Forum:
With so many people moving to Europe the problem of getting parts there is quite serious. I have tried all the so called dealers in France and get no responce. The MOT in Europe varies from the UK but one pronblem is the headlights. The deflectors are fimne for holidays but will not satify the MOT equivalents. On the older Sprty you can make enough adjustment to get away with it provided deflectors are used behind headlamp protectors. On facelift models the adjustment is insufficient to get away in all cases. I have just been warned in france that they must be replaced for the next MOT in 2008, no rush but where does one get them. being Japanesse one would imagine that there would be a ready supply but not so. Also for France the Sprotrak or feroza does not have a compliance certificate issued so it is difficult and time consuming to get the vehicles re registered. For those who have taken these to france and Europe and remain on UK plates take care as some insurers give 16 weeks only and may not pay out in the event of an accident. It is also worth bearing in mind that the rear FOG light has to be on the opposite side to comply, either add an additional or swap the wiring and lens with the reversing light. The French will not always allow different TYRE manufaturers on the same axle, silly but true and I have heard of failures because of this although both were RADIALS. French MOT €53 and last 2 years!! No road tax either or congestion charge so cost of re registering quickly recovered.
Mike
LHD HEADLIGHTS
Following my recent writings about the above i have located a source for both types, facelift and pre face lift.
the face lift ones are obtainable from Distripieces Normandie. Price (sit down) €527 a pair. This thankfully includes postage. The pre face lift LHD replacements I have obtained from an Italian suppier via ebay (FEROZA) They are "Diamond" replacements and are €89 the pair, not original but comply with LHD regulations. I had thought of reverting the face lift back to the old style but before you attempt that, the front panel is different as the Face lift headlamp units require a larger hole to allow the self contained unit to fit. So one fair price and one Daihatsu original highly priced, progress? Whatever, the cars are still well worth it and there are some exceptional Sportrak bargains to be had in the UK compared to the rest of Europe. This eases the cost of the changes and still makes it cheaper to get a car from the UK than else where
Good Motoring
Mike
M J Young