Really Unique Toyota Landcruiser 100-series fully self contained Expedition Vehicle

[Dutch_Dirk]

For sale our 4.2l Diesel one of a kind Toyota Landcruiser 100-series

The car has been converted into a real Expedition Vehicle.
Loaded with options to make an Expedition to very remote places on this globe.
We are the first owners and spent over $ 200,000 on the vehicle for making it what it is today.

You can, sleep, sit, cook, work inside the vehicle.

Some of the features:
- The back part of the vehicle has been cut off and a RV-unit has been (professionally) replaced instead (done in Germany)
- Pop-up roof with 5 large solar panels
- Sleeping capacity for 2 people on the second floor
- Kitchen on board
- Fridge
- and much, much more

You will not find any vehicle like this in the USA.
Only a few Landcruisers 100-series in the world has been transformed like this.

The list of options is too long for this forum.

Please visit www.expedition-vehicle-for-sale.com for more images and more info.



Price: USD 79,000
Year 2002
Mileage 200.000 (ready for an other 200.000)

Known defects: Night illumination of rev counter and speedometer

Reason for selling: We'd like to go somewhat bigger

The vehicle is currently in Houston (Tx) but moving around in the USA.

 

[zimm]

You will not find any vehicle like this in the USA.

nor will you find this one. the diesel 100 was never crash tested to US standards, so toyota will not give you a letter of compliance. someone would have to do a rather lengthy and arduous VIN swap.

 

[mtndude23]

It looks like it already has Texas plates on it...

 

[Dutch_Dirk]

Indeed, it has already been titled and registered in Texas. It was no problem to do that.

 

[zimm]

It looks like it already has Texas plates on it...

so true! my sorta bad. lots of defenders have plates too, but arnt "legal". Maine was one of those states that would issue a title without DOT paperwork.

OP, is this a truly legit rig that has been approved by all applicable federal agencies, or would a buyer have to be wary about registration in other states?

 

[zimm]

Indeed, it has already been titled and registered in Texas. It was no problem to do that.

whats the vin? i didnt see it in the ad. a simple phone call to 202-366-4000 and it will be in the database for any potential buyers.

 

[Dutch_Dirk]

I do not think it will be a problem to get it registered in other states based on the experience of other travellers having their European car legally registered in the USA.
Since we wanted to sell the vehicle in the USA we wanted it to be 100% sure to import it legally.
When entering The USA at the Mexican border we went through a 4 hour process at the customs office using the HS7-form and the 7501-form. The Customs approved the importation of the vehicle. In Texas we went to the DMV in Houston. We asked how to legally get a title and registration. These customs forms were vital but we had it. According to the DMV there were just 2 items missing in the pile of paperwork. One was a form in which the police needed to state that the VIN-number was correct and the other was the regular inspection. We had both of them done and after a thorough check by the DMV everything was legal and they issued the title and licence plates. In our opinion the car is very legally being imported and accepted by all the authorities.

 

[goodwaves]

I think it is safe to say that most clerks at the local DMV aren't up on the latest import restrictions.
If you can get into the country, you can probably get it registered.
From what I have read, you can import any vehicle for up to 12 months coming across the border.

nice rig, too rich for my blood.
GLWS.

 

[60Dan]

Wow what a vehicle!
GLWS wish I could take it off your hands!

 

[mhiscox]

This is a great vehicle and what I'm writing is much more about the discussion in the thread than this special truck, which the seller has cited as being imported into the United States appropriately.

In general, though, a vehicle cannot be legally imported into the United States for on-highway use until 25 years after its date of manufacture. The fact that it has plates, that it's in the country, that it has a registration from any state . . . none of these things make any difference if it was not cleared by Customs and Border Patrol as an on-highway vehicle.

In this particular case, the forms cited by the seller as completed:

-- Department of Transportation Form HS-7 (Declaration--Importation of Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Equipment Subject to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety, Bumper and Theft Prevention Standards), and

-- CBP Form 7501 (the Customs and Border Patrol Entry Summary)

are two of the three key forms required for legal importation. (The other is EPA Form 3520-1, Declaration Form--Importation of Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Engines Subject to Federal Air Pollution Requirements.) It is the CBP Form 7501 that most state DMVs will want to see before issuing a title and registration for a non-US vehicle.

I've no idea of the grounds on which CBP would have issued an Form 7501 for this particular truck, but it's important that they did. Any prospective buyer might want to understand CBP reasoning for accepting the truck for entry, but assuming all is in order, the Form 7501 is a key component--probably THE key component--to successful U.S. highway use.

As I've posted several times before, it would be a good idea for anyone considering importation of a vehicle to at least read the basic information on a couple of the relevant CBP web pages:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/218/kw/non-resident import vehicle/suggested/1, and

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/de.../-non-conforming-vehicle-or-car-into-the-u.s.

Recognize that Customs is not beyond requiring the exportation of a non-conforming vehicle or, in a couple of cases, seizing the vehicle. (Some of us Unimoggers have seen this happen, and there was an ExPo thread not long ago about Customs seizing non-conforming Defenders.) The fines are also pretty stiff.

The seller points out that his vehicle already has its Form 7501, which makes a huge difference. But should you ever want a non-conforming truck that hasn't cleared customs, think twice about whether your DMV's computer is really too dumb to tell a non-US-legal VIN or, if you are in any state which requires periodic emissions testing, what happens after the technician plugs the computer into your OBD II port.

I'm not any happier with the rule than the next guy. Canadians can be thankful for their 15 year exemption, but in the US, it's 25 years. Older than that, you don't have to meet EPA/DOT requirements; younger than that and you do. Saying that you can squeak it by the Maine DMV or you can get it in on the 12-month visitor exemption and then expect that the CBP computers will forget about you is relying on more luck than a workable procedure.

If you intentionally want to try to get around the regulations, do what you want recognizing that it's against the law and mechanisms are in place to perhaps catch and punish you. My main concern, and reason for posting, is that someone inexperienced who's reading the some of the simplistic advice on this thread could spend a lot of money trying to import a non-conforming vehicle believing that making everything copacetic is just a matter of finding the right DMV office or fudging a bit of paperwork.

 

[zimm]

I do not think it will be a problem to get it registered in other states based on the experience of other travellers having their European car legally registered in the USA.
Since we wanted to sell the vehicle in the USA we wanted it to be 100% sure to import it legally.
When entering The USA at the Mexican border we went through a 4 hour process at the customs office using the HS7-form and the 7501-form. The Customs approved the importation of the vehicle. In Texas we went to the DMV in Houston. We asked how to legally get a title and registration. These customs forms were vital but we had it. According to the DMV there were just 2 items missing in the pile of paperwork. One was a form in which the police needed to state that the VIN-number was correct and the other was the regular inspection. We had both of them done and after a thorough check by the DMV everything was legal and they issued the title and licence plates. In our opinion the car is very legally being imported and accepted by all the authorities.

this is nice, and what mhiscox said is true when trying to import a truck yourself, but ultimately, NONE of it matters to a potential buyer of THIS truck. all that matters at this point, is that the trucks vin be in the DOT data base. thats it. how it got there, either by some sort of federalization that i am not aware exists after the 1998, or by it being imported by the army, or possibly a diplomat all means nothing.

take the VIN, call the number i posted, and a very nice lady will pull up a screen on her computer, and tell you if the truck is legally on US roads. if not, all it will take is one traffic accident, and your insurance company will not only refuse to pay a claim, but you can in turn be charged with insurance fraud. avoiding rules, or pulling the wool over a clerks eyes to obtain a plate does not make it legal.

im not saying this truck isnt legal. i dont know that. all im saying is, there are lots of illegal cars and trucks that have used this method and confirming proper paperwork is just a simple matter of calling in the VIN. it literately takes longer for the woman to answer the phone.

 

[Dutch_Dirk]

All though what you all are stating is shocking for us to hear we really need to thank you guys for this info. We are pretty sure that our VIN-nr is not in the Database of the DOT considering the way we got our 7501 form. I asked for it at the border because we knew we were going to need that form. However the Customs did not know of this form. They never heard of it and just stamped it because I asked them to. We were under the impression of having followed a legal procedure. Then with the DMV no one told us that the car needs to be in the database of the DOT. They looked up their procedures and followed it to the letter. Again we were under the impression of following the right procedures. Now, as you made us clear, the car is still a non-conformative car. We will go to the DMV and ask them to undo the Texas registration and we will put it back on our European plates. And of course we withdraw it from selling. It is a very nice car indeed and it is not a punishment to keep it. Again thanks.

 

[zimm]

All though what you all are stating is shocking for us to hear we really need to thank you guys for this info. We are pretty sure that our VIN-nr is not in the Database of the DOT considering the way we got our 7501 form. I asked for it at the border because we knew we were going to need that form. However the Customs did not know of this form. They never heard of it and just stamped it because I asked them to. We were under the impression of having followed a legal procedure. Then with the DMV no one told us that the car needs to be in the database of the DOT. They looked up their procedures and followed it to the letter. Again we were under the impression of following the right procedures. Now, as you made us clear, the car is still a non-conformative car. We will go to the DMV and ask them to undo the Texas registration and we will put it back on our European plates. And of course we withdraw it from selling. It is a very nice car indeed and it is not a punishment to keep it. Again thanks.

I'd call the dot and clarify the vin before I did anything.

 

[mk216v]

Whoa, what a rig! Don't see many ala-Tom's Fahrz creations in the USA.

whats the vin? i didnt see it in the ad. a simple phone call to 202-366-4000 and it will be in the database for any potential buyers.

Is that Rena Lee's phone #? She checked out my W460 to make sure all was legit with it; nice lady.
In this link there are pics with the Dutch plates too; http://www.expedition-vehicle-for-sale.com/index_en.html
I'm still perplexed how US Customs goofed and allowed this '100 to get Texas plates.

 

[KyleT]

Tx lets a lot of cool grey market stuff in. But whether it stays in or not is the key. I have seen a late 2000's nissan patrol diesel, some goofy vw diesel truck, a pajero diesel all with Texas plates. Heck I have even seen a bmw 116d diesel. At the dealership getting repaired.