USA Imported MPi Mini crushed......
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5th Gear
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 640
Likes: 1
From: London, England
USA Imported MPi Mini crushed......
Quote:-
"The Mini crushed on Thursday in New Jersey had its VIN number swapped with a 1988 car in an effort to skirt the law and look like a legal import, the AP says. It's not clear when the car was seized or from whom, but NJ.com indicates it was under investigation for some time.
A few things tipped officials off, like the fact that the VIN number was for a right-hand drive car, an engine that wasn't from the 1988 model year and an airbag system that wouldn't have been present on a car of that vintage.
Though there is "no evidence that the person who planned to buy the Mini was involved in manipulating the vehicle," the buyer will not be reimbursed for the crushing.
There's a video that goes with it. I strongly advise you not to watch it."
More Here:-
http://jalopnik.com/government-*****...iol-1670312036
OVERDRIVE
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 7,037
Likes: 283
From: Melbourne, FL
Now folks know WHY we suggest being careful about re-vins...
And yes...they have gotten them BACK from some folks after delivery...
A few stories about land rover owners loosing their rides to homeland security AFTER they thought they were free and clear....
And yes...they have gotten them BACK from some folks after delivery...
A few stories about land rover owners loosing their rides to homeland security AFTER they thought they were free and clear....
OVERDRIVE
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 5,391
Likes: 576
From: earth PNW
With economic woes, Ebola, threats from terrorism, it is good to know that our shores are being protected from alien Minis. Good work government guys/gals!!!
Trending Topics
http://jalopnik.com/the-feds-just-se...u-s-1605985758
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...investigation/
Last edited by ZippyNH; Dec 12, 2014 at 05:16 PM. Reason: added link
This just infuriates me. 
If we didn't have such ridiculous vehicle importation laws, people wouldn't be VIN swapping to get the vehicles they desire on our shores. All in the name of "safety" and "protecting the consumer". 
Putting aside the fact that swapping VINs is illegal, how is this 1988 car any more dangerous than its 1980 equivalent from the perspective of consumer safety? These laws don't make much sense and our government could certainly use its resources more wisely in other areas.
If we didn't have such ridiculous vehicle importation laws, people wouldn't be VIN swapping to get the vehicles they desire on our shores. All in the name of "safety" and "protecting the consumer". Putting aside the fact that swapping VINs is illegal, how is this 1988 car any more dangerous than its 1980 equivalent from the perspective of consumer safety? These laws don't make much sense and our government could certainly use its resources more wisely in other areas.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...investigation/
Here it is....
Last edited by ZippyNH; Dec 12, 2014 at 05:16 PM.
If
The Feds Just Seized 40 Land Rovers Imported To The U.S.
Some 40 Land Rover owners across the U.S. woke up Tuesday morning to police and federal investigators knocking on their doors and demanding they hand over their trucks. Officials say it's part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the illegal importation of Land Rovers into this country, Jalopnik has learned.
But that will likely come as little consolation to the 40 owners of the Land Rover 90s, 110s and Defenders, many of whom contest what federal authorities claim about the legality of their cars.
News of the seizures first appeared on the Land Rover Defender forum Defender Source around 8 a.m. Tuesday, when one user posted to say that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security came to his home at 6:45 a.m. to seize his truck. That user was quickly joined by several others, who said their Land Rovers were confiscated by investigators who came to their homes with federal warrants.
One of them was Danny Harrington, who lives in Albany, New York. Last year he bought a 1983 Land Rover 110 through a friend in New York. He told Jalopnik that police drove around his residence looking for his truck, and then went to his parents' house 10 miles away to find it — a house where it wasn't even registered.
"They told me it was illegally imported, and the guy who imported it last year falsified the paperwork on the truck," Harrington said. The investigators came to the house with a list of VIN numbers and said his was on it, and that they were taking it with them.
Curiously, Harrington said police insisted his Land Rover was a year 2000 model. He says that his VIN number definitely goes back to a 1979 to 1984 truck, and not a newer one.
"It's clearly a 1983," he said of his very obviously older project vehicle. "It's not a show truck. It's a mess. It's a work truck."
Vincent Picard, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said authorities believe the cars were unlawfully brought into the U.S.
"ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents served court-ordered seizure warrants on approximately 40 Land Rovers in various locations around the country," he said in an email. "The seizures are being made pursuant to an ongoing criminal investigation involving the unlawful importation of the vehicles from Great Britain. The Land Rovers, which do not meet federal safety or emission standards, cannot be lawfully operated in the United States."1
That was news to Harrington, who says he bought the car legally in New York last year and has a title to prove it. "I don't even know who imported it," he said.
Some 40 Land Rover owners across the U.S. woke up Tuesday morning to police and federal investigators knocking on their doors and demanding they hand over their trucks. Officials say it's part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the illegal importation of Land Rovers into this country, Jalopnik has learned.
But that will likely come as little consolation to the 40 owners of the Land Rover 90s, 110s and Defenders, many of whom contest what federal authorities claim about the legality of their cars.
News of the seizures first appeared on the Land Rover Defender forum Defender Source around 8 a.m. Tuesday, when one user posted to say that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security came to his home at 6:45 a.m. to seize his truck. That user was quickly joined by several others, who said their Land Rovers were confiscated by investigators who came to their homes with federal warrants.
One of them was Danny Harrington, who lives in Albany, New York. Last year he bought a 1983 Land Rover 110 through a friend in New York. He told Jalopnik that police drove around his residence looking for his truck, and then went to his parents' house 10 miles away to find it — a house where it wasn't even registered.
"They told me it was illegally imported, and the guy who imported it last year falsified the paperwork on the truck," Harrington said. The investigators came to the house with a list of VIN numbers and said his was on it, and that they were taking it with them.
Curiously, Harrington said police insisted his Land Rover was a year 2000 model. He says that his VIN number definitely goes back to a 1979 to 1984 truck, and not a newer one.
"It's clearly a 1983," he said of his very obviously older project vehicle. "It's not a show truck. It's a mess. It's a work truck."
Vincent Picard, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said authorities believe the cars were unlawfully brought into the U.S.
"ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents served court-ordered seizure warrants on approximately 40 Land Rovers in various locations around the country," he said in an email. "The seizures are being made pursuant to an ongoing criminal investigation involving the unlawful importation of the vehicles from Great Britain. The Land Rovers, which do not meet federal safety or emission standards, cannot be lawfully operated in the United States."1
That was news to Harrington, who says he bought the car legally in New York last year and has a title to prove it. "I don't even know who imported it," he said.
Thread Starter
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5th Gear
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 640
Likes: 1
From: London, England
More background details on the story here
The U.S. Government Crushes a Mini – Video
http://www.thedailytoggle.com/the-u-...-a-mini-video/
Watch as feds rip apart illegally imported British car
"The classic Minis were built up until 2000. BMW Group, which now owns the Mini brand, introduced a new model to the United States in 2002.
When that new model was introduced, Don Racine, owner of Mini Mania in California, said that the desirability of the classic Minis exploded.
"The Mini stayed the same from '59 to the year 2000. The body design had changes but for somebody that wasn’t a car person, you can’t tell from one another," he said. "It’s still a Mini."
A Mini like the one ripped apart today often has a resale value in the United States of two to three times what it would have been sold for in the United Kingdom, according to Hayward. A Mini could be sold for up to $20,000 here, he said, adding that if that type of vehicle were sold for parts it could bring in up to $30,000."
http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/20...itish_car.html
The U.S. Government Crushes a Mini – Video
http://www.thedailytoggle.com/the-u-...-a-mini-video/
Watch as feds rip apart illegally imported British car
"The classic Minis were built up until 2000. BMW Group, which now owns the Mini brand, introduced a new model to the United States in 2002.
When that new model was introduced, Don Racine, owner of Mini Mania in California, said that the desirability of the classic Minis exploded.
"The Mini stayed the same from '59 to the year 2000. The body design had changes but for somebody that wasn’t a car person, you can’t tell from one another," he said. "It’s still a Mini."
A Mini like the one ripped apart today often has a resale value in the United States of two to three times what it would have been sold for in the United Kingdom, according to Hayward. A Mini could be sold for up to $20,000 here, he said, adding that if that type of vehicle were sold for parts it could bring in up to $30,000."
http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/20...itish_car.html
4th Gear
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 310
Likes: 58
From: Providence, RI
It's also environmentally irresponsible to expend the energy to crush it and landfill the non-recyclable bits. After all, some US based collector could keep this car in their possession and not drive it. Wouldn't that appease the nanny-state fascists?
2nd Gear
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 63
Likes: 1
From: Austin, TX
Why is the Department of Homeland Security in charge of snatching illegal cars? That's like sending the Bureau if Indian Affairs to deal with illegal immigrants.
Then again this is the same government that puts the IRS in charge of making sure people are forcibly paying for health insurance.
Then again this is the same government that puts the IRS in charge of making sure people are forcibly paying for health insurance.
2nd Gear
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 148
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From: Lawrenceville Georgia, zip 30044
Sent from my phone using NAMotoring
