Help with AB registration.

[bigbird]

Has anyone recently registered a RHD Delica in Alberta? I read in an early thread about someone having a great deal of trouble. There was no mention of a resolution. I am about to sign my name to the dotted line. Should I save my money?
Thanks.

[White Mule]

Hey bigbird,

Yes registering in Alberta is acceptable. Be patient as there are a few hoops to leap. Green1 would of more assistance than myself.
I'll do my best from memory (Green can correct my order)

1) Temporary permit required to drive around (registry)
2) Out of province inspection required. (make repairs if nesessary)
3) Insurance letter of intent/ get insurance.
4) Provide ALL required documents to registry. (OPP, bill of sale, insurance etc.)
5) Get plates
This order is rough (memory going)

I went to registry first and asked for a complete list, step by step and followed them.
The registry on 17 ave S.E. is the one I used and there is a woman there (cant remember name) who was very experianced at this and most helpful.

PM for further assistance.

Be Patient!

[Erebus]

White Mule has it more or less right. You can put the plates off your old vehicle on the Deli to drive it to registry. If you are transferring plate, then you have to bring it to the registry. For new plates, even easier.

The big thing is the OOP inspection,if you Deli is coming from out of province. If it is already registered in AB, then should be a no-brainer.

You do know where the VIN number is, right? Two places:
1) Sit in driver's seat. Between your knees is a little flap in the carpet. It is there.
2) Between driver's seat and door on top of wheel well is a plastic trim piece that lifts off. It is under there.

The VIN number doesn't follow standard North American format, but registries CAN handle it, even if the clerk can't.

Good luck and welcome to the Deli world!

Feel free to contact me and/or Green1 via PM if you have any questions. He did it himself, I had it done for me, but I was there.

[Green1]

Delicas are pretty easy to register in Alberta.

The process:

-The first step, no matter what you are doing, is to get insurance. They will generally want an inspection and will give you a few weeks to get one done, but you'll need this to register the vehicle anyway.
-If you are replacing an existing vehicle you can simply put your old plates on the new vehicle. You then have 2 weeks to register the new vehicle. NOTE: if you do this, you are NOT allowed to put the plates back on the old vehicle.
-If this vehicle will require new plates you need to go to the registry and get temporary registration or an "in transit" permit to do your inspection.
-The rest of the process is the same for either option. bring your bill of sale and insurance slip to the registry office and ask to register the vehicle, (if the vehicle has not been registered in Canada before you will also need your customs "form 1",) they will then issue you an inspection form.
-Take the inspection form to a mechanic certified to do out of province inspections (OOP) They will inspect the vehicle, and give you a certificate of inspection
-Take the certificate back to the registry and complete the process of registering the vehicle. if you need new plates they will be issued at this point.

Things that a Delica needs to pass an inspection in Alberta This does vary a bit but these are the basics:
- Everything needs to be in good shape, (Tires, glass, brakes, lights, horn, etc)
- Daytime Running Lights must be added
- Headlights need to be replaced with "E-Code" lights designed for a country where traffic drives on the right side of the road (see posts on this forum about "depo" lights) (Note: some inspectors will insist on DOT lights, this is not possible, and although the inspection manual states this as a requirement, many new vehicles sold locally do not meet this requirement, if you get a real jerk of an inspector who tries this, you can try referencing federal CMVSS regulation 108.1 "alternate lighting standards" which states that "E" Code lights for Right Hand Traffic are acceptable, however you will likely end up failing anyway and having to find a reasonable inspector for the rest of this)
- Side reflectors must be added amber front, red rear (all 4 stick on reflectors can be purchased at Canadian Tire for about $10)
- Side marker lights, the tail lights wrap around enough to cover the rear maker light requirement, for front marker lights you can convert the front side turn signal repeater light to be always on (and still flash with the signal light, it's an easy and quick fix that actually looks pretty good I think, instructions can be found on this forum.

The rest will vary greatly depending on the inspector, but here are the basics, some inspectors will ignore some of this, others will be real jerks about everything and then some.
- All glass must be stamped with "AS" markings (the glass on the Delica from the factory complies, but aftermarket replacement glass may or may not)
- Tires must be "DOT" stamped (you will likely need to replace your tires if they are still the Japanese tires, though some shops will pass these tires, and others will pass them if they have the load rating stamped on the side.)
- Centre Brake light, Delicas have 'em from the factory starting in 92 or 93, and Canadian regulations don't require them on these vehicles until 1997, however many inspectors can't seem to figure this out and will insist everything after ?1987? have them... if your delica doesn't have one, it is generally much easier to add one than to try to argue this one.

[marsgal42]

One small note on tires: since many of our Delicas are incipient Shaken failures, the tires they come from Japan with tend to be on their last legs. The size they use in Japan is a weird one that is not readily available in Canada, so a new set of tires is money well-spent. Gumdrop would have failed her next Shaken without new tires.

The OOP requirements in B.C. are the same as for Alberta. Any importer worth working with will know them by heart.

...laura

[Green1]

The OOP requirements in B.C. are the same as for Alberta

mostly...
The requirements I set out will get you registered in any province, and 2/3 of the territories (I haven't heard if the North West Territories have come to their senses yet, they have no OOP program for any vehicle EXCEPT RHD, who pretty much all fail as there is no way to make most of them meet the requirements they set out)
Some provinces are more strict than others. BC for example will make sure you do everything that I listed. Alberta on the other hand is hit and miss, some inspectors will make sure you do everything, some won't care about any of it, and most are probably somewhere in the middle.
The further east you get though, the less they tend to inspect, it sounds like Ontario currently lets you get away without any modifications at all, but that could change.

At the time I did my inspection in Alberta they didn't care about any of it, but I chose to make my vehicle "BC Compliant" simply because I spend a lot of time driving back and forth, and didn't want some roadside inspection to become a nightmare.

[bigbird]

Thanks all!!!
Your help is much appreciated! I will let you know how everything progresses.

[RCFA]

I'm going through the same thing with my delica right now. Any suggestion in inspector to go to that have experience and are good? I asked a friend of mine who does inspections and he said he can't because it is RHD and Canadian Tire is one of the only places to go.

[Green1]

Any garage that does OOP can do it. ANY garage that does OOP.
Canadian tire is about the worst possible place to take it though.

[bikepoor]

Any garage that can do OOP could do it, but as I found out the long hard way, most of them wont touch an out of country RHD vehicle. The popular logic seems to be the lighting upgrades and the availability of parts when they do find something wrong. Mostly this means if they can't just phone NAPA and tell them it's a 2006 Dodgchevfordoyota common wagon and have the part delivered in 20 minutes, it ain't worth the time and chance that your wheels will take up space in their yard for a day or two. I also found out the expensive way, that a previous vehicle inspection don't mean jack when it's on the lift for the new OPP inspection and the mechanic is putting his ticket on the line. I ended up taking my bus to Pro-Active Auto in NE Calgary, and one month and $1700 later I am cleared registered and insured. They weren't the cheapest, but they know the vehicles, and have sources for the parts you will need lined up. I love my bus and don't regret buying it for a moment, but I wish I would have had them take a pre-purchase look at it before I bought it, so I could have factored in some of the repair cost.

[RCFA]

I just got the vehicle from bc and all the work has just been done to make it compliant. It was registered and inspected in bc by a reliable dealer. Is there a possibility for the inspectors to make me do additional things to the vehicle, just so they can make money or will they be pretty fair and see that everything has just been done to make it fully compliant?

[Green1]

I think your question is "are mechanics honest?"
The answer to which is no.... or yes... all depends on the mechanic. there are a LOT of lying, thieving, jerks of mechanics out there... there are also a few real gems out there. without knowing which you will get, there is no easy answer to what will happen.

[dpd]

If you're in Edmonton and looking for an OOP shop PM me. I had a positive experience at a smaller shop on the southside. I did everything right, including high mount LED brake light for safety, and they assessed it fairly and they pointed out a few minor issues but did not pressure. Price was reasonable and they were good guys.
David

[ccautos]

I know is a bit of a trip , but I have been involved with registering five RHD vehicle in Jasper. The guys at the Goodyear station there are starting to get a good handle on JDM`s and seem to understand the procedures well.

[RCFA]

Thanks Everyone. I got the opi done by pro active, very fair, and I'm now shopping around for some permanent insurance. Anyone have any suggestions? I have not found anyone that will give me any more coverage than basic liability. Everyone else that I have tried say they will not insure a right hand drive. Where did you find the best covverage/best rates? Thanks,

Adam