Is It Legal To Drive A Left-hand Drive Vehicle In Nsw

[POLICE]

Hey Guys

I'm just starting my quest to learn about importing vehicles

I've always been interested in the big tough Hummers, the H2 to be exact

but the prices over here is like a freaken joke, they all cost at least AUD $120,000

now from what I gather on US car sales/auction sites, the going price of an average Hummer H2

from 2005 and up is approximately USD $25,000 - $30,000 which translates to around AUD $25,800 - $32,000.

Now I don't know anything about importing vehicles, but I sure as hell know it won't cost me more than $80,000

So I was wondering if anyone knows whether driving a left-hand drive vehicle is legal or do you need some kind of permit?

Cheers

G

[Primordial]

Not sure personally, but I reckon that there is NO way you'll be getting one here for under $60-80k at least. Shipping cost from USA, plus i'm guessing there is a hell of a lot of work that needs to happen in order to compliance one of those things over here.

[evil_weevil]

hmm....not sure with modern cars, but with old US muscle cars you can keep em left hand hook now.

[POLICE]

Not sure personally, but I reckon that there is NO way you'll be getting one here for under $60-80k at least. Shipping cost from USA, plus i'm guessing there is a hell of a lot of work that needs to happen in order to compliance one of those things over here.

Do you mean $60-80K including the cost of the car?

[Primordial]

Yeah including the cost of the car, but i've got no idea really... thats just my opinion, as usual to be taken with a grain of salt

[DRD-00F]

arg, a mate of mine works at a shop that imports cars (brought mine in) and converts left hand drive to right hand, so they would have all your answers! But I can't remember the name of the shop

[SHANE666]

i seen this dude at green valley shell, his old ride was left handed.

i was like wow what a beast.

[POLICE]

arg, a mate of mine works at a shop that imports cars (brought mine in) and converts left hand drive to right hand, so they would have all your answers! But I can't remember the name of the shop

you mind asking your mate how much a conversion would roughly cost for a Hummer H2?

Cheers

[DRD-00F]

It may take some time, I haven't called him in ages and dunno if he changed his number... I know exactly where the shop is, I could point it out on google earth

But every other detail is lacking

But I shall see what I can do

[Beer Baron]

any car under 25 years old cannot be driven left hand drive in NSW. over 25 years old go for it. you would need to convert it. for a car like that possibly as much as $20K conversion. $10K min. plus is there compliance available? have you rung those plate holders (if there are any) to ask if they are willing to sell you a plate and comply a vehicle for you? in fact have you looked properly into the SEVS list to see what models are on the list and whether they are low volume new or low volume used?

I know it's easy to post a thread on a forum and get people to answer questions for you, but don't be afraid to actually do a bit of research yourself. plus often people on a forum may not give you correct information...

[JAS-25T]

These links may help

http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/sevs/sevsindex.htm

In particular these too

http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/sevs/256-01.htm

http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/sevs/307-01.htm

http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/sevs/328-00.htm

http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/sevs/386-00.htm

[Primordial]

plus often people on a forum may not give you correct information...

bingo

[POLICE]

yeah I've asked James Hill from Hummer Australia who told me it would cost + AUD $40K for RHD conversion

I'll go ask my skyline importer over the weekend about importing regulations and standards

Thanks alot guys

[Guest]

yeah I've asked James Hill from Hummer Australia who told me it would cost + AUD $40K for RHD conversion

I'll go ask my skyline importer over the weekend about importing regulations and standards

Thanks alot guys

Dont waste you time calling around as you just posted the answer yourself, read the VSB 4 - Steering Conversions for Left Hand Drive Vehicles and the VSB 10 Importing Vehicles to Australia as all the answers are their.

You will also be amazed at what answers you can find about imports at http://raws.dotars.gov.au/, RHD conversions start at $35,000 plus GST up to $60,000 plus GST (C6 Corvette).

Think about it this way "If you could drive various high end late model cars LHD don't you think you would see them every were........"

[kakimoto33]

To make things really simple and give a good clear answer, you should expect to spend around $35,000 including GST for the compliance and conversion, there are others charging more but this is about the right price to pay. Add in all the other costs for importing and you will find a car costing around AU$35,000 overseas will end up at just over $80,000 landed and complied in Australia in total, which is still much lower than the $120,000-odd you see them selling for locally.

Here is a breakdown of the estimated costs to help you understand where all the money goes along the way:

$35,000 .. car cost (3,500,000 yen FOB ... or around US$33,500)

$ 1,000 ... importers service fee

$ 2,700 ... ocean freight, customs clearance, etc. (allowing for H2 cubic meterage)

$ 3,500 ... import duty @ 10% of Japanese FOB price

$ 4,125 ... GST @ 10% of FOB price + import duty + ocean freight cost

$35,000 .. SEVS compliance

---------

$81,325 .. estimated total ‘landed and complied’ cost

Here are some examples that were previously sold around this budget if you wanted to get an idea, and needless to say that we can get others if you are seriously interested in buying one in the near future ... click on the thumbnail images for full details:

Do keep in mind that you will need to allow for registration and stamp duty on top also of these landed and complied prices, so maybe another $1,500 to $2,500 depending on where you live, etc.

[Iron Chef]

Also bear in mind that if fuel hits $2 a litre, you'll have 3 tonnes of scrap metal sitting in your garage

[Ricebox]

I recently got a quote from a Hummer importer as i was planning to purchase one as well and heres the prices they gave me:

- $35,000 to purchase (for late model fully equiped 06/07)

- $5000 to ship all inclusive ( pack --> ship --> unpack & clearances all documentation etc.)

- Then you would have Australian Customs tax & duty

- l/h to r/h steering conversion AUS $40,000 ( mirror finish drive in drive out with all paperwork ready to register)

SO you would be lookin at around 85k to 90k to have it which is pretty good since the importers usually re-sell the Hummers anywhere from $140000 to $200000.

[POLICE]

ok cheers, I still dun get why conversion would cost that much

[Liquidity]

Have you tried doing it? Probably isnt an off the shelf kit for it, needs to be engineered, etc.

[R33_Dude]

My family have done a lot of work with Corvette's Queensland (or Performax as they are known now) who do plenty of left to right conversions from everything form corvettes to mustangs to vipers to hummers.

To have a professional finish to the entire process and by that I mean factory finish almost all the parts of the dash need to be remoulded in automotive grade plastics, that includes moulds, injection, heating, and cooling to exact temperatures before fitment can occur. Then the old dash needs to be removed, wiring changed, steering rack modified, in some cases suspension and other components need to be changed. Complying 100% to ADR's means a lot of the american kit needs to be binned as well. Add in switching over to different dashes, possibly different seats if the drivers seats are different, changing over the pedal sets and having certification for every step of the process (for instance you need Australian certification to engineer seatbelt replacements). Add on to this that the customer expects the car to act like a showroom model without fault possibly for up to 200,000 kilometres plus.... Theres a lot of work to be done plus plenty I have no idea about.

Oh and an engineer needs to be involved just about every step along the way plus some outside specialists... It all adds up.