Importing a Land Rover

[Boruca]

I own a 1973 Land Rover, which I keep in Costa Rica for my work (not a Santana). I have had it for over 10 years and it has served me well for the entire time. However, the Costa Rican government is getting tough on older vehicles and it is increasingly difficult to maintain their safety and emissions standards.

I've decided to buy a newer vehicle to use there. I thought about selling the Rover but I'm also considering shipping it back here. Because of its age and the ubiquity of old Rovers in Costa Rica it isnt worth much down there (about $800-$1000). Given the current prices of Series Rovers in the States it seems more econmical to ship it back to sell it (or keep it) than to try to sell it there.

Does anyone have experience importing a Series vehicle? Would I be able to simply "drive it off the ship" and register it or would I need to make emisions/lighting/safety changes before it was legal to bring into the country? How complex is it to bring a vehicle of this age into the country? Any adice would be helpful.

Thanks, Jeff
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1970 IIA 88
1973 IIA 88
1961 II 109 2dr

[msggunny]

I imported my 77 in 04 from Africa and had no problems with it. Due to the age of your Land Rover it is exempt from FEDERAL EPA and NHTSA safety regs and shouldnt be a problem unless the state regs are more stringent. I was lucky enough to have the government move it for me so i didnt have to worry about much, but you need to do some research. Check with shipping companies that the US Embassy there uses as they should have experience with this kind of thing.

LHD or RHD doesnt matter, mine is RHD.

Be carefull and watch for scams too. Make sure everything is legit and all the documents for customs are properly and truthfully filled out. Make sure you keep copies of EVERYTHING. I have every bit of paperwork i could get on my truck that i could get my hands on, from when it was imported from the UK to Uganda to when i had it registered in Zimbabwe. There may be no VIN as the US is accustomed to, mine had a chassis and engine number as the only ID for it. This may cause a bit of a headache when getting it registered, but here in North Carolina i got it done by haveing a State Trooper verify the numbers.

Make sure you lube every working part very well and your tires dont leak. expect a dead battery and flat tires when you get it out of the shipping container, i am speaking from experience. It may be in a box for up to 6 months. Dont have anything in it or attached to it that can be eaisly removed, because the likely hood of someone else doing it for you is pretty high.

Hope it helps and good luck!

[luangwablondes]

I swapped out the 2.25 petrol for a 2.4L toy diesel in a South African registered '76 SWB. Did lots of other modifications for a year of overland travel. Does this cause any issue with the import laws to the USA?

[Clive]

Now the Luangwa Valley is a neat place...driven miles in Landies there....don't recall many blondes 'though!

[greenmeanie]

Fitting a diesel should not be a problem for the federal government for import. In some states, however, it may cause issues for your emissions. In AZ for instance, the emissions standards for vehicles with engine conversions is dictated by which is newer - the chassis or the engine. The EPA will choose the newer standard of course. Teh EPA will have a lot of heartache as your engine/chassis combination does not appear in their big bumper book of US model cars. At this point yo most likely wil have to go to the state assessor who will make the decision. Be nice, be patient and all will flow better.

Obviously a lot of this is dependent on the state you live in. Contact your local EPA and DMV and get answers in writing.

Proof of year of build is the big thing as customs are always wary of those trying to pretend a Defender is a Series. The best document to have is a letter from the Heritage Center in the UK that confirms date of build and is considered to be confirmation from the manufacturer.

You will also want to have proof of owner ship of the vehicle. A valid registration document in your name in the country of origin is sufficient. If not a bill of sale will do.

As stated above - make sure your paperwork is correct and keep copies! In 8 years of having my truck in country I have had to prove that it was legally imported 3 times. On one of these occasions I was dealing with someone who didn't have the slightest clue and ended up with a nice lady from Washinton EPA office telling him he was an idiot.

Hiring a shipping agent is a great thing unless you like dealing with government employees. I used a company called Sea Expo and they dealt with everything door to door including customs at the port of origin, port of arrival and AZ customs.

Finally, make sure you take out insurance on your vehicle or container. I did not so spent a rough couple of months once I discovered just how many they loose overboard.

Cheers
Gregor

[luangwablondes]

Thanx greenmeanie. Now to find a couple friendly states, seeing how Arizona and California are not going to go for that setup.

Clive--- some people need guides, others should just open their eyes, and some a good map. Luangwablondes are all over the place. Its an inside Zambian joke.

[fruitpunch]

Ever consider driving it back ? Register the vehicle already in the US and 20miles before the border it just magically.... hmmm easy been done many times. Or if you prefer drive it to the border pay 2.5% and then swap plates there or 50 yards passed the border. Could be a foine drive too bad it is getting hot already, you should have asked me 2 months ago.

[luangwablondes]

fruitpunch- I will do this legally or not at all. Not worth the hassle otherwise. I like my landy, but I am not married to the Beast.

[Clive]

Clive--- some people need guides, others should just open their eyes, and some a good map. Luangwablondes are all over the place. Its an inside Zambian joke.

I think I get what you mean now! Spent more years across the border in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Kenya! But Luangwa remains an all time fave Park visted (numerous occasions!) in Africa! Always in a Land Rover too...

[luangwablondes]

I used to buy a RTW ticket -12 mos- for many years. After the 1st time, I decided that Africa was one of my favorite places. I had bought a series landy in Joburg,kitted it out and toured several countries. Sold it in a couple days. So each time I would buy another one, kit it out the way I liked it- always a bit better then the previous one, and tour new places. Got to nearly all of East and Southern Africa, lots of remote places with tons of landy stories. Even managed a bush camp in North Luangwa NP.

The thing about a series landy-- it will give you more grief then just about anything else on a too often basis, but it seems the vast majority of the time a bush fix is possible.

Broke a half shaft once in a very remote place. Carried on for 10 ten days- only 200kms- puff adders in camp, lions in the area so I couldn't walk out, and a croc infested river to push(with 16 Sengas) the landy through. Finally got to the bush camp in NLNP. About 2 weeks after parking the Beast, woke up in the middle of the night. Seems my mind decided to send me a notification right then that I had packed a spare short half shaft in an interesting modification the year(safari) before. Next AM I had an operating SWB landy to tool around in a secluded and wonderful playground. Checking out various corners of the park. Observing wildlife. Actually had great fun towing some landcrusiers out of the Mwaleshi and Luangwa Rivers.