Author Archives for Geoff
Using ROVER to check import eligibility and compliance
The new SEVS import scheme started in June 2021 and is managed by the ROVER system. To be eligible for import under SEVS a vehicle model: – Must not have been sold new in Australia (in the same configuration) – AND meet one of six import criteria. Before you can import a vehicle the model must be approved for import AND compliance must be available. Check the approved vehicle import ...
March 3, 2022 / Import Regulations
From 2022 We Only Source Vehicles < 15 Years Old
The world has been a wild ride since 2019, with uncertainty, transport delays, supply shortages and rapid market changes now things we accept as normal. The secondhand car market has been affected in significant ways, most notably the large price rises on classic cars – particularly anything with a petrol turbocharged engine and manual transmission. What does this mean for importing cars to ...
January 15, 2022 / Australian Compliance, Classic cars, General News, GTR, Hybrid electric, Import Regulations
Last Nail for Old SEVS…
Well, the last week has been an interesting one for vehicle imports to Aust… Thanks to an unexpected announcement from the Govt. Dept. involved, virtually all compliance workshops found themselves way over quota this week on most popular import models in the MA category (this covers all the regular passenger sedans, coupes and some people movers like the Alphard / Vellfire, Elgrand and petr...
October 18, 2021 / Australian Compliance, General News
Last Orders for OLD SEVS Models
Changes to the import regulations for Australia have been dragging on for so long (over 6 years) that some people may not realise that many popular older models will soon become impossible to import. A whole range of models will be blocked from 1 April 2022, including petrol / diesel people movers like the Nissan Elgrand, Toyota Estima, Mitsubishi Delica, Toyota Alphard and Toyota Vellfire. Petrol...
September 1, 2021 / General News, Import Regulations, People Movers
New ROVER system for import approval applications
After an extended transition phase, the new Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (RVSA) finally replaced the old Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 (MVSA) on 1 July 2021. Import approvals will no longer be issued for vehicle models under the old regulations after 31 March 2022 and those vehicles must have a compliance plate fitted by 30 June 2022. More info: Last Chance for Old SEVS models An online sys...
July 12, 2021 / 25 Year Rule, Australian Compliance, Import Regulations
2021 Nissan Ariya EV 66kWh & 91kWh
2023 Update, 2020+ Nissan Ariya is available for import: Nissan Ariya Import Information. Nissan Japan is now taking pre-orders for the new 66kWh and 91kWh Nissan Ariya electric vehicle. The Nissan Ariya is a sedan / SUV crossover style vehicle with better range and performance than the current 62kWh Nissan Leaf. Both the standard 66kWh battery model (B6) and the 91kWh extended range and perfor...
June 16, 2021 / Australian Compliance, General News, Hybrid electric, Import Regulations
The Times They are A Changin’
Whew, we’ve hardly had a chance to catch our breath the last 12 months. We have been so busy sourcing cars it has simply left no time for Blogging or FB. Time then perhaps for a quick catch up in between the avalanche of auction inspections, bidding, emails, phone calls and SMS ! Here are our quick thoughts on the last year and what we expect in the next year… The global pandemic triggered...
June 2, 2021 / 25 Year Rule, Australian Compliance, Classic cars, General News, Hybrid electric, Import Regulations
Last Chance for Old SEVS models
The old SEVS WILL END in the next 12 months. This has been coming for awhile, so what does it actually mean ? Let’s start with what we know. Many popular import models from the last 20 years will no longer be possible to import. The last import approvals will be issued for old SEVS models on 31 March 2022 and the compliance plate must be fitted to the car by 30 June 2022. Petrol and diesel ONLY ...
May 25, 2021 / Australian Compliance, General News, Hybrid electric, Import Regulations
2020 Summary & Merry Christmas !
WHEW !! 2020 was obviously a HUGE year in general and very busy for imports, so we are taking some extended time off over Christmas and New Year to catch our breath ! Our office is now closed for the year and we will be back to normal hours on Monday 11th January 2021. This year has been a real turning point in worldwide prices for many items including cars – you’ll find more detail a...
December 19, 2020 / Classic cars, General News
USS Auctions STOP auction images
The company that controls the USS auctions in Japan (roughly 60% of the total auction vehicles in Japan by volume) has stopped the automated access to auction vehicle images and reports, starting 24 Nov 2020. This not only affects our Auctions page but thousands of other websites in the world that display this data with automated systems. USS has now restricted access to these images to paying mem...
November 24, 2020 / General News, Japan auction online, Japan car auctions, japan used car auction, search Japan car auction
In case you have been living under a rock…
We are in the middle of a massive market shift right now, the car import market and prices are changing faster than at any time in the last 20 years and things will never be the same. Demand for vehicles is like nothing we have ever seen before, and we are absolutely flat out sourcing cars and answering enquiries. There are a range of reasons for all this but one main factor is the global Covid-1...
September 21, 2020 / 25 Year Rule, Classic cars, General News, GTR
Facebook Reviews
We retired our Facebook page in 2021. Here are just some of the 5 star reviews we received over the years. ...
September 21, 2020 / General News
8 New Models Eligible for Import to Australia
The latest list of approved models under transitional SEVS arrangements is now available. View the latest approved models list here The latest 8 models added to the list are included below. More models will be added and the list updated as time goes on – there are HUNDREDS more models still to come including many hybrid / electric options, kei cars, and rare vehicles. Approved 09 / 1998 ...
September 11, 2020 / Australian Compliance, General News
DEAD Aust Imports – R34, Supra, RX-7, Silvia & others
Well, it was nice while it lasted… Sadly, 2020 marks the viable end for many models that have been much loved imports for the last 20 years. From September 2020 we stopped taking orders for R34 Skylines, Supras, RX-7’s, Silvias, 300ZX’s, 180SX’s, Stageas, R32 and R33 Gts-t’s, as well as early 90’s Porsches and 4WD’s such as Landcruisers, Pajeros and Patro...
September 10, 2020 / Classic cars, General News
Import 2020 Nissan Leaf 62kWh now possible
The 62kWh Nissan Leaf full model range has just been approved for direct import to Australia right up to new 2020 models. At the time of this post, prices for 0 to 15,000 km 62kWh Leafs in new to near new condition ranged from about $42,000 to $51,000 complied, plus on road costs. Obviously this compares very well with the Nissan Australia new price for the lower power / range 40kWh model, which r...
August 21, 2020 / General News, Hybrid electric, Import Regulations
New SEVS Approved Vehicle List
The latest list of vehicle models approved for import to Australia under transitional SEVS arrangements is shown below. You can also check the Aust Govt. website directly for the latest updates. These are models NEVER BEFORE eligible for import to Australia and include hybrid / electric vehicles as well as significantly different versions of locally sold models. NOTE: Inclusion in this list is...
August 21, 2020 / 25 Year Rule, Australian Compliance, General News
Japan Car Parts
Looking for a reliable supplier for imported Japan car parts ? We receive enquiries every day from people wanting parts for their imported car. Unfortunately as we specialise in sourcing vehicles to order, we don’t deal with individual car parts from Japan ! What you need is a Japan car parts expert, and for that we highly recommend Jesse Streeter from Streeter Corporation – Jesse has...
August 19, 2020 / General News
Suzuki Cappuccino Reheated ?
The Suzuki Cappuccino was a 660cc “kei car” produced in Japan from 1991 to 1997, which means it is now eligible for import to Australia (and the USA) under the 25 Year Rule. The Cappuccino is now being rediscovered as a result, and prices are rising quickly along with all other nostalgic vehicles of this era. Just over 28,000 Cappuccino’s were made, mostly for the domestic Japane...
August 10, 2020 / 25 Year Rule, General News
Low km TWIN TURBO Aristo TT V300 Vertex Edition – AVAILABLE NOW but be QUICK
26 August 2020 UPDATE – Please note this vehicle has now been sold and is no longer available. This May 2002 Toyota Aristo TT V300 Vertex Edition with 3L twin turbo has just arrived in stock with one of our agents in Japan. The Aristo JZS161 model has the same 1JZGTE twin turbo used in the Supra RZ TT so is a real sleeper, and with Supra prices now stratospheric is about the cheapest rem...
July 26, 2020 / General News
$300K+ 1998 Subaru WRX 22B STi 200 / 400
Classified by many as the “Ultimate Subaru”, just 400 of the 2.2L 22B STi were produced for the domestic Japanese market and a 25 additional (un-numbered) cars for the export market. This rare and sought after 22B STi (#200 of 400) was auctioned on 23 July 2020 at USS Tokyo – the largest vehicle auction in the world – ensuring maximum exposure to collector eyes… and ...
July 22, 2020 / Classic cars, General News
What Pandemic ?
Regardless of everything else that’s going on in the world, 2020 is proving to be the Year of the Collector Car. It is, in fact, the busiest time we have known for importing vehicles of all types in over 15 years. While the shock and uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic caused a noticeable reduction in Japan car auction prices between February and April 2020, a surge in demand that started i...
July 14, 2020 / Classic cars, General News
Luxury Car Tax Thresholds Raised for 2020-21
The Luxury Car Tax (LCT) threshold for imported cars has been raised for the 2020 / 21 financial year. For fuel-efficient vehicles it has been lifted from $75,526 to $77,565. For all other vehicles it has been lifted from $67,525 to $68,740. View the Australian Luxury Car Tax and Thresholds. ...
July 6, 2020 / General News
ROUGH 1993 Supra SZ aerotop sells for over $40K
Supra prices are out to lunch ! After rapidly increasing in price for the last 5 years, as of 2020 Supras are virtually impossible to buy without a serious collector car budget. If you wanted to import one for a daily driver, forget it, as even poor condition examples are selling for megabucks. Models like aerotops, SZ 6 speeds, and RZ TT 6 speeds are leading the way and have in some cases more th...
June 30, 2020 / Classic cars, General News
4 Latest Models Added to SEVS List
The latest list of approved models under transitional SEVS arrangements is now available. These are models NEVER BEFORE eligible for import to Australia and include hybrid / electric vehicles as well as significantly different versions of locally sold models. NOTE: Inclusion in this list is just the first step to importing one of these vehicles – a compliance package must then be approved...
June 27, 2020 / General News, Import Regulations
Rare 1997 Supra Aerotop sells for $50K
8 July 2020 – in a further update to our original post from 26 June 2020, this Supra is now listed by a Japanese car dealer for 3.79 million Yen (including 10% GST): Looking for a genuine collector car ? Well, make sure to do your homework first so you know what you’re buying. Collector car prices are going stratospheric in 2020 – don’t get caught out paying top dollar wit...
June 26, 2020 / Classic cars, General News
Import Forester STi – better be quick
Better get in QUICK if you want to import Forester STi 2.5L turbo 4WD like this example. Australians have been wanting to import the Forester STi for many years and this pent up demand has now been unleashed on the auctions in Japan. Demand is high and numbers at auction are limited. So you know what that means. At the time of this post a good Subaru Forester STi would cost between $20,000 to $30,...
June 20, 2020 / Classic cars, General News
Nissan 40kWh Leaf Import from $25K
40kWh Leaf import to Australia has become substantially cheaper since the start of 2020. You can DIRECT IMPORT your own 40kW Leaf up to April 2019 build dates, which is when Nissan started selling them new in Australia. In some cases a near new 2018 40kWh Leaf import will end up at HALF the new price of a 2020 Leaf from Nissan Australia. Yes, HALF !! Why ? There are several reasons. The Covid-19 ...
June 10, 2020 / Hybrid electric
6 More Models Added to SEVS List
The latest list of approved models under transitional SEVS arrangements is now available. These are models NEVER BEFORE eligible for import to Australia and include hybrid / electric vehicles as well as significantly different versions of locally sold models. NOTE: Inclusion in this list is just the first step to importing one of these vehicles – a compliance package must then be approved...
June 6, 2020 / Australian Compliance, General News, Import Regulations
AUD to JPY Ex Rate Recovers to pre-Pandemic Levels
Between June 2019 to February 2020 the Aussie dollar ranged in value between 70 to 75 Yen. As fears of the Covid-19 pandemic reverberated around the world there was a rapid decline in the exchange rate, with the AUD plummeting from 74 to 63 JPY (almost 15%) between 24 February and 19 March 2020. However, thanks to quick action by the Australian Govt. to control the spread of the virus and many bus...
June 1, 2020 / General News