How we do things Downunder
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Teching In
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How we do things Downunder Hi all, im from the land of australia and looking at sum very useful info u fellow americans hav on your own chevs. Unfortunatly, in oz chevrolets dont get much focus or attention. This is because oz has their own brand named HOLDEN which im sure sum of you may know. Holden is owned by GM and is australias answer to chevrolet. They feature all the same engines as the chevs (5.7 Liter LS1, 6.0 Liter LS2, and hopefully the LS7 some day!) which can be found in the top of the line models. Of course, if you get the chance u mite see the odd camaro or corvette cruise by but its realli the american car enthusiasts who own them. It costs significantly more for a chevrolet than a holden that is twice as old and done probly twice as many kilometres (or miles) on the clock, so in true sense, it makes more sense for a buyer to buy a holden with exactly the same engine but in much better condition than a chev. Although, the amount of heads that turn in the street and the level of exclusivety is by far outweighed by a rare chevrolet.
Anyhow, apart from my trivial jargon, id like to ask the average price of a 4th generation camaro. In oz ino that its about $35000 to $45000 (US dollars $$25000 - $$35000) for even a 1995 camaro LT1. Is this expensive? thanks heaps!
Anyhow, apart from my trivial jargon, id like to ask the average price of a 4th generation camaro. In oz ino that its about $35000 to $45000 (US dollars $$25000 - $$35000) for even a 1995 camaro LT1. Is this expensive? thanks heaps!
Originally Posted by someblackguy
In oz ino that its about $35000 to $45000 (US dollars $$25000 - $$35000) for even a 1995 camaro LT1. Is this expensive? thanks heaps!
i could pick up a SS with 20K for $13,000 - 15,000$ 
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From: Right here at my laptop, DUH!
Yep , that is pretty high . I bought my girl a 2001 T/A about 3 months ago for 14,900 .00 USD to give you an example. It's my understanding to import a car into Australia is where you fellows get into the money. The duties on a shipped car is pretty much what the car is worth effectively doubling the price of it.
My advice… find a buddy in the military. I know, at least with U.S. Armed Forces, they can ship personal vehicles, to the locales where they're stationed, pretty cheap. I knew a guy, way back, who was stationed in Germany and while on leave he came home, bought a POS Datsun for a few hundred bucks, had it shipped to Germany and when it arrived, drove it straight to the local BMW dealership and traded for a brand new 5-series. He got it for around 25k. Would've cost him 50+ in the states. Don't know if just anybody in the service can do that or if he had connections but, true story.
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Thread Starter
Teching In
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well yeah its my understanding that things are more expensive downunder, but rightfully so.
The main thing I neglected to mention is that australia is Right Hand drive and for you guys its left. You can get australian compliance on a left side vehicle but with a special permit which carries certain, often annoying restrictions. This is where a RHD --> LHD conversion is carried out, and this is where the big *** dollar signs are entailed. For instance, a 1994 z28 cammy costs between 10000-12000 AUS dollars, which rounds off to be about 7000-10000 US dollars. It also depends on the car. Ive heard talk that a Corvette C5 can be upto 30000 AUS dollars, ($$25000 US). Conversions dont come cheap or easy, so that is usually included in the overall price.
oh well looks like ill hav to move to america then.
OH BTW, d u guys get holdens in america, hmmm now thats sumthing id like to see
The main thing I neglected to mention is that australia is Right Hand drive and for you guys its left. You can get australian compliance on a left side vehicle but with a special permit which carries certain, often annoying restrictions. This is where a RHD --> LHD conversion is carried out, and this is where the big *** dollar signs are entailed. For instance, a 1994 z28 cammy costs between 10000-12000 AUS dollars, which rounds off to be about 7000-10000 US dollars. It also depends on the car. Ive heard talk that a Corvette C5 can be upto 30000 AUS dollars, ($$25000 US). Conversions dont come cheap or easy, so that is usually included in the overall price.
oh well looks like ill hav to move to america then.
OH BTW, d u guys get holdens in america, hmmm now thats sumthing id like to see
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Damn, those are some high costs just to get American cars over there! I think I' d stick with Aussie cars too if I lived over there. As far as Holdens in America, the only one we get is the GTO. The GTO looks very much like it' s Austrailian counterpart, but I assume you either seen them or seen the pics. I wish we could get Holdens here, they look like an interesting line of vehicles. 
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Originally Posted by Darth Z
Damn, those are some high costs just to get American cars over there! I think I' d stick with Aussie cars too if I lived over there. As far as Holdens in America, the only one we get is the GTO. The GTO looks very much like it' s Austrailian counterpart, but I assume you either seen them or seen the pics. I wish we could get Holdens here, they look like an interesting line of vehicles.
wow thats rediculous. i bought my first car, a 97 30th anniv. camaro z28 lt1 and every possible factory installed feature except of course the ss package with 75kmiles for 7500 dollars
Well you would be the perfect guy but i remember hearing that they build a monaro with awd, is it true and what kind of money would that run. boy would it be fun to run a modified ls1 t56 and awd under some old sheetmetal...
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Teching In
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yeah bro, ur talking of the MONARO COUPE 4, its probly the pinnacle of the monaro series, released this year it features an AWD system with the roaring 6.0 liter LS2 and its even quicker than the previous models and handles likes it on rails! i think awesome is an understatement!
Man, I like that HSV Coupe 4!! Why can't our GTO look like that? I don't know why you'd bother trying to import a Camaro when you could have a HSV GTS, or Clubsport, or Maloo. I was in NZ and Oz two years ago and I couldn't believe all the homegrown performance cars there. Even the Ford Falcon is pretty cool.
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Originally Posted by dgformula2k
Man, I like that HSV Coupe 4!! Why can't our GTO look like that? I don't know why you'd bother trying to import a Camaro when you could have a HSV GTS, or Clubsport, or Maloo. I was in NZ and Oz two years ago and I couldn't believe all the homegrown performance cars there. Even the Ford Falcon is pretty cool.
And yes, the homegrown performance in OZ and NZ is surprisingly impressive. We too take our cars seriously downunder, but lately (and im sorri to say) australia has taken a liking to the ricer, or jap market if u will. Over the past ten years the number of oz v8's has declined and declined, due mainly to the latest trends and the "bang for your buck ratio" which most japanese imports (namely skylines and supras) giv a huge power to dollar ratio compared to v8's. I also noticed u named the ford falcon, well they too hav a popular fanbase. Like america, Ford and Holden are the greatest rivals, which holden usually has the upper hand (thanks to the US giving holden well-developed engines) unlike ford australia which has to do all the R&D on a very limited budget. but below is the latest FORD GT, which like the monaro is yet another REVIVAL CAR TOO!! i think the monaro's comeback propelled them to do sumthing themselves, and they did!
heres sum pics (BACK VIEW IS GT-P, HARDLY NE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STANDARD GT)
Yeah, having a "Yank" Camaro over there would be pretty rare (and cool!). I didn't see too many American cars that weren't already imported there (Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Mustang Cobra). The problem as you noted is the right hand drive conversion.