Grey Import

[S2K-O/S]

Hi
Am a newbie. Have a beautiful Silver/Black Year 2000 S2000 - am living overseas but intend to be back in Oz for a few months and am thinking of sending my ride back so I can cruise in it over summer. Just wondering if there are any problems selling a grey import and what sort of $ I might be able to get for it in a few months time - to see whether it makes any sense to ship it back. Happy to break even but if I'm going to lose money I might not do it. Immaculate condition, only 45,000 odd kms, got service records. Any input gratefully received!

[Zilli]

how long is a peice of string man?

Unsure whether the value of a grey import will be less or more than a locally delivered... i would tend towards the less side as it is harder to insure a car that isnt locally delivered...

You may have a chance with people who get excited about JDM "stuff"... dunno

[ajbm]

grey imports = no import approval so cannot be registered in AUS... where are u coming from and why not get it complied so u can register it.
Only then U can break even with cost, as there is market for JDM importers.
But illegally imported cars are worthless here unless u sell it here in parts!

[Lukey]

grey imports = no import approval so cannot be registered in AUS... where are u coming from and why not get it complied so u can register it.
Only then U can break even with cost, as there is market for JDM importers.
But illegally imported cars are worthless here unless u sell it here in parts!

if youve lived overseas and owned the car for a certain period of time you are able to road register a car. theres a pommy guy bringing over his fd2r soon.

[burak213]

how long is a peice of string man?



double the length from one side to the middle!

[Chriskoss]

double the length from one side to the middle!

LOL epic win!

[Red_EG4]

Hi
Am a newbie. Have a beautiful Silver/Black Year 2000 S2000 - am living overseas but intend to be back in Oz for a few months and am thinking of sending my ride back so I can cruise in it over summer. Just wondering if there are any problems selling a grey import and what sort of $ I might be able to get for it in a few months time - to see whether it makes any sense to ship it back. Happy to break even but if I'm going to lose money I might not do it. Immaculate condition, only 45,000 odd kms, got service records. Any input gratefully received!

How long have you owned the car overseas?
The personal import system is your best bet.


theres a pommy guy bringing over his fd2r soon.
Isn't he Scottish?

[mocchi]

whats a pommy?

[hondar]

whats a pommy?

British

[quangsuke]

Like others have said, you can import the car as a personal import provided that you have owned the car for more 12 months.

Although i would do it personally, but dont expect NOT to get any head aches doing it. I guess depending on the state u import it to decides how easy it is. Regardless car still needs to reach Aus compliance to be registered here. Goodluck

[ajbm]

like I said earlier.... no import approval (from DOTARS) means U cannot register in AUS... wether personally imported or through a broker.

[Zilli]

grey imports = no import approval so cannot be registered in AUS... where are u coming from and why not get it complied so u can register it.
Only then U can break even with cost, as there is market for JDM importers.
But illegally imported cars are worthless here unless u sell it here in parts!

my understanding is that "grey import" if the terminalogy used for a vehicle being brought in from a different country under low volume regulations i.e. it was not mass imported by the local manufacturer.

THe only way to register a car is to comply it, but this is part of the "grey importing" process... am i wrong?

in any case, a personal import vehicle, if it applies to the scheme will have a yellow compliance plate....

a low volume "grey" import has a "grey or blue" compliance plate...

[pair08]

correct!

only way to bring a car back from o/s under the personal import scheme is to have owned it for 12 months (need receipts to prove)

you still need to factor in the cost of shipping, customs etc (not cheap) + compliance

if you do however, decide to bring it in i'm sure a few people would 'droolz' over a jdm s2k so i'd doubt there be any problems selling your car :)

see below (courtesy of Iron Chef Import Broker)
So, you want to work overseas in order to bring back a personal import...

Some really great points about personal imports:

- You can bring in any make or model on the planet
- It can be as modified as you like (for importing at least - getting it registered might be a different story)
- The ADRs you're required to meet for registration are, in most cases, far less than is required for other vehicles sold in Australia
- Given that cars are generally cheaper overseas, there is potential to make a substantial profit on cars that are personally imported, particularly if they're rare

Some of the not-so-good points about personal imports

- You need to own and use the car for 12 months. Sounds easy, but by the time you factor in fuel (over $2 a litre in Japan for 100RON PULP), insurance, registration and in the case of Japan, up to $250 a month just for a parking space, running costs can add up very quickly.
- It requires a LOT of paperwork, and you face the possiblity of getting knocked back by DoTaRS if you don't have sufficient evidence to prove you've owned and used the car for 12 months. They will ask for things like bank statements to prove you purchased the car on the given date, original registration papers, original parking permits, and a whole swag of other things.
- If you prang the car and write it off after 11 months of ownership, bad luck - you have to start all over again
- If you make it past all that and are able to import your car, our governments, both state and federal, will tax you quite nicely when it arrives - 10% stamp duty (<-- 5% from 01/01/10), 10% GST, state stamp duty and then registration, as well as various charges in Customs and Quarantine. It can easily double or triple the original cost of the vehicle.
- Be prepared to be snobbed off by the local car dealers and their service departments. Despite being 99% the same car, I had a Mazda dealer refuse to do any work whatsoever on my Eunos Roadster, claiming it was totally different from a Mazda MX-5...

So if all this hasn't scared you off yet...

Advice for those about to purchase a car overseas
- Think VERY CAREFULLY about the car you want to bring back. Ask yourself if you're planning to keep this car forever, if you're considering selling the car and making a solid profit, or if it's a mix of both. I've cringed at people who've brought back cars like N/A S14s - not a particularly exciting car that will be worth little when the time comes to sell it back here. In short, not worth the effort.

If you want a car for yourself, then choose what you like, but try and pick something not available in Australia any other way. If you're loaded, a Subaru 22B is the perfect car. DON'T pick a Skyline or something already listed on the SEVS register.

If you're thinking about making money off a car back here, then look at luxury cars that everyone knows, such as Mercedes Benz or BMW. The more you spend and the more recent the model, the more you're likely to make. Make sure you buy RHD for obvious reasons. Luxury Japanese cars that are rare and unfamiliar in Australia are notoriously difficult to sell. Ask Nissan how many Infiniti Q45s they sold here new...

- KEEP ALL YOUR PAPERWORK. I can't stress this enough. I've seen the heartbreak caused by people knocked back after genuinely owning a car for 12 months, but not being able to prove it to Canberra.

- Keep your driving to a minimum. Like I mentioned earlier, if you prang it and write it off, there's 12 months worth of work (and money) down the drain.

[ajbm]

also each state has different requirements to register imported vehicles, for example, in NSW they usually they look for engineer certificates stating all ADRs required has been met. And on top of the cost for registration (blueslip/greenslip/rego) that's nearly $2K + insurance is another issue!

[WATAJK]

also each state has different requirements to register imported vehicles, for example, in NSW they usually they look for engineer certificates stating all ADRs required has been met. And on top of the cost for registration (blueslip/greenslip/rego) that's nearly $2K + insurance is another issue!

I know VIC tends to be a ****
But S2000 would be easy to register as it's been sold here in Aus..
Juz customs u'll have drama with thats all
Best of luck

[anfo2gig]

also each state has different requirements to register imported vehicles, for example, in NSW they usually they look for engineer certificates stating all ADRs required has been met. And on top of the cost for registration (blueslip/greenslip/rego) that's nearly $2K + insurance is another issue!

i doubt blueslip/greenslip/rego going to cost close to $2k. Since greenslip (depending on age) + rego = about 700-900. So really doubt blueship will cost over 1k or close to 1k. Correct me if im wrong. Btw this is for NSW derno how other states works