What you pay for

[shaunp]

Originally posted by Maz78

Originally posted by shopony
I think the first question you have to ask yourself is can I afford to lose my money. If you are the type of person who stresses and it is your life savings then buy a local car.

 If you want a restored car then I would definitely buy local. Most cars in the states that say they are restored are a $500 paint job with little preparation done in the shed. That does not seem to happen much here in Aust. Buy one from a mustang club where they no its history.
In real terms you can spend a lot on a car that seems cheap, I reckon if you don't want to rebuild a car, some of the more expensive cars available locally, probably represent pretty good value, considering many would be pretty sorted and are now truely a turn key daily driver. I had a mate around the other day, who has a tidy 67, he paid $25k a couple of years back for it, LO2ed it and started to fix things as they broke, The car is now a real tidy car, and it owes him close to $45 k and he hasn't painted it. He did do a RHD coversion on it after about 12 months driving it left hook, which he said was the best money he spent on the car bar none.

 If you think you can import one and restore it cheaper then you can buy one here already restored then think again. Paint jobs here are around $10000 to 20000. That makes a $35000 mustang look cheap. Also if you buy a local car, you can turn the key and drive it. When I bought mine it took another 5 years to restore it and it cost more then if I had bought a restored one.

And lastly, don't go into it thinking it is a great investment. I stopped counting at $30000 when I restored my 66 coupe 15 years ago. It is now worth ........$30000 at the most. Not a great superannuation deal. I should have bought a GT Falcon, though they are  not as good looking.

 

$10k - $20k for a spray job! ;x
I guess it depends what you're after. Me, personally, I want a clean weekend toy. The $10 - $15k Mustangs you see on Ebay, that's all I want. (Basically a clean reliable rust free driver). So maybe if others are in the same boat, an import would be more appropriate.
I see lots of cars on carsales / locally for $20k+ that still require a lot of work compared to ones for sale in the US. Are they just trying to cash in?? Maybe I'm naive.
I would shudder at driving a car with a $20k paint job. In fact, I wouldn't drive it at all! :p

That's what a bare metal paint job will cost on a good car, and that's not a show car either, there's alot of work in it. Any way I was looking at buying an Aussie muscle car, like a Monaro, Falcon etc but came to the conclusion that mustangs were really cheap to buy and parts are really easy to get, not like a HK holden. I looked at cars at some of the dealers in Vic, coupes around $15-20K mark, I wasn't happy with paying that for a car i was going to strip to a shell, and redo anyway. I picked up a high spec, Cali,black plate coupe locally in Brisbane on E-bay, $9k, exactly what I wanted, a car that needed a full rebuild(most do even if the paint is shiny they are old cars that have been nickle and dimed). So my car is a 67, A code coupe, deluxe trim, tinted glass, A/C, power steer, pretty loaded really. But it's not a driver, but I haven't paid for a fresh coat of red jam that I'm going to sand off anyway. I wanted to build a car that was new, not interested in chasing my tail every weekend with another problem.

[65pony]

Mate,

I have only recently taken the plunge and have purchased from the states. My 65 coupe should be in my garage within the next couple of days.

As i am only 18 and not with alot of money at this stage to spend it was time to do some research. Working in the IT field always helps aswell. I spent a good 6 months searching daily. I originally wanted a fastback but once seeing some of the prices had to go for a coupe and save up for a fastback later.

I searched locally first before even looking overseas. I found that the market overseas is alot bigger and with the right exchange rate is perfect. It is a bit of a risk putting that kind of money into an account and hoping for the car to be as the pictures look. So if you can have someone look over the car and make sure you have alot of photo's of it.

I would suggest doing some research in OZ but try to look in the states. Look for cars that have stayed in California their whole life aswell (stayed away from the snow and salt). It may take a little while to find "that car" but its worth it.

There are alot of Pony's in OZ but there is also alot of money they are asking for what looks to be a nice coat of paint and some chrome rims.

I figured i saved close to 10K for by buying in the US.

So all the best mate and if you need anymore help just put up another post. There alot of good guys on here willing to help you.

Joel

[Brent]

Have you driven a 40 year old car lately??? without power steering & 4x drum brakes?? If you spend 20K you will get what you pay for!!
If you ca'nt afford the product you want, keep saving!
No one can afford a 20K dog & photos can be made to look very good, as others have suggested if you buy in the states a third party is a must.
Good Luck & take your time.

[65pony]

actually yeah i have and not all ov us r loaded yeah??

and yeah i knw photo's are made to look very good (as i said i work in IT) i deal with this shit all day long. A fake is easy to tell and so is manipulation, jst look at photo's very carefully. Also it aint very hard to find out the reality of a car depending on what info they hav given you and the price.

Usually if it's too good to be tru then yeah it is!!

you dont hav to spend millions to have a nice car mate!

hav fun!

[sbr2win]

Hi Jay,
I am currently waiting for my 70 Fastback to arrive from the USA. It was a bit of hard work finding out the safest and best way to make it happen. I found the car on line and organised an inspection through Automobile Inspections LLC http://www.automobileinspections.com
They gave me a 6 page report with 60 photos and an unbiased valuation.

I also spoke with the seller myself and got around 70 photos from him, copies of receipts and anything else he had. I negotiated the deal direct and then used a broker.

The hardest part is the final payment. You can't have the seller having possession of  the car, your money and the title deed. I used a broker called Buyer Services International LLC http://www.buyerservicesinternational.com These are a division of the Inspection mob, so I was quietly confident.

I then paid the money to them, plus a fee. They then draw up a contract, pay a deposit to the seller and organise transport. (Mine was Michigan to LA) They give the seller a cashiers cheque when they pick up the car. The seller holds the Title deed until the cheque clears, then forwards it to the Port. (It arrived a day after the car) You cannot export the car without the Title.

Peter Leahy Custom Imports are bringing it in from there http://www.peterleahycustomimports.com/index.html

At this stage I know what the car is, have plenty of photos, and know its on a direct ship to Australia. You have to pay for shipping insurance also. I'm hoping all the research and extra costs for safety sake pay off.

I hope this is a bit helpfull. Basically add around $8K AUD to the cost of the US car, and thats about what it will be to get it to yur door. (Then you have L02 in QLD)

Regards,

Tom

[68 gt390]

Hi Try this guy he has access to a huge amount off cars  Pete Tate.Hes a Kiwi living in LA  
001 310 683 9141   www.foytt.com