Importing a Defender - Land Rovers UK? Thoughts?

[epiccosmo]

New to the forum here and have been reading the Defender threads. Slowly becoming educated around the intricacies of the vehicle and the importation of it into the US as I have been a Jeep person but after showing the other half a Defender she says she likes it more than having another Wrangler.

With that I have found this company called Land Rovers UK. Was looking to see if anyone knew anything about them before I did too much work around contacting them and trying to find out more information. Are they reputable? Seems like the convenience of them refurbishing the vehicle to spec is nice and if they have all of the experience they say they have with importing them then that would be beneficial as well.

So has anyone here used them at all or heard of anyone using them?

Thanks!

 

[mongosd2]

Contact Doug Crowther, he's on here as DividingCreek…one of the most knowledgable on this subject, it's what he does...

 

[czenkov]

RHD or LHD

Sorry no experience with that company in the UK.
Find a nice original one that is clean. Does RHD bother you? If so, go mainland Europe - that is what I did.

I did use Doug to get it from the UK to the US and he did what he said he would do…which made handling the details easier. If you don't have time this may be the way to go.

There are nuances to getting one from Europe but shipping from the UK - and what issues it might cause on this end…it has to do with registering it here…and a piece of paper you might need terminating the registration on the other end (I did). That might have been Utah specific, but I think it is probably something anyone might encounter. I would be happy to share my experiences.

 

[tacr2man]

Dont have personal knowledge of them, but they seem to be well aware of what ones can and cannot go into USA , the only question is chassis originality , as some seem to have been re chassied ? There standard of finish seems to be quite good , but they only seem to show the appearance side of things not much detail on what has been done to refurbish drivetrain etc . Some are more original than others HTSH

 

[DividingCreek]

They are charlatans. Run. I have warned against them on this and other forums. They have ripped off several people I can refer you to.

 

[gm13]

I spoke with County and Defender Centre when looking for mine. Didn't buy there but they didn't shy away from telling me about the ugly and sending good pics. Another one was Foley Specialist Vehicles, willing to say "it's not as good as it looks in the pictures". That's worth a lot, though can't vouch for an actual vehicle from either. Mat at MRM Specialist Vehicles, where I did buy, should not be trusted, my 110 came with quite a list of "misrepresentations" on a galvanized chassis. Best to budget in some travel. Oh, and I went with Dividing Creek also.

http://www.countyanddefendercentre.co.uk/usaexport.html
http://foleysv.com/land-rover-sales

 

[wuntenn]

I think its worth pointing out to our 'overseas' cousins - so as to dispel the notion that this is the land of milk and honey - that the process of finding a good Defender is JUST as bad for residents here in the UK. Add in your distance and varying state and local regulations in the USA and it becomes infinitely more difficult, and all the more important to do it right, and get it right.

Before I stumbled onto my 110, which was a 110,000 mile ex Vodafone fleet vehicle and well-serviced and little abused which I got for a good and realistic price (trade purchase), I looked at numerous 'good' ones which turned out to be dogs. Some had been used to launch boats (nowhere in the UK is more than 60 miles from the ocean) and the rear cross-members and fuel tank were crumbling, others had been badly abused as Estate vehicles up here in the Highlands and that hard offroad use combined with the winter weather and road salt and in many cases poor maintenance schedules to save money, meant they were well beyond economical repair.

The 'best' well used secondhand Defender I've seen has been an ex-SNH (environment agency) 110 that had been used on the Isle of Rum National Nature Reserve for 10 years. It looked ghastly, every panel was bashed, in fact anything on it with a flat surface was bashed and scratched. The seats were in tatters, doorhandles wrecked (they get used as foot treads when loading stuff on top), and the roof was well dented. But, and its a big but, in its 10 years of incredibly hard use on Rum, which has no roads, and is mostly gravel and rock, and mud, it had only done 30,000 miles. It had never seen salt other than what is in the air on a small island, had a full service history as the agency demanded this for Health & Safety reasons due to the Land Rovers being Nature Reserve support vehicles, Mountain Rescue, Fire Brigade and Coastguard Support vehicles too, so HAD to be serviceable when needed in order to save lives.

That 300Tdi I saw going off the island looked ugly ugly ugly, but underneath was a decent chassis and an engine that ran like a swiss watch. I've seen shiny pretty tarty ones that are like swiss cheese underneath.

This 'minefield' has to be negotiated by UK residents too. Which makes it all the more important that prospective overseas purchasers do their homework and get it right first time.

 

[epiccosmo]

Well, I want to first thank everyone as you all have pointed out many concerns that I have had with this process. Main concern being that I know Jeeps. I know there is always going to be a wrench in your hand if you own a Jeep. It does seem the Rover is even more of a project when it comes to maintenance and up-keep thus why I am concerned with something being "sight-unseen". We are really hoping to find something in reasonable good shape that we can get here and use. Not something that turns into a full restoration project. Little things here and there are not a fuss.

Something else I will ask as I have been wondering but unable to really find someone state anything about. How easy is it to find parts for these trucks? If something does break or go wrong is it something that I am going to have to search for on ebay, wait 3 weeks to get parts from Europe for or will the local Rover dealership be able to order things for me?


DividingCreek - Sounds like you are the go-to guy in these parts for this type of inquiry. Visited your website as well. Feel free to PM any responses but how does typical process work with you handling the importing of vehicles? Do you find the vehicles or is it up to us to find the vehicle and you help with the rest? Fees involved? Typical cost? I would say the goal is to have one close to the 110 with the British flag on top of it in your recent imports section. Also see that you are in VA. So are we, if it is easier we could also try and connect on the phone. Didn't see a number to reach you at. Thanks.

 

[Nonimouse]

I do have experience of them - pm me for details

 

[rijosho]

Don't buy from them. They chose a name that is so common, that it makes it very difficult to do any type of due dilligence on their business. This was likely done for a reason, since I have never seen anything but horror stories when others have dealt with them.

And if I recall, West Coast Defender was buying their trucks directly from them. Others (more local) may know better than I though.

 

[epiccosmo]

I do have experience of them - pm me for details

Sent you a PM. Thanks!

 

[epiccosmo]

Don't buy from them. They chose a name that is so common, that it makes it very difficult to do any type of due dilligence on their business. This was likely done for a reason, since I have never seen anything but horror stories when others have dealt with them.

Feel free to PM me the horror stories. I have done some searching and it has been difficult to find quality references as the ones on their website seem a little off.

 

[DividingCreek]

Sent you a pm.

My site hasn't been updated in 3 plus years, I stay busy by virtue of reputation so it hasn't been a priority. The truck you referenced was a 2010 Puma 110 imported for a UK citizen for use on a temporary import. You cannot have one of those, rather, I can't/won't be involved in getting you one.

 

[DividingCreek]

I spoke with County and Defender Centre when looking for mine. Didn't buy there but they didn't shy away from telling me about the ugly and sending good pics. Another one was Foley Specialist Vehicles, willing to say "it's not as good as it looks in the pictures". That's worth a lot, though can't vouch for an actual vehicle from either. Mat at MRM Specialist Vehicles, where I did buy, should not be trusted, my 110 came with quite a list of "misrepresentations" on a galvanized chassis. Best to budget in some travel. Oh, and I went with Dividing Creek also.

http://www.countyanddefendercentre.co.uk/usaexport.html
http://foleysv.com/land-rover-sales

Foleys is a top notch outfit and I have imported dozens of their trucks for very happy clients.

Matt @ MRM had so much negative feedback and so many US Customs seizures (ie on their hot list) he has changed the name of his operation to Heritage Land Rover, same guy, same ethics. FWIW he and Mark @ the C&D Centre are joined @ the hip/good friends, I have quite a bit of experience dealing with both.

 

[epiccosmo]

Sent you a pm.

My site hasn't been updated in 3 plus years, I stay busy by virtue of reputation so it hasn't been a priority. The truck you referenced was a 2010 Puma 110 imported for a UK citizen for use on a temporary import. You cannot have one of those, rather, I can't/won't be involved in getting you one.

Bummer that is a Puma, thought it looked like a newer model. Was mostly in reference to one of that nature as the goal. I realize 2010 is a little too new to be getting, sadly. Again, understand the high level of the rules related to this process. Just was giving an idea.

I will be in touch. Thanks.