Getting My Ecr33 Into Sydney

[davichui]

Hi there,

I am a Chinese in Hong Kong and own an ECR33 here.

I got a working holiday visa to Australia and my employer lets me to work in the sydney office starting from Feb. next year.

I am considering to ship my ECR33 into Sydney and continue to have fun with it during my stay in Sydney. I will spend only half year there and I probably will sell the car before I leave Australia in August.

But I got some questions on my idea:

- I guess the Australia government will check importing cars. My car is not heavily mods but having: EVC, mushroom air filter, engine oil cooler, front intercooler, hks coilovers, 1.5way LSD, 17 inch rims with old tyres(i drift here so it is always old tyres ), oil prep/temp water temp and turbo meters, drifting style steering with airbag removed. Will that be okay for Australian government check?

- Is parking expensive in sydney? I probably will live in pyrmont region in sydney, but the car doesn't need to park close to where i live because i don't expect to use it often.

- What is the price of selling a year 97 ECR33 in Sydney? The price in HK is about AUD 4.5K.

Thanks in advance for any advice, I look forward to meet skyline buddies in australia if my idea can be happened.

[SKITTLES]

Depending on condition and mods, you could sell your car for around 9k imo.

Parking is really bad in the city, where you choose to live may provide parking but it's not a guaranteed. Parking metres / bays are really expensive around the city, too. (paying for parking is expensive for me... it should be free imo).

I don't know about car lockups etc. I know in Japan they had the car parking facilities like in F&F Tokyo Drift (which you may not know haha ><), and I'm pretty sure there isn't one in the Pyrmont region. If you find one, let me know.

I'm not an expert on getting the car imported, but you'll be required to grab new tires, possibly get the air-bag equipped steering wheel refitted and the mushroom filter might need to be replaced.

The importing cost is going to be rather high, too. But if you sell that car in Australia, you'll get way more than $4,500.

Let us know when you're in the country, give me your number or I'll add you to facebook, and I'll send you information about cruises

[Beer Baron]

I'm not 100% sure since you are not an australian citizen but you should be able to export your car to australia as a 'personal import' or something similar, there is also a scheme for tourists who are travelling and want to bring their car from the US or europe or whatever but usually you have to export it again back home at the end of your journey. check with the Department of Infrastructure and transport (formally DOTARS, they are the government agency that control importing cars into aus).

as far as the modifications go, I would not be too worries. Many cars in NSW are of a similar level of modification. It's certainly not a problem for importing and as far as compliance goes there is nothing there that could not easily be returned to standard for the compliance sign off.

parking in pyrmont is expensive. unlike many countries though most permanent parking comes with the apartments. unlike japan and other countries there is not a huge market here where people rent or buy parking separately. so your best option is to try and get an apartment with a parking space in the building. it's not hard to do, just a little more expensive rent.

[SKITTLES]

as far as the modifications go, I would not be too worries. Many cars in NSW are of a similar level of modification. It's certainly not a problem for importing and as far as compliance goes there is nothing there that could not easily be returned to standard for the compliance sign off.

In saying that, he will require new tyres before the car comes into the country..

[davichui]

Thanks all for the information. It seems that it is not easy for a non-citizen to get a car in Oz without sending it out when leaving Oz. I am not the legal owner of the skyline in Hong Kong, so the way that limit ownership for at least 12 months cannot work for me.

Are there any agent or garage who can handle things like that? Just as an Australian who wants to buy a second hand GTR from Japan, will that be possible?

I have one more points regarding the mods in my car, which has a 'direct middle pipe' and a quite noisy muffler. Will it be an obstacle for import check as well?

For the air filter and steering wheel, I can get original installed in HK before sending to Oz.

Thank you.

[Iron Chef]

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/importing_vehicles/general/EligibilityCriteria_2.aspx#seven

That is your best option, but you won't be able to sell it here, you'd need to take it back to HK when you leave. If you take this option, you won't need to change tyres or anything else on the car to import it, although minor mods may need to be made for it to be roadworthy.

[ACTIVE-LSD]

While we're on the subject of visitor imports, I saw a rather unusual sight a few months back. while i was driving back from work one day. i saw an american couple driving a LHD lexus sc430 with new york plates. at first i thought they just picked it up from the docks and on their way to the worshop to be converted and compliance. but now that you've mentioned it, i think they're on overseas visitor agreement.

Edited December 16, 2010 by Mingy

[davichui]

the cost of shipping the cars twice(to and from Oz) is much too high to be affordable by me

What about if I have a friend who is a citizen in Oz, he/she makes the arrangement as an citizen buys a used car from HK, then he/she is the leagl owner of the car in Oz before the car is sold when I leave Oz?

Will that be possible?

[Iron Chef]

No. To be honest, I don't think it's worth bringing it in as a personal import, and if you can't afford to ship it back home, you won't be able to afford to get it complied under SEVS. Sell it and buy a different car here.

[davichui]

i love my skyline so much so i dun wanna sell it to anybody.... and i am sure my life in Oz will have a lot more fun if the car is with me

i will look into the "bring in bring back" option more and contact some shipping companies here.

How much I need to pay for an insurance in Oz? I have no claim discount in HK, can it be used there? What else for the government I need to pay?

Perhaps I can live a bit away from Pyrmont if the living +parking expenses are lower, how is the traffic situation in pyrmont? Will it be congested like hell?

I can see I need a carnet before moving it into Oz, should I change the car owner name into myself?

Moving a car to other country seems challenging but would be interesting if I did it

[SKITTLES]

the cost of shipping the cars twice(to and from Oz) is much too high to be affordable by me

What about if I have a friend who is a citizen in Oz, he/she makes the arrangement as an citizen buys a used car from HK, then he/she is the leagl owner of the car in Oz before the car is sold when I leave Oz?

Will that be possible?

I'll give you $4500 aud for that...

Nah, that's a nice car mate, why would you even think about selling it in Australia?

Edit: Also, I'm saving that picture in the "Cars that give me inspiration" folder

Edited December 16, 2010 by SKITTLES

[davichui]

thanks mate. It seems that selling in Oz can give me the extra for shipping the car into Oz, but now I know this idea is not feasible.

I am checking with a company here for shipping the car and getting a Carnet.

What about insurance in Australia? In HK we pay 3rd party insurance in annual term, how is the arrangement in Oz? will they charge me crazy price because i am not a citizen?

[SKITTLES]

thanks mate. It seems that selling in Oz can give me the extra for shipping the car into Oz, but now I know this idea is not feasible.

I am checking with a company here for shipping the car and getting a Carnet.

What about insurance in Australia? In HK we pay 3rd party insurance in annual term, how is the arrangement in Oz? will they charge me crazy price because i am not a citizen?

http://www.germansinaustralia.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=79〈=en

By the sounds of things, you shouldn't really have too much of a problem with getting insurance. JustCar didn't ask if I'm here on a visa in their online quote form.

Your best bet is to ring around to different insurance companies.

http://justcarinsurance.com.au/

http://www.nrma.com.au/

http://www.youi.com.au/

http://www.aami.com.au/

You could also try shannons but they're very picky with who they insure. You'll have to prove you're a car enthusiast...