Ron K 7 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 I'm looking to import a set of coilovers from USA (GC maybe) or just buy from local. GC won't do international shipping so I'll need to use a freight forwarding service. I do realize I'll probably be hit with duties but that's better than undervaluing it and not getting compensated in case of loss/damage. I did a quick search and one of the recommendations was to use kiwishipping - and their shipping calculator tells me it'd cost around $230 mark. Youshop is slightly dearer and has weird limits - they won't ship things over 2500NZD in value and maximum cover they provide is 1500NZD, which is pretty crap. Any other companies to recommend and estimates? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
my_e36 43 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 Shipito.com is what I use. Done a cat back exhaust last year with minimal problem. Took longer held in customs here while duty and tax is processed than the actual shipping. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polley 916 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) Would not recommend kiwi shipping. Have had no end of trouble with them, gearbox still sitting in their US depot 3 months after it turned up there, multi phone calls, emails, nothing ever gets followed up. Have used shipito and they were pretty good. Edited August 3, 2015 by polley 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
e30ftw 394 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 I bought GCs years ago and they did international shipping. Wonder what happened. I have used Kiwishipping a few times for wheels, shocks etc. If you choose Sea freight, it takes roughly a month to get here. They will sort customs clearance for you however once they arrive so its very easy and you just collect from the nearest Mainfreight depot to you that you choose to send it to. Just be prepared to pay all the extras, Duty, GST, Customs clearance fee and the actual shipping. Sea Freight is much cheaper too, if you can hold out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
e30ftw 394 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 Would not recommend kiwi shipping. Have had no end of trouble with them, gearbox still sitting in their US depot 3 months after it turned up there, multi phone calls, emails, nothing ever gets followed up. Have used shipito and they were pretty good. Hope they haven't turned to sh*t, just sent some stuff there Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron K 7 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 Hmm I read their website again - GC does still do international shipping, just gotto be organised by email. Will email them to see what htey say. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polley 916 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 Hope they haven't turned to sh*t, just sent some stuff there I was bringing two gearboxes in, first one turned up before the other and they shipped it immediately without me asking to. I was going to get them both shipped at the same time to save on costs, now I have to pay 2 x import charges, 2 x shipping fees etc. The second one has been sitting there for 3 months, cannot get hold of anyone useful at all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nobimmer 694 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 NZ dollar is pretty sh*t at the moment, have you tried sourcing locally? I got all my stuff off GC about four years ago, and I think I got in at a good time dollar wise. It is good quality gear but to be honest I could have sourced the same locally for the same price if I had done a bit of hunting. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron K 7 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) I got a quote from Autoquip - cheaper than what it'd cost me if I sourced it myself. They have to order from overseas as well so I'd be hit with bad exchange rate anyways. And I could be wrong but I don't see the exchange rate recovering in the foreseeable future. Just contemplating the GC kit as it comes with the camber plates whereas kw doesn't.. I couldn't find any other local suppliers - are there any good ones? Edited August 3, 2015 by Ron K Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1870 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 Don't have anything nice to say about my kiwishipping experience except for the fact that my clutch and flywheel arrived undamaged, but then again it would be difficult to damage a 20+ kg flywheel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sweetm3 180 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) Well, that's interesting Autoquip giving a quote to match an over seas price good on them. Definitely wasn't the case when I was looking. Just make sure you're comparing apples with apples GC rear shocks adjust from inside the boot, but the ones quoted from here you had to jack up the car disconnect the shock and wind to adjust. So I went GC and no complaints here Good luck Edited August 3, 2015 by sweetm3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boowhup 26 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 If you can wait 4-5 weeks I'm relocation to Arizona and have been asked to forward ship for some other people (Bike stuff). Also if you don;t mind a random stranger handling your shipments. Would extend this service to anyone else that wants it, would be at or near cost. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RvT 9 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 Have used Kiwishipping for about 5 years and almost have something coming over every month from machinery to printer toners to bikes to car tires. After 50+ trades they have delivered 100%. I enter everything on line incl tracking numbers and expected arrival dates. They photograph the goods and send when I request. I had a piece of machinery arrive there and they sent it back to the owner as the crate was damaged on arrival to kiwishipping and oil was evident. Turned out the carrier had dropped it so the original company repaired it perfectly and resent to kiwishipping. Again after 50 + consigments, I have had zero issues ... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4015 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 Kiwi Shipping initially failed me but recovered 100% by sending the goods air-freight for free... it was a monumental cock-up on their part but only cost me time and frustration. They shouldn't have stuffed up but credit where credit is due, they properly fixed it. And now I have the email address of their Operations Manager in Cali. I'll probably use them again because they do make it easy and I got photo's and tracking information along the way. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polley 916 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 Kiwi Shipping initially failed me but recovered 100% by sending the goods air-freight for free... it was a monumental cock-up on their part but only cost me time and frustration. They shouldn't have stuffed up but credit where credit is due, they properly fixed it. And now I have the email address of their Operations Manager in Cali. I'll probably use them again because they do make it easy and I got photo's and tracking information along the way. Ah yeah, who did you have to rark up to get that to happen? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4015 Report post Posted August 3, 2015 Ah yeah, who did you have to rark up to get that to happen? As it happened this all collapsed between Christmas and New Year so for days I couldn't got hold of anyone (and my goods were being returned to Amazon!). When the NZ office opened I eventually got hold of them who eventually got hold of California but not a lot happened. When the Cali Op's Manager got back from holiday (the following Monday) he proactivly reached out to me with the "we'll do it fro free" offer which I was satisfied with. As I say, shouldn't have happened but being willing to fix the mistake and go beyond made it all okay for me in the end. As it turns out I also got a 100% refund from Amazon even though they were not at fault... so I landed my suspension in two weeks and all it cost me was GST on the air freight (invoice for the goods from Amazon was $0). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hybrid 1039 Report post Posted August 4, 2015 NZ dollar is pretty sh*t at the moment, have you tried sourcing locally? Yeah kind of wish the fonterra lobby group would stop messing with the official cash rate. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RvT 9 Report post Posted August 5, 2015 I was interested in the comments about myus.com and shipito as i have been using Youshop for smaller parcels to date and hadn't shopped around .... So I did a comparison on a parcel that is currently in transit with Youshop. Using their calculators on both websites .... Box is 12kg. 37cm x 31cm x 27cm so about 1/2 the size of a banana box. The Results ... Shipito - $ 172.55 (not sure what currency) MyUS.com - $US 177.88 Youshop - $NZ 126.50 - actual price I have paid It seems Youshop are offering the best rate obviously but others may chime in ... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bandit 187 Report post Posted August 8, 2015 Plus 1 for youshop.About the only thing NZ Post is getting right. Actually that's a bit cruel, nothing wrong with KiwiBank or their Kiwisaver. Its just the POST side of things! Consistent reliable service at reasonable cost. And the benefit of having a US or European address means you can receive your new BMW (or any other Euro brand) parts at a very reasonable cost, and then on- ship to NZ. Be prepared to pay GST on purchases over $400. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jordan23 16 Report post Posted August 9, 2015 I have used turner Motorsport for buying shocks and they ship to NZ. Quick shipping and good service. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
