11 replies to this topic

[WiredbyWilson]

Hello all,

I am about to place an order with Autosportlabs for a built Megajolt for my uncles Mk1 Escort Zetec and a DIY kit for myself.

Is there anyone out there that bought theres from the US direct and if so what was delivery times and duty paid when it touched down here?

Had a look online and it seems no duty but £40 VAT on £200 of stuff!!! and i would obviously prefer not to pay that!

Edited by Wilson1330, 15 March 2010 - 10:25 AM.

[miniJJ]

Hi,

I bought my megajolt kit (unbuilt) from them just before christmas. They were absoloutly fantastic; I was charged no duty; or anything else ontop of the cost of the kit and postage.

It think it took about 13 days for mine to arrive, and it was very nicely packaged.

Cost me about £90 for the megajolt kit, sequential shiftlight, serial cable, mounting flanges, vat and postage. Best money I have ever spent on my mini; and I'd reccomend them to anyone.

Thanks,

JJ

[WiredbyWilson]

Hi,

I bought my megajolt kit (unbuilt) from them just before christmas. They were absoloutly fantastic; I was charged no duty; or anything else ontop of the cost of the kit and postage.

It think it took about 13 days for mine to arrive, and it was very nicely packaged.

Cost me about £90 for the megajolt kit, sequential shiftlight, serial cable, mounting flanges, vat and postage. Best money I have ever spent on my mini; and I'd reccomend them to anyone.

Thanks,

JJ

Good to hear someone has had good experiences with it. Did you find it ok to assemble?

[miniJJ]

Yeah, the instructions they have posted up on their website are great, detailed pictures on how it should all go together.

Have you done any soldering with surface mount components before? This was my first time, and it takes a bit of getting used to. To practice, I bought the shiftlight kit, (only $10 or something), watched a online guide then practiced the technique on that, before then soldering the main circuit board together. I used a 15w soldering iron with a fine tip, this helped keep the heat down on delicate components.

Hope it goes well,

JJ

[WiredbyWilson]

Yeah, the instructions they have posted up on their website are great, detailed pictures on how it should all go together.

Have you done any soldering with surface mount components before? This was my first time, and it takes a bit of getting used to. To practice, I bought the shiftlight kit, (only $10 or something), watched a online guide then practiced the technique on that, before then soldering the main circuit board together. I used a 15w soldering iron with a fine tip, this helped keep the heat down on delicate components.

Hope it goes well,

JJ

I have done a fair bit of soldering on looms etc so think I will need to get a smaller iron to keep it cool.

But I haven't built any circuit boards but have repaired some by re-soldering!

How long did it take you to build the board?

[miniJJ]

It took me about 4 hours alltogether, however I'm only 17 and really took my time; I couldn't afford to fry anything and have to pay for replacement components!

But certainly doable in one evening with a cuppa!

JJ

[WiredbyWilson]

So worth saving the £40 or so DIYing it

Cheers for the experience info JJ

[miniJJ]

Definatly worth the saving!

Glad I could help, let me know if you need any more advice.

JJ

[Ethel]

I diy'd a mk3, which was easy. The surface mount bits on the mk4 could be a bit more fiddly, but Autosport's support is excellent and most components are easily available for pence.

I was also unlucky enough to get stuck with VAT plus about £20 to the post office for the privilege.

[WiredbyWilson]

I diy'd a mk3, which was easy. The surface mount bits on the mk4 could be a bit more fiddly, but Autosport's support is excellent and most components are easily available for pence.

I was also unlucky enough to get stuck with VAT plus about £20 to the post office for the privilege.

£20 to the PO for what privildedge - just them handling it?? I i'll be doing my pieces if they try that with me!

[Ethel]

Yeah they add a handling fee to the VAT - actually it's less than £20.

http://www.royalmail...ee2pay_redirect

[WiredbyWilson]

Curious as there shouldn't be any duty only VAT - so the PO are scamming you for dealing with any VAT due??

Thanks for info Dan, going to do some research!