What has stopped you from buying a T6?

[Tornado T5]

Yeah, that’s why I couldn’t wait with selling the Sprinter. When you find out that you bought a lemon, you want to get rid of it in a reasonable time, so you get as much of your money back from the original purchase. I knew that it’d be many years after release of Runner, before they offer 4motion and you have only someone’s word for it. Still remember last fake news in the media, that 4x4 Crafter is coming to Australia, that was few years back and articles are still floating there.
Volkswagen makes great cars and vans, but the Volkswagen Australia is letting them down and will use any excuse not bring in here what people ask for. The New Zealand has much less of pupolation and they always had more options than we have here.

Re VW Australia and their model feature offerings you are spot on. And then I go and look at YouTube vids of some of the US large pick-ups and are staggered at the features they offer...

[LogicprObe]

We often only get what leftovers fall off the table. (in a worldwide sense)
This is often the case with engineering products and supplies as well.

[Sunny43.5]

Re VW Australia and their model feature offerings you are spot on. And then I go and look at YouTube vids of some of the US large pick-ups and are staggered at the features they offer...

I agree we are left out when it comes to options like we used to get back in the T4 days , I often get stuck into car makers who advertise their various cars on media . The one that cracks me up is Ford stick the name Raptor on the Ranger utes , what an f**ng joke , a pissy 4 pot engine when the Americans get at least minums of V6 's and a plethora of nice juicy V8's , same goes for their vans back in the earler days . Back in 2000 I was entertaining importing a V8 Powered Dodge Ram Van new from the US but ended up with the 2.5 5 pot T4 instead . Now a V8 powered T5/ T6 would be entertaining . I had a US Ford Raptor here at home last week as I had to fit some parts to the sunroof what a beast !!

[bigad]

I've been in Australia for 6 years now and owned a t4 back in the UK and it was great as you could get styling/tuning mods real easy but here I feel it would be very hard and expensive to get a t6 crew van looking and spec how I would like it like the ones from these fellas: VW Transporter T6 For Sale | Volkswagen T5 Sportline Kombi
VW T6 and T5 TRANSPORTER CONVERSION SPECIALISTS | CUSTOMVANZ RACELINE

So nice just ship em out!

[Sunny43.5]

Sadly some of it,s to do with our gutless Federal Government , a few years back the feds announced that they were lifting the restrictions on personal imports due to the closure of local manufacturing . So what it meant was you could buy a brand new Van from overseas in whatever configuration you could order and bring it back to Australia with out the previous extra taxes and duties and the 12 month ownership rule . Sadly it would seem according to my theory the local importers ie VWA and many others have managed to convince the federal government that it would ruin their business and take away ridiculous profits if the government allowed people to bypass those importers .

[Transporter]

Sadly some of it,s to do with our gutless Federal Government , a few years back the feds announced that they were lifting the restrictions on personal imports due to the closure of local manufacturing . So what it meant was you could buy a brand new Van from overseas in whatever configuration you could order and bring it back to Australia with out the previous extra taxes and duties and the 12 month ownership rule . Sadly it would seem according to my theory the local importers ie VWA and many others have managed to convince the federal government that it would ruin their business and take away ridiculous profits if the government allowed people to bypass those importers .

If you ever run a business or you very open minded and have a common sense, you can understand that.
If enough people spend money they earn here or are handled to them here for overseas purchases, the government will have no money from taxes the local business pay them. It would mean no money for handouts, no money to run the country.

Remember, no popular decision can be the right decision.
You know that you cannot always please everybody.

[Tornado T5]

And this is where the Australian Government, in back-flipping on parallel importing should have dropped ADR compliance requirements and certifications costs provided a vehicle imported by local importers had the same spec vehicle certified say in the UK. They then should have said to the importers, if you sell a version in the UK (or Japan or major approved RHD market) then you must allow that spec to be brought into Australia, we the customer gain a greater option/model offering and the importers maintain the local distribution channel.

[Sunny43.5]

I agree in part but Australia is an island continent the importers know that all too well , since the advent of the internet all new opportunities have surfaced for Aussies . The government did nothing to stop local companies from expoliting that fact with over the top pricing in the auto industry for the previous decades . I know all too well how much of a rort is going on in the car industry , and yes our lovely federal boys need our taxes so they can give it away hand over fist in the name of aid to overseas countries .

[LogicprObe]

The Government was complicit.
The unions asked for a pay rise........the companies gave it to them then the motor companies just asked for an increase in the subsidy to cover it.
There were labourers (let alone the tradesmen) earning nearly triple the award.
It couldn't continue.
Still running a luxury car tax to protect Aussie jobs is a bit rich though.