , Van & truck specially delicas.which is very popular & reliable vehicle we used used back home. toyota is just nothing over there, they cannot stand the heat in the traffic, so its useless over there, only here in canada but when it comes to diesel engine mitsubishi is number one in the phils.
Yes, we build locally Mitsubishi L300 ( delica) LHD Original but only 2wd not 4x4 also pajero 4X4, but both of this cars dont have a heater build in on it, only aircon since its very hot over there.
so i dont bring this delica from back home even its LHD to many things to do & modification.
also the converted delica 4x4 from japan RHD to LHD is no good for safety issue here in canada since you modified the structure from RHD to LHD thats why i dont bring this converted delica from the Phils for safety issue.
hope this help other that there is LHD delica exist in asia & middle east

[josh]

yes, there are 4WD Delica truck
yes there are gasser trucks and one ton and dumpers, cube vans ec

Wow, why has no one brought over a Delica truck yet? I haven't seen any, that would be sweet.

Josh

[jkellas]

MardyDelica

That confirms some of my suspicions. My best friend lives in the Philippines 6 months of the year. He lives on Palawan in Puerto Princessa and Port Barton, commuting between to two once a week. It is a 4 or 5 hour drive, part of which is on unpaved, potholed and in the rainly season, a very muddy jungle road. He drives a Mitsubishi jeep with a diesel Pajero engine and makes a lot of rough inland trips for the purpose of accessing the headwaters of some of the larger rivers in order to kayak them. He looked suprised when I told him I was after a Delica, saying he frequently comes across them broken down on the side of the road. I was also suprised, and pointed out that it was my impression the post-1994 Delica that he may have been seeing a lot of was based on the Pajero chassis. I told him the only issues I recall reading about in this forum was something about a seal or gasket sometimes prematurely drying out, possibly the fuel pump if I recall correctly.

[BCDelica]

Sean, just thought I'd let you know that vehicle batteries are drained intentionally when shipped via container. On the outgoing side of things they turn on lights etc, to completely drain the batteries for safety and you'll need to have a jump start. I don't know if this happens every single time, but its sure a pain; the yard has to stop what there doing to jump you rig with a forklift or battery station. Fully discharging a battery knocks it capacity down a ton, and it'll likely be an old battery. Diesels seem to like lotsa ampere for starting so changing batteries is a must when you get your hands on yours. But heck, a fifteen year old battery should be changed anyways. Two new batteries are a tight fit - http://farm1.static.flickr.com/145/3915 ... 3dcb20.jpg.

Kev

[MardyDelica]

Hi, jkellas
Your friend is saying this but we dont know why this delica sometime in the side off the road, many issues like run out off fuel, belt is broken or balljoint is gone & some other issues. he just dont see what is the real problem he used a local phil assemble jeep made from different parts & engine from 3 big manufacturer we always used in phil.mitsubishi, Isuzu or toyota. as far as i know he leaves in the south areas more of having problem cause of lack of maintenance cause the parts is expensive & people cannot afford to buy parts or the conversion from RHD to LHD is not good.
As for me i grew-up in City of Manila, capital of phil. i never have any problem or issue regarding our delica. no head issue like toyota hi-lux surf, engine could runs up to a million kms if you maintain & service all the time.just keep changing the belt every 80 kms & your doing fine. as far as i know i was one of the first one who bring this delica here in vancouver. i know mark the administrator is the other one 3 yrs ago who has delica . i never have any problem with this delica its good . better than toyota hi-ace, so pls dont worry its very good & reliable Van.
Lastly you dont have to worry about issue or any thing going wrong with this delica its a very good realiable Van, easy to maintanance, good looking off road van , realiable engine & a family van.

[sean]

Kev, thanks for the info on the batteries. I am planning on purchasing a new one for mine. But I it sounds like I should be prepared to have one on the ready when it arrives. Thanks.
Sean