FTO AUSTRALIA

I want a Mitsubishi Eclipse!
Can anyone tell me how difficult it would be to get it into the country and swap the steering column to the opposite side of the car? and possibly the $$$ value for conversion & compliance or whatever I'd need to do.
I'm guessing that for the amount that it will probably cost I could get myself a Lotus Elise & that it would be a bitch to do, otherwise more people would have done it.. but it can't hurt to dream..

The only ways you can get an Eclipse in:

- Race / Rally rego. No mods required but cannot ever be road registered.

- Personal Import. You go overseas, buy and own it for 12 months, then apply to bring it into Australia. You would need to meet state registration requirements, which would almost certainly mean a RHS steering conversion which would need to be signed off by an accredited engineer.

The actual conversion, well it would be expensive but not unachievable. Easiest most likely involve using standard Aus Lancer dash, steering column, etc - parts in the conversion.

ive seen cars with a sticker on it saying its LHD

In NSW Jono for a car with GVM <4.5 Tonnes you can only retain a LHD configuration if it is more than 30 years old, or if younger exempted in law from having RHD (which isn't common).

A sticker saying it's LHD is optional for these cars.

But anyway, an Eclipse won't get exempted in NSW, and would need a conversion.

ahh that sounds right because i only see old cars with the sticker

And if you decide to bring one in as a personal import, bring a compliance dude from overseas with you!

That's only really the final issue in the matter!

kid_dynamite wrote:In NSW Jono for a car with GVM <4.5 Tonnes you can only retain a LHD configuration if it is more than 30 years old, or if younger exempted in law from having RHD (which isn't common).

A sticker saying it's LHD is optional for these cars.

But anyway, an Eclipse won't get exempted in NSW, and would need a conversion.

When I turn 18 in 3 years I'm moving to the UK for this exact reason. You can actually make a lot of dough from personal imports here. An S6 mazda RX7 is 5000 pounds. Bring it to Australia and you get double your money.

juddy333 wrote:When I turn 18 in 3 years I'm moving to the UK for this exact reason. You can actually make a lot of dough from personal imports here. An S6 mazda RX7 is 5000 pounds. Bring it to Australia and you get double your money.

Don't forget import duty, GST on importation, port fees, AQIS inspection and re-inspection, import approval fee, and so on.

I wouldn't bank on making a living out of it. When you finally land a personal import and try to resell it you'll find the margins aren't that spectactular.

kid_dynamite wrote:

juddy333 wrote:When I turn 18 in 3 years I'm moving to the UK for this exact reason. You can actually make a lot of dough from personal imports here. An S6 mazda RX7 is 5000 pounds. Bring it to Australia and you get double your money.

Don't forget import duty, GST on importation, port fees, AQIS inspection and re-inspection, import approval fee, and so on.

I wouldn't bank on making a living out of it. When you finally land a personal import and try to resell it you'll find the margins aren't that spectactular.

Hell no, never be a living, I have learned a lot about cars and have never touched one so I am starting automotive next year at school (not a vet) and I will get proper training when I move to the UK. Then I will buy a sweet little Eclipse, and when I do come back to Australi when I save up some cash and out dollar had a huge crash I will then have a sweet non aus delivered personal import and a fair bit of cash becaus eof the huge currencey difference. Pretty crappy plan but meh, I thought of this when I was like 12 years old, I'm 15 now.