What limitations are there in importing a Sierra into Australia?

[malbaby]

Thinking of importing a late 1980's Sierra turbo into Victoria.
Is it the total cost of the car plus the importation thats the drawback, or are there other factors?

[Neale]

I visited the RS Shop in Albury a couple of years back with the RS Owners Club NSW. There was a bit of a discussion about importing cars into Aus, but to be honest I was to busy gawking at all of the car porn in there & didn't really pay attention.

I do remember them talking about a compliance process to register an import of a certain age though.

Best bet would be to get in contact with them as they can probably help you out.
http://www.rsshop.com.au/

Another good idea would be to have a chat to the guys in the RS Owners club in vic - http://rsocvic.com/contacts/

There are some knowledgeable guys in that club that can help you out. They also have contacts in the UK & may be able to help you find a good one. There may even be one here for sale that they know about.

[malbaby]

OK...Thanks Neale

[jpblue1000]

I imported my little 4wd monster last year so have a bit of knowledge.
Unless you have lived there, owned and used the car for at least 12 months you will need to use a RAWS workshop to import the car for you. there probably are parts of the process you could do yourself but this could just complicate things.
some RAWS guys offer the full service from inspecting the car for you before purchase and organising freight clearance, compliance etc.
Only some cars can be imported, some can't and most that can through the RAWS scheme will need to undergo significant work before it can be finally registered.
I privately imported mine as I lived there for 6 years. the story follows;
the last year and a half I owned the car, and did the work on the driveway, London mechanic style. I had to own, and prove use of the car for a minimum of 1 year before it was allowed to be imported to Australia. That means registered, insured and proof of miles travelled, proof of time spent in and out of the UK, copies of every page of my passport had to be submitted. I applied for the import approval over the internet uploading a 75 page document, including said copies of passport, travel statements, proof of ownership and insurance etc, 2 weeks later had the approval ready to get quotes on shipping, 4 documents that a copy is left with each interested parts, Shipper, Engineer, registration body and one remains in car forever.
Shipping cost 919 pounds, I had top drop the car at the depot, so a train ride back to London cost 35 pounds ( two hours away from London) they wanted 400 pounds to collect.
shipping took best part of 3 months, and travelled almost around the world by the time it got here, having been transferred 3 times from one ship to another. Bloody thing has probably seen more countries than I have... from the inside of a container, was able to watch its progress online, spent 1 week in the Suez canal!
As we shipped our personal belongings with us I didn’t end up paying duty on the car, probably should have but they missed it, factor in 5-10% or it was contained within all the other fees we had to pay at one time or another
application for permission to import 50 bucks.
Australian customs would normally have the underside steam cleaned, mine was spotless and the shipping company stated it was the first time they had a car pass (makes worthwhile the hours of scrubbing) but budget on 600 oz
Engineering inspection 550
parts needing fixing or replaced before RWC issued
Rear baby seat restraint anchors were needed, despite using an antiquated method here in Oz compared to Europe’s ISO fixings I needed them to pass the inspection. I had previously cut them out of a wreck here in Oz and unstitched the rear panel double skin, but later replaced the whole panel due to rust, cost was negligible bar time but allowance would need to be made if you couldn’t do this work yourself.
Seat belts x 5 (its a con, no Australian Standards code on webbing tag but belts were actually manufactured in Australia) 350 dollars
rear brake hoses were goodridge so no OZ compliance, 90 bucks
rear diff bush needed replacing as it had almost collapsed 110 dollars for a suitable single bush from Peddars (front control arm bush from a 4wd I have a spare one now.
windscreen passed which was unusual, mine looked recent so was accepted
roadworthy 180
compliance sticker... 1 only ever allowed don’t loose or damage it 86 dollars
rego and new plates 900
stamp duty, this was an argument, I paid 700 pounds for the car, but stamp duty is paid on cars value not what I paid, we agreed on a value after negotiation and idle threats.
I had returned as much of it to standard as possible before the inspection to make it easier, thankfully it did and passed easy enough bar seat belts.
Once home I returned it back to modified.
hope this helps a bit

JP

[malbaby]

I thought any car manufactured before 1989 could be imported and cleared for road use here providing it had not been modified.

[jpblue1000]

looks like you are right, from the gov website:
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/veh...mport_options/

Yes, you can apply under the Pre-1989 Scheme provided that any modifications made to the vehicle are in line with original factory specifications available as options at the original date of manufacture. For more information


then I imagine many of the costs described would apply asa guide
Good luck
JP