Confirmation for NSW mustang

[zinko]

OK, so I just spent the last two hours reading over all the posts in this section. Thanks for all the info. Between this and a few other sites, I am now a bit confused. I was hoping to get a confirmation on what I “think” is right.
 
I am moving from the east coast of the US to Newcastle in either January or May to work for the University (Just got back from there…nice place!); so this applies to NSW rules. I intend to purchase a late 60s mustang and bring it with me (the employer is giving me money for shipping, and since I can take a few months to find the right car, I think it will be worth the trouble.

Since I will have owned the car for less than 12 months, I will be paying tax on it. Because I can take my time finding it, I am not going to be paying too much for it, I might have to pay what Australia says is market value for it (speaking of, I’ve been reading that you guys look on ebay for cars…craigslist is the way to go if you are getting a car over here and have someone who can represent you…MUCH cheaper than ebay). Ok, tax, got it.
 
If it has AC, I need to drain it, or only drain it if it’s the old stuff?
 
It will require an inspection when it gets there. Questions about this:

I am reading about paint (both for original color as well as having it match inside the door jams). Does the paint color need to match the door tag?  
 
How much actually has to be stock in NSW. If it is a 68 that came with a 289, and its now got a 302 from a 75, is this OK?
 
What if the car was an automatic (or for that matter a 3 speed stick) and it now is a 5 speed with the tranny from the mid 80s? There was talk of getting a new door tag punched up…but even then, there were only 3 and 4 speed then…thoughts?
 
How about aftermarket disk brakes, AC and 3 point seatbelts? Will I need a waiver for those?
 
More importantly, should I BRING the aftermarket brakes and AC, and add them later (the reason I ask this is because I was told that NSW has yearly inspections of cars). Once it is in the country, can you change stuff from stock? What if you put a 2005 engine in it after it was there?
 
What is a “blue slip”?
 
From reading the form, I see I need a right side mirror, but I read something about changing the glass???
 
I also read something on a different site about being part of a car club gives you different classification for insurance or something?
 
After reading all the stories, I am now properly scared s**tless and assume that the guy to get my car to Newcastle is John Cain. He doesn’t ship from the east coast, so it’s a 3000 miles drive to get the car to California. Seems like it’s still worth it to go with him, yes?

What the hell is a GST?
 
Should I bother to clean it? Are they going to charge me anyway? (during an “aqis” inspection?)
 
What the hell is rego and compliance?
 
While I am on the subject of help, I go back and forth between Tampa FL and Raleigh NC (usually driving) quite a bit. If anyone is looking at getting an east coast car in the next few months, let me know and if It’s not too far out of my way, I’ll see if I can stop by and take a look at it for you---I’ve also got friends in parts of Texas. Hell, for that matter, if you know a good shipper on the east coast, maybe we could ship together.
 
I know that many of these have been answered before, but some of the info was from 2008, and some is conflicting.

Thanks!
 
Robert Zinko

[Spooky]

Hi Robert,
You have many questions here but I will try and answer as many as I can.
If it's got AC you need to drain and disconnect it. I was advised it was better if it didn't have as it will cost you extra.
In NSW they don't care about the paint or colour. You need to look at the posts on this forum that discuss the import rules. If you bring in a 68 with a 302 you should be fine. The tranny should be fine too.
If you make changes from whatt was available as a factory option (ie. fit a 2005 engine) you will need an engineering certificate to get it registered. This is not trivial.
A blue slip is required to register a car for the first time in NSW (or if you let the registration expire). You need to take the car to a licensed workshop where they do Blueslips. There are good people and people looking to make money out of the Blueslip.

You will not have to replace glass and a right hand mirror is optional. You will need to change the headlights as they need to dip in the opposite direction to those used in countries where they drive on the RHS of teh road.
You will find that some insurance companies give a discount if you are a member of a car club.
GST is Good and Services Tax and is 10% of the purchase price. You will need to pay GST on the purchase price of the car plus shipping costs.
Make sure that car is as clean as possible before you ship it. Make sure there is no sand/mud/leaves. They may still want to charge you for cleaning when it gets here but it could cost you a whole lot more if the car is dirty.
Rego is annual registration. In NSW you are required to rego. your car every year (you can get 6 month rego too). This requires getting a Greenslip (Compusory Third Party Insurance-CTP), a Pinkslip (roadworth certificate--not required when you get a blue slip but will be required every subsequent year).

Hope this helps.

Regards
Kerry

[Cage]

Spooky has pretty much summed it up in one go. All this stuff is easy and you should have no problems. Make sure you get the approval to import first from over this side before you ship. Once you have that you are all sweet. Also make sure you have the title from your end. No big deal and rego and getting it on the road will not be a major problem if the car is road worthy.

I brought my 68 over which was also a 289 car but it came over with a 302 with no problems.

[tim_morrison82]

A blue slip is used for the above purposes, and is a thorough inspection by a qualified mechanic to ensure that the car is roadworthy. this is generally required for first registration, or if the car has lapsed rego for around 3+ months.

A pink slip is an annual inspection and pretty much checks brakes, and all electronics are working, lights aren't out, etc... and a general 'tidyness' for roadworthy. i have been told to put seat covers on before as my seat had tears in it. they generally adjust handbrakes, etc for you whist there.

a green slip is not an inspection, just a green 'slip' of paper that says you have third party insurance.

Hope this helps further explain the slips, etc.

[Spooky]

Some more info:
A Blueslip should cost about $30 - this is legislated (you will also need a weighbridge certificate or the Blueslip supplier may have facilities to supply).
A Pinkslip should cost about $30 - also legislated
A Greenslip will cost between $250 and $700 (who knows how the insurance companies really get to the figure)

[Ash]

Some more info:
A Blueslip should cost about $30 - this is legislated (you will also need a weighbridge certificate or the Blueslip supplier may have facilities to supply).
A Pinkslip should cost about $30 - also legislated
A Greenslip will cost between $250 and $700 (who knows how the insurance companies really get to the figure)

Close, the blueslip is a bit more though. $55.90

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/feesconcessions/safetycheckfees.html

And here is all your rego costs

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/feesconcessions/registrationfees.html

[zinko]

Thank you everyone so much!!!

So much of it makes sense now.  

So the blue slip is the tough one, where I want the car to be as original as possible (although it seems a 5 speed transmission from the 80s replacing the original 3 speed should be fine---they might not notice the difference).  Also, a nonmatching numbers 302 in a car that was originally a 289 is no big deal (as long as the 302 is not fuel injected).

So from what I gather, I want to bring the car in as original, then once I get the blue slip I can make changes that I want to the car (like power windows, disk brakes, after market AC, etc).  

From there, it’s only a yearly pink slip inspection which doesn’t really care if the car is stock or not, as long as its road worthy.  But, if for some reason the rego (pink slip) expires and I don’t get another one in time, I need to go back and get a blue slip again, in which case I would need an “engineering certificate” for the changes.

This is correct?

This makes my brain hurt…thanks again for everyone’s help.

[Spooky]

I agree the best plan is to bring in a "stock" car, get it blueslipped and then go from there.
The Blueslip can be hard or it can be easy. It depends on the state of the car and who is doing it. My Blueslip took 30 minutes from start to finish including a weighbridge certificate. When I commented to the guy doing it he said "Your car looks like you appreciate and love it, and that you will fix any problem long before it would become a safety issue. If your car was a mess I would have taken all day!"

In reality, if you make a change that requires an engineering certificate, even after you get it rego'ed, you need to get the correct certification.


I would suggest that you take it one step at a time. Join the club. Get the car you want to start with. When the time is right (before you ship) get import approval. Get the car here, and tap into the wealth of knowledge available to you all along the way through this forum. It's not as hard as it seems if you take the advice that is offered.

[m67gl]

If I currently have my car on full registration, and got a blue slip for it 3 yrs ago when first registered, what happens if I put the car on concessional registration (club rego) for a time and then want to go back to full rego ? do I need to get another blue slip ?  Our club here requires everyone obtain there own pink slip each year and bring it to rego day in December.

[68pony]

From there, it’s only a yearly pink slip inspection which doesn’t really care if the car is stock or not, as long as its road worthy.  But, if for some reason the rego (pink slip) expires and I don’t get another one in time, I need to go back and get a blue slip again, in which case I would need an “engineering certificate” for the changes.

This is correct?

This makes my brain hurt…thanks again for everyone’s help.

You have 3 months from the time your rego expires to renew your rego before needing a blue slip again, as for the mods it would be a good idea to get a engineers report anyway depending on how big the upgrades are, you don't want any hassles from your insurance company if you need to make a claim, and they deem your car to highly modified and you ddn't ensure the car could handle it, with a engineers report they can't say that, also might help if you get pulled over by the police.
cheers chris.

[68pony]

If I currently have my car on full registration, and got a blue slip for it 3 yrs ago when first registered, what happens if I put the car on concessional registration (club rego) for a time and then want to go back to full rego ? do I need to get another blue slip ?  Our club here requires everyone obtain there own pink slip each year and bring it to rego day in December.

The answer is yes you will need to get a blue slip, when you put a car on club rego all you need is a pink slip , no engineers reports, no blue slips,going to club rego is like cancelling your rego or it expiring and not renewing so the same rules apply to re register, you need a blue slip.
cheers.

[dalex]

Welcome aboard, a lot of questions there. I have lived in the USA and moved back to Australia with a car, so send me a PM if you want to have a phone call some time.

As for shipping, of the East Coast ports will ship to here, it may be roll on roll off though. There is plenty of mixed opinion on this as a shipping method, so do your homework. This table has all the ports listed.

http://www.shipping-worldwide.com/car-exports.html

Having said that you will find some ships from the West Coast will go to Newcastle, so that be better. I have shipped a car in a 40' container with furniture before and that is a good option. All the household items are very expensive out here (furniture, beds, kitchen stuff, linen, towels etc.), so it make sense to bring all that rather than store it and but more here.

As for the A/C, you should really have someone evacuate it properly, and they will reclaim the gas and not release it into the atmosphere. I did this and it was about $40, and I got a nice receipt that was accompanied my paperwork.

The GST is the Goods and Services Tax, basically your sales tax. As you will not have owned the car for a year and are not bringing it in as a personal import you will have to pay this. It is 10% of the landed price, so unfortunate you cannot avoid this.

Good Luck

Dale

[Nobby76]

THank you for this thread, I now know I have to get my AC drained before next week!!

I couldn't however find an answer to another question.

I have my import approval, is there any other paperwork (customs/quarantine) that I need to fill out??

Thanks

[Spooky]

Your freight company should be able to do all the rest for you

[Nobby76]

Your freight company should be able to do all the rest for you

THanks, seems more complicated getting my household goods home!!