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eskay
@nick_h.
Thanks, things are actually looking up. The brake problem has gone away - it was probably just a bit of binding from not being moved for 6 months. Yesterday's drive seems to have cured it. And the oil leak is only from the steering pump, not the engine. And leaks from the pump are not that uncommon. The usual cause is somebody topping it up with generic fluid. It wants the special Nissan stuff, because it's very sensitive to viscosity. A leak can usually be fixed for next to nothing if you do the work yourself, which is alleged to be easy. The pump is also perfectly situated for ease of access. No need to spend half a day removing things to get to it. So unless I'm incredibly unlucky I won't have to buy a second hand pump for £500! And it should be a good learning experience. I would like to be fairly self sufficient when I'm in the boonies with a car that isn't well known to Europe's Nissan dealers.
As for stealth, well...it looks like an airport shuttle. Maybe I should stick a Tokyo taxi light on top. Distraction can be good camouflage.
You might want to consider the Mercedes V Class. They're almost giving them away in Japan, usually with much lower mileages than the Alphard/Elgrand. And they're all petrol. The only reason I didn't get one is that they're RWD. Do you have access to Japanese auction data?