Importing a Land Rover Defender

How hard would it be to import a Defender from England into the US? What legal issues would I face? I am just kind of wondering.

It would depend on how old it is. Regardless, it's a great idea. I'd love a defender.

I would imagine it would probably be easier both logistically and financially just to buy one that's already here...

Have you seen the prices of a Defender here? They are generally around $30k or more. Near where my uncle lives, there is a place that sells ex-British military stuff including Land Rovers for cheap.

I believe you can do it once it's 25 years old fairly easily.

You could check the Mini places, they may be able to bring a LR over as well...

96DXCivic wrote: Have you seen the prices of a Defender here? They are generally around $30k or more. Near where my uncle lives, there is a place that sells ex-British military stuff including Land Rovers for cheap.

Hrmmm.... good point!

I guess i'll stick to researching trying to get an ST205 over here.

try lrx.com If you are mechanically inclined, it is pretty cost effective to find an old Range rover classic or discovery, and convert the body to a defender. The only issue is wheel base, and that can be fixed in many different ways. You can also build a series 3 coiler. If you are diligent you can usually find a decent NAS D-90 in the 15-18k range. Providing you don't wad it up, they make a good investment as they hold their value extremely well.

You can legally import certain mid-90's Defenders fairly easily, as they're on the eligible vehicle list. Basically, find one from the years they were sold in the US. I've seen this done.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CARS/RULES/IMPORT/

The Mini technique of installing a new vehicle under an old VIN plate is also used quite a bit.

What about the the 80s Land Rover 90? I don't see that on the list online. Any vehicle older then 25 years old can be imported right.

Yes, 25 years gets in free. The list is for cars under 25 years old that can be legally imported.

D90s are way cool and I think you should buy one. Make it happen.

So basically I need to find a pre-85 Land Rover 90. What fees will there be to get the vehicle in to the states?

Other than the whole "transcontinental shipping" thing? Not a whole lot. The fact that I can't remember exactly what it cost me to bring my Rover across the border tells me it wasn't much.

Watch yourself, though. Defenders like rust. And bodged repairs. Although you might find a nice galvy frame truck in the right age range.

Now to find one and get some money together.

Do you enjoy rust abatement?

Buying a rover sight unseen can be very scary. I've been told by my english friends never to purchase one you can't crawl over personally.

There is a neat thread over on Nasioc that I like reading, guy repairs and rebuilds rovers, might be able to help you on the importation thing. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1684779&highlight=land+rover

Oh, and just because, here is one that he did-

I am not planning on getting on soon but hopefully by next time I go to visit my family in England I will have the money and I will go look at them myself and that is also why I am going to probably get an ex-military Land Rover.

IIRC most of the ex-military ones are N/A diesels. They tend to get overtaken by continental drift.

Some of the ambulances have V8s, as have some of the other older models but they're obviously not Defenders.

You can look up the list of vehicles that have been successfully (and unsuccessfully) lobbied for importation into the US by the NHTSA. Defender 90/110 is on the Denied list. Logic is that they already sold those vehicles here at some point, which is a major red light to the NHTSA. If approved, that would have only allowed it to be imported on the basis of being a "show car" and have a very low limit on number of miles you would be allowed to drive the car. Once a car hits 25 years, though, it's relatively simple. Sucks that it's 25 years; it's only 15 in Canada.

Matt, the NHTSA website I posted earlier has the list of cars that are allowed for importation. The Defenders are allowed. Basically, you get to piggyback on the work Land Rover did to get them into the country in the first place. The fact that a certain model was sold in the US is not a red light, it's exactly the opposite. Heck, I've ridden in a legally imported D110 that was brought in by Rovers North years ago and is a fully legal road vehicle just as if it were a NAS one.

LIST OF NONCONFORMING MOTOR VEHICLES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR IMPORTATION said: Land Rover Defender 110 1993 Land Rover Defender 90 VIN & Body Limited 1994-1995 Land Rover Defender 90 (manufactured before 9/1/97) and VIN "SALDV224*VA" or "SALDV324*VA" 1997

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CARS/RULES/IMPORT/elig060109.pdf

In reply to Keith:

Those are NAS defenders that are allowed. NAS stands for North American spec. EX-MOD(military) defenders which are a dime a dozen(even in canada) are not allowed in unless they are over 25 years.

Your goals with the defender are paramount to your decision. If you want a cool looking off-roader, that can be done relatively inexpensively. Even cheaper if you have time and can turn a wrench. If you want a return on your investment, a NAS defender is your best choice and you can get good deals on them, and they will hold there value(especially the 110). http://www.landroverexchange.com/listings/ that is the link I meant to post earlier, but apparently they've changed their url since I was in the market.

I just have always loved Land Rovers especially Defenders and the prices on Defenders are too high in the states. So I want to import one probably a pre-85 90.

sachilles wrote: In reply to Keith: Those are NAS defenders that are allowed. NAS stands for North American spec. EX-MOD(military) defenders which are a dime a dozen(even in canada) are not allowed in unless they are over 25 years.

No, they're not NAS Defenders. They're allowed in because of the existence of NAS Defenders. Now, it's possible that the VIN range given for the 90's does only apply to the NAS ones, I don't know. But there's no restriction to the 110s. So you can bring in a 1993 Defender 110 legally without it being a NAS model. Again, I've seen it done, and done right. Talk to Rovers North if you have questions. I suspect most people either don't know about this or they find it's too much trouble and simply do a VIN plate swap. But it's legit.

Keith it is the NAS vehicles only. I have spoken to the folks at rovers north on several occasions about the very topic. They are just down the road from me, and I picked up parts in person whenever I could. They must have the NAS parts. Rollover protection being one of the issues. So you must have the external cage work. It must have the proper motor etc. It doesn't mean folks haven't bent the rules to get what they want. I spent many a frustrating hour researching this before I ended up just buying a NAS one.(and I've regretted selling it, but I didn't lose money, first vehicle I can say that about). www.d-90.com also has a lot of good info and links for research. Still think your best and most cost effective bet is to find an 87-88 range rover, and drop a series 3 body on it. Regardless of what you do watch for frame rot in the cross members. It can be deceiving because the body may look great, but the steel underneath is bad. What is your budget, I know of one that is unofficially for sale locally in the $15k ballpark in very good shape. The owner cares more about who it goes to than the money he gets for it.

Huh. Well, the guy who owns the 110 that Rovers North imported might be surprised by some of this I don't remember if the cage was retrofitted, it's been a while. Still, if you can bring one in by retrofitting the NAS parts, then you can bring one in.