Can Compliance Shops Import A Car For Me?

[jarthel]

I was reading OCAU and came across this statement:

"The compliance workshops dont care do they? They are loosing money that Prestige and Jspec get. When the compliance workshop imports, they follow the car the entire process and make sure it gets preferential treatment, IE, no forklifts picking up and moving the car and things like that."

My question is: is there a list of compliance shops that can bring in cars for customers? I searched for "DOTARS" on the net and came upon the RAWS .gov.au website. BUT I am not sure which link to follow.

I tried this link "search for raw" (http://raws.dotars.gov.au/rawswebpublic/RAWPubSearch.asp) but I can search for shop. though I'm not sure if that meant all the shop can import cars.

Thank you very much

ps. Is it really safer importing via the compliance shop if this is possible?

Edited March 29, 2008 by jarthel

[rs73]

I think you'll find most compliance workshop would rather concentrate on complying and not becoming a 'dealer'. Trying to be an all-in-one can sometimes be too much to handle for a business to run properly.

Just get yourself started by going with any import broker, or if the whole import process is too much for you to handle then why don't you just buy one locally? Either way the price will not be way to far off and you'll get rid of the first part of headache of getting the car into the country and can shop by looking at the cars in flesh rather than just a blurry auction pictures of 320x200 resolutions only.

[rs73]

and I don't even know where you are so how can we suggest you a compliance workshop in your area that would do it all? we're not asking for address, but at least a state (e.g. VIC or SA or QLD) might be helpful.

free plug: for a dealer shop/importer - you can try Carizma or Kamikaze in Victoria. But they will still send their car to a RAWS, they're just importer and dealer. They're not RAWS. And they're probably get an import broker to get the cars for them, so it is not a 'one man show'. If you're outside VIC then I wouldn't know, other ppl on this forum might know.

[jarthel]

and I don't even know where you are so how can we suggest you a compliance workshop in your area that would do it all? we're not asking for address, but at least a state (e.g. VIC or SA or QLD) might be helpful.

and i apologise from not including such info

I lived in SA so I suppose the list for local importer/workshop would be small.

vic is okay too as it's very close and it's a few hours drive away

[rs73]

I guess if there's less compliance workshop in sa then get it complied in vic and have it trucked to sa. cost $150-250ish probably for transport. better than driving it yourself, less hassle.

using a customs brokers to clear your car @ melbourne dock is recommended, doing it yourself may save a bit money but the paperwork or the time you need for quarantine, de-gassing aircond, etc etc probably gonna be a hassle.

[Grunta]

These guys are really good http://www.svi.com.au/home

They are in Brisbane, but will ship the car anywhere once its ready. Plus they do everything for you, all you have to do is front the money.

Im getting a R34 GT-V through them at the moment. and right now its floating accross the pacific having a nice little ocean cruise.

Give them a call or send them an email, even from bisbane transport might be a lot better than you would expect, especially for a backload run.

Ive saved myself at least $3000 than going to an import yard.

[Onthehunt]

A place like IMG in Sydney do in house compliance and can import the car for you as well and you only pay a small deposit then the rest on delivery.

www.internationalmotorgroup.com.au

[kakimoto33]

"The compliance workshops dont care do they? They are loosing money that Prestige and Jspec get. When the compliance workshop imports, they follow the car the entire process and make sure it gets preferential treatment, IE, no forklifts picking up and moving the car and things like that."

In theory there is no difference between using a good dedicated import broker or a good compliance workshop who also does brokerage, either should be able to get good cars at decent prices, assist with the import process and make sure things run as smoothly as possible, and only charge around the same fee generally for the service.

If compliance workshops are complaining about losing money for cars imported by us then it's most likely because we make sure our clients get the best price possible and this means the workshops get to charge you less than they would without our independent advice and eyes watching over things to make sure you aren't evercharged, etc.

We find that most compliance workshops (and other brokers) have limited access to cars around Japan and often buy from the same few sources all the time, this means that they can't get the wide range that we have access to in most cases and on top of that many will simply put you into any car they can to get things moving ... on the other hand we take our job seriously and actually work for you to find the right car regardless of how long it takes to get something that we believe is good (not just what you are happy to buy), then we walk you through the whole process, help arrange compliance where possible, assist with any unexpected problems that might arise throughout the process, and even collect you from the airport in Melbourne if you fly over from Adelaide to collect the car assuming compliance is done here.

If you wanted to see some cars that might be suitable and know more about compliance availabiliy, cost, etc. then please let me know what you are after specifically including year range, make & model, preferred colours, features and your maximum intended budget assuming we can find that perfect car?

[autoworx]

this is not an attack on brokers

but the RAW and the broker have 2 different interests at heart

its in the brokers interest to find you a car as quickly and efficiently as possible and make the most money for the shortest possible expenditure of time , effort and money

its in the raws interest to comply the car as quickly and efficiently as possible and make the most money for the shortest possible expenditure of time , effort and money

thats not to say either one doesn't care about both , but priorities are always slightly different

a good example of this difference is I have a few trusted sources who have proven to be far superior than others so I use those primarily , because its in my interest as a RAW to have a car that has no problems , is able to be complied smoothly and efficiently and leave the customer happy and satisfied by the compliance process.

If I was a broker it would be different as my primary goal is to find a car so the most sources available makes that process better. Thats not to say the broker doesn't care about the condition of the car as he wants happy customers too , but as you can see the priority placed on each task differs as each task and role is different.

[Iron Chef]

I was reading OCAU and came across this statement:

"The compliance workshops dont care do they? They are loosing money that Prestige and Jspec get. When the compliance workshop imports, they follow the car the entire process and make sure it gets preferential treatment, IE, no forklifts picking up and moving the car and things like that."

My question is: is there a list of compliance shops that can bring in cars for customers? I searched for "DOTARS" on the net and came upon the RAWS .gov.au website. BUT I am not sure which link to follow.

I tried this link "search for raw" (http://raws.dotars.gov.au/rawswebpublic/RAWPubSearch.asp) but I can search for shop. though I'm not sure if that meant all the shop can import cars.

Thank you very much

ps. Is it really safer importing via the compliance shop if this is possible?

Whoever wrote the original statement needs a smack in the head - neither workshops nor brokers truly have a say in what happens at the docks. There's certainly no preferential treatment for anyone, that I'm aware of at least.

As has been already mentioned, most workshops are run off their feet doing compliance work without trying to buy cars from Japan too. It's the same reason I don't become a RAW - when you try to be all things to all people, you lose track of your core business. Most RAWs do well enough out of compliance not to be bothered with importing cars - they're hardly losing money to brokers. That's a bit like saying RAWs also losing money to dealers when they load the prices and put them on the lot.

[kakimoto33]

its in the brokers interest to find you a car as quickly and efficiently as possible and make the most money for the shortest possible expenditure of time , effort and money

This may be true of a traditional broker however things are far different (at least in our office) with the 'good' brokers having the best interest of the client at heart ... we pride ourselves on helping our clients get the best possible car regardless of the timeframe needed and this often this means advising against buying a car that they may have otherwise been happy with because we know we can get them something better, cheaper or more suitable in some way with a little more looking and waiting. Also it's impossible for us to make more or less money as we charge the same flat fee regardless of what car is purchased or where is comes from.

In any case I do agree that every business has different priorities so it's critical to choose a good broker, workshop or whoever to give advice when importing because it's way too easy to be tricked into thinking you got the best deal even long after you recieved the car, and many people will never know that they were ripped off with misleading information or over charged for their car by a dodgy exporter or dealer who just wants to make $$$.

A good broker or workshop acting as a broker would be worth their weight in gold if you really want a good honest car at a good honest price, on the other hand if you just want thing to be easy and basically spend your maximum budget to get get a decent car then you can use almost anyone with reasonable results.

[gazza750]

Imports 101 FTW based in perth but can supply australia wide

http://www.imports101.com.au

[carizma]

Thanks for the free plug, but we're a RAWS also. I think we're the only company that's a dealership, RAWS workshop, and import agent all in one......

I don't think there's nearly as much rivalry or animosity in this business as you'd expect. We work with a lot of dealers here in Melbourne, and it's a small industry, so everyone knows (or at least has heard of) everyone else.

there's probably 1 or 2 degrees of separation max between anyone in the industry here.

and I don't even know where you are so how can we suggest you a compliance workshop in your area that would do it all? we're not asking for address, but at least a state (e.g. VIC or SA or QLD) might be helpful.

free plug: for a dealer shop/importer - you can try Carizma or Kamikaze in Victoria. But they will still send their car to a RAWS, they're just importer and dealer. They're not RAWS. And they're probably get an import broker to get the cars for them, so it is not a 'one man show'. If you're outside VIC then I wouldn't know, other ppl on this forum might know.

[gtr_z]

I have used J-Spec a couple of times in the past, and Craig & Ben were patient with the time that I took to find the cars since I was strictly sticking to my budgets. I was aware of what the cars were worth in Japan and I also knew that I paid the actual FOB costs (without or very minimal mark-up at the most). Most dealers who import & comply the car for you will mark-up the price even before it gets here (plus the compliance cost). The least you can do is ask them (dealers) to provide you with the auction sheet (with the auction number) and the original dereg. paper (to make sure it wasn't stolen and verify the milage to some extent). If you've bought the car, try contacting J-Spec with the auction sheet number and they can probably tell you whether or not you paid the actual FOB price.

The good thing about getting the car through the workshop or dealer/workshop who imports the car for you is probably the convenience. They USUALLY feel more obliged to comply the car without too much fuss since it was them the one who found it for you in Japan. But you do generally have to pay more 'hidden' costs/mark-up's.

Another option is contacting the local Japanese agents who attend the auctions directly. I won't go into detail regarding this here.

Edited April 4, 2008 by gtr_z