| Author | Message | ||
     John Kruger (Johnnyk) Member Username: Johnnyk Post Number: 179 Registered: 02-2002 |
www.defenderimports.com Mitch Hanson This may be a decent way to get the defender you have always wanted. John www.teampb.com | ||
| R. B. Bailey (Rover50987) Senior Member Username: Rover50987 Post Number: 414 Registered: 07-2002 |
WOW, if the paper work and licensing fees are not too much in your state... wow! $8900 for a '93 Defender with shipping! | ||
| Steve Cooper (Scrover) Member Username: Scrover Post Number: 240 Registered: 09-2002 |
"DEPOSIT - CONDITION We require a deposit of 20% to complete your order. This will hold the vehicle from any further sales and start the process of importing the vehicle to you" I smell another Overland Tours | ||
| Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Senior Member Username: Leslie Post Number: 1884 Registered: 02-2002 |
PRICE INCLUDEDS: *Vehicle *Air cargo shipping from London to Los Angeles *Home shipping to any address within California . Shipping to other States is charged accordingly - Check Shipping Rates *All import fees and custom fees *Registration and title transfer fees Air Cargo? You expect me to believe that they can sell a vehicle for those prices, including shipping, if they shipped it by air??? And, they say they're shipping them all to CA first, then out to people.... wouldn't it make more sense to ship a vehicle to the East Coast from the UK w/o going all the way to Cali???? Especially by AIR????? While trying to keep the vehicle as stock/original as possible, we do convert all vehicles to left hand drive with California standards as most of our vehicles are sold to customers within CA and it insures the vehicles will be legal in all US States. Sorry... they don't require that. Look at all of the RHD vehicles that rural mail carriers drive... there's nothing that says that you can't have a RHD vehicle.... most people prefer to drive a LHD vehicle in the US, but, it's not mandated that it be LHD. I'm doubtful. Very. -L | ||
| Peter Matusov (Pmatusov) Senior Member Username: Pmatusov Post Number: 546 Registered: 09-2002 |
well, Leslie, if they can hop them on one of these C130s flying back and forth nearly empty on a regular basis... why not? but - i had the same doubts. still, the prices are amazingly low. | ||
| Paul D. Morgan (V22guy) Senior Member Username: V22guy Post Number: 1315 Registered: 02-2002 |
Air cargo shipping from London to Los Angeles? Absolutely no way in hell! That alone would triple the price of the vehicle. | ||
| R. B. Bailey (Rover50987) Senior Member Username: Rover50987 Post Number: 416 Registered: 07-2002 |
Aeroflot | ||
| R. B. Bailey (Rover50987) Senior Member Username: Rover50987 Post Number: 417 Registered: 07-2002 |
Actually, we maybe going there this summer and after corresponding with them, and if that all checks out, I might just stop in for a visit. | ||
| Todd W. McLain (Ganryu) Member Username: Ganryu Post Number: 155 Registered: 10-2002 |
Actually, R.B. brings up a pretty good point there. Lease an AeroFlot IL-76 and you could probably bring 8-10 in on the same aircraft, spread loading the cost, along with whatever other "cargo" they might want to bring in. | ||
| R. B. Bailey (Rover50987) Senior Member Username: Rover50987 Post Number: 418 Registered: 07-2002 |
I was thinking they just have a contact that tells them when there is room on a plane. Stick the truck on at the last minute, bottle of vodka, a pack of cigs, and away you go. Or something a little more... by the book. But the point is with a 6 week timeframe for delivery and the ability to simply drive the truck on one of their daily flights between London and L.A. probably not a far fetched idea. | ||
| Greg French (Gregfrench) Senior Member Username: Gregfrench Post Number: 255 Registered: 11-2002 |
Try www.turkys.com | ||
| John Moore (Jmoore) Senior Member Username: Jmoore Post Number: 485 Registered: 10-2002 |
There is a thread on www.4x4wire.com in the Rovers section about a guy trying to do this very exact same thing. As I recall in that thread, he thought his price would be around $30K. I wonder if this is the same fellow? | ||
| Pugsly (Pugsly) Member Username: Pugsly Post Number: 227 Registered: 11-2002 |
Remember this thread? ../17/10305.html> | ||
| Chris Browne (Chris_browne) New Member Username: Chris_browne Post Number: 19 Registered: 02-2003 |
Domain Name: DEFENDERIMPORTS.COM Registrar: TUCOWS, INC. Whois Server: whois.opensrs.net Referral URL: http://www.opensrs.org Name Server: NS1.NETFIRMS.COM Name Server: NS2.NETFIRMS.COM Status: ACTIVE Updated Date: 09-mar-2003 Creation Date: 24-feb-2003 Expiration Date: 24-feb-2004 From network solutions....a just created operation.....it would seem...... | ||
| Will Bobbitt (Rkores) Member Username: Rkores Post Number: 230 Registered: 09-2002 |
I will have to call the BS flag on that one...it just seems to sketchy to me. Atleast they have different pictures, instead of Photochoped pics like Overland Tours had. Plus there is no US phone number or adress listed? Looks like some UK boys are getting there jollies off of us US blokes. Will | ||
| R. B. Bailey (Rover50987) Senior Member Username: Rover50987 Post Number: 421 Registered: 07-2002 |
This is from their web site: http://www.defenderimports.com/contact.htm The contact info is on that page, and when I emailed them they got back to me in about 18 hours. Said they have a test track, and would let me take one on the open road if I showed up. Also, I found a few of their trucks on the web sites of other dealers in that area. I am sort of trying to do some checking on the business, tell you how it went later. And like I said, if we go to England this summer I will probably stop by unless the whole thing does turn out to be a scam before then. | ||
| SF Noblitt (Alacrity) New Member Username: Alacrity Post Number: 1 Registered: 03-2003 |
Couple of things; Most tellingly, can anyone indicate to me how you legitimately get what will be a NHSTA/EPA/DOT Legal vehicle past customs without being a registered agent? Barring the 25 year exclusion. Most of these prices are less than the advertised pricing of similar (or identical) rovers available in UK. Prices seem extremely low, especially in light of bond costs associated with importation of "grey market" vehicles. >*Registration and title transfer will be processed and forwarded to >your home address, approx 3-6 weeks depending on your state Am I reading this correctly? 3-6 weeks after payment and delivery of the vehicle is made, I will receive Registration and Title in the mail? Why not a CA title? Accepted payment for deposits >Option 1: Bank Wire Transfer >Option 2: Western Union Money Transfer >Option 3: Money Gram Money Transfer >Option 4: E-Gold Account - Must have an >>established account with E-Gold - Details >Option 5: Evocash Account - Must have an >>established account with Evocash - Details Motorex has been importing Japanese sourced Skylines for years, take a look at the link and see what it entails. It may be that Defenders just dont take that much to "federalize". BTW - responding to Lelsie - right hand drive IS an issue with DOT. Basically cant import RHD w/o 25 year exclusion. http://www.motorex.net/faq.html Either a golden age for the US Land Rover community is upon us or theres at least some confusion surrounding this operation. Luck Alacrity | ||
| Blue (Bluegill) Senior Member Username: Bluegill Post Number: 2126 Registered: 02-2002 |
The prices are cheap because if they listed them too high, less suckers would send them a deposit. With no deposit, there is no scam, and they make no money. Simple enough. | ||
| R. B. Bailey (Rover50987) Senior Member Username: Rover50987 Post Number: 440 Registered: 07-2002 |
I have seen (and driven) two RHD D-110's. I believe both of them have since been legalized. The one that I actually know about was brought in by the original owners from England, so getting it in was no problem. Anyway, I am keeping an eye on these guys. And I am doing my homework, if you are a Registered Importer, you could probably get any pre-1998 Defender into the U.S. with the right amount of work etc... the catch is, only the R.I. can do the work. Not just that the car can be created legal, then imported, it has to be imported, then it has to have all the legal work and paperwork done on it by the R.I. in the U.S. When they claim to have been doing this for many years, they probably mean that they have been importing older (25 years) trucks. Unless they have a contract with some R.I. in L.A. they must be a newly Registered Importer. I have just seen the official list of R.I.'s, since their name does not appear on the official government list that was updated Jan. '03. However, IF that list is updated (every 6 months or so) and they appear on that list - they could then be considered ligit, if not - don't send them money. | ||
| Hans (Beowulf) New Member Username: Beowulf Post Number: 1 Registered: 03-2003 |
Hi John, I am the person that made the post over at www.4x4Wire.com in regards to starting a Defender import business. But no I am not affiliated with defenderimports.com and I have never heard about them until recently, very strange though as I was looking for names for my own website (which by the way is not online yet) I happened to type in defenderimports.com and their website popped up ... which kind of made me mad (hahaha ... I wanted that name). I do not know if they are legit or not, but since I am in the midst of doing this myself I can tell you a couple of things: To my knowledge, as of yet there has not been even one Defender 110 EPA and DOT certified since Land Rover did it themselves back in 1993 and this can be verified by checking with the DOT and EPA, just give them a call. There have been "Gray Market Defenders" titled in the USA and have met the certifications (the wording here is “they have met certifications” … but not “they actually have certifications”), but just because a vehicle is titled and meets EPA/DOT certifications does not mean that it actually has the certifications and is legal to drive … and without the DOT/EPA stickers on the door it is a financial liability … no exceptions. Also to my knowledge there has never been a legally registered California late model Defender 110 (except of course the 1993 models that Land Rover imported), there are currently 52 late model Defender 110s in California but they are not registered in this State because they are not legal to drive here. This is where Defender Imports loses their credibility with me, because they are saying that most of their customers are based in CA and all of their vehicles can be registered here, but yet none of them are. They also lose their credibility with me when they say they carry out the necessary conversions because … Every vehicle that is imported legally (the key word here is legally) into the USA that is not over 25 years old must be accepted and converted by a Registered Importer in the USA (once again no exceptions), thus NO certifications can be done before it is received here (it has to be done in the U.S. by an RI). A log is kept on each vehicle with documentation as thick as a phone book of all records of the conversion (including detailed step by step pictures) must be kept by the Registered Importer during the entire process and presented to the EPA and DOT when done. Thus far the 300TDi engine has not been certified in any imported vehicle by the EPA, once again this can be verified by calling the EPA and asking them. It is not controlled by computers thus it cannot give out the OBD II readings that are necessary for the certifications. The RI that I am working with is in the midst of patenting the first Cat-Converter that will allow emission readings to be presented to the EPA to prove that the 300TDi and other non-computer controlled engines are greenhouse safe. Just sticking a regular Cat. on it will not cut it as there is no way you can get the necessary readings from it. Finally, I’d like to know how they are doing their shipping. Considering that regular sea-freight of a D110 is close to $1800 dollars once all documentation and insurance is done, I would think air freighting it to LA would be at least twice as much. But I don’t know, maybe they know some things that my Registered Importer doesn’t … I mean my guy has only been in the business for about 35 years :>) I have no way of knowing if they are legit or not and I do not want to rain on anybody's parade, but hopefully some of my pointers can at least push in the right direction. Do your homework, make calls to U.S. Customs to find out if they've ever received anything from this company, call the EPA, DOT and DMV ask questions, ask Defender Imports who does their shipping and then call the company to verify that they have done business with them in the past. Be careful with your money!!! Although I will not have any vehicles ready for at least a few months (I am going the full route with my all of my vehicles including full DOT and EPA certifications and this takes time), if anybody has any other questions about the certification process drop me line I would be glad to try and help you out. p.s. This is my first post, cool forum! Cheers rufs@nethere.net | ||
| Hans (Beowulf) New Member Username: Beowulf Post Number: 7 Registered: 03-2003 |
And the hammer comes down: http://www.lrx.com/listings/defenderimports.html | ||
| Carter Simcoe (Carter) Senior Member Username: Carter Post Number: 2137 Registered: 04-2002 |
figures | ||
| Paul D. Morgan (V22guy) Senior Member Username: V22guy Post Number: 1381 Registered: 02-2002 |
I soooooo knew it. | ||
| Todd W. McLain (Ganryu) Member Username: Ganryu Post Number: 186 Registered: 10-2002 |
Nigerian bankers needing help getting money out of the country, maybe? | ||
| Perrone Ford (Perroneford) Member Username: Perroneford Post Number: 64 Registered: 02-2003 |
Hans, As I've mentioned. I have driven one fully certified D110 with a 200TDi. The story was fully documented, and I've talked about it at length several times. -P | ||
| Hudson Graham (Arcfox) New Member Username: Arcfox Post Number: 1 Registered: 03-2003 |
I had been emailing back and forth with "Mitch" asking about 110 3-doors (and hoping that somehow it was all real). He was extremely prompt with his replies until I asked for photos of the trucks he had been describing. It took him four days to respond to that email, only to say that they had all been sold already. Mighty suspicious for someone that seemed so eager to sell me a truck in the first place. | ||
| Hans (Beowulf) New Member Username: Beowulf Post Number: 9 Registered: 03-2003 |
Hi Perrone good info, thanks for sharing! Was it a 1993? That would be the most likely since there are no other year models listed with the DOT yet. EDIT: I just went to Spanish Trail Rovers. I guess it was a 1993 model, but the 200TDi doesn't seem to be certified by the EPA ... was it? Up until now there does not seem to be any other engines EPA certified other than what Land Rover imported. Although to be quite honest we never focused on the 200TDi model so there may be some info floating around on it ... but it doesn't seem likely because it would have cost them a lot more money to have that engine certified (I mean we are talking about taking it to Ann Harbor, MI and scheduling emission research tests with the EPA in order to really get it certified and that would have cost them well over $8K), we are going through the same testing phase with the 300TDi and it required us to develop a special Cat-Conv that can actually prove there are no greenhouse issues with the vehicles we are interested in importing. It's also interesting that they didn't have to install the roll-cage on it (which Land Rover had to do in order to get it passed by the NHTSA). Are you sure it had the actual DOT certifications plates on it? It seems more likely that it just met the certifications and they were able to get it registered? There is a big difference (especially in a State like California), but I don't know, maybe they were able to sneak it passed. As long as it has the actual NHTSA/DOT plate that is affixed to the door on all legal imports it is legal, if it doesn't have the actual plates on then it is not legal and a financial liability, just because a vehilce is titled and registered does not make it legal to drive on the road. Good info though, thanks again! | ||
| Max Thomason (Lrmax) Member Username: Lrmax Post Number: 136 Registered: 11-2002 |
Hey all, I just got this off of LRX.com. I think this says enough. "IMPORTANT NOTICE! LRX has removed the ads placed here in mid-March by a company operating with the website address of http://www.defenderimports.com/. We have attempted, without success thus far, to confirm that this company is in fact a bona fide importer of late model Land Rover Defender vehicles to the USA. For information on what we were able to determine, please read over our correspondence with DEFENDERIMPORTS.COM. Our third letter may be of general interest since it lists some of hurdles a company has to clear in order to be a fully legal importer of foreign vehicles into the USA. LRX users who wish to provide their own comments or feedback to us (good or bad) regarding their experiences with DEFENDERIMPORTS.COM may use the LRX Feedback Page." Max T. | ||
| R. B. Bailey (Rover50987) Senior Member Username: Rover50987 Post Number: 472 Registered: 07-2002 |
Ya, I just read that and here is the link to the letters they have sent eachother: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3411489237&category=11509 I bet these guys are a real company that does business in the 25 and OLDER category, decided to make some more money, and jumped into something they had absolutely no idea what they were getting into. You CAN import a Defender - YOU can, not someone else for you. And you have to have it inspected and "customized" to U.S. standards by a U.S. Registered Importer - there is no other way. I kind of think they weren't really a scam, just really confused, and not particularly good at business. Anyway, here is a link to the current list of R.I.'s so that all of you with enough money, CAN actually go get your own Defender: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/RIlist_01072003.html If you are serious about getting a Defender and paying less than a nice NAS 110, you can probably do it, but you have to have one of these guys do it for you, so give THEM a call, not DefenderImports.com or whoever else comes along. http://landrover.mrbaileyshistory.net |
