Shipping to Australia


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By snowcone - 9 Years Ago
I know this wont be of much use to 99.9% of this forum, but there is a company advertising widely in the USA shipping cars out of Vancouver WA to Australia that is a complete rip off.

USAtoAUS.com is operated in the US by Lawrence Ryan. I was unfortunate to contract this company to ship my 64 TBird to Australia.
Despite all their online assurances of a great delivery system, Quarantine preparation, and insurance, none of this helped me when my car arrived damaged.
They did not provide any insurance policy details and I could not make a claim, they refused to tell me where the car was when it arrived until I paid "an additional fee for another quarantine cleaning and inspection" and refused to provide me with the work order from AQIS (Quarantine).
My car was not dripping in oil or covered in mud when it left the US, but was in showroom condition including the engine bay and underneath as it had been restored not long ago.

In regards to the damage, it appeared that they removed the rear wheel skirts before transporting the car and then something similar in weight to a forklift had driven over them. I subsequently found then squashed in the trunk. There was also about a foot of paint scuffed off the R/H lower sill, possibly from their racking system. The closest I got to compensation was that Lawrence Ryan offered me a pair of rusty 66 wheel skirts that he would ship out "in the next container". This offer did not include any prep or painting of the skirts of sill and I would have to wait for 4 months until the container arrived!
I refused this "deal" and I never heard back from him again despite contacting him by email on multiple occasions.

I finished up taking legal action through the consumer court in Queensland Aus and was awarded $2,109.00 in compensation but he has not paid a cent so far and still not communicated.
While he is in breach of the law in Australia, he is operating in the USA and I cannot summons him to appear in Court here or arrange to seize any of his property as his Australian operation is run from the Brisbane manager's home, Philip Newell, which is not owned by Lawrence Ryan.

If you know anyone that is considering importing a any car to Australia, tell them to use USAtoAUS at their own peril.
He also owns Aussie Car Imports and is involved in Australian Ford Imports, and Indira Newell, the wife of his Brisbane manager, who also works in the business and is a US citizen, is a principal in Aussie Ford Parts. They also operate out of Battleground WA from a property owned by the Newells.

These 3 people are intertwined together in a group of companies but do not believe they have to abide by any consumer laws.
                                                               
By Talkwrench - 9 Years Ago
If someone does the right thing by you, you will tell a few people.. Do the wrong think and you will tell many. If this is the only way to get anything back you have to do it, I hope you get some satisfaction out of it . I will take it on board and remember the name , I'll tell others and wont use them.
I think that cleaning and inspection is a rort.  Its a quick buck that can be made at quarantine, they just give you a bill for a 5 minute spray with a high pressure hose  $250 !  Every time Ive had something come in I have message my importer and told her Ive seen it clean and or Ive cleaned it myself when in the U.S. I have been lucky and have had no further charges.
By snowcone - 9 Years Ago
I was annoyed at having to pay the additional cost for cleaning but I paid it anyway so I could get my car, but this wasn't the original issue.
The big picture here is they damaged the car, offered buggar all compensation in regard to repairing it, and ignored my enquiries regarding the insurance I had paid.
Then stopped all communication for the past 9 months while I have been chasing court papers around in circles.

Better if everyone was just aware of what they are like and made a choice to avoid using them
By slick56 - 9 Years Ago
Thanks for posting that Gary, i have seen their advertising and will definitely pass the word around.
By snowcone - 9 Years Ago
A resolution has been reached in this matter with Phil taking over proceedings and making me a suitable offer for the damages.

From what I can see there appeared to be some miscommunication within USAtoAUS about what was happening and who was dealing with it, which was unfortunate for all of us involved.

I applaud Phil for his speedy action in addressing this and wish that I had dealt with him in the first place.


By Talkwrench - 9 Years Ago
Good to see some outcome..