US MUSCLE
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#1
10-06-2009, 06:04 PM
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Importing a Car from the USA! All you need to know!
Article by Terry aka 70mach1
1.Find a car. (US E-Bay is a good place to look believe it or not)-check the dollar conversion rate daily and watch trends before you commit to a car-have 3 or 4 choices on hand. 2 Get ISD if you don't have it and speak directly to the seller(s).Check the time zones of course.Americans are generally fairly informative and happy to spend time with an aussie on the phone. Try to avoid cars from snow affected states and have all your VIN numbers/codes on hand if you're after something built in lesser numbers so that you can check for colour,transmission changes etc . 2.Have the car inspected. 3.Make sure the car has clear title and ask for an email copy.Your importer will need a copy too.He will have a legal contact in the states who will need to process the original.The car cannot legally travel across international borders without it. 4.Find an importer Check their credentials thoroughly.Ask if the car is coming direct( West Coast USA to Australian eastern seaboard) or via Asia which takes almost twice as long ie.up to 8 weeks.. Get a commitment up front that you will be regularly informed of transit progress- ie at least twice a week. Find out which shipping company the importer uses and ask for the container number-you can keep track of the container's progress live on Lloyds Shipping MU. Find out who the freight forwarder is in Australia and ask if you can be in attendance when the car is taken out of the container-some will let you be present Buy a car on the West Coast if possible-transit from central or eastern states takes time and money. 5.Contact DOTARS Canberra on line for an import permit well before the car arrives. 6. Make sure as soon as you buy a car that you have it insured-the importer can help with this. 7.Make sure you have calculated the full cost of the car landed inc GST,cleaning ete etc so you're not caught short. 8.Lastly-unless you're prepared to convert a car to RHD and have it engineered then try to look for a car thats basically stock or has after market parts which can be easily removed. A car with minitubs etc etc is going to be pretty tough in some states to register as left hand drive. That's the short hand version- but there are lots of details in the above steps which need to be addressed as the process unfolds. A good import agent will help with most of this. People feel free to add your .02c and I will edit this first post as need be! Cheers
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 Meh..... Last edited by EAT-30T; 16-03-2010 at 09:04 AM.. 
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#5
12-06-2009, 09:12 AM
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Don't forget the "Importing Car Parts from the USA! All you need to know!" subsection
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Deano  '67 Camaro: RHD - Fresh 454 BBC (Forged 10.4:1, Eddy Alloy Heads, Isky 280 Mega) - Holley 830 Annular - RPM Airgap - MSD - 3" system - 2500 HD T400 - 9" TrueTrac 3.5 - 15" Autodrags... with a bit too much heartache to update HERE.
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#7
28-07-2009, 01:01 PM
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Some usefull details
http://www.pcca.org.au/import.html
This may be of some help for the import info
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#9
11-01-2010, 04:02 PM
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Hi , i am new to the site.. i am after a 1959 corvette resto mod , i believe this is the correct wording. i have found a few in the USA , but they are asking serious dollars ,they start anywhere from $100k to $200k, with taxes and gst it ends up costing close to $250 to $300k aus..
i love the shape and prefer a car that has a bit of street rod about it.. any advice ...
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#10
11-01-2010, 05:06 PM
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Welcome aboard. So you are looking for a completed ready to drive ?
Might be better to get one that is mostly completed or a bit older resto and tidy it up What sites are you looking on for a good car I love early vette's would kill for a pro-street 62
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Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak
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#11
11-01-2010, 05:17 PM
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One of my fav sites is www.cars-on-line.com, not a day goes by I am not up there dreaming.
I did a quick look there are some super nice 58-61 Vette's up here. I've just pulled out the 59's and 60's for ya. With the AUD at 93 cents today good time to be buying This one is real nice at $59,000 http://www.mershons.com/view_photo.a...image=Exterior I realise this one is the sort of crazy $$$ type you mentioned. $296,000, but very very nice 59 http://www.continentalclassiccars.co...ted.asp?id=102 Bit to orange for me and probably still too much on the high side $$ wise $159,000 http://www.carsonline-ads.com/colsit...ostingID=36076 Don't know how much they want for this one, but you could get it completed to your liking so it really can be whatever you want it to be. Looks pretty tricked up http://www.carsonline-ads.com/colsit...ostingID=44477 Example of an older resto for $65,000 http://www.carsonline-ads.com/colsit...ostingID=44149 Anyway good luck with the search hope these help out....
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Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak
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#15
08-02-2010, 03:37 PM
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I hope I'm not jumping the gun here if a guide to importing is forthcoming.
I've done it but I'm not sure I'd do it again.. If you can find a local car and pay a bit more to avoid the importing and registration head aches-it might be money well spent..but if you're after something that's not available locally then you may have no other choice. I think the experience could be a lot more pleasant than ours was with better import agent. ------------------------------------------------------------- It goes something like this... SEE FIRST POST! ^^^ Last edited by EAT-30T; 16-03-2010 at 09:02 AM..
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