Younger sportscar drivers
Discussion
I am a 24yo petrolhead about to embark on a move over to Canberra. I have owned a number of sportscars and currently in the process for selling my TVR. I would have loved to be bringing it over but I simply cannot afford to. I will need to buy a car when i arrive and was thinking along the lines of a Honda S2000 or Nissan 350Z, as I understand the Jap market in Aus is quite reasonably priced? I dont know a great deal about the way the driving licences work over there and just wondered whether this was realistic on an insurance front and also are there any restrictions on age? I am 24, have no motoring offences and 5 years no claims bonus, whether that is tranferable I dont know? Thanks in advance.
jimmyV8 said:
I am a 24yo petrolhead about to embark on a move over to Canberra. I have owned a number of sportscars and currently in the process for selling my TVR. I would have loved to be bringing it over but I simply cannot afford to. I will need to buy a car when i arrive and was thinking along the lines of a Honda S2000 or Nissan 350Z, as I understand the Jap market in Aus is quite reasonably priced? I dont know a great deal about the way the driving licences work over there and just wondered whether this was realistic on an insurance front and also are there any restrictions on age? I am 24, have no motoring offences and 5 years no claims bonus, whether that is tranferable I dont know? Thanks in advance.
If you can get your 5 years insurance honoured in Oz, you should be fine. Insurance is much lower in Oz, and they are more interested in history, rather than your age. Not sure about ACT, but with your rego (road tax) includes 3rd party in most states, so it is legal on the road as is. But if you are going to have a 30k car, then you don't want to be pennyless if it gets stolen, or you wrap it around a tree, so insure.
Japanese cars are not that cheap - cars drop less in value in Oz (no road salt helps, and import duties, along with a protection of the local car industry), although years ago a lot of imports and damaged cars were imported from Japan (dodging import taxes most of the time), so there was a gult of dodgy shut and cut WRX's and all that around. Insuring these imports was a bit more difficult, as you had to go to specialist insurance companies, as the big players didn't want to touch them.
Check http://www.carsales.com.au for what you may be interested in... You will have to pay stamp duty (I think that was the name of it) on any vehicles, even 2nd hand ones. And that was different from state to state - I knew people who would buy their new $100k+ BMW's from QLD, as it saved them money in tax, and had a holiday in the sun at the same time..
Good luck in Camberra - great place if you like to sleep, a lot! Else, if you want a life, go somewhere else, fast!
LOL, fair car prices in OZ 
A decent 350 or S2K will cost around 50k and 35k Aus respectively. My 04 low km S2K cost 45k Aus, or about 21k sterling at the time. New 08 S2K in UK can be had for 17.5k.
Insurance is easy, SGIO and Budget will honour any history with no questions. I have found it alot cheaper as well than back home. MAKE SURE you get a letter from your insurance stating your history, just in case.
Ohh, dont forget to add stamp onto any car price you see over here. In WA its about 3k Aus per 40k.
And Why oh Why Canberra? Please say its work related and not by choice
A decent 350 or S2K will cost around 50k and 35k Aus respectively. My 04 low km S2K cost 45k Aus, or about 21k sterling at the time. New 08 S2K in UK can be had for 17.5k.
Insurance is easy, SGIO and Budget will honour any history with no questions. I have found it alot cheaper as well than back home. MAKE SURE you get a letter from your insurance stating your history, just in case.
Ohh, dont forget to add stamp onto any car price you see over here. In WA its about 3k Aus per 40k.
And Why oh Why Canberra? Please say its work related and not by choice
Edited by ajg31 on Thursday 1st January 05:00
Edited by ajg31 on Thursday 1st January 08:12
I think you will really regret not bringing your TVR over with you...most of us expats that did not do a personal import regret it. I know its expensive but look at what they are worth here or what it costs to have a car of comparable performance!
Edited by deviant on Thursday 1st January 05:44
Bring the Chim, the process isn't that hard really and in terms of cost will be well worth it when compared to selling it at UK prices and ending up having to settle for buying something less good when you get here due to stupid OZ car prices as mentioned.
Insurance/Rego/etc all not really a problem so i would see you paying less or very similar yearly than in the UK.
You'll regret it if you don't!
Insurance/Rego/etc all not really a problem so i would see you paying less or very similar yearly than in the UK.
You'll regret it if you don't!
Agree with the above comments. As a Chim is only worth about 10k Sterling at home right now you would be better off trying to get her over. Really, 25 Aus is getting you NOTHING like you have. And if you really do decide its wrong to have the Chim in Aus i am sure you could recoupe your costs easily here as she would be a rarity. AND think of the cheap fuel here, V8's a daily driver
I would love to bring it and I have seen the resale values over there and appears it would be worth my while in the long run. From other posts I have read it would appear that it would csot approximately 15000 aus dollors all in all to bring it over. The availablity of parts and the difficulty in selling (should I ever want to) were the things that also held me back.
I have never been to Aus so will be quite a change im sure, a move to Canbeera is female related im sorry to say and also been told a wealth of engineering jobs nationwide, so will have to see how I fair!
I have never been to Aus so will be quite a change im sure, a move to Canbeera is female related im sorry to say and also been told a wealth of engineering jobs nationwide, so will have to see how I fair!
I'm (nearly) 24 and have a modified S3
It cost me a bit over 10000 quid your money
However, insurance is much cheaper - I pay around 500 quid with unlimited kms, unlimited mods, 1 claim and 2 speeding fines
So swings and roundabouts.
But bring the TVR. You will kick yourself if you don't.
It cost me a bit over 10000 quid your money
However, insurance is much cheaper - I pay around 500 quid with unlimited kms, unlimited mods, 1 claim and 2 speeding fines
So swings and roundabouts.
But bring the TVR. You will kick yourself if you don't.
I think 15k Aus may well be a little high for a car you could get valued for very little 
Is the love of your life (female) serious? Canberra is going to be a shock to the system, still Sydney is nearby (in australian terms)
Whatever you decide, good luck. The older Tivs are pretty reliable in terms of lumps right? Dont they use the old Rover 4litre? Maybe worth asking a few PH tiv owners what they find parts and servicing like. As for resale, well i think that a car like that would be more desirable here than at home. I could see it looking mighty fine on the Gold Coast or tooling around Manly in Sydney
Is the love of your life (female) serious? Canberra is going to be a shock to the system, still Sydney is nearby (in australian terms)
Whatever you decide, good luck. The older Tivs are pretty reliable in terms of lumps right? Dont they use the old Rover 4litre? Maybe worth asking a few PH tiv owners what they find parts and servicing like. As for resale, well i think that a car like that would be more desirable here than at home. I could see it looking mighty fine on the Gold Coast or tooling around Manly in Sydney
Could well be a serious thing just decided to see what happens, nothing to loose apart from my car! Canberra I understand is pretty quiet and my first stop is Sydney so will see how it goes! Well I shall have to look into it further I think. The 15k i quoted was only a figure I found from another thread in regards to someone bringing in a S2 Elise. I just assumed it would be a similar price. Something else that puts me off are any potential mods that I would have to make to meet state requirements? I understand they are different depending where you are and to be honest I have no idea watch it would be like in ACT or NSW? The car is and has been very reliable and uses the old rover block as mentioned, most of the mechanics are borrowed from other brands so may be easier to get parts.
You wouldnt have to do many mods if any at all...The only ones I can think of would be having a KMH speedo fitted, ADR (Australian Design Rules) tagged seatbelts, high level brake light and possibly side impact beams fitted inside the doors. Like you say though the requirements vary from state to state however for a personal import you wont have to make any major changes and certainly nothing to permanent.
The cost of the import can be lowered if you get a favourable valuation in the UK
The cost of the import can be lowered if you get a favourable valuation in the UK
It didn't cost me anything like $15k AU to get mine on the road here, & only mod it needed for compliancing here in Vic was a high level brake light needed to be fitted.
Parts haven't been a problem for my Chim at all either, most stuff can be had from Land Rover etc specialists and there are plenty of places that deal with V8 MGs etc too. 2 years with my Chim in Melbourne and the only thing i have resorted to having shipped in from the UK has been a replacement roof.
A favourable valuation of the car can save you a lot as mentioned, I had mine done sight-unseen locally in Australia while my car was on the boat and was very happy with the outcome shall we say...
Parts haven't been a problem for my Chim at all either, most stuff can be had from Land Rover etc specialists and there are plenty of places that deal with V8 MGs etc too. 2 years with my Chim in Melbourne and the only thing i have resorted to having shipped in from the UK has been a replacement roof.
A favourable valuation of the car can save you a lot as mentioned, I had mine done sight-unseen locally in Australia while my car was on the boat and was very happy with the outcome shall we say...
Edited by ariddell on Saturday 3rd January 00:34
There is a list published of approved valuers, some of whom will do it sight-unseen.
The one I used charged $250, consisted of filling out a form and sending some pics of the car along with a covering letter describing it's condition and any bits of work potentially needing doing to it that could effect its landed value....
Drop me a pm if you like and I'll send you their details & give you an idea of what they will likely value your Chim at since it looks pretty similar to mine.
The one I used charged $250, consisted of filling out a form and sending some pics of the car along with a covering letter describing it's condition and any bits of work potentially needing doing to it that could effect its landed value....
Drop me a pm if you like and I'll send you their details & give you an idea of what they will likely value your Chim at since it looks pretty similar to mine.
Edited by ariddell on Sunday 4th January 23:35
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