Silk Road Warning

[Silk Road scam artist]

This message is for anybody who is considering buying a vehicle from Silk Road Auto.
I have bought 2 vehicles from this dealership in the last year. The first one caught on fire 2 1/2 months later. After an investigation ICBC concluded it was the result of a mechanical defect. After I was reimbursed from ICBC I purchased a second Delica from Silk Road Auto. The second vehicle appeared to be in great condition. Within a week of purchase it began to fall apart. I brought the vehicle back to Silk Road because of excessive squealing from the belts. Abdul (the mechanic) attempted to repair it. He explained to me that he couldn't get the right belt, & that the belt would squeal until it was warmed up. For the next 2 months the van kept breaking down, 5 times of which it ended up on the back of a tow truck. I was pulled over by the West Vancouver police for excessive noise coming from my engine. The police officer brought to my attention that the headlights on my vehicle were not to BC regulations & my insurance would be void if I got into an accident. It was then I decided to get it inspected by a third party. The third party concluded that the crankshaft had been damaged, and the engine needed to be rebuilt. The pulleys that had been put on the vehicle were not even from a Delica. The crankshaft pulley had not been tightened to its proper torque. I am currently suing Silk Road Auto for the damage that they did to the second van. The van is at their lot, & they have threatened to push it onto the road without insurance. They have no plan to resolve the dispute. I have lost numerous days at work, and have been completely abandoned by Silk Road Autos "supposed" warranty.

[Island Hopper]

Sorry to hear the B.S. you are going through with Silk Road.

I am hoping future Delica owners will take note and realize there are some really sleazy dealers out there trying to take advantage of people. To future owners I think you are better off paying a little bit more for your van from someone who is reputable (he easily found on this forum) so you have some peace of mind than paying less from someone who will probably scam you big time.

I hope you are successful in your court case.

[jessef]

Someone will ask this eventually, but after the first one 'result of mechanical defect' burned to the ground, why did you buy another one from the same place ? If I bought a vehicle that burned to the ground, that experience alone would make me much more skeptical of whom to buy from in the future.

There are so many dealers and L300's to pick and choose from.

This forum is an excellent source of information and discussion to make a well informed decision when purchasing one.

If your post is 'genuine', then I sympathize with your situation. Judging by the first ICBC report and the 2nd report (non-compliance), you have every right to take them to small claims court or higher depending on what amount you are suing for.

It's a shame you didn't join the delica forum last year when you bought your first one. It's quite a mouthful to read from a new member.

Good luck.

[psilosin]

That is the first negative review I have seen about Silk Road.

I think Island Hopper's response to this single story is overly harsh. There have been many positive Silk Road reviews on this site alone. Calling them sleazy and insinuating that they will 'scam you big time' so quickly based on this one story is unfair imo.

After an investigation ICBC concluded it was the result of a mechanical defect.

As opposed to what...magic? Hehe sorry couldn't resist.

[Profister]

That is the first negative review I have seen about Silk Road.

I recommend using search then; you will find quiet a few really bad facts about this dealer on this forum.

[Strada 92]

You will also find many of good review.Silkroad is really good dealer.
When you sell as many vehicles as Silkroad, for sure there will be some that will not be satisfied,it's impossible to make everyone happy.
And often,unhappy people make more noise than the majority that are satisfied.

[thedjjack]

My only problem with this review is:

Member Name: Silk Road scam artist
Posts: 1

[psilosin]

That is the first negative review I have seen about Silk Road.

I recommend using search then; you will find quiet a few really bad facts about this dealer on this forum.

OK I did. After skimming through 5 pages of 14+ pages of search results for 'Silk Road' the only truly negative review I noticed was from you. Not exactly a treasure trove of 'really bad facts'. Almost every other mention of them was either outright positive or was a positive tale of how silk road stepped up when a problem did arise. This in no way compares to the ratio of bad:good comments about some of the other dealers that either change their name every few months or have disapeared from the forum completely.

Based on the evidence the jury finds that Psilosin's personal opinion shall stand...a lynching of Silk Road is not warranted at this time...maybe later.

[L400Quebec]

I don't agree with this guy too. I bought 2 vehicules at silkroad and was satisified each time. Silkroad work for you to find the vehicule you are looking for. Each vehicule I bought there was what I agreed on, the price and mechanical condition ( If I ask for no oil leak for example the vehicule was like what I ask)for. We have to remember that these vehicule are 15 years old even if the look good and mechanic cannot be 100% reliable. So the problems you had was maybe not the only silkroad fault. Karim explain to us once that this rhd market is very competive and the sellers have no chances to have a bad reputation and miss some details. Anyway, in my case, A+ for Silkroad and if the law change here in Quebec, I would certainly buy another one there.

Salut

[Rising Sun Auto Import]

As far as I know, Karim and Abdul at Silk Road have done what they have to do, and they know what this industry should be.
No one is perfect, but we know they are trying to do the right things.
Karim is so nice guy to deal with.

Cheers,

Steven

[deli1733]

Reading the original post its a pretty vague description of what the van broke down from. But there is quite a list of what the mechanic actually did wrong so its not a case of the van being a 'lemon'. (if hes being truthful) It is kinda annoying about his name, he'll probably never use this site again. Dealers should always work with their customers and resolve these things even if they arent in the wrong. Bad news travels fast.

[Jensen]

I bought my L300 from Silk Road and I had a so-so experience. I don't think they're scam artists or out to rip people off, but they don't do the most thorough job of refurbishing the vehicles they sell. I also don't think they're as picky about the vehicles they purchase back in Japan, not like another really good importer that everybody seems to know and love. But I don't think they're any different in regards to vehicle quality than most other dealers. When I bought mine there were 4 L300's on the lot. They were all priced the same but mine had 68,000km on it, the highest had 135,000. Mine was nearly mint except for a dent in the rear hatch door, 2 of the others had paint that was completely ruined on the roof's and big dents or scratches. I had no idea how they were pricing these vehicles, mine seemed like a deal, the others, overpriced. The dealer himself didn't seem the most knowledgeable about the vehicles, and they only had the 1 mechanic who's electrical work was a bit sketchy. I'm guessing the fire in the OP's vehicle was caused by the DRL wiring? The reason I assume this was when I took a look at mine I saw there were no crimp on fittings, there was no relay base. They had crimped on some female spade fittings and inserted them onto a relay which they then wrapped with electrical tape, then they cut away the insulation from the wires that they needed to attach to and they wrapped the exposed ends of the relay wires, no solder, no crimps, it was just one wire wrapped around another wire and held in place with tape!!! The only reason I checked all this out was because my foot dislodged one of the wires while driving (shutting off my headlights while driving at night, really safe) fortunately the wire wasn't hot or it could have grounded on the steering column which I'm sure would have made my drive with no headlights MUCH more interesting than it already was. For $5 or so I got some 3M crimps and a Bosh relay with a relay socket which is securely mounted way back out of foot range. Why the mechanic would save $5 this way is beyond me considering what could happen. However, I don't think this is the fault of the dealer as he does not seem to be very mechanically inclined. If they happen to notice this post (as I know they check this out from time to time) I hope they choose to change their DRL install to something a little more robust. Also, they bought somewhat cheep replacement parts. They installed a recycled battery in my van, which broke after only 2 trips up Stave (which could be argued that offroading is tough on batteries so I'm not going to entirely blame them). Since then I've bought a Costco battery (also cheep) and I've been offroad about a dozen times without a problem. My coolant pump started to leak at about a year, it had been repaired in the past as the job done on it as well was not so great. But I don't want to go into that in detail either as again, I have no idea if they fixed that or if that was done in Japan. All the stuff was minor in my case, and as I fixed it myself didn't cost much. However, like with all of these imported vehicles DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!! Climb all over the vehicle, check out the motor, look for rust, cracks, drips, leaks, tears. After that, take it to CVI for an inspection (which I did) drive it a bunch, real driving not just a spin around the parking lot. Try the 4wd, check all the lights. You can find gold at Silk Road, I actually still think I got quite a good deal even with the 2 or 3 bugs. But people who aren't as into their vehicles may buy a headache if they don't do their homework.

Also, might I add, the dealer did a very good job of being reachable when I had problems. They even gave me a loaner vehicle when I had problems with my alternator, and they called me a couple of months after I'd purchased to check out how the van was doing. So ya, good guys, but they just don't carry all super mint condition, perfect for years after purchase vehicles like one other dealer.

[Jensen]

Just adding a few pics to show what I mean about the DRL install. Kinda added the pictures in the reverse order of what I had intended... whoops.

[Pajero]

That is totally brutal!! Good thing it fell apart before you had a fire and a good thing for others to check to make sure it looks right.

speaker wire....really....I cant get over that one....


Joe

[jessef]

There's one dealer on the island Tyee imports. Their prices are usually the lowest you can find of any JDM in BC.

It's because they do next to no servicing, however they tell them to all their customers. It will need this, this and this, etc... that's why it's 3-4,000 less than other dealers.

Silk Road has been around for a few years and when they started, like many others, they just pushed as many though inspection with little to no work along with the fabled RHD headlights still on their vehicles, it is truly shameful and wrong.

Since then, they have built up a better reputation and stock some unique JDM's. Many campers. High prices, but if people want something and they will pay the money, then the demand is there and dealers keep selling.

The one thing that I can tell people in the market for a JDM is to SHOP AROUND and get as many opinions as possible, especially a mechanical inspection.

Most buyers probably don't bother with a mechanical inspection, especially if they bought from a dealer.

Just because a vehicle was purchased from a dealer or private seller, doesn't mean it's mechanically 'as they say it is'. Get it inspected. For $1-200, it's a small price to pay for potential headaches in the long run.

You'll find the pricing is very different from one place to another and eventhough the price may be high, the servicing done to it may not reflect the high price tag.

Don't be fooled by high pricing being equal to a thoroughly serviced JDM.

Be smart and get in the community and ask.

Google 'delica' and this site comes up always first. Click on the first link and you're in the forum.

Anyone potential Delica owner has to not own or touch a computer to not enter into this site when searching for delica's.

There's enough threads/posts/information in this forum over the years for anyone to make a well informed decision of where to buy and what to look for.

And for the last piece of the puzzle...

There is not one single dealer/seller out there who has a 100% reputation of making every single customer 100% satisfied and happy because that is impossible.

There will always be dissatisfied buyer/customers and they are usually the one's that make the biggest noise.