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Hidden costs, yes siree.

Prestige quotes the FOB+Shipping+Customs price.

Then you have (approximately, I don't have my receipts in front of me):

Compliance (15 year) $1150 (for a 15 year car)

Engineer sign off $100

Roadworthy $???? (I needed new bushes so $660 incl. labour)

Towing, towing and more towing (or unregistered vehicle permit) $???

New keys because my key doesn't start the car $50

Air con degas $160

Air con regas $100

Full service $300

So my $15000 car on Prestige is around $18000 to date.

Next I have to register it. And insure it.

Beware of other import brokers that quote "landed" price because I think they don't include the customs duties to clear it.

That said, the car in the flesh matches the description Geoff gave.

but those you mensioned arnt hidden. do your reaserch and youll find wha you need.

have you checked the import section of this forum?

im importing through geoff, and the only porblems ive had so far is it missed the baot once, which isnt geoffs fault. (although ive yet to see my car)

that said, DRIVER of these froums got his r34 though them and he didnt have anyproblems, and the car is awesome too!

steve

steve

Then you have (approximately, I don't have my receipts in front of me):

Compliance (15 year) $1150  (for a 15 year car)

Engineer sign off $100

Roadworthy $???? (I needed new bushes so $660 incl. labour)

Towing, towing and more towing (or unregistered vehicle permit) $???

New keys because my key doesn't start the car $50

Air con degas $160

Air con regas $100

Full service $300

Did you read the info the Geoff sent you at the time of purchase of the car ??. With the possible exception of the key, that info tells you to make allowance for all the so-called 'hidden' costs you've outlined above. Compliance is mandatory....why would he hide that cost ?? (he doesn't, BTW). Getting a roadworthy is also mandatory in all states, AFAIA and he tells you to allow for 'on road costs'....having the car towed and/or an unreg vehicle permit is an inevitable part of the process. Requiring new bushes could happen to ANY secondhand car and you would have been very lucky to get the car on the road without spending anything extra. Aircon de-gas/re-gas is also mentioned in his info. Full service is really your decision.

As for me, I bought an 89 GTR through prestige and I got a bargain. The cost has actually turned out to be less than he estimated, plus I got a lot of extra parts on the car that I didn't expect (eg Bilstein suspension).

Recommended

been through prestige myself over 2 years ago and everything went perfect!!

highly recommended.

no hidden costs at all, he told me exactly what i had to pay for and i was in the same boat as SteveL, my boot was filled with a shitload of extra parts the previous owner threw in there.

Shaun

First off, there are a million threads on this so (not to be rude, but...) you should have searched.

I used Prestige for my (recently arrived) R32 GT-R. I found Geoff extremely helpful throughout, with the only slight issue to do with space onboard ships: I was not informed of a shipping date until three days after the car had actually shipped. In fairness, however, that was out of Geoff's control (as can be seen by the current mess at some Japanese ports).

In terms of hidden costs, I would say that there was maybe $200-500 not accounted for. Again, however, to be fair it was my choice to spend that money: I chose to tow rather than drive my car, etc, etc. Overall I think he does a very good job of explaining the costs, but still allow youself some (financial) slack.

Overall I would give his service and 8 or 9 out of 10.

LW.

So I guess by what you are saying, there are *no hidden costs*, only *allowances*?

I think what we're saying is that Geoff and the other reputable brokers try to be as up front as they can about the costs of importing, but things like the cost of getting a roadworthy are almost impossible to predict so anyone planning on importing should probably allow at least a couple of thousand extra to cover the 'unexpected'.

It isnt just what Geoff or J-Spec quote, a dealer I know was charged a premium on his tyres, $50 for a jack that isnt required for compliance, $20 for fuel on a vehicle that isnt supose to go far and it had fuel befor e we loaded it on the truck and $2 for a globe which was the only problem with the car, $4000 plus tyres turned out to be $4800 and all he was doing was milking the buyier plain and simple.

I would personaly find a bit of movement in the compliance cost for a $2 dollar globe, and he wonders why he dosent get return customers.

has any one imported through them

http://www.prestigemotorsport.com.au/

pretty much how reliable are they. if they quote that price do you get it for that price? are there many hidden costs? how much did you pay for compliance?

just anything in general i should know or look out for thanks?

If you bothered to

a) Use the search function, or

B) Actually read the prestige motorsport site

You would find answers to every one of your questions.

I agree - read the Prestige Site - all the answers are there.

yes, but he also asked for personal experiences.

I used Geoff and found the service pretty good, about $250 for 'steam cleaning' and $500 for rear diff pinion that I didn't expect. Otherwise it was pretty good - car was BETTER than expected, with MORE parts :)

I agree - read the Prestige Site - all the answers are there.

i have read the site but i would prefer knowing from peoples personal expirience. how should i know if its just a scam and i would never see the car. also they dont say how much compliance or estimate i could easily spend another 5 or 6k and it will be around the same price as the one's in australia. also i was looking at one car and it told me that all aftermarket parts would have to be taken off. does it have to be standard to be imported????

i was looking at one car and it told me that all aftermarket parts would have to be taken off. does it have to be standard to be imported????

By the sound of that, you've done no research at all.

Again, there are plenty of "personal experiences" available if you had bothered to search.

Compliance costs depends on the vehicle and its age. If its under the SEVS scheme the car will have to be returned to stock (as has been mentioned in hundreds of threads).

LW.

one thing i havent seen on the prestige site mentioned is that if you car fails sevs/raws compliance it can never go for complaince again and you left with a totally un road registerable car . can anyone point me to this in the site ?

even though its only a small chance , its a pretty big stakes !

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