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SUVs Land Rover Land Rover Defender 90/110
128 messages, Last post on Oct 22, 2009 at 1:17 PM
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Replying to: gringo1 (May 17, 2006 2:40 pm) Bad news - although not impossible (it can be done), it is very, very hard and by the time you have finished, you might want to have spent the money on a US Defender. First the vehicle must either be over 25 years old - rules out all Defenders - or it must be comparable to the original vehicles imported by the manufacturer. Simply put you can only buy and import a 1993 Defender 110 in Europe, this was the only year the 110 was sold in the US and the only year the DOT will allow you to import. Next you have to bring your European 110 up to the same specifications as the original 1993 NAS 110s. The process is called "Federalizing" the vehicle. There is only one company in the US that is licensed and bonded to do the work - Skytop Rovers in PA. Expect to pay $15,000 or more to bring your Rover up to NAS standards. This will include the exterior roll cage, rear bumper and lights to name but a few things. Shipping from UK to the east coast is around $1,500, the west coast about $2,000. Remember the dollar is weak against the pound sterling at the moment - I sent money to the UK today and the rate was $1.94 to the pound. So if you find a decent 1993 (and remember it will be 13 years old and may already have led a hard life) you might be lucky and pay around ₤3,000 to ₤5,000, roughly speaking about $6,000 to $10,000. Cost at this point about $27,000. The next question - do you fly to Europe and find the car yourself or buy it online and hope it is what it says it is. Factor that cost in as well. If the shipper has to pick the car up for you in the UK you may pay anywhere from ₤100 to ₤750 in transport costs - it will depend on the pick up location, then there may be storage fees waiting for your vessel to sail. I last paid ₤20 per week. There may be duty due upon entry into the US - I don't know, you would have to deal with a Customs broker to advise you, last quote I got was $275. Then of course you will have to pay any fees to your local DMW. Overall you may be paying $30,000 to $40,000 for a 13-year-old Land Rover 110. It may be cheaper, but it may not have the wow factor of the original 500 NAS Defender 110s that were brought here. I don't know about bringing the diesel engine in separately but there are a few Land Rover specialists in the US that are offering conversion from the V8 to the Td5 - cost around $15,000+. If you have a NAS Defender 90 then East Coast Rover will rebuild it for you into any configuration you want, 110, 130 whatever you like - just be prepared to pay for it. A previous poster paid well over $100,000 for his 110. That being said these are ground up hand rebuilds. I wouldn't want to pay that myself, but the work is quality and some people are prepared to pay the money. I have used Land Rovers based in the UK as my price model because that is what my research is based on. So lastly it is important to remember that the 110 would be a right hand drive model and that would decrease its value as opposed to the NAS left hand drives. But take heart, the defender was launched in 1983 and the first models will be available for import in about 18 months. I hope this helps some of you. It took me quite a while to gather all this information, but feel free to do hours and hours of research on your own if you want to confirm or deny it. One final word of warning - if anyone tells you that they can legally sell you a Defender that doesn't match the years of official import by Land Rover North America - I would run, if it isn't on the DOT approved list and you buy it, you run the risk of having the vehicle seized and destroyed. Caveat Emptor.
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Replying to: mm450exc (Jun 24, 2005 9:46 am) Any thoughts?
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Replying to: buddy00 (Jun 10, 2006 1:50 pm) You raise an interesting question. You are proposing buying an early defender and restoring it with late model parts. Technically there is nothing to stop you from doing that, but like everything you may run into some problems. You could buy an '83 110 and rebuild it from the ground up, chassis, interior, doors, engine, transmission, etc. You would effectively have a "brand new" 110 defender that you could bring into the US in 2008 - not a problem for you as you will be in Germany till at least then. Your problems may begin with the EPA. As I understand it to be exempt from EPA requirements the engine must be 21 years or older(the 25 year mark is for DOT safety standards). Nothing to stop you from re conditioning the original engine, but if you put a newer engine in, say a TD300 that is less than 21 years old you may not be able to import the car legally - unless that engine has been certified to meet with all of the applicable EPA standards. Next consideration - even if the EPA lets the car in, your state may have its own restrictions. All in all if you recondition an older defender with a 3.5 V8 you should sail through the importation process. Like everything, do your homework first, do not take everything I have said as Gospel - double check and confirm everything. Good luck - and enjoy the World Cup.
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with classic minis. Basicly reVINing a new mini built during the 90s with the VIN from a mini built in the 70s or earlier. This allows them to import the new car as a 25 year old vehicle.
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Replying to: british_rover (Jun 12, 2006 5:10 am) I don't know what the worst consequences might be, but the importation forms are Federal - and knowingly committing perjury to the Feds, well I can't imagine the consequences are good.
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Replying to: londnr (Jun 12, 2006 7:59 am)
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Replying to: british_rover (Jun 12, 2006 8:59 am) Furthermore it may not be the original importer that ends up suffering the loss of the motor vehicle. A second or third buyer may end up having the vehicle seized and destroyed. They won't face any criminal consequences, but they will be out the cost of the car and most likely their only recourse would be a civil suit against the person responsible for altering the VIN - and in all likelihood they will come up against a judgment proof defendant. Not all robbery or burglary suspects get caught - I am not convinced that is a good reason to commit robbery or burglary. While altering the VIN may not rise to the level of these crimes in the minds of some - it involves fraud, it involves deception, it involves perjury and it is wrong. Who knows what other "steps" were taken to get that car into the US?
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Replying to: londnr (Jun 12, 2006 10:29 am) I don't think I have to go through an importer, I think the military will contract the shipping, it just needs to get through U.S. customs and they do that here.
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Replying to: buddy00 (Jun 12, 2006 11:59 am) Although it is early days for you, the current forms are: DOT form HS-7 and EPA form 3520-1 - but they may change before you are ready to do the move. The comment on changing the VIN was posted by someone else, check my earlier post, I am pretty sure that you could rebuild a 1983 110 from the ground up as long is it is maintains its original form/character. As to a different engine broken down for spares, you are outside my area of research, so I don't really know if there are EPA concerns or not. There are some Land Rover places in the US that already offer conversions to the later diesel engines, it might just be easier to have one of them do the work. |
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Replying to: londnr (Jun 11, 2006 7:27 pm) I think the only way to get past the EPA is to keep the original 25 year old engine. I can always ship the new one back as a spare.
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