PatnGary

No worries mate, happy to assist....:wink:

Hi Andy When submitting the VIA (Form number Issue 11 January 2013 [4] ) I did not submit a statement of intent to make it compliant, I did however comply with part 4 on page 2 sub headings Trailer Mass, Trailer Dimensions and Trailer Couplings. And confirmed by signing the declaration on page 3 At the very beginning of part 4 in the first para it states. “Importers or suppliers are individually responsible (in the first instance) for ensuring that their trailers are plated and comply with relevant standards”. So if you have indicated yourself, (as being the importer), then you should be ok. Besides, if your caravan is not compliant you will not be able to register the van for on road use as the motor registry office requires compliance paperwork. That's how I see it anyway. The easiest way to get compliance is to have the caravan transported to a firm authorised to do this. As a side note our VIA took 22 working days prior to lobbing in the mail box. Try not to be swayed by negative comments, just focus and push on. From our experience so far, this is a slow process, so be prepared to wait. Oh, almost forgot, the caravan is a new Swift.

Hi Georgina, we decided to go with Sea-Go from Brisbane, the caravan will be delivered to their warehouse here in Sydney from Port Botany.

Hi Georgina, not wishing to crowd in on Rachall's posts as we think she has done a brilliant job in her posts, but just thought we would tell of our experience so far. We are doing similar to you and have had the VIA passed and the caravan is sitting in the shippers warehouse in the UK waiting to be containerised. The quoted cost to do this to date has been, transport to warehouse nil, as it was part of the purchase deal, marine transport $4050.00US, insurance for transport by sea $338.00AU, shippers fees from UK warehouse to Aust warehouse, dock costs, quarantine, container fees etc $1500.00AU, this amount does not include GST and customs duty that has to be added on to the combined cost of the caravan, marine transport and the insurance. When cleared from the Aust warehouse we will arrange a tilt bed truck to pick it up and transport to a place of compliance ready for registration. In ringing around quoted costs have been approximately $250.00 for transportation. As yet we haven't got a cost for compliance, however Rachall has given us a good ball park figure to work with. The above info is for shipping by container, roll on roll off was $1500-$2000 extra. There may be other costs that I am unaware of, if so, I'll update our post later on. I realise that this may not be the same as your situation, but it might give a general estimate.

Hi, Sids Dad, Geez, tossin' out a 900quid Sony must have hurt mate. Anyway I hope you are enjoying Byron Bay, its a beaut region to be in. I value your opinion and you didn't sound rude. Our main reason for going for a UK caravan was the layout that appealed to us and also beds for 4 persons (2 singles and a double), shower and toilet, single axle that I like for overall weight saving and fuel economy. Also our days of bumping around bush tracks as we have done in the past with our current van are over, we prefer to stay on the blacktop and take it easy. Cheers Gary

Hi GeorginaWay, I realise this post is getting on a bit now, but, would you be able to give an update on your import progress? Has it been successful? Were there any hassles so far? We are thinking of doing the same thing but doing a bit more research before deciding to take the plunge. Have followed your posts with interest.