50 replies to this topic

[Black.Ghost]

Good, far many cloned cars stateside. Surely most of them are stolen to order.

Just because they are shipped to the U.S. it doesn't mean they are stolen to order!

I don't agree with what gets done in the slightest. We all have minis and a natural interest to protect them. What I disagree with is the U.S.' rubbish policies on cars younger than 25 years old.

As for stopping the crims, I think the effect will be negligible. There are so many other export markets that one guy in the US, and maybe some friends, is so minimal it will barely make a dent on them. You need to hit at source, not the guy getting it to make a real impact. That's why police go after suppliers and dealers before drug users. It's all supply and demand at the end of the day. Economics works the same on the black market and normal market.

[Ethel]

It is odd, with a rolling 25 year rule, it's surely as important to save classic cars so they can get to be that old. 

 

There may be a few unwitting punters, but I suspect the majority will be at least wilfully "ignorant" of the discrepancies with what they're importing. Some will be doing it to sell on at a profit.

 

You would hope actual thieves couldn't be so brazen to engage with customs; easier to hide them in the mass of less regulated cargo going across the English Channel.  

[Mini Mega828]

wow that hurts!!! Do we need to crush vehicles?

 

Whats wrong with the government breaking the car down and selling the bits just not the vin number or any of the titles or rights?

 

Crushing is such a waste of a car

[joakwin]

The gov don't care if people like mini's or not,
They crushed this car because it's paper work don't match

I just shipped my 85 B reg mini to the states
Importing a mini to the states isn't that hard, it's takes about 8 pages of paperwork to be filled out
And costs around 1150 gbp from Southampton to port Hueneme California and 200gbp to tow the vehicle on and off the boat if it doesn't run

People trying to cheat the system is what F's it up for everyone else that is doing the right thing
No reason to cheat, the laws are simple, the vehicle needs to be 25 yrs old and it's good to go,
It's a rolling 25 yrs, witch makes it nice

I think every 1960's mini that has been rebuilt to 1999 mpi spec should have the same happen to it,

When I go to car shows and I see 1960's mpi spec mini, I hate it and don't even want to waste my time looking at the revin car

It's a crime to revin

Edited by joakwin, 13 December 2014 - 03:32 PM.

[CityEPete]

If you were spending between £6000 and £15000 on an mpi cooper sportspack, you'd know it wasn't a 1988 car regardless of where you were in the world, some people need to wake up and smell the coffee imo :) I've said this in other threads but this is where the legit v5s sold on ebay with "car beyond repair" are ending up, yet people are still happy on here with comments like, "keeps another mini on the road" how???

[Bubblebobble]

Gives a identity to someones pride and joy to be given to a new owner ,  with them knowing its not correct . 

Edited by Bubblebobble, 13 December 2014 - 04:38 PM.

[mab01uk]

Apparently in Canada they can legally import non-conforming cars like the Mini and Land Rover after only 15 years as opposed to the US with 25 years.

[Cooperman]

The 're-yearing' of cars for the US market is not new. It has been going on for years. I know a guy who was in the USAF and he had a 1996 Mini. He was due to be moved back home, so he was trying to buy an early and rusty Mini as the 'number doner'. I don't think he was successful in time to do it and he sold the 1996 car. However, others have managed to do this. It is not normally a stolen car issue, it's just re-identifying a later car into an early identity for USA importation purposes. It is clearly the same with Land Rovers. Most doing this into the USA know exactly what they are doing and can't complain when caught.

 

Now, in terms of crushing cars, the person I feel sorry for is the man who had his 1950's fully-restored Bristol taken and crushed because it had no tax disc displayed. It had fallen on the floor and the tax was free anyway. I believe the authorities had to pay him a huge amount, but that didn't get him his Bristol back. The suspicion was that when it was lifted for removal, the crew damaged it and then crushed it to avoid being caught out. They claimed they didn't do it deliberately nor realise the value and rareness of the car. 

[mingy]

How can the crane drivers do things like that

They probably drive MKI Escorts.......

[Bubblebobble]

The 're-yearing' of cars for the US market is not new. It has been going on for years. I know a guy who was in the USAF and he had a 1996 Mini. He was due to be moved back home, so he was trying to buy an early and rusty Mini as the 'number doner'. I don't think he was successful in time to do it and he sold the 1996 car. However, others have managed to do this. It is not normally a stolen car issue, it's just re-identifying a later car into an early identity for USA importation purposes. It is clearly the same with Land Rovers. Most doing this into the USA know exactly what they are doing and can't complain when caught.

 

Now, in terms of crushing cars, the person I feel sorry for is the man who had his 1950's fully-restored Bristol taken and crushed because it had no tax disc displayed. It had fallen on the floor and the tax was free anyway. I believe the authorities had to pay him a huge amount, but that didn't get him his Bristol back. The suspicion was that when it was lifted for removal, the crew damaged it and then crushed it to avoid being caught out. They claimed they didn't do it deliberately nor realise the value and rareness of the car. 

I would have it a guess more than a few stolen cars go over there . I doubt the new owners know that , but they obviously know that the car is not what it says on the paperwork . Alot more profit if you have a stolen 6k car with a £150 ebay logbook .

[Shep76S]

You only have to look at pictures of the major US mini shows to know how widespread the clone importing is. I am sure some innocents are caught up in it, but it's the dealers that need to be stopped. They all know better.

Bill Cox of Monte Carlo minis runs a nice Cabrio..........

[Bubblebobble]

If people are enough into mini's stateside  they will have a pretty good idea of different models and years they were around , so i would have a guess most know whats going on , so if some  of these cars are pinched [ without there knowledge ] , then they are helping by creating demand .  

 

 Is it easier to pinch a car , sell its bits piece by piece , scrap , sit on the shell for a few years , or sell to banger boys , or is its impler to buy a dodgy V5 and stick it in a container and make a quick easy premium ?

[Archived1]

Can the buyer go after the seller in the UK to get his/her money back? I would thats for sure!

What muppet thought they could send over a 2000 cooper sport as a 1988? Like customs wouldn't notice?!?! what a dumb turd....

 

Lots of minis and landy's on ebay.com selling from the UK that just don't add up to the years they pertain to be.

 

This used to happen alot years back just to avoid the import 25 year rule but sadly this seems to have grown into a theft for sale business. I would be gutted to see this video if this was my stolen car!

They certainly sent a strong message with pulling it to bits!!

 

As an enthusiast I dont really have an issue with the buyer just trying to get his/her car into the US without all the red tape but in this day and age I think you would have to be stupid to try and outsmart the US docks.

 

Noticed they said this was part of an operation and had been watching for some time, This leads me to believe this was a company or individual over here thats been doing this for some time on a regular basis?

 

Just a quick look on ebay over there and straight away I have found an already imported car thats not what it pertains to be. Although the seller is almost open with the fact its a ringer??

 

http://www.ebay.com/...=US_Cars_Trucks

 

 

Personally I think we should stop sending our minis overseas in the first place. Not enough to go around as it is and the prices are still rising due to demand

[Cooperman]

Ther4e is some cross-over here between the USA Customs crushing an illegally imported car which has been made to look older than it is, and stolen cars.

There is little to connect those two situations.

Cars are stolen for profit. Either this profit comes from stripping the cars down and selling the parts, or from 'ringing' them into different vehicles for a variety of reasons. In this country the use of V5's from pre-'74 cars is done to avoid road tax. For export to the USA, but probably no-where else, the 25-year rule is the reason.

I know that if I had stolen a classic car and changed its identity into an older and one I would not sell it into the USA, but rather to another country which did not have a 25-year rule. Whether stolen or simply age-altered, sending to the USA is now not going to seem as attractive and that is what this very public crushing will have achieved.

[Archived1]

 Whether stolen or simply age-altered, sending to the USA is now not going to seem as attractive and that is what this very public crushing will have achieved.

 

Agreed