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Just got a phone call from a good friend of mine.
He has a business importing & exporting american Muscle Cars tbetween the UK & the USA. Whilst on a trip out to the states on business, he was asked by a close business collegue over there if he could help him import LHD Mini's.
Apparently due to the new Mini, there is now a huge market for the origenal Mini's & they are changing hands for upwards of $8000 for an average one.
My mate has all the experience & contacts in place to get the cars sorted with regards to shipping, registering, selling & Insuring. But he needs someone in Europe who can supply LHD Mini's, & knows what they are looking at. He seems to think that they could easily sell at least 4/5 a month.
Considerig they need to be LHD, anyone here in Germany, France or similar ?
Or anyone got the contact details for a European Mini Club ?
Business opportunity for LHD Mini's - Germany ?
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71 Alfa GT 1300 Junior
89 Alfa 75 3.0 V6 Veloce
89 Alfa 75 3.0 V6 America
2015 C220 estate Daily shunter
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Can they be that hard to convert to LHD?
Also I'm sure that to meet US roadworthyness rules they'd have to be pre-1972 or Pre-1975 I forget, or they cannot be registered over there. Theres a company I have seen out Bath way IIRC who is matching up 1980s/1990s Minis with pre-1972 log books for export to the USA.
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1937 Austin Street Rod - 1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1976 Rover V8 - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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ive put this onto a mini website for u
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Plenty of minis in France, they make decent money over there, lots of em with 'english' sounding special edition names like 'Kensington park' and other nonsense.
I aint driving any back from france though as I am too fond of my spinal cord.
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1974 Lancia Beta Saloon
1975 Mazda 929 Coupé
1986 Mazda 929 Wagon
1979 Mazda 929 Hardtop
1982 Fiat Argenta 2.0 iniezione elettronica
1977 Toyota Carina TA14
1989 Subaru 1800 Wagon
1982 Hyundai Pony 1200TL 2-dr
1985 Hyundai Pony 1200 GL
1986 Maserati 425 Biturbo
1992 Rover 214 SEi 5-dr
2000 Rover 45 V6 Club
1994 Peugeot 205 'Junior' Diesel
1988 Volvo 760 Turbodiesel Saloon
1992 Talbot Express Autosleeper Rambler
2003 Renault Laguna SPEARS OR REAPERS
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I'd be quite up for this, along the lines of what I do already. I buy a lot of German camper vans so I'm sure some additional little things should'nt be a problem. Put me in contact if you like.
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Resident Toyota Geek Current Fleet: HDJ81 Landcruiser, GZ20 Soarer, JZX81 Cresta
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MaxN
Part of things
Posts: 482
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Jul 23, 2007 13:23:02 GMT
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Be careful. There are a lot of rules regarding the importation of cars, especially into California where the Mini 'scene' is especially strong. Do not assume that everyone wants LHD - many of the Mini's you see out here are RHD - for that extra authentic 'look'. What is extremely common is VIN swapping - go and find a '72 Mini 1000 and stick its VIN plate on a mid 80's and claim the 72 to have been upgraded to (say) 1988 spec..... The DMV and customs are both on to this 'game' and you may find yourself with a lot of problems if you try it. Now if you want to ship me a '68 Cooper S as a test, feel free  |
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mrj
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,662
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Jul 23, 2007 13:43:27 GMT
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importing stuff like this seems to be a good business; good Minis are hard to find over here in germany and are no longer a bargain .... even cars, which fail their TÜV and are really rusty, go for crazy money here... you can import cars via Canada , they have to be at least 12 years old, then nobody (in Canada) cares about emmissions and other stuff... i can imagine, if you import a car from Canada to the states is easier than from europe to california...
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- 1971 VW 1600 TL Fastback
- 1978 Passat GLS Variant
- 1980 Audi 100 5E
- 1981 VW aircooled panel van (sold)
- 1983 VW Jetta Mk.I
- 1984 VW Polo Coupé
- 1984 VW Passat hatchback
- 1987 VW Passat Variant
- 1987 VW Passat hatchback
- 1988 VW T25
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MaxN
Part of things
Posts: 482
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Jul 23, 2007 15:01:19 GMT
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well I'm really shocked by all this , there must be some value to those old h plate vins and logbook ive maintained through the years then!!
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dave7
Part of things
Posts: 44
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Jul 24, 2007 16:59:26 GMT
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importing stuff like this seems to be a good business; good Minis are hard to find over here in germany and are no longer a bargain .... even cars, which fail their TÜV and are really rusty, go for crazy money here... you can import cars via Canada , they have to be at least 12 years old, then nobody (in Canada) cares about emmissions and other stuff... I can imagine, if you import a car from Canada to the states is easier than from europe to california... actually in Canada is 15 years or older. Most of the Minis come here via Japan though. Cheap and low mileage. For the US 25 years and older is easy. Newer requires some bending of rules (ie re-VIN the thing). |
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Last Edit: Jul 24, 2007 17:00:37 GMT by dave7
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mrj
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,662
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Jul 24, 2007 17:41:54 GMT
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importing stuff like this seems to be a good business; good Minis are hard to find over here in germany and are no longer a bargain .... even cars, which fail their TÜV and are really rusty, go for crazy money here... you can import cars via Canada , they have to be at least 12 years old, then nobody (in Canada) cares about emmissions and other stuff... I can imagine, if you import a car from Canada to the states is easier than from europe to california... actually in Canada is 15 years or older. Most of the Minis come here via Japan though. Cheap and low mileage. For the US 25 years and older is easy. Newer requires some bending of rules (ie re-VIN the thing). ok, my latest information was 3 years ago, when a friend of me imported Rallye Golfs and E30 tourings to Canada... which part of Canada are you from ? |
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- 1971 VW 1600 TL Fastback
- 1978 Passat GLS Variant
- 1980 Audi 100 5E
- 1981 VW aircooled panel van (sold)
- 1983 VW Jetta Mk.I
- 1984 VW Polo Coupé
- 1984 VW Passat hatchback
- 1987 VW Passat Variant
- 1987 VW Passat hatchback
- 1988 VW T25
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dave7
Part of things
Posts: 44
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Jul 24, 2007 18:52:17 GMT
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Western Canada - Calgary. Its the same all over. The fifteen year rule applies to everyone but each province may or may not ask for emission testing (ie BC, Ontario do, Alberta, Sask don't).
Importing from Canada to the US is no easier if its not a car that was orig sold here. There is a bigger supply of 70s Mini 1000 VINs in Canada though (sold them for much longer in Canada vs the states).
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