Bringing cars into NZ

[The T Boy]

Having read the horror stories and prepared myself for the worst it was actually a very pain free process.

I thoroughly cleaned and vacuumed the insides of both cars and cleaned the outsides too. I jetwashed the undersides and the wheel arches and gave the spare wheels a good clean. Vacuumed all the leaves and pine needles out from under the bonnet and gave the engine bay a wipe with a damp cloth. It took about half a day to do each vehicle.

My motorbike and Esprit came in a container with the rest of my stuff. The Esprit passed MAF and Customs inspections first time whilst the bike needed a second MAF visit as the panniers were on it and locked and for some reason the MAF inspector needed to check the insides. Perhaps he thought I'd taken all the dirt off the panels and hidden it in one of the panniers.

The Range Rover came in on a roro and failed MAF as a seagull decided to crap on the bonnet when I dropped it off at Southampton docks but $50 saw that dealt with.

Doing the paperwork for the Range Rover was straightforward so it was just the compliance tests left.

Before I left the UK I'd already been in touch with AANZ and provided them with photos of the chassis plates for each vehicle. They confirmed that the bike and Lotus would be fine but suggested I get a Certificate of Compliance from Land Rover for the Range.

The Range and bike passed straight away but the Lotus failed on not having a high level stop light. That's easily resolved and I've worked out how to hide it in the louvres and attach it without breaking or drilling holes in anything.

So for those who might be put off with trying to bring cars into NZ - don't worry, it's not as difficult as some think. Just make sure you have all your paperwork sorted and give everything a proper clean.

Now to find some decent empty roads.....

[Fulvisti]

That's excellent, glad it wa so easy for you, makes a difference being so organised.

Empty roads? South Island, we have some great roads!

[The T Boy]

It's a bit of a trek from Auckland so I'll explore here a bit first but will be down that way at some point in the next year or so.

Any pics of your Fulvia? I hankered after one in the UK as they are so stylish but the UK ones are either very expensive or full of holes. How has the Italian metal held up over here? There is a Beta Coupe on Trade Me at the moment which is tempting me to part with my cash as I've got a soft spot for Lancias. Test drove a Monte Carlo once and was close to buying that but the rust worries put me off in the end.

[Fulvisti]

I've just had to sell it unfortunately. I needed the space and the money to fix up the engine in the integrale after running a big end bearing. Now that I've fixed that, maybe I can look for another. I was half way through restoring it. I love the Beta coupes too, had a VX coupe for 14 years, man that thing could go. Rust isn't such a big issue in NZ, but having said that it does depand on where in the country you are, as long as you're not too close to the sea I think you'll be fine. The VX was a 1985 and had very little rust, just a bit around the boot lid opening.

[Atom Johnny]

The T Boy said:

It's a bit of a trek from Auckland so I'll explore here a bit first but will be down that way at some point in the next year or so.

There's plenty around here (Auckland) too as you'll soon learn once you start exploring. Being the start of summer there are lots of different events on over the coming months.

[The T Boy]

Fulvisti said:

I've just had to sell it unfortunately.

Shame. There's not much worse than having to stop a project before it's completed and miss out on all the benefits of your hard work.

Atom Johnny said:

Plenty of good roads around Auckland and events coming up.

Just fitted a high level stop light so should have the Lotus on the road next week and will be keeping an eye out for some events.

[Atom Johnny]

The T Boy said:

Just fitted a high level stop light so should have the Lotus on the road next week and will be keeping an eye out for some events.

What type of Lotus? Have you checked out the local club?

[The T Boy]

It's a Series 3 Esprit Turbo.

I was keen to get along to the Club Lotus meet a couple of weeks ago but the car wasn't ready. Will definitely be joining up and going to the events next year.