PSYH

How did you make sure that the VIN that's on the contract matches with the car you're buying? Did they send you pictures to verify?

One more question, regarding on the deposit: did you just give them your credit card number and hope they don't hijack the deposit from you if the deal turns sour? Or did you have some sort of agreement in writing before you give them the deposit?

Just getting the little butterflies in my stomach right now...

Comatose

I didn't verify the VIN until I saw it in person. The VIN appears on the invoice, recall letter, and MCO (manufacture certificate of origin), all of which needs to be faxed to the border crossing 72 hours before you bring the car back. The VIN needs to match and theres really no reason for it not too, unless they screw up bad.

Regarding the deposit, I gave them my cc#, but the majority of our conversations were via email so that there was a good trail of proof if I ever needed it (ie, they confirmed that the deposit was refundable in the email).

kmare

Rrrevin, Any update on your DRLs? Turns out my dealer's tech doesn't know how to do it.

rrrevin

I gave them my credit card number. If they charge to much, or the car you get is not the one you bought, or when you see it it is not in "perfect" condition you can always keep your balance payment and then call Visa to dispute the transaction. If you give a cash deposit it will be alot harder to get it back. It's alot harder to hijack a deposit if it was paid by CC.

Every dealership I've dealt with are honest (so far) and will not mis-represent themselves. If it was a regular occurance, I'm sure they would be shut down by the manufacturer.

You look at the VIN on the car and compare to what is on the bill of sale. Make sure the color and options all line up as well. Ask them if the price quoted is the "out the door" price; meaning taxes, fees etc.. everything all in.

rrrevin

Nothing yet. I'll post when I find out.

HP_John

iTrader: (1)

Anyone who has imported, please say the brand & model of DRL

kmare

Hi HP John; I'm looking for that information too. I should be coming across the border tomorrow @ noon with my g37. I'm thinking of splicing into the fog light harness off the lamp assembly, from what I see it can be reached through the engine bay (probably have to remove the airboxes). We need someone to figure out which wire color is hot on the fog wires

rrrevin

This week I take my car to the RIV 'inspection' place. I got the RIV form 2 letter last Friday; I have until Jan 4th to get things resolved. The inspection place will tell me everything that needs to be done to it. There are more places listed then just Canadaian Tire; and that's probably the last place I want to bring this car. Soon thereafter I'll probably head to Eriksson Nissan in Edmonton or to Hyatt Infiniti in Calgary to get the DRLs resolved.

I'll keep all posted.

Comatose

My original DRL plans was to hack up the foglight relay (in the IPDM e/r) .. theoretically in my mind, all that would be needed is for one to pull out the toggle pin and wire it accordingly so that the relay is closed when the engine is on. This in my mind would have been the simplest and cleanest approach, without needing to invest in a DRL module, etc.

One of sites I bookmarked that I thought might be handy is the following (done on an FX35 - A similar idea by working with the relays directly...)
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=4290156475

In the end however I had my dealer do it, and im not certain which approach they took either. I've tried peering into relaybox area but it looks like u need to remove more than just the battery cover to access it..

Skankarella

I had no major issues - credit card deposit, then wired the money to Scottsdale and picked it up three days later (72 hour wait to meet the Homeland Security export requirements). Not only was it cheaper, were I to get the same car here, I would have waited around 6 weeks to get it, whereas it was on the lot in AZ.

kmare

Thanks guys! -- Just passed the RIV inspection at CT this afternoon, took about 3 minutes. I spent about 3 hours this morning doing the DRL's myself.

In total I saved about $12k bringing the car up from NYC. I'll get my plates on Monday when the MTO opens.

For the DRLs, I cut the yellow wires that run to the fog light bulbs; I tapped into a +12V source off the mass/air sensors to signal ignition (don't tap here, it wasn't a reliable source)-I spent a lot of time going through the service manual, and this was the only IGN 12V source that I could easily find (PG.PDF if anyone is interested in finding a better source). Essentially when the car turns on the fog lights turn on; when I turn the xenons on, I can turn the fogs on/off by turning fogs on/off using the multi switch (the fog power wire is hooked up to the high beam sensor on the DRL module). The car is a bitch to work on as there is very little room in the engine bay to do much of anything.

*** Update: Jan 1, 2008 ***
I decided to rewire my DRL's since in order to clean up and hide the wiring and modules. If you want to do the DRLs yourself, the best bet is to do everything through the IPDM module, this saves having to remove the air intakes etc.

I'll quickly run through what would needs to be done:

DRL instructions

1. Remove the battery compartment cover
2. Remove the 5 clips holding the battery compartment trim to the chassis
3. Remove the battery compartment trim
4. Unclip the window cowl seal trim (seals the cowl to the hood) along the passenger side of the window cowl
5. Remove the 2 clips holding the window cowl
6. Remove the passenger side window cowl (there is a clip in the middle that is used to separate the two halfs)

Now you have access to the IPDM

7. Unhook the negative battery terminal and tape/cover the connector to ensure that it does not re-contact the terminal
8. Lift out the IPDM (located right next to the battery against the fender), press the two clips and lift up and out
9. Open the IPDM, you will see all the power wiring for the car; you will have to use the service manual to confirm which wires - but you need the following:
LH Fog, RH Fog (I cut these wires, see below)
12V IGN Source (I spliced into the Windshield washer pump supply)
10. Hookup relay or DRL module

my DRL module is hooked up as follows:

Fused +12V -- hooked directly to the +ive terminal on the battery
Ground -- hooked to ground point on the chassis
High Beam -- This goes to LH Fog, RH Fog lamps
Low Beam -- This goes to the LH Fog Relay
Ignition -- This is spliced to the source

Essentially when the IGN is on the fog lights come on, when I turn on the main lights I can still control the fogs manually by using original fog light switch (except the controls are reversed).

Hope this helps, I spent a good couple days going through the service manual trying to figure everything out -- I could do a DRL conversion in about an hour now.



Also; as an FYI both the NAVI/Climate system and the console/odometer system can be set to metric --- my dealer had advised that only the navi/climate system could be changed. With the console/odometer outside temp and fuel economy can be shown in C and L/100km

PSYH

Did anyone do their DRL mod at CT or at an Infiniti dealership? I don't think I know my way around a car enough to do the mod myself...

I'm just waiting for my car to be delivered.

rrrevin

But the odometer is still in miles and cruise control can only be set in miles as well. At least this is how I have it. With your's are those in metric?

kmare

Cruise and Odometer are still in miles; same as yours

faston

Good post kmare. Very informative. When I import, I'll use your info (but probably get a dealer or specialized audio-type place to do it).

It is annoying that something like this can't just be turned on by the dealer through the ECU.