Well, my car is arriving tomorrow so I swung by customs to clear it. I gave them all the paperwork but they said I can't clear it just yet because it's held for evaluation. Just wondering, does this happen often or do I just look dodgey to them! LOL
elvis58,
May 17, 6:57pm
They have to ,look over it, make sure it's clean etc, wouldn't worry till you have something to worry about!
murdoko,
May 17, 7:48pm
hmmm cheers for that Kaz! yeah my car's on Trans future 7. Yeah I'll check on it every now and then. It's just that I'm sooooo excited to see it. HAHA can't wait. ;)
phillip.weston,
May 17, 8:03pm
what did you get murdoko!
also kaz what do customs do with the vehicles they seize for odometer tampering!
murdoko,
May 17, 8:40pm
It's a Black JZX110 IR-V with aftermarket stuff like underbody bracings and suspension. wooohooooOOO!
murdoko,
May 17, 10:01pm
hmmm thats not good but what can i do. I'm doing all the paperwork myself. I got the MAF clearance from yesterday's visit. It appears that the car has already been MAF inspected back in Japan.
I already booked everything: compliance etc etc. The only thing holding me up is custom's clearance. ugh!
elvis58,
May 17, 10:09pm
Had a big dealer here in Dunedin (late 80's) who had quite a few seized by customs who kept the stock that long the dealer had folded waiting for them. Don't know what ever became of the vehicles or if they were ever proved to be fiddled. Funny what they do but it just show's its all about making money in the end.
elvis58,
May 17, 10:24pm
whoops, that should be late 90's, showing my age.
neo_psy,
May 18, 1:21am
Customs are a different beast to MAF - MAF clearance is academic to Customs and vice versa.
Customs "evaluate" approx 5% of clearances. Most of the time, that's nothing more than simply looking at the docs. They do, however, reserve the right to redirect the car for inspection. If they have reason to suspect you, they can take the car to bits (inside door linings, etc).
I wouldn't stress about it, as long as you aren't doing anything dodgy.
murdoko,
May 18, 9:08pm
just wanna update this thread. I cleared everything today. Apparently they just wanted to make sure my documents are legit. Maybe because im a first time importer.
bubbles244,
May 18, 11:24pm
An evaluation is to determine the value of import duty's. people undervalue cars on the paperwork to pay less duty.(Customs)
An inspection would be carried out by MAF. not an evaluation.
Very few vehicles are dutiable now days - you're thinking GST.
The fact that they only held it for a day (and didn't ask for anything additional) says to me it wasn't a major issue.
trogedon,
May 19, 1:53am
.and 10 young male Dickheads.
neo_psy,
May 19, 2:05am
No, I meant Customs only "held" the shipment for a day. If they'd had concerns, they would have asked for Bank records and so on.
Delivery from the wharf is another issue.
murdoko,
May 19, 3:44am
It's a JZX110 Mark II IR-V. It was about 1535 dollars to ship from Japan and that includes delivery from wharf to the compliance centre.
murdoko,
May 19, 3:49am
Yeah thanks for that. I think that's what they did. I ended up paying more than I'm s'posed to coz of the recovering Japanese Yen. I bought my car just after the nuke disaster in Japan (when their economy was at its lowest). Hence, I got the car for cheap. then it took 2 months to get here, so by now, JPY already recovered. ugh!
My total expenses still wwaaay cheaper overall. I guess it's got a whole lot to do with timing. ;)
mike107,
May 19, 4:43am
Nice car had to google JZX110 IR-V to see it is a big powerfultoyota chaser thing! Cool! all the best.
spead,
May 19, 4:59am
give them a few days.
chip8,
May 19, 5:03am
do you have to put it back to original to VIN it!
murdoko,
May 19, 5:54am
thanks mate! I started a thread about december last year asking for opinions on whether to keep my jzx100 chaser or upgrade to a jzx110. Well obviously I chose to 'upgrade'so yeah. I had a run on a couple before i decided. I'm tellin ya, driving one makes the jzx100 feel older by 10 years. still, jzx100s are damn good cars IMO. ;)
murdoko,
May 19, 5:56am
no i dont think so. As far as i know, you just have to get a cert for certain mods.
murdoko,
May 19, 5:03pm
sorry for being such a noob but whats a 'hammer drop'. If I'm making sense, I paid in full when the JPY is at it's lowest. I was watching the currency/economy quite closely and decided that it was low enough (on the day that i paid for it). then, JPY sorta stabilised from then on and eventually starting going back up again (for a lil bit).
I calculated the amount of GST that i needed to pay for 2 months ago (not knowing that the GST rate is fixed). I was suprised when they told me i needed to pay this amount of $$$. but hey, its only ahundy or so more so it doesnt really matter. All i know is that my total expenses are lesser than how much I sold my older JZX100 Chaser HAHA so in other words, I have upgraded for less cash. ;)
lookoutas,
May 20, 12:33am
So you pass that on!
lookoutas,
May 20, 1:32am
And I was expecting you to say it almost makes up for the losses.
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