Rear seats and import inspection

[nedflanders]

Just finalizing dates on shipping my 2004 90TD5 from the UK and have been reading about the inspection it will need once it arrives. It currently has the 4 side facing rear seats with lapbelts. I'd like to keep this configuration but will it pass the inspection? All belts and seats are in good condition but so many different threads on whats legal, child seat anchor points etc I'm all confused! If I have to remove the seats I will. Was the 90 ever sold in Australia with these seats? Already planning on taking the front centre seat out and fitting a box as I take it children can't sit in the front? Any advice would be appreciated, except 'buy a 110'!!;)

[Reads90]

Yeah it will be fine

I had them in my 90 and took them out in the uk before it got here because of all the stories from so call Internet and forum experts on ADR. All of which were pretty much crap. I really regret not leaving them in as I need them now.

When my 90 soft top got tested for compliance they just checked the engine and chassis. Number matched the ones give to Canberra for import. The glass in the car was car window glass and that the seat belts in the front had the tags on

It took about 5 mins

Psimpson on here also had the same experience as me and his had a lot more mods on than mine , roll cage, rear winch, Devon winch bar

So you will be fine.

[nedflanders]

Cheers, can breath a little easier now, the car (2004 TD5 XS)is standard from the factory except for a roof rack and steering guard, new tyres and front seatbelts have just been fitted and it'll be steam cleaned and undersealed prior to shipping, can't wait to get over there and start using it properly :D

[Reads90]

Cheers, can breath a little easier now, the car (2004 TD5 XS)is standard from the factory except for a roof rack and steering guard, new tyres and front seatbelts have just been fitted and it'll be steam cleaned and undersealed prior to shipping, can't wait to get over there and start using it properly :D

Be prepare for it to be cleaned again they normally are
Just remembered that a TD5 90 from 2005 was imported in from the uk only about 2 months ago. That had seats in the back and AC with no problems and nothing needed to be changed.

[dave_gordon]

Hi there,
I just imported a 1988 110 from the UK, and was told that unless the seat belts have the E in the circle (for Eurpoean standard) emblem on them they will need to be changed. This includes anything that only has a BSI sticker. Mine cost $120 per seat belt but thankfully nothing else on the vehicle needed to be changed.

Not sure if this rule only applied to pre 1989 (is that L01 ADR rules) as oppsosed to Personal Imports (either L02 or L03) but suggest you call a local compliance engineer.

You can get the details of a local engineer from DOTARS.

Hope this helps.

P.S Re cleaning make sure it's spotless underneath. The quarentine inspector ordered that the LR be wrapped in taupaulin for environmental reasons and be moved offsite for a specilist clean. This cost me an additional $7-800.

[Psimpson7]

My 01 td5 90 met every specified requirement.

Glass / seatbelts / lights / headrests etc all of them had the correct codes.

The only thing it didnt have, but didn't need as its a commercial, from memory, was child restraint anchors.

[Vin Rouge]

I had the same problem when I imported my Defender 90 300tdi. The seat belts on the side seats didn't have the required reference on them. The inspector was quite difficult about it and would only register the vehicle as a three seater.

Cleaning is a given but be prepared to be ripped off. I won't recount my story to sensitive ears!

[Tusker]

Read up on the registration requirements for whichever state you're heading to.

Sounds like it has 3 front & 4 sideways seats? In NSW the maximum is 5 I think. 9 seats & over is a different registration class. No idea about the no-man's land in-between.

I could be totally wrong, so aim for a particular registration category.

Regards
Max P

[Davehoos]

rule 1 is its up to the engineer.the E number doesnt complie with australin specs untill late 90's.but often they only care if it double method locking retractor.
the cars i did require lots of mods but i would have done a lot more I it was the inspector.

each state is different.after the engineer does his bit the inspectors go over it and do silly things like diesel labels..

just assume automatically that you neeed it cleaned as its a 4X4.
I just recieved a parcell that was redflaged for tax evasion but not cleaned.in the end I payed no import duty.

important to have documents on money trail when it arrives in australia.that all they want.

IE how you transfered/payed for it.

[nedflanders]

Cheers for all the advice, just gonna check the rear belts have the 'E', also does it need degassing, seems pointless as its R134A and it will be again once it's recharged in Australia???

[Reads90]

Cheers for all the advice, just gonna check the rear belts have the 'E', also does it need degassing, seems pointless as its R134A and it will be again once it's recharged in Australia???

As I said one came into Aus in March which was not needed to be degassed. That was a 2005 90. They are more worried about eighties and early 90's has which was a different kind of gas

[Blknight.aus]

if the seats were factory fit you'll be fine.

if they weren't and the dataplate doesnt list the vehicle as being rated for the number of seats you have in the vehicle you may need to get an engineers inspection done on it to get a blue plate but other than that you should be fine.

if the seats weren't factory fit and the vehicles already got a suitable engineers plate they might eyeball the anchor points and tell you to go see an engineer to get the plate converted.

[tb051441]

Hopefully what happened to me won't happen to you but just be prepared for all sorts of requests. I brought in a '96 Discovery from NZ several years ago, and had to:
1. Prove air-con gas was R134a (sticker under bonnet on aircon system was not enough). It didn't need degassing.
2. Prove the market value in AU$
3. Declare Australian residential address
4. Send certified copy of entry stamp from passport
5. Make a declaration to DIPE (Environment) that this is the only 4wd that I'd ever bring into Australia.

I was in NT and vehicle in Adelaide so as each request came separately it took weeks to clear it.

Just smile and comply.

Trevor

[nedflanders]

All seat belts are good with 'e' markings, the vehicle was factory fitted with the rear seats so everything is standard. For the cost of a regas I might as well have the aircon changed and get a certificate to prove it has R134a in it, I'll try and pre-empt anything. Has its MOT and full service as well next month so hopefully anything will be spotted and rectified before it gets shipped.

[DT-P38]

All will pan out fine. I brought an old Porsche in last year and did the lit myself... it was an interesting insight in to the workings of dumb bureaucracy protecting inefficient local import businesses and the tax man.

The cleaning thing is beer money for the union boys at the docks... you are literally being "taken to the cleaners"!!! Bear in mind it is cheaper to have them do it at the shipping yard if possible.

[manic]

I Imported my 90 last November. Which state are you getting it registered in!?

Here in Melbourne VIC it was all straight forward up untill 'Road Worthy'! I didnt employ an agent to handle the import, done it myself and saved a few bob. Customs office was dead, no que - so they were helpful. Going to the docks and dealing with quarantine, shipping folk was ok - they charged me something like $80 for an escort though! I gave the quarantine guys the tour around the rover, chatting to them seemed to help - they gave it a pass. They even let me use their fax machine/email to get my approval and payment details back to the customs office so I didnt have to leave the docs and pay another $80 to get back in. Customs then approved my import on their systems and it took about 2 hours before it could be verified on the systems at the docks.. at that point I could drive it out.

Compliance was simple too.. they gave a quick look around, asked a couple of questions and that was that. Only thing they really looked at were the seatbelts... any nicks or fray on your seatbelts and you will need to get new ones. Mine had been chewed by the door catch, so a slight set back.. ordered in fairly cheap from the UK - went back and got the pass.

ROADWORTHY!! grrrr... pure hell. Started with a land rover specialist and received two pages of fails, including - wrong steering wheel for model, bottom door seals not full length, seat rails not original, corrosion in battery box.. etc etc etc. When I saw the list I couldnt beleive it - the car had been rebuilt on a new chassis and passed uk MOT so I was not expecting such a huge list.

I decided to go for another test at a place that does not know land rovers well. Went to two places, both did not want anything to do with it. It seems like quite a few of them do not want to deal with imports or if they do they go super strict on it - perhaps because they think vicroads or compliance will do an inspection and find something they missed which will get them in trouble... I dunno.

The fourth place took it in saying no probs should be all good. This mob failed it with a smaller list, interestingly most of the fails didnt match the previous test. The car was at this garage for a week, very slow progress so I ended up doing half the work myself.. even after it was all sorted out they didnt want to give me a roadworthy because I did not have an import plate! I told them you cant get an import plate until you have compliance and roadworthy to show vic roads!!! In the end it turned out the garage was taking it to another mechanic around the block who was authorised to do the inspections... so I went direct to him and had it sorted out in a day.

If your getting a roadworthy in VIC, I hope your land rover is truely stock! Do not get the roadworthy done at a land rover specialist, make sure you get it done at a well reviewed garage that will do the inspection themselves.

Good luck.

[Greyfox]

Some really good reply's here. The main thing is as stated, each state has different rego procedures and requirements.
Give them a call and speak to them about what is required in that state.
RMS (previously RTA in NSW) is usually very good , depending who you are talking to ( I guess), I have imported a Jaguar XJS previously which was not to painful once I understood the system and what was required.
The main thing that they where concerned with was the car stlolen / written off, and safety items ie, seatbelts , seat anchors , battery tray, brakes, tyres, etc.
Allow time, usually the process will take longer than anticipated in the first place for what ever reason.

Allan :cool:

[nedflanders]

Some good info, thanks for the time to post your experiences, what is apparent is if there's a hard way to do something Government agency's will find it and if there's a way to squeeze money out of you they will find that as well. There is a few extra's on the 90 that weren't standard but they're all just bolt on's for a bit of extra protection i.e diff guards and steering guards, all can be removed if anyone takes exception to them. Looking forward to getting over there, you may have as much bureaucracy as us but at least it isn't raining 12 months of the year :D
Oh and we'll be in Perth if there's anyone that know a decent vehicle inspector in WA?

[nedflanders]

Well latest update and bringing a thread back from the dead!

The Landie landed OK, didn't need to be cleaned by AQIS and they were happy with the air con gas.
Next step is Friday and it's over the pits :eek:

Fingers crossed :)

[Reads90]

Well latest update and bringing a thread back from the dead!

The Landie landed OK, didn't need to be cleaned by AQIS and they were happy with the air con gas.
Next step is Friday and it's over the pits :eek:

Fingers crossed :)

It's alright roadworthy is a joke compared to the MOT. ( well Qld one is )

[nedflanders]

Heard the same, fingers crossed it'll be OK, had an MOT before it left and didn't get a single advisory so we'll see. Type approval plate is gonna be the hold up :(

[Reads90]

Heard the same, fingers crossed it'll be OK, had an MOT before it left and didn't get a single advisory so we'll see. Type approval plate is gonna be the hold up :(

That is what I did. I got an MOT for it before it left the uk. But when I got here I worked for a land rover dealer. I watched them do the roadworthy. Once that was done I took it to the transport department who just looked at it sat in the car park. And gave me the relevant documents and off I went.

I got my compliance plate and stuff before I got the roadworthy. That was easy too. Although I worried about it for ages.


Ali

[manic]

It's alright roadworthy is a joke compared to the MOT. ( well Qld one is )

Depends where and by who! In my experience MOT is a joke compared to roadworthy (VIC).

In UK the landy passed MOT without doors before a completed chassis swap - the inspector was told they are as good as on. The roadworthy in VIC saw two pages of fails and advisories.

But if the car is stock or if you go somewhere they dont know landys so well, I'm sure you will be fine. One of my fails was 'Non Original Steering Wheel'!