***read this before importing cars to australia***

btt

 

HAMBer silliness...
I’ve been following this thread with some concern...and much delight. I love the hysterical comments on the state of our government and what individuals want to do about it. In particular I’m taken with the ‘I waana move to a place I can be free to do what I like’ comments. Gentlemen let me introduce you to the very place...Somalia.
In Somalia you can do whatever you like, you see, there’s virtually no government. So logically there is little law enforcement, Neat eh?
It’s every little boys delight! You can even be a pirate, with an eye patch and everything. Of course of most interest to the HAMBers who arrive will be the prevalent mode of vehicular transport. This is how it works;
1. You and some mates steal a U.N. four wheel drive (usually a TOYota)
2. You and the boys take it back to your little Fort, oops I mean workshop
3. Oh yes, don’t forget to get the beers in and mummy will make some nice Pork sangers, don’t worry about it being a Muslim country, after all who’s going to enforce the law?
4. Now the fun starts, you cut the body off the TOY and mount a machine gun on the back, neat eh?
5. Now before you go for your first test drive you and the boys finish the beers and load the ammo. Or is that, load zhe ammmmo ya fukin’ looney bastard, while I finishhh za beers...hic!
6. Remember to open the doors to the Fort before leaving, this ain’t the Keystone Cops ya know.
7. Drive (or weave) into another area, do a few burnouts, throw a few empty bottles about, shoot the place up a bit, note; if driving and shooting at nite load Tracer rounds (every fourth- sixth round gives a good effect) and let the fireworks start. You and the boys will have to decide on the spot which stuff to shoot up. There’s no government to speak of, so Road Signs and other gov’t stuff is at a premium.
8. Piss Off Quick before the local gang get their shit together, pick up some more beers on the way back to your workshop fort, and laugh the rest of the nite away with comments like; did ya see me when I... and, what were you thinkin’ ya dopey bastard... and, do ya think they’ll miss that hospital trolley I ran over (and is now stuck under the TOY)... (years later... Ah, those were the days.)
9. You can have ‘shoot ‘em up fun’ every day and night, until...the other gangs find out where your workshop fort is.
10. Then you get to play ‘Cowboys and Africans’, a neat game for all the guys to enjoy.
11. The rules of the game were simple when it used to be ‘Cowboys and Indians’, but twenty-first century life has become so much more complicated from when I played the game in the Fifties and early Sixties. Anyway, the game starts when you hear that ‘The Africans’ are on the way over to say just a bit more than hello. You quickly finish your beers and leave the Fortshop to go out and skirmish. Did I say to open the doors first? And, I hope you remembered to take a few extra six packs with you.
12. Combat! You know what to do. Yep, blast the snot out of ‘em, every chance you get. Don’t worry too much that they have been playing this game much longer than you, you have heard of beginners luck, right?
13. Don’t worry if you get hit and wounded. Your mates will beat a hasty retreat to the U.N. compound where the good Doctors will patch you up, nurse will put a Band-Aid on and kiss it better, then you can go back out and play Cowboys and Africans some more.
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14. Now if you get really &#8216;belted up&#8217; and blood and mess and oozy stuff is all over the place, the Australian Government will &#8216;Medivac&#8217; you home to our fucked up hospital system (funny how that still works), our fucked up Social Security System will make sure you still get some &#8216;Play money&#8217; to live on, and our fucked up Foreign Affairs Dept will make sure you don&#8217;t have to go back and account for your actions at &#8216;playtime&#8217;. Our fucked up Police Dept. will I&#8217;m afraid take your gun, they will explain nicely to you that &#8216;because of your immature, foolish and irresponsible actions and attitudes&#8217; it might be better if they had the gun, but you can have it back when you GROW UP.
<o> </o>
The alternative (CORELATIONAL) view.<o></o>
<o> </o>
1. Some guys steal/purchase some cars and/or parts in the U.S.<o></o>
2. They rebirth or use new repo bodies and pass these off as original cars, some of these cars are imported into OZ<o></o>
3. Documents are created to deceive the buyer/importer and the OZ government
4. Hot Rods, Customs, Race Cars etc. Are all implicated
5. After importing your car (with Dotars approval) you obtain the necessary permits and documents in order to register your car for road/track use
6. Once the formalities are completed you are free to go and use the vehicle, you have legal entitlement to. You can sell the vehicle as it is described on the approval and ownership documents
7. When selling (your &#8216;32&#8217; steel repo Highboy) for example, advertise it as an &#8216;original&#8217;, after all you have the official documents (gov&#8217;t. issued) to prove it
8. Don&#8217;t worry about being accused of fraud or anything like that. Chances are if the buyer finds out he&#8217;s been dudded, he&#8217;ll flick it real quick
9. You&#8217;re on a winner with this strategy, keep playing as long as you can
10. One day a letter arrives, it looks official
11. You are officially advised that what you have been doing is suspect and the allegedly suspect activity will be suspended
12. You protest and organise, you challenge the decision and fight for your rights (whatever you've assumed they are?)
13. The officials present some powerful and overwhelming evidence to support their decision. They can give names and details of suspects and suspect activities, they say, this situation is becoming out of control and for your (public) safety, risk of fraud etc. and the integrity of the government, they will place a ban on the suspect activity
14. This will get sorted out, the rules may change again. This will pass when the gov&#8217;t is satisfied that nothing untoward is going on. Well presented arguments from the motor sport lobby will win the day. Government is not deaf to the legitimate desires for motor enthusiasts to own the car/s of their choice. However, the gov&#8217;t will not tolerate a &#8216;free for all&#8217; and nor should it. Immature rantings and ravings will get you nowhere, unless of course Somalia is your next port of call, remember to take your eye patch, it makes it easier to take a one eyed view.
Funny isn&#8217;t it that when every man does as he pleases, he often does what displeases others, and this is not called a free state.

 

You raise some good points and Im glad to see the ASRF letting people know what they are up to, thanks Mark, hopefully it will convince more to join.
But can I still do donuts here if I promise to wear an eyepatch?

 

Extra points for a Pirate Hat and a free Get Out Of Jail Card for a parrot on yer shoulder.

 

Hello Torchman, if you live in Omaha have you ever met Harold from Mid West with the white 40 Convertible? If so tell him Damon says hi. regards
ps
how keen are you on the Falcon coupe? they are still around but often getting a bit beat up

 

As far as I, and a lot of other people, see this isn't about stolen/re-birthed cars. Or people trying to pass off a reproduction car as an original.
That's an entirely different issue.

This is about modified cars i.e Hot Rods and Customs.
If a car has been modified substantially after 1989 you can't import it. Why?

Original or restored cars can't be stolen or re-birthed???????????

My A came from a state where the DMV don't keep records past 8 years so technically it didn't exist and had to have all new paper work created for it.
But it says on the papers 1928 Ford. Because that is when it was originally manufactured. Why should it matter what has been done to it since...?

 

Yeeeee-Harrrrrr!!! Can't wait to see this!

 

The Swedes back in the 80s used to come here and cut cars in half and put the front in one container and the rear in another to ship back over because the import duties for whole cars were so much higher than parts. Then in the 90s that changed so they did not have to do it. Of course they would not do that to the nice cars but if one needed a full restoration anyway out came the torch.

But I can still buy your UTEs and bring them here? It just confuses the hell out of our DMV when you go to license them.

 

I'm sorry if you think these are immature rantings but the Department of Infrastructre changed the rules mid game without notice or reason so some of us feel a little hard done by.....But then again what would I know.

 

I'm sorry if you think these are immature rantings but the Department of Infrastructre changed the rules mid game without notice or reason so some of us feel a little hard done by.....But then again what would I know.

Believe me brother I too feel the pain. The 'immature rantings' you refer me too are my response to the idiots who feel they have the unfettered right to do anything they please, and who get royally miffed when told otherwise. These folk then go on a fairly predictable warpath, indignation, abuse, denial of the law, proclamation of their rights, urging others to join their version of a fight, then, threaten to leave the country or behave belligerantly because they are disgusted with everything the country stands for. Or to put it another way, they petulantly cry 'I'm taking my bat and ball and going home'.

On your second point, the dept didn't change the rules mid-game, they enforced the existing regulations. Had they changed the regulations none of the guys presently affected would have had a problem as there whould have been a cut off date between the old reg's and the new. As it stands now there were always going to be some guys who were affected by the dept's timing. As I said in my first post, these guys have a powerful case in asking the dept for a review. If the review is questionable then the Administrative Appeals Tribunal will hear and make a determination.

One other point (previously mentioned by another member on this topic) I would agree with is this; I suspect that the relevant authorities in the U.S. are talking to our Gov't.

There appears to be a lot of 'strange stuff' going on over there in the car world at present. One situation I will say that might be raising eyebrows is the trade in car Titles. Five years ago titles could be had for ten dollars a pop, some of them now sell for upwards of five hundred. Five years ago they were advertised as car titles, now they are described as 'historical documents'. Alarm bells are going off.

As far as the date of 1989 goes I have no explanation other than that year appears in the Dotars document, why that year has been selected ???

I am not the font of all wisdom and knowledge on this, I have simply put up a possible explanation, this was a necessary device to the structure of I hope my satirical response to the quitters and nay sayers. Don't take it too literally, give me a little 'artistic' license.

 

Hey Ryan and Mark (Halfdone)

I've been thinking about how to get good circulation on this subject and I reckon it would be worth looking at creating a Facebook group to spread the word.

The modern media love Facebook groups and it would also be very simple to get the motoring industry, media, clubs etc to spread the word for maximum coverage, it's a powerful medium these days.

If the ASRF were prepared to create a group called "Aussie Car Enthusiasts Against Vehicle Import Approval Regs" (or something) and put up a blurb about it could pickup public support a lot quicker.

If the ASRF aren't prepared to do it I'd happy create it if someone could write a balanced piece about it. Whilst I am an Aussie I'm in the UK so ideally to would be created by someone who's Facebook profile at least says they are in Aus.

It would really need to be updated regularly with facts to highlight the failings of the system and procedures like the ASRF's of how to deal with it.

Anyway, just some thoughts on how to help.

Regards

Steve

 

Not that I would endorse routing the law , but in this day and age of computers, if one were to "construct" a car magazine from before that cutoff date could that be used as evidence of the build and would the knobbers (who are not hotrod types)beleive it?

 

So of all the guys who are hard done by re this, how many have written to DOTARS and their local representitives with logical and well defined arguments? Venting here is fine but achieves little.

By the way I've always wanted to be a pirate but ended up in China and now Im a Panda.

 

Have,nt read all the reply,s but it seems to be everyone is talking about USA imports.
What about souped up Jag,s or Triumphs from the UK or modified sporty old Euro cars. ?

 

Hi guys, last friday i went to the castlemaine rod club meeting and we got talking on this issue. Long story short the letter i wrote to our local mp will be forwarded to the rod club, from there members will be sending letters of a similar matter to our current mp and the opposition leader. It is this kind of action that is needed and in large numbers also i'm in the process of organizing a blog/site to keep everyone in the loop with these current issues. All letters received from the department of infrastructure, mp's and other parliament members will be posted on this site. One last thing, the castlemaine rods president made an interesting comment on the local shire's automotive industry, the last report she had seen showed in 2004 alone it was worth 34 million dollars... I'll keep you posted on the progress of the site. Sincerely Ryan Ford

 

C'mon man, Pandas have two really cute eye patchs. They're probably too slow for any serious swashbuckling though. How good would a Pandas head look over two crossed bamboo swords.

OT, but seeing as how Chinese Piracy is such a hot topic internationally, the image of a Pandas head over crossed bamboo swords could be a symbol of that piracy.

 

A good point! Also, does this apply to motorcycles.

 

I was kind of avoiding this whole subject and hoping it would go away, but it looks like it won't, so I started doing some research.

Fe26, you seem pretty clued up about how the Govt things work. Could come in handy.

Regarding the pre-'89 thing, I'm pretty sure it's because that's when the Motor Vehicle Standards Act was passed or ratified or made law (or whatever it is they do with Acts) in 1989.

The sticking point with this whole situation, from what I can make out from reading through a whole pile of legal-speak and Govt documents, is as FIL pointed out earlier - The changing of the recognised MANUFACTURED DATE.

Regulation 17 in the Motor Vehicle Standards Regulations 1989 states "The Minister must approve an application to import a nonstandard road vehicle, or a vehicle that does not have an identification plate, if the vehicle was manufactured before 1 January 1989."

So, you always needed approval, but you were pretty much unrestricted with the pre-'89 stuff.

This whole concept of the manufactured date being the last date of any modification is completely LUDICROUS and I am still scratching my head as to how they came up with it.

I'm pretty sure it is just a way that they can basically quash the whole pre-'89 thing.

I'd love to find out who came up with that genius scheme...

 

Have you written to a federally elected representative yet Boris?

Ryan can you please post the text of that letter. I am about to fire one away but would like to make sure I haven't missed any salient points.

Fe26 - Yeah I am soft and cuddly but do like the flag idea of cross swords and the Panda head on top.

 

Old thread I know but there is a way to get modified cars into Aussie legally. Following is from the Australian Customs system giving the accepted definition of when the classification of a car changes to parts - and therefore does not require an import permit:

· Precedent No. 15439800 relates to bodies for passenger motor vehicles for the purposes of subheading 8707.10.91. For these goods to be considered as parts they must be imported with at least the engine, transmission and all wheels and axles removed and these components must not be shipped on the same vessel

So, to import a rod or modified car you will need to pull it down and move the 'parts' over 2 different vessels. This will add to the cost of shipping but for enthusiasts and those caught up in this mess with a car they have already paid for its the only viable alternative to offloading the car o/s. PM me if you want more info or help.

 

So why ARE the Aussie Gov't to keen to stop the importation of hot-rods/modified vehicles/street machines??

I have not thought of one rational or valid reason.

 

You will drive yourself mad looking for rhyme or reason from the Aussie Govt! I can't believe I'm saying this but you Kiwi's have it much better than us!! Your Govt have virtually no impediments toi importing vehicles and thats one of the big reasons classic car and rod ownership in NZ is so high.

The regulations they are enforcing have always been there, they have just decided to strictly enforce them.

 

damn guys, this sucks bad. ive tasted some aussie burocracy and it was a little annoying.
had to get a panda to help me out which ended up annoying him some too. lol.
keep the faith, stick a rocket up your pollies and good luck.

 

Rat, my friend. I can tell that you and I are on the same page. I'm with ya brother!! In fact, I might have to borrow that last paragraph.

 

Does anyone have an update on progress with Dotars, and their reason(s) why the act was enforced at this time and in this way?

 

Ridiculous........I feel for you guys.

 

Well it seems a little vague.

As long as you major parts that are post '89 for instance then it could have been modified prior. And we don't register vehicles as modified here so a pre '89 registration if you could find one wouldn't show a thing as far as modification goes.

The down side is that the DMV isn't going to print you out an old registration so if the prior owner hasn't kept the old vehicle registration (who does?) you're screwed.

Looks like a whole new industry is going to erupt, per-'89 vehicle registrations.

Just thought I'd throw that into the mix.

Guess you guys are going to have to import stockers and build your own.

 

man, this is all BS. In NZ is supposidly all safely issues - these cars even half dismantled and rusty are safer than the average jappa. PC crap and money making is all it comes down to....

 

The sad thing about this is the hot rod and custom scene in Australia is on a roll with a good economy. This has flowed on to people who build and supply products to this industry and has provided extra work for a lot of people. Sadily there are peolpe who think we are a minority. A lot of law changes have just gentely slipped in by politicians who have there own agendas, just look at gun laws, hoon laws and now this and god knows what else. Every change has been a mess as no one ever gave it thought. Be strong, stick together and use your vote to get rid of them.

 

That's not entirely true. The government has changed the way THEY interpret the rules. Saying that modifying a car changes its manufaturing date is ridiculous, but that is effectively why they are knocking back modified cars, because they no longer qualify under the pre-'89 scheme, because somehow they've magically turned into a 2005 (or whatever) model car.