any other dealers have access?

[loki]

any other dealers have access to this deli? I was hoping mardy or one of the other dealers that do the full meal deal or at least don't have a history of inflated pricing might be able to bring it in. A LWB Royal is exactly what I want :)

[fishslapper]

looks like we are in a race for the exact same vehicle !! (well, not this exact vehicle ,but one with these specs!)

i need the extra room now for the mobile detailing and also the walk through for getting to the back to tend to the second kid when it gets here in november !!



As to you question.I am having a hard time finding someone that will help me bring one in so i don't have to pay an arm and a leg.
I will let you know what i find out.

cheers

[Adam]

I was looking at this one for myself, but I ended up getting one from Brave Auto. It is cheaper here:
http://www.autorec.co.jp/

[dah_hunter]

what are the differances in the Royal LWB over the regular LWB

[loki]

I was looking at this one for myself, but I ended up getting one from Brave Auto. It is cheaper here:
http://www.autorec.co.jp/

that is funny, that is the same van and like 3 grand cheaper, unless I'm reading it and/or converting jpy to cad wrong.

[jessef]

There is no such thing as the 'same van'.

The one's from Mark seem to be exceptionally clean (no rust/scratches,etc..)

The one's on Autorec's site (they have two at the moment) are in pretty poor shape.

I've imported with them (6 vehicles in the past) and the green one above is quite rusty underneath. It was sourced from northern Japan. I have all the info/pictures, etc... if anyone needs them direct from Mizuno at Autorec.

There will be better one's but the cost in JPY at auction/dealer seems to be rising.

The same one you could get for 100,000 JPY now goes in excess of 200,000 JPY.

They are (L400's) also far and few in between since it's the first production run and Australia/UK/Russia got their hands on them years ago.

There are lots of people that are really interested in the L400 when they see mine and I continually refer them to Mardy at Amazing Auto for two reasons : he is probably the most up front and honest dealer I have met and he has been servicing all of his L400's with top notch work and made 110% compliant for them all. I know because I've helped out on some of them and heard back from very happy customers.

The headlights (LHD beam) appear to be an issue.

So far from what I've seen, Mardy at Amazing Auto, Mark at Brave Auto in JP and Maximum Overdrive are the only one's that have sourced legal compliance LHD beam headlights for the L400. If there are others, I'm not aware of them.

I've seen 4 L400's in the lower mainland without LHD beam headlights and that is a big concern with me, especially if they were purchased from a registered dealer. I hope not.

Regardless, you guys know my view on compliance. Either it's 100% or it affects all of us JDM owners when someone non-compliant gets pulled over and that incident gets recorded. A strike against RHD's in Canada. End of rant on that subject.

Importing yourself now is a gamble. You are still going based on pictures and an auction sheet.

The fabled 'auction sheet' these days is usually pretty twisted.

1st of all, they did away with mechanical grading which sucks for us, the buyer.

To add on top of that, you can get a 4/B grade vehicle and have it turn out to be a 3/C.

The grading seems to have gone downhill in the past 7-8 years. Money trading hands, fake numbers put on, etc...

The only way I would buy from an auctionhouse is if I knew a physical person in Japan who I trust that can view the vehicles in person.

Otherwise, you're gambling with thousands of dollars. Everyone knows that.

I used to have good experience with Autorec, but after the last four L400's that rolled in their yard, I'm not so sure anymore.

Sure, prices are cheap compared to others, but think of it realistically.

You bring one in for 5k, 2k in compliance + taxes, 700-1k for headlights (if you can source them) 2k for tires/service and you're up to 9-10k.

At that point, your L400 'may' be close to Mardy's level depending on it's original condition.

This has been discussed many, many times... importing your own vs. buying locally.

It used to be much more savings involved back when shipping was 1,000 and vehicles were 500-1,500. Not anymore.

The only exporter (if I had to) I would use looks like Mark at Brave Auto.

But at his prices, I would just buy from Mardy, knowing what I know and what I've seen.

My 2 cents.

[mycale]

I too couldn't say more about Mardy either! Very hard to go wrong with him bringing you in a vehicle.

[loki]

There is no such thing as the 'same van'.

The one's from Mark seem to be exceptionally clean (no rust/scratches,etc..)

The one's on Autorec's site (they have two at the moment) are in pretty poor shape.

I've imported with them (6 vehicles in the past) and the green one above is quite rusty underneath. It was sourced from northern Japan. I have all the info/pictures, etc... if anyone needs them direct from Mizuno at Autorec.

There will be better one's but the cost in JPY at auction/dealer seems to be rising.

The same one you could get for 100,000 JPY now goes in excess of 200,000 JPY.

They are (L400's) also far and few in between since it's the first production run and Australia/UK/Russia got their hands on them years ago.

There are lots of people that are really interested in the L400 when they see mine and I continually refer them to Mardy at Amazing Auto for two reasons : he is probably the most up front and honest dealer I have met and he has been servicing all of his L400's with top notch work and made 110% compliant for them all. I know because I've helped out on some of them and heard back from very happy customers.

The headlights (LHD beam) appear to be an issue.

So far from what I've seen, Mardy at Amazing Auto, Mark at Brave Auto in JP and Maximum Overdrive are the only one's that have sourced legal compliance LHD beam headlights for the L400. If there are others, I'm not aware of them.

I've seen 4 L400's in the lower mainland without LHD beam headlights and that is a big concern with me, especially if they were purchased from a registered dealer. I hope not.

Regardless, you guys know my view on compliance. Either it's 100% or it affects all of us JDM owners when someone non-compliant gets pulled over and that incident gets recorded. A strike against RHD's in Canada. End of rant on that subject.

Importing yourself now is a gamble. You are still going based on pictures and an auction sheet.

The fabled 'auction sheet' these days is usually pretty twisted.

1st of all, they did away with mechanical grading which sucks for us, the buyer.

To add on top of that, you can get a 4/B grade vehicle and have it turn out to be a 3/C.

The grading seems to have gone downhill in the past 7-8 years. Money trading hands, fake numbers put on, etc...

The only way I would buy from an auctionhouse is if I knew a physical person in Japan who I trust that can view the vehicles in person.

Otherwise, you're gambling with thousands of dollars. Everyone knows that.

I used to have good experience with Autorec, but after the last four L400's that rolled in their yard, I'm not so sure anymore.

Sure, prices are cheap compared to others, but think of it realistically.

You bring one in for 5k, 2k in compliance + taxes, 700-1k for headlights (if you can source them) 2k for tires/service and you're up to 9-10k.

At that point, your L400 'may' be close to Mardy's level depending on it's original condition.

This has been discussed many, many times... importing your own vs. buying locally.

It used to be much more savings involved back when shipping was 1,000 and vehicles were 500-1,500. Not anymore.

The only exporter (if I had to) I would use looks like Mark at Brave Auto.

But at his prices, I would just buy from Mardy, knowing what I know and what I've seen.

My 2 cents.

tell me these aren't the same van, and both importers provide the same level or service (just bring it in and drop it in your lap)
http://www.terra2imports.ca/import-japa ... 655066.htm

http://www.autorec.co.jp/used-cars/japa ... gin=canada

thanks for you input, I understand the value of getting a van from an importer like Mardy, that is why I posted this, but I also got my van from a no frills operation and got the other work done my self, yes the cost was about the same in the long run but I didn't have it all at once, I had just enough to buy the van and 6 months or more later I finally had the cash to get the service done. I would like a LWB and why not a royal exceed? I have friends that bought through terra2 and I think they overpaid, and from other posts about them and there pricing I feel that there prices are inflated (I don't care if it deemed ok or not I would rather not pay the extra)

[Adam]

I think jfarsang might have misunderstood your statement about the vans being the same. You were referring to the Terra2 and AutoRec L400. I think jfarsang thought you were saying the van I'm importing from Brave Auto was the 'same van' as the Auto Rec L400.

[loki]

I think jfarsang might have misunderstood your statement about the vans being the same. You were referring to the Terra2 and AutoRec L400. I think jfarsang thought you were saying the van I'm importing from Brave Auto was the 'same van' as the Auto Rec L400.

ah. I don't like comparing apples to oranges so I try not to make those types of comparisons, I like the stuff I have seen on brave autos site for sure, nothing available on there atm

oh and if I came across bitchy or anything it wasn't intentional I work in IT and sometimes my frustration spills over into other areas of my life :(

[jessef]

I'm not sure what Terra2 does in Japan. Whether they just throw up other people's images and if they get a bite, then they go and buy that vehicle from the other dealer or auction house.

I know that Autorec stocks their vehicles in a massive yard and they don't advertise their vehicles until they acquire them and it's their own titled vehicle.

I contacted Mizuno and will wait for his reply on this one.

[loki]

I'm not sure what Terra2 does in Japan. Whether they just throw up other people's images and if they get a bite, then they go and buy that vehicle from the other dealer or auction house.

I know that Autorec stocks their vehicles in a massive yard and they don't advertise their vehicles until they acquire them and it's their own titled vehicle.

I contacted Mizuno and will wait for his reply on this one.

I think you might be right, it seems to have happened before that they have had vehicles advertised that where owned by other importers, I think they need to step up the speed of the updates :).

[dah_hunter]

I'm not sure what Terra2 does in Japan. Whether they just throw up other people's images and if they get a bite, then they go and buy that vehicle from the other dealer or auction house.

This is exactly what Terra2 does..

they do it for Local cars as well..

Using Craiglist and what not they will list cars that are local for sale..

It is a clever way of operating..

[jessef]

Autorec has the above Delica. I have more pics.

I priced it out landed/complied. Etc... Close to 10k or 12k once you're done. Still not cheap

the exchange rate is killing us right now. Not the best time to import

also take into consideration the rate you get charged at customs. Many people are not aware that you get charged the rate at the time of the purchase in japan and us customs rates are horrible.

The two 400's I brought in I anticipated about 1,600 cdn in duty/taxes but ended up coming out to 3,900 almost twice what I expected. Heads up for anyone importing on their own. Current jpy rates are bad now.

[Adam]

also take into consideration the rate you get charged at customs. Many people are not aware that you get charged the rate at the time of the purchase in japan and us customs rates are horrible. The two 400's I brought in I anticipated about 1,600 cdn in duty/taxes but ended up coming out to 3,900 almost twice what I expected. Heads up for anyone importing on their own. Current jpy rates are bad now.

Are any of those charges GST? I have $450 GST voucher issued by ICBC that I can use toward the purchase of a car. I'm just wondering if I can apply it to any of the importing costs.