Carpokes

Latitude48 wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2024 12:38 pm My new Kroon harness for the 1989 951 arrived today. Guess I'll wait to open the box until Christmas It will be a while before I tackle the installation... I just decided to spring for it now while the exchange rate is favorable.

I was a bit surprised at the $105 UPS duty charge I prepaid as I only paid $45 total for nearly $3000 worth of Euro Golf R LED Matrix headlights shipped via FedEx from Latvia.

UPS sent me a bill for the $105, which I thought was very odd since I did not engage their services. Did Kroon charge you upfront for that? I still haven't paid UPS, as I can't figure out any basis on which they have the right to charge me?

Tom wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2024 1:30 pm

Latitude48 wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2024 12:38 pm My new Kroon harness for the 1989 951 arrived today. Guess I'll wait to open the box until Christmas It will be a while before I tackle the installation... I just decided to spring for it now while the exchange rate is favorable.

I was a bit surprised at the $105 UPS duty charge I prepaid as I only paid $45 total for nearly $3000 worth of Euro Golf R LED Matrix headlights shipped via FedEx from Latvia.

UPS sent me a bill for the $105, which I thought was very odd since I did not engage their services. Did Kroon charge you upfront for that? I still haven't paid UPS, as I can't figure out any basis on which they have the right to charge me?

UPS sent me a text and an email informing me of the charges, which were $91 for "Government Charges" and $14.00 for "Brokerage Charges" (which I believe is a UPS fee for them paying the Government Charges). I prepaid before delivery as I believe UPS would not deliver unless the charges were prepaid or paid directly to the driver. With FedEx I was billed after delivery.

Saved this for the future. Thanks Tom!

Latitude48 wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2024 5:52 pm

Tom wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2024 1:30 pm

Latitude48 wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2024 12:38 pm My new Kroon harness for the 1989 951 arrived today. Guess I'll wait to open the box until Christmas It will be a while before I tackle the installation... I just decided to spring for it now while the exchange rate is favorable.

I was a bit surprised at the $105 UPS duty charge I prepaid as I only paid $45 total for nearly $3000 worth of Euro Golf R LED Matrix headlights shipped via FedEx from Latvia.

UPS sent me a bill for the $105, which I thought was very odd since I did not engage their services. Did Kroon charge you upfront for that? I still haven't paid UPS, as I can't figure out any basis on which they have the right to charge me?

UPS sent me a text and an email informing me of the charges, which were $91 for "Government Charges" and $14.00 for "Brokerage Charges" (which I believe is a UPS fee for them paying the Government Charges). I prepaid before delivery as I believe UPS would not deliver unless the charges were prepaid or paid directly to the driver. With FedEx I was billed after delivery.

To both Toms:

I do not know exactly how said duty charges are calculated, but I have dealt with such things with our Italian, English, and French cars that have required parts from across the pond----some of these transactions required duty fees after the fact, for which I was mailed paperwork after said parts arrived. I did my due diligence and paid the fees, though I am curious to learn more.

cda951 wrote: Tue Dec 31, 2024 10:01 pm
To both Toms:

I do not know exactly how said duty charges are calculated, but I have dealt with such things with our Italian, English, and French cars that have required parts from across the pond----some of these transactions required duty fees after the fact, for which I was mailed paperwork after said parts arrived. I did my due diligence and paid the fees, though I am curious to learn more.

For my FedEx shipments they billed me after the fact. It seems each specific kind of part has a different duty rate:
1) Euro L & R mirror glass, 3.9%, $4.02
2) Euro taillights, 2.5%, $25.58
3) Euro headlight switch with fog, 0%
4) Euro headlights "merchandise processing fee," $31.67
5) Disbursement Fee, $13.00 (charges for FedEx to pay the fees upfront during import)

For the Kroon wiring harness, UPS just listed "Import Charges - Government Charges" of $91.00 and Brokerage Charges of $14.00.

I think it may depend on the value of the parts as other VW parts I have gotten from e-acca.com in Latvia did not have any duty applied, but as I recall those orders were not sent via FedEx.

@Tom My car has always had little rubber covers over the connections for the oil pressure sensor. I carried them over to the harness I build, but as far as I can remember they have always been there.

Darwin wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2025 5:40 pm @Tom My car has always had little rubber covers over the connections for the oil pressure sensor. I carried them over to the harness I build, but as far as I can remember they have always been there.sensor covers.jpg

Right, mine too. My question was about the water temp sensor up top with the spade connectors. The Kroon harness comes with the same boots on those wires, which I don't "think" the factory harness had. I think the factory harness just has wires with spade connectors for the temp sensor, no boots. Right?

Tom wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2025 6:35 pm

Darwin wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2025 5:40 pm @Tom My car has always had little rubber covers over the connections for the oil pressure sensor. I carried them over to the harness I build, but as far as I can remember they have always been there.sensor covers.jpg

Right, mine too. My question was about the water temp sensor up top with the spade connectors. The Kroon harness comes with the same boots on those wires, which I don't "think" the factory harness had. I think the factory harness just has wires with spade connectors for the temp sensor, no boots. Right?

Ooooooh sorry I misunderstood. No mine had no boot there, either. Just the space connector going onto the terminal fully exposed.

As part of my overall wiring upgrade, featuring the Kroon harness, I wanted to get rid of the endless aftermarket and DIY electronics I've added over the years. I'm going to burn my own chip, so I could nix a lot of the stuff related to engine management. It had become such a mess over the years, with intermittent attempts to clean things up, I decided to make wholesale changes and make it as tidy as possible. Here is my solution -- a custom made enclosure for a few essential items, with the least messy wiring I could muster. The factory diagnostic plug connects to the Kostal connector and supplies all the signals needed, including power for my boost controller, LEDs for the knock monitor, etc.

This is a zeitronix zt2, custom knock monitor, zeitronix map sensor, and an integrated Kostal connector. The best part is I didn't need to cut or tap a single wire in the new harness. Shown without the cover to make it look cooler.

And here is all the stuff I yanked out of the car!!!!

Wow...