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.