Importing US

[Capri351]

Hi All

Been toying with the idea of importing a car from the US, in particular a '63/64 Fairlane coupe (maybe with big block a la Thunderbolt) or a Mercury Comet. Something a little different since I think Mustangs are becoming like bums, everyone has one.

Was wondering if anyone here has experience with the process, and who would they recommend getting the deal done.

Cheers

Jason

[aquahead2001]

Originally Posted by Capri351

Hi All

Been toying with the idea of importing a car from the US, in particular a '63/64 Fairlane coupe (maybe with big block a la Thunderbolt) or a Mercury Comet. Something a little different since I think Mustangs are becoming like bums, everyone has one.

Was wondering if anyone here has experience with the process, and who would they recommend getting the deal done.

Cheers

Jason

Bad news on the big block front, 63/64 only came out with the small block "windsor", I think 260 in the 63 and then the 289 in the 64. Well, come to think of it, there was a 64 fairlane that came with a big block:

Fairlane Thunderbolt - 427 side oiler with tunnel port heads and dual 4 barrel carbs. Fibreglass Guards & Bonnet etc, straight out of the Ford go fast in a straight line catalogue!

If you could find one, I reckon they'd be worth a pretty penny!

'64 Fairlane Coupes look sweet, I've got a '64 4 door and but I'd have a coupe any day!

There's plenty of T-birds in the Trading Post all the time.

[Capri351]

Originally Posted by aquahead2001

Bad news on the big block front, 63/64 only came out with the small block "windsor", I think 260 in the 63 and then the 289 in the 64. Well, come to think of it, there was a 64 fairlane that came with a big block:

Fairlane Thunderbolt - 427 side oiler with tunnel port heads and dual 4 barrel carbs. Fibreglass Guards & Bonnet etc, straight out of the Ford go fast in a straight line catalogue!

If you could find one, I reckon they'd be worth a pretty penny!

'64 Fairlane Coupes look sweet, I've got a '64 4 door and but I'd have a coupe any day!

There's plenty of T-birds in the Trading Post all the time.

Original Thunderbolts are worth big bucks, I think $100K US and up. As much as I would like one, I don't think I could afford it. Perusing E-Bay etc I see replicas come up fairly routinely, and this is what I have been looking at and at $10-15k US for a good example represents pretty good value to me.

Still, a small block example would be nice too. They look very nice and seem common enough.

T-Birds are ugly to my mind, so won't be going there

[1970galaxie]

There was a 1962 Fairlane 2 door for sale in today's Sunday Times for $7,500.
Said it needs some restoration.
Might be cheaper to start this way.

[OzJavelin]

I'm sure there was a Comet in the latest "Just Cars" for a reasonable price. Mercury's will always be cheaper than their cheaper cousins ..

[caibs]

i would also like to import a car from the states

anyone know who to go through to get it landed in perth preferably?

[fos408]

Hi ,I have imported 3 cars myself all through ebay ,one from California ,one from St Louis and one from Missouri,
Two were from private buyers ,one from a dealer

the following tips
checkout all their feedback on the site,if they dont have any dont go there
both private ones were good and both cars were good ,the dealers was fairly good ,about 95% rating but he bullshitted me (car had rust)

speak to the seller by phone ask as much as possible asks for more photos of areas of the car you want to see,question the history ,location .owers etc

try to by a car close to or in california (pref a black rego plate car ,meaning they have always been in California), less rust as not driven on salt road during winter,less transport costs and insurance to get it to LA to ship
for example $1100 dollars to truck from east coast to LA

ask owners at shows how they got their cars here to find a good shipper,dont just pick one out of the phone book or a mags ,a good one will make this a hell of a lot better experience

I bought my fist one in using a full service shipping agent so they take care of all the paper work or as I did handled some of it myself. I had a mate who had bought in several so I contacted the agent he used in LA to transport the car from 200km away and do the insurance.


Pay the extra and put your car in a single container ,i think about $300us more but the car will get here less or with no damage and with out leaked on it from above ,and here is the big reason ,to unload you get charged about $500 but in a mixed container with other cars and parts etc you get charged to uload by the cubic metre ,could result in a price anywher e from $500 to $4000 even though it is cheaper to send this way
then on top of this ther will be custom charges ,cleaning charges(car has to be clean underneath to get through customs plus other shippers charges, i think in the end it cost me about $4000


the other 2 cars I bought in through a shipper for a fixed price,he did all the paper work ,dealt with the unloading in his own facility and the custom inspection .both cars came in containers with other cars covered in plastic and cost me $3500 each. So get a fixed price it pays

remember to add the gst to the value of the purshase price after converting to aussie dollars

buy a car older than 30yrs ,no duties beside gst

use the pay pal system

cross your fingers ,if it sounds to good to be true ,ie immaculate for a bargain price dont touch it

spend a fair amount of time checking out similar cars before you purchase to get a good idea of values

checkout the modifications allowed to left hand drive cars in your state,or be prepared to change what you cant register

hope this helps