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Shipping Companies (tyres?)
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 11 11:01 am
by yabadaba
Please can anyone point me in the right direction for one of those places that you can get stuff shipped to in the US and then they ship it over here at a cheaper rate than it would have cost by FedEx or UPS etc.
I want to see whether using this shipping method will make it cheaper to buy the tyres I want from the US rather than from the one or two places that stock them over here.
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 11 11:13 am
by andyrob
ron fenton a member on here, sts imports
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 11 11:31 am
by Dart Vader
Its called groupage,
i.e. you ship your stuff to a shipping agent in the US, he then combines lots of small orders into one big order to fit in a 20ft ISO container, thats then shipped and you pay your share.
Stick with someone on here like Ron as they will have reliable contacts in the US and handlers that end who will combine the load for you.
Dont forget your slice to HM customs as stuff wont get released to you until you have paid
Dont try the whole "warranty" parts thing (you used to be able to do this), it causes more hassle than its worth
J
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 11 11:35 am
by Dart Vader
The Irony on the tyres is that some US brand tyres are made in Melksham, Wiltshire by Avon tyres (Mikey Thomson/Cooper Cobra)
The Mickey T's are then shipped to the US, you then have to re-import them.
Thats how it used to be anyway, even the Mikey T dealers over here had to do it that way.
Not sure if thats still the case but I used to supply Avon tyres factory, used to see the Mickey T's rolling off the line, tried to sort a favour out but they couldnt do it because of the above.
J
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 11 1:34 pm
by Turnip
You need to be careful with tyres, most of them are now illegal to import.
The EU banded dirty oil that is used in most US tyre compounds, there are big fines for anyone caught bringing them in.
The only company I know that has re-formulated is Hoosier, some of the others may have by now but do check
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 11 10:19 pm
by BUDGIE
Turnip wrote:You need to be careful with tyres, most of them are now illegal to import.
The EU banded dirty oil that is used in most US tyre compounds, there are big fines for anyone caught bringing them in.[/b]
The only company I know that has re-formulated is Hoosier, some of the others may have by now but do check
The man is correct !...........take note 
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 11 10:43 pm
by yabadaba
Ah...that's a bummer...any idea what I'm looking for as an indication that the tyres would be legal over here...an ISO number or something similar??
Looks like it just might be easier to buy them over here....albeit maybe a little more costly...
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 11 2:02 am
by RobTwin
Hi David, I'll be interested to see how you get on with this - we've been intending to get a set of redlines fom the states for a while (not ready for them yet tho

) so may have to rethink that
Nevermind all that tho, how's that Caddy of yours? Got any pics for us yet?

Posted: Tue Nov 29, 11 4:00 pm
by yabadaba
RobTwin wrote:Hi David, I'll be interested to see how you get on with this - we've been intending to get a set of redlines fom the states for a while (not ready for them yet tho

) so may have to rethink that
Nevermind all that tho, how's that Caddy of yours? Got any pics for us yet?

Hi Rob, may not be quite ready yet either, as I think the tyres are going to end up costing close to £1k...if I want the 'correct' ones from over here then that will certainly be the case.
As it happens the whitewalls I'm after are for the Caddy as it arrived with 1970's bias-ply's on it, all of which look remarkably unsafe, though didn't stop it going through an MOT! The bodywork is in great shape with no rust or dents to speak of, though there are more issues than I had hoped there would be with the car in general...none of them huge, just loads of them!! I'm working my way through them one by one, so hopefully by the time the spring comes around it will be ready for daily driving.
If I decide to import the tyres using someone like STS I'll definitely let you know.
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 12 8:27 am
by RobTwin
Turnip wrote:You need to be careful with tyres, most of them are now illegal to import.
The EU banded dirty oil that is used in most US tyre compounds, there are big fines for anyone caught bringing them in.
The only company I know that has re-formulated is Hoosier, some of the others may have by now but do check
Back on the sticky subject of tyres (no pun intended... well maybe a bit

), I've just been on to North Hants Tyres to ask for a quote on BFG redlines, and they said:
"All the BFG redlines are “to order” only. We ship containers in from the USA once a month, so we would order one month for arrival the month after. It would also depend on the stock held by our suppliers."
No mention of dirty oil or any other 'illegal' issues?
So if they dont have any problem bringing this particular type of tyre in, doesnt it follow that someone else should be able to import them direct from the States for themselves? (with the help of someone like Ron @ STS

)
Think I'll ask NHT if there are any limitations along these lines, see what they say...
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 12 8:39 am
by Turnip
It will be interesting to see what they say, when the law changed there was big fines for people importing them and also people found using them.

Posted: Thu Feb 09, 12 8:47 am
by RobTwin
Ok thanks Jon, I've asked if they've experienced any problems importing any tyres from the States these days, and mentioned 'something to do with what type of oil is used in the compound' to see if I can get a more specific response than the usual 'not that I know of' type of brush-off
Maybe it's just a small number of brands that they dont get involved with that are the problem, and that BFGoodrich/Coker dont fall into that category?
I hope so, then maybe Ron will be able to help out

Posted: Thu Feb 09, 12 10:46 am
by RobTwin
Just heard back from NHT...
"There are now a lot of regulations from the EEC and we have to provide these on some imports. The BFG is compliant with all current EEC regulations and we do have the PAH certificates in our files.
We have heard that the environment agency has increased inspections and are fining manufacturers/distributors who do not comply."
So, unless the person ordering/importing has to have a copy of the relevant certificate(s) themselves, it looks like you can order from the States, or at least BFGs seem to be ok

Posted: Thu Feb 09, 12 1:38 pm
by Dave81
RobTwin wrote:Just heard back from NHT...
"There are now a lot of regulations from the EEC and we have to provide these on some imports. The BFG is compliant with all current EEC regulations and we do have the PAH certificates in our files.
We have heard that the environment agency has increased inspections and are fining manufacturers/distributors who do not comply."
So, unless the person ordering/importing has to have a copy of the relevant certificate(s) themselves, it looks like you can order from the States, or at least BFGs seem to be ok

Good to know......

Posted: Thu Feb 09, 12 1:54 pm
by Turnip
RobTwin wrote:So, unless the person ordering/importing has to have a copy of the relevant certificate(s) themselves, it looks like you can order from the States, or at least BFGs seem to be ok

I would guess the importer would have to be able to produce the relevant certificates on demand.