Comments on: Importing vehicles into the US.

Question: Importing vehicles into the US.

6550 — Mon, 08 May 2006 11:34:22 -0800

What does it take to import an older vehicle into the US?

My brother is interested in importing a Land Rover from the UK to the US. The ones he is looking at were made in the early 1970s and were used mainly by the British Military. The impression I get is that if the vehicle is older than 25 years it no longer has to meet appropriate to year federal crash standards but anything newer would have to. Has anyone actually gone through this? I imagine there must be some paperwork to complete for customs. Any information would be appreciated.

By: buggzzee23

buggzzee23 — Mon, 08 May 2006 12:12:05 -0800

This might be a good starting point

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Mon, 08 May 2006 13:06:24 -0800

There are plenty of Series III Land Rovers in the US already, your brother may want to investigate buying one that has already been imported. Regardless of where he buys it, he should check into Land Rover owner's groups and shops in the area he plans to drive it. They should be able to help out with some of the logistics, plus they will be useful for obtaining service and parts.

By: zpousman

zpousman — Mon, 08 May 2006 14:51:03 -0800

I think that this is correct. I don't know the exact age and I don't know the specifics of which laws do or don't apply.

I have a friend who used to ship crates (shipping containers) of Vespa and Lambretta scooters to the U.S. This was because the US Division of Vespa was pretty much shut down by the stringent emission requirements in California. But yeah, all of these scooters, as well as a bunch of Vespa "Apes" and Fiat 500s all cleared customs fine, even though none of them would pass any crash test.

By: 6550

6550 — Mon, 08 May 2006 14:55:31 -0800

Thanks for the answers. The particular Land Rover he wants isn't common in the States which is why he's considering importing one.