My Importing Journey

[carizma]

thanks for the clarification Beer Baron and funkymonkey.

our workshop said pretty much the same as you guys just said. I promise to ask them BEFORE I post about 32 GTR's next time!

Actually, MOST of the time I write stuff on here it's after asking either the workshop or compliance guys the question first.....

then again, my excuse is I'm a yank and we don't even get skylines in the u.s.... dang RHD!

[nzm033]

hey croc , hope everything goes smoothly

hope to see ur new car on a cruise when its on the road

[changi]

Chef - What issues are there with Kiwi Car Carriers? a few importers like J-Spec use them alot...

Private PM if you prefer to discuss.

hi

I have just imported using KIWI; had no dramas, the cars are electronically inspected on and off. cost; about $800 for a GTR r-32 to Brizzy.

regards

[hanyou]

ok i've added a few updates and also more detailed information as i got a few pm's and thought i should explain it in more detail

cheers

[Guest]

13/05/2008

Greg has informed me that my import approval for the car has arrived. He is also asking who will be taking care of customs clearance and would prefer that his shop handles this process for convenience (awaiting j-spec to confirm if this is ok). He requires the export certificate from japan (for his records) which im waiting on j-spec to forward to him. Also the car will need a certificate of de-gassing if the car has Freon 12 refrigerant in the air conditioning system, but if it has 134A he can take care of it at a small fee. I've requested an update from J-spec today asking if there is any news on the shipping since the holiday in Japan ended yesterday.

A customs Broker should charge about $160 to look after everything including getting the car delivered to the workshop, they usually ask for Invoice from Japan, copy of Transfer of money into Japan, copy of Import Approval, Bill of Loading or proof of it being surrendered in Japan and as stated De Gas certificate or details of workshops Air Con licence number.

Some workshops wont do an Import Approval without a De Reg Certificate (for other peoples reference), did you sort compliance avibility and cost before purchase or after, if after just wondering why or were you going on what you were told.

Today a friend quoted up on complying a Soarer and due to age it needs new seat belts at up to $1,000 fitted but since they had bought the car their is nothing to do except pay the $1,000 extra.

[hanyou]

cool thanks for that info,

I had already paid for the car before any talks of a confirmed compliance availability/cost. After paying for the car J-spec told me they were waiting on calls back from places regarding costs and then recommended me to MacJap motors. I was given a estimate of the compliance cost ($2200) at the begining of the whole process, however that was for VIC. They told me if they couldnt find anyone in NSW with a reasonable price i could get it done in VIC and then have the car sent to NSW on a truck. However I prefered the car to come directly to NSW and get complied here for $2500+GST as it wouldve been roughly the same amount if you included the transport cost, plus also the convenience factor of being able to check it out asap.

[carizma]

Haha, I know what you're talking about with soarer seatbelts. What year is it and what type of soarer?

We might have a set we can sell you for $500. Or we could just comply the car for you and ship it to WA if you haven't got a workshop already.

email/pm if interested

cheers,

David @ Carizma

A customs Broker should charge about $160 to look after everything including getting the car delivered to the workshop, they usually ask for Invoice from Japan, copy of Transfer of money into Japan, copy of Import Approval, Bill of Loading or proof of it being surrendered in Japan and as stated De Gas certificate or details of workshops Air Con licence number.

Some workshops wont do an Import Approval without a De Reg Certificate (for other peoples reference), did you sort compliance avibility and cost before purchase or after, if after just wondering why or were you going on what you were told.

Today a friend quoted up on complying a Soarer and due to age it needs new seat belts at up to $1,000 fitted but since they had bought the car their is nothing to do except pay the $1,000 extra.

[hanyou]

updated again

also now with parts ive bought haha

[Beer Baron]

hanyou, if you haven't already settled on a place for compliance try envy imports. they are in sydney, northern beaches and should be able to do a better price than the 2750 you have been quoted.

[boBE]

Good luck and hope can see your sweety round lights shortly.

[hanyou]

well this just sucks i cant edit any of my first posts anymore. update for today:

05/06/2008

A rep from Seaway customs got in contact with me today and i had to sign a license of agreement (just the terms and conditions for customs). I asked what the next steps were in the process and he told me as soon as customs and AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service) clears the car it will be sent directly to my compliance shop.

Finally I asked when the next payment is due and he said it would be a few days before the car lands in Brisbane (payment is for customs/shipping/tax) - Ben at J-spec has estimated this cost to be about $4900 for my car. Its expected to land on the 26th June. Im wating on J-spec to confirm this because they were expecting the car to land on the 13th June - i must stress the fact im not angry at all about the change of the landing date as it was just guestimate from j-spec even before the car was put on the ship to Australia. Im just making sure im getting the right information cause i like to ask quesions

so far so good!

[Beer Baron]

bummer that it's shipping to qld. that means it will have to be sent road freight and take about another week to get brisbane - sydney.

anyway, at least you have this thread to keep you on track.

if it's landing on the 26th that means it's not on a boat yet as it's usually just under 2 weeks on the water from japan to aus (varies a little depending on port it was loaded at, and the route of the ship, but usually 2 weeks). if it's landing on the 13th it will already be on the high seas somewhere.

[hanyou]

oh yeah i just spoke to J-spec the car left on the ship on the 29th May and is going via New Zealand first lol .

[Iron Chef]

bummer that it's shipping to qld. that means it will have to be sent road freight and take about another week to get brisbane - sydney.

anyway, at least you have this thread to keep you on track.

if it's landing on the 26th that means it's not on a boat yet as it's usually just under 2 weeks on the water from japan to aus (varies a little depending on port it was loaded at, and the route of the ship, but usually 2 weeks). if it's landing on the 13th it will already be on the high seas somewhere.

Actually if you knew how long it was taking to get cars steam cleaned in Sydney, you might not think transporting from Brisbane is such a bad idea...

[Beer Baron]

Actually if you knew how long it was taking to get cars steam cleaned in Sydney, you might not think transporting from Brisbane is such a bad idea...

lol, thanks for the heads up, I know exactly how long it takes having done 4 cars in the last few weeks. and if you live in sydney shipping a car to brisbane only to have to truck it down to sydney is about as foolish as it gets. it takes longer, costs more, and means the car goes through more sets of hands. especially if in this case the car left on the 29th and wont land till nearly a month later.

if you are having problems with having cars cleaned at AAT in sydney (and they take fking ages) then get them cleaned at hobbs instead. costs a bit less but works out about the same when you factor in $50 to tow the car there. they do it in a day. no problem.

[Adriano]

I find it amusing that the compliancing workshop charge a little extra to remove and refit the modifications. Imagine if it has a 2.7 stroker, you could be up for $6k for nothing. It seems a farce that they remove the mods to do their own complying, then refit them and make it illegal. They really should either remove the mods and give you the bits, or get it properly engineered. My bet is they dont really swap out the parts and put them back. If you were bringing in a gtr with aftermarket dump pipes, i cant see them dropping the turbos off, fitting the stock dumps, then turning around and doing the reverse.

Edited June 9, 2008 by Adriano

[Iron Chef]

If the aftermarket dumps were stuffing around with emissions, then yes they probably would.

It's simple case of providing a service that the market wants. Fitting the aftermarket parts once the car has been complied and registered is no different to any other workshop doing the same - the onus is on the owner to make sure they're legal or otherwise.

Edited June 9, 2008 by Iron Chef

[funkymonkey]

all compliance workshops can be randomly inspected by DOTARS, so if they're in the middle of complying a car, and its sitting there with aftermarket bits and their supplied paperwork indicates that it is stock, then they'll have their license revoked or heavily fined. probably not in their best interest to run the risk and not do the work but charge the customer for it.

[Guest]

Some business need to highlight the requirements and the cost of returning a car back to the standards for RAWS not just vaguely brush over it and say it "might" incur more costs, it is "more than likely", people need to start posting what they have paid to return a car to standard as one trick is to quote cheap on the price for compliance then screw you over after the car gets here as nothing in life is free.

Link for info on Vehicle Inspections by VSS

(Regulation 57)

In addition to the vehicle inspections conducted by VSS as part of the initial RAW approval,

Risk based, random or intelligence driven vehicle inspections may be conducted by VSS at intervals other than when renewal of approval is due.

[hanyou]

OK, just a few further updates + the next steps:

- next payment of customs/shipping/tax is due a few days before car lands.

- confirmation of car expected to land in Brisbane on the 28th June.

- car will take about 1 week in customs/AQIS.

- car will be trucked from Brisbane to Sydney direct to compliance shop, will take approx 1-2 weeks.

- compliance shop will take 2 weeks to do their job, in which i will pay the final payment for the car itself (remaining complaince cost of $1750 + new tyres + refitting of aftermarket parts)

- finally the on road costs (rego/stamp duty/insurance)

after that its all done! should be on the road by end July or very early August.

OH and i must commend Ben @ J-spec for his service to date - i'd highly recommend him to anyone especially first time importers; his help through out the whole process has been nothing but excellent.

cheers