Worth Importing Defender P/U?

[HeliRy]

Hi all.
Currently working in the Middle East and this place seems a potential gold mine for older Defenders. Might go have a look at a 1988 Defender Pick-up for sale, asking the equivalent of $13,000 USD. Low mileage, no rust (go figure... it's a desert vehicle lol) and the body looks like new. So if I go take a look and it's as advertised and pretty much in mint shape, is it worth bringing it home to Canada? Would most likely just sell it once getting it registered. Figure it would fetch a nice price at home.
Thoughts? Good idea... or should I not bother?
Cheers.

[red90]

What exact style of PU? A 130 Crew Cab HCPU is the best in terms of resale. If you can clarify the body style and model and the engine, we could probably give a re-sale expectation level.

1988 would not be an attractive model year as the engine choices are not great. There is more money to be had in the newer trucks. As we are well into the TD5 years, they fetch the best prices, followed by the TDIs. The other earlier engines drop the value a lot. $13000 USD for a 1988 truck sounds really high.

[HeliRy]

Good to know! I figured a pick up bodied Defender would fetch a better price lol. Glad I asked. Not sure what engine it has. Seller says it's a petrol engine with 400-500hp. Unsure if that's a typo or is he dropped something insane under the hood. Sent him an email and waiting for a reply.

Here's the link if anyone is interested in taking a peek
https://abudhabi.dubizzle.com/m/motors/ ... 9fbHRlPQ==

[red90]

Okay. It is a 110 single cab pickup. That is probably near the bottom of the pile as far as resale value goes. You would probably have a tough time making $13k US selling it in Canada, never mind the import costs. Obviously 400-500 hp means it has something else in it. Stock engines of that era were 67 to 115 hp. Whether or not it is a "good" truck will depend a lot on how the conversion was performed and how well the rest of the truck was built to handle four times the designed power.

[Crs]

I'd agree. It would be helpful to know what engine it has. (In the Middle East, I'd be expecting the V8.)

Price! Well, a Defender that isn't actually all rusty is a pretty neat thing. That makes it attractive. Swapping an engine has got to be easier than swapping the chassis, bulkhead, body, ... :mrgreen:

Without one of the highly desirable engines, I don't know if you'd make any money here. I think any Defender fan would be okay with $13K for a good, sorted, solid Defender. But $13K US + shipping means it would need to be a bit special to show a profit. How old is it? If it's old enough to be sold into the USA, then you'd do much better there. I don't know all of their regs, but I think it's 25+ years and it needs to be ORIGINAL (i.e. with the engine, frame, etc. it came with from Land Rover). And Americans do love their pickup trucks.

Or just keep it and enjoy it.