VI JDM dealers

[Enigma]

Hello Island boys,

Any of you guys heard much about http://www.vicustomcarimports.com ?

I'm looking around to buy an 80 series for the family camping trips/wifes rig.

Never heard about those guys, one of our club members bought an 80 from Tyee imports a little while ago as well. They have a decent selection of them it seems. Neither of these 2 seem to service them at all (BeB, rads, etc) but the prices are comparable to stuff over here on the mainland, they seem to be hoarding the autos with lockers and winches tho (not that the wife needs that, but I do)

 

[Gold Boy]

no

but you could import from this guy, got my 74 from him and i am happy.

 

[jinzuke]

1hd-t 81

Hi I was the guy that bought one from Tyee. I will be going up island this week and could have a look at the landcruiser for you if you would like.

 

[Enigma]

Hi I was the guy that bought one from Tyee. I will be going up island this week and could have a look at the landcruiser for you if you would like.

Well that's 2 of you. MArcin (Urwis) was the guy from my club that bought one off him as well.

I might be heading over, not sure yet, should probably drop in and see my sister one of these days.
But if you are heading up there, I would appreciate it if you could take a couple minutes and have a peek at what they have.

 

[FLYINGLOW]

Jeff I wouldn't rely on post sale service from Tyee. The prices seem resonable though, I almost bought one but couldn't wait for the boat.

 

[Enigma]

I'm not worried about any post sale service. I'd take it to Rob or Ciaran down here to get any thing extra done diesel wise.

That and I'm not too kean on waiting for anything off of a boat. I prefer to see something like that in person.

 

[ComoxK9]

Hi, I bought a '91 hdj81 VX Limited from them this spring. They seem to bring in good vehicles. I have had a big issue with the guy they contracted to to do the pre-delivery mechanical stuff. It's a real tale of incompetence, questionable ethics and a few untruths thrown in for good measure. They assured me all the fluids are replaced on vehicle arrival in Canada. The transmission fluid and transfer case fluid were inspected by my mechanic in Courtenay at about 5000km after I got it. Both were is such a bad state it was highly unlikely they were changed at all (I had them changed and ate the cost). The mechanic had to install a rebuilt alternator 3 days after I picked it up and I was lucky it didn't fall off the vehicle. Nuts weren't even seated in threads, the main charging wire loose and he even retightened the belts and didn't notice something was wrong (I found it when I had to tighten the belts again). There's more, but I don't want to bore you with my rant.
Bottom line, if there is someone else doing their mechanical on Landcruisers, it might be a good place to check out. When I brought these issues to their attention they were very apologetic and refunded some money to partially offset my costs.I don't know if they changed mechanics. Now that I have all these issues solved, I'm really happy with the vehicle.

 

[Radd Cruisers]

Hi, I bought a '91 hdj81 VX Limited from them this spring. They seem to bring in good vehicles. I have had a big issue with the guy they contracted to to do the pre-delivery mechanical stuff. It's a real tale of incompetence, questionable ethics and a few untruths thrown in for good measure. They assured me all the fluids are replaced on vehicle arrival in Canada. The transmission fluid and transfer case fluid were inspected by my mechanic in Courtenay at about 5000km after I got it. Both were is such a bad state it was highly unlikely they were changed at all (I had them changed and ate the cost). The mechanic had to install a rebuilt alternator 3 days after I picked it up and I was lucky it didn't fall off the vehicle. Nuts weren't even seated in threads, the main charging wire loose and he even retightened the belts and didn't notice something was wrong (I found it when I had to tighten the belts again). There's more, but I don't want to bore you with my rant.
Bottom line, if there is someone else doing their mechanical on Landcruisers, it might be a good place to check out. When I brought these issues to their attention they were very apologetic and refunded some money to partially offset my costs.I don't know if they changed mechanics. Now that I have all these issues solved, I'm really happy with the vehicle.

This is a story we are hearing a lot of and also seeing a lot of from our clients.

The BOTTOM line is to buy a vehicle from a vendor who is selling the vehicles with a service package of some sort. Get copies of the work orders from the garage that did the upgrades and repairs. Most shops that are worth their salt will offer some kind of warranty on normal repairs (these warranties usually exclude major engine work). The repair shop should stand behind their work in addition to the dealer or vendor. Typically you will get a 12 months/20,000 km warranty.

DO NOT rely on after-market warranties to cover your butt (ie: Lubrico) since they have very restrictive policies. IMHO the majority of these warranties are a selling point that has little actual use to the consumer.

And, as usual, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. (or too "affordable" to be true...)

There are only a handful of truly reputable JDM dealers out there. These are the guys asking the above average prices for their vehicles because they are giving above average service. You will get what you pay for....


~John

 

[FLYINGLOW]

Tyee is parting out an 80 that blew a motor going up island.

 

[canucksafari]

There are only a handful of truly reputable JDM dealers out there. These are the guys asking the above average prices for their vehicles because they are giving above average service. You will get what you pay for....

X2 .. and I would still check myself to make sure it was done. In my case I found that they neglected to to do the tranny and T-case but all the other oils were fresh (not sure of the quality). I changed everything with the oils I wanted and considered the ones done by the dealer to just be a flush.