CANBERRA: A shipment of eight classic Maseratis has been held at Australian customs in the midst of an asbestos crackdown.
The cars date from 1964 and include a 3500 GT previously owned by Joe Walsh, and were bound for this week’s Maserati Global gathering 1400km club run. Event organisers sought exemption for the vehicles back in September as they were in the country for a single visit and were being exported at the end of the visit. According to the organisers, no response was received from the relevant department until two weeks before the event, when the cars were already en route.
The cars came with supporting paperwork but were still randomly selected for screening. The process, which can cost the owner up to AU$30,000 and includes drilling core components like the firewall for testing, was declined and the vehicles will be shipped back out of Melbourne.
The invasive procedure is likely to deter collectors from bringing overseas classics into Australia in the future. The process can be done by an overseas authority but the costs and potential damages are similar as the body must be approved by Australia.
