Importing sources

[trevmcrev]

Ok guys, been thinking about having a go at importing a car from japan myself. Initial idea is to either bring in a beat up evo 2/3 to convert my rally car from or maybe a good one, or something newer and start a new build from scratch.

I have a National Rally License so should be able to do it provided i follow all the procedures.

Has anyone got any advice, contacts or links as to where to best start looking for cars as well as how to actually do it on your own so as to cut costs rather than pay a fee to someone who regularly imports.

From there i'll decide if its worth bringing an extra car at the same time to part out and recover some costs.

 

[mimmo_gsr]

This mob here seem to get a few early EVOs through their books regularly although they are getting harder to source (someone in Aus told me the Russians are getting a liking for early model EVOs). They do everything from sourcing to arrange shipping, and they have an estimator page on their site to give you an idea on costs.

http://www.japaneseusedcars.com/

If you knew someone in Japan to seperate the car/s into chassis and engine and load a container, then you could get away without paying stamp duty as the goods are 'parts'. There may be a loophole around this as you already have a rally license so maybe you should check that out.

I think its cheaper to pay an agent to do the running around for you rather than you flying to Japan and finding your way around car yards and the like.

Another option is to speak to Prestige Motorsport in Perth, if you find a car you want, pay them their $1100 fee and they will arange the purchase and shipping for you. www.prestigemotorsport.com.au

EVO IV's and V's are going fairly cheap now too, however the extra cost is not necessarily going to make a better rally car. There are numerous early model Evos and VR4s (monkhouse a few years ago), that in the right hands can be very competitive.

Mimmo