American Jeep owner headed to NZ

[ExpatXJGuy]

Hi everybody. I've been on the forum before but it's been awhile. Wife had a job offer in Australia that collapsed when covid closed the borders, but now she has a new position opening up with a new company but this time in New Zealand! This time we are much further into the process so I'm pretty certain it's more of a sure thing this time.

I'm trying to get the overall vibe from local New Zealanders about bringing my 1988 Jeep Comanche (MJ). A rare Jeep for even here in America! I also own a 2001 XJ Cherokee but it is way less of a priority as it is not nearly as rare of a vehicle. The research I've done looks a lot more straight forward than when I was starting to look up imports to Australia but there is still a a lot of grey area out there.

I figured I would start here before I get started contacting shippers and then allowing my contact info out into the wild. I know as soon as I do my phone and email getting blown up by dozens of shippers agressively fighting for my money.

My research so far has led me to this. New Zealand will let you ship just about anything but registering it is a different scenario. This is unlike Australia that will hold it at the port and be pleased to charge you storage fees. If it's over 20 years old it can be registered even if it's Left Hand Drive. Anything under 20 years old must be converted. Also some concessions might be made as a personal import for someone immigrating to New Zealand but left to right hand drive conversions aren't one of them.

So there are some key points I've found so far. There are lots of other things that are common knowledge to you guys will be a blank for me. Things like restrictions on tire sizes and lift. I remember Australia was very picky about these things. Is this the case there? My 88 Comanche is still sitting at its stock ride height with a 1+ tire size. The 01XJ is sitting on 2 inches of lift and 31in tires. Nothing exceeds the fenders. Nothing major but something that is still considered a No no in Australia. If that's not allowed I'll have to factor in returning to a stock suspension.

Another thing is, I have parts to convert my Comanche from 2 wheel drive to 4 wheel drive but have not performed the installation yet. At inspection before registration, if they run the VIN and see 2wd and then physically see 4wd is this going to cause an issue? Would it be smarter to ship the parts with the household goods and do the conversion after the import? Or would it be even smarter to leave it 2wd? Not my preferred option but better then leaving it home.

Or even more basic, at vehicle inspection what is the most common things that the inspectors gig people on?

Just trying to get info before I get heavily committed one way or the other, but I'd really really like to keep my Jeep. If I have to leave it, I don't want to put much more money and especially TIME into her restoration, I'll just get it to a stopping point and get it gone. If it's going I got quite a bit of work before she goes to port, like finishing her paint and getting the seats reupholstered. These are things that I'm gonna need sublet out and will want to give plenty of time for. But time is short as the plan is to be there by the first of the year and I have lots of other things that need my attention before selling my house and shipping my household goods.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

-Brandon

[ExpatXJGuy]

Bump... Guess I get no advice.

[Jonny Jeep]

If the regulations are similar to the UK the vehicle would have to have amber indicators at the rear. If your Comanche has a combined red stop/turn which i would presume it would, it could mean a bit of work doing on the rear wiring to split the turn signals and stop lamp and adding additional amber lamps to meet regulations.

[ExpatXJGuy]

I've not seen any requirement for this yet as of now, but hopefully some insight from a local user can be of help.

[Mace1]

Have you seen this website?

https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/importing-a-vehicle/

Cheers.

[ExpatXJGuy]

I have seen this site. It's really good at explaining things like what paperwork is needed. What is allowed in left hand and right hand drive, what it's not good at is the individual standards in which things allowed in the country big picture. What I'm missing is the little details. What is the allowable amount of lift? What is the rules on having modified it from 2 wheel drive to 4 wheel drive? I'm about in the process where I'm about to start reaching out to certifiers. I just want to ensure that I'm not wasting my time or money before I do.

[nzoliver]

Hi,

If you have used genuine parts for the 4x4 conversion there shouldn't be any issue. It will look stock so the inspectors won't know.
As for lifting, this is tricky here. 50mm is the limit but if there are no specs on the components they will ask for a 'low volume certificate' from a specialist certifier. Could be easier to drop to standard height.
DOn't worry about lighting etc so long as it is stock. Red indicators are allowed here as are amber park lights at the front. You will just need left hand dip headlights to be installed.

BUT, keep a very close watch on the govt website as there are changes afoot as to the import of vehicles under 40 years old.

Oliver