Need Advice on Importing into US...

[fernando]

Hi:

Need some advice. We have been living in Brazil for about a year now and I have now come back to the US. My family will follow shortly. Enough babble...

We have a 2003 Land Rover Defender 110 L/W in Brazil and we have fallen in love with the vehicle that we want to bring it to the US. Questin is, fist is it worth it and second if so, what hoops do I have to jump through to get it here?

Thanks in advance.

[xpower racer]

Is it worth it??? Of course. From what I have heard LR defenders are like rocking horse s**t. Dont part with it. Its costing me £1000 to export a car from Austrailia so I cant imagin it will cost any more to export from Brazil. Why dont you drive it mate? save your self a fortune..

[TerryS]

In deciding if it's 'worth it', it's hard to be objective when it comes to your own Land Rover. US vehicle importation laws are generally very restrictive as it applies to vehicles less than 25 years old. That's not to say it can't be done, and done legally either. The risky route is to just drive it over the border, go to a state like New Hampshire that has very relaxed title procedures, get it titled there, then retitled in your home state, using the NH title. You may never get a sound nights sleep after that though, because the vehicle could be seized and,at the least, you would be forced to immediately export it back out, the worst case scenario is that it would be seized and destroyed.
The legal route involves hiring an "RI" (registered importer) to post an import bond, then "qualify" the vehicle.
Go the the NHTSA website and read up on importation regulations. You may well want to give up at that point.

[John C]

Like Terry said it'll be expensive, something like $20k (from what I heard).

What part of Brasil are you from?

[Kevin88RRC]

Like it has been said expensive and hard.
Check out the sites below for more info.

http://www.eastcoastrover.com/imports.html
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/

[xpower racer]

I'm shocked. Why is it so expensive? There is no cost atall for importing to the UK other than the cost of the boat/plane travel, £25 registration fee (applicable for all including new cars bought in the uk) and £90 for the first 6 months road tax. Alos for us if the car is over 10 years old it doesnt have to pass the vehicle conformity regulations (like possition of lights, exhausts ect).

You need to see how much the whole import is going to cost including the value of your LR, then see how much it would cost to source another one that is already imported.. I have no Idea how much either caase would be.

Good Luck.. Hope you dont end up Landroverless

[TerryS]

The expense is not in the getting it here, it's in getting it to meet US conformance for year of manufacture.

Soft dash (Have you seen how much styrofoam is behind the panels in a Disco?)
Side Impact beams (Not possible in current Defender door design)
Impact absorbing bumper
SRS, both sides

That's all before you get to the engine, a TD5, which has not been accepted for use in the US. LR is abandoning the TD5 at the end of the year, in the Defender, in favour of the BMW (when are they going to cut the cord with BMW?)

FWIW, the 1993 Defender 110 has been submitted for approval, approved, and given a file number. That's the only non-US Defender on the NHTSA list which can be easily imported ('easily' being a relative term.)

[fernando]

WOW!!!!!! Thank you alll for you advice and input. I had a feeling it was not as easy as putting it on a boat and just landing here in the US. I thought about driving it up to the US, but from Brazil (we are actually in Brasilia, the capitol), it would have been going through some very HARROWING territory (by this I do not mean terrain, but unsafe areas). Anyway, I have visited the links posted and even called an RI in Florida and much to my dismay, it will cost a fortune (over US$20,000) to get it a DOT certification. The bigger problem for me, as the RI explained and as has been explained in the post is the engine. Yes it is a TD5 and that will NOT be allowed into the US, no exception!!! Like I said, WOW!!!!! Well, I am still looking for a way, but it looks like it might not happen. We may end up keeping the vehicle in Brazil as we have a place in Brasilia (with a garage, so it is safe). I really do not want to get rid of it as my whole family loves it. I will keep everyone posted as to what happens. Thanks again!!!!

[John C]

My partner did a rally back in 84 from New Orleans to Chile. They shipped the vehicles from New Orleans to Colombia. It wasn't that bad back then, I'm sure it's worse now. Anyway, we are planning a trip thru SA but we will ship our Rovers from FL to northern Brasil. The we'll head down to Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, etc.

BTW, I'll be in Brasil next week but in the south (Rio Grande do Sul). To bad you're up north if not I would've liked to take a look at that bad boy.

Good luck.

[sarajevo-rover]

I've been done my fair share of research on this importation issue. I have yet to find a definitive answer to my situation. I'll keep this brief.
I'm a U.S. Marine currently on special duty at the American Embassy here in Sarajevo. The British Embassy is willing to sell a 2000 Land Rover Defender 110. The U.N. building here in town is also selling a few 96-97 110's. Now reading all that I have read so far, would it be any easier for me to get one of these fine rigs back to the States given the fact that I'm active duty military. The H7 forms say something about it but I'm looking for a better answer. Can any of the Rover-vets offer any insight?

[Jonesy]

Dude if you can swing a LHD 110 in to the country on some "gov't program" I will gladly give you the money to pick one up for me - + "a lil somthin for you"......but unless you do it illegally I know of no way to get one in, the rules seem to be written pretty stiffly on the age limit. But if you figure a legal way to do it I AM SERIOUS!!!!

[sarajevo-rover]

Well it looks like I'll start looking for a 93 110 here in Sarajevo. I'll keep all of you informed.

[patrickfifth]

I live in Seattle and I am planning to move to Buenos Aires in early 2006 and living there for a year, year and a half before driving back home to Seattle. The pipe dream includes a defender 110, registered in BA, driven up to Seattle on a "temporary" basis. I don't plan on registering it in the US, it will only be in transit until I return "home" to BA. Does anyone know the rules on temporarily having a 110 in the USA? I'll start checking the links provided earlier.

BTW Fernando, How'd you like to rent/lease it to someone in BA while your in the US?

Thanks.

[Tasmanian Devil]

Getting the vehicle in will be no problem. But getting it registered will be a your downfall. I took my Discovery TDi from the UK to California, and I just couldn't get it registered. As they didn't import diesels into the States, it did not have compliance. To get this you had to have it tested at one of 5 places. Not one of these 5 places would do a diesel as they all said it made thier equipment dirty. So I was screwed there. The cost of the test is $5000.00 USD and then it still may fail. DMV siad I should change the engine to a V8 then I could have it tested (at $15,000 USD..right I'm going to do that). Why on earth I would change a brand new TDi for a polluting, thirstyV8 petrol is beyond me, regardless of cost. So my Disco sat in my garage for 3 years. The red tape is just insane, and at the end of the day because none of the places would do the test, it was pointless anyway. I tried everything over 2 years, before I just gave up. So I moved to Australia where at least the beauracracy has more than 4 IQ points. I am now driving the same Disco...legally.

[John C]

Originally Posted by patrickfifth

I live in Seattle and I am planning to move to Buenos Aires in early 2006 and living there for a year, year and a half before driving back home to Seattle. The pipe dream includes a defender 110, registered in BA, driven up to Seattle on a "temporary" basis. I don't plan on registering it in the US, it will only be in transit until I return "home" to BA. Does anyone know the rules on temporarily having a 110 in the USA? I'll start checking the links provided earlier.

BTW Fernando, How'd you like to rent/lease it to someone in BA while your in the US?

Thanks.

I thinl you have to leave the country (cross over the border) every 6 months or maybe it's a year.

BTW, I was in BA last Feb and it was great! If you're looking for a LR board checkout www.landroverclub.com.ar

Maybe I'll see you there next year when I drive from NY to Tierra del Fuego.