Drivers side grab handle UPDATE!!

Just wondering if you might know... I've an M8 extruded U-type nut left over from a previous, unrelated install. I think I may also have some M8 x 40 mm bolts. Will those work just as well as 1/4 - 20?

 

Looks grey to me. When I went on junk yard tours, I was concerned too that I'd get the wrong color. Once I saw beige/tan interior trim in person the difference was obvious.

 

That's what I used. I wanted to keep everything metric and had a 8mm U type nut.

 

I was playing around a bit with different parts and it’s wild how the prices vary.

The grab handle stuff is a huge discount compared to anything I could find in the states.

I need to get around to swapping out my blower motor and am going to use the upgraded brushless Land Cruiser unit.

Best I can find here is $145
Amayama wants $186 or $195 plus $25 shipping from the UAE.

Looks like they source from Japan, Australia, and UAE

 

Wondering, when ordering through Amayama is there some sort of duty fees you have to pay on top of parts and shipping costs?

 

Mind sharing that brushless unit part number please?

 

On simple plastic auto parts there should not be anything really. Especially coming from Japan. But we shall see.
Looks like a lot of folks have had good luck on numerous forums and Reddit and no one has mentioned a duty fee surprise.

Still have not hear back on my quote approval but it has been the weekend.

87103-60481
Or
87103-60560

Snagged the info from this thread
https://www.tundras.com/threads/hvac-blower-fan-upgrade.135617/

 

Over the years I've purchased a lot direct from vendors overseas, and Canada. I've yet to get charged anything over and above the original invoice, and that was paid before my purchases were shipped. I take it that such wording on the order forms is catchall and meant for destination countries other than the U.S.

 

same here

 

This is a long answer, but giving it for folks who are interested in more detail:

Having lived outside of the US trade zone, I've dealt a lot with import fee & duty taxes on items.

Most of it has to do with what the shipper puts on the paperwork. Things like duty tax and import fee enforcement mostly falls under the CBP. When exporting items to the US, International shippers have to follow the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) coding system. Many HTS codes do not have any tariff fees or duty taxes, especially if they are small items. However, like many paperwork systems, the codes still have plenty "room for interpretation." I.E. There are many HTS codes for automotive components. Some HTS codes have taxes/fees while many do not. CBP will randomly audit incoming packages. If they open the package and find that the product, in their determination, matches the HTS code that is used...AND that HTS code does NOT have any taxes or fees...then it's cleared to its destination. However, if they audit the package and determine that the product is mislabeled with the wrong HTS codes...AND they assign a new HTS code that DOES have fees/taxes...then they are added to the paperwork & label to be collected by the final mile delivery company.

Some items get red flagged and will always be audited. Smaller items are very hit or miss because they are only randomly audited, from what I understand from some old CBP folks. Example: Your box with the grab handle will (very likely) be in a 40' shipping container with 100's, if not 1000's, of other products. Many Small container ships can carry over 6,000 40' shipping containers. Kind of mind blowing. CBP doesn't have the manpower to audit them all.

Most HTS codes dealing with plastics do not have taxes or fees.

 

Most, if not all, of the items I've ordered over the years get to me much faster than they would/could if put into a shipping container on a boat. Maybe think of cargo aircraft as similar to ocean-going shipping containers; 100s, if not 1000's, of packages in each airplane? And, they all come through one of a limited number of U.S. Customs facilities (LA, Chicago, NY). So, again, a numbers game?

I've had several packages opened by Customs; they put a note in/on, stating that they did, when sealing it back up. Still didn't incur any fees/taxes. Lucky?

I recall, over 30 years ago, sending my brother a laptop. He was living in Germany and asked me to buy him one and ship it to him. He had to go down to the nearest Customs office there and pick it up because they wanted to charge him several hundred $(USD) in duties. He talked them out of it, claiming it was his before leaving the U.S., and I had just sent it on to him. When he moved back, years later, he had more stuff than he cared to pack into luggage, so he shipped the overage to me. That laptop was in the shipment. U.S. Customs cleared it right thru.

 

True that a cargo airplane doesn't carry the same volume as a container ship. But, yes...it's still a numbers game. There are 2 things to consider:

• Planes carry less cargo than container ships. However, the number of planes landing each day far exceeds the number of ships coming in. LAX will receive many more cargo planes each day than the number of container ships arriving at the Port of Los Angeles. POLA is the busiest marine port of entry is the US.
• Sticking with the above example: Even with more planes arriving at LAX compared to POLA, the cargo volume is still lower. That also means the # of CBP personnel enforcing duty & import compliance at LAX is equally lower. So, in the end, the "package to CBP agent" is probably near equal. Where I lived, there were 3-4 CBP agents enforcing trade compliance at the airport but there were 10 or so at the marine cargo terminal. Our terminal was very small.

This mostly means 2 things:

• The shipper filed accurate HTS paperwork AND
• The HTS code they used did not have any taxes or fees associated with it. So it would not have incurred any taxes or fees to begin with. Remember, there are roughly 19,000 HTS codes and not all of them have taxes or fees associated with them. There are fewer taxable HTS codes than non-taxable. So even if your package is inspected, it doesn't always mean that it will incur any fees. It most likely pulled for a random audit to look for illegal goods. Think of it in the same vein as a random pat down at the airport.

I know that outbound is very different than inbound. Most of my experience is with inbound. For a short time, I was a purchasing manager for a ship builder in the Caribbean. We received our components and materials from the various European & Caribbean countries, but mostly from the US. For the US, what items are taxed and are not taxed can essentially change with each administration. Not intending to inject politics with that statement. Just pointing out how often it can change. Solar panels are a very good example in recent years. Technology (essentially computers or devices with circuit boards or any device requiring an advanced manufacturing process) tends to one of the most heavily taxed HTS code categories.

Also, from what I understand, even if the HTS code of an item is taxable...taxes tend to only apply to new goods. So, shipping anything used tends to avoid a lot of complications. When my wife and I moved out of the country, we bought a lot of things locally before the move that we knew would be very expensive at our destination. I bought a generator, a welder, and a bunch of other tools for my workshop. Our moving agent, that also acted as our cargo expeditor, told us to open every box. Even to take the out of the original box, if we could, before packing it up to indicate that it was "used" just to ensure it made the clearing process easier. It was strange to unpack a new item only to immediately repackage it in another box for the sake of moving, but that's the world sometimes. lol.

 

Yep, neither I nor my brother knew anything about such at the time. I got the laptop (IIRC, around $3000 and only came with MS DOS installed) unpacked it, and loaded Lotus 123, WordStar, Peter Norton Utilities, and perhaps some other software. Then I repacked it into the same carton and sent it to him; oooops. HTS codes? I hadn't a clue. I just described it on the documents as "laptop." If I hadn't installed all that software he likely would have lost his argument with German Customs, but when he fired it up and showed them WordStar and Lotus 123 they bought his claim of "used."

 

Until I moved out of the country, I was in the exact same boat. Never had a clue how complicated shipping in & out of the country was.

 

Still waiting on Amayama to respond to my order submission, but I see others are in the same boat. Just wanted to share since I know several of us are going through the process at the same time. If I get a response, I'll circle back.

 

Funny, I don't remember meeting you. Perhaps you were packed into the next container over?

 

Both piece + S&H to Houston, TX is $95.29 way cheaper than what local dealers wants for....
Also, interesting rates for shipping, that Sea Freight must be for a whole container, I remember my partner team offered maybe $2000 from JP to LA....lol
But that Japan Post Surface Mail, did they hire a Shiba and run it through Alaska and down? 150 days......

 

Amayama just got back to me. Cost went from $95.35 to $227.32. Back to the junk yards for me.

 

Went to the local pick and pull since they had a 2012; thought I'd pull the OEM CVs, but the axle nuts were seized, so that was a no-go. Ended up grabbing the DS grab handle and the overhead console.

Not bad for $6 for the for the grab handle, and no wait time. Gotta figure out how to mount the console.




Spent another $11 picking up the capture nut(only could buy a pack of them) from Napa.

Also picked up new visors for my 2003 Accord shitbox. And grabbed the ABS sensor from the 2012 to have a spare.

 

Wow, that’s a bit much for sure! Where do you live.. some Bahamian island?

 

They came back to me with $85.80 to ship (arrival between 5/9 and 7/5), bringing the total to $155. Time to keep looking elsewhere.

 

I had the same issue so I canceled the order. I did find a brand new setup for $150 from a Toyota Parts shop if interested. I think I made a post about it.

 

Odd they’re all over the place. I got my “approval” email and the shipping to NV was $38.16. Order went from $95.35 to $133.51.

I ended up just pulling the trigger on it with my PayPal. We’ll see what happens.

 

Glad I stumbled across this post. It's something I WANTED to do when I first got my Tundra but couldn't come up with a good enough reason YET(stock suspension) to pull the trigger on spendin possible $200+ on.
I put my order in just this morning like most of you have been doing. Haven't heard back from them but I got lucky and found a Tundra being parted out and the handle/pillar were still there! Paid $75 for it.
For those still searching local junkyards, check all online sites, I frequently check Craigslist, OfferUp, and Facebook marketplace but specifically for Tundras being parted out. Good luck!

 

Yeah, they must not think kindly of us Texans. Why $155 to Florida but $227 to Texas? Go figure.

Otherwise, please PM me John, or drop the link to you post here. While I will pay around $100, right now, and in anticipation of when I eventually lift my truck, at more than that cost a driver's side handle seems more of a solution to a nonexistent problem for me. For now, I can enter and exit, without hands, and without issue. Add 2 -3 inches in height and I'm sure that will change. $150 - $200 then will be worth it.

 

I would have gone for $133 too. WTFO!

I just may write them an email, no names or sources mentioned, asking what they have against Texas.

 

I'm in So Cal. When I get the response I'll post it in here.

 

Doing my install right now and not sure if I'm a special case but my stock pillar was held on by one of these tabs...

Anybody else?
YouTube videos I've watched don't have anything there at all.

Install complete

 

They seem to be all over the place with pricing. I’m in Texas and they came back with a total of $117.30.