What to do when she rolls off the boat.

[GTR_Russ]

Ok, so your baby gets off the boat... what is/was the first maintanence items that should be done? What should be pre-ordered so it is on hand at the time of arrival?

[assman]

multimeter to see what state the battery is in and the alternator (to see if it'll die on you on the road)

jerry-can full of gas

maybe some oil

[CanadianGTR]

Battery (Japanese posts are SMALLER than North American ones - on mine at least - so you might need new terminal thingys that go over the posts)

Gas (chances are any gas left in your tank will have lost lots of its octane when in transit seeing as the average shipping time from port to destination is close to a month)

Gas DE-WETTER (removes any water that may have formed in your tank)

CAA (if your car DOESNT start, and you cant GET it to start... you MAY need it towed home ... so keep your CAA card handy, or at least make sure there is a tow company with a 24 hour flat-bed)

Tools - just incase

Friends - keep you company and go run for gas/parts/etc. if you need it. Plus the first time you drive a RHD car.. its good to have a friend make sure you are still in ur lane because believe me... its weird.

Warm Clothes - if the car doesnt start, chances are it wont be inside, so if u need to do work... make sure ur dressed for it. (if its cold out)

Multimeter

Spare Fuses (you never know what might have been blown/removed)

Service Manual (printed or on a laptop) in case something is SERIOUSLY screwed.

Electric tire pump (tires might be a tad flat from sitting for a while)

Booster Cables (in case the only thing it needs is a little help - dont forget another vehicle to boost with - *note* one of those portable battery charger things works too)

Work Light/Flashlight(s) (useful if the car doesnt work and u need to do on the fly repairs, and you start losing light)

If I can think of anything else, I'll add it. This should be a sticky (if it does get made into a sticky, ill clean up my post a bit and make it more of a list)

This is a list of things I know of from EXPERIENCE!!! Trust me... those things CAN/HAVE happened!!!

EDIT: I somewhat misread your post... these are things you want to bring when you goto pick it up. IF the car is at your house there is a completely different list:

OIL FILTER
OIL
SPARK PLUGS
COMPRESSION TESTER
AIR FILTER
BRAKE PADS
WINDEX
COOLANT (VERY IMPORTANT!!!! I THINK I BLEW MY RAD BECAUSE THE MIXTURE IN JAPAN IS **** COMPARED TO CANADA -- MEANT TO HANDLE HIGHER TEMPS SO THERE IS MORE WATER AND LESS COOLANT)

[qualthar]

Thanks CanadianGTR, that's really valuable info Time to start stocking up on stuff

[CanadianGTR]

some of those things are kinda "wost case scenario" items. :wink:

[qualthar]

Yeah, I'm going to prepare for the worst case scenario. My car should hopefully be here in ~ 2 weeks. Waiting sucks

[CanadianGTR]

You think this is bad... wait until the last 3-4 days
you will have NO fingernails left

OH and if it gets delayed
you WILL try to kill yourself but PLEASE try to refrain from it
and if you do... you know who to leave the car to.

[thumper]

a local importer told me a story of one of his cars having flat tires from sitting on the docks so long and they didn't even bother to inflate them before loading/unloading it off the boat. he had to pick it up with a flatbed when it arrived. so maybe be ready with a little air compressor or a can of fix a flat?

[spikeone]

hell, my car only arrives in June and I already have white hair and cant sleep at night, can't even imagine how the last week will be...

[JZ]

Man, brings back nightmares of the last few months of the year and the first few weeks of jan for me :P

Good luck to everyone, you'll get here safe and sound!