Import Brokers - PMS or J-Spec?

[DentonR33]

Dean and Chris from Ultimate Performance Imports are skyline enthusiasts and have imported both mine and Steve's skylines from http://r33skyline.com

They also complete compliance on both j-spec and prestige's cars, and they are in melbourne!

Go down and see Dean and Chris at UPI or check out there website www.upimports.com.au you wont be disappointed!

[gtrken]

Originally posted by sven laptop

Well, tell me how long you reckon it'll take.

The boat is due to land in Brisbane on Monday the 3rd.

Which means you won't get it off the wharf till probably the 5th or later.

The compliance plate is there waiting for it & the car's booked in for the work to be done, or at least started, next week.

The compliance plate is only issued after the compliance work is done and the engineer has signed off on it.

Ask to physically see the green plate with your VIN nimber on it.I think you might be disappointed.

If they  are a VICAA member they can apply for the plate when the car arrives in the shop , but not while it's still on the boat.

So please, give me some words from the wise!

I'm guessing 4-5 weeks but if it's earlier , hey that's good for you

Cheers

Ken

[Red Sky II]

I imported my car from Geoff at PMS and he was one of the most helpful people I have ever come across. I have corresponding with him and asking questions for nearly a year before I actually bought my car - this was even before paying Geoff's fee. Try that anywhere else.

Whilst he knew the car I was looking for, he found something better than I had looked for and emailed me with the details. When I wasn't sure due to only seeing two pics, he arranged for more pics to be taken the next day and sent these to me.

As far as the process goes, he helped me the whole way and I didn't have to do much apart from meet people and pay people along the way.

I live in Perth but never actually met Geoff and I don't think there is any real need to meet the person - unless you are more comfortable that way.

First time importing car (under this "old" scheme) and would have no hesitation in recommending him.

Cheers, Al

[red17]

Ken,

My car was sitting parked in my driveway 2-3 weeks after it was on the boat. It wasnt complianced and i was driving it on dealers, but still, it was sat in my driveway

Red17

[skipppy]

nothing but praise

geoff was very helpful, patient, and very imformative.

i rang this bloke at all hours and he answered all my questions.

i dont think some or you realise how much money you save.

Even though some things seemd a little sus bout the car in the way of k's, im still very happy

erin

[zanda]

Originally posted by sven laptop

Well, tell me how long you reckon it'll take.

The boat is due to land in Brisbane on Monday the 3rd.

The compliance plate is there waiting for it & the car's booked in for the work to be done, or at least started, next week.

So please, give me some words from the wise!

Try asking the compliance workshop?!?

apart from anything else, they will need to know in order to schedule work at that time.

For reference, I was told 10 working days - so about 2 weeks from landing to "on the road"

[Lozza150]

a Copy of the email i recieved from geoff after i spoke to him RE: stolen items

(due to personal listings about my vehicle some parts have been edited..Loz)

Re: items inside cars, we try to choose the best option at the time. We

hate things going missing as much as anyone else. I'm not sure what I said

to you at the time but we do often offer postage of items if requested. It

costs about $150 to $220 for most items, so many times we choose to hide

them in the car instead and this proves quite successful.

Where the item would be broken or made inoperative through removal, or there

is not enough slack on the wiring to hide it successfully, it is obviously

left as is.

Other times, the supplier simply has no time to remove items, hell, many of

them ship 300 cars a month. It's all very well people saying "I do it so

our service must be better than his" and "go talk to my mate, he'll find you

a car", and "I can do it for you, I find my own", but let's see them locate

the volume of vehicles that we do and then check their record of happy

customers. It will be somewhat different to what they promise.

Cheers

Geoff

[Guest ylwgtr]

It's all very well people saying "I do it so

our service must be better than his" and "go talk to my mate, he'll find you

a car", and "I can do it for you, I find my own", but let's see them locate

the volume of  vehicles that we do and then check their record of happy

customers.  It will be somewhat different to what they promise.

Cheers

Geoff [/b]

hmmmm i dont think the comment about the volume and happy customers thing is a stong argument.... i mean not only he has access to all these companys.......I know who both of these two agents deal with on both ends and beleive me these people can be approached and dealt with for one or many vehicle by either trader or private person.....these peole do everything...so there is no need to say"i dont know anything about importing a car" all you gotta do is sign the papers.Actually once raws comes in i cant see that any of these guys will be doing a roaring trade anymore, i guess we will wait and see whats gunna happen

[gtrken]

Originally posted by red17

Ken,

My car was sitting parked in my driveway 2-3 weeks after it was on the boat. It wasnt complianced and i was driving it on dealers, but still, it was sat in my driveway

Red17

If that is what you classify as covering the question , then I beat you.

I pick mine up direct from the wharf myself and are usually in my garage within 48hrs of the ship unloading.

Somehow I don't think that is what sven is talking about.

Oh and:D

Cheers

Ken

[sven laptop]

Alrighty then (and please forgive my ignorance, I'm a first time importer), I'm now told by the import broker that:

"It should take 3 days to get it cleared from the wharf and a week for compliance. Then a further week to get it to Melbourne."

So, does that sound realistic?

Anyone who's imported a car knows that you put quite a bit of faith in people you've never met to do the right thing by you.

I'm hoping and trusting that in my case they are doing the right thing. If anyone can convince me why I shouldn't trust them then I'm all ears......like Andy Caddick

...and by the way Red17, if I

[gtrken]

Yes but the question you need to ask is when is the compliance plate going to be physically attached to the firewall.

Without that , sure you may have the car , but it won't be licensed until that green plate is on it.

Cheers

Ken

[gtrken]

And to get this thread back on track , I have purchased a vehicle through Craig at J Spec and have absolutely no problems with him.

Am also on Geoffs email and find his info to be very informative .

At the end of the day it comes down to are you willing to hand over your hard earned to some one you have never met for a car you have never seen.

If any of that worries you then buy locally or from a dealer.

Truth is on a lot of vehicles atm , by the time the car is purchased and all problems rectified ( cos there is always something wrong with any car you buy. ) it can be cheaper easier and less stressful to look through the local paper or these forums for one already here.

Cheers

Ken

[Lozza150]

Originally posted by ylwgtr

.Actually once raws comes in i cant see that any of these guys will be doing a roaring trade anymore, i guess we will wait and see whats gunna happen

Yes time will tell...... will be VERY interesting to see the new law's

[ice180]

I'm with ken. and i don't know about other states but plates are not just sitting there waiting for a car.. they have to be ordered through canberra and then supplied in Vic by the place that prints them in Niddrie. times are very variable at the moment. Geoff always seems to provide good service as does Craig - both helped me out once where i had purchased a car for a customer through Isibike and they jacked up the price - Craig found out what it actually sold for at the auction, he helped me even though i am indirectly a very small competitor. Dean from UPI also offers grear service and prices. Geoff seems to specialise more in cheaper and previous accident repaired cars I guess you pay for what you get esp if you want grade 4 and five. Now is good time to buy prices seem to be dropping. Not many plates left though so be quick!!!!!

[Scotty]

Hi gtrken & ice180

I concur with you both, all it comes down to is WHO you are willing to hand over your money. Craig and Geoff are without the doubt the most knowledgable importers in this industry. Services, quality of work, is much of a muchness, so you'll end up with the same regardless.

So back to the point, Kev, stop procrastinating and get off your ass and do something about it. I understand that time is running out, so given all these other people's opinions, what excuse do you have left?

[king_kw13]

Yeah thanks Scotty

Thanks all for the great advice. Indeed it seems as if many of the importers mentioned in this thread provide comprehensive service and turn out happy customers, so it pretty much boils down to if you are happy about getting a car u have not seen and a car that potentially may have problems when it arrives. Apparently (after checking with Craig) there may just be several plates left for R33s, so hopefully I have managed to scrape in in time. Lets hope I get to join all u guys in an exclusive club.

[Lozza150]

Happy Hunting.....

[gtrken]

Originally posted by king_kw13

Yeah thanks Scotty

Thanks all for the great advice. Indeed it seems as if many of the importers mentioned in this thread provide comprehensive service and turn out happy customers, so it pretty much boils down to if you are happy about getting a car u have not seen and a car that potentially may have problems when it arrives. Apparently (after checking with Craig) there may just be several plates left for R33s, so hopefully I have managed to scrape in in time. Lets hope I get to join all u guys in an exclusive club.  

I think he's right cos I sold my last 10 plates for the R33's to Sydney .

I think there would be lucky to be 5 plates avaliable for R33 's in W Aust.

Cheers

Ken

[Lindsayl284]

zanda you were lucky, I just imported an R32 GTS-T with a GTR intercooler in it and it got a big f#^ing hole ripped in it. I had to pay over $800 to get it replaced : (