advice about importing falcon to australia

[MFP-66]

there might be a chance that i will be moving to adelaide, importing cars to oz is not straight forward, does anyone know if importing my falcon would be worth it or not. maybe just strip the parts i need and sell the rest

falcon xb coupe
8x15 front, 10x15 rear wheels
flared rear arches, boot spoiler
t5 5 speed
fuel injection



i still have loads of parts not fitted and until i sort this out i'm not sure what to do

[Daz]

I think you should sell it to me

Seriously, if it's for personal use, it should be fine, but check it out:
http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/im ... tralia.htm
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/ ... index.aspx

in general, get govt approval before you ship it, otherwise you get hit big $ while it sits on the docks waiting for the paperwork to be stamped.

[roadwarriormfp]

er umm... your returning an Australian built car back to Australia and your worried??

About what?

As long as you pay the import duties, taxes, quarratine charges etc.... and the car isnt loaded with drugs, then enjoy.

Talk to one of your local export companies who send cars overseas all the time.
they will tell you what forms you need and roughly how much it'll cost.
Its a coupe and you wont be able to replace it here in australia without forking out at least $10 000.

[MFP-66]

my main concerns are that i have modified it from standard and anything i have read so far says they can refuse entry. it hard to get a definate answer. without doing it case by case

well i will just have to wait and see if i get the job and take from there, nothing is simple is it

[.MAD MAX.]

Just tell them it's going to be an unrego'd car and only used for racing or car shows and will be trailered around....then it's a specialty car and no need to worry about it being driven on the roads.....until you actually get it home

[roadwarriormfp]

my main concerns are that i have modified it from standard and anything i have read so far says they can refuse entry. it hard to get a definate answer. without doing it case by case

well i will just have to wait and see if i get the job and take from there, nothing is simple is it

And where on earth did you get this information from?
You are importing a car, they dont care if its modified or not...
Its not up to customs to say if the car is road legal or not.
The car was built in Australia, there is no drama unless its the car is stolen/ full of drugs or full of insects and spiders....

[Daz]

my main concerns are that i have modified it from standard and anything i have read so far says they can refuse entry. it hard to get a definate answer. without doing it case by case

well i will just have to wait and see if i get the job and take from there, nothing is simple is it

And where on earth did you get this information from?
You are importing a car, they dont care if its modified or not...
Its not up to customs to say if the car is road legal or not.

It was covered a few months ago in street machine (July?). Cars were being rejected if they had any modifications from stock (including respays and mag wheels!). I've included the bits below, but if you get approval before you ship it, you should be ok. Especially as it is an Aussie car that you are bringing back in (it was modified like that when it went out, so your returning it in the same state ).


ISSUES RELATING TO IMPORTATION UNDER TRANSPORT REGULATION 17
WHAT?
The issue revolves around the department suddenly changing the administrative procedure for processing applications for importation of a pre-1989 vehicle.
WHATS CHANGED?
Previously all vehicles identified on the application as pre 89 were automatically approved. Now they are asking for a photo, and are deciding that vehicles no longer qualify as pre-89 if they were modified in any way after 89.

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?
Ignoring the issues around the act of redating ......... this creates three issues with the departments actions:

The process they are using is for a public servant to make the assessment of the year of manufacture based on viewing a photo, and a list of mods if supplied. This is
clearly an inappropriate process, and is demonstrably so firstly because heaps of
original cars are being caught up in this, and secondly because the processing time
has blown out from 17 days to months. Compare this to all the other ADR, VSB etc
rules that Transport administer, which use mandatory qualifications, approved
persons, or detailed checklists or all three.

They did not do any consultation on the new procedure, did not issue an alert until 5 May, and included no date of effect or transitional arrangements for the new
process. The net result is many innocent people that purchased vehicles based on
the previous admin arrangements are being disadvantaged due to the retrospective
application of undocumented and unpublished admin procedures

In the course of making these assessments of year of manufacture, the department are asking for the provision of documentation relating to modifications made a minimum of 21 years ago. They are asking for a level of documentation that the purchaser, previous owners and original modifier are unlikely to have ever had, and that is almost impossible to find. They are refusing to accept as evidence stat decs or notarised statements by the current or previous owners or even the ACTUAL person who made the modifications, attesting to the date of modification. They are also refusing to accept legal documents, including current registration papers and titles as evidence of year of manufacture. We believe this is unreasonable, and is an impost upon the people involved.

SO WHAT?
The net result is that huge numbers of car enthusiasts are suffering unreasonable
expenses and stress, due to ill considered and poorly implemented administrative
procedure amendments, made without due consultation, notification or transitional
arrangement.


DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

DECISION -Changes are required to stop "abuse"
The department has made a DECISION that the administrative procedures relating
to the processing of applications to import pre-1989 vehicles should be altered.
They have justified this DECISION by making reference to "abuse" of the system
When questioned on the decision in Parliament they have made unsubstantiated
claims regarding registration abuse, and vehicle safety issues.

DECISION -Identification of modified vehicles
The department has made a DECISION to implement new administrative procedures
to attempt to identify the level of modifications to vehicles identified on the
application as pre 89. They have provided no explanation for the targeting of
modified vehicles.

The result of this decision is that:
a. The Department are unable to meet their target of approval processing within
17 days of application;
b. Members of the public are experiencing unreasonable delays;
c. Members of the public are experiencing increased storage and importation
expenses; and
d. Members of the public are experiencing suffering undue stress and anxiety.

DECISION - Identification Process
The department has made a DECISION to implement a process that involves a staff member making an assessment on the level of modifications to vehicles based on viewing a photo, and any other evidence supplied.
The department has updated VSB 10 to incorporate the following list of evidence to be supplied in support of identification:
a copy of the vehicle purchase document(s);
a clear picture of the vehicle in its current state;
if the vehicle has been modified, supply a complete list of all modifications
and evidence of when the modifications were completed

The department has not however provided any guidance on the level of
modifications that are "acceptable", and have not referenced the modification
assessment to known or accepted standards, such as suitability for registration in
Australia under the PRODUCTION or MODIFIED PRODUCTION vehicle categories.

This is clearly an ineffective process, and is demonstrably so because:
a. Identification of the level of modifications to vehicles based on viewing a photo
is a grossly unreliable mechanism for assessment as it only identifies
modificationsvisible in a photo; and relies entirely on the personal knowledge of
the assessor on vehicle types, models and variants;
b. The failure to reference documented standards on the modification of vehicles
provides both the assessor and the owner with no reliable basis to determine
the "appropriateness" of modification;
c. Vehicles that are already suitable, or can be easily made suitable for, registration
as PRODUCTION or MODIFIED PRODUCTION vehicles are being rejected for
importation based on a visual assessment of the modifications, despite the fact
that approval processes exist for the validation of the modifications prior to
registration;
d. Hobbyist vehicles being imported as the BASlSfor a vehicle restoration project
are being rejected based on the assumption that the condition of the vehicle at
the time of importation is representative of the vehicle condition at time of
presentation for registration.

Compare this to assessment processes under all the other ADR, VSB etc rules that Transport administer, which incorporate prescribed, documented and published
standards as the basis for assessment, and mandatoty qualifications or experience
for approved persons, and/or detailed checklists, or all three.

The process rigour now being applied under Reg 17 is markedly different to those
being applied for other Importation avenues, for example the RAWS and SEVS
processes.

The result of this decision is that:
a. The Department are unable to meet their target of approval processing within
17 days of application, with some applications taking 90t days;
b. Many cars that were clearly originally "complete and ready to be supplied to the
market" prior to 1989 are being rejected;
c. Many vehicles that are being imported for the purpose
d. Significant numbers of appeals are occurring;
e. Members of the public are experiencing unreasonable delays;
f. Members of the public are unable to make purchase and/or importation
decisions due to the vagary and uncertainty of the approval process; members
of the public are experiencing increased storage and importation expenses; and
g. Members of the public are experiencing suffering undue stress and anxiety.

And yet VSB 10 clearly states that owners "may have to modify the vehicle to meet registration requirements"

DECISION - Level of evidence
The department has made a DECISION that In the course of making assessments of suitability for importation under Reg 17, the onus is on the applicant to supply sufficient documentation to explicitly date any modifications as occurring prior to 1989.

The department is requesting provision of documentation relating to modifications
made a minimum of 21 years ago. They are asking for a level of documentation that
e. Members of the public are unable to make purchase and/or importation
decisions due to the vagary and uncertainty of the approval process;
f. members of the public are experiencing increased storage and importation
expenses; and
g. Members of the public are experiencing suffering undue stress and anxiety

The net result is many unsuspecting people that purchased vehicles based on the
previous admin arrangements are being disadvantaged due to the retrospective
application of undocumented and unpublished admin procedure changes.

CONCLUSION
The Department has made a series of administrative decisions that have significantly
disadvantaged a large number of people, and many of those people are suffering
financial and emotional hardship as a result of these unpublicised decisions and the
lack of consultation or transitional arrangements.

[roadwarriormfp]

There is nothing in the regulations about importing an Australian built car back into Australia.

The legislation only applied to cars which were not built here.

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/ ... cheme.aspx

You are migrating into the country and therefor you also fall under the personal import scheme...

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/ ... ports.aspx

Eligibility criteria
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/ ... ria_2.aspx

Recently a guy i know imported an old rusty Cadillac Ambulance into the country....
Australia has never used a Cadillac Amublance, nor were cadillacs of that era ever sold here.

[Daz]

Recently a guy i know imported an old rusty Cadillac Ambulance into the country....
Australia has never used a Cadillac Amublance, nor were cadillacs of that era ever sold here.

I think we might know the same people if it's going to be an Ecto1

[roadwarriormfp]

Sure sounds like it...