maximum overdrive in richmond

jfarsang · 05-15-07, 12:07 AM

maximum overdrive in richmond.

Anyone dealt with them before ? Buying/servicing,etc... ?

I'd like to get some feedback before I jump into anything on the lot there.

Thanks guys,
Jesse

crushers · 05-15-07, 04:30 AM

ask them questions and listen to their attempts to answer and make up your own mind...

cheers

jfarsang · 05-15-07, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crushers

listen to their attempts to answer

That seems to be the consensus.

I went there yesterday and have to say I was not impressed at all. My buddy's 2-bit backyard mechanics shop is much cleaner and organized compared to these guys.

I haven't seen any feedback, but needless to say, the people were not helpful at all.

Shame as they have a few nice one's on the lot.

Thanks for the PM's guys.

The hunt continues...

canucksafari · 05-15-07, 02:36 PM

Has he come down on price for the Safari? I think he had it listed at around $23K when he first got it. Have a walk around back - I did last summer. He was working in the dirt and dust pulling apart a Delica engine and doing body work at the same time to cover up some dents. That said enough to me. I would rather know the dents are there and get all the body work done in a nice clean dry shop. When I started looking over a year ago his prices were lower than the rest. Last I looked his prices were way up to the cream level without the cream. Cheers, John

jfarsang · 05-15-07, 02:45 PM

Prices are still high up there.

I'm now starting to look at the Mitsu Pajero's as well.

My mechanic has a direct shop discount on parts and has enough parts to turn one into a fully locked, lifted, winched rig for $1,500 all parts/labor (beer and long nights working not included).

As much as I would love to drop the cash on Martin's rig, spending 10k on a Pajero and then 1,500 to make it very trail ready is very tempting.

Still on the hunt...

Yeah. Those guys and that lot didn't rub me the right way.

Good thing there's good people, forums and choices out there.

Jesse

nickw · 05-15-07, 05:04 PM

Martins rig is a real nice truck. He has done lots to do, and I don't think you will find a better deal out there right now. If you like the color, then I would look at getting it. It is get in and go. It might be more than you want to spend, but start adding adding up your time, and how much you really think something will cost you in the end (inspections + headaches). Then factor in something going wrong, or it needing something, and you might hit 14 and 15 pretty fast.

Another 5K more for a loaded and ready to go 81 might not be so bad.
If I was looking for a 81 right now, it would be Martins.

Cheers,
Nick.

crushers · 05-16-07, 03:29 AM

who is Martin?
<edit> never mind found it...THAT is a nice looking rig, love the color...

Martin White · 05-17-07, 08:50 AM

Martin is a crazy guy who can't decide whether or not he wants to keep his truck. Right now it's more along the lines of keeping it. I admit it, I'd miss it if it sold. I do love the dam thing. It has frustrated me often, but it's also a great vehicle....and lately it has not frustrated me at all.

crushers · 05-17-07, 09:01 AM

hummm, nice rig that you are giving away...nah, keep it and enjoy it...

Martin White · 05-28-07, 05:32 PM

After LONG thought, and actually driving some potential replacements, including cars and other trucks, I've decided to keep it. Basically there is no truck like it, even today's models. There are a few nice cars, but I would miss the utility of the truck. To make a long story short.

canucksafari · 05-28-07, 05:49 PM

Martin, smart move IMHO. BTW, I have seen Shinji out and about test driving the rigs he brought in a few times. All of them that I have seen are blowing quite a bit of black driving on level ground and not pushing it. When he had the Safari there last year, it too was blowing lots of black smoke. Mine did too until the IP rebuild and new injectors. Even though you said he preps his vehicles pretty well, I am quite sure he does not do the injectors and IP viton seals before selling his units. Unless a dealer can verify these have been done in Japan, then they should be a course of normal prep before a sale. If I were to sell my truck and then buy another one, it would be one of my first questions.

Jesse, keep on looking. I am sure you will find the right one soon. Cheers, John

jfarsang · 05-30-07, 02:40 PM

Yep.

I'm going to go with a Pajero for now. (flaming hat on)

We'll have a 2nd RHD in the family down the road and without question, it will be an 81.

The hunt continues...

Martin White · 06-04-07, 03:06 PM

I don't think anyone will flame you for making careful financial decisions. Please keep everyone updated on your progress! I'd be very interested to find out what you end up spending once everything is done.

jfarsang · 06-10-07, 06:33 PM

This is what I went with, time, cost, etc.. and what I ended up with for now.

Company purchased from: Autorec Japan Ltd

They do not do auctions. They have a large amount or rotating stock which makes it nice for the buyer to check out the vehicle before buying, ie. as many pictures as you'd like and can have a mechanic/co inspect it.

I went with these guys because they had the one I wanted, were very nice/knowledgeable on the phone and did everything I requested without question.

I was nit picking at everything little detail and they patiently held onto the Pajero until I decided I would take it.

My original budget was around 15k for an 81, but I realized after looking around that to have one fully functioning as a daily driver and completely 100% mechanically up to spec, I would be in the safety zone of 20,000 or so.

At that point I looked for other options and came across the Mitsubishi Pajero. Took a few out of a test drive, liked the roomy interior, seating for 7 and torquey little engine along with an enormous 4x4 following in europe/phillipines,africa,etc.. It won a bunch of un-modified races and I settled on the Pajero.

Started to look for them locally (lower mainland/vanc isld) and found a few 'decent' one's but they were asking 11-12,000 + tax at the dealers.

I spent a lot of time looking at auctions, importers, exporters, etc.. and decided with autorec as they had the one I was looking for almost to the tee.

Pictures below.

I wanted an exceed model with the winter package (large diffs, LSD rear, dual batteries, bigger alternator/starter/glow plugs/etc..) and under 100,000km, single owner, good condition, no rust. I don't like leather and exceed models didn't come with cloth.

I picked out the one I liked, paid $200 to have a Mistubishi mechanic come up and mechanically inspect it. Looked great, price was right and they swapped out the leather seats for identical color cloth seats.

Everything I was looking for except for the factory rear locker, but for the money I'm spending on this, I can easily put in front/rear ARB lockers.

1992 Mitsubishi Pajero (May build) Exceed
Chassis No : V44-4023859
Grade 3.5-4.
88,000 km's, no rust, no dents, no accident's, very clean.

Total cost of the Pajero, shipping, shipping insurance, A/C fee, agri wash (just in case), swap out headlights, install new tires, change all fluids, bc inspection will be approx, $5,800.

For that amount, I just couldn't pass it up. That leaves us with around 9,000 extra of which 5,000 will go into investing and 4,000 into the Pajero with 33's, f/r lockers, f/r bumpers, winch and lift kit.

So basically for 10,000 I'll have a rig fully capable to go anywhere I would like.

Bonus.. it has 5.29 gears. Perfect for trail ridin'

Jesse

Here's the difference between the original leather seats and the cloth seats that they are swapping in :

Cloth :

canucksafari · 06-10-07, 11:31 PM

Congrats Jesse! She looks sweet and with a sweet price. Now, come the hard part - waiting for her to arrive. Looking forward to seeing you drive it when it gets here.
John

lshobie · 06-11-07, 06:55 AM

Does it need anything? You going to have work done there before it leaves? Brakes timing belt, inspection etc etc?

Let us know how it turns out.

Regards,

jfarsang · 06-11-07, 07:40 AM

Thanks John & will do.

I'm going to do all the work here as my best friend I grew up with happens to run his own shop which allows me use of a hoist/bay/tools and his generous discount on parts. When it gets in, I'll replace the rotors/pads/brakes lines (doing a lift), flush the tank and timing belt. It was replaced at 60k but I'm treating it as a used vehicle and doing the timing belt is just something I'll do when it gets here. No biggie.

Looking forward to the truck but not the wait. Ah well.

crushers · 06-11-07, 09:11 AM

seriously, get the timing belt replaced in Japan, it is a HUGE PITA job on the Pajero and Delica. i just did one with the engine out of the unit...never again.
there are 2 belts and a shit load of parts that need removing to get at them...

pay the puny amount in Japan to get it done...you will be happy you did...the rest you can do here easy enough...

jfarsang · 06-11-07, 09:19 AM

That bad eh ?

Thanks for the head's up Wayne.

I'll look into it over there.

Jesse

Martin White · 06-12-07, 01:36 AM

Jesse that is a great looking truck and you are right about the price! Wow! Good for you. Would love to hear more once you get it over here. I'm still kind of amazed by that price....good for you....

jfarsang · 06-12-07, 08:18 AM

I'm amazed at the price as well. Here's the breakdown :

Price: JPY340,000.- FOR Nagoya
JPY170,000.-Freight
JPY12,000.-Insurance
JPY522,000.-CIF New Westminster
= 4,600 CDN
+duty/gst/pst 6/6/7% * (340k Yen/ 3,000CDN) = 570 CDN
Purchase/taxes = $5,170
OOP + wheel alignment = $170
brokerage/misc = $255
Total landed/inspected = $5,595

I already have a set of BFG 33's that I will put on and a 2.5" ironman susp lift and will be looking for a pair of used headlights from a wrecker.

Other than that, it will be good to go.

I'll be getting a price in Japan for them to do the timing belt, pulleys,tensioner, water pump. Not sure how much it will be but I can get an OEM complete set here for $430. If it's much more than that, I'll end up doing it myself as I like to know my truck, even if it's a PIA.

jfarsang · 06-21-07, 07:53 PM

Pictures of the swap.

1st cloth exceed in Canada ?

Roof rack off and prepped for shipping. Crossing fingers for speedy RORO.

mdrive · 01-01-08, 09:04 PM

It is very late to reply your posting, but just saw it and thought better educate you little bit about our shop. The guy who you saw working on the dents and mechanical work, was the lot guy who got a free car from us and working in the back. It was not for a customer. We don't have a repair shop in our showroom, our repair shop and paint shop are separate businesses and located in east of Richmond. The prices of the vehicle was much lower when we started as the market was not flooded with Tom Dick and Harry. Everyones price has gone up, you pay for what you get. We service each vehicle very thoroughly and the service package that we offer with the vehicle is unmatched. I challenge to find me a dissatisfied customer who bought a vehicle from us.

Quote:

Originally Posted by canucksafari

Has he come down on price for the Safari? I think he had it listed at around $23K when he first got it. Have a walk around back - I did last summer. He was working in the dirt and dust pulling apart a Delica engine and doing body work at the same time to cover up some dents. That said enough to me. I would rather know the dents are there and get all the body work done in a nice clean dry shop. When I started looking over a year ago his prices were lower than the rest. Last I looked his prices were way up to the cream level without the cream. Cheers, John

canucksafari · 01-02-08, 11:22 AM

Glad to hear you have changed your repair practices. But I am going to call BS on the "Lot Boy" claim. Unless the "lot boy" was also the owner, it was you doing body work on a Deli plus a water pump etc in June of 2006.

As for prices, generally speaking when there is high supply and lower demand, then prices should go down.

As for your service package, I am still not impressed if you claim to be offering a higher quality package. You don't detail what you do for each vehicle model. You can't be doing the same for a HDJ81 and CARIB. For instance, any diesel vehicle older than 1994 should as a matter of course have the injector pump seals done and all injectors bench tested. If you are not doing this on all your diesels you can't claim higher quality IMO. Are you doing the BEB on the Cruisers which need them? Again, you can't be saying well, its only got 80,000 kms so it doesn't need to be done yet. Also, are you offering any warranty to back up your servicing claims and claims why people should pay more for your product? For an educated buyer, talk is cheap. As a purchaser, I want to know how you back up your claims? From your web site, this is not clear.

2rivers · 01-02-08, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canucksafari

For instance, any diesel vehicle older than 1994 should as a matter of course have the injector pump seals done and all injectors bench tested. If you are not doing this on all your diesels you can't claim higher quality IMO.

Are you serious? I guess I am un-edumacated when it comes to buying a diesel. Using poor quality fuel or screwing around with factory settings I could see frigging things up quickly, but wouldnt that be evident on start-up, and/or on heavy load / driving performance? Where did 1994 come from out of curiousity?
??

Johnny

canucksafari · 01-02-08, 05:32 PM

1994 came from a classic scifi flick or my wife's astrologer.

Well maybe not. It was the magic year when most diesel fuel system manufacturers were all using seals and fuel line tubing made of viton type materials. Previously they were using rubber. ULSD does not have the aromatics that LSD contains (they are removed by the process which also removes the sulfur). The aromatics keeps the seals and alow them to swell a bit. Now the rubbe seals in JDM diesels are 15 years old to begin with so are close to the end of life for a regular rubber seal. Buyer picks a nice truck has it inspected and buys it. Six to 12 months down the road - or less - its pissing diesel. Don't believe me, ask some of the fuel injection shops or do a google search. Then you add to this that Joe also wants to run some biodiesel, so he fills up with B40 on a regular basis. Holes start opening up in his rubber fuel lines or his IP fails. Biodiesel acts like a solvent. It will clean your fuel system real nice. It will also soften the rubber seals and hoses until they just fall apart. Last year at this time I had a $2000 education. So when dealers start pushing their great service packages and I don't see seals being done or can't document they were done in the dealer diesels up for sale. They are all getting close to the 100,000 kms mark. Time for injectors? Do they all check them or replace them as a matter of practice. Some injectors will cost you $60 each plus labor other will cost you a couple hundred dollars each.

My point is if a dealer is selling for a premium price they better be offering a premium service. In the end it is up to the buyer to educate themselves and hold the dealers accountable. Bad dealers and lazy consumers have given JDMs a bad name - something the people who want to stop the import of JDM vehicles have used to try to extend the age limit from 15 to 25 years.

Still feeling "un-edumacated"?
Check out the diesel section here and IVOAC.CA.

2rivers · 01-02-08, 09:02 PM

I can see where you're coming from. I dont think an IP is something that should be serviced "just in case" basis. THat is my personal opinion only and I guess we'll disagree - which is fine, and I guess a little off the thread topic.

canucksafari · 01-02-08, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2rivers

I can see where you're coming from. I dont think an IP is something that should be serviced "just in case" basis. THat is my personal opinion only and I guess we'll disagree - which is fine, and I guess a little off the thread topic.

Quite a few said the same thing about BEBs and some continue to say there is no issue. There is no "just in case" with BEBs and IP seals. It is only a matter of when. But hey, no sweat off my back either way. Cheers