Customs destroy illegally imported LR Defender

[tacr2man]

Shows you need to be very careful when buying from over seas, and some of the vehicles being sent , are also creating a problem in UK , as the defender is very popular to get stolen and stripped , then they use the parts to " renovate" an early VIN chassis for export, or even sell on in UK or EU . A lot of BMW get "cloned" by buying up insurance total loss vehicle and transferring VIN to a stolen BMW of same type, this quite often happens in other EU or Eastern Bloc country where there is no record of the insurance loss. Agri plant as big as headers get stolen and shipped to East as well . The EU has become more beneficial to criminals than it is to the people of the member states .

 

[rag1998]

Heart wrenching!!

 

[LR Max]

Can't watch it. Its miserable.

 

[Seeker]

Cant sell them. Potential for corruption too great. Besides, how do you sell something illegal to import to someone in the US?

--Allen

 

[DaveInDenver]

use it for border security or give it to the military or some out of the country charity.

Now that would just make too much sense, donate it to a NGO or charity. Doctors Without Borders or something.

 

[Dendy Jarrett]

 

[Dendy Jarrett]

Couldnt they have least sold the freakin' parts off of the thing?
The only thing different about that truck and one that meets the 25 year rule is that the one being crushed is much safer than the one 25 years old. The parts are interchangeable!
What a waste of resources.

 

[David Harris]

Couldnt they have least sold the freakin' parts off of the thing?
The only thing different about that truck and one that meets the 25 year rule is that the one being crushed is much safer than the one 25 years old. The parts are interchangeable!
What a waste of resources.

What about the engine, wouldn't that be different then the 25 year old ones?

 

[ipgregory]

The only thing different about that truck and one that meets the 25 year rule is that the one being crushed is much safer than the one 25 years old.

In what way?

 

[Fivespddisco]

Brakes

 

[ipgregory]

How would the brakes and other safety items be any different between a genuine 25yr old model and whatever this one actually is? Its not a Puma so it could maybe be anything from a 200TDi to a TD5. The screen grabs suggest it has a 200TDi fitted so its possible it might be anywhere from 20 to 24 or so years old. Of course it might also be a collection of parts built into a truck in which case the level of workmanship of the builder and the quality of the donor parts might come into play as well maybe.

 

[Dendy Jarrett]

JP: Just by sheer virtue that is a newer truck. We all know what happens with rust invades a chassis.
But you actually made the point for me. What you see isn't a screen shot rather ... a video (click on it) and watch them squash this defender like a pancake. The line on the screen says "watch as the federal gov't crush this unsafe defender" (I paraphrase) By what you say, this truck (newer) is no more safe or unsafe than its 25 year old brother (I jest).
Bottom line, they see the motor as the un-regulated safety issue (epa?)
But all other parts - (including wheels and tires which they feel the need to crush, and puncture) were good. Why fill the land fill with unnecessary waste which could have been put to good use.
Not very green.
That was my point.
d

 

[David Harris]

The whole video is a public affairs exercise designed to make as strong an impression as possible on those of the public who are thinking of bringing illegal Land Rovers and engines into the country. Selling it as parts would have negated their purpose.

 

[hplp]

I find it so ironic and stupid.....

ohhhh its newer therefore its less safe than a 25 year old vehicle....

Im sorry this is why I really struggle with the US state.....but also the whole legislative states that we seem to be having more of nowadays....


H

 

[Antichrist]

Why fill the land fill with unnecessary waste which could have been put to good use.
Not very green.
That was my point.

I expect the remains go to recyclers, not a landfill.

What pisses me off even more than the feds crushing it is the people who, knowing what the rules are, try to scam the system and so make it more difficult for people who want to import legal vehicles.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if the ultimate reaction to these people is the banning of imports of any age by anyone other than licensed importers, like they did with grey market vehicles.