[ukpete]

Hello,

I am trying to find out how to send a Bentley Mark VI to India for restoration and then return to the UK. We have a garage in Udaipur in mind who are eager to do the work. Their owner was the senior Indian mechanic on the recent Himalaya Rally through India, Nepal and Bhutan that we were involved in. We were so impressed with their skills that we want them to take this project on.

Indian customs are being difficult because the car in it's part dismantled state doesn't fit any of their categories. Does anyone know of a way to do this, or can suggest any contacts to help? we've been told that an ATA carnet can't be used.

Thanks

Peter

[sreedotk]

Get hold of a good freight and forwarding agent . In my old employment we used to get machinery for research purposes. We had to pay a caution deposit in a kind of escrow manner and you could bring in the machinery with the caveat that you reexported it in a certain period. Most of the good freight and fowarding agents have good connections in the Customs and central exise to find the ways and means to get this done.

It might be a good idea to check if you would be allowed to export it in the first place as many countries are now not allowing export of antiques and other old stuff.

[ukpete]

Thanks for your help. Do you think that I as the UK exporter can arrange this or does it have to be the Indian importer who deals with Mumbai customs?

Peter

[iraghava]

Pete - Be very careful with Indian customs. Since there was large scale illegal export of vintage/classic machinery during the '80/90's they have become very strict on shipping out any old car, so if you do manage to get it in make sure before hand that you can also get it out once the work is completed.

[GTO]

iraghava makes a very valid point.

IMHO it would be simpler and more cost-effective to have the senior Indian mechanic flown into UK for the restoration job.

[Stanher]

Peter,

I'm sure we all appreciate your admiration for the Indian mechanics in question, but still, you need to analyse if it'd really be worth it money/time-wise to have your car brought over all the way down to India AND taken back for a restoration that could always be carried out in the UK itself.....it is something that'll require you to invest heavily in, apart from of course the possible challenges related to red-tape & paperwork formalities you're likely to face from Customs (& maybe our National Authorities too), as you surmised yourself!
Not that I mean to discourage you but needless to say you'd be well-acquainted with various clubs & restoration workshops in the UK specialising in vintages/classics, many even restricted to specific marques/models alone, who could be techincally far better-equipped to tackle any otherwise complicated restoration job & have more abundant resources, viz. sourcing of most spares at any point of time (one thing that could be practically impossible to do in India, despite no dearth in skilled mechanics!)
While I agree with GTO's suggestion about having said mechanic brought
to the UK for the restoration, it could turn out to be less cost-effective considering paying for the mechanic's board/lodging throughout his period of stay (depending on the duration of restoration!), responsibility over his personal safety apart from the fact that he would most likely charge more in this regard, having taken his time off his garage in India!

[dominator]

Probably the mechanic you were so impressed with really knows his job. It is true that there are still a few old mechanics around who are good with their jobs. But that is just about it. I am not very sure about the painting,upholstery,electricals etc. Remember, there will be no parts available here and every time your mechanic requests for parts, you will have yo send it across which in turn will attract a huge duty. Like someone mentioned, It would be cheaper and would make more sense to have this guy down working and supervising the whole restoration project.

[Gordon]

Restoration in the UK could be a very expensive affair. In India it could be cheap cos labour is cheap here.

[scooby05]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Restoration in the UK could be a very expensive affair. In India it could be cheap cos labour is cheap here.

Dear Friend, Only Labour is cheap!! it ends there!! the finish is nowhere close to what the UK restorers will get out of a UK car-Bentley. all parts in anycase will also have to be brought in. The woodwork/paint/fittings all are weak areas in finish here.
the to and fro sea freight and land transport itself will cost Pete Pounds 3000. beside the paper work and procedures. so if the labour costs are upto pounds 4000 more there, is still not worthwhile bringing it to India.

[Gordon]

the to and fro sea freight and land transport itself will cost Pete Pounds 3000. beside the paper work and procedures. so if the labour costs are upto pounds 4000 more there, is still not worthwhile bringing it to India.

Oh, I completely forgot about that. About the finish and quality of the restoration, there are quite a few people in Bombay who could do a quality job. Theres Toyato-tech and many others.

Since you own a collection of the Vintage cars you could possibly provide the best possible solution.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Since you own a collection of the Vintage cars you could possibly provide the best possible solution.

I have seen some of the better people in the restoration business here but have to say they still cannot achieve the level of finish that garages abroad can achieve. If you take the VFM factor into count then it is a different situation though but if it's a best job possible scenario then we people are still much behind the best abroad.

Originally Posted by scooby05

all parts in anycase will also have to be brought in. The woodwork/paint/fittings all are weak areas in finish here.

Yup agree with Scooby here, forgot to mention it earlier. All spares that you need would have to be brought in from abroad anyways.

[Godfather]

Bentleys are being sold in India right?? Why not get the car in and out through the company itself??

Godfather

[Mayavi]

Also, when taking it back after restoration, how are you going to prove to the customs that the rbits and pieces of the rust bucket (assuming worst condition) you imported is the same as the spanking new bentley that you are exporting?

[ajmat]

My suggestion would be:

1: Let the bodywork be completed in the UK.
2: Do an assessment of the oily bits - if the engine/ transmission needs to be rebuilt where some parts need to be made - then it might be worth sendng the bits over to India. There may be some re-export certification that is required. Ditto seats and trim items assuming that it is a straight lift, trim, fit situ but again these beauties require everything to be co-located when repairing to get the visual treat correct.
3: If you get the mechanic over, please study the visa issues in depth. The UK immigration are pretty uptight.
3:

[esteem_lover]

There is a provision to import & re-export after carrying out job works, maybe this can be classified into that. Your importer's local Central Excise office would be in a better situation to clarify this.
here read this
cs-gen-exm76(k)