UK expat 911 now in Australia - this may become a long one
Discussion
Earlier this year I thought I needed to complicate my life a little bit so I thought, i wonder if I can buy and import a 911 from UK and get it on the road in Australia.
Import restrictions make it much much easier to bring in a pre-1989 car so a 1988 911 it was. After finding a likely suspect in AutoTrader, a PPI was commissioned through Peter Hamilton and a few days later I transferred 10,495 pounds to someone I had never met to buy a car I had never seen. Pretty crazy hey?
The plan was to collect the car in June and drive it to Le Mans then drop off at Southampton the day before I flew back to Oz.
The plan to drive it to Le Mans was scrapped pretty early as I couldn't trust a 23 year old car that had clocked 3000 miles in 3 years to get me back in time for my non transferable flight. In the end it turned out I could drive it at all in UK as no one would insure me. So I collected the car and watched a delivery driver drive it for 3 hours from Melton Mowbray to Southampton. At which point I wouldn't see it for another few months.
A few months passed and the car arrived yesterday
The problem now is getting it registered. The rules in Australia are quite strict when it comes to compliance of outside cars and as i don't "know" anyone who could smooth the process, it is looking a bit initimidating. Especially now as I find the rust that was mentioned in the PPI as being not bad, actually appears to me to be pretty bad. The right rocker, B pillar area will need the usual work and also some suspension parts are quite rusted. I will see how we go with the initial engineer inspection and make a judgement then of the plan forward.
Import restrictions make it much much easier to bring in a pre-1989 car so a 1988 911 it was. After finding a likely suspect in AutoTrader, a PPI was commissioned through Peter Hamilton and a few days later I transferred 10,495 pounds to someone I had never met to buy a car I had never seen. Pretty crazy hey?
The plan was to collect the car in June and drive it to Le Mans then drop off at Southampton the day before I flew back to Oz.
The plan to drive it to Le Mans was scrapped pretty early as I couldn't trust a 23 year old car that had clocked 3000 miles in 3 years to get me back in time for my non transferable flight. In the end it turned out I could drive it at all in UK as no one would insure me. So I collected the car and watched a delivery driver drive it for 3 hours from Melton Mowbray to Southampton. At which point I wouldn't see it for another few months.
A few months passed and the car arrived yesterday
The problem now is getting it registered. The rules in Australia are quite strict when it comes to compliance of outside cars and as i don't "know" anyone who could smooth the process, it is looking a bit initimidating. Especially now as I find the rust that was mentioned in the PPI as being not bad, actually appears to me to be pretty bad. The right rocker, B pillar area will need the usual work and also some suspension parts are quite rusted. I will see how we go with the initial engineer inspection and make a judgement then of the plan forward.
Edited by Aused on Tuesday 2nd August 11:34
Very brave, congratulations! 
Well looks like i was getting a little over concerned about possible rust issues.
A mate who is a very experienced automotive engineer, although recently retired came and gave an appraisal of the car and it was mostly good. i'll need a few new strut inserts in the front, some suspension components may need to be blasted to get rid of surface rust and I may need some new bushes/boots, but it was mostly a pretty positive report. I will need to fix some other known issues, the passenger power window needs fixing (wire broken) and the tires will need to be replaced as they have been on the car for more than 2 years. The rust in the driver side rocker area may still need to be done, but it will depend on the engineer i think. The car is booked in for the proper inspection on on Wednesday so hopefully no really unexpected surprises.
A mate who is a very experienced automotive engineer, although recently retired came and gave an appraisal of the car and it was mostly good. i'll need a few new strut inserts in the front, some suspension components may need to be blasted to get rid of surface rust and I may need some new bushes/boots, but it was mostly a pretty positive report. I will need to fix some other known issues, the passenger power window needs fixing (wire broken) and the tires will need to be replaced as they have been on the car for more than 2 years. The rust in the driver side rocker area may still need to be done, but it will depend on the engineer i think. The car is booked in for the proper inspection on on Wednesday so hopefully no really unexpected surprises.
The Dirty Bubble said:
why was it easier to buy and import a UK car than find one already in Oz?
That car would be on the market for about $40k here, though some prices are speculative. There are a few of us Aus PHers been looking at similar. Just this year I got as far as engaging a broker but for a few reasons it fell apart, not least the 'pre-approval' backlog as the car needs to get the nod before shipping.Anyway, OP, check the aus sub-forum, there are plenty of threads on this.
The Dirty Bubble said:
why was it easier to buy and import a UK car than find one already in Oz?
along with what googlebot said, the australian dollar has been at historically high levels against the pound in recent years and cars tend to depreciate quicker in UK than Aus. both of these things mean it is worthwhile and so long as you are a bit clever/lucky with car choice you can end up quite a bit ahead compared to buying local.
Also, a small point but worth noting is the Aussie spec car of the same vintage was down about 25hp on the euro spec because of our rubbish quality fuel at the time. so in my book, i'd rather a euro import anyway
Googlebot Re: brokers, I originally went through one, but they were rubbish and not doing anything i couldn't do myself.
And it is a good story/adventure
OP: Can you expand on this point a little more
Aused said:
..........and the tires will need to be replaced as they have been on the car for more than 2 years.
Are you saying that you intend to change them for peace of mind because of their age, or, are you implying that there is some local legislation in Oz that states that they must be changed because they are 2 years old?Bowler said:
Are you saying that you intend to change them for peace of mind because of their age, or, are you implying that there is some local legislation in Oz that states that they must be changed because they are 2 years old?
unfortunately yes, to comply with Australian Design Rules requirements, the tires can be constructed no more than 2 years before the engineering sign off. The tires I have were constructed between 2005 and 2007. I will be keeping them thoughRegistered (or naturalised maybe)
The process came in well under my worst case estimates so I am pretty pleased. there was other rust issues that the specialist discovered when doing the certification work. the alignment adjustment bolts were rusted into their mounts, my heater boxes are basically lumps of rust that were not economical to replace so will be binned at some point. the exhaust manifolds were quite rusted and in removing one to do some work a bolt broke and needed to be drilled and retappped. there will obviously be some rust related maintenance issues going forward but it seems that is par for a 24 yo UK Porsche that has been used. Overall though, very pleased.
Would I do it again? at this second, probably no, but it wasn't a rational thing to do in the first place. I have certainly come out in front compared to buying the same car locally but there is alot of chance involved in what issues your car may have, even if you get a good PPI there are still quite a few unknowns, unless you buy a low mile minter which would probably negate the financial incentive anyway.
(For SE Qld locals, I had T&D Automotive at Albion do the work and generally can't speak highly enough of them. Steve there is a top bloke and very straight forward, highly recommended)
The process came in well under my worst case estimates so I am pretty pleased. there was other rust issues that the specialist discovered when doing the certification work. the alignment adjustment bolts were rusted into their mounts, my heater boxes are basically lumps of rust that were not economical to replace so will be binned at some point. the exhaust manifolds were quite rusted and in removing one to do some work a bolt broke and needed to be drilled and retappped. there will obviously be some rust related maintenance issues going forward but it seems that is par for a 24 yo UK Porsche that has been used. Overall though, very pleased.
Would I do it again? at this second, probably no, but it wasn't a rational thing to do in the first place. I have certainly come out in front compared to buying the same car locally but there is alot of chance involved in what issues your car may have, even if you get a good PPI there are still quite a few unknowns, unless you buy a low mile minter which would probably negate the financial incentive anyway.
(For SE Qld locals, I had T&D Automotive at Albion do the work and generally can't speak highly enough of them. Steve there is a top bloke and very straight forward, highly recommended)
First possibly significant signs of trouble related to rust. After taking the car for a spirited thrashing, cars started making a clunking noise over driveways sometimes so took it to the shop. Turns out that the roll bar bracket has broken due to rust. The shop says there is quite a few rusted parts that need attention, although seemed to indicate that I may be able to remove a lot of them, sandblast and reinstall rather than needing to take the car off the road to be taken apart. Hope he is right, I feel my bank balance is in line for a Porsche related thrashing...
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