SimonExtreme
New member
Finally, after being without the RS for exactly 7 weeks, I have her back! The story so far (for those who don' know).............At the beginning of the year I moved to Oz and have shipped the 964RS out with me.
The whole process has been less painful than I thought it might be. The car has been imported as a "personal import" which can be done if you own it for a year before importing. I put the car in a "sole use" container and the shipping took just over 4 weeks. Then the fun began.
The first thing is the car is inspected by quarantene. Normally, they insist on a full steam clean but they decided it was clean enough already. Next thing was the valuation for import duty. The system is a bit different to what you would expect. I had to employ an approved valuer so I chose one with a reputaion for low valuations (why wouldn't you!). The valuer was very estute and picked up on all matters that reduced the value of the car. Not least, he noted that as the car had a roll cage and harnesses, the car must have been used for racing and that this destroyed the value of a car. So, to my great disappointment, the valuer concluded my car was worth less than a normal C2 and it was valued at AU$35,000 (about £14,000). Clearly it wasn't worth importing the car[
]. Anyway, the rules are that I have to pay tax based on the valuation so my disappointment has been tempered by having to pay about £4000 less tax and import duty than expected!
Next challenge was insurance. The first quote was for over £2000 per year and even the suposed market leader was about £1000. Then, thanks to a lead on Rennlist, I found a broker who sorted it for £640 []
The car was then trailered to a garage for roadworthiness inspection. No dramas there, except that I had to remove the harnesses as you are only allowed one set of seatbelts. Suprisingly, they are now back in the car! I had to take the car to a weighbridge and then I was given all the test approvals etc. The inspector told be that the £100 bill was the lowest he had ever issued because there was so little to do.
In fact, the only thing he did was to top up the oil. Before starting any import, they always check the oil level just in case and guess what, they needed to add oil. So, now I have a car with about 1.5 litres of oil in it more than it should have[].
Final step was to go to the authorities to register the car and get a number plate (only issued by them). Now, over here you can choose the style and content of the number plates so I have some very fetching "Euro style" plates. They really do look rather like German plates. And I get to choose the number. All numbers begin with N with a gap and New South Wales crest before the next set of letters and numbers. My ideal plate had gone but I now have a reg number of N SN 911. I think it looks rather cool!
And then, finally, I could hit the open road and it is so good to have the car back. Due to the heat, all driving is with the window down but I rather like that. Sydney streets are worse than London but for must of the time, speeds are so low that the bumps aren't a problem. However, it is more than made up for the fact that wherever I go, peopkle just stop, stare, point, give me big thumbs up, stop and want to talk etc. I even went to a "very special" car wash (which I checked out first as I don't trust people normally) and the manager said the car was the best car he had seen for weeks. Now, as ahead of me was a 996 C4 I was well chuffed[]
So, there you have it. There is now another 964RS in Oz (I think that makes 3 road legal) and one happy camper! I will try to get some suitable pics (in front of the Opera House?) and post them soon.
The whole process has been less painful than I thought it might be. The car has been imported as a "personal import" which can be done if you own it for a year before importing. I put the car in a "sole use" container and the shipping took just over 4 weeks. Then the fun began.
The first thing is the car is inspected by quarantene. Normally, they insist on a full steam clean but they decided it was clean enough already. Next thing was the valuation for import duty. The system is a bit different to what you would expect. I had to employ an approved valuer so I chose one with a reputaion for low valuations (why wouldn't you!). The valuer was very estute and picked up on all matters that reduced the value of the car. Not least, he noted that as the car had a roll cage and harnesses, the car must have been used for racing and that this destroyed the value of a car. So, to my great disappointment, the valuer concluded my car was worth less than a normal C2 and it was valued at AU$35,000 (about £14,000). Clearly it wasn't worth importing the car[
]. Anyway, the rules are that I have to pay tax based on the valuation so my disappointment has been tempered by having to pay about £4000 less tax and import duty than expected!Next challenge was insurance. The first quote was for over £2000 per year and even the suposed market leader was about £1000. Then, thanks to a lead on Rennlist, I found a broker who sorted it for £640 [
]The car was then trailered to a garage for roadworthiness inspection. No dramas there, except that I had to remove the harnesses as you are only allowed one set of seatbelts. Suprisingly, they are now back in the car! I had to take the car to a weighbridge and then I was given all the test approvals etc. The inspector told be that the £100 bill was the lowest he had ever issued because there was so little to do.
In fact, the only thing he did was to top up the oil. Before starting any import, they always check the oil level just in case and guess what, they needed to add oil. So, now I have a car with about 1.5 litres of oil in it more than it should have[
]. Final step was to go to the authorities to register the car and get a number plate (only issued by them). Now, over here you can choose the style and content of the number plates so I have some very fetching "Euro style" plates. They really do look rather like German plates. And I get to choose the number. All numbers begin with N with a gap and New South Wales crest before the next set of letters and numbers. My ideal plate had gone but I now have a reg number of N SN 911. I think it looks rather cool!
And then, finally, I could hit the open road and it is so good to have the car back. Due to the heat, all driving is with the window down but I rather like that. Sydney streets are worse than London but for must of the time, speeds are so low that the bumps aren't a problem. However, it is more than made up for the fact that wherever I go, peopkle just stop, stare, point, give me big thumbs up, stop and want to talk etc. I even went to a "very special" car wash (which I checked out first as I don't trust people normally) and the manager said the car was the best car he had seen for weeks. Now, as ahead of me was a 996 C4 I was well chuffed[
]So, there you have it. There is now another 964RS in Oz (I think that makes 3 road legal) and one happy camper! I will try to get some suitable pics (in front of the Opera House?) and post them soon.
