Sounds like I may be all wet, and that my son-in-law (see my other response)  might have been taken in by the story, also.   Hmmmm.  Live and learn, but some lessons are hard.  Might be that regardless of why low mileage engines are available from Japan, they can still be a bad deal.  mcneely

---- Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET> wrote:
> ---- T-rev Reynolds <gneiss9@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> > HI All,
> >
> > I've got a van who spent his life in Japan before coming to Canada.  I've heard over the years about hints that vehicles over a certain age in Japan can not be insured.  Don't know if the issue is with the age or total mileage of the vehicles.  My ('91) Westy came to N. America in the spring of 2009 and had an odometer reading just over 100,000 miles.
> >
> > Does anyone know how big the Vanagon community is in Japan and how these vans are able to remain registered/insured if they are all well over 20 years old etc...?
>
> the mileage of the engine is the critical point.  Though I do not remember what that critical value is, at that point the vehicle must have an engine change.  It is fairly low mileage.  For that reason, a lot of low mileage engines are exported from Japan to the U.S. for engine transplants.  The problem is that the engines often have been badly treated, since some owners feel no incentive to maintain an engine they will have to junk before it reaches much mileage.  If a new engine is installed at the proper mileage, then the vehicle may continue in service.
>
> mcneely

--
David McNeely