WTF?!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-24...rbags.html

Oooh another Daily Mail reader

WTF indeed... Them yanks are a strange breed

Martin I only read it for the horoscopes!!

Yep! Believe it.

At our latest Land Rover club picnic, a new member showed up in his BRAND NEW 1998 TD5 Defender 110. 'Brand new' in that 1) he had just bought it, 2) Canada's rule is 15 years, not 25, so it is as new as a Defender can get around here. To get one here, you really have to want one and they're NOT cheap. No one had actually seen a TD5 before, so we were all interested. It sported a nice, new paint job, but also showed it was a 15 year old car.

After the BBQ, we went to play on a building site. He didn't join us as he didn't want to get it dirty! that kind of money for a Tarmac only car with the on road performance of a Defender.?

I have been told that you can sell >25 year old Defenders to the States for really silly money, as only the over-25s comply with the rules. However, I believe that in practice you have to send all sorts of supporting documentation, and the car sits on the dockside for a long time waiting for the US to verify (or otherwise!) its age. Supposedly not risk-free, as they can make snap decisions if something in the documentation is out of line, but there are tales of oldies selling for £25k over there.

I guess it can't be that straightforward otherwise we'd all be sending our Landies stateside and buying brand new ones here!

Now, I just need to sort that sodding gearbox......

I think there are a few dealers who have the cash and buy them here and ship 2-3 at a time over for some easy enough money where it sits on a dockside and doesn't lose much money.

In reality whats to stop you rebuilding one over here with a new chassis, then a new shell, then a new engine and still have it on a B reg and then export it? Its still officially a 25yr old car but would have just had bits replaced? Send it over and get a new TD5 engine shipped over as well and fit it once its all cleared and bing you have a new-ish defender

Im sure its a bit more complex than that but not bad for £10k+ profit per machine turned out! oh and the money you could make from sticking a load of parts in the back of one as well... FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

I'm not 100% here Will but I think your plan of re-chassis-ing etc is where some people are falling down, as the septics detect this and those are the ones that get crushed! Which is pretty ironic in the scheme of things! Not sure what they're checking for but there are certainly lots of stories about cars NOT getting through the checks.

There's a lot more info here: http://www.eastcoastrover.com/imports.html and some of the links are worth following too.

A few good friends of mine looked into this as an extension of their own LR repair / fabrication business and concluded that the manhours involved don't necessarily get you that much of a profit at the end of the day.

Rechassing shouldn't cause much of an issue as I gather the galv is a desirable and future-proof option and at least gives more leverage for a better price. But many I've seen that do get exported are immaculate and that requires a lot of work.

Take a base-case 110, for instance, bought for £4,000, then spend £3,000 on a new chassis including labour, then maybe new doors (another potential £1.5-2k), then a full respray and mechanical overhaul and interior refurb and then the export stuff and it's not leaving much TRUE profit unless you're slick and possibly have the labour as a fixed overhead. Si. <This is my name.

I eat rat poison.

A man ain't truly been insulted until he stands buck naked in front of a woman and she didn't even notice. Or care.

The rebuild option would cost them too much, at least the types that don't shy away from cutting out a chassis number and replacing them with one from another car.

In Holland this happened as well and may still happen with RR Classics as the road tax for a 25 year old car is a lot lower. So you get a late model classic built on a 25 yr. old RR chassis. Or you just replace the chassis number and take the papers from the old car when you register it. Then LPG (attracts 2.5 times higher road tax in Holland) and you are running a very cheap car. MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

I bet Wheeler Dealers would do it. They have a special zero labour cost garage

Can you imagine that? MB saying 'I won't take a penny less than £20,000' and someone comes along and offers him £15,000 for cash. 'Old owt yerr 'aand!' Si. <This is my name.

I eat rat poison.

A man ain't truly been insulted until he stands buck naked in front of a woman and she didn't even notice. Or care.

^ Yeah and he paid £16k for it before 30 hours of free Labour....

Old owt yerr aand me lovely

LOL

I can see it now, a contianer with 3 1993 110's in it.
An small container with 3 new puma engines, chassis's, drivetrains, doors....

Already painted as well and arriving the week before the other container so it can pass through customs nice and quickly

For Sale, 3 Almost new Defender 110's... FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

PS imports into new jersey would be best no passenger vehicle tests anymore! FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.