OFFICIAL Land Rover thread.

[slammin.e28]

OFFICIAL Land Rover thread.

Guys.



I took apart my Range Rover.



IDK what do now.

[bostonvert]

You'd be in competition with some established importers / customizers, and the market is somewhat limited I would think. They're worth quite a bit, but how many do they really sell? Although there might be a niche in just bringing in good, non-abused, solid used trucks - a lot of these people are building these ridiculous, glitzed-up poser rigs for high rollers.

Seems to me there was a shop in the south that got in big trouble swapping out chassis numbers on much newer trucks, or just buying the windshield bulkhead and building a brand new truck around it and claiming it was vintage.

http://www.defendersource.com/forum/f8/

https://eastcoastrover.com/imports.html

http://eastcoastrover.com

http://www.arkonik.com/pioneer

http://relicimports.com

http://eastcoastdefender.com

http://gmr4x4.com/our-services/

http://www.zombiemotors.net

https://www.overlandimports.com/pages/our-process

https://www.landrovercentre.com/exporting-to-the-usa/

http://forums.roversnorth.com/showth...-old-Defenders

http://forum.expeditionportal.com/th...rt-a-Defender?
"A 1988 or earlier British/Irish Defender is most likely a ragged out farm truck / work truck. Think along the lines of a 1988 F-150 or C1500."

"And you will also find a recent letter from customs to the field agents talking about increased monitoring of defenders coming into the country. Customs IS on the look out for all defenders coming into the country. Everything must be 100% original. If the chassis, block, drivetrain configuraiton has been changed forget about it. The vehicle must be exactly as the VIN says or its not coming in."

http://autoweek.com/article/car-life...rket-dream-car

Thanks a lot, appreciate the effort!

Well I think their certainly is demand, US autotrader has around 90 listed for sale today and the Belgian equivalent over 2000!

I don't like the super restored specials that get imported, they are just cool old trucks. The whole point of importing the first one is to have a fun car in Vt next spring and summer and if it sells for a profit (small) I might want to import a couple more. The main advantage in Belgium is LHD cars and my friend is very well connected in the Land Rover/off road scene here so no change of buying junk...

The main issue is that I don't really know if I have to register as an importer and in what state to pay taxes (VT or NY) or do I start a used car dealership of some kind? Still searching for this info, I'm working on my businesplan as we speak. I have given this a lot of thought and I might just try it in the spring!

I assume importing and selling more then one car in a year for private use would raise some red flags with the IRS no?

so in a nutshell I'd like to sell maybe a few honest old landies that are affordable and maybe an e30 touring or two. Small scale as it would be a side job.

[LateFan]

Do any if you guys know how I could start importing defenders for a business?

You'd be in competition with some established importers / customizers, and the market is somewhat limited I would think. They're worth quite a bit, but how many do they really sell? Although there might be a niche in just bringing in good, non-abused, solid used trucks - a lot of these people are building these ridiculous, glitzed-up poser rigs for high rollers.

Seems to me there was a shop in the south that got in big trouble swapping out chassis numbers on much newer trucks, or just buying the windshield bulkhead and building a brand new truck around it and claiming it was vintage.

http://www.defendersource.com/forum/f8/

https://eastcoastrover.com/imports.html

http://eastcoastrover.com

http://www.arkonik.com/pioneer

http://relicimports.com

http://eastcoastdefender.com

http://gmr4x4.com/our-services/

http://www.zombiemotors.net

https://www.overlandimports.com/pages/our-process

https://www.landrovercentre.com/exporting-to-the-usa/

http://forums.roversnorth.com/showth...-old-Defenders

http://forum.expeditionportal.com/th...rt-a-Defender?
"A 1988 or earlier British/Irish Defender is most likely a ragged out farm truck / work truck. Think along the lines of a 1988 F-150 or C1500."

"And you will also find a recent letter from customs to the field agents talking about increased monitoring of defenders coming into the country. Customs IS on the look out for all defenders coming into the country. Everything must be 100% original. If the chassis, block, drivetrain configuraiton has been changed forget about it. The vehicle must be exactly as the VIN says or its not coming in."

http://autoweek.com/article/car-life...rket-dream-car

[slammin.e28]

I've heard the horror stories! The feds raided a bunch of defender owners a while back full SWAT style...Crazy story over on jalopnik.

Will import one next spring and I'm going to be extra careful to see that everything is 100% legal.

Do any if you guys know how I could start importing defenders for a business? More like a side job, not looking to sell them here from crazy money. One of my best friends has an independent shop that works on defenders/land cruisers so this is something that I'm looking into right now. He would purchase, inspect repair and ship them and I would cover everything in the states. I've been searching online but it is pretty unclear and most import websites only mention JDM imports...

This would maybe 3 vehicles in a year, nothing big and located in Vermont. So far I've read that when imported you have to pay a 2,5% tax on the estimated value of the vehicle, that's all I've found so far.

Will Hendrick (I think that's his last name), the "Defender of Defenders" is the man to contact about importing them. He's the lawyer who took on the owners in the "SWAT" raid cases....pro bono.

[bostonvert]

Only problem is with Rovers in particular you're probably going to get hassled more than with normal vehicles. Make sure ALL the numbers match and any heavy replacement parts are proper to the year/model as it was from the factory. Newer engine in older body they'll snap that truck up so fast. No serial # on the frame...again....bye bye. Feds have a hard on for Rovers...

I've heard the horror stories! The feds raided a bunch of defender owners a while back full SWAT style...Crazy story over on jalopnik.

Will import one next spring and I'm going to be extra careful to see that everything is 100% legal.

Do any if you guys know how I could start importing defenders for a business? More like a side job, not looking to sell them here from crazy money. One of my best friends has an independent shop that works on defenders/land cruisers so this is something that I'm looking into right now. He would purchase, inspect repair and ship them and I would cover everything in the states. I've been searching online but it is pretty unclear and most import websites only mention JDM imports...

This would maybe 3 vehicles in a year, nothing big and located in Vermont. So far I've read that when imported you have to pay a 2,5% tax on the estimated value of the vehicle, that's all I've found so far.

[LateFan]

Bastards....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46OOs9_R8eI

[slammin.e28]

Only problem is with Rovers in particular you're probably going to get hassled more than with normal vehicles. Make sure ALL the numbers match and any heavy replacement parts are proper to the year/model as it was from the factory. Newer engine in older body they'll snap that truck up so fast. No serial # on the frame...again....bye bye. Feds have a hard on for Rovers...

[LateFan]

1993 + 25 = 2018, so next year.

That's the way I understand it, at 25 years, you can bring in almost anything, even if never sold here.

My limited reading is those 2-door 110s are often ex-military or utility trucks, and CHECK FOR FRAME RUST!

[bostonvert]

Just a teaser for you guys, kinda tempted to buy this one and offroad it!

https://www.2dehands.be/autos/land-rover/defender/defender-110-359321110.html

I have been reading about the import laws and a lot of stuff I read contradicts each other. So when any vehicle is 25 years old you CAN import it ,register and insure it in every state except Cali (smog) correct?

[LateFan]

Yeah, they're just like old used pickup trucks over there. The US prices are just silly.

[bostonvert]

What is the best place in the states (east coast) to find LR defenders for sale? Except for classic car dealers selling NAS defenders for stupid money. Would like to know how big the demand is for a sorted 25 year old defender.

Thinking of importing one to drive it around the farm in Vermont and sell it in the fall or spring. I'm fully aware of the dumb 25 year rule...A nice defender around here can be had for around 6-10 k EUR

[BlackSpeed66]

Yep truck's doing great (aside from the gas mileage, which I'm still getting used to). It has the Bosch injection, not the Lucas GEMS, so the whole 'catching fire' thing should be less of a worry

Had a small coolant leak from the throttle body, which just turned out to be a hose that needed to be re-fitted.

Fixed the cruise control - vacuum lines not fitting properly.

Dash has been out to address the HVAC it appears. Some of the trims around the glovebox need some attention. Got it adjusted last night so that it opens/closes better.

The Nanocom came last Friday so that will be a huge help with anything else that decides to spring up!

[slammin.e28]

Well, it's been almost a month, has it caught on fire yet?!

JK!

...but really......everything okay....??

[LateFan]

Well, it's been almost a month, has it caught on fire yet?!

JK!

[BlackSpeed66]

Well, I guess I'll go ahead and welcome myself to the 'club'.... this also goes down as the first truck/SUV thing I've ever owned.

Bought in Denver and drove back the 1400 miles to Cleveland (Left Friday, got back Sunday around 3pm). '02, 150k miles. Came with Magnaflow exhaust installed and upgraded w/ Arnott air springs and some fancy Nitto tires. Also the roof rack, a full set of OEM wheels w/ studded snows, and a service manual and many service records.

Will update w/ more pics once I scrape the coating of bugs off the front