Used, Rebuilt and Logo-Stamped Car Parts From Thailand to the USA: What Customs Looks At

Does a used part pay less duty than a new one?

It pays the same rate on a lower value. The US tariff schedule does not separate new parts from used ones. Heading 8708 reads "Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705" and heading 8714 covers the same for motorcycles, with no word about condition in either. The schedule defines "new" and "used" only for complete vehicles, for statistics. A used brake caliper and a new one share a tariff line, and a part on the 25 percent Section 232 list stays on it when it is second hand.

What changes is the value the rate is applied to. US law values imported goods at the transaction value:

"The transaction value of imported merchandise is the price actually paid or payable for the merchandise when sold for exportation to the United States"

Source: 19 U.S.C. 1401a(b)(1).

The regulation adds that the price "will be considered without regard to its method of derivation", so a negotiated price on a used part is a valid price. The invoice should say what the part is, that it is used or rebuilt, and what the buyer paid. A used part invoiced at 5 dollars when the marketplace listing says 180 is the fastest way to a customs hold, because the listing is public and the officer can read it too.

Which parts are treated as dangerous goods?

Anything with a pyrotechnic charge and anything that still holds fuel. Airbags and seat belt pretensioners are the clearest case, and the US hazardous materials rules name them:

"safety devices are articles which contain pyrotechnic substances or hazardous materials of other classes and are used in vehicles, vessels or aircraft to enhance safety to persons. Examples are: air bag inflators, air bag modules, seat-belt pretensioners and pyromechanical devices."

Source: 49 CFR 173.166, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

They are listed in the hazardous materials table as "Safety devices, electrically initiated", Class 9, UN3268. A steering wheel with the airbag still in it is a Class 9 shipment. The same steering wheel with the module removed is a steering wheel. Sellers of JDM interiors meet this constantly, because the wheel, the dash pad and the seat belts are the items buyers want most. An airbag module or a pretensioner should be raised with Dragon Courier before it is listed for sale, not after it is sold.

Engines, fuel tanks, carburettors, fuel pumps and injectors fall under a second rule. An engine is regulated cargo while it contains fuel, and stops being so when it is properly emptied:

"Vehicles, engines, or machinery may be considered as not containing fuel when the engine components and any fuel lines have been completely drained, sufficiently cleaned of residue, and purged of vapors to remove any potential hazard and the engine when held in any orientation will not release any liquid fuel"

Source: 49 CFR 173.220, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

"Held in any orientation" is the practical test. A carburettor that smells of petrol when it is turned over is not drained. A seller who buys from a breaker's yard should ask for the part to be washed in solvent and let it dry for a day before boxing it. Gas charged shock absorbers and struts hold compressed nitrogen and are checked item by item. Batteries do not travel at all.

What does a used engine need at the border?

An emissions declaration to the Environmental Protection Agency, used or not. The agency writes the scope without leaving a gap:

"These standards apply to all vehicles and engines including imported motor vehicles, heavy-duty engines, nonroad engines, (generators, watercraft, and lawn and garden equipment), and recreational vehicles, whether they are new or used, manufactured domestically or abroad."

Source: Learn About Importing Vehicles and Engines, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Car and motorcycle engines go on EPA Form 3520-1, heavy duty and nonroad engines on Form 3520-21. An engine that was never certified for the US market, which describes most engines pulled from Thai and Japanese market cars, enters only under one of the listed exemptions, such as repair or alteration, competition, or display, and the agency's warning is in capitals on its own page:

"BEFORE shipping a nonconforming vehicle or engine to the United States, importers MUST either: make arrangements with an ICI for modifications, testing, and certification, or obtain EPA pre-approval for the exemptions listed above."

Source: Learn About Importing Vehicles and Engines, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The buyer in the USA is the one who applies, since the buyer is the importer. A Thai seller who ships a complete engine to a buyer who has not done this has sent a crate that customs "can seize and/or export". Engine parts are a different matter. A cylinder head, a turbocharger, a gearbox or an ECU is a part, not an engine, and no EPA form applies to it.

Safety equipment has its own declaration. Lamps, tyres, brake hoses, glazing, seat belts and helmets are regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the federal notice that describes the HS-7 form says:

"no person shall import a motor vehicle or regulated item of motor vehicle equipment [e.g., tires, glazing, seat belts, etc.] unless the importer files a declaration."

Source: Importation of Vehicles and Equipment Subject to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety, Bumper, and Theft Prevention Standards, Federal Register, 13 July 2022.

Box 1 of that form covers "items of motor vehicle equipment manufactured on a date when no applicable FMVSS was effect", which is why lamps for a 1980s car pass more easily than a modern LED headlamp with no DOT mark on the lens.

Can a part with a Toyota or Honda logo be seized?

Yes, if the logo is on a part the brand did not make. Thailand builds cars for most Japanese brands, and the country's parts trade sells three different things under similar descriptions: genuine parts in the maker's packaging, parts from the same factories sold unbranded, and copies with the logo applied. US customs treats the third as counterfeit whatever the listing called it:

"Any such merchandise bearing a counterfeit mark ... imported into the United States in violation of the provisions of section 1124 of title 15, shall be seized and, in the absence of the written consent of the trademark owner, forfeited for violations of the customs laws."

Source: 19 U.S.C. 1526(e).

The numbers show where enforcement is pointed. Homeland Security Investigations reported in September 2024:

"CBP has seized more than 211,000 counterfeit automotive parts in fiscal year 2024, almost doubling the number of counterfeit automotive parts seized the previous year."

Source: Automotive Safety Awareness Campaign Warns Consumers About Counterfeit Airbags, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 23 September 2024.

The customs statistics for the same year put the automotive and aerospace category at 231,901 items with a retail value of 9,142,252 dollars. A seized parcel is forfeited and destroyed, the buyer is not refunded by customs, and no duty inclusive service can cover goods that the law says must be destroyed.

Two habits keep a seller clear. "OEM" in a listing should mean the part came from the vehicle maker's supply chain, and an unbranded equivalent should be listed as "aftermarket, fits" with no logo in the photographs or on the box. A genuine used part pulled from a car is lawful to sell, logo and all. The grey area is a genuine part made for another market: US rules restrict those only when the trademark owner has recorded that the foreign version is "physically and materially different" from the US one, which is rare for mechanical parts.

About Dragon Courier

Dragon Courier is a Bangkok courier, family owned, with more than 30 years in logistics in Thailand and more than 20,000 shipments a month. It is the largest sender for eBay sellers and for Etsy sellers located in Thailand. On the USA route it runs its own service to the destination and clears customs itself, then hands the parcel to UniUni on the e-commerce service or UPS on the Standard service for the final leg. Every price is duty and tax inclusive, with no hidden fees and nothing to pay on arrival.

Thai Baht, duty and tax included, price list of 3 August 2026. The 25 percent parts list and the rates for parts outside it are in the guide on shipping car parts from Thailand to the USA, and how a marketplace seller builds an all in price is in the guide for eBay and Etsy parts sellers.

Contacts and drop-off

A quote needs the contents of the package and the receiver's name, address and contact number. Office +66 2656 9019, LINE and WhatsApp at +66 6-5937-0812, or info@dragoncourier.com. Drop-off runs until 17:00, Monday to Saturday, at the Bangkok office on Sukhumvit Soi 4, and a collection can be arranged. More answers are on the FAQ page. Has the part been turned upside down over a sheet of newspaper yet?

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