Hi All,
I'm interested in importing a car from Japan for track use only (doesn't need to be registered) as it appears much cheaper than buying here in Aus.
Does anyone have experience with buying from auctions or knowledge on the importation process, tax, shipping time… etc?
I'm eager to hear your favourite sites or English speaking contacts.
There are plenty of importers that can help. I've used Geoff at Prestige Motorsport a long while ago, not sure if he's still around. Kristian from iron chef is really good and so is Aaron at import monster. Can vouch for all these guys, really helpful and great service
MCM forums!
Geoff's been around since day dot, prolly round about the same for Kristian when he was still in Japan doing his thing. Aaron's another viable option. Add J-Spec to the list.
Got a CAMS licence by any chance?
When I imported some years ago, I just used an auction buyer in Japan and did the rest myself. I don't know if this is still the case, but companies like Prestige and J-Spec didn't actually do much for their fee. You pick the car, you ask for the inspection, you pay the purchase fee, you complete the import paperwork, you complete the customs documentation, you organise compliance, etc. They certinaly don't warrant the car for fitness. It was just as easy to do it myself and I saved the additional fee.
I think you need a CAMS licence before you can import a car for track use, from memory.
There's enough blogs or forum posts on 'orindary' Jap imports, the process/costs/timeframe but haven't seen anything alike on race imports hence it might be worth forking out $990 just to get some guidance on how to fill in the import approval form and required supplementary info…..
Hmm I don't have a CAMS licence. Didn't know I needed one.
Will look into that thanks.
Yeah it's easy. This is the CAMS licence you need:
http://docs.cams.com.au/CAMS%20Forms/Competitors/CAMS%20Nati…
Then apply for approval to import a race car:
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/imports/quiz/race_…
Then find an auction buyer in Japan. I used a guy named Mark Hocking (you can Google him). Find a car at auction, tell him or his buyer how much you want to spend, if you win you send the $$$ and follow their instructions. The site above will help further.
If anyone needs help with the Freight / Logistics (Import, Customs Clearance etc…) you can email me. I work for a company called BTi Logistics, we are Australian owned, Melbourne based and have been around for 25 years.
You can email me on [email protected]
Done it twice for an ep3r and r33 Gtr. Contact Aaron at import monster. Not a bad time to do it now, the yen is reasonably good at the moment.