Exporting my coupe to Australia

I thought it was about time I posted a thread on here about my latest adventure which involved leaving everything behind in the UK, and starting a new life back in Brisbane, Australia. Actually I tell I lie... I didn't leave everything behind, I brought my coupe with me! (oh and the wife, the kids, and the cat...!).

As some of you might remember, the last outing in my coupe was way back in August at the Brands Hatch Italian car day. It was a fitting farewell, as I had the chance to meet up one last time with a number of friends with whom I have enjoyed many fun coupe related adventures over the last 10 years or so (Trip to Spa, 20th anniversary in Turin to name just a couple of examples!)

After that show, my coupe went straight down to Joe’s for a complete rear end rebuild and some minor rust repairs to ensure the car would be in tip-top condition for many years to come, and also to please Australian quarantine who are very picky when it comes cleanliness. At the same time I had the car put back on standard springs.



As it turns out, spare parts can be shipped free of charge (so long as they’re inside the car) and don’t attract import duty, so I loaded the boot with as many spares as I could including a set of 4 20VT wheels that I’d had powdercoated (Yes, 4 x wheels do fit in the boot of a coupe!).



Then, a few days after I picked the car up from Joe, it was transported down to the port of London ready for the long journey by ship to Australia.

Check out that miserable weather... I do not miss that one bit!


Here it is loaded into the container ready for the shipping.



The coupe set sail on August 31st and arrived finally at the port of Brisbane on October 6th. I used a shipping agent who took care of all the paperwork. I’m glad I did – it is a bit of a minefield, and everyone wants to take a slice of your hard earned cash. There are fees for just about everything.

Here it is at the warehouse shortly after arrival, having just cleared quarantine. Still wearing its UK plates and not registered yet for use on the road in Australia. I didn't have to pay for cleaning - I guess they took one look at Joe's handywork underneath and realised they could just about eat their dinner off that underside!


Annoyingly, the compliance process, roadworthy inspection and registration took longer than I expected. There were lots of little issues along the way, mostly administrative / red tape, but we got there in the end. Finally in November I picked the car up.

First stop in Brisbane? ... visit another coupe enthusiast of course! (Possum on the forum)


And finally home.



Some people have said I was crazy to ship an old Fiat all the way over here. Maybe I was, but do I regret it? Not at all. It may have cost a fair bit, but I have a unique, rare and appreciating modern classic that will hopefully bring many more years of fun motoring.

I haven't driven it much yet over here, but it certainly turns heads as no one has a clue what it is! I will soon be putting a couple of thousand km on the clock with a return trip to Canberra. Stay tuned!

Nice write up from a dedicated coupe owner.

Great to see. I have exported my car a few times to different countries. Worth the effort every time.

Brings joy to the heart!

She is very very clean

Thanks for the write up.
I'm sure your Coupe looks happy in the last picture, probably cos it's warm and dry.

Brilliant!

Wonderful.
Enjoy!

Great story. Looks beautiful out there, foot of snow here and still snowing!

(Oh, for the weather and garage space!)

Thanks guys. I must admit I do not miss the cold weather one bit. I went for a an evening cruise in the coupe just now. A very comfy 24 degrees at 9pm. Lovely.

And we are planning to meet up at 5.45am this Saturday to attend "Cars and Coffee" here in Brisbane. A first to have two Coupes at this event!

...and here are a couple of photos of our coupes at the Cars and Coffee meet this morning. The cars attracted their fair share of attention, along with a genuine 131 Abarth Stradale recently imported from Italy. What a lineup!

Some great cars, very rare in Oz I would imagine, but I thought that LHD cars were not allowed on the road?

It varies depending on the state, but in Queensland you can apparently register a LHD car as long as it's at least 30 years old

Another great morning with fellow car enthusiasts. You will note in the background of one of the photos, a beautifully restored red Lancia Fulvia.

Always a great collection of cars there including a Daimler SP250, Jensen Interceptor Series 3 and the usual collection of European and American Muscle Cars and don't forget the Austin 7.

We sometimes have a Ferret Scout Car along, but not this month.

This little silver car once sat on my driveway having its suspension replaced. It is fitted with my original wheels and has been followed by my Coupé around SPA, the Fiat test Circuit in Turin and once followed me on a memorable blast through the Essex countryside. So pleased to have also been there at this cars last UK event and to say an emotional goodbye.

It's amazing to think that this car is now sitting on a drive in Australia though...

But we still miss the car, and its owners.

Great write up and photos Boosted!

No more salty roads or chasing rust around

Excellent read.

But what's it actually like when it comes to servicing, repairing and generally maintaining such a rare car like the Coop in Australia?

I've owned my 16vt since the end of 2004 and have not had too many issues to deal with.

Filters are available locally as they are common to other Italian marques. Some other parts are common to Alfa and I have had the local dealer order them for me. I remember having to replace the under dash heater tap which is the same as the GTV and Spyder of around year 2000; the part was at the dealearship the following day, sent from Melbourne (2000km away).

Steve at AA gives good service as does Joe. Some of our local mechanics have also worked on Coupes across "the ditch" in New Zealand, which is also another source for parts.

Here in Brisbane, I know of 2 mechanics that have the correct gear to read the codes, if required.

Unlike most other car brands in Australia, the local Fiat dealers are quite happy to order bits in from Fiat (if still available). We have a few "grey imports" sold here, especially from Japan, and the Nissan, Toyota etc dealers turn those owners away as they say, not sold here new, we don't want to know about it.