1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

BT Tech Stiffening plate

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by BethlehemPrius, Feb 4, 2007.

  1. Presto

    Presto Has his homepage set to PC

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2005
    1,326
    24
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    I remember that post. It was because the brace was touching the cat and causing an annoying rattling noise. The fix for this is the wrap vs hammering the the cat, which I want to avoid.
     
  2. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2007
    6,050
    205
    0
    Location:
    S.F. Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Presto @ Aug 22 2007, 09:34 AM) [snapback]500323[/snapback]</div>
    Okay. So, it would appear that there is the slightest clearance problem, which should in fact be able to be solved with a header wrap of some sort. Are you still looking for a source for header wrap? If so, check out http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productde...s.asp?RecId=393 Please post back with your experience once the floor brace is installed.
     
  3. BT Tech

    BT Tech New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2005
    885
    2
    0
    Location:
    South Florida
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    I am happy to see that you received your BT Tech plate today from accross the "pond"... It is strange that certain countries that we ship to do not charge any duties and other countries do.

    Obviously this is outside our control as to how individual countries tax incoming packages from the United States.

    Please let us know your impressions once you have a chance to install and put some miles on it.


    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(forwardswing @ Aug 22 2007, 05:45 AM) [snapback]500174[/snapback]</div>
     
  4. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2007
    10,664
    567
    0
    Location:
    Adelaide South Australia
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    When sending to Australia if you email the invoice and send the plate as a gift. Send fitting instructions by email and charge for the instructions not the plate. No duty on gifts and we are all friends aren't we?
     
  5. BT Tech

    BT Tech New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2005
    885
    2
    0
    Location:
    South Florida
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    We have sent quite a few BT Tech plates "down under" and have not heard of any unusual taxes being charged. This information is great to know though and might help with other countries that like to charge excessive amounts for imports to their respective countries.




    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Aug 22 2007, 10:32 PM) [snapback]500759[/snapback]</div>
     
  6. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2007
    6,050
    205
    0
    Location:
    S.F. Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Aug 22 2007, 07:32 PM) [snapback]500759[/snapback]</div>
    If I recall, a gift must be a personal address, not a company address. Also, if the "gift" is addressed by hand, its credibility as a true "gift" increases. Just a thought for those in the gift giving mode.
     
  7. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2007
    10,664
    567
    0
    Location:
    Adelaide South Australia
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Just use plain wrap and yes, hand address but be accurate because you would hate the stuff to go missing. When sending into Australia there is a sticker that must be filled in, just tick the box marked "gift".

    Loads of generous people in this world, gift away.
     
  8. forwardswing

    forwardswing New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2007
    23
    0
    0
    Hi everyone who has replied to my post regarding the taxes on the import.
    Brian had sent the box by USPS on 8th August - which is the same as our Royal Mail in the UK.
    The charge was $35 and the box was hand written and weighed in at 3lb, total value insured $100 with sdr value at $68.60 and classified as a gift.
    Brian supplied a tracking number, and I tracked the whole shipment from the US to the UK.
    Things were going well until the goods reached UK Customs when the tracking stopped, and the whole thing showed 'held in customs'.
    As I was going away on holiday on 16th August, Brian had tried to send it on a guaranteed shipment time - but hey these Customs officials are doing a great job - right???
    Well nothing was delivered on 16th August and on my return on 21st I found a letter from Royal Mail stating the goods were being held by them, until I paid them a bill for £25.08 or $49.00.
    This was for a VAT duty of £11.58 and a handling fee of £13.50 - rip off or what!!!
    How can they charge a handling fee when the sender has already prepaid. In other words they take a cut regardless and unless you pay no goods.
    I have recently had two deliveries from Florida on different days sent via UPS with the same weight as Brians package charged at $25 with a sdr value of $50 arrived on 48 hours, classed as a gift, and it was tracked to perfection and delivered with no duty added.
    So the moral of the story is - DON'T USE THE MAIL - USE UPS!!
    But my question is - Is this still the most expensive BT Tech Plate in the World??
     
  9. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2007
    10,664
    567
    0
    Location:
    Adelaide South Australia
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I have a friend in Burnley, I send quite a bit of stuff over to Burnley from Australia and never once has a package been opened and I always use regular post. Almost everything she sends to me is opened by Australian customs and quarantine service.
     
  10. forwardswing

    forwardswing New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2007
    23
    0
    0
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Aug 23 2007, 08:26 AM) [snapback]500887[/snapback]</div>

    Not sure if mine was opened by Customs but it was in quite a state.
     
  11. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2007
    10,664
    567
    0
    Location:
    Adelaide South Australia
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    No extra duty either.
     
  12. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2007
    6,050
    205
    0
    Location:
    S.F. Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(forwardswing @ Aug 23 2007, 12:43 AM) [snapback]500874[/snapback]</div>
    How was the VAT calculated? On declared value? Or???? Basically there was some basis for the calculation... if the plate was truly a "gift", it should have been shipped with a no commercial value (or something like $35.00 USD).
     
  13. forwardswing

    forwardswing New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2007
    23
    0
    0
     
  14. Presto

    Presto Has his homepage set to PC

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2005
    1,326
    24
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    I find UPS is usually the big rip-off with their brokerage fees. Not sure if that's any different shipping overseas, but shipping stuff to Canada is usually insanity. Brokerage fees usually end up being 15-20% of the purchase cost. Then there's taxes and maybe duty on top.
     
  15. forwardswing

    forwardswing New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2007
    23
    0
    0
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Presto @ Aug 23 2007, 02:31 PM) [snapback]500977[/snapback]</div>
    May be different in Canada, but I have had plenty of item delivered by UPS and never encountered any extras here in the UK. Guess you have to experience it to make a comment.
    Thanks anyway
     
  16. BT Tech

    BT Tech New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2005
    885
    2
    0
    Location:
    South Florida
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Just for the fun of it, I ran your address through our UPS Worldship program. This is the program on our system where we ship everything from. Entering your information and with no insurance, our shipping cost to you via UPS Worldwide SAVER costs 83.51 and this is without any kind of insurance on the package.

    When you mentioned to me that you have things shipped from Florida in 2 days for around 20 dollars, It costs us more than that to ship 2 day to anywhere else in the states let alone overseas!! My guess is that the company you are dealing with that offers you such low shipping is being subsidized some how because no one here in the states can ship something to England via UPS for 20.00.
    Anyone that deals with UPS on a daily basis can vouch for that..

    Let's go one step further, now that the package has arrived in England via UPS, ther is still customs and duty to deal with. I believe UPS does their own brokerage in the UK but the taxes/duty must still be collected.

    Please keep in mind that we are soley the manufacturer and are not a shipping company!! In other words we utilize their services to get our product to you in the most effecient and cost effective manner. Any taxes or duties that are levied by the government of where our product is shipped is outside of our control.




    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(forwardswing @ Aug 23 2007, 03:43 AM) [snapback]500874[/snapback]</div>

    We ship products to Canada all the time. Since our product is made in the USA, I believe that entitles our product to not be taxed. If we were shipping an item made from a different country, then that item would be subject to all kinds of fees. This has been my experience and YMMV. :)



    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Presto @ Aug 23 2007, 10:31 AM) [snapback]500977[/snapback]</div>
     
  17. forwardswing

    forwardswing New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2007
    23
    0
    0
    Hi Brian,
    Its very strange to see figures quoted like this - I'm not getting at you Brian, I appreciate what you did for me, as the Prius Shop would not ship any item overseas, perhaps this is the reason.
    Its the rip off system that we have to put up with when we import goods of quality and have to lie about its true value.
    I will send copies to you of the order and the UPS details to prove this fact - would appreciate your comments.
    I can assure you that both items were from the same Company, same item and both were tracked to me in two days, all I can say is somebody must have made a big mistake.
    Regardless it is here now and fitted - will report back after a weekends drive.
    Thanks again
     
  18. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2007
    6,050
    205
    0
    Location:
    S.F. Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Presto @ Aug 23 2007, 07:31 AM) [snapback]500977[/snapback]</div>
    Are you saying that the taxes/duty are charged on the combined total of actual cost the good(s) plus shipping and brokerage fees?
     
  19. Presto

    Presto Has his homepage set to PC

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2005
    1,326
    24
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Taxes/duty are on the goods + shipping. Brokerage fees are on top, but i'm not sure how the rate is calculated. It just seems like a large arbitrary amount. I can avoid brokerage fees by shipping through USPS or if I have to use UPS, I'll use the express shipping.
     
  20. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2007
    6,050
    205
    0
    Location:
    S.F. Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Presto @ Aug 23 2007, 11:48 AM) [snapback]501131[/snapback]</div>
    Why would shipping impact the value of the goods? Shipping should be independent of the value of the goods. That is penalizing (via higher taxes) someone who wants expedited shipping vs. someone who wants a slower shipping method. Oh well, whatever....

    Oh, and we are at the magical number of 900 posts. On our way to 1,000!