Hi there - am new to this forum - wanting a family van that's not "common". Any advice/positives/negatives/importing experiences would be appreciated - been having trouble finding information about the Hiace that's not on an importer website! Also - would appreciate any recommendations for importers to use. Thanks!

Hi there Hestia,

I can tell you that I just bought one and love it. You get an aweful lot for your money. The Japanese take very good care of their vans because they have stringent regulations on their cars. e.g. if your car breaks down on a highway the fine can be more than the insurance to cover that particular car. In general, only the best vehicles are brought over here through auctions. You will have to dig around for information but now that this forum is up I think it's going to be one of the most helpful places in this area. It also helps a lot of you live near a city that specializes in vehicles like these. I'm lucky in that area.

I hope this gets you started but if you have any specific questions, please let us know.

Thanks,

Chris

Sorry, I also noticed that you were recommending importers. One that I would not recommend is Silk Road Autos in Surrey (near Vancouver). The others I can't speak on, yet.

Actually I bought my "cruising cabin" van through Silk Road and I found them quite decent to deal with. The vehicle I bought was in great shape (70,000 Km) and so far I have had no problems with it. Now running it on 20% recycled veggie oil and eveything is working just fine. Really enjoy driving it around, not the kind of vehicle that will break any kind of speed records but it get you where you want to go in relative comfort.

Hi Laliberte,

I bought my van from Silk Road Auto's too. I suppose I should have elaborated a bit. The brothers, particularly Karim are extremaly nice and friendly people to deal with. I love my van and this is not an issue. I suppose my issue was that I had specifically asked them if the A/C was working because this is one of the most important features I wanted in a 4x4 camper van. They had said that it was working fine. They had someone come by and refill the freon after I took it for a test drive and the A/C felt warm so I paid the $5000 down deposit. On picking up the van, I paid the remaining $13,000 and left. A day or two later I turned on the A/C and nothing. I was then asked to bring it back (I live in Vancouver and had to drive it to Surrey each time). Abdul looked at it and notice there was no freon, he then asked me to come back. I came back another day and the A/C guy was there again. He looked at it and shook his head. He then told me he needed a special pressure machine to test it. So I came back a third time. He pressure tested it and then refilled it. He also put "Leak Stop" in it which I unwillingly agreed to put in but Abdul talked me into it saying it wasn't bad for it. The A/C was good for around a week and then nothing again. This time they had me take it to a place called Cool It where Abdul used to work. They guy checked it over, couldnt find a leak and when I mentioned that they put Leak stop in it he told me he wouldnt touch it because it gums up their vaccum machine. He told me that people put it in A/C systems to get rid of the people.

Getting very tired of this issue, I called Karim who put me onto Abdul who told me he was very busy and did not have time to work on it but was going to Afghanistan for two months. He said he would help me troubleshoot the problem after that. I decided to cut my loss and take it to a place called Icy-Cool which fixed the issue costing me $1200. In all fairness they retrofitted the system (so ICBC would cover it if there was an accident) replaced the dryer, replaced the leaking front valve that was in the evaporator and filled it with freon adding the dye for any potential future issues. I called Karim and asked him if he would help me with the bill and I couldnt wait 2 months for my A/C because of a Southern California trip I was taking. He said he would call me back but I haven't or dont expect to hear from him.

I also had a gas strut fail a day after a bought the van and they seemed to have no interest in replacing it. This was after they told me they would give me a 6 month warranty on the van.

Like I said, I'm extremely happy with my van but I sure would not take this van in for servicing there nor would I feel comfortable recommending people to buy from the place unless they realize that they are buying it "As is". Karim and Abdul seem like very nice people but nice doesnt pay the bills.

I'm glad your happy with your van, I'm wondering about this veggie oil thing. how does it work and where do you get it and do I need to convert anything?

Thanks,

Chris

Hi Chris, sorry to hear about the problems with your AC and getting it fixed by SilkRoad! I live in Victoria so I will be getting my van serviced here on the island by a local friend who is a certified mechanic. A friend of mine here in Victoria produces the veggie oil I use in my van and I get it from him. He has been running his HiAce on 100% veggie oil for quite a while now but he obviously had to make some modifications on his vehicle (added a separate tank so he can start the engine on regular diesel). I just started running mine on 20% and may go up to 50% by next summer. The oil as far as I know is simply filtered and I have to add some additives preprared by my friend before putting it in the tank (mix of regular gas, turpentine, acetone etc...). You may want to investigate biodiesel coop in your area as I know these are popping up everywhere nowaday. There is one here in Victoria and I may join them later, tons of stuff available on the web on how to make biodiesel yourself using recycled veggie oil. What year is your van? When did you get it?

Pierre

Hi Pierre,

Thanks for the informaiton, I think I'll look for a coop and pick up some info before I start throwing veggie oil in the van. My Hiace is a '93 and I picked it up around 1 month ago. I'll post a picture of it soon when I have a chance, it's a beauty I believe.

Chris