The Rover-Landers of BC

Hi there - I'm new to this forum - I currently own a JDM Mitsubishi Delica which I had imported from Japan. It's been great, but I'm looking in to replacing it. I love the domestic UK Defender 110/130 diesel crew cabs.

Is there much of community here around importing 15 y.o. RHD models from the UK? I didn't see any subforums, and nothing much came up in a search. From what I've been able to see, there are some fantastic rigs available in the UK.

Thanks,
Glenn

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-UTkd ... 1110_5.JPG

Hi Glenn, welcome,
Not much of a community importing RHD defenders but there are some coming in through local importers and privateers. There seems to be a preference for landing LHD trucks from France, Switzerland etc. British army offerings that were used on the continent or out of Alberta have been filtering into BC for years, mine is an ex-nato 90 that was brought over by Rock Island Rovers. Rover-Landers "for sale" section often has defenders that are already in-province advertised. Land Rover Exchange website has a number of defenders listed for sale, buyer beware. Several club members have gone over to Britain to personally source trucks and many have found some pretty good deals. Good trucks seem to bring good money though and real bargains are tough to find.

Thanks for the welcome.
This one in the UK, for example, doesn't seem outrageously priced to me. The vendor has a few nice ones that could be imported right now if someone was ready. From the Deli world, I know you could probably land it here and get it compliant for $5000 - less depending on how much one is willing to take on in the process.

http://www.landroversuk.co.uk/details.aspx?id=482

(it looks like this one is on it's way to ontario though) Check out their vehicle search to see their listings. I think this one was priced a little higher because it is a LHD.

glenn

UK trucks are a crap shoot. Unless you can go there to see it yourself or have a personal friend, you need to be careful. The percentage of unscrupulous sellers in the UK is quite high. Everything rusts there very fast, so getting a good truck is not always easy.

It can be done, but do your homework and make sure you talk to people that have been on the buying end first.

Hi & Welcome,

As Bill mentioned, they do come up from time to time locally. This red one was for sale in Janurary I believe for around 20K

http://roverlanders.bc.ca/gallery/view_ ... e_2011_047

LHD seem to sell for a premium but there are lots of club members who have RHD.

Cheers, Andy

I've got a good year before thinking of a purchase - plenty of time for research. Red90 - your warnings are well heeded.

With Delicas, there are several well known importers, all of which import fantastic vehicles, usually with a full mechanical service including all new belts (including the timing belt), tires, fluids, etc to satisfied clients. These guys are well known in the forum, and work hard to maintain a good reputation. You pay a premium for these vans, but for someone like me it's piece of mind buying from someone you can trust.

Or, you can save thousands and import yourself, while accepting all the associated risks with buying a used car unseen.

This dealer I noticed in the UK (http://www.landroversuk.co.uk/) seems to be like one of these importers. Premium vehicles, premium prices. A quick search doesn't raise any alarm bells from their former clients.

I work with wood, not metal, so the idea of buying a turnkey dream landrover appeals to me - even at a premium. Anyway, I'll be lurking here, doing research, while keeping an eye on local vehicles for sale as well. I do have my heart set on a RHD though - I love driving from the right side.

Glenn

red90 wrote:Everything rusts there very fast, so getting a good truck is not always easy.

Very true.... keep away from any trucks that are in towns on or near the coast, the salt air kills frames like you'd not believe. Live stock farms are also bad news.... you can work out why... :roll:

Best of luck.... !

Hi Glenn,

I have imported quite a few Defenders as a Land Rover enthusiast and Addict.

If you are interested invest the extra $1,000 in a plane ticket and go see it. On my last trip to the UK in June I saw numerous export shops starting to cater to the North American market now that old 110's can get into the US. I saw too many eastern European bodymen fixing doors and body panels that should have been replaced.

Prices in the UK for LHD will be high for a while until the demand has decreased from the US.

Your best bet would be to watch the forum and see what comes up locally, Roverlanders probably has the biggest following in North America.

Good Luck and hope to see on the trails....

I will watch locally. I appreciate the advice.

I think JDM vehicles have spoiled me. When I got my delica - it was like a brand new car - not a speck of rust, spotless interior, under 100 000 k's. I was naively hoping for the same with UK vehicles.

Ok, so, it occurred to me that perhaps I could have the best of both worlds and look for Defenders at auction in Japan. The auctions there are well established and there are importers here that can arrange for independent inspections and take care of the details.

Generally speaking, Japanese cars have less km's and are maintained to a higher standard due to the strict "Shaken" requirement. As usual, it's buyer beware, make sure you have an importer with a proven track record and that you trust. You can add about $5000 for shipping and other expenses to the price at the auction houses (this is a very rough figure.) They will land in New Westminster.

I don't know if this an already well known source for 15yo defenders, but I will be watching these auctions to see what comes up. The prices aren't rock bottom, like they are with other vehicles - it's a globally determined market.

try here for a first look - they have more than 50 of them at the moment that are importable now

http://www.tradecarview.com/

Coquitlam Glenn wrote:http://www.tradecarview.com/

Hmmm, interesting that you came across a Japanese site that has lots of Defenders. I've been monitoring several similar sites for years and seldom see Land Rovers. Glad you found it!

The prices seem a little high on these, averaging around $20,000, but if the trucks are in typical Japanese excellent condition, then not a bad deal. Thanks for posting the link.

Dave

Strange that a lot of the photos look like Jolly old England in the background. Even some have English signs in the back ground & some have English licence plates?

I wonder if this is a Japanese export company that will also bring them in from other countries (like England).

Either way, I guess its a way to get one!

Strange that a lot of the photos look like Jolly old England in the background

good observation. A lot of the images are the same for multiple vehicles too. I can't imagine that there is any market for used UK defenders in Japan, but who knows - maybe these are just stock photos. I'll see what I can find out.

Having said that, I don't think this is the holy grail of used defenders - but with due diligence there may be a few gems here. I'm also watching the auctions in Japan - and it is very rare that a defender passes by. I'll keep my eyes open, and if I learn anything interesting, I'll post it here.

I think many of the people on this site are simply resellers.

So they will relist other vehicles they find online, and charge a markup on the transaction.

It seems most of the Defenders on tradecarview come from one company, and they won't reply to me about where the cars come from. They are clearly not from Japan.

But, I have been watching the Japanese auctions and while it is rare that any defenders go by, this gem came up the other day. It is a 4 (out of 5 exterior) and b (interior) This is a very high grade - they generally don't grade higher than this, unless a car is new. It only has 70,000 kms on it. It is a petrol version. It sold for just under 15 000 USD. Not cheap, and because it is a 1997, it can't be imported here until sometime next year (the same month it is first registered in Japan) But it looks new.

Anyway - I just thought I would update this thread with what I have found out. Some images:

https://picasaweb.google.com/vurvdesign ... directlink


*edit* I just noticed is a LHD too

So if it is a LHD it is not from Japan. Odd. I wonder what those guys are up to.

I had a look through the pictures on that website, all the vehicles are UK registered. As Ray notes I'd say there just being sold through a reseller that caters to the Japanese market and there from multiple sources in the UK. Am sure I spotted some on UK Autotrader too.

If your looking for a LHD then your best to be shopping in France, Germany or Holland, plenty of LR's over there. If you want a tidy 90 or 110 then you could look at ex-MOD ones from Whithams SV. Some thing like this :

http://www.mod-sales.com/direct/vehicle ... Rover_.htm

Or just keep an eye on the UK auto trader & Ebay.... plenty to choose from on there.

If you need help checking one out then why not register on LRUK forum, you'll find plenty of help from fellow addicts and I'm sure if you offer some beer tokens then they'd pay a prospective vehicle a visit for a closer look.

I think your off base trying to get one from Japan :wink:

Coquitlam Glenn wrote:When I got my delica - it was like a brand new car - not a speck of rust, spotless interior, under 100 000 k's. I was naively hoping for the same with UK vehicles.

You have to understand that it rains 99% of the time in the UK, and in winter the local councils (city works dept's) dump 1000's of tonnes of rock salt onto the roads to stop all the rain from freezing into sheet ice. That lingers all year round and eats away at frames, panels and every inch of unprotected metal. Throw into the mix that most LR (90/110) owners in the UK like to get them muddy either towing a horse box or axle deep on a pay & play day you can see why you don't find many in A1 condition. Anything with a Hi-cap back will most likely be from a utility company (gas or hydro) that's been well maintained but treated like a hire car so don't expect the interior to look good.

Farmers are typically 'tight gits' and never spend a penny on them as there good for a million miles between oil changes... add to that all the acidic cow crap eating away at the frame as there too busy down the local pub chatting the bar maid up to wash them :wink:

Anyway.... this looks quite nice, will be around the London area and prob used to haul the wife & kids around. No extra's for heavy off-roading like diff guards or a snorkel so it's prob not seen that much hard use.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

The last one I posted was definitely at auction in Japan. it went through the auction at Ju-nag and bidding started at $7500. The 4B grading it received came from the auction house. It is not uncommon to find LHD vehicles there - but they are usually cars that are not available in RHD. And someone did pay 15000 for it.

To be honest though, I'm really just looking at the Japanese auctions out of curiosity. If the 4B rating is trusted, it is essentially as new

Or just get the cheque boo out & buy this one :

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

It's been built by Foley so it'll be a decent job :D

I'll take it! Goes to show, all you really need is a ton of $

Coquitlam Glenn wrote:To be honest though, I'm really just looking at the Japanese auctions out of curiosity. If the 4B rating is trusted, it is essentially as new

Always good to shop around, if you see anything you like the look off in the UK post up a link.