Suggest some pre 1989 imports..
Discussion
Just for some fun and to chuck some ideas around...
Now we all know the hassles and headaches behind SEVS imports and finding RAWS compliant workshops to get your chosen beast road legal.
If you bring in a car that is older than Jan 1st 1989 you can pretty much bring anything you like in. You can also bring a car in that is modified and as long as the mods meet ADR standards you can keep them on the car.
So what pre Jan 1st 1989 import would you bring in?
It would be nice to bring something Italian and mid-engined in for a reasonable sum.
Lancia Integrale? I think you could get a 160BHP 8Valve...and have a 215BHP 16 valve engine shipped at the same time
Now we all know the hassles and headaches behind SEVS imports and finding RAWS compliant workshops to get your chosen beast road legal.
If you bring in a car that is older than Jan 1st 1989 you can pretty much bring anything you like in. You can also bring a car in that is modified and as long as the mods meet ADR standards you can keep them on the car.
So what pre Jan 1st 1989 import would you bring in?
It would be nice to bring something Italian and mid-engined in for a reasonable sum.
Lancia Integrale? I think you could get a 160BHP 8Valve...and have a 215BHP 16 valve engine shipped at the same time
The 15 year old rule was scrapped some time back. The government claimed it was affecting local manufacturers!
Its now been frozen at pre 1989.
The way all the costs are structured end up meaning you have to be pretty damn committed to pay so much for some of these 20 year old cars and then find money for insurance and maintenance on top!!
Maybe we should put a price cap on the cars...anymore than $20-$25,000 on the road and your in to the sort of money that makes it silly to do.
I guess the idea of looking for a pre 1989 import is to be looking for some fun on a budget....though I guess with the 'on road' costs its never going to be a budget blaster!!
As for the LHD thing...you can still do it in WA with a big sign on the back of your car "WARNING LEFT HAND DRIVE".
Its now been frozen at pre 1989.
The way all the costs are structured end up meaning you have to be pretty damn committed to pay so much for some of these 20 year old cars and then find money for insurance and maintenance on top!!
Maybe we should put a price cap on the cars...anymore than $20-$25,000 on the road and your in to the sort of money that makes it silly to do.
I guess the idea of looking for a pre 1989 import is to be looking for some fun on a budget....though I guess with the 'on road' costs its never going to be a budget blaster!!
As for the LHD thing...you can still do it in WA with a big sign on the back of your car "WARNING LEFT HAND DRIVE".
ariddell said said:
I've had a look into the pre-1989 import thing too and it apparently isn't quite as straight forward as it sounds.........
Yeah some cars are easier than others.Example being my MR2 that I bought in from Japan.
Because the few Aus delivered cars Toyota sold were built in Japan there was little different that needed to be changed for me to get on the road.
IIRC it only needed:
Fuel filler restrictor
ADR approved seatbelts (Early jap belts dont lock when you yank them..inertia lock only)
Side impact bars welded in to the doors
Clear side indicators
Clear front fogs
Imobiliser
High level brake light
The only other thing it needed to pass the pits was new tyres...that is not a requirement under the pre 1989 rules, it was just that the ones that came on it were nearly bald.
Oh and it failed the pits first time round for being 4mm to low and for being to loud but thats a whole other story!!
ariddell said:
I thought all Z1s were LHD, no?
Surprised an MR2 needed so much work, even though they are all smallish bits i'll bet the costs soon added up - especially with welding side impact beams into the doors.
Ahh I see...In WA you would be good to go with a LHD car. Not sure about other states though.Surprised an MR2 needed so much work, even though they are all smallish bits i'll bet the costs soon added up - especially with welding side impact beams into the doors.
Maybe on a club rego you could do it...but then it could only be driven to/from club events or as part of a club event or to/from a workshop.
Yep there are a heap of little costs all over the place with bringing a car in..
This is the relevant parts of the invoice for the compliance work alone
[URL=http://imageshack.us]
[/URL]As you can see I was given a discount on some parts.
On top of this I had 4 new tyres at $150 each.
There was also the list of fees that come with getting the car on and off the boat, customs, quarantine clearence, moving the car from the docks to the workshop...The car cost $2000 from the auction house in Japan...$11,000 on my drive!
Exactly!!!
The whole yellow sticker, if its not stock its illegal crap is such a joke when you see some of the junk driving around!!
Most modified cars are well done and well looked after.
Although it would be another thing to pay for each year I would be happy to see an MOT introduced in WA as long as they did away with the rediculous 'anti-mod' rules currently in place.
The whole yellow sticker, if its not stock its illegal crap is such a joke when you see some of the junk driving around!!
Most modified cars are well done and well looked after.
Although it would be another thing to pay for each year I would be happy to see an MOT introduced in WA as long as they did away with the rediculous 'anti-mod' rules currently in place.
chunder said:
I'm surprised the MR2 needed much as all I had to do with the TVR was get it over the pits, no compliancing as such.
Not that getting it over the pits was easy, they certainly employ there fair share of jobsworths.
Have to say the 944 turbo would be my favourite (after the TVR wedge of course), with a 325 Sport or convertible for the missus, or Merc 190 Cosworth if she preferred that the badge.
Was the TVR a personal import? I think the compliance part is different to other imports.Not that getting it over the pits was easy, they certainly employ there fair share of jobsworths.
Have to say the 944 turbo would be my favourite (after the TVR wedge of course), with a 325 Sport or convertible for the missus, or Merc 190 Cosworth if she preferred that the badge.
Yes there really is some jobsworths there...when my MR2 came in it was just above legal ride height...until the inspector at the pits made his proper fat mate sit in it then he failed it for being to low by about 3mm!! Hardly a fair and accurate test, if they are going to do that then it should be tested at maximum loaded weight.
It also failed on noise emissions...fair enough it had a race exhaust on it but they just guessed the engine RPM to use. It passed once...then they decided to do it again at a different RPM and it failed so they took the failed reading over the pass reading!
Now the next problem we run in to with getting an import is the country of origin.
I cant think of an import broker who brings cars in from Europe...they all bring them from Japan. I wonder what euro fun is available in Japan?
How much of a risk would it be buying a Porsche 'sight-unseen'?
astonmartinv8 said:
Great thread.
I am coming over to WA in September and I am going to bring in my 2005 Lexus GS430, but I would love to buy and bring in something else interesting.
Do you have to own pre-1989 cars for more than 12 months as well? Would it be straightforward bringing a pre-1989 911 in do you think?
Cheers,
Marcus.
I would think it is quite easy to do.I am coming over to WA in September and I am going to bring in my 2005 Lexus GS430, but I would love to buy and bring in something else interesting.
Do you have to own pre-1989 cars for more than 12 months as well? Would it be straightforward bringing a pre-1989 911 in do you think?
Cheers,
Marcus.
You can just bring it in as a pre 1989 import....so no you dont need to have owned it for more than 12 months.
Make sure you bring lots of tuning goodies for it. You might not be able to get it road legal with them fitted but you can stick 'em on once its on the road. Probably cheaper to bring parts with you to.
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