[Naren4140]

can u beat that there is a Beetle in Mysore which was originally a LHD car...this kid decides to make it a RHD and gets it accomplished . and this is to a car which was already on the indian roads.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by Naren4140

can u beat that there is a Beetle in Mysore which was originally a LHD car...this kid decides to make it a RHD and gets it accomplished . and this is to a car which was already on the indian roads.

I can show you a minimum of 5 Beetles which have carried out this conversion in the last few years. And I can show you 2 more in the making. What I cant explain is why anyone would do that...Look at this example, and note the dash pattern, still LHD.

[Naren4140]

is it a pre-1969 bug ,what has he done in the center......????

[NoMind]

Hi All,
I live in america currently and was thinking of getting a jeep engine from here. It will be a petrol or diesel V6 ? I don't know exactly a the issues in importing an engine(dauntless v6/GM 4.3 V-6 ) . But I would welcome any comments ? What do you guys think ? Is it crazy/impossibe to do it without massive freight cost/bureaucratic hassle ?
I would probably put it into a CJ3B or MM540 (which i can buy locally in INdia).
Here's my guide for doing it.
Jeep V6 Engine Conversion on The CJ3B Page
Please let me know !

Prasant

[xoticars]

I have been importing new parts from the US for various cars of mine and have discovered that the cheapest way is to import them via the POSTAL MAIL services. I have received used spares and they have not charged me any Duty. I recently imported a pile of new spares via US MAIL, and the CUSTOMS DUTY was just Rs 500.00, on parts worth about $ 400.00. You have got to be lucky too. If you get parts via courier, that's DHL etc, the courier company is obliged to charge you the 36 odd percent of invoice value and then they pay it to CUSTOMS DEPT. This way there is no escaping. You have better chances of less DUTY via the post. This has been my experience over the last couple of years. Have imported an engine for an MG, and they charged me about Rs 26,000.oo in Duty. Had an invoice of about UK Pounds 2,000.00. Thats the lowdown.

[MustangMan]

Post is however very erratic. I have had parts delivered without any duty charged, I have been called down to customs once to open the parcel and show them what was inside (shocks) and then charged duty. And lost a few enroute!! . With normal post there is not tracking no etc.
Middle ground I guess is registered parcel post!

[NoMind]

These are interesting suggestions. I am planning to get the engine block and it might be cast iron or aluminum. Weight of the engine is going to be about 450-500 lbs. Cost would vary from 400-1400 US $.

[Stanher]

What about importing cosmetic stuff like side-trims, chrome parts etc.? How do we get them?

[peeve]

Originally Posted by xoticars

I have been importing new parts from the US for various cars of mine and have discovered that the cheapest way is to import them via the POSTAL MAIL services. I have received used spares and they have not charged me any Duty. I recently imported a pile of new spares via US MAIL, and the CUSTOMS DUTY was just Rs 500.00, on parts worth about $ 400.00. You have got to be lucky too. If you get parts via courier, that's DHL etc, the courier company is obliged to charge you the 36 odd percent of invoice value and then they pay it to CUSTOMS DEPT. This way there is no escaping. You have better chances of less DUTY via the post. This has been my experience over the last couple of years. Have imported an engine for an MG, and they charged me about Rs 26,000.oo in Duty. Had an invoice of about UK Pounds 2,000.00. Thats the lowdown.

I have had simillar ecperiences.I have imported a lot of parts through courier and normal post.With courier you can be very sure that you will be charged 36 % duty.With postal services you will get away most of the time.There has no loss in transit so far.Yes, they open almost all the parcels most of the time.Duty is very nominal usually.Postal parcels are cleared very leniantly through Mumbai customs.Places like Kochi are a little poblematic at times.
Regards,
Peeve

[Stanher]

I hope this is the right thread for this!

Any suggestions on importing kits like this for restoring weather/dust ravaged windshields/glass on older cars:

Eastwood Co. - Glass Polishing Kit Pro

I really like to have kits like these, and it doesnt cost much either to be duty'd- 46.99 = 2250 INR only! Better than finding replacement glass (which wouldnt be as good either) and MUCH cheaper than making new ones!

Only trouble is it consists of an electric machine so 'wonder what the safest way of importing it is?

Any advice from those more experienced?

[S.B.Jatti]

[quote=Stanher;1005089]I hope this is the right thread for this!

Any suggestions on importing kits like this for restoring weather/dust ravaged windshields/glass on older cars:

Eastwood Co. - Glass Polishing Kit Pro

I really like to have kits like these, and it doesnt cost much either to be duty'd- 46.99 = 2250 INR only! Better than finding replacement glass (which wouldnt be as good either) and MUCH cheaper than making new ones!

Only trouble is it consists of an electric machine so 'wonder what the safest way of importing it is?


There is a company from United Kingdom, who have opened a branch in Mumbai, who repair and remove scratches etc. from Wind Shield and other automotie glass. I do -not remember the full name of the company, but I think it is Glass Polish India Ltd. I have the mobile number of their Technical Manager, +919820435679. They restore the old scratched glasses. Any body interested may contact them. They also visit other cities to perform the restoration of windscreen glasses.

S.B.Jatti.

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by S.B.Jatti

There is a company from United Kingdom, who have opened a branch in Mumbai, who repair and remove scratches etc. from Wind Shield and other automotie glass. I do -not remember the full name of the company, but I think it is Glass Polish India Ltd.

Many thanks! I will get in touch with him ASAP. I only hope their charges are not more than the cost of the above kit though.

[JagMan]

while we are on the subject of postal mail....

A few times i ordered some Computer peripherals from sellers in hong kong via ebay.com, all of them used the postal service to ship the parts. What they would do to enable to buyer to evade the duty was to mark the package as a gift, the sellers openly stated on the site that by doing so the package will not attract a duty if it was supposed to be taxed. Of course what helped was that there was usually no invoice for this stuff (just an email and a notification from EBAY). Not very expensive stuff just difficult to find in india. I never had a problem and it would take about 7 to 10 days for the stuff to reach my hands.

Just my experience with packages in postal mail. Hope this helps.

[Stanher]

Hi all,
I've a rather urgent query reg. importing spares.

I'm in the process of importing some assorted spares from the Standard Motor Club, UK.
As I understand that there is a duty charged for imported items more than Rs.5000 in value, and getting all the items I've ordered together in one package would come upto ₤295 (= Rs.21,000+) including shipping charges (presumably by Courier as it'd come too heavy for airmail)
So, I've reuqested for the smaller parts to be sent in batches, where total value of items in each parcel doesn't exceed Rs.5000 (₤70)

But I've been asked if the Customs in India charge items based on the total value including shipping/insurance(if any) charges or otherwise?

I'm dubious about arranging for an insurance as I suspect it would anyways not be easy making a claim with local Customs/post in case of any loss.
So that leaves me only with shipping charges. Would this be included by Customs while calculating Duty, or do they conentrate only on value of the item?

[ajmat]

There is not hard and fast rule, it is purely luck.

Last week, I iimported items worth Rs 7000 and got charged nothing. normally the value is based on the pro-forma invoice enclosed with the items. It all depends on how "attractive" the package is! If it is small and heavy or large, it can get randomly picked. Courioer items normally go through faster