Steam Cleaning Before Customs Clearance

[godzl1975]

I have to agree with that, the only other thing i have to ad, they try to steal stuff from them .

yeah they are a rip off..i payed $200 for them to do it on the spot..so only waited for abit ..but still didnt even look like they did anything at all...had all mud n cob webs under the wheel arches..and yeh parts do go missing there!

[jen-]

Well I picked up the car, FINALLY!

And my customs agent told me it will need a steam clean at Hobbs bros.

I took the papers to the guy in the delivery office. He eventually gave me the keys and I just started her up (after a few minutes of looking it up and down) and drove it home.

Completely evaded the steam cleaners.

[Jade]

Well I picked up the car, FINALLY!

And my customs agent told me it will need a steam clean at Hobbs bros.

I took the papers to the guy in the delivery office. He eventually gave me the keys and I just started her up (after a few minutes of looking it up and down) and drove it home.

Completely evaded the steam cleaners.

Hate to tell you but if Quarantine directed that the car must be cleaned then you didn't evade the cleaners.

The docks would have given you a conditional release given by Quarantine so the car can be taken to Hobbs Bros for cleaning. The delivery officer at the docks would have been under the impression that this is what you were going to do.

Quarantine will not have cleared the car in their system as they will not have the final release from a Quarantine Officer who inspects the car after cleaning and issues the release.

Quarantine will follow it up and contact you. Quarantine are at Hobbs Bros every day & will be looking for your vehicle so they can re-inspect and clear it in their system. They will start to ask questions if they can't find your car.

My recommendation is you take it back to Hobbs asap, mention nothing of having driven it on public roads, get it cleaned and re-inspected by Quarantine so it can be cleared on the system.

There are huge fines for driving a vehicle on the road that is under Quarantine Direction, ignorance won't be an excuse as your Customs Agent informed you the car required cleaning.

It may also affect how Quarantine controls future Directions and make it more difficult and expensive for others.

ie: Quarantine could enforce that all cars to be cleaned must be trucked to the cleaning depot to avoid owners driving off and not following Quarantine Directions.

I am the first to agree that some Quarantine Directions are inexplicable and seem to be just revenue collecting, but if they direct a car must be cleaned, then it must be cleaned.

Cheers

[jen-]

The guy who gave me my keys (he did the clearance/paper work while I waited) said to take it to the security gate next door. That guy said that if I'm lucky enough to start it then I'm cool to take it home. So I drove it out, parked on the otherside of the fence (couldn't drive it straight home as I had drove down there and couldn't leave my other car there). Asked the other guy inside (who does the clearance work) if I can park it here and pick it up later tonight. He said, that's fine. So I went off and came back later that night and took it home.

I'm getting in touch with AAT to confirm that the car has been cleared etc.

Thanks for the look out

[NXTIME]

You know you took a huge risk leaving the car outside. I had mine towed from outside the gate and it never left my site.

[raz0r$harP.UK]

The guy who gave me my keys (he did the clearance/paper work while I waited) said to take it to the security gate next door. That guy said that if I'm lucky enough to start it then I'm cool to take it home. So I drove it out, parked on the otherside of the fence (couldn't drive it straight home as I had drove down there and couldn't leave my other car there). Asked the other guy inside (who does the clearance work) if I can park it here and pick it up later tonight. He said, that's fine. So I went off and came back later that night and took it home.

I'm getting in touch with AAT to confirm that the car has been cleared etc.

Thanks for the look out

Let us know what happens. Because from what I read you've said two different things.

Your customs agent would have given AQIS directions as to whom was going to clean it. If he said it was going to Hobbs for cleaning, then AAT wouldn't have cleaned it. If no-one's cleaned it, then you've failed to get it re-inspected and like Jade said you're potentially in a precarious position.

Oh well, hoping it's all good!

[Beer Baron]

get in cleaned mate, or prepare to be reamed.

of course the bloke at the gate just assumed you were collecting your car. he doesnt work for AQIS so how would he know what you are supposed to be doing with it. your agent told you to drive the car to hobbs to be cleaned. generally people do that, then AQIS will re-inspect the car at hobbs and clear/fail it. if it's cleared then you can take it and do what you want. it's a risk i would not be taking, if your car has not passed the AQIS inspection it will come back to haunt you. plus appart from it being a scam there is a legitimate reason cars require cleaning, that is to prevent unwelcome diseases and bugs etc entering our country.

[TommO]

On a similar note... my car is due to arrive into Brisbane docks on the 27th of May (a Saturday). As I have to fly up to pick it up, how long should I expect it take to be ready for collection?

I've heard of it taking over a week for the custom's spray and this thread kinda confirms that.

Just looking for averages anyway...

[mlttat]

hey mate,

my car is leaving japan on the 13th of may n should arrived in bris here on the 27th too... should be able to pick it up within 3-5 days but lately its been pretty slow so give it about 5-6 days..

since iam picking my car up at the same time s you, if theres anything i can give you a hand wif, then send me a PM .. cheers mate

mike

On a similar note... my car is due to arrive into Brisbane docks on the 27th of May (a Saturday). As I have to fly up to pick it up, how long should I expect it take to be ready for collection?

I've heard of it taking over a week for the custom's spray and this thread kinda confirms that.

Just looking for averages anyway...

[poop]

which ones better at having stuff NOT stolen from? AAT or Hobbs? i was told that Hobbs is not as busy as AAT so i can get my car faster if it went through Hobbs...but if hobbs is where all the things get nicked from, i'll wait for AAT

[Beer Baron]

if it was me i would go through AAT as the car doesnt have to leave the docks.

[poop]

if it was me i would go through AAT as the car doesnt have to leave the docks.

Thanks mate. AAT it is!

[Tosh]

a few things guys,

You all seem to be quite upset about the money it costs to clean the cars and how the car is still dirty afterwards. Hobbs Bros are not vehicle detailers. They get the Quarantine Direction and are told SPECIFICALLY what to clean. So to pass your car, they only need to clean what AQIS have noted in their first inspection. I'm sure you would do the same thing if you were running their business... why bother cleaning parts of the car that aren't required to be? That's just a waste of time.

I'm not going to comment on the money.

Also AAT have recently introduced a cleaning service but remember that it can delay the process by a few days. If you pick you car up first thing in the morning @ 7 or 8am there is a good chance that Hobbs Bros will be have your car cleaned as directed and cleared the same day. AQIS are booked with them to inspect cars @ 1pm everyday. So if they're not too busy there is a possibility that they may be able to clean your car and have it cleared the same day. AAT have a booking for 8am. Which means your car arrives, your paperwork is sorted and the car is ready to be cleaned. That's 1 day. The next day the car is cleaned. That's 2 days. On the 3rd Day AQIS inspect the car at 8am and clear it. So as you can see it can delay you by up to 3 days.

[roy pritchard]

 Have been told that my car needs a steam clean before i can pick it up at Fremantle is there a standard charge for steam cleaning.?

[Rusty Nuts]

On 2/21/2006 at 9:54 PM, SteveL said:

It's an AQIS thing (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service).

I brought a container of Yamaha Golf Cars in through Sydney, all the certificates correct and including a video of the cars being steam cleaned- Body off chassis. They inspected every nook and cranny and demanded a rewash, I played the game, smiled and paid, Ya can't fight city hall mate.

[Nostalgia]

I got a toyota alphard coming in which landed over month ago. still waiting for it to be released. reason- "scheduled to be cleaned" even thought it was already cleaned in j-land. ridiculous!

Edited May 23, 2021 by Nostalgia