Diy Import

[chrisj]

Hi all,

Firstly I no nothing about skylines, period.

1) Currently living in Japan and thinking of importing a car on my own. I've read around and haven't yet come across someone who has imported a car alone without going through a dealer or an auction. Can it be done? Why can't I just buy it drive it to the port and off she goes? (of course after the necessary paperwork)

The prices here in Japan are far cheaper than what the cars go for in Australia.

2) If I do import I'll most likely go for a R34, but I may consider a V35. If I get the latter, where could I get insurance for it?

I'd appreciate any assistance.

Chris

[funkymonkey]

Are you talking about a personal import or a SEVS import? There's two different ways you can import an R34 or V35 for example.

Personal imports have to have been owned by the importer in another country continuously for a year, with evidence to prove this (purchase docs, service books, insurance invoice etc). You must also be coming back to australia with the intention of settling down, not just visiting, and again, you need to supply evidence of this. You still have to pay taxes and for compliance, however the taxes aren't as high, and the compliance is a lot more lenient.

SEVS cars have to have import approvals given prior to the car even getting on a ship, the import approval is issued in australia. If a car was to arrive in the country without an import approval then its either re-exported or destroyed. Import approvals can only be applied for SEVS cars by RAWS workshops on behalf of the customer.

Its one thing buying and loading a car onto a ship, the uphill battle is when the car lands in Australia with the paperwork and the regulations.

Its also here that the costs of an import blows out. You have to pay taxes and duty on the car, then you have to have the car complianced, meet roadworthy standards and finally registered for road use. All that can add anywhere between $5000 and $10000 to the FOB price + shipping costs (depending on the cost of the car, and the compliancer). Then you have the dealership put their profit margins on it.

To answer your second question, most insurance companies here can cover V35's, and if they don't, they usually have a sibling company that handles collectible, rare and sports cars.

A user by the nick "Rezz" on the forum I believe brought back his R32 as a personal import when he moved back from Japan. You might want to ask him how he went about it and his experiences.

[chrisj]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'm talking about a SEVS import. I plan on arranging for compliancing in Australia through a RAW workshop, then just buy the car myself here in Japan and ship it.

The price differenece on cars bought via auctions and what not is quite significant. So since as you said the compliacing costs are so high, I thought it best I save as much as I can by organising what I can myself.

Thanks, I'll PM him!

Chris

[buckets]

hello all

i current own a mitsu mirage (pathetic i know lol)

i am looking at importing a r32 gts-t or an r33 gts-t.

from what i know, i can save alot of money from not using an agent and doing it myself.

from what i have read on the RAWS website, a car can be imported as long as it is not manufactured anymore here in australia.

i was wondering if anyone had any tips for me?

price, time, etc

thanks

[kitamijin]

hello all

i current own a mitsu mirage (pathetic i know lol)

i am looking at importing a r32 gts-t or an r33 gts-t.

from what i know, i can save alot of money from not using an agent and doing it myself.

from what i have read on the RAWS website, a car can be imported as long as it is not manufactured anymore here in australia.

i was wondering if anyone had any tips for me?

price, time, etc

thanks

Mate, you'd be better buying one locally, there are 1000's to chose from at the moment. The money you save getting one from Japan you'll spend on time and mucking around if you do it yourself. Its not like you want a GTR. GTST's are cheap enough here now and you can check it out yourself and go for a test drive, something you can't do if the car is in Japan