[Tishabet]

Hi All,

A question for the Pelican Brain Trust:

I am living in Malaysia currently, and am interested in purchasing a Land Rover Defender while I am here and would like to import the car to the USA when I return. I have read up on the importing process and from what I understand a car that is less than 25 years old has to be on the government “good list” and fortunately the one I am currently looking at (a 93 Defender 110) is one of two models of Defender which are (see http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/elig092210.pdf).

So obviously I need to be aware of the shipping charges (already researching that one but let me know of any recommendations) but my real question here is around the actual import process. I know that any cars on the “good list” must be brought in through a registered importer and brought up to snuff for DOT and EPA requirements, and I am having a hard time assessing just how much money/hassle/time that will likely take… I assume this could vary quite a bit depending on the amount of work done for the EPA/DOT stuff but I’m having a hard time even finding a baseline. Since there are a bunch of Porsches on the “good list” as well as many other cars which would appeal to car buffs I was hoping someone here might have some first-hand knowledge.

For what it’s worth, the 93 Defender 110s I have been looking at are going for 8-12k USD so there is some runway before I am “upside down” on the vehicle value in the USA.

Thanks!