Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

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 :P ), 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.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/347581-getting-my-ecr33-into-sydney/
Share on other sites

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 :)

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.

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..

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.

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.

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 by Mingy

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

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?

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.

DSC_0568.jpg

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 :rolleyes:

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

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... :P

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 by 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?

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...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • 90lb/min @ 20psi is wonderful, not so much of a problem with the G35-1050's compressor efficiency (aside from how bad they roll back at higher pressure ratios).  The issue is more to do with the turbine's flow, which is why I'm not sold on going an even higher flowing compressor with the same turbine.  I'd say go back over Motive DVD's testing of the G35 1050 and Hawkins's comments regarding exhaust back pressure issues with it, I'd need to go back but I have in my head he went to the biggest hotside and ended up sacrificing a lot of spool (so it ended up behaving like a bigger turbo) and still had EMAP issues.  I've heard various other experiences along the lines of that. At this stage at least I rate all I've seen about Xonas (for transparency I've not used one directly, but I have spoke plenty with people who have) to have low exhaust restriction for the response they offer for any given setup - basically they allow the engine to breathe, which is good for the engine and makes making power a lot easier.  You arguably don't have to even push quite the same amount of airflow through an engine to make the same power if you don't have the bum plugged up with exhaust gas struggling to escape the engine due to an underflowing turbine.   In terms of reliability, to be fair I've had great luck with Garrett turbos as well - my GT3076R lasted forever, then I sold it and the next owner had no issues, then that car got sold and it was still going strong last I ever heard about it.  The trick is with the old GT-series turbos the compressors etc were no way near as efficient as what we have these days, it was almost hard to push them into severe overspeed situations without having a boost leak or something - and that is what often starts the failure situation.    In terms of your G35 I'm pretty sure you're running yours within sensible limits, something people with Xonas and Precision turbos aren't often so inclined to do.  The "compressor maps" are "Joe blogs ran 45psi through his 6466 so I can do the same" and built their setup to send it to the moon.  I've seen EMAP and compressor speed data where people have actually set that stuff up on Precisions and Xonas which have been run hard and the comp speed numbers are very very exciting at times - like I've seen 76mm Precisions run at rpm that you ideally shouldn't run a G35 1050 lol.   I know people who have run G-series Garretts hard and hard a failure, then replaced them with Pulsar turbos as a cheap "get it going" stop gap with the intent of doing a proper upgrade when THAT fails... and are still running the same thing.   Like anything, ymmv and it's not always to do with the quality or trustworthiness of said product. I've been provided with a bunch of compressor maps for Turbosmart turbos and will update my list based off that, they could prove to interesting reading and an interesting alternative as well.
    • Just cage it, call it a race car, and then fall in love with the chirp chirps through pit area!   Also, this is coming from someone with a completely locked diff...
    • I still have an old R32R left over from when they were a thing in the early 2000's. It was, for its time, done about right. But its time was 20 years ago.  I did try and update it a while back but it was cruelled by a (recommended) muppet of a tuna who couldnt tell his MAP from his TPS. The original spec was: Power FC, 700cc Sards, Nismo pump, 2860-5's, cams (Basically Poncam A's), Z32 AFM's and a half sorted oiling system. Thereabouts 430rwhp irrespective of what was done. So, yeah, very 1990's. I eventually got sick of it not being very refined and bought a Link G4 PNP with some 1000cc Bosch injectors. This was tuned badly and I put the car in the shed for a few years whilst I sulked and went and did other things. Ive come around to the idea of getting it going again so it has a new gearbox installed and some other minor things in the planning. So my questions are, variously (In the context of keeping the Link) What other sensors should I be running eg It has no wideband on it at the moment, nor fuel pressure. $? Is it worth chucking the old ignition system (ignitors etc) for new ignition coils? $2k? Cam/crank angle sensors? Can keep the aircon? $? Anything else? Sorry to launch another what should I do with my car thread but, you know, what should I do with my car? Random photo for historical context.
    • If you think that's harsh, go experience a KAAZ 🥲 Thoughts and prayers for Dose. I had mine modified by a diff shop to make it less brutal, no idea what they did but it's not as brutal as before. The Asian in me was being tight before and went KAAZ instead of a Nismo, lesson learned.
    • From what I understand, the normal Nismo diff is a bit harsh, and the Pro is the one that behaves more nicely, and you only pay Nismo tax twice to get it.
×
×
  • Create New...