85. One week and still waiting

Tuesday 11 September 2007

It is now Tuesday 11 September – that is, 7 days after the parts were dispatched by DHL from Jeddah.  It appears that the parts arrived in Almaty on Sunday, however the Ford agent in Almaty has not been able to clear them through customs in the last 2 days.  It appears that there is some problem with the paperwork. 

This reminds us of the problem with the batteries in Moscow.  It is obvious that even though the old Soviet Union has broken up, some of the old Soviet procedures and bureaucracy remains.  In countries such as the USA, the UK or Australia, it is normally possible to get a few small spare parts through customs in a couple of hours.  By the look of it, it will take days and days just to get these parts.

We are just about to make a final decision on whether to return to Australia and wait for the vehicle to be repaired.  We know Ford are doing everything they can, however without the spare parts, there is nothing they can do!

Of course, we could find that the spares are not the actual faulty parts, so we may have to start the whole process again.

Anyway, we would like to thank everyone for what they are doing to try to get our Earthroamer going again.  We will keep you posted the minute we know something.

Click here for the next entry – they have the parts at last!

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