Import or Not

[67RS]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum as a member but have been visiting and admiring other members cars and also watching some of the unfinished projects coming along.
My question is 1: whether to import privately
2: whether to import through a importer
or 3: whether to buy in Australia

I'm after a 1967 camaro rally sport. If I purchased one in the states for US $30K
what final price would I be looking at roughly in AUS $ after all costs. I'd prefer to import because there's so much more to choose from however I'd feel a lot more comfortable buying in OZ.

Thanks Dave.

[tonner]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum as a member but have been visiting and admiring other members cars and also watching some of the unfinished projects coming along.
My question is 1: whether to import privately
2: whether to import through a importer
or 3: whether to buy in Australia

I'm after a 1967 camaro rally sport. If I purchased one in the states for US $30K
what final price would I be looking at roughly in AUS $ after all costs. I'd prefer to import because there's so much more to choose from however I'd feel a lot more comfortable buying in OZ.

Thanks Dave.

Hi Dave

I imported a 69 from the states about 6 months ago, 30k US will cost you around 44-45k AUS landed and tax paid

Regards

Greg

[muggz]

Yeah what Greg said...

The car being more than 30+ years old, you only pay GST on the sale amount on the car ( no customs duty imposed)
You have many options whether to get car through an importer or by yourself.
I assume you reside in the eastern states? im sure there is like 5+ importers. You'll pay a little more, but you know the job will be done!

At the end of the day, do your research. There is some nice examples to be had in OZ, but keep in mind you pay for the ease of going down the road to buy. Besides, buying privately from the States is pretty exciting thats for sure! :)

[anychevy]

The hardest part of buying a car in the US is finding "the right car".
There are so many rusty, bogged up pieces of $hit for sale, (that look great in photos) that you really need to have (even a project) inspected these days.
1st gen camaros are really hot at the moment so I would sudgest joining these guys
http://www.camaros.net/
They're a wealth of information and (for the most part) honest !
You can do the importing yourself through a broker, but I'd let someone experienced handle it.
There are several options on shipping
From Longbeach a single 20 foot container is about 5 grand all up
2 cars in a 40 footer will be around 4 grand per car
4 cars stacked in a 40 footer, about 3 grand per car
No duty, only GST on total cost of car and shipping only
Try an avoid cars from the midwest (the rustbelt) for obvious reasons and transportation to US ports can be real expensive
Having said all that, you will save a considerable amount of money over buying one here.
Good luck

[cluxford]

Agree with everything said above.

My additional comment is if you have the time and patience I would always say buy in the US and get it imported. Will save you $$....

But you need the time and effort and lots of phone calls to find a good deal.....

I landed a bargain, got a great project car with only 4 small spots of rust landed in Oz for AUD$13K.........but it took me over 2 years to find it.....

[RSZ28]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum as a member but have been visiting and admiring other members cars and also watching some of the unfinished projects coming along.
My question is 1: whether to import privately
2: whether to import through a importer
or 3: whether to buy in Australia

I'm after a 1967 camaro rally sport. If I purchased one in the states for US $30K
what final price would I be looking at roughly in AUS $ after all costs. I'd prefer to import because there's so much more to choose from however I'd feel a lot more comfortable buying in OZ.

Thanks Dave.

Hello Dave, welcome.

You are after a 67 RS? Take a look at this link. I just saw it this morning before I checked this forum:

http://usmusclecars.com.au/Ads/CarDetail.aspx?id=1267

May be what you are after. I expect it is in Sydney, as that is where USMC is. It looks excellent, and you may get change out of your budget if it is what you are after. If you want an assessment, let me know (I am a gen 1 nut). In the pics it looks like a good car. This guy, Mick, also imports and does the container unloading himself. Something of a fanatic on quality and customer service from what I have heard. He may even hand pick these cars. Not sure.

Importing can be highly successful...Mr Luxford did extremely well for the money, and can be a disaster...with cars being mutton dressed up as lamb. Anything but large, hi res photos, dont catch a lot of sometimes very important details. I did ok on a 68, though it got delayed for 3 months, and the original seller "swapped" some items off. Like wheels, console etc.

typically for a reputable importer you would pay about $3300 to come direct, in a 4 car per container shipment, from the west coast. YOu can get cheaper shipments, but they usually trans ship via Korea or China, and may bake in the sun while waiting for a ship to Oz. Extra from the east coast. Seems Auto Ezy in Melbourne has a good reputation. And this guy above in Sydney too. There can be additional costs such as quarantine, which are getting tougher and tougher (with good reason), so there can be clean and re clean hold ups. Or random x ray delays. etc.

For anyone reading, I know of a 69 Yenko 427 clone which I personally inspected, and am still tempted to buy (though a little out of my price range), and it is the best Camaro I have ever looked at. Total resto. Only a couple of flaws. The guy may still have it.

Hope this helps.

[james68ss]

bought my 68 camaro in August last year, dollar was around the 87 cents mark, paid 9500 us, so nearly 11000 aus. Cost 900 aus to truck it to new york, then 3300 to Melbourne. gst was 1200, so all up 16500 approx. I gave up on ebay, lemon.com etc, and just searched dealers. When I found my car, I bombarded them with emails and phone calls. The car was what I expected, only hitch was that they replaced my rallys and caps with those ugly aluminium bean mags. I also bartered them down 1000 us. did get stuck in china for 4 weeks, but it was xmas, all this was done through auto ezy search, and they were pretty good, hope this helps, cheers.

[67RS]

Hi Guys

Thanks a lot for all your responses to my questions. Its great to be able to get advice from people who have been there and done that. In response to RSZ28 I had seen that 67 RS on the usmuclecars web site. The paint scheme is not what I have in mind and for the money I think I'd be better of importing something closer to my liking. I very much appreciate your offer to assess the car and will keep it in mind if something else comes up in your area.

Thanks Dave.

[EAT-30T]

just remember... if your spending a decent amount of cash "never buy site unseen"

[RSZ28]

just remember... if your spending a decent amount of cash "never buy site unseen"

You can say that again....even site seen on photos can be not enough. It seems nothing is ever as good as it loooks.

[RSZ28]

Hi Guys

Thanks a lot for all your responses to my questions. Its great to be able to get advice from people who have been there and done that. In response to RSZ28 I had seen that 67 RS on the usmuclecars web site. The paint scheme is not what I have in mind and for the money I think I'd be better of importing something closer to my liking. I very much appreciate your offer to assess the car and will keep it in mind if something else comes up in your area.

Thanks Dave.

You are most welcome Dave. Keep us posted.

[anychevy]

I had 3 guys (I know) look over a car for me and I still found a few minor issues with it, but I figured it was priced right, exactly what I wanted and I didn't have to fly there, so I'm happy.
So get ANYTHING you're interseted in inspected and hopefully you'll do o.k. :D but minor incorrect things are easily overlooked