Buying parts from the USA

[V8Monaro]

Hi everyone,

After much patience and spending I have got my Monaro 99% right now and I am very pleased!

I have a bit of a modding bug at the moment and am after a CAI amongst some other bits. After doing a fair bit of homework it would appear the US has the choice and availability of parts that I wish we had over here. I have also found out that most of the smaller tuner websites are unwilling to ship to the UK and the ones that are want silly money to do so.

Does anyone have any tips on how I can get parts from the US without it costing me double what the item costs just to transport it?

I have found some of these parcel forwarding servicing based in the USA, MYUS.com, reship.co.uk etc...

Has anyone used these before and any feedback on the process? Are there any other options I don't know about? Am I missing a trick somewhere?

Any advice would be fantastic.

Karl

[SturdyHSV]

I'm sure somebody on here has a MyUS account. I think it is only worthwhile if you're getting lots of stuff though, else it's not great value?

I got my over the radiator CAI from WestCoastSpeed, it's the one that the ls1gto forum guy SvedeSpeed made. They were happy to ship over here. There's a bit of a wait on build times sometimes though.

[V8Monaro]

Thanks for the reply, for cost and simplicity reasons I was thinking about a regular CAI, the OTRCAI seem abit overkill considering the need to retune and loose the maf etc.

I was thinking about one of these as they look pretty cool and don't cost the earth, but shipping from a website directly is $180!

http://www.coldairinductions.com/store/cold-air-intakes/pontiac/gto/v8-6-0l/2005?___SID=U



Anyone else had one of these that can comment?

Karl

Edited by V8Monaro on Monday 25th August 21:15

[V8Monaro]

Thanks for the reply, for cost and simplicity reasons I was thinking about a regular CAI, the OTRCAI seem abit overkill considering the need to retune and loose the maf etc.

I was thinking about one of these as they look pretty cool and don't cost the earth, but shipping from a website directly is $180!

http://www.coldairinductions.com/store/cold-air-intakes/pontiac/gto/v8-6-0l/2005?___SID=U



Anyone else had one of these that can comment?

Karl

Edited by V8Monaro on Monday 25th August 21:18

[stevieturbo]

If the postage quote seems high, give them a call.

online postage calculators often come up with crazy numbers

And different retailers have different deals with shippers. Some better than others.

I always try and avoid what appears to be the cheaper USPS services. They're woefully slow and Parcel Force charges at this end are ridiculous, especially if it's a cheap item.

IMO FedEx is worth paying for unless the quote is just silly.

[Z0m81e]

I got my VCM intake from the JHP US website recently although it was shipped from aus. To give you some idea the shipping was 40AUD which was about £23 plus £67 VAT/charges from DHL. It was shipped next available working day which meant they sent it from Melbourne on Friday it arrived in town here on the Monday I paid the fees and they delivered it Tuesday. Even with the shipping and fees it was still probably over £100 cheaper than buying it in this country. I think I also spoke to rotofab who were happy to ship to this country as well. I don't know if this helps you as this was all for a VXR8 but thought it might be useful to see a real world example of shipping costs.

Paul

[SturdyHSV]

V8Monaro said:

Thanks for the reply, for cost and simplicity reasons I was thinking about a regular CAI, the OTRCAI seem abit overkill considering the need to retune and loose the maf etc.

Just as a heads up, the svedespeed doesn't need to drop the MAF, and a retune isn't required

[MyM8V8]

SturdyHSV said:

Just as a heads up, the svedespeed doesn't need to drop the MAF, and a retune isn't required

But it would be better if you did.

Are these available yet. Couldn't even get an answer from them at one stage.

Edited by MyM8V8 on Wednesday 6th August 13:05

[Lil'RedGTO]

I've used Summit Racing in the past, although just for a Goodyear Gatorback a/c belt to try and finally eradicate that pesky belt squeal. What is good about Summit Racing is that when you add something to your cart you can estimate shipping costs to the UK. With one of their couriers, i-parcel I think, you can even pre-pay duty and avoid any nasty surprises.

[V8Monaro]

I went ahead and ordered one of the cold air inductions kits in the picture. Has anyone ever made a cold air feed from the lower grill themselves? would you say this would be worth doing or shall I just fit the kit and leave it alone?

[ARAF]

MyM8V8 said:

SturdyHSV said:

Just as a heads up, the svedespeed doesn't need to drop the MAF, and a retune isn't required

But it would be better if you did.

Really? The bean counters at the car companies would not have fitted one of they didn't have to. From what I understand, it's an extra level of security, and if you can get the flow needed through a MAF, why do without?

[kaw]

I ordered something from usa 3 weeks ago still not got them ,tracking says they have been in uk customs for a week now

[kaw]

I ordered something from usa 3 weeks ago still not got them ,tracking says they have been in uk customs for a week now

[KMud]

kaw said:

I ordered something from usa 3 weeks ago still not got them ,tracking says they have been in uk customs for a week now

In my experience, it's the US sorting office where things get stuck for weeks, the UK side is usually very efficient (I assume they want their exorbitant handling charge!).

[TonyTwoTribes]

Brought a fair bit from the USA for my Harleys, usually they will do a deal to help you save on the really high import duties which is based on the sale value they put on the invoice. If they won't I shop around until I find someone that will.

[kaw]

KMud said:

In my experience, it's the US sorting office where things get stuck for weeks, the UK side is usually very efficient (I assume they want their exorbitant handling charge!).

Not heard a thing from them ,dont even know what customs depot they are at

[stevieturbo]

kaw said:

I ordered something from usa 3 weeks ago still not got them ,tracking says they have been in uk customs for a week now

If sent by USPS/Parcel Force...no surprise.

My thoughts about them being useless arent any better after deciding to post stuff via Parcel Monkey who use Parcel Force to the USA last week.

Despite very thorough packaging, it still arrived damaged !!

Although it seems like the scumbag aholes at US customs may well be to blame as according to tracking it was held there for a few days.