Hi, we are from the Gov. and we are here to help!!!

So I decided to upgrade to clear/smoked third brake lights, and ordered two from Carnewal, one for the standard location and one for the spoiler. Gert sent them out Fed EX and they were supposed to arrive in 2 days. Then they hit customs and were stopped. Need a DOT approval, Fed Ex sent me a form to fill out giving me 12 options as to why a non-approved part or car was being imported, and a copy of the regulations showing up to 5 years in jail and/or a $10,000 if falsified. Option include won't ever drive car, foreign citizen, will export vehicle, etc. etc. etc. Gert says they randomly check shipments and all he has to do is give them the VIN so don't fill out the form. He has been great, and I think he has given them the info required. ButT 2 days later, the lights are still in a customs hold . Lets remember, these are clear brake light, but the light up red, so what the big deal. Gosh, I feel so much safer that DOT is so careful. Now if it was illegal drugs or explosives I would probably have them by now, but not non-DOT approved brake lights, God forbid!! I expect in a few more days and several hours and hundreds of dollars of Customs, Fed EX and our time I will probably get them, but it sure seems like a poor use of resources given all the other things they could be focusing on. So it goes.

The 997 has a clear brake light that lights up red....go figure

Their not done either. Wait until you get the bill from fedex for the custom clearing service!

Those random searches are a pain in the a$$. I shipped my personal effects back to the US after a 6 month work stint in Paris. Anyway, I shipped back about 24 bottles of wine/Champagne along with my computer, some clothes, furniture, etc. I tried to convince US Customs that I am a lush and that those bottles were meant for personal consumption and not resale but they wouldn't buy it -- I had to pay over $250 in taxes. And to add insult to injury, I was charged another $150 for storage fees by the shipping company. However, the kicker was I live in Northern Virginia and my shipment arrived at the port in Baltimore, Maryland so I had to pay yet again to get a liquor license to ship the alcohol across state lines to Virginia!!! Anyway, good luck with getting the package out. Yetis is right -- expect to get a bill for customs clearing.

Fed Ex is not getting another penny from me. they can always send the lights back to Carnewal

This happened to me as well. My clear brake lights were stopped by customs as well at the fedex depot and Gert tried to get them to be released by sending some paperwork but that did not work (and burned another couple of days) so I had to fill out some form, fax it back and wait a long long time for them to arrive. Frustrating that this is our tax dollars at work.

riozilla - How did you fill out the forms. The ones they sent to me really don't have naything to do with parts

Gert is great, but why didn't you just order them stateside?

Could not find smoked, only clear/silver. Do you know a source for smoked?

Now I see that Sharkworks has them for only a few dollars more than Carnewal. Ironically they are from Carnewal, so apparently Customs/DOT doesn't catch them all.

I think I paid 120, and I believe they were out of NY

not that it makes the situation any better, but priority shipments with fedex include customs brokerage fees, the only thing they can and should charge for are customs duties or taxes, good luck with it. best Ted

Customs finally released the light last night. At least we all now that the streets are safe (from bad brake lights that is.)

Gert sent me my RoW M030 set up no problem ( this was a few years ago when the dollar was still strong, before W ruined the economy ). I did get a bill a few weeks later for a customs fee - I think it was around $60.