Great to hear this all worked out… fully understand how the sentiment pushes the value over the top for you.
Information Re: Importing to the USA and Complete DIY How-To
- Thread starter gilmorneau
- Start date
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mudgudgeon
Resident galah
On its way to a new home
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
To update my experience. Got the Entry Summary from customs, and was charged duty on the vehicle.
I had been told as it was my personal vehicle or wasn't dutiable.
I queried the charge, and customs confided ALL vehicle imports are subject to duty.
Was not a big amount, particularly in comparison to the shipping cost.
I had been told as it was my personal vehicle or wasn't dutiable.
I queried the charge, and customs confided ALL vehicle imports are subject to duty.
Was not a big amount, particularly in comparison to the shipping cost.
suzuguru
SILVER Star
Yeah, the duty just depends on what the value (or stated value) of the vehicle is. Maybe they cut you a little slack on the estimated value to help you out.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
Bill of sale was from 8 years ago. Duty was calculated from that
This summary is an absolute goldmine, thank you so much for doing it! Do you (or anyone else) have a recommended Broker to use on the U.S. side?
WarDamnEagle
SILVER Star
I decided which entry port was better after exploring the options with the export broker on the, in my case, Saudi Arabia side. I then just googled brokers for that port and picked one with good reviews. I'm not saying they are all the same but I didn't have any difficulty on the US side. I did get the impression though that most of the brokers are somewhat port specific although some of them clearly have operations in multiple ports. They definitely need to have boots on the ground at whatever entry port you are using.
gilmorneau
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #268
I’ve always used Seabridge Lamprecht. They’re HQ’d in Baltimore, but they’ve cleared cars through various other ports for me (New Jersey, Galveston, and Hueneme so far). Always good service and a fair price. Recommended.
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I used Trans Global Logistics Europe to ship my LC from Italy to Arizona. They are located in Germany and do a lot of shipments for US services stationed in Europe. I would use them again and likely will do so when I ship my LC back to Europe. Excellent and less expensive than others I contacted.
Shipping | Logistics | USA | Europe | Germany - Trans Global Logistics Europe
car shipping to germany cost, US-Military POV, Heavy Equipment, Boat-Shipping, Shipping Classic Cars. Call: +49 6134-584440 / info@tglog.eu
transglobal-logistics.eu
Alright, time to bring this thread back to life.
Lot of dumb questions, hoping some of you could possibly help me out.
I live in the U.S., and I am having a super tough time finding a 70 series that I actually want (importers love Prados), so I've been researching the route of attempting to import one of those lovely beasts on my own. I just spent more time than I'd like to admit reading this entire thread, and I gotta be honest, this thread has honestly made me more nervous about importing the car than I was before. It seems like every single line on every piece of government paperwork is an invitation for you to mess up and get in serious trouble with uncle sam. I get that if it was easy, everyone would do it, but Jeeeezzzz man this is pretty wild. Anyways, let me start asking away.
1. I have stumbled upon Facebook Marketplace in Australia, and after spending a concerning amount of time drooling over the cruisers I saw on the screen, I had a light bulb moment. My question is this: Is there any realistic way I could get a car off facebook marketplace in Australia imported into the U.S.? I know that on paper I can, but I have no idea how to tackle a task like that. I should also make it clear that I am 110% aware that buying off of Marketplace is one of the dumbest things I could do for a number of reasons. I'd be ok if the LC needed some work, if I'm being brutally honest as long as the engine isn't knocking, the diffs and transmission arent grinding, the frame is in good enough shape, and it moves, I'd be ok with fixing any other problems. In addition, if I could find someone on the ground that I could trust, ideally they look the thing over to make sure its stock enough to pass U.S. customs, and make sure its good enough to drive onto the RORO. I know its a tall ask, but is there any sort of company or business that could help me out with that?
2. I wouldn't ask this question, but for some reason, NJ is super super vague on their website about what you need to do when importing a car. My question: Anybody have any recent experience with titling/registering an import car? Also: Will my 1989 Diesel 70 series need to be emission tested or inspected? Is it realistic to expect this thing to be road legal in NJ?
3. Finally, I've been raised on some core principals, one of which is to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. In the unlikely scenario that all options are exhausted and my lovely 70 series won't be allowed in the U.S. for whatever reason: What happens to it? Does it get destroyed? Does it just sit there? How much is it going to cost me to deal with an issue like that?
Overall, all joking aside, I have found 1 or 2 really good deals on marketplace in a couple Aussie cities, and while I'm aware it may not be the most secure or the smartest avenue, I'm prepared to risk buying a halfway decent 70 series. If I'm being honest, the idea of filling out all the U.S. and AU paperwork is honestly the thing that scares me the most, there is just so much standing in the way of your LC not only just making it into the U.S., but also being able to be driven on the road. I'm probably going to be coming back to this thread a lot, and I gotta thank OP for the Alexandria levels of knowledge and experience they put at the beginning of this thread.
Lot of dumb questions, hoping some of you could possibly help me out.
I live in the U.S., and I am having a super tough time finding a 70 series that I actually want (importers love Prados), so I've been researching the route of attempting to import one of those lovely beasts on my own. I just spent more time than I'd like to admit reading this entire thread, and I gotta be honest, this thread has honestly made me more nervous about importing the car than I was before. It seems like every single line on every piece of government paperwork is an invitation for you to mess up and get in serious trouble with uncle sam. I get that if it was easy, everyone would do it, but Jeeeezzzz man this is pretty wild. Anyways, let me start asking away.
1. I have stumbled upon Facebook Marketplace in Australia, and after spending a concerning amount of time drooling over the cruisers I saw on the screen, I had a light bulb moment. My question is this: Is there any realistic way I could get a car off facebook marketplace in Australia imported into the U.S.? I know that on paper I can, but I have no idea how to tackle a task like that. I should also make it clear that I am 110% aware that buying off of Marketplace is one of the dumbest things I could do for a number of reasons. I'd be ok if the LC needed some work, if I'm being brutally honest as long as the engine isn't knocking, the diffs and transmission arent grinding, the frame is in good enough shape, and it moves, I'd be ok with fixing any other problems. In addition, if I could find someone on the ground that I could trust, ideally they look the thing over to make sure its stock enough to pass U.S. customs, and make sure its good enough to drive onto the RORO. I know its a tall ask, but is there any sort of company or business that could help me out with that?
2. I wouldn't ask this question, but for some reason, NJ is super super vague on their website about what you need to do when importing a car. My question: Anybody have any recent experience with titling/registering an import car? Also: Will my 1989 Diesel 70 series need to be emission tested or inspected? Is it realistic to expect this thing to be road legal in NJ?
3. Finally, I've been raised on some core principals, one of which is to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. In the unlikely scenario that all options are exhausted and my lovely 70 series won't be allowed in the U.S. for whatever reason: What happens to it? Does it get destroyed? Does it just sit there? How much is it going to cost me to deal with an issue like that?
Overall, all joking aside, I have found 1 or 2 really good deals on marketplace in a couple Aussie cities, and while I'm aware it may not be the most secure or the smartest avenue, I'm prepared to risk buying a halfway decent 70 series. If I'm being honest, the idea of filling out all the U.S. and AU paperwork is honestly the thing that scares me the most, there is just so much standing in the way of your LC not only just making it into the U.S., but also being able to be driven on the road. I'm probably going to be coming back to this thread a lot, and I gotta thank OP for the Alexandria levels of knowledge and experience they put at the beginning of this thread.
@Aaldi At least you have read this outstanding thread on importing. It seems to have everything covered and some steps may never be an issue but I’d imagine some of that is due to the exporting country. I’m also in NJ, had 1 imported vehicle. The paperwork: plenty of examples on line regarding filling out forms and I’m sure you’ve read about the 25 yr part as well and port agents. I’d suggest once you have selected your truck get the details in line for NJDMV. For me, that was the craziest experience for me. My vehicle did not have the standard 17 digit vin so I had a few hoops to walk thru up in Hazlet and Lakewood.
Good luck !
PM me if I can provide any further insight into what my experience had been started in March and it arrived in August
Good luck !
PM me if I can provide any further insight into what my experience had been started in March and it arrived in August
gilmorneau
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #272
You're overthinking this. No need to be nervous about the import process--Uncle Sam isn't going to come after you as long as you follow the (pretty basic) guidelines. The most important pieces of paper as far as the Federal government is concerned are the HS7, which is a Dept. of Transportation (NHTSA) form on which you declare that your imported car is over 25 years old, and the 3520, which is the EPA form on which you declare that your imported car is over 21 years old and that the engine and emissions systems are unaltered from stock. The relevant fields are highlighted in yellow on these samples:
The rest of the paperwork is either going to be provided by the seller (e.g. Title, Bill of Sale), your US-based Customs Broker (Power of Attorney, Importer Security Filing), the shipping line (Bill of Lading, Arrival Notice, Cargo Release, Delivery Order), or US Customs (Entry Summary). I can't stress enough how much easier this process is if you have a US-based Customs Broker to clear the car through Customs. Not necessary for a land border crossing (i.e. if you're driving the car into the US), but makes things easier if your car is arriving at a port. You can do it yourself, but why? It's not expensive and it's much easier, especially for a novice. I've always used Seabridge/American Lamprecht, but there are others.
There's no procedural roadblock to doing this, but you might have a problem getting an Australian seller to cooperate with your plan. I have tried on several occasions to buy and import a car from Australia without success. The usual problem is the seller. In most cases they assume that it's a scam of some kind and they don't want to deal with it. Why should they? It's much easier to sell their car locally. Or they'll play along as kind of a backup plan, but as soon as a local buyer comes along, you're out of luck.
If you can find an Australian who'll help, you'll need to arrange transportation to an Australian port and also shipping to the US. You may be able to convince your Australian to drive it to somewhere near the port, but they probably won't be able to deliver it unless they have a MSIC (Maritime Security Identification Card) to access the port. A logistics company can arrange to have the car picked up and delivered to the port, then loaded and shipped to the US. I was dealing with Kenter International Logistics, but there are others.
Most 25 year old 70-series in Australia are going to need some work. They are work trucks there and Australia is huge, so they've (almost) all got heaps of wear and tear on them.
I wish I knew of somebody in Australia that offered that service. In any case, even if you found someone in, say, Sydney, they wouldn't be likely to travel to Perth to check out a car for you. It's a long way. Your best bet is to buy a plane ticket and go there, check out the car yourself, and drive it to the port for export. Sounds complicated, but it's not, and you can just roll the cost of the trip into the price of the car.
I just checked the NJ website for this. Wow, you're not kidding. That's vague. I'd suggest calling the phone number they provide before you begin any import and ask them to specify what's required.
Very, very unlikely to happen if you're bringing in a relatively stock, over 25 year old Landcruiser. I've never even heard of it happening and wouldn't worry about it. That said, and to answer your question, if your import gets as far as a US port and Customs gives it the big "thumbs down" (usually because it's too new, has suspicious VIN or provenance, or, in rare cases, because of modifications to the engine), you should have the option to re-export it (i.e. send it back to Australia or some other country that will have it) at your expense. Otherwise, it would be confiscated by Customs and may be destroyed, also at your expense. While this process unfolds, and until it's resolved, it will be stored on port property or in a bonded warehouse at your expense.
Again, don't give yourself nightmares about this.
Appreciate getting back to me on this, it does help me feel better about it.
I think I only got 1 more question. As I’m sure you know, most aussie 75/79 series have trays, some are OEM trays, others aftermarket. In your opinion, would Customs/NHTSA give me a hard time about the tray being aftermarket? I know, like you said above, you haven’t been able to score an LC from down under, but I’m just curious as to what you think.
For the record, when I say aftermarket tray I’m not talking about those crazy canopies or any sort of wild over landing setup, I’m just talking about the regular, flat pickup tray, no thrills.
Customs doesn't care about the tray..
Recently purchased a 70 series Prado from someone in Florida, has a Florida title. I am in Georgia. Havent even tried to go to the DMV to register and apply for a tag.
From reading online, it doesnt appear that Im going to be able to register or get a tag in the state of GA due to the FMVSS issue here now.
Does anyone have any experience handling this process in the state of Ga?
Thanks.
From reading online, it doesnt appear that Im going to be able to register or get a tag in the state of GA due to the FMVSS issue here now.
Does anyone have any experience handling this process in the state of Ga?
Thanks.
Since you have a legitimate Florida title, what is stopping Georgia from just a typical transfer?
Im not positive that I cant just do a typical transfer but the wording on the GA DMV website says
“despite the 25 yr exemption rule, the automobile still must meet FMVSS to be registered and titled in the State of GA”
I will need to have it inspected but theres no sticker anywhere declaring it meets FMVSS.
My approach, whether it is right or wrong, here in NJ is…once accepted into the country and registered from another state…just process the paperwork and it is like any other previously registered vehicle in the US states. If I bought a Chevy from Joe’s Chevrolet in PA and sold it to a guy in Vermont, he just goes to DMV and fill out the form
Thats going to be my first move, but Im trying to get ahead in case thats not feasible.
Per GA DMV i will have to get an inspection and a form T-22B filled out and signed by a law enforcement officer. Asks on the form whether or not the vehicle has the NHTSA sticker certifying the vehicle meets FMVSS.
Wow… things sound different there. In my 56 years of buying vehicles, not as a pro but as a civilian guy who buys a car every few years it sounds strange but I am no expert. I have lived in Florida, Vermont, New Jersey and 1 overseas import purchase.. however, the import title was a South Dakota title and simply transferred to NJ in less than 15 minutes with tags and title. That alone is a miracle…DMV has been revamped and they now make appointments to do paperwork exchanges and registration… some stuff you can do online…EVEN BETTER!