US Parts Imports

1
Has anyone ever imported parts from the US? If so how do you get them
back to Oz and through customs etc.

Is it a massive job or possible for a novice.

What sort of costs are involved and do the US suppliers help at all?

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers,

Scott
2
On 9/6/07, Scott <kombi4x427lc@yahoo.com> wrote:
Has anyone ever imported parts from the US? If so how do you get them
back to Oz and through customs etc.

Is it a massive job or possible for a novice.

What sort of costs are involved and do the US suppliers help at all?

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers,

Scott
 
Scott,
 
I've shipped a number of parts from US to OZ via US Postal Service. Forget UPS or FedEx as they charge exorbitant brokerage fees. The fees often exceed the cost of shipping and the parts. Our postal service has a reciprocal arrangement with your postal service so there should me minimal hassles. The only limitation with the USPS is size. Anything oversize will require a freight forwarder of some sort. 
 
I am not in the automotive business but if you have trouble getting a supplier to ship to you, I am happy to assist within reason. Whole car shipping for example requires a 2-10 hours drive depending on which port. I would have some difficulty accomplishing. =) I'll be shipping a powersteering rack to fellow listmember in OZ for example. Something like that is quite manageable.
 
Cheers,
 
BenT
San Francisco, California
3
Hey Scott I got a bunch of things in from van-cafe, ebay and others no
worries. Sometimes had to wait a while but usually everything arrived
in a week or two. Mostly through US Post or DHL from memory.
Sometimes was my cheapest option even with cost of postage. Still
have troubles finding bits for the syncro.

On that note, anyone know where I can get a 'z-bar' and rear
retractable seatbelt?

Sam

--- In Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com, "BenT Syncro" <syncro@...>
wrote:
>
> On 9/6/07, Scott <kombi4x427lc@...> wrote:
> >
> > Has anyone ever imported parts from the US? If so how do you get them
> > back to Oz and through customs etc.
> >
> > Is it a massive job or possible for a novice.
> >
> > What sort of costs are involved and do the US suppliers help at all?
> >
> > Thanks for any advice.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Scott
>
>
> Scott,
>
> I've shipped a number of parts from US to OZ via US Postal Service.
Forget
> UPS or FedEx as they charge exorbitant brokerage fees. The fees
often exceed
> the cost of shipping and the parts. Our postal service has a reciprocal
> arrangement with your postal service so there should me minimal
hassles. The
> only limitation with the USPS is size. Anything oversize will require a
> freight forwarder of some sort.
>
> I am not in the automotive business but if you have trouble getting a
> supplier to ship to you, I am happy to assist within reason. Whole car
> shipping for example requires a 2-10 hours drive depending on which
port. I
> would have some difficulty accomplishing. =) I'll be shipping a
> powersteering rack to fellow listmember in OZ for example. Something
like
> that is quite manageable.
>
> Cheers,
>
> BenT
> San Francisco, California
>
4
On 9/6/07, heysamuelarnold <me@samarnold.org> wrote:
Hey Scott I got a bunch of things in from van-cafe, ebay and others no
worries.  Sometimes had to wait a while but usually everything arrived
in a week or two.  Mostly through US Post or DHL from memory.
Sometimes was my cheapest option even with cost of postage.  Still
have troubles finding bits for the syncro.

On that note, anyone know where I can get a 'z-bar' and rear
retractable seatbelt?

Sam
 
Sam,
 
The rear retractable belts are readily available from VW though not cheap. I can get used ones for much less from my local used parts dealer. Let me know which side you want and I'll ask him for the price.
 
As for the Z-bar, do you mean the hinges for the rear bed/bench? If you mean the seat belt z-bar, we did not get those in the US.
 
Pmail me if you want me to look into these items.
 
Cheers,
 
BenT
 
5
Hi Scott,

I am not sure of what the laws are at the moment but...
I have imported from the US on 5 or 6 occasions over the last 2
years, and will be doing so again next week or the week after.

To be certain click on this link:

http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4221

go to the Contact Customs link on the right hand side of that page,
and send them an email with concise details of what you want to
import, its value in A$ how it will be shipped etc etc.
I have always found they have replied very quickly - even on weekends
sometimes ????!!

For small items I don't bother contacting them now as I have never
had to pay duty, GST or the like on items imported from the US over
the last couple of years.
Note that I have not imported anything over $600 or $700 in one go
and have always had items sent with the US postal service.

HTH,

Andy.

BTW. Every item I have imported has been Syncro related! :-)
6
On 9/6/07, Ruth & Andy Phillips/Johns <rafear@internode.on.net> wrote:
Hi Scott,

I am not sure of what the laws are at the moment but...
I have imported from the US on 5 or 6 occasions over the last 2
years, and will be doing so again next week or the week after.
 
I don't suppose there's any tax on gifts.
 
=)
 
BenT

 
7
Ben, Sam,
 
The "Z" bar is very probably a fitting unique to Australia to comply with ADRs, which specify an upper point through which the seatbelt must pass.  It is a horizontal bar bolted to the body under the rear window on each side.  The front end of the seatbelt passes through this bar before going over the seat occupant's shoulder.  This ensures that, in the case of an impact, the belt doesn't just drop off the occupant's shoulder, which is totally useless in terms of restraining the wearer.
 
This in turn means that it won't be available from an overseas source but should be available as a spare part in Australia.
 
Les
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 11:51 PM
Subject: Re: [Syncro_T3_Australia] looking for a rear z-bar and seatbelt Re: US Parts Imports



On 9/6/07, heysamuelarnold <me@samarnold. org> wrote:
Hey Scott I got a bunch of things in from van-cafe, ebay and others no
worries.  Sometimes had to wait a while but usually everything arrived
in a week or two.  Mostly through US Post or DHL from memory.
Sometimes was my cheapest option even with cost of postage.  Still
have troubles finding bits for the syncro.

On that note, anyone know where I can get a 'z-bar' and rear
retractable seatbelt?

Sam
 
Sam,
 
The rear retractable belts are readily available from VW though not cheap. I can get used ones for much less from my local used parts dealer. Let me know which side you want and I'll ask him for the price.
 
As for the Z-bar, do you mean the hinges for the rear bed/bench? If you mean the seat belt z-bar, we did not get those in the US.
 
Pmail me if you want me to look into these items.
 
Cheers,
 
BenT
 

8
> On that note, anyone know where I can get a 'z-bar' and rear
> retractable seatbelt?
>
> Sam
>

The Z bars were made in Australia, so you won't get them from anywhere else and the matching seat belt was not retractable.

Phill
9
On 9/6/07, Les Harris <leslieharris@optushome.com.au> wrote:
Ben, Sam,
 
The "Z" bar is very probably a fitting unique to Australia to comply with ADRs, which specify an upper point through which the seatbelt must pass.  It is a horizontal bar bolted to the body under the rear window on each side.  The front end of the seatbelt passes through this bar before going over the seat occupant's shoulder.  This ensures that, in the case of an impact, the belt doesn't just drop off the occupant's shoulder, which is totally useless in terms of restraining the wearer.
 
This in turn means that it won't be available from an overseas source but should be available as a spare part in Australia.
 
Les
 
Les,
 
I knew the seatbelt "z-bar" is an Aussie thing. Our rear shoulder belts are retractable with inertial reels. I suspected Sam was looking for the seatbelt "z-bar" but I wanted to make sure he did not mean the "z-bed" hinges which is the bed hinges are called my some in the US.
 
Cheers,
 
BenT

 
10
I have imported parts before and never had to pay duty.

Check if it is available in Australia first as a lot of the time it is cheaper here. For genuine VW parts don't buy from the US. Try Australia, UK or Germany first.

Phill



> Scott <kombi4x427lc@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Has anyone ever imported parts from the US? If so how do you get them
> back to Oz and through customs etc.
>
> Is it a massive job or possible for a novice.
>
> What sort of costs are involved and do the US suppliers help at all?
>
> Thanks for any advice.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Scott
11
On 9/6/07, plander@optusnet.com.au <plander@optusnet.com.au> wrote:
I have imported parts before and never had to pay duty.

Check if it is available in Australia first as a lot of the time it is cheaper here. For genuine VW parts don't buy from the US. Try Australia, UK or Germany first.

Phill
 
 
Ahh... Phil.... there are special cases. For example, I got some RHD powersteering racks for substantially less than they cost in RHD countries simply because they were shipped here in error. Ditto for some RHD H4's. Even non-traditional stuff such as Syncro 16 arches can sometimes be found as a bargain here. One online vendor was advertising Syncro 16 arches for $1200 a set. I got new ones from a VW dealer in the states for $479. 
 
All is not always as it seems.
 
Cheers,
 
BenT  
 
 

 
12
Andy,

Thanks for that. I have been off line for a few days with home
computer trouble.

I have a Subaru 2.7L 6cyl motor which was never available in
Australia even though the car it was used in was avaiable here. Up
till recently I have been getting parts through the only dealer in
Australia that has the parts microfische for the motor and have just
been told that Subaru Australia no longer support any motor or parts
that were never originally avaiable here. The dealer was very
surprised at their sudden change of attitude.

Hence, the best place to get parts (ridiculously cheaper than Subaru
Australia parts - according to the sites I have visited) is the US
market.

They are all set up to deal with locals though and breaking into
that market looks daunting. But I seem to have no choice.

Thanks for the customs info. I will check it out.

Regards,

Scott

--- In Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com, Ruth & Andy
Phillips/Johns <rafear@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Scott,
>
> I am not sure of what the laws are at the moment but...
> I have imported from the US on 5 or 6 occasions over the last 2
> years, and will be doing so again next week or the week after.
>
> To be certain click on this link:
>
> http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4221
>
> go to the Contact Customs link on the right hand side of that page,
> and send them an email with concise details of what you want to
> import, its value in A$ how it will be shipped etc etc.
> I have always found they have replied very quickly - even on
weekends
> sometimes ????!!
>
> For small items I don't bother contacting them now as I have
never
> had to pay duty, GST or the like on items imported from the US
over
> the last couple of years.
> Note that I have not imported anything over $600 or $700 in one
go
> and have always had items sent with the US postal service.
>
> HTH,
>
> Andy.
>
> BTW. Every item I have imported has been Syncro related! :-)
>