Automotive Vloggers (Vol. 5)

[wpa1975]

WarrenB said:

Motoring12345 said:

Honestly, I don't think Mat is that stupid plus he has a network of other car YouTubers to point all the obvious to him.

Could he have bought the parts from the UK through Freddy using a US bank account and paid the relevant US taxes and import fees that way?

All he needed to do was import the parts from the UK to the States through the proper channels not smuggle them through customs.

If they were shipped with a courier to the States he would have paid duty etc.

[SydneyBridge]

I am sure he got asked tons of questions and had them x-rayed etc.
Really do not think he would have been allowed to bring them in if there was any issue

[thegreenhell]

Duty is paid at point of entry not point of sale, so who/how it was paid for in the UK is irrelevant.

I suppose he could argue that the parts are exempt if he's intending to export the finished vehicle, as they will only be in the USA temporarily and he'll be taking them with him eventually.

[SydneyBridge]

He has said the car will be staying in the USA

[614-HSO]

Interesting chat with Andy Wallace, I know a lot here don't like Jodie, but this is about 99% Andy talking and 1% Jodie asking questions.

[InformationSuperHighway]

SydneyBridge said:

I am sure he got asked tons of questions and had them x-rayed etc.
Really do not think he would have been allowed to bring them in if there was any issue

I thought this, surely someone asked him those questions at the airport during the customs process. The border guys will know what is in those boxes and either were satisfied with Mat's answers or not bothered at all.

The fact it's on full display to millions of people means I do wonder if there is any future come back.

But then... lets look at this form:

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/doc...

This is what you fill in when entering the US.

I don't see a place where he would need to declare the car parts.

The tricky one is 'Are you here for business'.. that is the grey area. I feel like the visa situation is probably more tricky than the parts.

[pquinn]

InformationSuperHighway said:

I don't see a place where he would need to declare the car parts.

The tricky one is 'Are you here for business'.. that is the grey area. I feel like the visa situation is probably more tricky than the parts.

The commercial merchandise bit probably covers it, under the 'not considered personal effects' catch all. In any case a visitor would have to declare anything that isn't going home again.

It's not like that form is exhaustive anyway, there's all sorts you might need to declare that it doesn't explicitly mention.

[Doofus]

pquinn said:

InformationSuperHighway said:

I don't see a place where he would need to declare the car parts.

The tricky one is 'Are you here for business'.. that is the grey area. I feel like the visa situation is probably more tricky than the parts.

The commercial merchandise bit probably covers it, under the 'not considered personal effects' catch all. In any case a visitor would have to declare anything that isn't going home again.

It's not like that form is exhaustive anyway, there's all sorts you might need to declare that it doesn't explicitly mention.

How do second home owners deal with taking stuff to the US that they don't intend to being back to the UK? That's not 'commercial merchandise'.

Mat owns a car in Florida. He's bringing parts over from the UK to repair his car. There may or may not be a tax issue when he sells the car, but at this point, surely it's just personal effects?

[WestyCarl]

I suspect it's highly unlikely he'll get done, however if he does they'll be a video in it will 1m+ views which will more than pay the tax.

[Doofus]

Vloggers tend to drop off the radar when their marriage comes unstuck. First Tavarish, then Hoovie. I hope all's well at Colin Furze's house...

[The Moose]

Doofus said:

How do second home owners deal with taking stuff to the US that they don't intend to being back to the UK? That's not 'commercial merchandise'.

When I moved to the US, I just shipped it with FedEx as 'personal effects' for which I wasn't charged duty.

[Doofus]

The Moose said:

Doofus said:

How do second home owners deal with taking stuff to the US that they don't intend to being back to the UK? That's not 'commercial merchandise'.

When I moved to the US, I just shipped it with FedEx as 'personal effects' for which I wasn't charged duty.

Kind of my point. Mat's not repairing somebody else's car; he's fixing his own car.

[InformationSuperHighway]

YouTube suggested Chris Slix to me just now.

Very much the Mat Armstrong model and surprising well shot, edited and executed.

I’ve just started the F-Type SVR rebuild and it’s very enjoyable. Fans of Mat will like this guy:

https://youtube.com/@Chris_Slix

[wpa1975]

InformationSuperHighway said:

YouTube suggested Chris Slix to me just now.

Very much the Mat Armstrong model and surprising well shot, edited and executed.

I’ve just started the F-Type SVR rebuild and it’s very enjoyable. Fans of Mat will like this guy:

https://youtube.com/@Chris_Slix

He is friends with Mat and is often in his videos, he is good to watch.

[anonymous-user]

wpa1975 said:

InformationSuperHighway said:

YouTube suggested Chris Slix to me just now.

Very much the Mat Armstrong model and surprising well shot, edited and executed.

I’ve just started the F-Type SVR rebuild and it’s very enjoyable. Fans of Mat will like this guy:

https://youtube.com/@Chris_Slix

He is friends with Mat and is often in his videos, he is good to watch.

Agreed, I have been watching his videos as well. He comes across as a calmer, with more attention to detail version of Mat.

I like the fact he will do things such as painting new parts that are not even going to be seen just because he likes to know it has been done properly.

[LARK F1 GTR]

The Moose said:

Doofus said:

How do second home owners deal with taking stuff to the US that they don't intend to being back to the UK? That's not 'commercial merchandise'.

When I moved to the US, I just shipped it with FedEx as 'personal effects' for which I wasn't charged duty.

I don't think the US charges import duties anyway, unless it's over a certain amount (I believe the amount is very high)

[LARK F1 GTR]

InformationSuperHighway said:

YouTube suggested Chris Slix to me just now.

Very much the Mat Armstrong model and surprising well shot, edited and executed.

I’ve just started the F-Type SVR rebuild and it’s very enjoyable. Fans of Mat will like this guy:

https://youtube.com/@Chris_Slix

I like him too, he just gets on with things and explains as he goes (much like Mat does, yeah I know they're best mates) no false enjoyment & dramas in his content that I've seen.

[ThomW]

InformationSuperHighway said:

YouTube suggested Chris Slix to me just now.

Very much the Mat Armstrong model and surprising well shot, edited and executed.

I’ve just started the F-Type SVR rebuild and it’s very enjoyable. Fans of Mat will like this guy:

https://youtube.com/@Chris_Slix

His face and voice doesn't make me want to throw my phone into a fire, so he's definitely better than Armstrong.

[ro250]

LARK F1 GTR said:

The Moose said:

Doofus said:

How do second home owners deal with taking stuff to the US that they don't intend to being back to the UK? That's not 'commercial merchandise'.

When I moved to the US, I just shipped it with FedEx as 'personal effects' for which I wasn't charged duty.

I don't think the US charges import duties anyway, unless it's over a certain amount (I believe the amount is very high)

Pretty sure that big box would have been scanned by customs so it's not like he sneaked a 5ft box into America!

[ro250]

I know it's frowned upon to talk about where Youtubers get their money but watching Saving Salvage, he's a smallish Youtuber who transports cars as a 'proper' job. He's got various projects on the go, including a TVR, M2 and GT4, he owns an R8 and he's just taken delivery of a brand new £62k RS3 which even on PCP would be a chunky monthly.

Surely 128k subscribers and average views of 90k doesn't pay that well??