Some commonly asked questions:
Q: When will the vehicles listed as Japan Stock be arriving in Canada?
A: They won't be unless purchased. The vehicles that have been acquired for stock in Japan are sitting in the partner lot in Nagoya. They are on simultaneous offer to a network of dealers and private collectors mainly in New Zealand, Australia, the U. K., and Canada.
Q: If I need to wait for a vehicle that is listed in Japan, why would I benefit by paying you the extra $750.00 for your fee? There are lots of JDM sites listed in Japan already, I could just deal with them directly.
A: Correct. When we set the fee at $750.00 it was because we wanted to have the lowest fee to attract potential customers. The logic is we should be able to offer the client cost savings as well as convenience, but that the former alone should at least equal the fee:
So, if you are asked to what are the advantages of using a Canadian Middleman here’s basically what is on offer for $750.00:
- Money transfer. Because Mountain Parameters has a wholesale foreign exchange currency account set up, they save the client up to 2% on the cost of purchasing and transferring their funds to Japan. It is also more convenient to the client who does not have to make all the funds transfer arrangements and go through the post 911 money laundering security rules that pertain to these transactions now.
- Mountain Parameters set fee of $750.00 is not ‘padded’ to cover exigent circumstances that only pertain to some vehicles such as Ad Valorem taxes, duties, of fees.. For example, some importers set the landed cost of a vehicle before it arrives in Canada, therefore they must plan for the event that perhaps Canada Customs will order a soil test, which adds $150.00 to the costs. Because they charge a set fee, when that soil test is not ordered, their profit margin just increased $150.00 beyond their minimum set margin.
- Brokerage. Mountain Parameters is a Canadian registered broker, and co-ordinates the Vancouver based brokerage for the vehicle on behalf of the owner.
- Drayage services. If you do not live in Vancouver, then once your vehicle is cleared, arrangements must be made for it’s secure storage until it is ready to transport to your location. Prior to departure in winter they are double checked to ensure winter transport will not result in damaging the vehicle.
- Freight. Mountain Parameters has established a relationship with their car carrier that ensures a number of protocols and cost factors are adhered to. This results in a number of advantages to the client because again, the cost savings are passed on to the client. On average the client will pay at least $100.00 less for the cost of haulage to Calgary than if they made the arrangements themselves.
- Compliance Parts. Mountain Parameters has established a wholesale account for the purchase of JDM parts from a major supplier in the lower mainland. When the compliance parts are ordered and purchased prior to the vehicle leaving the lower mainland, not only the actual wholesale cost price of the parts are passed on to the client, they are placed in the trunk or back of the vehicle so that they arrive at the same time as the vehicle and shipping is free. This in turn means that in most circumstances the client can get his conversion completed and the vehicle in for inspection in a timely manner before his 6 day transit permit expires. The average savings for a RHD drive vehicle that requires a headlight, daytime running light, and high mount brake light conversion amounts to around $200.00, and the savings are even more if the client wants to proceed with the often recommended replacement of the filters, timing belt, water pump and associated parts.
- Free technical support. If you are doing your own conversion or hiring a local mechanic to do it for you, there is no cost for getting Mountain Parameters technical support. For example, as they have already done Land Cruiser HDJ81 and Delica conversions, they can suggest the best way to wire the DRL or high mount brake light modules, rewire and install the eCode headlight pods, assess whether the tires need to be replaced for DOT compliance, etc.
- Conversions. If you prefer, for a reasonable fee, they can take possession of the vehicle for you and arrange to complete the conversion and inspection as long as you can pick it up in the Calgary, Banff-Canmore area.
- Mechanical. Calgary customers will have access to our private mechanic who is experienced in diesel and enjoy paying trade price rather than retail for their required mechanical work, plus cost + 10% pricing on parts for the life of their vehicle.
The fee that is levied by Mountain Parameters results in you having someone in Canada that is working on your behalf. It is not just aimed at giving you more convenience and piece of mind that your vehicle is less likely to receive damage or receive the unwanted attention of vandals or thieves after it is removed from the bonded warehouse, it should also result in you actually saving money over doing it yourself.
Q: I'm nervous about handing my money over to someone I found on the internet.
A: No kidding, imagine that! For the same reason we're not about to post all our banking info, references, DUNS number, business license, etc., to make it nice and easy for the guys in Holland to expedite identity theft. However, before you hand over a plug nickel, you can expect to receive all that you will require and more to perform a due dilligence reference and credit check on all aspects of our business. At no time will you be expected to make a leap of faith with regard to financial matters.
Q: Are the vehicles in as good a shape as they appear?
A: No vehicles that have every sustained accident damage will be acquired for Japan stock or brought to Canada. Many buyers do not realize that there is no protection against this practice and in fact there are a few dealers we've found that regularly sell accident damaged vehicles and do not document the fact in the vehicle description. However, a big red flag, the price they are asking is unreasonably low. Every attempt to document flaws in the vehicles is made. While that works well for the body, you may reasonably expect to deal with issues that would not be uncommon for a 15 year old vehicle as well as compliance modifications. Even though most of the vehicles are well below 100,000km, mileage in fact is not the issue, age is. You will need to change the headlights from RHD to LHD, all fluids, filters, timing belt, water pump, balance bearing, and probably the tires at a minimum (the latter because they may not be DOT compliant). Other common items are the hood and trunk hydraulic struts may not work well in cold weather, the battery may also may be too old to perform well in the winter. A tune up will be indicated. In Delica's the dashboard indicator lights are often burnt out and typically not replaced by the original owners and they are hell to start in cold weather until they get a tune up and possibly new injectors. On Land Cruisers (which start like a dream in cold weather) it is recommended you replace the crankshaft 4-5 and big end bearings. Also on that vehicle, you may find that when it arrives, due to sitting in storage for so long, the injector pump is dripping diesel fuel due to a shriveled up 25 cent 'O' ring that will cost hundreds of dollars in labour to replace and that you may as well do the TBelt and Water pump at the same time. In other words, if your budget doesn't stretch to an additional $2,000.00 to spend after the vehicle has cleared customs and been delivered, you probably should not be buying until it does.
How to buy...
In Stock: Vehicle is in Canada.
In Transit: Enroute from Japan via container
On Offer: Has been purchased and is in partner lot in Japan.
Purchase to Order: Fee based service where Japanese partner bids on clients behalf at auction in Japan.
