Why & HOW I bought an ex-military HUMVEE to Oz! Things to avoid if you import to Australia!

This is the HMMWV...or better known as the Humvee! I bought an ex-military vehicle from the US during COVID...because I was bored at home!! This is a story about how I bought it, what it's like and most importantly, how I imported it to Australia.
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Exterior 00:45
Interior 06:27
How I bought it 08:39
Overhaul 13:51
Shipping to Australia 16:10
Arriving in Australia 19:12
What's Next? 22:50
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#humvee #hmmwv #military

[@tj323i]

I bet the ATO would be interested in the cash payments with no invoices. Report them.

[@CarExpertAus]

Good thinking!

[@garyedwards2063]

current affairs shows would be interested as well I'll bet

[@shmatto1]

@@garyedwards2063 nah they just want to chase the boys doing skids

[@Brian-hj8ke]

Container Fumigation Services in Spotswood right? Dodgy business practices….

[@702million7]

That's what I thought straight away. ATO, fair trading etc.

[@maxmouche]

Paul offsetting his Tesla's "zero emissions" with a Hummer... lol! Nice.

[@CarExpertAus]

😂

[@pummyy]

The CO2 damage he has caused just by getting it here lol

[@TB-up4xi]

An AM General HMMWV (Colloquially referred to as a Humvee) and GMC Hummer are 2 different vehicles. The General Motors Hummer is based on the "general styling queues" of the military vehicle (apart from the H1 version of the domestic Hummer which is a modified version of the Humvee military vehicle) from the H2 and on models they are quite different. He bought a Humvee not a Hummer.

[@MitchZero9]

​@@pummyyEveryone ignores the manufacturing emissions for an electric vehicle. You can run that Humvee for a years just to match the manufacturing emissions for a single Tesla battery pack. They are a farce.

[@lena19191]

Thankyou for a honest documentary on how you got your truck to Australia , enjoyed tremendously . Just Nasty fellow Australians were out to burn you where the American side pretty much kept their word .

[@CarExpertAus]

Agreed! Ironically I didn't get burned by the countless people in the US that could have screwed me over big time without me being there.

[@b0wen11]

@@CarExpertAus I bet you wish you bought a car directly from the workshop in Wisconsin in the first place?

[@lueyR]

Australians get ripped off by their own country that bad, it turns them into greedy untrustworthy people, they all want to make a buck

[@Funkteon]

Standard practice for Australians to rip people off... You'll always, literally always get better business practices from an American than you will from a typical Australian...

[@TheHayabusa09]

Can't wait to see the 0-100kph and more importantly 80-120kph over taking speed numbers!!

[@CarExpertAus]

Haha, it's in years!

[@M8YM8]

Lol longer than the video will take to upload over NBN

[@RajGheevarghese]

What about the reverse speed max?

[@BTP93]

​@Raj Gheevarghese Yeah the most important feature.

[@lebraa]

Na the softness meter is what you want

[@opinionista.]

Thanks Paul for openly sharing your experience. You should name and shame those unethical crooks you've dealt with. I live in South Africa, and may never ever import a left hand drive vehicle here (due to import restrictions), but your vid is an "eye opener". Good luck and happy trucking, or should I say "happy hum-veeing".

[@JayJay-_]

get your humvee coverted in the states.. and for paul too if you get sick of driving in the gutter.. MacDonald Johnson street sweepers twin steer uses humvee knuckles and a cross shaft setup and plenty of dead ones around.. might make it easier

[@madnar9]

Definitely name and shame - otherwise there will be many more victims.

[@damienhick1647]

I was attached to US forces in Iraq and was a commander of a unit where we had M1114’s up armoured Humvees - 2004/5. Mine was lucky number 7. Loved your video and was great to see the old girl restored. I did reminisce on this, thinking back to deploying on over 250 missions in these bad boys throughout Iraq. Those vehicles will go just about anywhere! Sorry to hear you got stuffed around by mainly Australian cowboys - doesn’t surprise me. Would love one myself but maybe a little too much for me to deal with the process ha ha. Look forward to seeing it registered. Please post some regulars on this. Brings back many memories. Thanks for posting

[@Funkteon]

Standard practice for Australians to rip people off... You'll always, literally always get better business practices from an American than you will from a typical Australian...

[@MitchZero9]

Thank you for your service, sir. 🇦🇺🇺🇸

[@liamegan4303]

Hi Damien. I'm Semi Retired from the S.I.S (special.intelligence service) and I was in Iraq in 04/05 i was one of the Guys who Rescued afew Marines who got caught inside a Compound and got Surrounded. They were fast running out of Ammo and only had 2 of those Army trikes. We had Murders getting them out but 😢 but we were not leaving without those guys. I still speak to them now and again. As I'm Irish you can imagine the Crack we had lol😅. The Marines are Solid. Great guys. Respect Bro. My Team dealt with Retrieval. Mostly Hostages. And iv never Retrieved Marines before or Sinse. It was all great fun back then. 😅😅

[@hellothere4342]

What an absolute mad lad. Your Mrs is either very understanding or doesn't know about this purchase yet.

[@jamiesharp3726]

Anyone whos dead serious on getting a HMMWV, it is a relatively simple process but there are restrcitions on years and models, the slant backs are extremely hard to export due to ITAR requirments both old and new gen. There are still plenty of great trucks out there but certainly plenty of scammers as Paul has said. I qould happily recomend 2 and only 2 companies I would use for on sold HMMWVs. Hope to see you out and about cruising Paul, theres quite a few of us around Aus. And Paul, within our great community of owners Melb, Brisbane, Sydney is a wealth of knowledge and we've all been through the rego process. Feel free to reach out! Alborz knows me. Best of luck mate.

[@MaxFromSydney1]

I love these kind of videos, Paul! Thanks alot. There’s more to cars than just brand new models being sold in Australia through the regular channels.

[@co2588]

OMG that moment when you have to wire money to some random overseas and you hope it all goes ok. I did this with a car from the UK and it was a disaster! Frozen accounts on the recipient's end, then he wanted another £1000 pounds. 1 week of terror. Then the UK owner filled an export declaration, which meant I had to pay stamp duty in Oz! So many things you learn along the way. Now 2 years later, I'll be spending $80k restoring it, but I have a dream car... it was great to hear your story.

[@bjw4859]

What an epic story, glad you finally got your truck. I have an unusual story involving a Humvee, I'm in Brisbane & a few years ago while doing a major clean up on an overgrown property I came across a Humvee just sitting out in the open surrounded by sholder high vegetation. This was in the inner city too, not out in the bush or anything, it looked abandoned although I'm sure the owner must know it was there, but such a waste, it was by far the most unusual thing I have ever come across while taming a jungle, so far.

[@mopargrub4448]

The Best Video yet! Thanks Paul, would love to see more of these vids on storyline’s on buying vehicles!

[@CarExpertAus]

Sounds good!

[@Somchai007]

I really enjoyed this Paul. You were born to discuss cars in front of the camera as it comes across as so natural.

[@Joftaky]

Awesome video Paul, thanks for sharing your experience. Hope it was all worth it in the end 👍🏼

[@markbrown289]

Excellent run down on the US/Australian import process. Thanks for sharing. I had a similar experience when I went to the uk and imported my Aussie car there. Quite a few dishonest operators trying to take advantage. I’d never do it again!

[@davidhorbenko7143]

Welcome to the club :-) I have an 1025 HMMWV in adelaide.

[@leokimvideo]

In the film industry they are popular for use with 'tracking trailers. They have a great towing ability and it's format suits the weirdo things that happen when making films. But the wacko squashed to the side door driving style is incredibly uncomfortable. Sad to hear about the 'cash only' very dodgy fumigation mob. Sadly I have heard near identical stories with friends who have brought vehicles into Oz. Maybe make sure the ATO is aware of these dodgy operators.

[@xxplosiv88]

Man I love these stories, thanks so much. Looking forward to hearing more about it

[@nuggets.6774]

Very interesting and superbly explained. Thanks.

[@manudabas9652]

Ohh Paul! You are a legend mate, it reflects your passion for an Humvee and for cars in general

[@justinwright6611]

That was a genuinely interesting and well presented saga you went through!

[@Far-Gene]

Tough job! Well done.

[@superluke641]

Thanks Paul ,honest as always enjoyed this one 👍

[@mbrunocondello]

So happy for you! That’s awesome! Top content!!!

[@wesshirlaw8716]

Well done mate! I don’t think I would have had that in me… hope to see it on the road soon 👍

[@PP-bm7zp]

Great story and amazing vehicle👍👍

[@michaelconnolly2425]

Well Paul… having gone through all that. I really hope you enjoy your truck. I think it was spot on keeping it original. Remember there is more to happiness than money. Good luck and keep on trucking. Michael UK.

[@samsy73]

Great video. Love to see this kind of content

[@Mr_fried]

You glorious legend for following through with the dream that so many of us have and taking the time to put together such an awesome video. Truly Ed Bolian Cannonball Run level story telling. Completely original early N/A diesel is the way, not these bolted together consumer grade monstrocities that look more like The Homer. This car was never meant to be safe or comfortable or have Beats By Dre ... Its meant to transport fast explodey things (XXXX Gold is acceptable) to dangerous places, while looking cool as hell. My one request, we need a KFC Drive-through video, until then I don't consider the project complete :-)

[@Twerkulies]

I bought one of these when I turned 21, for $1100 + shipping across 3 states. Mine was a hardtop. If I was going anywhere outside of a town in AU, I'd want one of these. I still have mine today, 11 years later with almost 300k miles on it. Still runs just fine. It's amazing offroad. I replaced all my cloth doors with metal ones though.

[@maxplanck8854]

Such a good presenter and no bullshit. Even when discussing costs and issues. Great vid

[@samy4288]

WOW 😮 such a long way, man! But congratulations, brother 👏 🙌

[@sgraham005]

Interesting effort, I learned a lot about humvees. I worked on 2 LNG projects in NW Australia. Your experience is similar to what we had to suffer through working in Australia. Project costs doubled and even tripled as "Cowboys" basically held heavy equipment, hostage. It just became easier to buy brand-new equipment and have it basically hermetically wrapped (even earth-moving equipment) instead of dealing with some of the "Cowboys" in OZ who often took extreme advantage of every situation possible. In the end, our projects were over $40 billion USD over budget (yes Billion). We admittedly did not have to go to the ATM. We became an ATM. So you shouldn't feel like you were taken extra advantage of. Looking forward to your vehicle review.

[@rayleeaustralia]

That's a shame. I'll put that down to the government fault. If they require things to be done then they should regulate them

[@Funkteon]

Standard practice for Australians to rip people off... You'll always, literally always get better business practices from an American than you will from a typical Australian...

[@TheAefril]

So, after reading all that and watching the video. I have come to the realisation that Tesla's online purchasing model is an absolute bargain! (no middlemen, no sales reps holding it over the purchaser).

[@shimmy1701]

So cool mate 👌 , the F150 hauling across america is all time . No need for the durametor test and no piano black to worry about either. Take it to the 4x4 test place for sure

[@BNAV23]

I’ll never stop watching your car reviews. From Africa, Zambia🇿🇲

[@PrivateRyan180]

My favourite cat of all time. Will hopefully own one someday! Thanks for the sharing the highs and lows of importing a car.

[@longdongjohn6588]

70 Series: I have no luxuries whatsoever! HUMVEE: Hold my beer.

[@702million7]

What a beast. I remember a gloss black Humvee or H1 that used to often park up, or be driving around the cross. It was HUGE from the outside. Well done, keep the interior raw. Best way to get the full experience of a purposeful vehicle.

[@marvindebot3264]

That was an H1, you wouldn't want to mess with the guy who owned it either.

[@rodpalmer4652]

Love the content and the journey so far…. I too have had dealing with export/import and my issues were with the Australian side. So disappointing to be ripped by our own businesses.

[@spidersinspace1099]

This was a great story Paul. If it makes you feel better, this is one of the cleanest most complete HV's I seen. I would love to own one just like it.

[@aarrow5206]

Don't worry about it being a long video, it was a good video, very interesting 👌👍

[@skatewaverider]

Love the vehicle Paul,appreciate you showing us but damn that sounds a scary proposition,be great to see more of this vehicle on your Chanel👌

[@coleEmmm96]

Looking foward to the run-down the vehicles are so cool

[@noel7187]

great piece of kit mate. Nice video too! Doug demuro quirky vehicle vibes but more interesting 👏

[@BadDriversOfTheIllawarra]

As someone who wishes to import a 1998-2011 Ford CVPI into Aus someday, this was extremely informative!

[@masond-storm4175]

Mate thank you for sharing what an adventure this was. Cant wait to see thag veast on the road 😀😀

[@glw05]

Awesome video very educational.

[@duanehirini2078]

I remember a mate buy one up in the Pilbara of West Australia. Drove it off road. Being so wide it meant driving down the dirt tracks with one wheel up in the air driving on the sand curbs. Lasted two weeks before he sold it again.😂

[@billbearback2591]

i bought in a couple of chevs 15 - 20 years ago and the extorsionists were around then as well , i had a gmc auto transmission destroyed and left sitting on the ground , the column shift mechanism destroyed , on a chev they destroyed my clutch fan and water pump all claiming they needed to see inside then said i could pay them to transport the now fully disabled vehicles from melb to syd , a mate and i spent three days to jerry rig em back to running and then had to try getting the exit paperwork to leave the yard , we were in the bike club scene in those days and it had to get a bit ugly , they had even crossed all the spark plug leads around , fucvkn ammetures , good on you for covering this story

[@bobdavey1195]

Fascinating, thanks for sharing

[@camcitrine6544]

Fascinating stuff mate! Disappointing those shonky businesses exist here in Australia. Truck looks great though mate, reckon it’d be a blast to drive and take off-road. Enjoy it!

[@BG-ir1ii]

The scambags in Australia are notorious criminals.

[@brentonscicluna2584]

Awesome video Paul, have watched it a number of times. You've got yourself an excellent and sick looking example of a HUMVEE, they are my favourite 4x4 vehicle ever and wish i could get one. If you ever want to sell it please let me know. Happy driving.

[@swempthebemp]

I used some amber/white led bulbs in my tail light conversion, so the reverse light also acts as an indicator. That way I kept the original lenses and look of the car. Worth looking at for sure

[@marlonsukura530]

Paul, I don't know what to say😂😂true practical definition of one man army...even your clothes matched the colours of that beast 😂thank you for making me laugh

[@kitemett]

Ganster.. Love your work.

[@shmatto1]

Hey Paul, so good to hear your real world importing experience. I respect the fact that you haven't named & shamed, however i am curious if the fumigation "company" was found on your own or if you were steered to them by the ports or a government body?

[@onlinegames4019]

Congrats on the new toy! Take care with the tyres, they probably wont have the australian dot approval mark and while most rego places will not check, so you may not need to replace them, if its involved in an accident the insurance company can reject your claim if the inspector picks it up.

[@702million7]

It wont be involved in a crash. Ever.

[@phoeunchhunheang940]

Probably not what you have in mind, but I'm kinda keen to see you doing tough offroad stuff with this beast king.

[@danieln-malcolm5395]

Nice, would love to see an off road review of the Humvee

[@SereneBliss]

Great video and awesome humvee

[@WayApp]

Wow, what an incredible adventure!

[@the51project]

Glad you got one with the BBQ Smoker & Chimney. They are quite rare and some people say they aren't very practical, but I disagree.

[@andrewrobinson2869]

This would be a awesome way to see Australia . I love it.

[@pummyy]

What a journey ! I got Humvee craze after watching it in Broken Arrow with Mr travolta back in the day haha. I have seen H1's here for 65k few years ago and one available even now for around 100k. I did visit one here in sydney and the moment I saw the interior I was like no way I am gonna live with this. Let alone driving it and finding parkings. Its was a crush vehicle but not really gonna serve any purpose for me. so yeah curious why a hummvee over an H1 which you could have bought for that price back then minus all this chaos. At least you don't have to worry about Piano black anywhere haha !!

[@PissTakeProduction]

Great Video. Can you on the future review make a video of you taking it to coles or woolworths and parking it to pick up some milk?.

[@otter2183]

Cracking video Paul! Ps, please rev Mazda up for dropping manuals from the 3 range 🤯

[@gerrymccarthy9568]

Did something similar in 2002, with a Corvette from USA to Ireland. Lucky for me the guy I dealt with in CA was a close friend of my Friend in MN. No funny stuff. The car was in Los Angeles. No issue here with LHD/ RHD. Put it in a 20’ box and away. Still have it and drive it now and again. Looking fwd to seeing you on the road with your import.

[@caturlifelive]

Awesome story

[@rohitmakkar6225]

I would really like to watch the registration process as it being a left hand drive vehicle

[@CarExpertAus]

It's older than 25 years so it makes life a little easier in terms of getting it on the road.

[@jamiesharp3726]

You can keep them LHD depending on the age req in each state. Mine is LHD.

[@humveedownunder6516]

​@@jamiesharp3726 Yep, mine too. A good engineer goes a long way.

[@michaelthiveos2813]

@@CarExpertAus club reg the truck. No stamp duties. Rego fee will be about $80

[@christophersnyder1532]

Ever since seeing these incredible beasts in Desert Storm, I was hoocked. Although, I can only afford the diecast variety, I don't mind. I also have a few books on the HMMWV, but I need not go on about the Humvee. Incidentally, where I live, Canada, The Red Green Show, staring Steve Smith, builtt his own, by duct taping two of the same cars together. Now to subscribe, take care, and all the best.

[@aadishetty007]

Now I know what its like to import a vehicle, Thx Paul.

[@kairaatjirimuje3965]

I can't wait to see it drive

[@U.s.e.r.3493]

Great story

[@Coastmac2001]

I've imported 4 vehicles over the last several yrs or so from the UK. The last one was about a couple of yrs ago . A 1994 Ford Escort 1.8i Ghia from the UK. Owned by a Ford enthusiast who only drove it minimal km from new. Had AC , PS ,PW, CL, PM etc so was optioned up . Easy to get in once DOTARS approval was granted. All up it was about $48k . $24k for the car with exchange rates, then shipping, , rego , ins, Taxes (GST) AQUIS insp customs brokers fees all added to the extra costs. Only had about 140k on it. Compliance here was taken from the build date of the car , so it went thru easily . Nothing had to be done, added or replaced. No rust, and almost in showroom condition . A family member has it now & has added about another 45k to it. Ford service it, parts are readily available, servicing is reasonably cheap. The cars been a gem

[@gauravlambra1487]

Can I please ask How much was importing tax? If you paid importing tax

[@Coastmac2001]

@@gauravlambra1487 to Australia, shipping roll on roll off ex uk about $3k AUD. Customs brokerage fee about $10k Aud , taxes & other duties & fees about $5k . Then Rego , Insurance, CTP, Blue Slip about $2600 per vehicle .

[@AdamPayne]

Very interesting process all up Paul .. if you haven’t already known about this @JerryRigEverything converted his Humvee to an electric one. “The Whisper Project” is a great playlist to watch.

[@TheKnobCalledTone.]

You're an absolute madlad, Maric. Never change.

[@CarExpertAus]

😂

[@frankensteinsgarage9632]

Love your enthusiasm mate. And I love that you're a genuine car enthusiast. But man that aint worth it. All that cash and all that stress and waiting for an overrated car... mate I hope you get lots of joy out of it. Thanks for sharing

[@duncaninglis5407]

Beautiful Rig though mate can’t wait to see you take it out bush enjoy

[@shayan5507]

Thanks Paul, fascinating story with lots of lessons! Can’t wait to watch the review. Btw, what’s the equivalent of this in Australian army.

[@usmanjavaid5640]

Congratulations bro.

[@hellothere4342]

This video got me thinking about bringing in a E63s Estate once it's of age.

[@dorianmorelli4085]

Awesome !!! Always thought about it, but wasn’t sure on how to do it. Would you go through the same process? What would you change? Thanks again, looking forward to the review.

[@rubikmonat6589]

Hey mate that pressure cleaning mark on the radiator, you can get radiator combs, or sit there with a coldie and a disposable plastic picnic knife to align the fins one at a time.

[@sr20trx]

Great video highlighting the issues you can face importing vehicles especially a military one like this which i wasnt aware of. Ive imported 2 vehicles now, an R32 GTR from japan that was thru Presige Motorsport and went pretty smoothly, i then imported an old unrestored 1978 Opel Manta from Scotland and tried to do most myself but it is very confusing on the paperwork side and yes once it hits Australia the rorts begin, not to your level but i do remember it 'Needing' an expensive clean i'd like to say $700 before release and when i went down to collect the car it actually still being performed by one guy with a Karcher pressure cleaner from Supercheap in an open shed with pit.... Would i do it again...idk.

[@Funkteon]

Standard practice for Australians to rip people off... You'll always, literally always get better business practices from an American than you will from a typical Australian...

[@9002alex]

As far as I’m concerned, there is ZERO downside to owning a H1 in aus. Such an awesome, bucket list car for any car enthusiast no matter what anyone says. I’ve been lucky enough to drive one, and it’s bloody hilariously shit but great at the same time

[@sebtrident]

G’day Paul, the way you have to open the bonnet on your Humvee is the exact same was as a Truck Driver has to if he breaks down or when he has to do a general engine service, thought you would this interesting.

[@cannythecat2547]

Nice shirt too mate 😆

[@Rick-kj9dd]

You've definitely been watching Chris Fix videos!! After me watching this video, I think you have to be a masochist!!

[@CarExpertAus]

Ha ha, definitely have!

[@mattdonnellan8544]

Onya Paul! Glad you were able to get yourself something like that. Shame about the people at the Australian end of the process.

[@sunnychauhan6502]

Thanks Paul, Even I am thinking 2 buy one of them , I have Hummer H2 2005 model imported in 2007 in Australia the next version but I wana own the Militry one as well. Your video is pretty helpful for me. I need to contact iron chef people soon. Thanks Mate

[@markhansford5930]

Would love to see an off road review of it too.

[@BenHowlandPhoto]

Yeah I'm gunna need a durometer test of the interior touchpoints here.

[@williambaldyga1792]

Would love one of these just couldn't afford it. My dad used to paint these back in the early to mid 2000's when they wore being imported. I remember when they used to disassemble them for painting there was always a military guy on standby. Because we used to find alot of live ammo and shells in these they wore never clean when they arrived stright from active duty. I remember once my dad found part of a skull bone the size of a 50c coin in one and i remember the military guy used to say the kevla body was designed to slow bullets down Not stop them!! The bulletproof windows would be removed and replaced with normal glass and the bodies would be patched up with a Kevlar/ fibreglass mix where the bullet holes wore..

[@ianarmstrong576]

Cool video despite the re used footage

[@Christoph1888]

Love it!

[@specialvehicleimports7466]

Paul, I loved your story particularly not the extortion part. Please which shipping company did you used to ship yours

[@mrdato116]

Congrats 🎉 I am humvee owner too 💪

[@vinnygar1017]

Nice beasty wheels Paul but where's my "Durometer" test? 😂

[@excommunic8c-a-d406]

Awsome piece of machinery I don’t think you should use the soft 4wd track for this one take it to the next level and show us what she’s got 👍

[@CarExpertAus]

Ha ha - but I don't want to get it dirty!

[@paultrickey1]

@@CarExpertAus should be all good you know a company that can clean it or you

[@shreshthcham4581]

Pauls happy with the fact theres no piano black in the interiors! :p