Importing 25 year old Defenders

[baja gs]

I have been looking at Defenders for sale in the U.K. through a man named Doug Crowther. These are right hand drive 25 year old vehicles. Claimed to be straight forward to ship and register here. How many of you Defender owners have done this? Im a Series owner, and it seems it might be worth it if one can be had at a reasonable price. What do think?

[REDrum]

While I have not done what you are looking to do, and others on the forum have done it many times, I have explored it in a slightly different manner.

What I found, with few exceptions, was that all the Defenders >25 years old that were with my price expectation (<$15K) were simply poor condition old trucks. Akin to what a 25 year old F250 would be here in the US. However some had very nice new paint, which looked great in photos.

What I did find was that, for well within my budget, I could get a restored Series III in much better shape; but it just doesn't come with the Defender cache.

The variable in my experience, to what you are considering, is that I was looking in Costa Rica and Belize, vs UK.

That said, I've known of 3 guys who have brought series Landys in from Costa Rica with no problems registering in US, but each state is different. I'll be bringing in two this year.

If you are buying from an importer, be sure terms of sale are FOB US, customs cleared.

Something I've been warned about is that US customs are well aware that, (being so high value in US), non >25 year old Defenders are being altered overseas and imported into the US. And, as result, all Defenders imported are highly scrutinized by US customs; pretty much considered contraband until proven otherwise.

If confirmed as contraband they are confiscated, destroyed and the person importing is charged with a felony. There are Defenders out there that are registered, and appear, as being >25 years old but are not. I would not want to have the US customs be the bringer of that very bad news to me.... I've also heard of this going on with JDM super cars too, i.e Skylines and Evos.

Thus, this is a very good reason to apply a lot of caveat emptor when looking to import a vintage Defender. Also, no doubt others here on the forum have imported successfully many times and that there are lots of legit vintage defender out there--I'm just offering a risk data point for your consideration.

[derekchace]

Douge is a great guy. I would use a importer like him or my self. It's a lot more then the shipping and customs you need to worry about. The is a major pain but finding the right Defender is even more important. Alot of people are selling some great looking but poor mechanicly trucks. You really need some one to check it out and do a pre buy on it and such. I have seen far to many people get screwed with bad Defender or even worse illegal Defenders.

If stuff with Douge does not work out let me know

Derek

greenmountainrovers.com

[lrdukdog]

Why, aren't older (25 yr) good condition Spanish Santanas being looked at? They are left hookers to start with and did (I think) have good quality diesels and 5,6 speed gear boxes.
Just my 2P
Jim Wolf

[o2batsea]

I can vouch for Doug. He will not screw you over and will treat you fairly. On the other hand, if you are a tire kicker or otherwise a time waster he will not be pleased.

[Andy110]

I imported one last year myself, and getting ready to bring in another. It is not difficult, but can be a little more than some people want to deal with. You can save yourself quite a bit of money if you do it yourself. You will need someone on the other end to help with the paperwork and delivery to the dock.

[rosbif]

I agree with 'o2batsea'. Doug Crowther is the man to sort out the importation of your truck. He brought a V8 SW Def in for me some two years ago and found me a buyer. I had posted the truck on LandRover Exchange for nearly six months with no takers. Doug found me a buyer within ten days. He sorted out all the paperwork and even stored it at his farm while waiting for the buyer to collect. If you want your truck to be imported by a guy who knows the ropes - talk to Doug.

[rosbif]

I would be interested to know the reaction concerning Spanish built Santanas. They represent good value for money and have some good points over the Land Rovers they were based on.

[l.a. rover]

Senor baja.... just curious... why aren't you going through jackson, witham or blanchard?

[baja gs]

Hey la rover
Dont know who jackson,witham or blanchard are. Are they associated with dewey, cheatum and how? Im still deciding if i should buy a d-90 type from england, or diesel engine and redo on the 65 that I currently own. Just curious, who are jackson,witham and blanchard?