| Author | Message | ||
     Jeff Seith (Hokie) New Member Username: Hokie Post Number: 4 Registered: 03-2003 |
Does anybody have any experience importing a diesel Disco/Freelander into the USA? Every dealer says I can't do it through Rover, no way, no how. They no longer sell diesels in Canada, and I'm not crazy about going to Mexico. I know I can personally go over to the UK, buy one, and ship it home, but I'm looking for an easier route to go. | ||
| Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Senior Member Username: Leslie Post Number: 2128 Registered: 02-2002 |
Jeff, Legally, you can't buy one over there and ship it home. You'll either have to buy one here and swap the motor in, or wait 'til Rover does start bringing them in (probably in a couple of years). -L | ||
| Roland Kutasi (Disco1) Senior Member Username: Disco1 Post Number: 331 Registered: 10-2002 |
If you do get one from either England or Australia, you will have to learn how to hold your drinks or smoke your cigarettes in your left hand cause that what side the cupholders/ashtray is. LOL | ||
| Roland Kutasi (Disco1) Senior Member Username: Disco1 Post Number: 332 Registered: 10-2002 |
Leslie: I'm curious as to why in the USA you cannot buy vehicles overseas? Is it because of some emission issues? | ||
| Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Senior Member Username: Leslie Post Number: 2319 Registered: 02-2002 |
Both EPA's emmissions, and DOT's safety issues. Another reason, although not often cited, is probably that the regs were put into place at the behest of the automakers so that we can't circumvent their North American distributors.... There is a 25-year old exemption rule. Any vehicle that is 25 years old or older may be brought in without much fanfare. Thus, you can bring in a Series without much problem. FWIW.... -L | ||
| Roland Kutasi (Disco1) Senior Member Username: Disco1 Post Number: 333 Registered: 10-2002 |
Thanks! | ||
| Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Senior Member Username: Leslie Post Number: 2323 Registered: 02-2002 |
no problemo......  -L | ||
| Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Senior Member Username: Leslie Post Number: 2324 Registered: 02-2002 |
Actually, there is a bit more I could say (though it's all been said before, if you search you can find a good bit more details). If there was a model that was imported to the US, ie, the 1993 Defender 110, then, you can have a Registered Importer bring over a 110 for you and do the conversion, document it, and it would be legal. You can't bring one over and do it yourself, nor can just any ol' importer, but only one of a few Registered Importers are allowed. As to which vehicles, there is an already-approved list available on some gov't website... the '93 D110 is the only Rover on it (yet). If someone wanted to go through the process, they could petition to have a '94 D90 added, since there is a NAS D90 from '94 (or '95, or '97). You can't, however, petition to add, say, a '92 D90... it'll have to wait 'til it reaches 25-years old. Some vehicles were legally brought in prior to the enactment of said laws. So, sometimes you can find, say, an '86 D110 that is legit. Also, in certain states, you could assemble parts, go to your DMV, and have a VIN assigned to it, and in that case (in those certain states), it would be legal. Once registered, it is legal then. Now, with all of that said: using a Registered Importer isn't cheap; it's more affordable in most cases to just buy one of the NAS ones. Also, if you're paying someone to do the labor on building one from parts, realize that on either parts or labor, you'll have more than the vehicle would have cost in the first place, and you'll be paying for both ends of it. A while back, someone was working on legally bringing in some newer Rovers, though; going through the process of having some crash-tested, etc., so that they could have a new 110. Sounded neat, but, it's still have been over $40k for one, and would had to have had at least 12 or so vehicles for it to have been economical to bother with. If you search this board's archives, you can find a lot more info... FWIW.... -L | ||
| Nathan Hindman (Nathanh) Member Username: Nathanh Post Number: 68 Registered: 07-2002 |
One more thing to add: the 80's Land Rovers were legal due to a one time, lifetime exemption allowed by the gov't. Basically, John Q Public was allowed one time in his life to bring in a vehicle, any vehicle, into the US for personal use and it wouldn't have to meet DOT/NHTSA standards. A small number of people decided to bring in 110s etc during this time. My understanding is that the aforementioned exemption rule was terminated when it was found that some importers were abusing this loophole by bringing in large volumes of vehicles under different peoples names (ie bring in 50 of vehicle X under random peoples names). The gov't then instituted the Registered Importer program which we now know and love ;-) Just goes to show you how a few people can screw it up for the rest of us who have good intentions. Thanks, Nathan Hindman http://www.pangaea-expeditions.com | ||
| Roland Kutasi (Disco1) Senior Member Username: Disco1 Post Number: 337 Registered: 10-2002 |
I hope this isn't a stupid question but couldn't you purchase what you want in say, Mexico or S.America and drive it back? | ||
| Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Leslie Post Number: 2342 Registered: 02-2002 |
You "can" do that, but it's not legal to register it. When you bring it across the border, even if you're driving it, you're still importing. There's a difference between what you can get away with, and what's legal. -L |
