Chimaera in OZ

[soapbox]

Now becoming a major possibility that work will take me to Perth.

Really don't want to get rid of my 450 but I have had a glance at some of the threads and getting a TVR into Oz looks like a pain in the arse. I have seen that a couple of guys seem to own Chimaera's in Oz - does anyone know approx how many of them are about? Are the chances of getting hold of one slim?

If I am going for the long haul then it may be worth the hassle of filling in the paperwork for the import - but I seem to remember reading somewhere that the government had made it illegal ?!

Anyone have any idea?

[stin hambo]

If I remember correctly, you have to have owned your car for a year or more to import to Oz.

I'm sure it's not too difficult though!

[jeffo]

Not illegal, just difficult. And expensive.

I looked into it myself after returning from a work secondment to the UK, determined to have one of these TVR thingys. Fortunately, just the model I was after bobbed up at a dealer here and my problem was solved.

There are a few for sale here at the moment, a couple of which can be found at the following websites:

www.carsales.com.au
www.carpoint.com.au

There is also a Cerbera that might interest you.

I think I read somewhere there are about 15 Chimaeras in Oz, but you should be aware many of them were produced by the Malaysian franchise and imported by an exotic car dealer. These are not necessarily compliant in all states. Mine had to have a few things done after inspection by a government-approved engineer and is now fully compliant in South Australia and New South Wales.

I know of at least one Chimaera in Western Australia and may be able to locate the owner for you.

If you want to know more about importing your own, here is a good place to start:

www.dotars.gov.au/transreg/vsb/vsb_10.htm

Best of luck.

MSJ

[soapbox]

thanks for the links and the info. I'll let you know how I get on!

[i82q]

Having just got my P&J this looks like a problem I will be having as I am about to move to Sydney.

I think you have to have owned it for a year and be a resident. The cost looks something like £2000.. probably less than I would lose if I sold it. However the roads don't look to TVR friendly so there is a lot of umming and arring going on for me at the moment.

Any hints tips and information on whats involved would be great to help me decide though

Richard

[jeffo]

Richard

I think you'll find our long dry roads here much more TVR-friendly than English wet twisty ones. Apart from the odd bump or pothole on the 2nd-rate ones.

New South Wales has pots of $$$, so most of their roads are pretty good.

I think you are correct about the 12-months ownership.

Transporting it here is not a major issue. The greater concern is getting it complianced with the relevant motor registration department in your state.

There is no definitive list of things that need to be done to a UK Chimaera to make it compliant, as no 2 examples here appear to be exactly alike and requirements may vary from state to state or even inspector to inspector!

Having said that, the only things that needed to be done to mine (1999 Malaysian Chimaera) were seat anchorage, collapsible steering wheel, brake line modification, side mirror glass and an engineer's report on side impact resistance. I suspect you will need to fit a boot-mounted eye-level brake light, have the speedo denominated in kilometres per hour, and ensure the rear number plate illumination is in front of the plate rather than behind.

Best of British!

MSJ