buying a car from the USA...

The ever increasing influx of American automobiles into our country hasn’t gone un-noticed, what were once ‘rare breeds’ on our country’s roads are often now daily driven vehicles! Although the regulations now make it slightly harder to bring in a vehicle under 20 years of age, thankfully for those of us who live and breath ‘older’ vehicles the importation of your favorite American ride over 20 years of age is only limited by the availability and budget of the buyer. With the NZ dollar remaining relatively high against the green back the number of cars entering NZ remains consistent, one only has to see the number of them at events in New Zealand such as the Beach Hop, Kumeu Hot Rod Festival or Muscle Car Madness to remind ourselves how much better the Kiwi landscape looks with Uncle Sam’s finest parked on it! Here at Kruzin Kustoms we have extensive experience in buying, shipping and then getting an American automobile on the road here in New Zealand. We take care of every aspect of the deal, locating what vehicle you’re after, organizing an inspection of the vehicle, then arranging the internal shipping of the vehicle to Long Beach, California, for shipping down under. Once the automobile arrives in New Zealand we can also arrange for it to be shipped direct to your home address or we can take care of the registration/vinning process and deliver your dream vehicle all legal for use on New Zealand roads, or undertake any work you require from mechanical through to full restoration.

The Purchase/and or pitfalls – Spending your hard earned money on an Internet purchase means you’re putting a whole lot of faith in the seller’s description and you’re reliant on their honesty that the photographs used are a true reflection of the vehicles condition. In most cases the vehicles are represented to the best of the sellers ability/knowledge, condition is often perceived/judged by folk with either greater or lesser standards than the purchaser, therefore an independent inspection is highly recommended, we have purchased a large number of vehicles stateside and in all cases have either inspected the cars ourselves when over there, or arranged for a Kiwi bloke to check them out. Its money well spent and it goes along way to ensuring what you’re buying is indeed what’s shown on any auction site/photo’s. We can then arrange for our person inspecting the vehicle to actually complete the transaction, thus taking the risk factor out of transferring your money to someone you don’t know. Rest easy, as you may all know many have purchased directly off photos and have been wrapped with the purchase; however a few bucks spent on an inspection when buying something with phone number digits for a purchase price is worth it! Some vehicles are passed off as ‘Californian’ thus intimating a relatively ‘rust free’ life, however once sold and shipped down under one finds out they are actually east coast vehicles and prone to ‘salt on the road in winter’ climates, therefore full of rust! It is a case of buyer beware in all cases, so again we re-iterate an inspection and be wary of transferring hard earned $$$ without verifying the owners details etc.

Shipping - With 50 states in the USA there’s a fine chance your dream ride may not be in California, getting your vehicle to Long Beach for shipping down under is easily arranged by us. We use and highly recommend Kiwi Shipping for all internal shipping plus the shipping to New Zealand. Their expertise and vast knowledge of shipping vehicles worldwide sets them apart from the rest and when you use us to ship via Kiwi Shipping, your dealing with Kiwi’s all the way!

On Arrival in NZ – Once your automobile arrives in New Zealand it has to go through the mandatory MAF check, customs clearance etc – we can take care of all that for you and once cleared through customs you can opt to have the vehicle shipped direct to your home or have it sent direct to us where we can put it through the vinning/registration and WOF process.

We always have vehicles for sale ex USA so feel free to contact us to view or to get us to assist in sourcing your dream ride.
Contact us via email on kruzinkustoms@xtra.co.nz or lowrider@inspire.net.nz or use our free phone 08004KUSTOMS

We are experts at working within your budget and delivering you the vehicle you desire, here are just a few of the vehicles (ex USA) brought in by Kruzin Kustoms Limited for our customers and also for resale.

63 Chevrolet Impala, located, purchased and then shipped down under by us for a customer.

1956 Chevrolet 210 Sports Sedan – one of two sports sedans brought in by us and sold on.

Ultra rare 1959 Mercury Montclair, found, purchased, brought in and since sold on.

1966 Chevrolet C10 Pick Up Truck, one of our customers was after a mid sixties Chevrolet pick up, we located, purchased and shipped this down under for them.

1932 Ford Roadster – the quintessential hot rod, found and purchased by us on a recent USA trip.

1959 Chevrolet Biscayne Delivery – rare 59 Chevy is our shop truck.

1961 GMC Pick Up, factory V6 & 4 Speed Manual, ex Arizona

1964 Falcon Sprint Nostalgic Gasser – Now Drag Raced by us doing 11.2 seconds @ 118 MPH on the quarter mile

1966 Pontiac Le Mans – mighty muscle car purchased and brought in by us, refurbished and now under new ownership.

1961 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 – now being refurbished for our customer in our workshop.

1960 Chevrolet Impala – Purchased, brought in, and now being fully rebuilt into a show quality custom for one of our customers.