another brand new owner!

[flyaway]

wooohooo. here's a new addition to this community... coming from a car-less european country, i never thought i'd ever own a car - let alone such a huge one!
i just got my little rocky deli, however. Funny enough, i bought it from another girl! i'm going to post pics sometime in the near future!

i guess it's a bit of a challenge, if one's first car is a deli, and i'm sure i'll drive EXTRA carefully so as not to discredit any other RHD driver . we (boyfriend and i) are planning on a bit of roadtripping, starting around october, for some months or longer, going south and eventually north, so there wasn't really any other option than a delica (i'm not a vw fan, and refused to buy any car from any company that just went bancrupt or had to receive billions in government aid. doesn't really speak for their products??). and i just love the ship-like feeling of these vans!

so... this amazing website was actually one of the reasons i finally decided to buy a delica. so much information, and people seem to be willing to share their experience! since i'm planning on doing some interior-construction, fitting a bed, space/storage for all the climbing gear and a couple cycles, i might be sending out cries for help once in a while... maybe one of you with a permanent bed/camping setup might even be willing to show off their van sometime??

if you wanna know some specifics, you can check out the "sexy delica add" from a couple months ago or so. it's a 91 exceed with a stick, dark grey/grey, seems in pretty good condition, and unfortunately has a low roof. nothing's perfect...

well, i'm excited, and also a tiny bit intimidated at the prospect of having to learn about all that oil-buisness, fixing, leaking, installing, etc. i hope it's going to be worth the effort! i have the slight suspicion, that after having owned such a car for some time, i might be prepared for whatever the future's going to throw at me!

cheers!

miriam

[mararmeisto]

Welcome to the group, and well met. You sound just the littlest bit excited to be newest owner of a Delica.

As for help, first thing you'll want to do to help us help you is display where you're located: change you personal settings to include your location. It doesn't have to be street address, just "Vancouver", "Comox", "Tuktoyaktuk", wherever. That way, people in your area can possibly swing by and help you out should you require it and they're available. TardisDeli is a veritable electrical whiz with these, but he's not going to be to help much if you're in St. John, NB.

"Car-less European country"? Where are you previously from? Behind the Iron Curtain?

[flyaway]

Haha, I'm so complying. I even included my interests! Vancouver it is, currently.

...no iron curtain, but amazing public transport! trains, buses, trams, ships. so amazing, that you don't even want a car. Freedom is when you can climb a mountain from one valley, and descend into another valley, without having to worry about how to get back to your car. just hop in the next train or bus or hitch a ride home, and meet tons of new people on the way.


this continent is different, though. that's why a finally bought a car.

[after oil]

welcome and try to contain your excitement!

carless european country? which one is that?
theres no hints that english is not your first language, so im at a loss...

[mararmeisto]

...[W]hich one is that?
theres no hints that english is not your first language, so im at a loss...

I'm going to guess, given the new clues (good English and the mountain/valley references), it's either Austria or Switzerland.

[marsgal42]

...[W]hich one is that?
theres no hints that english is not your first language, so im at a loss...

I'm going to guess, given the new clues (good English and the mountain/valley references), it's either Austria or Switzerland.

Holland, obviously. The Dutch have a well-developed sense of irony.

...laura

[mararmeisto]

...[W]hich one is that?
theres no hints that english is not your first language, so im at a loss...

I'm going to guess, given the new clues (good English and the mountain/valley references), it's either Austria or Switzerland.

Holland, obviously. The Dutch have a well-developed sense of irony.

...laura

Ah yes, but I'm not sure they have mountains.

[flyaway]

Dutch irony? This is the fist time I'm accused of irony ! Usually people complain more about me being to sarcastic!

Nope, mararmeisto was quite right, it's the latter. I guess as people here are growing up with cars, and love them, I grew up with trains and timetables, so the adjustment to Vancouver and BC public transit (or rather absence of it) was hard. I never even thought I would ever like a car, but this might be changing now

That's why I'm really happy about the van I got, and think it's going to be a lot of fun driving and living in it. At the same time, cars are a complete unknown to me. The only thing I know is how to change a tire and start and drive a car, that's about it! It does not even feel weird to sit on the right side of the van, because usually I sit on the right side anyway

anyway, i'm not the newest member anymore, so i can stop being excited

[mararmeisto]

Dutch irony? This is the fist time I'm accused of irony ! Usually people complain more about me being to sarcastic!

Nope, mararmeisto was quite right, it's the latter. I guess as people here are growing up with cars, and love them, I grew up with trains and timetables, so the adjustment to Vancouver and BC public transit (or rather absence of it) was hard. I never even thought I would ever like a car, but this might be changing now

That's why I'm really happy about the van I got, and think it's going to be a lot of fun driving and living in it. At the same time, cars are a complete unknown to me. The only thing I know is how to change a tire and start and drive a car, that's about it! It does not even feel weird to sit on the right side of the van, because usually I sit on the right side anyway

anyway, i'm not the newest member anymore, so i can stop being excited

Well then, gnüss de schöni Tag, und wilkommen! And yes, I Googled the h3LL out of that in order to get it reasonably correct. Bern, or one of the smaller towns? At least you picked somewhere near the mountains to live here in Canada. Although the Coast Mountains are quite a bit different than the Alps, I imagine.

[Green1]

i guess it's a bit of a challenge, if one's first car is a deli,

I don't see why. the delica is much easier to drive, and has much better all around visibility than ANY domestic vehicle, it's smaller (in length and width) than the vast majority of domestic vehicles (don't let the height fool you, my friend's honda civic is a longer and wider vehicle!) and the RHD gives you a large safety advantage in the majority of driving situations over a similar LHD vehicle.
Add to the fact that you don't have lots of experience driving a different vehicle, so you have no "transition" time to deal with.

I'd say a delica is a perfect vehicle for a first car.

[Dewy]

and has much better all around visibility than ANY domestic vehicle

.

i guess you have never overtaken a 18 wheeler on the skinny shoulderless Mexican highways of the baja. now there is some good fun!!

peace

PS Welcome flyaway... one tip of advice, if I may ... your little beauty is an older vehicle and under no circumstances try to take that for grant it - noises, leaks, etc > stop.listen.look. This is coming from some experience as my 4 month vacation has almost lasted a year and I am still not back in Canada yet... the adventure still keeps on coming.

[Green1]

and has much better all around visibility than ANY domestic vehicle

.
i guess you have never overtaken a 18 wheeler on the skinny shoulderless Mexican highways of the baja. now there is some good fun!!

overtaking is a purely optional manoeuvre, and as such you can simply wait, you have listed one of the very few places that RHD has a slight disadvantage, while ignoring the many more common, and less avoidable instances where RHD has a major advantage, such as on that same highway with oncoming traffic, because you have a much better view of exactly where the edge of the road is to stay as far out of their way as possible.

[Dewy]

such as on that same highway with oncoming traffic, because you have a much better view of exactly where the edge of the road is to stay as far out of their way as possible.

good point... as i do recall being able see quite clearly down the cliffs with no shoulders

and yes overtaking is purely optional and i was usually the one being overtaken, but there were some interesting times.

cheers

[flyaway]

thanks for the encouragement!

i had a great introduction yesterday, driving to cypress mountain. when trying to overtake somebody that went at 70 on the highway, i didn't dare to speed up too much, so it took forever (and somebody behind got a bit pissed off ). learnt my lesson: either go for it or forget about it. 90 and 100 felt actually quite stable! just got to get used to it. i don't mind going slow, though, so the van suits me fine .

one thing i didn't like when driving through congested downtown was that, as i had the back seats up, i couldn't see the car right behind me when it wasn't a truck. i guess this can be solved by adjusting that little round mirror on the front left to look backwards?
the torque (? if that's what it's called) was a pleasant surprise, i haven't stalled it yet, even on hill starts. i didn't know you can start again in second gear!

it certainly helps that the car's so "visible", so people might be more aware of me than i of them! completely different from cycling... i guess that might make it a more "ideal" car for a beginner... and the round view is just great.

one tip of advice, if I may ... your little beauty is an older vehicle and under no circumstances try to take that for grant it - noises, leaks, etc > stop.listen.look. This is coming from some experience as my 4 month vacation has almost lasted a year and I am still not back in Canada yet... the adventure still keeps on coming.

sounds like you know what you're talking about... that's why i bought it a bit ahead of the trip, so i can get used to it while still within reach of knowledgeable mechanics! got to learn what i have to look out for! cool that you just extended your trip, sometimes that's how life has to go! 7 years ago, i went to south america for three months, and came back home 18months later!

Well then, gnüss de schöni Tag, und wilkommen! And yes, I Googled the h3LL out of that in order to get it reasonably correct. Bern, or one of the smaller towns? At least you picked somewhere near the mountains to live here in Canada. Although the Coast Mountains are quite a bit different than the Alps, I imagine.

merci! findes schön da! i'm from zürich, the "largest" town... quite pretty. i love mountains, also the coastal mountains, and the northern cascades!! also the rockies are pretty cool. i came for the mountains, and the snow, and wasn't disappointed (for sure not by the snow!)

[Green1]

one thing i didn't like when driving through congested downtown was that, as i had the back seats up, i couldn't see the car right behind me when it wasn't a truck.

I've taken the centre headrest off of the back bench seat (I store it under the armrest on that seat) that way I can see cars directly behind me.