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well i am addicted to the Elgrand so importer question

The mileage on the vehicle is 54,000 miles and we have serviced the vehicle since we also imported and converted it 5 years ago. All the check are carried out during the registration process but we also use a organisation called BIMTA to do mileage checks in Japan.
The engines are built proof as they only come in petrol engine and automatic configuration. With the engine been petrol you do not have to worry about DPF filters, diesel pumps or injectors which are causing no end of problems on so called reliable diesel engines.
Diesel engines suffer far more with carbon deposits as apposed to petrol engines which run a lot cleaner.
The vehicle will come with a 3 month warranty from ourselves. If need further information please either call email or WhatsApp. I’m here to help .
Best regards
Paul
 
andy432 said:
The mileage on the vehicle is 54,000 miles and we have serviced the vehicle since we also imported and converted it 5 years ago. All the check are carried out during the registration process but we also use a organisation called BIMTA to do mileage checks in Japan.
The engines are built proof as they only come in petrol engine and automatic configuration. With the engine been petrol you do not have to worry about DPF filters, diesel pumps or injectors which are causing no end of problems on so called reliable diesel engines.
Diesel engines suffer far more with carbon deposits as apposed to petrol engines which run a lot cleaner.
The vehicle will come with a 3 month warranty from ourselves. If need further information please either call email or WhatsApp. I’m here to help .
Best regards
Paul
Click to expand...
So it is Vine Place which is selling it even though it does not give there website on the ebay add, rather

www@customcampervans.uk

Would annoy me what he says about the engines being built proof (assume he means bulletproof) as we all no they are not with the cat issue.
 
How does that van still only have 54k miles on the clock?!?!!??! Did the owner in Japan use it as a door stop??!?!
 
andy432 said:
any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Just Japanese in Wigan have a few E51s, and smhave a camper or two currently. As far as I recall, the arrange their own, and knowing the quality of Matt's stock and his love affair with the Elgrands (and more recently Toyota Alphard/Velfires, but we won't hold that against him) the attention to detail and standard should be top notch.
 
Also be careful what additions you add. Things like an awning rail will just add weight and therefore increase petrol consumption - a 3.5 4WD will only do about 20mpg anyway!
 
cheers guys... so buy or not? or got an import then get it converted?
 
Just to add, I bought my van from JAL in Worcester. If you are prepared to wait they can source pretty much anything you want! They only import grade 4 and above low mileage elgrands and have a huge stock list, Phil gave me an Excel spreadsheet with about 20 to choose from. However I explicitly said I wanted a van that was in the country and ready to be converted, I didn't want to wait 5 or 6 months like some people have!

He sends you pics of the vehicle at the Japanese port including underneath. Mine was and is spotless, hardly any use. 23k miles , Remove the plates and you would think it was 22 plate I shit you not. Phil is very knowledgeable and the quality and workmanship of the conversation is excellent and a big plus is he fits the 'super headroom mushroom roof'. This was a big selling point for me. BUT, and a very big BUT, he is dire at communicating!!

I paid the deposit, gave him my spec sheet and didn't hear a peep for 3 months! And when I did ask him for updates you just get a blunt short message. Right to the point, but hey I don't mind that so much it was the lack of communication and progress that was the problem.

Also beware, he doesn't recognise the cat problem, so you'll have to sort that yourself. And don't expect a nice cosy, plush showroom at his unit if you go to see him. It's just an old school back alley sorta garage with roller shutters 🤣

Just to add he will underseal the van etc but at extra cost of course. For all his faults and quirks though he has some great stock.
 
Lot of old sales patter going on there regarding the petrols being more reliable .
Most of the petrols have done a lot less miles and at least 4 years newer
 
Van looks fine and obviously your decision on whether it is right for you but what he says in the message he sent you would make me think twice if it was me buying.

I find it quite strange that he sent you this message as Vine are aware of the cat problem as they do or always used to decore the rear cats

If you look on there website right at the top of there stock page they have a diesel Vauxhall Vivaro for sale, after the slating that he gives diesel engines I wonder what he tells potential customers who are interested in it.

If it was me I would be inclined to walk away as although the van does look like it could be a decent buy I would tend to think that if he was giving me that sort of rubbish what else might he tell me or not tell me.

I bought my Elgrand 6 years ago and imported it myself to get the spec that I wanted and then converted it myself again to get the spec that I wanted and also as this offered best value.

I appriciate that this will not work for everyone and that you may not want to wait until the right van comes up in Japan and then the shipping time and conversion time plus the time to organise all of this but for me this was all part of the fun.

I I was doing it again if I could find a van already imported in the spec I wanted but not converted I would be tempted to buy this as it does cut the waiting time down considerably although it does add to the cost.

If I was buying an already imported van I would be looking for one that had not been decored as although at the time I bought my Elgrand decoring of the rear cats was considered sufficent to eliminate the cat problem this has now been found to be not correct and from my understanding the only surish way is to either decore the front cats and leave the rears in place or to replace the fronts with sports cats and replace the rears with bypass pipes which is the way I would go and factor this into my budget

I have fitted coilovers with upgraded springs to my van to take the extra weight of the conversion and camping gear and would also leave room in my budget to do this again as this does make a big difference to the handling.

Either way around with the budget that you have you should be able to get a very nice Elgrand which with a bit of care in picking the right one with the right spec for your needs and with looking after will give you many years of camping fun.

Edit, just to say I had had a bit of a look around on ebay and there are a couple of quite nice cars for sale that could work for you to convert

This one from car warehouse for just under £9000 2008 3.5 4x4 with 45000 miles

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/35592814...SUqPNKX4RVMH/qKaUeLcz3ri60|tkp:Bk9SR5yKvdi2ZQ

or this one also from car warehouse 2006 3.5 4x4 just under£8000 with 46000 miles

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/35659617...QRBHGY&hash=item5306c9c8b6:g:sLoAAOSwcTxnxn4m
 
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hi thanks for the reply. I understand what your saying about buying an import then get it converted. i looked at carewarehouse as well but im.based. in birmingham. so i guess this type of thing...
https://www.worcesterroadmotors.co....sh-import-stourport-on-severn-202410125117494

also does anyone recommend local importers and conversion company's pr should I not worry about location

really appreciate your help
 
andy432 said:
hi thanks for the reply. I understand what your saying about buying an import then get it converted. i looked at carewarehouse as well but im.based. in birmingham. so i guess this type of thing...

also does anyone recommend local importers and conversion company's pr should I not worry about location

really appreciate your help
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I got my van from Worcester Road motors so you won't go wrong there and I do believe there is a campervan conversation company within the Birmingham area good luck with your search
 
I'm going to look at this any thoughts at all https://www.worcesterroadmotors.co....sh-import-stourport-on-severn-202410125117494
 
I really need some help with sourcing a van
 
I though about converting one myself but I wouldn't have been able to fit a pop top roof. Plus the time it would take to do everything is not too be underestimated! It's a ton of work. IMO it's just easier to get it done professionally albeit at a cost.
 
ODAAT said:
How does that van still only have 54k miles on the clock?!?!!??! Did the owner in Japan use it as a door stop??!?!
Click to expand...
From doing my own research and speaking to people living in Japan there are many reasons including:
  • Japan is a very small country and people don't tend to drive long distances
  • In Tokyo/Osaka and districts people mainly use public transport or cycle etc to work as it's expensive to use a private vehicle due to tolls, parking etc
  • Many people only use their vehicles on weekends, the average mileage per annum is around 6000 km?
  • most people have teleportation devices in their homes so they can travel anywhere in an instant.
The last one I made up.
 
andy432 said:
I'm going to look at this any thoughts at all https://www.worcesterroadmotors.co....sh-import-stourport-on-severn-202410125117494
Click to expand...
The van looks like an early S3 and looks fine, is from an importer who has been around a long time, has a good name and prep should be decent, also with lowish miles.

However from the point of view of buying a van to convert to a side kitchen pop top camper it would not be my choice as it is rear wheel drive and not 4wheel drive (which quite apart from being very useful on a camper is a desirable option which will add a premium when it is time to sell).
It also has sunroofs and premium leather seats both of which apart from the front seats will be going in the skip when it is converted and which you would be paying a premium for and also whilst it is possible to convert vans with sunroofs from my understanding most converters if not all will charge extra to convert to poptop if sunroofs are fitted as it is more complicated.

It also has bypass pipes fitted on the rear so no cats which takes away the option of being able to decore the fronts unless you buy and add the rear cats back in.

Both of the vans that I linked to earlier would in my opinion be a better buy as they as cheaper by £2000 ( 2008 S3) and £3000 (2006 S2) respectively both with virtually the same lowish miles and are 4x4 with no sunroofs.

Both have the standard Highway Star half leather seats so you are not paying a premium for leather

If you wanted the fronts that you are keeping are quite often recovered and upgraded to match the new rear seats that are fitted when the the rear conversion is done and most converters will be able to offer this option and in my opinion looks a lot smarter anyway than keeping the standard seats even if in leather and is a far better use of your budget than spending it on a full leather set most of which are thrown anyway.

They have not had the rears decored or bypass pipes fitted (if you decide to go this way this is a relatively cheap (£200 approx) and simple job to do either DIY or any garage can do if you wanted.

This would leave you the option of decoring the fronts and leaving the rears or fitting sports cats on the fronts which as I have already said would be my choice.

in my opinion there are better options elsewhere although this may involve some travel but bearing in mind that it seems you are thinking of spending approx £20000 on the van including conversion is something that I would be prepared to do to get the right van at the right price without paying a premium for options that will be just be skipped anyway and in fact could even add to the cost to convert.
 
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