Presige Motorsport

[lwells]

Basically, dont bring in a car under SEVS with accident history - its the safest option

Considering this was one of the reasons that SEVS was introduced -- and part of the justification for expanding the SEVS-type system to 15 year and younger imports -- its not suprising they are so tough. RAWS have a lot at stake and aren't going to put their business and/or reputation at risk lightly.

LW.

[dmx_121]

By the sound of that, you've done no research at all.

what do you think this is

[dmx_121]

what is this ????SEVS????

[R32Skyliner]

I imported my Skyline through Prestige and had no trouble whatsoever. Ended up soting about $1500 on top of the price quoted to get the car on the road. Main costs were tyres (about $650 for 17s) and alarm ($250). I also didn't know about the sunroof on my car (not sure how they missed that) and I got a set of enkei 17s instead of the mismatched 16s that were on the car originally. Overall, very happy with the service given, Geoff is very friendly and gives great personal service, highly recommended.

[Guest]

As I understand it, there is an appeals process if your car is initially rejected, but its at the behest of DOTARS.

LW.

If a car is rejected it is rejected as they want to protect the RAW from being sued by people who bring in a cheap car and try and sneak it through, I know of a few cars being rejected luckily most were in Japan.

I have had to give a bit of advice to guys who were not told the whole truth,

[dmx_121]

so what sort of cars are rejected?

and how much chance of it is there?

[Guest]

Any car is or can be rejected if it dosent meet what rules set out in the link below.

http://raws.dotars.gov.au/Download/PDF/RAW...uide%20July.pdf

Damaged Vehicles

(i) The RAW must not place a used import plate on a vehicle whose structural integrity has ever been reduced by corrosion or crash damage.

(j) Before beginning modification of a vehicle the RAW must inspect the vehicle for crash damage, corrosion, and repair of crash damage or corrosion.

(k) If a vehicle’s structural integrity has been reduced by crash damage or corrosion, the vehicle is to be re-exported or destroyed.

15. Damaged Vehicles

Crash damage or corrosion may affect continued compliance with the ADRs. This is specially so in the case of the occupant protection ADRs 69, 72 and 73. It is not possible for a RAW to provide a reasonable level of assurance that a crash damaged or corroded vehicle, where the structural integrity of the vehicle has been affected, complies with all of the applicable ADRs. Therefore, it is not permissible for a RAW to fit a used import plate to such a vehicle.

Before commencing compliance work each vehicle must be inspected by the RAW to check for crash damage, damage repair or corrosion that may affect the structural integrity of the vehicle. Records of this inspection are to be retained by the RAW and be made available to VSS inspectors upon request. (Regulation 57)

Crash damaged or corroded vehicles where the structural integrity may be affected must be re-exported or destroyed. It is expected that a RAW would take all reasonable steps to avoid importing a crash damaged or corroded vehicle.

The criteria below must be used as a minimum when deciding if crash damage or corrosion is likely to affect the structural integrity of the vehicle.

Underbody damage which results in the:

crushing of floorpan stiffening members,

splitting of seam welds or

tearing of the metal

Damage to rocker panels (or outer sill) which result in:

Dents to a depth of more than 25 mm

Creasing, distortion of the sill weld

Distortion to longitudinal rails affecting the front and rear crush zones.

Collision damage to steering or suspension components.

Damage to the vehicle’s outer body panels, which affect the integrity of any of the seams or joints installed by the vehicle manufacturer.

Corrosion (rust) which has resulted in perforation or flaking of the metal. When checking the condition of the vehicle the following items need to be inspected but not necessarily in this order:

Engine compartment

Right side

Luggage cargo compartment

Left side

Underbody or chassis frame

Passenger compartment

[lwells]

If a car is rejected it is rejected as they want to protect the RAW from being sued by people who bring in a cheap car and try and sneak it through, I know of a few cars being rejected luckily most were in Japan.

I have had to give a bit of advice to guys who were not told the whole truth,

Someone on a forum I frequent had a car rejected and were able to appeal to DOTARS (although were ultimately turned down IIRC). As I said, it seems to be entirely at the discretion of DOTARS and not a situation you want to be in.

LW.

[Guest]

You can appeal but the RAW has last say,

If you bring in a car that is suspect as the information on not what to bring in is out their so you can save a coule of bucks it needs to be that you cant just sue the RAWS or DOTR's.

[dmx_121]

but if i try to import a fairly standard well pretty much stock apart from maybe rims or cd player exhaust small things

will i have a big chance of getting it through?

[slow13dude]

but if i try to import a fairly standard well pretty much stock apart from maybe rims or cd player exhaust small things

will i have a big chance of getting it through?

It doesn't matter how non-standard the car is.

The compliance process for <15 years old vehicles will involve taking all non-factory fitted parts off the car and replacing them with stock factory items (at your expense of course).

A highly-modified non-accident vehicle has a better chance of being complied than a stock vehicle that has kissed the rails a few too many times.

It's all about the damage.

BTW, the compliancing workshop I used (for 15 year compliance) said they warn people importing about the stock parts requirement; the car importer then proceeds to remove all non-standard parts before the compliancing workshop gets their hands on them. So the importer gets to keep their goodies and the workshop keeps their nose clean.

So they've seen cars turn up without exhausts and the like.

[aybee]

when i imported my car through prestige the on-the-road cost was almost exactly what geoff had predicted. and that included some extra bs when i had to rush to beat the May 7 cut-off.

[dmx_121]

It doesn't matter how non-standard the car is.

The compliance process for <15 years old vehicles will involve taking all non-factory fitted parts off the car and replacing them with stock factory items (at your expense of course).

A highly-modified non-accident vehicle has a better chance of being complied than a stock vehicle that has kissed the rails a few too many times.

It's all about the damage.

BTW, the compliancing workshop I used (for 15 year compliance) said they warn people importing about the stock parts requirement; the car importer then proceeds to remove all non-standard parts before the compliancing workshop gets their hands on them.  So the importer gets to keep their goodies and the workshop keeps their nose clean.

So they've seen cars turn up without exhausts and the like.

so is that cars older than 15 years have to be standard? or newer than 15 years?

also alot of ppl were saying they got a whole lot of extra parts with the car

[predator]

when i imported my car through prestige the on-the-road cost was almost exactly what geoff had predicted. and that included some extra bs when i had to rush to beat the May 7 cut-off

same.. down to about $50 i think in the end.. i was impressed by the estimate.

Compliance like everybody says can vary way too much as it can depend on the vehicle. In mine I need to replace the rear tyres (bald) and the brakes need attention. These, items that need replacing weren't in the original estimate, but budgetted and thought of. Always budget for a set of 4x GOOD tyres, and 4x GOOD brake pads, and a full service (i.e. replace anything that can be pulled off and replaced cheaply).. in the very least

One of the reasons I wish to do my own compliance is that I can choose a bit better exactly what tyres I put on there, what brakes, and changing any basic things such as oil and water as I see fit. Its possible I could get away with not doing the brakes but why bother if they are borderline, stopping a car is a good idea.

under SEVS (younger than 15 years) no modifcations.. under 15 year rule, modifications have to be engineer certifiable.

[slow13dude]

so is that cars older than 15 years have to be standard? or newer than 15 years?

also alot of ppl were saying they got a whole lot of extra parts with the car

< is the *less than* sign. Less than 15 year old cars have to be made standard.

[dmx_121]

so the importer or compliance shop makes them standard? u dont have to do that before it being imported to japan?

[lwells]

so the importer or compliance shop makes them standard? u dont have to do that before it being imported to japan?

If the car is 15 years or older, it can have pretty much any structurally-sound modification when it is imported. You may have some issues if the car is highly modified (e.g. huge high mount turbo/s) as it still needs to confirm to the Australian Standards for emissions (both sound and pollution), safety, etc, etc but most things are A-OK.

If its younger than 15 years old, it must be dead stock when you apply for compliance. Some workshops will allow you to remove modifications before compliance is completed (though my understanding is this is technically a breach of the regulations).

LW.

[usuckpoo]

Hi Guys,

May i just ask that with regard to modifications on a car greater than 15 yrs old, the issue of modifications only come into play when registering the car for on road use? i.e Dotars will permit a modified car to enter the country, and the issue of modifications will have to be nip picked through with your local state roads authority.

The reason i ask is that i have a Lexus IS200 fitted with a non standard 1jz gte which i intend to bring back into australia as a private import. My concern is that the authorities will not permit me to bring the car into the country, or not permit me to register the vehicle since the vehicle is not stock. The problem is that DOTARs makes very little mention of the issue of modifications when it comes to private imports.

[SteveL]

The reason i ask is that i have a Lexus IS200 fitted with a non standard 1jz gte which i intend to bring back into australia as a private import. My concern is that the authorities will not permit me to bring the car into the country, or not permit me to register the vehicle since the vehicle is not stock. The problem is that DOTARs makes very little mention of the issue of modifications when it comes to private imports.

DOTARS don't seem to care much about mods on >15yo cars, but when it comes to compliancing and roadworthy it's a very different matter. I can't speak for other states, but in Vic a separate engineering inspection and report would be required for the non-standard engine.

Edit: just realised...are you talking about a car you will have owned while OS for >12months ??. I still think DOTARS won't care as long as it's >15yo, but local rego authorities might still take an interest in the non-standard engine.engine.

[lwells]

usuckpoo: You should speak directly to DOTARS as noone else's opinion rates.

Having said that, the private import scheme is different to SEVS in that the car doesn't have to comply with the Australian Standards, only a near "equivalent". There is a lot more slack to bring in a modified car.

LW.