Shipping heavy car parts

[Jay 535i]

I may have located the parts I need for my manual tranny swap. Those parts are the transmission, diff, pedal assembly and all the other miscellaneous parts.

What's the most sensible way to ship this stuff from Califonia to Toronto?

Approximately what is all this going to weigh? The tranny's the 5-speed unit from the 535.

Thanks.

[HDhandyman]

I only know that it costs $160 American to ship all that stuff from New York to California via UPS. Don't even know if UPS goes to Canada, but if you guys do have them, I'd call because they are the cheapest way to ship large/ heavy packages. BTW, that's minus the Canadian (up) charge.

[ajt3nc]

I have used Greyhound to ship large packages very reasonably. A rover seat made it from NC to CA in 3 days.

[Jay 535i]

I only know that it costs $160 American to ship all that stuff from New York to California via UPS. Don't even know if UPS goes to Canada, but if you guys do have them, I'd call because they are the cheapest way to ship large/ heavy packages. BTW, that's minus the Canadian (up) charge.

Thanks. That's a very reasonable rate. UPS does ship to Canada. I'll call 'em.

Anyone know roughly what that transmission weighs?

Thanks! :)

[Rigmaster]

Rough estimate for tranny only is ~75 lbs.

Ask around a bit before you use UPS or Fedex from US to Canada. I've heard lots of stories where the customs duty + brokerage fees almost double the cost of shipping. And, they hit you with those fees AFTER the parts are delivered- but you're obligated to pay them.

I'm sure some of our Canuck posters can shed some more light on this.

I have also used Greyhound a couple of times to ship large items within USA- it was very reasonable, though the recipient has to pickup the items from the bus station.

You might want to check into a truck shipment- just have them strap everything onto a pallet and off it goes. I did this once with an E30 engine + diff to Canada, but the recipient made all the arrangements so I don't know about cost.

Bret.

[Jay 535i]

Rough estimate for tranny only is ~75 lbs.

Ask around a bit before you use UPS or Fedex from US to Canada. I've heard lots of stories where the customs duty + brokerage fees almost double the cost of shipping. And, they hit you with those fees AFTER the parts are delivered- but you're obligated to pay them.

75 pounds only? I'd have expected more.

The parts are used, so there are no customs or brokerage fees. Duty applies only to new things. Thank you NAFTA.

Any input from people who've done this cross-border would be appreciated. :)

Thanks everyone.

[Dave M]

75 pounds only? I'd have expected more.

The parts are used, so there are no customs or brokerage fees. Duty applies only to new things. Thank you NAFTA.

Any input from people who've done this cross-border would be appreciated. :)

Thanks everyone.

Jay,

I wouldn't bank on no brokerage or duties just due to the used factor. I've had rims shipped from VA to Ontario and ended up with a small duty charge based on a deflated value posted by the sender.

My experience shipping from the US to Canada thus far is as follows:

1) Fedex has outrageous brokerage fees and will 'bust' you a month later in a nice letter. Ppppppppppp on them :(

2) UPS is very user friendly and will ship large items (read entire stock exhaust) without charging brokerage/duty/tax IF you make it very clear that the item is either a) "warranty" (thus you've already paid) or is a "gift" worth $1. I almost always go the warranty route if I have a willing shipper.

3) Trucking is the cheapest way to ship large items (at least inside Canada), but is slightly more of a hastle as you must deal with finding a good company, transporting the item to the hub, bills of lading etc. I've shipped a @175lb M50 block twice in the past while and it cost $100 within Ontario (1500km)

4) The only method you stand a chance of dodging extra fees is Canada Post / US Post. No brokerage fees. As for Duties, its a lottery. They may inspect and charge you, or they may not. Just like crossing the border yourself. "Is that dude wearing the clothes he bought in Buffalo?" "Is that package full of german parts?"

Good Luck, just don't get caught ;)

EDIT: I would also guess @75 lbs for the manual tranny. I've been lifting mine around quite a bit lately.

Dave M

[Jay 535i]

Thanks, Dave.

I wouldn't lie to customs. The real value of the parts isn't very high, so if they want to take $100 in duty or whatever I can live with that.

[Scott H]

they are cheap new but you have to wait for Germany. The hardest part is messing with the steering column.



I may have located the parts I need for my manual tranny swap. Those parts are the transmission, diff, pedal assembly and all the other miscellaneous parts.

What's the most sensible way to ship this stuff from Califonia to Toronto?

Approximately what is all this going to weigh? The tranny's the 5-speed unit from the 535.

Thanks.

[DanDombrowski]

Just out of curiosity, where did you source the parts from? I have a laundry list of parts I need, if you've found someone thorough enough to get all the parts for a tranny swap, they might have what I need.

[Qube]

I may have located the parts I need for my manual tranny swap. Those parts are the transmission, diff, pedal assembly and all the other miscellaneous parts.

What's the most sensible way to ship this stuff from Califonia to Toronto?

Approximately what is all this going to weigh? The tranny's the 5-speed unit from the 535.

Thanks.

Jay, I want to see this project of yours after the swap :)

I just had a Basslink shipped from the States. It cost me nothing, but retail was ~$200 USD. UPS dinged about $88 USD in fees and taxes (not including shipping). I shipped to a post office box under a very rarely used middle name. If they manage to find me, I'll pay their outrageous fee... maybe.

[gale]

My tranny weighed exactly 80 lbs. bare. Lately I've been using DHL ground for heavy stuff, they're much cheaper than UPS or FedEx. Don't know how they handle international/customs issues. Last time I bought something from Canada to US, anything less than $200 Cd bypassed customs.

[Kalevera]

they are cheap new but you have to wait for Germany. The hardest part is messing with the steering column.
Phst, that's easy :)

[Jay 535i]

Thanks guys.

To answer the questions:

Dan, I don't have the parts yet, but I have a few leads. For now, suffice to say the red announcement in my signature helps a lot.

Qube, you bet. Transmission shame is the only reason I haven't made a greater effort to meet you already ;)

Bruno will be doing the work, thank goodness.

80lbs sounds great. Shipping's turning out to be not as expensive as I thought. That means I still have some options...

[Qube]

Thanks guys.

To answer the questions:

Dan, I don't have the parts yet, but I have a few leads. For now, suffice to say the red announcement in my signature helps a lot.

Qube, you bet. Transmission shame is the only reason I haven't made a greater effort to meet you already ;)

Bruno will be doing the work, thank goodness.

80lbs sounds great. Shipping's turning out to be not as expensive as I thought. That means I still have some options...

Hey, if you set a firm date to meet with Bruno, let me know. I'd love to come by.

[Scott H]

I have an excuse for the little bit of hairloss on top of my head now.......it was from standing on my head in the touring doing the manual pedal/box/steering column work......

My favorite part was the headless bolt that connects the two parts together :(


Phst, that's easy :)

[Jay 535i]

Hey, if you set a firm date to meet with Bruno, let me know. I'd love to come by.

Will do.

Love the wedding countdown, BTW. You'll make a beautiful bride. :)

[HDhandyman]

Dan or somebody was asking for leads. I have had really good experience with these guys...

http://www.theeurodepot.com/

Ask for Joel, he's a very cool cat and extremely knowledgeable. This place is the Source for conversion trannys made easy. They are highly respected amoung top notch euro Indys. It cost a bit more with them, but they will ship absolutely everything nessecary, provide instructions and free tech support via email, IM, and phone, until the job is finished. They also ship via UPS and charge nothing for shipping other than true cost. In a standard conversion there are two packages shipped---you pay 150 American for the first, and they cover the cost of the second.

If you call these guys, please tell em you got the name from Don Gale's website...

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_41.htm

Cheers,

Stephen

[Jay 535i]

I've drooled over The Euro Depot's website many times. If price were no object, I would go that route. But I'm trying to save money by being a little more creative.

I can buy a whole parts car for what Euro Depot charges for a transmission (~$2200).

[Kalevera]

I've drooled over The Euro Depot's website many times. If price were no object, I would go that route. But I'm trying to save money by being a little more creative.

I can buy a whole parts car for what Euro Depot charges for a transmission (~$2200).



Huh?

ED sells the M30 5speed kit, with new soft parts, for $1995. I can't remember if that includes shipping, I haven't talked with them in a year.

Jay, if you're looking to save money, you should buy a parts car. You'd not only have everything you need on hand, but you'd also have something of value to offset the cost of buying the parts car and whatever new parts you'd need. Now, if space is an issue, maybe you could work a deal with Bruno wherein he keeps the rest of the car and that offsets some of the install cost.

These are hot items. E30 guys want them, E34 guys want them, E32 735 guys haven't figured out that they should want them. There are deals out there (Fritz's 5 speed came from a $400 undamaged '90 535), but they're hard to come by -- it took me 6 months, and I do this for a living.

Oh, and the other thing is, it makes a lot of sense to get a 265 out of a late E28 535. It's a stronger transmission. You'll need a custom driveshaft (and probably a custom shift console -- someone on the board's done this swap, I know). Beyer would do a stunning job and install replaceable joints. But E28 535s are everywhere -- heck, we have one -- so the parts are cheaper.

best, whit

[Jay 535i]

Thanks Whit. I know most of that. I am going the parts car route, but I may be doing it with a friend who doesn't live nearby. Hence the shipping questions. In any case, I just wanted to know about shipping so that I can keep my options open. Being in Canada, (re)locating a whole parts car can be tough. The manual 535 is rare enough -- rarer still in Canada.

$1995 ~ $2200, doesn't it? I mean, you can see my point. ED asks ~$2k for the transmission and parts, for which I could buy a whole parts car.

Bruno has steered me away from the E28. I'm not sure why. Probably for ease-of-installation issues.

I do hope to do a turbo kit one day. Will the Getrag 260 handle ~320rwhp?