I have an '86 defender, currently sitting in the middle east, if I sell it there, i would loose a lot of money, so I was thinking about importing it here, and selling it in the US of A. Problem is, prices on ebay and the likes fluctuate a lot, and I have no idea how much to ask for it, or even if it would be worth bringing over. I posted it on ebay, got a lot of attention, views and watches, but it seems that people are hesitant to contact me because the car isnt in the country, which is completely understandable.

So, whats your opinion on this?

 

The recent drama with the us government and defender imports has folks spooked.
If your defender is stock, then you can import it fairly easily.

The current way that import laws are being interpreted is that a non original engine, replacement chassis, upgraded doors (new door handles), non ribbed roof etc are all indicators of potential vin fraud and so will slow things down or potentially result in the truck being deported or crushed.

You didn't mention if it's a 90 or 110 but my recommendation is to have it imported here to the USA. Get it registered, then decide if you want to sell it or not. I recently brought in a 109 County. Total cost was about $5K including transport and taxes etc
Prices fluctuate because some of the trucks coming in, though original, need a lot of work to get them to be every day usable in the USA.

Check on defendersource.com Uncle Doug on that forum has a company called dividing creek that can handle logistics and import for you.

Defendersource also has a classifieds section which will give you a good indicator of what enthusiasts are paying for vehicles in similar condition and specification to yours.

 

What do you mean "a lot of work to get them to be every day usable in the USA"?
The truck is all stock, fully running, and needs nothing....are you referring to emissions and such? because i thought i wouldnt need to worry about that

The only reason for me to import it would be to sell it, so unless i know how much I can sell it for in the US, then i would plan accordingly.

Thanks for the forum tips, definitely going to check it out!

 

Prices fluctuate based off of desirability of the trim of the car and its condition.

A low mileage LHD 5 door 110 in County station wagon trim would probably command a price on the higher side if it's rust free, whereas a RHD 90 is probably on the lower side of the pricing spectrum.

"every day usable" means that early land rovers weren't designed for driving on modern roads. My '83 109 has drum brakes, no power steering, very low gearing and originally had an engine capable of getting it to a reported top speed of 60ish mph.

A NAS spec 90 on the other hand will cruise at 75mph with its v8 and has disk brakes.
Defendersource has a massive thread on what's legal to import and the classifieds
Section will give you some indicators on what yours is worth.

As far as what is pay for an early 90. Probably between 10-14k depending on OE spec engine, trim and rust free condition of the truck. (Assuming rhd)

A LHD 110 is harder to ballpark. I've seen 3 door 110's for as low as 15k and nice restored ones for stupid money. There's a beautiful pair of rhd 110 county's in sand glow for sale at around 30k each that my be good guide for you.