2011 mustang LHD conversion worth it???

[lindsayfitz]

Hi all,

Looking for a bit of advice.
I have been living and working in Dubai for the last 10 years and it is now time to move back home.
I own a 2011 mustang and I am thinking about shipping it back home with all my house hold goods.

I have owned it since 2011 so no import tax will apply as its personal belongings.
Would it be worth sending it back and converting it.

Any info of what to expect welcome.

Thanks

[boofhead]

Hi welcome to the forum.

It would be interesting to hear what it is like living and working over there.

The car; It is hard to answer as it often depends on how attached you are to the car.
1) if you love the car then money is irrelevant and you will bring it with no consideration of cost and value.
2) A RHD conversion here would be 30K - 40K. Depending on the model (shelby?) I would expect this price alone would make it a financial no go. This is given a brand new one from the factory floor is 60K-65K.
3) You look to carsguide.com.au to see the asking prices to start your calcs.
4) I am not sure you are required to convert it because you have owned it OS for as long as you have. This would help the financial equations though not sure how popular a LHD version would be - might win a concourse show though .

Hope this helps.

[hybrid]

Yeah if you're not super attached to it, I would just buy a new one.

Depending where you're moving to, there might be different rules too.
In NSW you can't register it as a leftie if it's less than 30 years old.

[boofhead]

I still think there is a special rule that if you lived OS for more than 12 months and owned the car for more than 12 months you can import it as a personal import with no conversions or changes necessary. This would need to be verified.

[hybrid]

I read the rules before I posted above and did not see any clause like that - at least in the NSW rules.

Edit, found another doco:
http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/roa ... hicles.pdf

The Personal Import Option allows migrants, and expatriate Australian citizens returning after a long
period overseas, to bring their personal vehicle with them.

<snip>

The vehicle must be right-hand drive unless its gross vehicle mass (GVM) does not exceed 4.5 tonnes
and it is 30 years old or older, in which case it may be registered in left-hand drive configuration.
If the vehicle is modified by converting it from left-hand drive to right-hand drive, a compliance certificate
is required.
Technical requirements for left-hand drive to right-hand drive conversions are described in DIRD
publication Vehicle Standards Bulletin (VSB) No. 4 ‘Steering conversions for left-hand drive vehicles’.
For more information on registration requirements for left-hand drive vehicles see VSI No. 40 ‘Left-hand
drive vehicles’.
Other requirements
The vehicle must be fitted with:
ï‚Ÿ External rear vision mirror/s
ï‚Ÿ Unless built before 1 July 1974, a speedometer calibrated and marked in km/h.

<snip>

[Nuts]

This might be relevant https://infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/ ... cheme.aspx

[boofhead]

Good work both of you.
The federal rules has no requirement for the conversion on import though it then allows the states to determine any extra rules around the registration of the car. So it looks like NSW gives no practical value or benefit to it being a personal import. So the federal rules are simply BS and have no meaning other than possibly easier to import a late model car aka younger than 30 years old. There is no registration advantage. Have to check the state rules for where your ending up.
If it was NSW (or similar rules) I would not bother (due to RHD conversion) unless the car has sentimental value to you.

Edit: You could import and wait until 30 years has passed since the build date of the car to register it.

[StephenSLR]

So it looks like NSW gives no practical value or benefit to it being a personal import.

I think there is some benefit. By owning it o.s. for more than 12 months it weeds out those that are importing to flip it so they pay less duty or something.

s

[Dwayne]

I think the NT is the only place that still doesn't have a RHD conversion requirement for cars less than 30yrs old.

[nassi]

WA has a couple of categories and as per all government departments may be a little contradictory and confusing.

www.transport.wa.gov.au/licensing/impor ... erseas.asp

In short though my understanding was that pre Dec 31 1989 you do not need to convert.
Other than that some very rare vehicles with providence may be able to be kept LHD but have very limited scope for use. Lastly from memory ( thats a always a worry), you could bring a vehicle back with you license it and keep LHD for a period of 6 months. Not sure if that is still an option though.

[Ausjacko]

The cost of the conversion suggests you would not bother.

[nassi]

The cost of the conversion suggests you would not bother.

How much are you spending on that Munro?

[MustangMedic]

How much for a left hand drive conversion?

[Nuts]

You have lost the ability to read since moving north. $30-40K as Boof said in an earlier response.

[boofhead]

Maybe he was suggesting to convert the Munro ( ) to LHD?