corvettdreamin

I thought this may be an interesting thread to those who are planning on buying a car from out of state or overseas to see whats involved and how long it takes to receive the car after purchase and what condition it arrives in.
After waking up the day after my 49th birthday (a little groggy) i decided i was going to have a big birthday bash for my 50th, no expense spared, all long lost friends invited and i also decided i wanted a corvette (not sure why?) just decided i had to have one by my 50th birthday, so had plenty time to research and shop.
Started off by buying a few good books and learning all about the C3"s as i prefer the shape of them and are affordable. After trawling ebay and seeing lots of socalled bargains i did not want to take the risk of buying from someone i dont know. So i ended up here, firstly for advice (thanks guys) and then decided to buy here as i could be confident of buying from an enthusiast.
Well i couldnt wait until August 2011 as the bug hit hard and i just had too have one, now..
So on Nov 11th i ended up buying this one..

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3s-...-48-coupe.html

Nice car and price (thanks Jeff)

The money was wired from my bank acct to his and i had a copy of the title in hand.sweet.just bought my first vette .My concern was that the seller had the car and money and just had to trust him that the car would eventually leave his garage. And it did. He kindly trailered it to the port of Irvington NC (thanks again Jeff) where it currently sits.
The shipping company will not load the vehicle until they receive import approval from australian customs. The application was sent a week ago and they tell me it could take 20 to 30 days for it to be processed.
So my shiny new corvette sitting at the dock of the bay may be sitting there for another few weeks.
I will try and update this post everytime there is some progress.
chris

daanbc

Good luck, Nice vette. I was REALLY close to purchasing that from Jeff a while back. Glad to see he sold it and is going to a good home. Keep us posted.

Solid LT1

G'day Chris,

aussiejohn here, staying with Solid, and heading home this arvo. Looks like a very nice car you've got there. I bought one a year ago, sight unseen, from Solid, and it was exactly as described, apart from some panel damage due to the truck driver, after it left Solid's home.

My VIA took about 17 days to get through last November, and the car was picked up December 9. Trouble is, it didn't leave Long Beach until late Feb., and it arrived in Melbourne in March.

I'm over here looking for a '74 or '75 convertible, but have lucked out this time. I've looked at a few, but none were exactly what I wanted.

If you're not a member of a Corvette Club, I suggest you join one and meet with other Corvette owners on a regular basis, because your 35 year old car WILL have some teething problems at one time or another, and the wisdom of others will make the repairs easier.

I'm a member of the 670-member strong Chevrolet Car Club of Victoria Inc, www.chevcarclubvic.org.au, and we have over 50 Corvette owners with over 100 cars. Corvettes of Melbourne is another good Club and there is also a Club in Geelong.

Even if you choose not to join a Club, we are always here to help.

Regards from up over.

aussiejohn

Solid LT1

p.s., my diary is still unfilled for August next year, the date please??

aussiejohn

jimo

i imported my vette from America 3 years ago!!! you just need to do your homework, its not that hard.

jim

corvettdreamin

August 14th, and bring your Vette !!

Will look to joining a club although at the moment i dont feel as though i own one. Hopefully in a couple months that will change.
Planning on going to the Corvette Christmas Party at Brimbank Park on Dec' 5th to see some vettes and meet some members. Matbe see u then.

jimo

have you been told which ship it will be on, and the expected date of arrival to Melbourne port?

corvettdreamin

havent been told anything other than they wont load it until i get a copy of the import approval. All i can do is wait.

azza2u

Hey Chris,

There must be something going around because I've also just caught it and am purchasing a 68 Roadster on the east coast. Just going though the payment process now before deciding how to get it back to me. I also agree that it won't really feel like its mine until it gets here and I can drive it away. As far as the Import approval, it's looking like it's taking 4 weeks minimum to get it through at the moment from what I've been told.

Cheers,
Azza

corvettdreamin

Almost eight weeks after purchasing the car and then lodging an application for import approval with Australian Customs i have finally received my APPROVAL

The car is still in New York sitting in a container, still waiting to be shipped.
Apparently storms on the East coast and the Christmas Holidays are the reason for the delay.

It's a long long wait..

jimo

It seemed like forever when i bought my vette,but at least its happening!!!! you will soon get to enjoy your new toy.

corvettdreamin

After 10 long long weeks my car has finally left New York.

It is scheduled to arrive in Melbourne on March 15th.

Only 5 and a bit weeks to go.

azza2u

Nothing will compare to the first time you see it fresh from the container when it arrives (happened for me on Tuesday!). And the arrival timing is good as it gives you a few weeks to sort things before the convention I hear is happening down there in Easter.

69427

Congratulations on your purchase. Hopefully things go well. My closest experience was when I moved from Alaska down to the lower 48 several years ago. I put my '69 (and my tools and parts) into a 20' container van, and it was piled four or five high onto a football field sized barge that was towed from Anchorage to Seattle. It took almost two weeks to make the journey, and I couldn't get the picture out of my mind of my Corvette sitting on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean if that barge hit a big storm along the way. Thankfully it arrived safely, and I've still got the car.

Have fun, and post some pictures when it gets there.

jimo

Thats good news!!! , where abouts in Melb are you?

woppe1

Hi Guys,
I also imported a 72 Vette into Aus last year and the VIA took exactly 5 weeks from the date of submission.
All up the car was at sea for 98 days, Boston to Europe,Med,Asia and finally to Perth. Car arived in perfect condition and is an absolute joy!
Its not hard to do but EVERYTHING depends on the person shipping the car in the USA.
I had dream run and it took patience.
Peter

woppe1

http://s1142.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_0160.jpg
http://s1142.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_0159.jpg
http://s1142.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_0158.jpg
http://s1142.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_0157.jpg
http://s1142.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_0156.jpg
http://s1142.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_0161.jpg

Spacecoast

Congrats on your new toy

I can feel a bit of your pain as I just purchased a 72 that is in NJ, but due to the crazy winter storms here, I am waiting "patiently" for the hauler to pick it up and bring it down here to sunny FL

My fingers are crossed that they will be able to get it today and I'll have it in my garage in about a week.

corvettdreamin

After 5 long months of waiting i have finally picked it up.
Originally due on the 15th March, it changed ships in China and arrived at Melbourne port on the 25th.
It took another 6 working days before the container was unpacked and then inspected by customs and quarintine.
It failed its first inspection and then had to be steam cleaned and then reinspected. Anyhow after all of that i have it home.
The car has suffered minor damage and the jack and lug wrench have been stolen. Other than that it looks great.
Heres a rundown of approxiamately what it cost to get it here.

Car purchase price $10,000
Shipping to Australia $1850
Insurance on Shipping $220
Vehicle Import approval $70
Port charges : $920
Delivery order $70.00
Sea cargo / edi fee $25.00
Courier fee $15.00
Cmr fee $25.00
Clearance fee $150.00
Aqis procedure fee $55.00
Security fee $10.00
Aqis depot fee $45.00
Quarantine fee $139.00
Steam cleaning $220
Reinspection $90
GST (import tax) $1250
Making a grand total of about : $15019

So if you live in the U.S i think you need to appreciate what good value your cars are and how expensive it is to import a car into another country and unfortunately they dont always arrive as thay leave.
Will hopefuuly post some pics this weekend.

hwcoop

Wow, all those fees, sounds like everybody has thier hands in your pockets!

Enjoy the new ride..you'll have a blast!