US Imported vehicles

[dadem0n]

Anyone have any experience importing vehicles from the US?

Apparently with changes to trade laws, alot of the taxes and duties that used to exist are now waived (yay free trade!).

Also what are the laws for LHD registered vehicles?

[German Statesman]

There are some huge changes coming up which will make it cheaper to bring in a US-origin vehicle.

If you bring one in that has to be complied, make sure someone holds a compliance certificate for it, otherwise you'll flush money away and won't be able to register it.

If you bring something in thats 3yrs old or older, you're right as rain - can be registered LHD in most states and only has to meet relevant ADRs for its age.

Look up the FORS (Federal Office of Road Safety) for more infor, and the RAWS compliance holders.

Cheers

JOHN

[GHZ28]

^^^^^^^^^^

I think he meant 30 years or more, not 3.......

gh

[V-Car]

Or 15 years old in WA for LHD.

[German Statesman]

^^^^^^^^^^

I think he meant 30 years or more, not 3.......

gh

Too much blood in my caffeine system at 7-45am...:sleep:

[Dacious]

Anyone have any experience importing vehicles from the US?

Apparently with changes to trade laws, alot of the taxes and duties that used to exist are now waived (yay free trade!).

Also what are the laws for LHD registered vehicles?


If you're talking competition only, it's only slightly impossible. For the street and post 1970, unless your dad is an auto engineer and owns his own laboratory or preferably car company, forgedaboutit!

[maloo_]

Spoke to a guy the other day who brought a Mustang over for 3k

[German Statesman]

Spoke to a guy the other day who brought a Mustang over for 3k

That's what RO-RO (roll-on, roll-off) shipping costs, where they just park the car on the deck of the ship, or if you are lucky, a dedicated car carrier which is rare unless you get it shipped to Japan first. A container is around $4500 and you run the risk of someone not packing your car properly (saw a totalled show '55 Nomad that was unsecured in a 40ft container), and a 20ft is suitable for parts & sub-assemblies.

You need to find a superb customs agent, preferably one that does a lot of car shipping. Alternatively, Roly Leahy Imports up here on the Gold Coast offers a shipping service without the headaches.

Cheers

JOHN

[waks]

I dont think its 15yrs for WA anymore. I heard its anything 1989 and older can be registered as LHD.

Mmm would love a 1990 ZR1 corvette :yup:

[dadem0n]

If you're talking competition only, it's only slightly impossible.

Any details there? :thumbsup:

Only "weeing into the wind" at the moment. However, Id love to know more. Anyone got links to websites, details or requirements? :yahoo:

[Dacious]

It seems 1989 is the go. Anything before that can now be brought in - anything after that hard unless it was originally exported from Australia as an ADR compliant vehicle.

So for instance, you can't bring back a 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO, or only with great difficulty and expense. You could bring in a 1964-1974 one. if your state allows LHD vehicles, then you'd be home and hosed.

Importing vehicles (http://www.dotars.gov.au/transport/safety/road/bulletin/importing.aspx)

[XR4TED]

Dacious,

I was curious about this too. thanks for the info.

Cheers

[High Octane]

It seems 1989 is the go. Anything before that can now be brought in - anything after that hard unless it was originally exported from Australia as an ADR compliant vehicle.

So for instance, you can't bring back a 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO, or only with great difficulty and expense. You could bring in a 1964-1974 one. if your state allows LHD vehicles, then you'd be home and hosed.

Importing vehicles[/URL]

That seems a wholly political issue rather than a safety or road worthy one after all the damn things are designed and built in Aus.

[Dacious]

Not so. US has different emissions standards - EU emissions laws measure emissions from cold-start. US doesn't. US permits louder exhausts - i.e. GTO compared to a Monaro has no rear resonator, and VZ Monaro exhaust which is based on GTO needed reworking to get inside ADR limits. Then there's tail-lights, indicators, LHD headlight highbeam cutoffs, tyre and wheel standards, glass, interior materials etc, etc, etc.

Not saying these couldn't be fixed with a little work and often bolt ons - but Customs won't take your word they will be - you have to demonstrate they will be right before you get a licence import. And the most glaring thing is the LHD firewall on the GTO/Monaro, which is glued into the car as virtually the first thing, so to fix would require a complete diassembly past bare-body level. Plus there's a stipulation that if a similar RHD model is sold here they may just refuse import permission. Why not just go buy a Monaro and save everyone the trouble?

Yes there is a political element. If they allowed LHD cars that conformed to EU standards to be brought in for instance, it would simply kill the local auto industry. Toyota and Japan Inc and all the Euro makes would just sell their EU models and not bother with anything in Oz.

When England allowed LHD cars in because of EU regulation, the RHD Corvette and several other models disappeared right off the drawing board. Why bother to engineer cars for both at $millions?

That may very well happen in future when the local Oz industry is no more.

[High Octane]

Not so. US has different emissions standards - EU emissions laws measure emissions from cold-start. US doesn't. US permits louder exhausts - i.e. GTO compared to a Monaro has no rear resonator, and VZ Monaro exhaust which is based on GTO needed reworking to get inside ADR limits. Then there's tail-lights, indicators, LHD headlight highbeam cutoffs, tyre and wheel standards, glass, interior materials etc, etc, etc.

Not saying these couldn't be fixed with a little work and often bolt ons - but Customs won't take your word they will be - you have to demonstrate they will be right before you get a licence import. And the most glaring thing is the LHD firewall on the GTO/Monaro, which is glued into the car as virtually the first thing, so to fix would require a complete diassembly past bare-body level. Plus there's a stipulation that if a similar RHD model is sold here they may just refuse import permission. Why not just go buy a Monaro and save everyone the trouble?

Yes there is a political element. If they allowed LHD cars that conformed to EU standards to be brought in for instance, it would simply kill the local auto industry. Toyota and Japan Inc and all the Euro makes would just sell their EU models and not bother with anything in Oz.

When England allowed LHD cars in because of EU regulation, the RHD Corvette and several other models disappeared right off the drawing board. Why bother to engineer cars for both at $millions?




You make some interesting points. I'm not aware that Aus has any higher standards than the US In fact when I ordered my Driver Airbag cover from JHP I was luck to get one of the few remaining cover only, with out the airbag itself. The air bag wouldn't pass safety regs in US. US requires a stronger deploy, as it is assumed the driver might not have the safety belt fastened. Also a larger difference between VY and VZ Monaros is because of US regs the fuel tank can’t be mounted between the rear bumper and rear axel, in the event of a rear collision the tank is crushed between the two greatly increasing rupture and fire. That is why the VZ model has a racing fuel cell located above the rear axel, the down side is loss of storage.


That may very well happen in future when the local Oz industry is no more.

I hope not, Holden is the only GM manufacture designing cars that don't look like cheap crap, It' the reason I bought my car. In 2004 I was down to a 2002 M3 or a 2004 GTO I went with the Holden mostly because I knew, I would keep the car long past warranty. The GM LS1 should cost way less than the BMW over the coarse of 15year 2415000Km I plan on getting. Also a friend in my tracking club has a 2002 M3 and we have tracked both cars side by side, the M3 can’t do anything I can’t do. I mean to say that my Monaro is everything an 2005 and older M3 is.