Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Ok just to let you in a on a little hint - Adam has a Stagea in our shop that we lodged a very long time ago with Dotars.

He has just had a new baby and needed a station wagon so we bought one and shipped it - now this is for him personally and his wife is a very tough woman (being nice here). He has been getting no end of grief about the time it has taken to comply the car from his wife - so he especially understands your frustration.

The worst thing that anyone can do is call DOTARS and give them the vin on their car and say it is taking too long, as this makes them look at your vin and if they are visiting Sydney or wherever the compliance shop is they will stop in and check the car. Now if they find one thing that does not comply on the car (it could be a missing seatbelt tag or say Nismo taillights) they will hold the car up for at least 6 weeks while they go through the paperwork response from the RAWS shop (this is referred to as DI - discussion item). Other things cause DI's such as using a fullstop in the wrong place (yes that simple) and some VIS (vehicle inspection certificates) are 8 + pages long it is more than frustrating for me personally as I do 80% of our paperwork. I often spend more time fixing up a DI that actually complying a car - just to make DOTARS happy.

We all know minor things make ZERO difference in the real world but these guys are like Highway Patrol cops and seem to get off on slowing things down. I prefer to get cars in and out quick as that is how we make money - the longer a car sits the less space we have to work and in practice the less money we make.

If one of the DOTARS staff goes on Holidays his / her work just piles up.

Perfect example - we had 13 cars sitting in bonded storage @$20 per day due to the fact we were unable to get VIA's from the second week of Dec to the 1st week of Feb. Why might you ask ? Well they had the majority of their staff off on annual leave and ran a skeleton staff just to get the VICS processed. By the way we paid the $260 per day not the clients as we try to be fair with everybody.

Yes I called to ask what was happening and was told "the rules state you can't ship the car until you get the VIA", which is correct but if you sit a car on the wharf in Japan you will also accumulate storage fees.

It is a calculated risk if you ship prior to getting the VIA but 90% of the time it works ok.

I hope this explains things a little better.

Haha sounds like a shit of a job!
These DOTARS people sound like they don't mess around and do seem worse than the defect police.

I haven't bothered calling DOTARS because as Kristian said the people who call them seem to wait the longest.

Thanks for being so transparent about what's been going on and taking the time to reply in here.

I understand where Dodgyimports is coming from, but taking shortcuts is part of the reason why shit cars make it to our shores in the first place. Omission of repairs etc and then for sale at Edward Lee's as mint condition

yes - massive amount of sarcasm in my post.

it's disgusting to see cases like this - and frustrating to see that those whose jobs are to manage and regulate this area continue to ignore this issue - all the while they make things harder for the good guys too. is there ANYTHING they ARE getting right?

yes - massive amount of sarcasm in my post.

it's disgusting to see cases like this - and frustrating to see that those whose jobs are to manage and regulate this area continue to ignore this issue - all the while they make things harder for the good guys too. is there ANYTHING they ARE getting right?

Lol, sorry Dodgy, my sarcasm detector was not working yesterday!

Any more info on yours?

Yeah I spoke with them on Thursday and was told fri or mon it should be ready. Haven't heard a word yet although i am in Japan so not sure if this is barring calls. I know don't believe it has anything to do with dotars delays. It's more to do with workshops taking more cars than they can handle!

Edited by BigWillieStyles

Yeah I spoke with them on Thursday and was told fri or mon it should be ready. Haven't heard a word yet although i am in Japan so not sure if this is barring calls. I know don't believe it has anything to do with dotars delays. It's more to do with workshops taking more cars than they can handle!

They always blame DOTARS if they cant keep up of if there plate alocation has run out.

Seems like a few of us are all having the same delays so it will probably be a huge holdup with DOTARS.

But has anyone had a car arrive in the last 3 months and have it pass compliance easily?

My car arrived in Sydney on the 1st of December & next week will pass the 5 month mark for total time spent importing.

must be absolutely spewin !

although no alternative, you guys have patience that's for certain.

when you cant do anything about it then you cant waste energy on emotion

did you not got any info on timeframe when doing business with importers?

meaning is this common this wait and see how long it takes. Most govt agency's have SLA's

I know of the downsizing of all government departments but this is beyond belief.

most departments have not been slashed yet

Approved vehicles link

RAWS site says it can take up to 20 days (1month)

So what has DotaRS said about their timeframe/delay ?

Complaints to [email protected]

Edited by Sinista32

When it arrived I was originally given a time frame of about 2-3 weeks normally. After a month passed I followed up and was told it would be another week. Then after that it would be a couple of weeks. Next time frame was that it would be about a month and most recent was that it would be last week.

Most of my family and friends have just given up asking when I get my car because I keep telling them "next week"

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

    • My experience with Rising Sun Exports Before agreeing to the sale I tried to do as much research as I could (obviously), his Facebook reviews are 98% and he goes Live at least once or twice a week. I contacted 2 people in the UK who had used him for their imports, both had positive feedback. His explanation and talk through of the import process was thorough, answering any query no matter how stupid it was. It felt as soon as the money was sent, communication dropped off. I asked for shipping updates every 2 weeks or so, not wanting to pester him, he never had any updates. I wasn't informed the car had been dropped off at the port, I only found out by his Facebook story. I asked for the photos taken at the port, knowing he would need some for insurance purposes. I received a few 5 second clips and that's it. When asked again, he said his staff had them. Weeks later I asked again, he tells me he doesn't have any, but does have 50 photos from the original advert. I never received them. I eventually got the documents sent via WhatsApp after I mentioned the port was requesting them. I purchased a CarVX report, to find out the vehicle is a Grade R with recorded accident damage, first recorded in 2017 when it was first auctioned. He never told me the grade, then again I didn't ask. His response was "Grade R means nothing, it wasn't chassis damage". Still, I would have liked to have been informed about it. Jon prides himself on being open and honest when it comes to inspecting cars, it's his main job doing so at the auctions for customers. When the vehicle arrived in the UK I noticed a few little cosmetic issues. It's a 21 year old car so it wasn't going to be mint condition. The side skirts are cracked on each corner and the sealant is failing. The front grill on the bonnet/hood isn't secured very well, mounting studs are missing. Both minor things, but again, it would have been nice to be told. During a Facebook Live walk around video of the vehicle, he mentioned it has a front Whiteline anti roll bar/sway bar. While on the inspection ramp, I noticed the stock item has been installed. When first questioned, his response was "the ARB? Switched? Since when, it never had them". Since sending video and photo evidence I've not received a response. I'm probably being over critical of the overall condition of an old car, but all I wanted was honesty (which he claims to have). I'm aware I wasn't his only customer, he's busy doing XYZ but other reviews praise him for great communication with regular updates and photos, I felt I didn't receive the same treatment. 
    • I was able to get some underside photos while the car was on the ramp The suspension is all Altezza/IS200/IS300 so getting part's will hopefully be less of a headache
    • Welcome to my 2004 Toyota Mark ii IR-V Fortuna (series 2) With a 1JZ-GTE powerplant under the bonnet (hood) it'll give me plenty of scope for power upgrades. For those who aren't familiar with imports, the 1JZ-GTE is a 2.5L 6 cylinder VVTi engine with a single turbocharger. This has the factory R154 5 speed gearbox, along with a aftermarket 2 way LSD differential (brand unknown). Under the arches are a set of CST Zero 1 alloys, 18x9 +30 225/40 up front and 18x9.5 +15 265/35 on the rear. The car was quite low in Japan and there's evidence of the wheels catching the rolled arches/fenders. The tyre's aren't great so I'm in two minds whether to replace both or just the tyres and put up with the wider wheels on the rear. The car still uses stock brakes with the addition of some braided hoses. The exterior is stock with the exception of a BN Sports front bumper and a replacement Fortuna grill  Moving to the interior, the steering wheel has been replaced with a dished MOMO steering wheel (which will get swapped for my Momo Tuner for the time being) Defi Link Gauges are mounted above the climate controls and on the A pillar, the Oil Temp,Oil Pressure,Water Temp and Boost gauges should help with spirited and track driving  The stock seats have been replaced with some retrimmed Recaro bucket seats. Being a larger build these are a little snug, unfortunately the orange isn't for me so I'll look into replacing these down the line. Other modifications include a twin plate clutch, Blitz intercooler, Evolve alloy radiator, a stainless exhaust with decat, HKS EVC-S boost controller and coil overs
    • Apologies for the long read My R34 GTT was up for sale at the beginning of spring due to a few repairs creeping up. The strut tops needed replacing, roof and bonnet (hood) painting (yay for 3 stage pearl) and the underside stripped and treated. I sold the car which allowed me to be in a much better place financially. Leading up to the sale I was already thinking about the replacement. In an ideal world it needed to be a good all-rounder. Something I can mess around with, modify, do track days, do the school run, go on long drives etc.  Options included but not limited to... Laurel C35, Evo 8/9, Civic FD2, Impreza Hawkeye, Aristo and even an Audi S4 Avant (I've already got the Mazda 6 wagon). But there was always one car at the top of the list The Toyota Mark ii JZX110 I found an advert on a Facebook group for an example in Japan, from a seller called Jon at Rising Sun Exports. A few messages back and forth and Jon calls me from Yokohama one morning (or afternoon in his case). He briefly explained the import process, the costs involved and a repeat of the advert. After much deliberation, the price was agreed and the sale was locked in. I've never imported a vehicle so I jumped into the unknown head first. The money transfer was completed through wise.com (fees apply), very easy to use and the money was with him within a day or two.  The car suspension was raised for the vessel and the car dropped off at the port. It was 7 weeks later when the bill of lading was received and the freight invoice sent to me, followed by the export certificate a couple of days after (both digital copies) In the mean time the port had been in contact. I needed an agent to deal with the NOVA (notification of vehicle arrival) along with the tax/duty invoice, this was £75.00. The port also had a fee of £100, I'm guessing to cover the cost of the 10 day 'free storage' and for moving the car off the boat etc. They need a copy of the vehicle invoice, freight invoice and export certificate to allow the vehicle to pass through customs. The vessel arrived on Tuesday 5th August, the tax/duty invoice was generated and sent over. This is generally tax 20% and duty 10% of the vehicle value. Although the invoice came in at a higher amount than I had calculated. Once HMRC had received the payment the vehicle could be released from customs. I thought once the tax/duty was paid you could collect at any point, that's not the case. Your agent will need to book a collection slot, I requested Thursday 7th which was accepted, with a 9:00am slot allocated. It was a 5:00am start from Norfolk heading to Southampton. We eventually found the compound, upon presenting the bill of lading and some ID they released the car (they drove it out of the compound to the front ready for us to load up). The email from the port stated each slot had a 10 minute window, which seemed abit farfetched but the staff said it's not a strict rule. We were there for approx. 30-40 mins in total. A week prior to collecting I contacted my garage and explained the situation, I was able to get an inspection slot that afternoon. For the registration, DVLA require the car to be insured, for this I used a company called Adrian Flux who can insure the vehicle using the VIN number. 
    • Hey guys, looking for these side skirts if anyone can help me out. 
×
×
  • Create New...