My purchasing story... final purchase at Rising Sun

[colin]

I have a couple of months off helping out with our newborn and we decided to purchase a Delica to do some touring, camping and in general make use of the extra space a Delica has. Delica.ca was the resource I used most to help me decide on the purchase. Importing yourself or having a buyer source a good model that suits your requirements seemed like the best bang for your buck but I simply didn't have the time to do this. So I had to look at what was available privately and through dealers.

In the end I decided on purchasing through a dealer, I'm not up on my car mechanics so purchasing privately seemed too much of a risk and I really liked the idea of a one year drive train warranty. I ended up going to three dealers and here is my thoughts....

Silk Road Auto:

The guy who showed me round seemed like a nice guy. My issue with here (and it wasn't the only place), was that when I told him which vehicle I was interested in he pulled it out into the courtyard and left it running while talking me through everything. I leaned in and turned the van off and he turned it back on saying it needed to warm up as the battery hadn't been used in a while. See the thing is I'm looking to own a van that doesn't require a curbside warmup for ten minutes before I drive off every day. So a word to dealers.... make sure your batteries are charged, and to potential buyers.... don't give a specific time that you are turning up, or if you have to do so, check the engine to see if it is warm as my father always told me you want to see how a vehicle runs from cold.

Maximum Overdrive:

I phoned ahead to see if they still had the vehicle I was interested in, apparently it had sold that afternoon. I couldn't help but leave the phone call thinking there had been a miscommunication ( I have a N. Ireland accent that doesn't translate well on the phone) so I sent an email checking to see if it was indeed sold. I never did receive an email back but they re-advertized the same van at a lower price the next day. I phoned to confirm I'd be in that day to check it out. When I arrived the van was attached to a charger and I began to think that all Delica's drain their battery! On driving the vehicle I thought it sounded a little too rough round the edges and decided to pass, my overall impression was a little lack luster.

Rising Sun:

I tend to follow my gut, and these guys got the two thumbs up from it. When I turned up at their garage they showed us round the van I was interested in, pointing out the issues they were aware of and were quick bring to my attention that they hadn't started with there main overhaul of the engine. They went through the long list of items they intended to do on the van over the next several days but suggested I took it for a test drive none the less. For something that hadn't been tuned yet, it drove better than the maximum overdrive Van I'd been in an hour previous. It also had only 83,000 km on it. They were keen to point out that high millage doesn't make that big a difference if the vehicle is getting a full makeover/parts replacement from a reputable mechanic. I tend to agree with this, it does however greatly affect the resale value when reselling privately. The Rising Sun garage is immaculately clean and organized and they do also seem to actively pursue maintenance, servicing and repairs business, which installed confidence for me. On arrival home, my wife and I decided that the Rising Sun vehicle was our best option. We felt pretty confident that they would stand by their word and complete the various upgrades/repairs they had listed, so we called them and put down a deposit. Sure enough, four days later we picked up our van and the guys their were very proud of the work they had done, and so far we are very happy customers....

Colin.

[nxski]

That's a great story. I'm glad you have found a van that looks great, sounds great and that the experience was relatively painless. One thing I would like to bring attention to is the oil filter. I know that RSI sells Korean oil filters which are not as big as the Japanese ones. Before doing any long drives up steep hills you might want to check that the oil filter is the larger version. This is by no means to cast a shadow over the work that they have done (it's nice that they offer a variety of products) I would just want to make sure that enough oil is being circulated when the engine is working hard.

Congratulations again!

[lopar]

Before doing any long drives up steep hills you might want to check that the oil filter is the larger version. This is by no means to cast a shadow over the work that they have done (it's nice that they offer a variety of products) I would just want to make sure that enough oil is being circulated when the engine is working hard.

I was unaware that the physical size of a filter could directly reflect the volume of oil that it may pass on to the rest of the engine? are the intake and output ports/holes proportional to the size of the filter to change/restrict the flow volume?

Perhaps the size of the filter may effect the eventual clogging up of the sooner due to volume of filter element?

Good to know before my next oil change.

I would have thought that from a good cruise (max oil pressure) to pulling hard up a hill the oil pressure would be the same, how does the hill thing effect anything with respect to oil pressure/volume?

[Slimdog]

Goon info here. I would also be swayed if I saw a nice clean and organized shop.

[nxski]

Goon info here. I would also be swayed if I saw a nice clean and organized shop.

Agreed

As for the oil filter I am just passing along newly learned info. Please don't quote me on this but I feel it's better to be safe than sorry.
Anyone with mechanical knowledge feel like chirping in?

[Aciled]

Goon info here. I would also be swayed if I saw a nice clean and organized shop.

Agreed

As for the oil filter I am just passing along newly learned info. Please don't quote me on this but I feel it's better to be safe than sorry.
Anyone with mechanical knowledge feel like chirping in?

Well...He's ( not me) on a what one might call 'a Leave of Absence', You know, getting some rest, taking a deep breath, enjoying life outside of the forum.

Sigh...

[nxski]

He's back now though...

http://www.delica.ca/forum/taking-a-bre ... 12-30.html

[Rising Sun Auto Import]

Thank you, Colin for choosing us and our Delica.

We did our best to fulfill your expectations on your purchase, and are very glad that the goal has been achieved. In fact, we were happy to work with you because you knew how to appreciate the value of the work and time that was put into the van.

Best regards to you and your family.



As for the oil filter questioned, bunch of our Delica that we have sold over the years, (which were equipped with the same oil filter, made by Hyundai) were driven successfully by the new owners from Vancouver to Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, the Arctic Circle, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and so on. The list can go on and on and on.

We do have bigger size filters in stock for customers who might not feel comfortable though.

[colin]

Thought I'd update this thread in regards to how the vehicle is running, ongoing support from Rising Sun and the big versus small oil filter.

We drove from Vancouver to Edmonton and back in the summer without any issues. The small oil filter seemed to do the job just fine, as we pushed along some mighty big hills without the engine heat getting to an alarming temperature. In all we put 4000Km on the clock in that one trip and I was very happy with performance.

We have been back since to Rising Sun for a maintenance check and at a later stage for a slight rubbing on the front brake and the timing belt beginning to screech. The guys at rising sun fixed them under the warranty without any hassles and as usual were very friendly. Still would recommend them to any of my friends if they are looking for a Delica from a reliable dealer.

[Rising Sun Auto Import]

Thought I'd update this thread in regards to how the vehicle is running, ongoing support from Rising Sun and the big versus small oil filter.

We drove from Vancouver to Edmonton and back in the summer without any issues. The small oil filter seemed to do the job just fine, as we pushed along some mighty big hills without the engine heat getting to an alarming temperature. In all we put 4000Km on the clock in that one trip and I was very happy with performance.

We have been back since to Rising Sun for a maintenance check and at a later stage for a slight rubbing on the front brake and the timing belt beginning to screech. The guys at rising sun fixed them under the warranty without any hassles and as usual were very friendly. Still would recommend them to any of my friends if they are looking for a Delica from a reliable dealer.

Gillian and Colin,
Thanks for continuous support.
Much appreciated.
FYI, we fixed screeching alternator belts ( not timing belt ) with new ones last time.
We promise to serve customer better than ever with manpower and over 1,000 new parts in stock.

Steven, David & Tiwari