L300 search, hitting walls. Advice wanted..!

[Lacerta]

(Warning, bit of a story ahead)

So I've been stepping up my search for the right L300 2.5TD after deciding to go for one, instead of an L400 or SWB pajero, but have been running into quite a few walls.


First of all, living in Atlantic Canada (specifically PEI) there isn't any importers in my area as far as I've found, and not really much of a import community at all, let alone a Delica one. Some of the issues include figuring out where to get a Delica from, how to get a test drive, and how I'm going to get it into my region, and I was wondering if anyone can give a recommendation or maybe any other ideas.

Ontario is about a 16-18 hour drive away, Quebec is cut off from RHDs now, plus I honestly have only found sport car importers from there. Calgary and BC of course are even farther away.

My first concern is that I still want to be able to test drive a L300 before I decide to purchase, just to make absolutely sure I'm not going to have any issues with it personally. So far I haven't heard of any Delicas within a days drive round trip of me, and getting up to ontario would be a two day job, maybe three depending on location, plus the bridge and gas together would be well over 500$ just for a test drive. Flying round trip is around 700-800$. Flying to BC oddly enough costs about the same for a round trip as to Ontario.

I've been in contact with Wayne from Luxury imports, and Kei-cars Onatrio. Luxury Imports mostly does import on request and doesn't have Delicas on hand usually from what I can tell, Kei-cars does the absolute minimum on compliance so that leaves them out in my books.

I've also been in contact with the Delica.ca hailed Marty from Amazing auto imports a few months ago over the phone. Despite a miscommunication where he called fairly late at night, He was kind on the phone and explained what he does in good detail. Honestly I would prefer to buy from him but because of the extensive work he does, his Delicas are at a premium, throw that on top of the 2000-3000$ trucking fee to Atlantic Canada and your getting close to the fabled 15,000$ Delica mentioned in another thread. Thats without a test drive or even checking the car out in person either.


So in the end, I'm at a loss at what to do. Am I missing a dealer in Ontario or Quebec that might have a Delica or two on hand that I can fly up, look at, and maybe drive home with..? Is there a member in the Atlantic Canada with a Delica that I can check out at all..? Should I just suck it up and pay the most expensive Delica route, from BC, with no test drive or personal look at all?

What might be the best choice now..? hoping for an opinion or two and maybe some advice.

Thanks

~Lacerta

((Edit: I have been using this page http://forum.ivoac.ca/showthread.php?t=2077 to help in the search for dealers))

[loki]

(Warning, bit of a story ahead)

So I've been stepping up my search for the right L300 2.5TD after deciding to go for one, instead of an L400 or SWB pajero, but have been running into quite a few walls.


First of all, living in Atlantic Canada (specifically PEI) there isn't any importers in my area as far as I've found, and not really much of a import community at all, let alone a Delica one. Some of the issues include figuring out where to get a Delica from, how to get a test drive, and how I'm going to get it into my region, and I was wondering if anyone can give a recommendation or maybe any other ideas.

Ontario is about a 16-18 hour drive away, Quebec is cut off from RHDs now, plus I honestly have only found sport car importers from there. Calgary and BC of course are even farther away.

My first concern is that I still want to be able to test drive a L300 before I decide to purchase, just to make absolutely sure I'm not going to have any issues with it personally. So far I haven't heard of any Delicas within a days drive round trip of me, and getting up to ontario would be a two day job, maybe three depending on location, plus the bridge and gas together would be well over 500$ just for a test drive. Flying round trip is around 700-800$. Flying to BC oddly enough costs about the same for a round trip as to Ontario.

I've been in contact with Wayne from Luxury imports, and Kei-cars Onatrio. Luxury Imports mostly does import on request and doesn't have Delicas on hand usually from what I can tell, Kei-cars does the absolute minimum on compliance so that leaves them out in my books.

I've also been in contact with the Delica.ca hailed Marty from Amazing auto imports a few months ago over the phone. Despite a miscommunication where he called fairly late at night, He was kind on the phone and explained what he does in good detail. Honestly I would prefer to buy from him but because of the extensive work he does, his Delicas are at a premium, throw that on top of the 2000-3000$ trucking fee to Atlantic Canada and your getting close to the fabled 15,000$ Delica mentioned in another thread. Thats without a test drive or even checking the car out in person either.


So in the end, I'm at a loss at what to do. Am I missing a dealer in Ontario or Quebec that might have a Delica or two on hand that I can fly up, look at, and maybe drive home with..? Is there a member in the Atlantic Canada with a Delica that I can check out at all..? Should I just suck it up and pay the most expensive Delica route, from BC, with no test drive or personal look at all?

What might be the best choice now..? hoping for an opinion or two and maybe some advice.

Thanks

~Lacerta

((Edit: I have been using this page http://forum.ivoac.ca/showthread.php?t=2077 to help in the search for dealers))

I would say you should buy my van :) or get one from Mardy, I would buy from him with no test drive any day. I saw on the westjet site that you can get a one way from PEI to Van for 219 so round trip would be 440 plus the extra fees and taxes of course, or you could just do the one way and drive the deli home. hey if you buy mine I will throw as much WVO fuel in the van as you feel safe to carry, you might make it all the way home with out paying for fuel once :)

[mararmeisto]

Only dealer/importer I remember from Ontario is Kei Cars (http://www.kei-cars.com/index.htm). Maybe they'd be willing to bring in a Delica for you or at least point you in the direction of someone who can.

There are a couple of Haligonians and one or two out on the Rock who have Delicas, but I don't know whether they brought them in themselves or with the assistance of a importer (either out here in BC or over there on the East Coast).

[Lacerta]

I would say you should buy my van :) or get one from Mardy, I would buy from him with no test drive any day. I saw on the westjet site that you can get a one way from PEI to Van for 219 so round trip would be 440 plus the extra fees and taxes of course, or you could just do the one way and drive the deli home. hey if you buy mine I will throw as much WVO fuel in the van as you feel safe to carry, you might make it all the way home with out paying for fuel once :)

I have considered your van as well as a few others by private members, its mostly the distance. and 219 for a one way? I think theres probably a tone of hidden fees there. Usually flying from PEI alone adds an extra 150-200$, and driving 3 hours to Halifax Intl (and paying the 45$ bridge fee) cuts that off.

If I have any questions or am considering your van, I will make sure to note you :3

[after oil]

as an example: i live on the BC coast. i sold a van that i imported to a family in the interior. they saw a million pictures and talked to glen at coombs country auto. the van had been fully serviced there and he assured the buyers that it was a sound and worthy vehicle. they paid me $10,500 for the van. i drove it to them and they flew me partway home. they have been very happy with it.
what i am saying is i think you can trust the likes of mardy and glen and some others maybe to sell you a good van that will offer no disappointment.

heck, id love to drive a van to PEI for a flight home....

[Lacerta]

I got a PM from SKdelica, rather interesting offer. After asking him I decided to post it on here

Hi,
I am a used car dealer and registered importer in Vancouver and have some delica L300 in stock, getting more every month from Japan.

I fully understand your situation that you are worried about buying without test drive or seeing.
Most peopls in Mid or Eastern Canada have same issue for off shore shopping and remote shopping.

BTW, we have a purchase assistance program for remote area customers.
We compensate for your round air fare up to $300 without any condition.
All you have to do is to contact us and let me know your arrival time, date.
We will pick you up at YVR for you to see our stocks and test drive.
If delica is not suitable for you, nevertheless we will reimburse $300 for sure.
If you are good with delicas, we arrange shipping to Regina, SK, where we have a sales office and you pick it up next.
Or we can discuss exact shipping method.
Cheers,

[jessef]

I got a PM from SKdelica, rather interesting offer. After asking him I decided to post it on here

Going from personal experience, this what I would do in your shoes knowing what I know now.

1. Import yourself, then have all the standard maintenance and preventative maintenance done. Then either fly one-way and drive it back home or have it shipped rail.

2. Buy an already imported one with all the work done to it from Mardy or Glenn.

3. Buy an already imported one with all the work done to it and one that has a bunch of miles logged on it from a private seller.

I would personally go with option 3. if you can because it will be broken in, hopefully maintenance free and knowledge that it's been driven and can handle long distances.

I would not buy from any other dealer based on my experiences.

To be honest, they all drive the same providing they have the equivalent work/tires, etc... on them.

The thing you should ask yourself is whether or not you would like an automatic or 5spd. Whether a low roof or high roof with crystalite windows.

Aside from that, each one has different options added on that makes each one fairly unique.

For what's available right now, I would buy one via private sale from a well respected member that has a Delica with history you can actually count on.

There's a lot of L300's for sale. Good ones that would make the trip.

The only one issue with buying from any dealer is that the vehicle will not have the logged Canadian miles on it that is beneficial to someone driving it across the country.

And trying to find the cheapest one from a dealer very very rarely works out to the buyers advantage financially in the long run. This has been proven time and time again.

I know the situation. It comes down to money.

With used vehicles, it's not how much you save in the initial sale but whether it will cost you more down the line that one that has preventative work done to it. Most people with Delica's can echo my comment that it will cost you more to buy a cheap one, do the service than buying one with the work done to it already.

Hope this helps.

[MardyDelica]

hi, i can ship any delica for you anywhere is canada.
i would advise to do all the full service to any delica you wish to buy from me.
i dont sell delica without any service as this create big problem to you.
all this delica or any JDM vehicle came from japan with shaken or no shaken need to service & thats is no exemption to me.
i never sells any vehicle without any service its a big headache.
as i know for sure 100% you will encounter problems.
sorry if i call you late as i work late as per your time zone.
i apologized.
if any question pls call me anytime 604-247-2111/ 604-720-6144
cheer:
Mardy

[mararmeisto]

I would echo jfarsang's comments with respect to the real benefit of purchasing from an importer/dealer is the lack of paperwork - they've done most of it for you in the process of getting the vehicle here to Canada. After that, it's little different than any other used car.

My own advice to you with respect to owning a JDM, specifically a RHD, make sure you have an insurer that will cover it. For example, a growing number of private insurers in BC are no longer willing to insure RHDs (for one reason or another, admitted or otherwise).

Regardless, if you're going to deal with a company, make sure you are clear about what they are offering. There are some who offer more complete service: a good selection of vehicle on the other side, importation to Canada, full maintenance once here, inspection, and some will even offer a warranty of some kind. There are others who offer less: they will import the vehicle. Caveat emptor as they say in old Rome.

[Profister]

I believe everybody is missing the point:

My first concern is that I still want to be able to test drive a L300 before I decide to purchase, just to make absolutely sure I'm not going to have any issues with it personally.

Lacerta, so far I can see the only one offer for a test drive for $300 off your travel expenses from SKdelica.

[after oil]

2. Buy an already imported one with all the work done to it from Mardy or Glenn.

3. Buy an already imported one with all the work done to it and one that has a bunch of miles logged on it from a private seller.

I would personally go with option 3. if you can because it will be broken in, hopefully maintenance free and knowledge that it's been driven and can handle long distances.

X2

[Lacerta]

Aye! and thanks for the advice folks I have been slowly leaning more and more towards buying from a dealer actually, and before noticing the new posts on the thread, was in contact with Marty over the phone, he helped clear up a few more questions, though more or less started to sway me towards an L400 for many reason

Now I'm back to thinking between the L300 and L400 again

X3

But that's okay, Marty is supposed to be getting back to me on an estimate for direct shipping, and I guess I will make that the basis of where I decide to go with this.

I think my father is getting excited about this, because he wishes me to give him my sidekick/tracker, guess I'll have to tell him no a little longer and see how this all turns out :P

But seriously, thanks a lot guys, really helping this clear all this up more for me.\

Edit:

I believe everybody is missing the point:

My first concern is that I still want to be able to test drive a L300 before I decide to purchase, just to make absolutely sure I'm not going to have any issues with it personally.

Lacerta, so far I can see the only one offer for a test drive for $300 off your travel expenses from SKdelica.

And yes Profister, I was wondering if anyone was going to bring that up. Though, I don't think i would be too concerned with a test drive if I decided upon an L400 in the end, I've driven many vans before, and I'm sure it will be much better then any of them :3. When it comes to the L300 though, seating position is dramatically different then anything else in North America. Part of my reasoning for the L300 was price and looks as well, so just have to keep a look on things, maybe raise my budget a bit too.

[FalcoColumbarius]

By the way, there is someone known to this club as "TinyKiss". They are based out of Nova Scotia.

See link:
http://www.delica.ca/forum/delica-repai ... -7227.html

Closer than BC. Perhaps they can share some information if you PM them....

Falco.

[Profister]

Part of my reasoning for the L300 was price and looks as well, so just have to keep a look on things, maybe raise my budget a bit too.

Do not worry about the look; you will forget about it as soon as you meet L400 in person and drive it away. I am sure there is a number of dedicated L300 owners who are selling their unique looking 'bricks' quietly to buy L400 'buns' (or 'loafs'). It should be a reason for that... BTW I am going to sell my brick soon.

[Andrei]

We bought our Delica from Mardy @ Amazing Auto and I too would buy from Mardy without a test Drive! He is IMHO the best importer to deal with when buying a Delica.

Andrei