[sterlingsilver]

The thread gave me goosebumps! Seriously!

Watching your Endy on UK soil is seriously a moment of pride. Take a bow, Arbind. Your persistence to not sell your car but to take it with you to your new home and going through literal holy hell to see it through is amazing.Wish you lots of miles and more mate!

What is the reaction to the people there seeing this on their roads? Do tell!

[Arbind Ray]

Originally Posted by sterlingsilver

The thread gave me goosebumps! Seriously!

...What is the reaction to the people there seeing this on their roads? Do tell!

Thanks for your kind words sterlingsilver. There's so much to tell yet so much more to add as each day goes by. Earlier this week had booked the Endeavour for a major UK service with barely a thousand miles driven since its last standard maintenance in India during my visit in August eleven months ago. Also replaced all the differential oils (gbp 800.00 for fluids alone) Engine oil was separate which came as part of the 3 year routine service plan that I pay a nominal monthly subscription towards which includes annual MOT tests. Its the small things that I'm happy with too such as the Cabin anti-bacterial/anti-fungal air filter which as with consumables get changed during routine service.

MRF India also wrote to confirm okay to drive on their AT tyres here in the UK so am deciding how to plan a small UK roadtrip as Lockdown gradually eases.

Also visited local DashCam centre yesterday that carry out installations. They were recommending the lastest Thinkware. Still trying to weigh up the pros and cons of the Blackview range. On seeing the vehicle the guy (Lee) remarked "my mates got a Ranger just like that one" as he pointed to mine saying he preferred the colour of my car and as he walked towards it exclaimed "Jesus Christ...its got another row of seats in the back!" ...and then I tell them its from India

[Arbind Ray]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Lovely thread @Arbind and @GTO. I had been waiting for this one. Hope to meet the Endeavour from India in London once this lockdown is over and life is back to normal.

Hi BlackPearl. I visited Dover Beach near the Castle this weekend and completely missed the photo op

As lockdown is being eased amidst uncertainty in England, I hope to plan my cross country trip soon. I had written to MRF Tyres India of my plans and they responded positively to my driving on Indian tyres with peace of mind during the British Summer. So I'm thinking... November could be more fun. Although tyre tread depth has hardly diminished during it's 13k mile use I understand I have another year or so of driveable life before tyre replacement is recommended.

So, if other Team BHPians living in the UK are interested please feel free to DM me and I'll look at the possibility of planning my route accordingly

[topse]

Wow!!! What a classy Endie lover you are. One of the most unique and interesting post I have ever read on the internet. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. It's an achievement which can be set as a milestone among motor enthusiasts. Please share your travel experience with the mighty Indian Endie in those beautiful countrysides of UK.

[Arbind Ray]

Originally Posted by topse

...It's an achievement which can be set as a milestone among motor enthusiasts...

It seems another enthusiast has also achieved the unthinkable. I couldn't believe what I was seeing while driving on the motorway in England couple months ago. I caught a white vehicle speeding up towards me in my wing mirror as I drove towards Cambridge. It looked like a Ranger. The driver and his wife were waving at me excitedly. They were driving a White 2019 Ford Endeavour!

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by Arbind Ray

hi vijay_jambu, a BHPian DM'd me earlier today saying he had shipped his SUV from US to Finland purely because the maths worked. ...

That bhpian is me.
The SUV that made it's way from Detroit across the Atlantic is a 2016 KIA Sorento. Thats right...not any american SUV/Truck but a KIA.
the decal on the back of my car Literally says 'Imported from Detroit. Because Maths'.

[anukritbhargava]

Reading this in 2021 and still getting goosebumps!

[Ford_Prefect]

Originally Posted by anukritbhargava

Reading this in 2021 and still getting goosebumps!

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

That bhpian is me.
The SUV that made it's way from Detroit across the Atlantic is a 2016 KIA Sorento. Thats right...not any american SUV/Truck but a KIA.
the decal on the back of my car Literally says 'Imported from Detroit. Because Maths'.

Salute to Arbind Ray and 14000rpm for achieving this. Just curious about how you guys get your vehicles serviced. Does the dealer give you a hard time because that particular vehicle is not sold in your country? Do they warranty their work even though Ford/Kia doesn't sell the vehicle in country?

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by Ford_Prefect

Salute to Arbind Ray and 14000rpm for achieving this. Just curious about how you guys get your vehicles serviced. Does the dealer give you a hard time because that particular vehicle is not sold in your country? Do they warranty their work even though Ford/Kia doesn't sell the vehicle in country?

Good question actually. I thought about it before I exported my car and comforted myself to the fact that KIA is in Finland and sells/services the Sorento. This became a high level assumption till the car landed here. KIA only sells & maintains Euro Spec Diesel Sorento's. Mine is a US Spec 2.4 Petrol. Regular servicing has not been much of an issue. They just go by servicing guidelines per service book. Few parts are petrol only which are not stocked and it take a bit of time to get them and then install but it has not caused issues with operating the vehicle.

My bigger problem is for Body Parts. Had a bit of an incident off-road and ruined some underbody parts including inner wheel shrouding. It has taken 1.5 yrs and only 1/2 the parts are here. I have no problems using the vehicle but I still know it is missing parts. The Sorento's sold in Europe are manufactured in Turkey and the US models are manufactured in US. God knows why but the parts are different for different Geo's. The Euro-Spec parts don't fit. the Sorento is positioned differently in US and in Europe and that shows in the quality of parts as well. Europe models are better. I have compared.

That is the only grouse.

Since I availed Custom's tax exemption, I had to keep the car for 2 yrs. I have crossed that and can sell it but then, it's a reasonably good car which is fully paid for. I have no complaints. Will keep it till for long. The next car will be a 2nd car and an electric at that.

[Arbind Ray]

Originally Posted by Ford_Prefect

Salute to Arbind Ray and 14000rpm for achieving this. Just curious about how you guys get your vehicles serviced. Does the dealer give you a hard time because that particular vehicle is not sold in your country? Do they warranty their work even though Ford/Kia doesn't sell the vehicle in country?

My UK Ford Main Dealer has been supportive from the moment I shared my intentions with them. As with the RTO office in Bhubaneswar where my Application had built up a reputation of the "London Walla File", so too at Ford Dagenham, the whole Sales & Service staff refer it to as the "Indian SUV...Ranger with a Full Cab". They're not used to the Everest so Endeavour is it's true recognition

That said, what you would have thought to have been the simplest of issues to address, has become a bottleneck. In India I never received a status update regarding software upgrades so have no way of knowing if anything had been done. This has not impeded my ride but am mildly disappointed here too in England, even though the 3 year Club Ford Service Level Agreement I've taken out includes 'free software upgrades' Ford UK have said as it's an Import I'd have to seek this part of the service from a private garage. Though not urgent, what is disappointing is having spent INR 35,000.00 to extend my warranty while in India, the TPMS too was ignored during it's last full service in August 2019 so my tyre pressure readouts in the instrument panel do not work. Not a major issue since I can have this component sorted by paying extra as I do check the tyre pressure manually every couple months.

The positives however do outweigh the downside so overall I'm satisfied. After four years my key fob batteries require replacement which is included for no extra charge within my Service Plan as shown in image below

[neerajbhide]

Such an amazing thread! One can feel your passion throughout! Just a quick question; Whenever we buy a car in India we pay a one time tax on it, now that you cancelled your registration, are you eligible to get refund on the One Time Tax on pro rata basis as you won't be using the car for full 15 years the tax was paid for?

[Arbind Ray]

Originally Posted by neerajbhide

...are you eligible to get refund on the One Time Tax on pro rata basis as you won't be using the car for full 15 years the tax was paid for?

Hi Neeraj...only this morning I sent a reminder to Capital Ford in Bhubaneswar where I had originally purchased the Endeavour;
---
[1/28, 2:16 AM] Ray: I've been asked for road tax receipt. Is this paid via Ford at time of obtaining temporary registration number?

[1/28, 3:11 AM] Ford: Yes sir when we paid you tax for registration they gave us a receipt of that amount

[2/4, 1:31 AM] Ray: That's great. Are you able to let me know how much it was and forward copy pls?
---
Waiting for response. Hopefully refund will be calculated from date of RC cancellation...

[neerajbhide]

Originally Posted by Arbind Ray

Hi Neeraj...only this morning I sent a reminder to Capital Ford in Bhubaneswar where I had originally purchased the Endeavour;
---
[1/28, 2:16 AM] Ray: I've been asked for road tax receipt. Is this paid via Ford at time of obtaining temporary registration number?

[1/28, 3:11 AM] Ford: Yes sir when we paid you tax for registration they gave us a receipt of that amount

[2/4, 1:31 AM] Ray: That's great. Are you able to let me know how much it was and forward copy pls?
---
Waiting for response. Hopefully refund will be calculated from date of RC cancellation...

That's great! Looking forward to the RTO's calculations :P

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by Arbind Ray

UK registration for the Endeavour from DVLA received earlier this week with number plates from Ford on Friday 3rd April…at last! Had decided to import the SUV to England in May 2019.

Congratulations.

Plus the price of vehicle would need to be substantive enough to make the approximate cost of INR 5 lacs to bring it over viable.

Not sure why you did it. I didn't see you mention it anywhere but I guess the decision was not from the financial point of view. You can buy a similar sized and equipped SUV in the UK for less. So why did you do it?

Originally Posted by Arbind Ray

The positives however do outweigh the downside so overall I'm satisfied.

Can you elaborate.

[Arbind Ray]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

Congratulations.

Not sure why you did it. I didn't see you mention it anywhere but I guess the decision was not from the financial point of view. You can buy a similar sized and equipped SUV in the UK for less. So why did you do it?

Can you elaborate.

Thanks pedrolourenco. I had originally visited India with a plan to invest INR 1Cr in 2016. Rs.60 lacs was lost on account of incompetence (at best) by local partners / (at worst) malfeasance. I’m in process of notifying Embassies and engaging an experienced criminal/corporate lawyer to litigate. Against this backdrop I had decided to mitigate losses in other areas. If I was no longer to reside in Odisha for business purposes then it made sense to dispose of the Ford Endeavour I had purchased brand new in September 2016 for around Rs.40 lacs as it was parked in a basement car park gathering dust. With prevailing market conditions and depreciation, I stood to take a Rs.15 lac hit for a vehicle hardly used. As an aside, despite holding full UK driving licences with Int’l driving Permits, we chose to take the Indian driving tests in our Endeavour, two weeks after purchase which we passed.

In England I had a Jaguar Autobiography which too was sitting idle while I was in India. Rather than making a balloon payment of gbp 20k looming in 2020 I concluded that with benefit of Transfer of Residence status the exemption of import duty and taxes meant within a gbp 5k budget (difference between Jaguar’s balloon payment and INR 15lac depreciation) I would gain a robust vehicle, particularly the 3.2 Titanium variant, fully paid for, which is ideal for a new build 1acre Riverside development project I’m in midst of constructing in Cambridgeshire for my summer retreat/private residence.

So for me personally, it ticked all the boxes...financial as well as practical. Admittedly it was sentiment that drove me to endure the procedural rigours of dealing with bureaucracy, some friendly

I think this line also sums it up...the former Head of RTO in charge at the time who acceded to my request to cancel the RC asked my friend who had accompanied me “please make me understand...I want to know one thing only...Why is he really exporting the car to UK” to which the reply was “He had purchased it for his wife!” No further questions...

To clarify, I’m originally from Odisha, my wife is from Gujarat. We’ve been settled in England over half a century and celebrated our 30th anniversary recently in November. Consider it a token gift from India