what to look out for?

Haha yes Rich I know they are all built in the UK !:D This particular one was built for the UK market and later imported to Australia by the owners.
Thanks Graeme, it does have a current road worthy certificate but good point, I will check.

Well we use a swan neck hitch off one of the very first demo D3's in the D4... (Had a few of them we kept). We use it because we don't fancy that abortion they made for the Aus spec cars. Does the job, probably some legal issues but look at everyone that fits a Mitch hitch...

If its a "grey" import, then you should be paying considerably less that the the 2nd hand market value of a comparable Aussie delivered vehicle. Considering they payed about half of what we pay here, I would say half the market price would be where you'd start. Then think about trying to move it on after you have had it for a few years.
It would want to be immaculate and much cheaper, otherwise I'd stay away.

Lpj, its not so much a grey import from what I can gather but a family that moved over here and decided to bring their beloved D4. Im yet to inspect it but I think your right in that because it is not an aus spec it will be harder for them to move and therefore I should be able to get it cheap. I plan on keeping it for a long time (5-7 yrs) so I'm not that concerned about residual value but still worth keeping in mind.

Thanks for your thoughts crew, keep it comin ;)

I suspect customs fits a compliance plate to every direct import once they determined that it met applicable ADRs.

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Originally Posted by Graeme

I suspect customs fits a compliance plate to every direct import once they determined that it met applicable ADRs.

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Nope, you're sent a 'personal import' sticker or plate to affix to the vehicle which has the VIN number on it and the month/ year of import on it. It should be either on the bulkhead or front slam panel.

Disco's & RRS are made to a worldwide spec so meet all the ADR's applicable in their year of manufacture. The engineer that I had to get to sign off all my import paperwork here in VIC was massively ****ed off not to get any additional work out of my bringing the car in :cool:

As for valuing them at half the Aus value, get real. Chances are you're getting a higher spec vehicle, there's no need to be offensive at the same time. A little cheaper, maybe, but not half the value.

As for the swan neck hitch, the only difference is it's only rated to 150kg noseweight, as opposed to the 350kg of the Aus tongue. I still use a swan neck, I have no intention of ever dragging something with a noseweight more than I can comfortably lift

Also the person who went to the trouble to import their car must be a car enthusiast and loves it. Therefore it's been looked after. ;)

Mike you are right, there are certain things in the build spec on TOPIx that would be advertised as optional extras if it were an aus spec vehicle.

Rich, funny you say that... The guy I talked to didn't even know if it had 19" or 20" wheels on it!!! He said he knows NOTHING about cars, haha. I think it has been the wife's pride and joy though.

2 things...
-How important is rear climate control? seems its not standard on uk spec HSE.
-It only has a "mini Steele" spare wheel... Mmmm I'm not sure about that, I could pick up a spare alloy pretty cheap though right?

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Originally Posted by Crimdog

-It only has a "mini Steele" spare wheel... Mmmm I'm not sure about that

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JLRA thankfully specified the full size spare as standard equipment for our vehicles.

Speak to anyone who has been in the 2nd hand car market and they will set you straight about what "grey" imports are worth (i.e. without Australian compliance plates). For the most part, they won't touch them. That doesn't mean you shouldn't, just don't pay more than you have to. I had a great little 88 Golf GTI that was imported from Sth Africa and it worked well for me. The dealer wanted 25k- I pointed out the lack of compliance plate and they dropped it to 15k on the spot.

To get good idea of what you should be paying, check out the local sites from where its from for similar cars. The owner won't be any worse off if you pay less because they paid less- much less. The level of depreciation percentage wise is the same for them.