Shipping containers, UK vendors vs US

[Z O O R O P A]

Is anyone bringing over containers on a regular basis?

I have a source who has generously offered to ship parts but it is not regional which just means a long round trip form time to time

after perusing some UK forums and vendor sites, I find even with the exchange rate it is far cheaper to ship a large quantity of parts over to the US rather than buy them from parts suppliers here. The prices on parts alone are 1/3 less expensive it seems in most cases. Which makes sense since there are so many more suppliers there and non OEM parts producers

am I misguided on this? or something I am missing in relation to shipping containers? or tax? considering I will be restoring/customizing an imported 110, the cost savings would be significant
not to mention access to so many more options

an example might be a security console is $80 in the UK and $300 here

thanks to all for any info

 

[lake_bueller]

Shipping via container would definately be more cost efficient if brining in bulk items. The customs part could be troublesome and time consuming. I'm also not sure how it works if you don't fill the container. You might be on a long time delay because they'd need enough items to fill the container before shipping.

As for prices....I agree that right now they are much better. I've purchased a few smaller items for the UK in the past few months. Even with the shipping, I'm saving about 30-40% from US suppliers.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I was just starting to wonder about this myself. Just Fed Exing stuff from the UK. Or using the post office. I wonder if it's any more expensive than it already is for me to buy in the US.

 

[Mike_rupp]

I bought some parts a while back from Paddock Spares and the cost even with shipping in a relatively small box was substantially less than the standard Land Rover parts shops here. The shipping time wasn't even that much longer than UPS ground here in the US, either.

 

[Z O O R O P A]

I know, after some research I honestly think I'll save between $5-10K US

that is a lot of money for US vendors to lose but what can you do. I would approach my local parts supplier but they would more than likely be insulted more than anything


owning a Land Rover just got really affordable, plus I will be more inclined to do more of the work myself

 

[bobtail4x4]

Be careful with Paddocks, they are good at not sending what you ordered, and the ******tpart bits they sell can be questionable.
anything with a bearing or rubber seals I would avoid.

for the price of a ticket you could fly over spend a day or two at a landrover show, buy what bits you need and fly back with the bits as luggage,

Im sure a sleeping bag and tent could be sorted this end.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I guess that's the other side of this. Does Paddock sell any "Genuine" parts? For example, they sell D2 wheel bearings/hub way cheaper than in the US. But are they any good?

 

[greenmeanie]

Being in the SW US I find that I can buy most parts in the UK and have them here cheaper and faster than shipiing UPS ground from the US suppliers on the East Coast.

There are plenty of other parts suppliers in the UK that don't seem to have the questionable reputation of Paddocks and are still cheap. I typically have had good luck with P A Blanchards (Has a large stock of genuine if that is your thing) and LRseries (Offers Genuine, OEM or ****part at your choice) and know of others who recommend Dunsfold. There are many others that I have not mentioned that our UK members could identify.

Other than the specialist items I find buying bearings and seals from the local industrial bearing supply place to be most cost effective for quality parts. You can also find a lot of generic parts from US vehicles will work on your truck, are available from the local autofactor cheaper and sometimes with a warranty. For instance I just fitted a Cardone Ford MC to my 109. It cost $20 plus another $10 or so for US metric tube fittings and comes with a 3 year warranty. Compare that to the LR Genuine price that has no warranty. A bit of research and leg work goes a long way in savings.

 

[I Leak Oil]

I bought some parts a while back from Paddock Spares and the cost even with shipping in a relatively small box was substantially less than the standard Land Rover parts shops here. The shipping time wasn't even that much longer than UPS ground here in the US, either.

This has been my exact experience also. I've bought inner and outer rockers, rear body cross member, kick panels, two series doors and an outer fender. Even with the shipping it was less than buying them here. Some of these either weren't in stock or even offered by some of the US vendors. I added some brake parts which essentially got shipped for free. Got exactly what I ordered from Paddocks so I have nothing to complain about....

 

[Z O O R O P A]

OK so we can set up a list for UK vendors that people have experience with or include a review or that people have heard good/bad things about?


thanks a lot and I'm thrilled to see a receptive and common experience :ylsmoke:

 

[R_Lefebvre]

We just have to watch this because... Quaife USA had an exclusive distributorship of the differentials in the US. Their prices were about double that in the UK. When people figured this out, they complained to Quaife Inc. and then Quaife Inc. told the UK dealers to stop shipping to North America. That's the type of thing that could happen.

 

[greenmeanie]

We just have to watch this because... Quaife USA had an exclusive distributorship of the differentials in the US. Their prices were about double that in the UK. When people figured this out, they complained to Quaife Inc. and then Quaife Inc. told the UK dealers to stop shipping to North America. That's the type of thing that could happen.

Well Tata has announced they will not support parts for vehicles more than 10 years old. Most genuine parts for Series, RR Classic, 90/110, earlier Defender and D1 are now NOS. Who gives a rats ******** what they think as they will no longer be in the loop.

A lot of the UK suppliers pride themselves on being able to send you parts anywhere in the world. It is part of their business model and I'll bet there are a lot of them that have a higher turn over than any US parts shop. I bet the aftermarket parts suppliers will not try and dictate to them in this regard.

 

[timmy!!!!!!!]

I am working on getting a 1.4 tcase from the UK and so far it seems like the best option to regear my disco than regearing the diffs at this point for me.

 

[Maryland 110]

I have brought in two 40 foot containers year to date. It takes a lot of stuff to make the economy of scale work to your advantage. The shipping of the container is only one cost-drayage fees on both sides and loading fee's add up to more than the actual shipping cost. IE I put two 110's and a ton of parts in the containers and still feel the cost is astronomically high.
Effective Jan 26th 2010 you have to tell Customs who packed your container three days before it is loaded on a ship bound for the US. They have to like the packer or you will have substantial issues. Another issue that I find annoying is you have to have receipts for every single item in the container- which gven the volume of items it takes to fill a container can be a daunting amount of paperwork.
In the Port of Baltimore you have 4 days for your container to clear Customs after which the port Authority charges you $165 per day warf fee untill it does.

 

[buyrovers]

I have brought in two 40 foot containers year to date. It takes a lot of stuff to make the economy of scale work to your advantage. The shipping of the container is only one cost-drayage fees on both sides and loading fee's add up to more than the actual shipping cost. IE I put two 110's and a ton of parts in the containers and still feel the cost is astronomically high.
Effective Jan 26th 2010 you have to tell Customs who packed your container three days before it is loaded on a ship bound for the US. They have to like the packer or you will have substantial issues. Another issue that I find annoying is you have to have receipts for every single item in the container- which gven the volume of items it takes to fill a container can be a daunting amount of paperwork.
In the Port of Baltimore you have 4 days for your container to clear Customs after which the port Authority charges you $165 per day warf fee untill it does.

x2. I had a fleet of parts in one of my containers last year and they wanted itemized receipts of everything inside and still ended up unpacking a large portion of the contents. And they are not gentle... Oh, and they ended up holding the trucks because they wanted to investigate the goodies more.