FAQ - Importing - Q&A Needed!

[Duncan]

eh? I thought you could drive an unregistered car if it was for the express purpose of getting it registered?

sorry, I couldn't find it on the RTA website but it was my understanding. check it out....

[Beer Baron]

does that mean i can bring the car to a compliance standard myself, and then once completed take/tow the car to a RAWS workshop to have a certificarte filled out?

another thing- why does bringing a car to compliance cost so much, as in whats included in the 1-5k or more that it costs.  I can factor in the cost or tyres and even if i paid a mechanic to bring a car back to stock surely it wouldn't cost that much in labor?

You can't do sevs compliance yourself, that's the whole point of RAWS/SEVS - only RAWs that have SEVS plates can do the work. if you are talking about a 15yo car, then you don't need a RAW at all. You can do it yourself, or have any workshop who knows what they're doing perform the work, then have (in NSW) and RTA approved "signatory" sign off on the car as meeting the relevant ADRs. SEVS compliance costs so much because there are a lot of costs in becoming a RAW and getting approved under SEVS, on top of what the actual compliance work 'costs'.

Richard

[foznice]

sweet, that straightens things out for me. So say i import under the 15yr rule, and do the compliance myself. What happens bettween that and getting rego?

thanks

[drakan69]

my understanding of it from there is once the car has passed compliance, it then get's rego

i don't think there is much in between, however i could be wrong, check out http://www.prestigemotorsport.com.au and click on the import flowchart in the top right corner that will give you some more info.

[foznice]

i keep hearing stuff about the 15yr rule going out.. When is this supposed to happen?? What are the chances of me being able to import under the 15yr rule december '05 or january '06... If the 15yr rule becomes abolished, how do we import? will we be forced to go under the SEVS scheme?

[funkymonkey]

the 15 year rule is definitely being amended, not abolished, you may find stricter regulations on what qualifies as a 15 year old import. This will happen around Jan 2005. The SEVS scheme isn't that bad.

I wouldn't fancy your chances of you being able to import any of the current popular imports under the 15 year rule come dec 05 or jan 06.

[foznice]

what do you mean by stricter regulations exactly funky?

[funkymonkey]

We were contacted by DOTARs and adviced to stop buying any more 1990 as we may find it difficult to get import approval come January. We're still waiting for it in writing.

See before they made it 15 years old to the month, it was 15 to the year, but when they changed the rule, a lot of people had bought the car before the law changed, so they were allowed to bbring their cars in under the old system. By law they have to do it again for all the guys who have already bought 1990 cars, but they adviced us that from now on if anyone purchases a 1990 car assuming that they will allow it, they won't make an exception.

That's all the info that they've given us. They're restructuring the management of DOTARs, so everything's up in the air. I guess they're just covering their arses in case they do change something.

[foznice]

hmmm.. so if i can't import under the 15yr rule, i will have to go under SEVS?

[predator]

well funky said it was being ammended, not abolished so it will probably still be there, it really depends on what the changes in regulations exactly are.

If they get stricter on modifications, or require other criteria to be met, it could turn out it would be better off importing a newer car under SEVS anyhow.

With a new Liberal senate majority, I think this current government will feel a bit more obliged to make more sweeping changes without opposition. Australia's fault for voting so one sided at the election...grumble.

Actually i am offtopic :spamcan:

[MerlinTheHapyPig]

separate question, im in Victoria.

Can I get temporary registration and drive the car to the compliance workshop to get complied?? (15 year old import)

Someone mentioned in a previous post "DONT DRIVE IT"

but isn't the purpose of a temp reg to do the repairs / work you need to get done to get it rego'd? So wouldn't compliance mods qualify for that?

[SteveL]

You can get an unregistered vehicle permit (UVP) from Vicroads, costs $67 for a 28 day permit (there's also a 1 week one for about $40, I think). If you have access to a fax machine and a credit card you can do it over the phone.

I drove my car from the docks to Ferntree Gully using a UVP and had no problems at all, but I took it real easy and my wife followed all the way in her car - you definately don't want to attract any 'unwanted' attention. I've also driven the car from home to the compliance place which is not far from me.

I think others have suggested not driving it because there's a potential for something to go wrong with the car, esp since it may have been in storage for a long time and there might be deterioration (eg loss of oil/coolant, etc). It's a risk, no doubt, but my car is pretty standard so I decided to take the risk...plus it would have cost more to have it trucked everywhere. On top of that I've seen the damage that can be done by a careless tow truck driver....

separate question,  im in Victoria.

Can I get temporary registration and drive the car to the compliance workshop to get complied?? (15 year old import)

Someone mentioned in a previous post "DONT DRIVE IT"

but isn't the purpose of a temp reg to do the repairs / work you need to get done to get it rego'd?  So wouldn't compliance mods qualify for that?

[funkymonkey]

if you bring in a sev's vehicle, only the compliancer is theoretically ever allowed to touch the car till the compliance is completed.

On a 15 year old any monkey can do anything with it, which is wierd. For the cars that we collect from the docks for our clients, we take a trade plate down and drive it to the compliance centre with it on. If the client wants to pick up the car themselves, then we get em to get a 24 hour to a weekly permit from vicroads, costs are fro $37 for a day to $50 something for a week, so most people take the weekly one.

Once you've got to the vehicle comes your fist challenge, starting it. 9/10 times you'll need a jumper pack or jumper leads and a mate's car.

Then comes challenge 2, fuel. Because of the lack of the filler neck you have to hold the fuel nozzle at half throttle and let if fill up... and it takes forever Make sure you put some 98 RON fuel in there as most cars that come out of japan have a 95 RON requirement (hi-po cars requiring more) and regular fuel is about 92 RON.

Also note that travel in the citylink "should" be free ;p

Because its a 15 year old vehicle you're free to do what you want with it once you pick it up. There's no limit on the time you have to compliance it (in VIC anyways), you can put it in your backyard for a year if you want. But it'll cost you a small fortune in UVP's

[SteveL]

Once you've got to the vehicle comes your fist challenge, starting it. 9/10 times you'll need a jumper pack or jumper leads and a mate's car.

I picked up my GTR from the Patricks terminal at Webb Dock (Vic) and there was no way they were going to let me take my car into the Dock area to work on the GTR....fortunately I had a spare battery but I had to carry it to the GTR to get it started

[foznice]

you would think that there would be a jumper pack at the wharves... i mean how many cars would they unload a day? And if like funky says that you need to jump start 9/10 times... it would just be more convienient for everybody.

[SteveL]

you would think that there would be a jumper pack at the wharves... i mean how many cars would they unload a day? And if like funky says that you need to jump start 9/10 times... it would just be more convienient for everybody.

It's quite possible they do, but I was on a tight time schedule and figured by the time I ran around trying to find someone to help, it'd be quicker to just grab my own battery.

[foznice]

mmmm good point... *note to self* when picking up car bring jumper pack...

[solomani]

Sorry noob here can someone explain to me:

The 15 year rule? I assume this means it is easier to import cars 15 years old or older from Japan (so 1990 cars for 2005).

What is SEVS?

How does the personal ownership laws work? I live in Japan so this is an option for me.

Thanks in advance.

[jonn]

Sorry noob here can someone explain to me:

The 15 year rule?  I assume this means it is easier to import cars 15 years old or older from Japan (so 1990 cars for 2005).

What is SEVS?

How does the personal ownership laws work?  I live in Japan so this is an option for me.

Thanks in advance.

http://www.dotars.gov.au/transreg/vsb/vsb_10.htm

[Astonish]

Heeeelp...how true is it that when u import a car, there is a chance that the car might come with some goodies missing from it??? ive just purchesed a skyline and its on its way from japan, then im hearing all these scary stories.