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 Importing Rules (from Japan To Australia) - would be great if a knowledgeable importer could give me some insights  

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beck13
  • beck13
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  • Member No.: 40,662
  • Joined: 24-January 06
  • Posts: 122
  • From: Brisbane Australia
Post #1 post 11th April 2011 - 07:41 PM
hey guys
just wanted to get some tips and guidance on importing cars from japan, preferably from someone with a decent knowledge and experience in this matter.

here's the situation; few weeks ago i've arrived in himeji, japan, and i've noticed a lot of my favorite japanese cars going around (fc/fd, 32/34 gtr, s2000, nsx, etc.) and i was looking into the used car prices and they were quite cheap. e.g. nsx was selling for around AUD 21k+

now i'm really interested in importing a honda nsx to australia for road use but i've been hearing different opinions all over the net.
so here are some questions and it would be great if you can answer some of these;

1/ can a honda nsx (1990~2001) be imported into australia for road use?

2/ does the car have to be completely stock if i want to import it for road use? i.e. not possible to import modded cars

3/ i've heard owning the car and living in japan for over 1 year makes it easier to import, what exactly is the advantage?

i'm quite liking it here, friendly people, awesome food, so i don't mind coming back next year for a bit over a year if it's going to make the importing a bit easier.

here's a youtube clip of some nsx in japan << these nsxs are quite nice, might not be everone's cup of tea though.

anyways, any info would be appreciated, cheers.

beck

--------------------
University for Internet Marketing < Great place to learn marketing, check it out! pm me if you join, i'm under beck13 there also.
{ Current } Mazda RX7 1988 Infini (Aus) | Toyota Ist 2004 (Japan)
{ Past } Nissan 180SX 2.0L Turbo 1989 | Mitsubishi Magna Sedan 1997 | Mitsubishi Magna Wagon 1996
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truffles
Post #2

QUOTE (beck13 @ Apr 11 2011, 07:41 PM) *
1/ can a honda nsx (1990~2001) be imported into australia for road use?

2/ does the car have to be completely stock if i want to import it for road use? i.e. not possible to import modded cars

3/ i've heard owning the car and living in japan for over 1 year makes it easier to import, what exactly is the advantage?



Okay, I'm not an expert on importing/import regulations but;

1/ No, you can't. Anything that is sold as a new car in Australia cannot be imported as a grey import. This is to protect the domestic product.

2/ Yes it does. To compliance an import, the car has to be stock or returned to stock. That's not saying you can't import a modded car, but it MUST be stock to pass compliance.

3/ This qualifies as a personal and not a grey import. I'm not fluent in regulations, so it's best to research yourself.

erugby
Post #3

http://www.raws.com.au/ImportSchemes.asp

"Importing Schemes

Personal Imports
RAWS
Low-Volume New
'15' Years

The Different Importing Schemes

There are number of different schemes through which you can import a vehicle to Australia. These are summarized below. The full requirements can be found on the DoTaRS Imports web site.
Personal Import Scheme

If you are an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident it is possible to bring a car into the country as a 'personal import'. For a car to qualify, however, you must have owned and used the vehicle in its country of registration for at least 12 months. The car still requires an import approval to be granted and registration and insurance information must be provided to prove that you have owned & used the car. Usually there are a number of minor modifications required to bring the vehicle to the standard required for registration by your local registering authority. The Transport Department in your state is the best contact to find out the specific requirements."

I think to bring in an NSX you must own it for a year overseas. Once that is done, you're fine to have it complied and bought in.

That said I am also not an expert. Your best bet is to contact an importer. Kristian at www.ironchefimports.com is awesome to deal with. He will be able to let you know what's what.

beck13
Post #4

thanks heaps for the info truffles

damn, that's a shame, but i sort of had a gut feeling that it's not possible

i guess i'll need to find more detailed info on personal importing

beck13
Post #5

wow thanks for all the great help guys

thanks erugby, i'll contact kristian regarding the Personal Import Scheme

dazzazoo
Post #6

i hear import from japan have been a bit shakey over the last month ....

gutless
Post #7

Didn't they recently change the personal import period from 1 year to 5?

beck13
Post #8

QUOTE (dazzazoo @ Apr 11 2011, 08:09 PM) *
i hear import from japan have been a bit shakey over the last month ....


lol, pun intended?

do you mean the cars or the market? or did i misunderstand that completely lol

abostolemybike
Post #9

you can still import it just cant be registered.

GTRVspec95
Post #10

QUOTE (erugby @ Apr 11 2011, 07:56 PM) *
http://www.raws.com.au/ImportSchemes.asp

"Importing Schemes

Personal Imports
RAWS
Low-Volume New
'15' Years

The Different Importing Schemes

There are number of different schemes through which you can import a vehicle to Australia. These are summarized below. The full requirements can be found on the DoTaRS Imports web site.
Personal Import Scheme

If you are an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident it is possible to bring a car into the country as a 'personal import'. For a car to qualify, however, you must have owned and used the vehicle in its country of registration for at least 12 months. The car still requires an import approval to be granted and registration and insurance information must be provided to prove that you have owned & used the car. Usually there are a number of minor modifications required to bring the vehicle to the standard required for registration by your local registering authority. The Transport Department in your state is the best contact to find out the specific requirements."

I think to bring in an NSX you must own it for a year overseas. Once that is done, you're fine to have it complied and bought in.

That said I am also not an expert. Your best bet is to contact an importer. Kristian at www.ironchefimports.com is awesome to deal with. He will be able to let you know what's what.


Side note

In 2005 I believe they canned the 15 year import rule which meant you could basically bring in any 15 year old car, it was coming up to the 1990's which meant some of the best performance imports in Japan would be open for importation; the NSX included

On topic

+1 for Kristian at Iron Chef

TPG
Post #11

I would love a NSX-R. That is all.

learntoswim
Post #12

88 and older, anything can come in, that's the '05 update on the 15 year old rule. Personal imports are still only 12 cumulative months in country of origin, but only one car every 5 years, not one a year. Also changed so it you are not allowed to sell a personal import for two years after bringing it in, but I'd have to imagine this would be difficult to enforce.

mitch-10-02
Post #13

QUOTE (dazzazoo @ Apr 11 2011, 08:09 PM) *
i hear import from japan have been a bit shakey over the last month ....


aw too soon..

haha

WRX-801
Post #14

I've heard the cost of it is quite a bit, don't quote me on it tho..

SCREEM
Post #15

what if u were to know someone with a dealer import licence? how does that work?

02GZM
Post #16

you can't get a road legal NSX into the country unless it's a personal import as already stated. Don't u think every Honda fanboy would have already brought one over if we could do it that cheap?...

That's also the reason why a decent manual NSX will still set u back 60 odd grand.

S4Simon
Post #17

The rules are really quite simple for personal imports. You must own the car for a minimum 12 months. If you travel on business whilst residing in the country, those travel days do not count. You have to prove residential status by showing house ownership/rental + car maintenance costs and purchase receipt + every page of your passport(s). Shipping a car in + compliance + GST and LCT etc will usually end up being about 20% of the original car purchase price. You also have to personally register the car in your name in Australia for the first registration only.

I've gone the personal import route and found it very straight forward (shipping a car from the UK to Oz), and I'd definately do it again given the opportunity. All other routes are either too costly or have been removed by the government in recent times due to the massive influx of cheap Japanese imports.

abostolemybike
Post #18

The 15yr old rule has been removed...

yoho sr20
Post #19

QUOTE (truffles @ Apr 11 2011, 07:47 PM) *
Okay, I'm not an expert on importing/import regulations but;

1/ No, you can't. Anything that is sold as a new car in Australia cannot be imported as a grey import. This is to protect the domestic product.- if thats the case then how are r32gtr's imported when they were sold in aus?
2/ Yes it does. To compliance an import, the car has to be stock or returned to stock. That's not saying you can't import a modded car, but it MUST be stock to pass compliance.
- both my cars i brought from the importer came through and passed compliance with coilovers other suspension bits, different turbo/turbos and aftermarket exhausts etc...
3/ This qualifies as a personal and not a grey import. I'm not fluent in regulations, so it's best to research yourself.
02GZM
Post #20

^^ From what I can remember that was due to a kind of loophole. Nissan only sold them in Australia from July 1991 to June 1992. So you can import them if they were built outside this period.
Similar to how u can import 1999 S15's as they were only sold in Aus from 2000 onwards.

NSX's were sold here from 1990 until cease of production. Hence the only way you can/could import them is as a personal import or back in the few month period between when the 15 year ended and the pre-89 rule started. Where a few of the first NSX's were brought into the country and complied just before the ruled changed.

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