USA AND CANADA EXPORT
You need to be aware that it is impossible to import defenders into the USA unless the truck is over 25 years old and for Canada it needs to be at least 15 years old. The law is that if the truck is newer then it would have to comply to your local vehicle safety regulations or be exactly the same year and specification as any new Defenders previously imported into North America.
That would mean that the Defender would then have to have airbags, impact crash cones and all other safety aids found in modern vehicles sold in North America which will make it prohibitively expensive to add these upgrades.
You may be aware of the NAS spec Defender 90 wagon and soft top sold by Land Rover from 1994 to 1997 and a NAS spec 110 also sold in the US. If one could create exactly the same spec and year that may be a way to go obviously left hand drive. You can also import right hand drive which, for some clients, adds some appeal. There is obviously more choice of right hand drive Defenders here in the UK. Left hand drive variants tend to command premium prices various markets outside the UK also have a large appetite for Land Rover Defenders. We can convert right to left hand drive, even add automatic gearboxes. If done correctly using the correct wiring looms and parts left hand drive conversions will be reliable and work well. Beware of cheap conversions as I bet you that wiring will be substandard with incorrect parts being adapted to make half a job. Beware, get it done right!
REFURBISHED 15 TO 25 YEAR OLD DEFENDERS
This is possibly the way most will go as you can work with us to create your Defender to suit specification and budget. One needs to understand that this process can get heavy on cost as we will sell you a 15 or 25 year old truck to suit Canada or U S and then either ship it as it stands with little or no work, just advice with honest description of the truck with detail of all work you may need to do at some point once you have it. We may be able to ship you some or all the parts you need for your rebuild all in the container or just the truck which may be able to be driven onto the ship at less shipping cost. Roll on roll off shipping.
REFURBISHED trucks will generally become quite costly as the process is very labour-intensive. Beware of dealers who describe their trucks as refurbished. Always understand exactly what has been done and to what standard as for me it is often a catch-22 situation as the deeper you get into quoting a client to build a refurbished truck the deeper one will go on what we would renew, refurbish or rebuild.
As most of the body skins are made of aluminium even if the truck you are viewing on line looks great more often than not there will be lots of evidence of corrosion underneath the paintwork which is generally the result of mild steel reacting with the aluminium body skin and paintwork. To address this problem the corroded body panel or frame would need extensive repair or replacement. As we sell so many Defenders annually, 450 plus, we have five guys in our team of over 50 running our own in-house body repair shop. Most of our competitors don’t have their own Bodyshop so won’t have the same control on quality or flexibility to deliver.
We can work with you to deliver a stunning Iconic Defender looking completely original or built to your specifications with a little help from our creative and design team. If it is to be based on an older defender of the correct age to import we will use the original chassis frame and axle casings refurbishing them with the chassis frame shot blasted, repaired and galvanised thus keeping the vehicles original 15 to 25 year identity to enable importation. It would then be possible to fit later model bodies, interiors, engines and gearboxes to bring your Defender up to date. We would recommend taking our lead on the correct motors so you can always be sure to have a local shop that can look after it. Ideally the 300TDi turbo diesel motor fitted to 1994 to 2006 would suit best being very torquey, powerful without any complicated electrics. Petrol V8s may be considered however if the V8 route was taken with high power options high investment in upgrades to brakes, suspension and driveline will be needed to take the power.
Don’t forget we are continually building 90, 110 and 130 soft top Defenders to suit all occasions as well as wagons and commercials. We thank you for reading this note and hope it may help clarify some points if you are looking to import. Email sales@neneoverland.co.uk with your requirements and we will try to help. Please understand unless an original older Defender was sent over without much refurb work the cost of a bespoke built refurbished with modern spec could easily go well past the £25/40 000 mark and well beyond if the finished spec was high end.
With the US dollar exchange rate at around $1.6 to £1 you will be making a big commitment if you are after something really special so make your choices carefully and always take the best advice out there. If you decide to visit us we can help you enjoy your stay with some great local attractions and places to eat and stay. We are a 40 minute train ride from London Kings Cross station so very easy to get to.
Taking the hassle out of global shipping and remote buying.
If you’re based outside of the UK and don’t want to fall foul of the red tape around international shipping, allow us to take the hassle and potential problems out of buying a Defender unseen or from overseas. Working closely with our global shipping partners at Trans Global we’re here to take the guesswork and uncertainty out of sourcing, inspecting, purchasing and shipping your chosen Defender.
We offer a three-stage process designed to facilitate this:
STAGE ONE: Once a vehicle has been sourced either by yourself or by us on your behalf, we will dispatch a fully qualified technician to inspect the vehicle in situ to mitigate as far as possible any immediate issues. Upon a satisfactory inspection and then purchase by yourself the vehicle can be shipped directly to you or move onto the second stage.
STAGE TWO: At our facility in Cambridgeshire we will carry out a full and comprehensive suggestion aimed at compiling a list of possible required remedial works and potential upgrades inline with your specific requirements. Upon completion of this we can ship the vehicle either as is accompanied by the report or as is accompanied by the required parts.
STAGE THREE: We agree the schedule of works to be carried out and upon completion we deliver the vehicle to Trans Global and it is shipped and delivered in its completed state ready to go on your driveway.
