It was a typical April day here in upstate New York, cold, wet with traces of that white stuff still hanging around. The cars were tucked away in their winter storage and this guy certainly had a strong touch of Cabin or should that be MG fever. What do we MG types do when things get this bad? Answer; pick up the nearest car magazine and browse. In this instance the magazine in question was “Enjoying MG”, the publication put out by the UK based MG Owners Club.

One of the things that I enjoy about this magazine is the pictorial display of “Cars for Sale”, on the last few pages. For one thing it’s interesting to see the difference in price between the American and the British vehicles. Example, the MGBs advertised are about 30% more expensive than the same car here. On top of that the rubber bumper version that has a low resale market this side of the pond, seems to hold its own against the more traditional chrome bumper and wire wheel version that grace the American highways. On the other hand, a pre-war or post war MGT Type which is considered a true gem at any American car show that I have ever visited, seems to have reduced market value in the country of its birth. This being the case I usually look at these vehicles first, being a MGT Type myself. A 1951 MGYA winked her front headlight at me as I glanced down the page. “Hey Big Boy take a look at me” she seemed to say. Now I’m no MG saloon driver, it’s the open road with the wind in what’s left of my hair that gives me a few jollies. (Anyway at my age there ain’t that much selection when it comes to nature’s thrills!)

The phone number told me that the owner resided somewhere in the midlands of England so with not much else to do apart from watch the rain continue, I dialled the international code and the number. In a matter of seconds the tone rang. (This always surprises me as I am old enough to remember when you first spoke to an operator and requested an overseas call. Four hours later, if you were lucky, you were connected. Now it’s as easy as talking to the guy next door and sometimes quicker)

Geoff wanted an MG Y Type Saloon badly enough to import one from the UK

Me: “I’m calling about the Y Type you have for sale”.
Answer:”Yes”
Me:”Is it still on the market?”
Answer: “Yes”
Me: “Got any photos that you could send me.”
Answer: “No but I can take a few what do you want to see?”

From then on we discussed the car and the fact that it had been in the family for over thirty years etc. Needless to say when you get two MG types talking the time flies by at about fifteen cents a minute but no matter this was serious stuff and it was my call. Despite being a true-blooded American Citizen since 1995 I still have a rather strong British accent from looking at BBC America on the box and making several trips a year to the “Old” Country. So when my new found friend suggested that I drive over and look at the car he was a touch surprised to hear that the road connection between my home and his garage was, to say the least a trifle damp! Having established that situation I continued with a promise that the photos would be returned, air-mail, and I would contact him as soon as I has studied them.

God bless the American postal service which I think is one of the best in the world. Having experienced first hand other services that lose letters before they hit the bottom of the post box and think that express service is about one calendar month give or take a few days. Within a week the photos landed on my door mat and a brief inspection soon convinced me that this was going to be another toy for my collection. Now the serious stuff starts.

Another phone call; a price agreed, deposit on its way and the adventure begins. Let me hasten to add that I have never purchased a car from the UK before so it truly was an adventure. Transferring funds across international borders can be an interesting experience none more so than in the USA. I won’t bore you with the strange conversation I had with my local bank on the wonders of international transfer except to say it would have been easier to ship gold bullion.

Eventually it worked itself out at a not so small charge for bank services. If the sale had been through a dealer I would have used a credit card as it is certainly more convenient and less demanding. This certainly applied when it came to utilizing transport services in the UK to get the car from it’s English home to my garage.

I tried several carriers via the trustworthy Fax machine and received quotes ranging from close to $3,500 for a container to around a thousand dollars, give or take a bit, for a roll-on roll-off service out of Liverpool. This included all the paper work and delivery to the docks. Insurance for the car was a further $150 and my US broker fees were estimated to be about the same so in round figures the bottom line was $1,500 for the car to arrive on US soil. Now on top of that there is the US Customs charge based on the value of the car and transport from the docks to my home, provided by my ever trusty Blazer and trailer. (In reality the US Broker fees were a little more expensive than anticipated about twice the estimate but still well worth the money). The UK brokers were excellent, arranged all the paperwork and the collection of the car from owner to departure point.

In addition they had the car steam cleaned to ensure that there would be no problems with US Agriculture over “foot and mouth”, contamination of the vehicle. Estimated time on the high seas was about ten days in reality it was fifteen as the car visited Canada and the US East coast before landing at New Jersey

The car has to be free of any additional luggage so you can’t sneak in a few cases of British beer, always a welcome item in my house. However you can, with the agreement of the transporting authority, stow a few spares. As this car had been with the family for over thirty years the collection of spare bits and bobs. not to mention a complete set of half shafts and various boxes of other important items tended to fill any available space that may exist in a 1951 MGY Saloon. The British guy at Liverpool must have been something of a car buff himself as he allowed all these goodies to go on board carefully stowed in the trunk, sorry boot and back seat. The actual fuel in the car is limited to about half a pint to get you off the dock area in the home port and on to the nearest garage. I took a spare can of gas with me when the car was collected but I did not take any jump cables. Needless to say I had no life in the battery but, thank goodness for tried and tested technology, three good swings on the starter handle did the trick but put my left hand out of action for a few days.

I obtained my US Broker through the UK people and strange to say, both had the same company name but were not related, a phone call sealed the deal. Twelve days later I received a fax to say that the car was expected by the weekend…when the docks are closed of course but at least it was moving in the right direction. On Thursday of the same week a second fax told me that the car was waiting for its new owner some three hundred miles away in the garden State of New Jersey. All that was required was for US customs to clear the car and I would be on my way.

Now the story thickens, a further Fax received Friday morning followed by a phone call from a rather nice young lady asking me to provide a current Vin Number for the car. Also details of the manufacturer and where they could be reached to confirm that the car did meet US environmental entry conditions, documentation showing that the car was equal to the current safety US Vehicle regulations circular 1992, and could I provide the actual name of the manufacturer as all she had was the model number which read MGY.

I counted to ten and then to paraphrase an old song of my youth, counted to ten again before responding. My immediate reaction was to hit the roof and tell this person that this car was fifty years old, the original manufacturer went out of business twenty years ago and it did not need to meet any current US entry standards. All it needed was four wheels, lights that work, a decent horn and the means to stop in a reasonable distance (note the term reasonable). But common sense prevailed, after all as I said before the object of the whole exercise was to get the car into my garage with the least amount of trouble so, don’t (if you will excuse the pun)..rock the boat now that it is in port ready to explore the highways and byways of New York State, USA!

I explained the history of the car and all the other facts that made it eligible to come into the US with, what seemed to her meager but in reality more than adequate records that she had. It turned out that she had never heard of a MG and did not know anything about antique cars, in fact this was the first vehicle that she had ever imported into the country. However, she was acquainted with the world of antiques, in fact her specialty was the import of antique furniture and other interesting ancient household items. The fact that the car was coded ANTIQUE managed to get the customs papers directed to her desk. No matter together we, to use a good old English phrase, “Muddled Through” and in a matter of a few days the car was cleared of customs ready to be picked up providing I could find the right highway to the right exit to the right dock etc. You don’t need to be an Einstein to be convinced that the easiest place to get lost is where twenty large container boats berth every day and unload a multitude of items from all over the world. However, the directions that were given me by the US Broker were adequate until I hit the line of about thirty large tractor trailers all waiting to get into my particular dock at 8 a.m. In addition I had to collect the customs papers and payment slips from my broker and was relieved to find that they were ready for my collection. In fact apart from the misunderstanding over the age and type of vehicle the service this side of the water was equal to the service in the UK. My concern was simply one small car out of thousands waiting on the docks for collection or for that matter departure. These brokers have to deal with just about every thing that can go wrong and then some that you would never dream of like delays in unloading, missing documents, wrong information on the customs form just to mention a few. At 11 am the big gates to the customs compound opened and the car was located. It looked like a small matchbox toy against the other exotic vehicles awaiting their new owners, a line of classic Jaguars, a few Italian sports, the never ending lines of new BMWs a very nice pair of Rollers and other assorted vehicles from Europe. Papers were handed over, the car was pushed about two hundred feet to get it adjacent to the trailer and then, with a few well conducted swings as previously indicated, it burst into life. I suspect it was a touch relieved to be back on solid ground even if the road system was a little strange like driving on the other side of the road!

Ten hours later my new toy was resting next to my 48 TC and the Morgan, once again stabled with cars of its birthplace and culture.

Would I do it again? The answer has to be a firm YES, but I would change a few things.

One: Pay the money and have a professional pick up the car from the docks.
Two: Know what is required both to ship and to collect. This knowledge can be easily obtained through any customs and shipping services. All you have to do is ask.
Three: Keep cool when things go wrong and they will. Remember you are not ordering a new TV from the local department store.
Four: Establish exactly what the level of customs duty and brokerage fee is for the vehicle. This makes it easier to draw a certified cheque from your bank well in advance. The British Brokers were happy to take a credit card but not the American ones. Yes I know that sounds strange but it’s true!

The UK Brokers I eventually used and found to give excellent service were: T.S. International Halesfield 19 Telford Shropshire TF74QT Phone: 01952586467

The American Brokers were: T.S. International 1418 East Linden Ave Linden. N.J. 07036 Phone: 908 620 300.

I would recommend both to anyone interested in shipping one way or the other. At the end of the day the final costs not including phone calls and stress tablets was around $1,750. If I had known more about the procedure I could have saved a few bucks.

Unless you are stinking rich and can hop on a plane at a moment’s notice, you will be buying blind, dependent on what you believe to be true from the owners description and of course photos. Remember that pictures can lie and often do. In my case the car was everything that the owner had promised so I guess I was truly lucky. However, as I don’t want to push Lady Luck too far, next time I will also pay a few dollars and have the car professionally inspected a very wise investment when you think what might await you at the docks when you turn up to collect.

If any one wants further information feel free to contact me. I may not have all the answers but I can tell you what not to do! C/R Geoff Wheatley 4327 Indianfield Road Clinton NY 13323