http://www.prestigemotorsport.com.au What do you guys think of this....is it a good idea to import..as the total price seems fair... Any bad and good experience???
Nah..I was wondering if anyone has used this service and is it any good to import a zed rather than buying over here...looks like one can save a bit by importing and u also get a genuine full report of the car...
I was in the exact same position abuot 2 months ago, when i couldnt find a good car locally i looked to importing, in the end didnt proceed because you can only import 4 seater tt's and i wanted an na, never fully convinced me though, i mean lloking locally there were a fair few cars that looked great in pictures but turned out to be peices of crap when i went to look in real life, im sure there is a possibility of getting a good one, but there is also a good possiblility of getting a dog, you just never know.... I'd look at importing as a last resort, but look around on the local market first
You are right Martin,some ZEDS look good in pic...I find some rather over priced...I rather wait for a ZED which is mechanically reliable and also the right price. until then SAVE SAVE SAVE!!...Would prefer taking one of the ZED gurus over here for pre-purchase inspection.... I think you can import any vehicle as long as it meets Aus standards and compliance.
importing a zed ..?? .. would be very interested to know how you know that you are getting a "genuine" report on the imported zed .. ??? .. what you can be sure of, however, is that you will be importing a zed almost guaranteed to have had the speedo wound back, big time that's "genuine" ....
it wasn't that long ago that most of us were importing them.. I got mine through prestige, I probably wouldn't do it again unless it was an uber bargain with lotsa $ in mods thrown in because it's a long process and you don't get to check it out properly before you buy.
my zed was imported/purchased from this site, from my boss - he also imprted from there a Celsior - no problem when he did it
thats what i thought aswell but i went to the iomport place and said that now they gott go through alot to get a single car imported (ie car testing 2 of them to chekc if they meet standards) so its expensive fro import companys to get a car approved hence they only import the most popular cars (4 seater tt targa), he saud that they may get compliancing for na's but it could be over 12 months, so jsut not worth it
Not all 300ZX's can be imported See their article: http://www.prestigemotorsport.com.au/modules/wffaq/article.php?t=36 Summary: Cetain years can no longer be imported, as the 15 year rule that I used to import my 300ZX no longer exists. Under SEVS you can import: Z32 2-seater non turbo (1989 to 2000 models) CZ32 2-seater twin turbo (1989 to 2000 models) GZ32 2+2 non turbo (Oct 1996 to 2000 models only) GCZ32 2+2 twin turbo (Oct 1996 to 2000 models only) HZ32 2-seater convertible (1992 onwards) There are further restrictions to consider. In 1999 a restrictive emissions regulation was introduced and it is very difficult for the 300ZX to meet this standard. Therefore compliance is not currently available for 300ZX's above 1998. taken from www.prestigemotorsport.com.au You also need to remember that under SEVS, a vehicle must be returned to stock form prior to compliance. So if you go and buy a fully kitted out 300ZX, thinking you're getting a bargain, you have to have the compliance work done, around the $2000-$2500 mark, plus getting a workshop to strip all aftermarket mods to the car, fit with OEM parts that you are meant to own yourself , get it registered and THEN put all the bits back on! Not as easy anymore thanks to DOTARS changing the import rules in 2005.
I know its off topic a little but I am listening to BON SCOTT, I'm drinkin Aussie wine (cos I can't get Tooheys) and i will be importing a Jap spec into Aus soon. Shit the Gold coast will have anpther nutter pom to contend with
Been here...... sounds easy ...... & its a little more complicated than that ! Pending on the age of the vehicle as to what exactly you have to do, there is a distinct grey area inparticular around the 1990 models. One of my Zeds still has all the Jap stuff fitted and SFA has been changed, even the mods were allowed as were the spoilers & wheels, yet the other ZX has had much of the stuff changed to suit the newer laws. Heres a basic list of steps to get an import on the road Quarantine Release papers: The importer SHOULD take care of this but he needs to sign them over to you as part of the sale of the car. You MUST own these papers Import Approval papers: Again the importer SHOULD take care of this but he needs to sign them over to you as part of the sale of the car. You MUST own these papers Receipt for vehicle: Upon buying the car you MUST have one to prove ownership, again the importer MUST do this. Document Transfer Notice: The importer must provide you with a letter stating he has transfered ownership of the above documents to you. THIS IS A MUST HAVE ITEM..... I repeat.... THIS IS A MUST HAVE ITEM..... if ya dont get one then I can sell you a barbed wire canoe and paddle for the creek your intending to paddle up ! next step....... Aust Compliance: Pending on where the importer is, if he's an interstate importer then your state may not accept the compliance in which case YOU will have to have the car made Aust Compliant..... which means Engineers Certificate to be issued from your state or the state that the car is to be registered in. Be carefull here, there are things that WILL need to be changed that you arent expecting.... expensive things ! heres a couple I've encounted.. Glass = must meet Aust design stds so it must have that little approval number printed on all the glass ! Seatbelts = belive it or not if it aint got a silly little tag sown in that states its Aust Compliant it wont pass. Brake fluid = must be DOT3 or higher so a full flush is required Curved rearview mirrors = cant have em so you'll need to change em to flat mirrors Theres a lot that can catch you out here, research, research, and then research some more. Once the Aust Compliance is issued ( you should now have a plate attatched to the body of the car ).... Queensland for example, you should have some sort of queensland engineers certificate, or a blue mod plate possibly. If it was a low volume import, then it should have a green compliance plate fitted in the engine bay, usually on the drivers side near the shocker tower. NB: the QLD plate wont be recognised in other states. If a silver compliance plate is fitted then all you should need is an RWC for your state. for more info Google in..... vehicle assessment signatory scheme Its not as easy as it sounds and it takes time, research is your best friend well before you start down this road. Interstate importers make it 10 times harder to do, so your better off having the car transfered to an importer in YOUR state before you start. Extra care is also needed when you make your pick of cars, make sure it comes with ALL the stuff it arrived with, in some cases they remove wheels / spoilers / skirts / rear wings for "importing purposes' ( coughbullshytecough ) and then try and 'sell' them to you after you've purchased the car.... "Oh by the way we have this really trick set of mags that would suit you new car too and their cheap at $1500 !!, and we also have this awsome front spoiler to...... hell its even in the exact same color as your new car !!! " There's a website ( I cant think of its name at the moment ) where you pay ($20 from memory) and do a V.I.N search, it gives you a full history of the car and includes the current stature of the car, it will even show the K's on the speedo prior to export. Some cars WILL have wound back speedos so be extra carefull of these. It doesnt cost much but its WELL WORTH THE MONEY to check the VIN out before you buy. A mate bought an R33 import which had 60,000 on the clock, turned out it had 138,000 before it left Japan !!! Be very wary of low kilometer cars, most likely its been doctored. I have managed to contact the first owner of my white 2+2 ( my stock ZX ) and she..... yeah you read that right... she has posted some pics of the car when she owned it in Japan.... the 'she' bit explains the pink fluros we found in the car !! I also got much of the service history from her aswell which never came with the car.... now if I could just read Jap ! Kingy
Can you please post more info regarding the vin trace of a vechile, i wouldnt mind doing that myself or even better contacting my z's previous owner in japan, that be pretty good actually. Is it from there that you are able to locate previous owners of the vechile and their names?? cheers
Brake fluid = must be DOT3 or higher so a full flush is required sorry i disagree with that... no friggin way does that happen or would it ever happen... maybe if the car came into the country with no fluid in its system... otherwise HELL NO
I agree, there is nothing better than driving a Z32 at full tilt, and knowing that the brake fluid in the system is probably the original fluid put there in 1989 by the factory, I would imagine its the same type of adrenalin high you can get [ i assume] by having unprotected Sex in Nigeria with a prostitute - after all Brake fluid is like red wine - it only gets better with age regulation or not, flush the brake system. [ ohh - and wear a condom, but not necessarily at the same time]
I did a search but i cant find a service that does (international) VIN history they all do (natioanal) that is no good if your car is a import
I almost imported one through Geoff (prestige) then continued with reasearch anyways i've been following prestige for about 5yrs now (getting their emails etc) and i've spoken to alot of ppl regarding importing directly. There is another guy in malaga that imports cars directly too although he doesn't bring z anymore (due to compliancing). Because you only go off the auction sheets which are in Japanese you have to rely that the information you are getting is true and correct and that some little but importand details are 'omitted'. I've been told that most of the auction sheets are b/s anyways, whatever you do make sure you're not importing one bought through the 'Yahoo' auctions because they're the ones that dealers etc can't get rid of anywhere else and they are sold without any form of inspection etc. Apparently you can even compliance them yourself, you just have to know what you need to change and i've been told that 'it isn't that hard' if you have the time and the right mechanics etc You can only import the 300 models that were not available in australia and I think there are 2 ways of compliancing them like 15yrs older and the newer ones that weren't made in aus. I've heard good and bad things about Geoff but I think that if he was ripping ppl off he wouldn't have been around for so long, perth is small and the amount of vehicles that have been purchased through him he would have gone under a long time ago if he was doing the wrong thing.
Thats good info Kingy... Guess it is better to buy one locally..it would be a waste of time and energy to go through all this... Did anyone fine a website which provides VIN information for local cars?? If so please post here...
Careful guys, a lot of incorrect info here I need to step in here as some of the info here is way off the mark... no offence to those posting it, import laws have changed in all sorts of ways recently and there are a lot of people out there who don't really know the deal and so bad info is in abundance. I import cars for a living so I know exactly what can and can't be done. The usual disclaimer: I work for J-Spec Imports who is a competitor of Prestige's I guess, so take whatever I say however you want to take it First of all, what Z's can be imported: - NO 2+2's can be imported anymore. August 96 and later 2+2's are eligible, but for 1998 and later Z's they at the moment can't be complied since they have no passenger airbag. Technically therfore August 96 - December 97 2+2's could be complied, however for such a narrow year range no compliance workshop is willing to shell out the considerable amount of money to be set up to do these. - ALL 2 seaters prior to December 1997 can be imported... TT's, NA's and convertibles. - heavily modified vehicles and vehicles with accident history CANNOT be complied, you will have to crush the car or re export it! I can't stress this enough and anyone who says that an accident repair is 'clean' or 'unseen' and therefore ok doesn't care about you at all, I'm sick and tired of people bringing in cars like this and then acting all surprised when they lose thousands! Compliance: Compliance can ONLY be done by a Registered Automotive Workshop, for Z's there are 2 or 3 in Australia at the moment (one's close but I don't think they're there yet). You can't do the compliance work yourself anymore. Badzx most of the info you discussed was in relation to the 15 year old rule, this has now ended and is no longer relevant or actually incorrect. VIN searches: You guys might be referring to the US system which fairly comprehensively keeps track of VIN numbers. Here in Australia you can check if a VIN is stolen or has finance owing on it, that's about it. Japan has no VIN system where you can track info. Is importing a Z cheaper at the moment? Z's are one of they few cars where importing MAY not be the better option. If you want something cheap then you may be better off buying locally as a LOT of cheap cars came in under the 15 year old rule. A lot of them were pretty poor vehicles, but some are good. You can get Z's in Japan very cheaply that would match local prices, but chances are they aren't that good, and I hope at the very least you've learned from this site that a bad condition Z is not something you want at all. Where importing a Z is a good way to go is if you want an exceptionally good vehicle or a later model, as those are harder to find in Australia. Depending on your budget you can name just about any mileage and you will be able to find one in Japan given some patience, but if you are doing things on a budget then I'd say find something here already. Ben
