Birth of My Kimberley Karavan

Tucson T4R

Expedition Leader
The Caravan Classic

I added a few things like the Heater, Went with the full awning like Brad has, the bunk setup so you can sleep 4, inside shower, magnetic curtains, drawbar extension, anti-sway bar, reading lights and rims to match my 100 series. The limited had a few more options I really wanted like Lithium batteries, Airbag suspension and some other toys, but that would have been another $10-12K and I figured I could add some of those as time goes on. Pretty excited.

I did get the exchange rate, all together costing me $50K

Sweet deal Ken! Worth every penny. You are going to love glamping in this. LOL
 

Romer

Adventurer
Sweet deal Ken! Worth every penny. You are going to love glamping in this. LOL

Thanks Brad. The Classic normally comes with the Kwik Awning. I told him I wanted the same awning you have and he said it was the Bedouin awning. I said it wasn't and he said he was pretty sure. I then said look at your marketing brochures, you have pictures of his awning/setup all over the place.

He said you have the extended awning which isn't in the options catalogue, but they have a few of them in stock so he is sending that one, for the delta cost of course.

I thought it was a humorous exchange having to refer him to his own marketing info. Not a knock on Bruce, he seems like a pretty good guy.
 

Tucson T4R

Expedition Leader
Thanks Brad. The Classic normally comes with the Kwik Awning. I told him I wanted the same awning you have and he said it was the Bedouin awning. I said it wasn't and he said he was pretty sure. I then said look at your marketing brochures, you have pictures of his awning/setup all over the place.

He said you have the extended awning which isn't in the options catalogue, but they have a few of them in stock so he is sending that one, for the delta cost of course.

I thought it was a humorous exchange having to refer him to his own marketing info. Not a knock on Bruce, he seems like a pretty good guy.

Yep, mine is the extended. I had talked about the Beouin and then changed and the recent one that went to Boise had the Bedouin awning. Bruce has a lot on his plate so some of the details can slip by at times. :)
 

DUTCH

Curmudgeon
Hi Ken,

I just checked the exchange rate and today it is saying the US dollar = 1.40 Ausie dollars. That would knock a price tag of $75K all the way down to $45K. Did you get that exchange rate on your purchase? That is an awesome discount!:Wow1::Wow1:

The Aussie Dollar is starting to get stronger. It was as low as US$0.70, but closed on Friday at US$0.73+.
 

Jwestpro

Explorer
The Aussie Dollar is starting to get stronger. It was as low as US$0.70, but closed on Friday at US$0.73+.

That really sucks for those who were close to ordering but didn't quite make the move. A few weeks ago it was staying around .69. At a $100k AUD amount after removing their tax, it translates to $1000 per 1¢ exchange change. So, now the same loaded T3 is $4000 more than just a month ago.
 

Zybane

Active member
It's crazy, I think in 2002 it was something like .48 cents. In 2008'ish it went to .60 cents. Some are saying .60 cents again this winter due to China rapidly slowing down. At .60 cents, the Kimberley would be an absolute steal.
 

DUTCH

Curmudgeon
It's crazy, I think in 2002 it was something like .48 cents. In 2008'ish it went to .60 cents. Some are saying .60 cents again this winter due to China rapidly slowing down. At .60 cents, the Kimberley would be an absolute steal.

And in 2013 it was US$1.05. I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for US$0.60.
 

jrandom

New member
That was about the same price Bruce spec'd one for me at. I had planned to buy in February, really bummed I had some very costly "things" come up. No Karavan for me for a while. I was really looking forward to this, the exchange rate is really a big bonus. I couldn't imagine anyone buying one of these and not being happy.
 

Zybane

Active member
Ya, I am still looking into ordering one of these. It's a hard decision though to spend $100K+ on an off-road caravan.
 

Tazman

Adventurer
I just checked ant the Aus dollar is at .71. UBS sevens .60s in 2016. With this exchange rate, you can't spent 100k even getting the loaded ones.
 

Tucson T4R

Expedition Leader
I just checked ant the Aus dollar is at .71. UBS sevens .60s in 2016. With this exchange rate, you can't spent 100k even getting the loaded ones.

Right. With the current exchange rate you can get a fully loaded Karavan delivered to Long beach for about $55K.

I still feel this was the best purchase I ever made and plan to enjoy it for years to come.
 

Romer

Adventurer
Right. With the current exchange rate you can get a fully loaded Karavan delivered to Long beach for about $55K.

I still feel this was the best purchase I ever made and plan to enjoy it for years to come.

I drooled over Brad's for years and finally pulled the trigger when the exchange rate was at .73. I got a classic added a heater, inside shower, heater, extended drawbar and a few other things for about $50K. The Limited is really nice but that would have added another big step in price.
 

Zybane

Active member
I am looking at a fully loaded T3. Even with AUD price -20% VAT -30% exchange rate, with shipping, and tax, it's well over $100K USD. But you get one heck of a trailer!

I forgot to ask Bruce if he locks in the exchange rate when you order/deposit or what.

Does anyone know how the Los Angeles delivery is handled as far as paperwork? Does CA sales tax have to be paid, or the state you register it in? As for .60 AUD/USD, I wonder about that. Seems to be holding pretty strong at .70.
 
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Tucson T4R

Expedition Leader
I am looking at a fully loaded T3. Even with AUD price -20% VAT -30% exchange rate, with shipping, and tax, it's well over $100K USD. But you get one heck of a trailer!

I forgot to ask Bruce if he locks in the exchange rate when you order/deposit or what.

Does anyone know how the Los Angeles delivery is handled as far as paperwork? Does CA sales tax have to be paid, or the state you register it in? As for .60 AUD/USD, I wonder about that. Seems to be holding pretty strong at .70.

You can lock the exchange rate when you put down your deposit or let it float.

All the customs paperwork is handled bu Kimberley. Once cleared, they move the trailer out to a private warehouse where you pick it up. No CA taxes. The only tax I paid was when registering it in Arizona. That license tax can be a wopper depending on how your state works. I think I paid around $700 here in AZ and then that drops a bunch each year when renewing the registration.
 

Zybane

Active member
Thanks for the info Brad! I hope you don't mind me talking about a possible purchase in your thread.

Anyone got any recommendations on a rig to pull a T3 with? I would like a diesel, but it appears there are no new vehicles in the US that have a low range transfer case and both front and rear differential locks.

A Wrangler is out as it's towing capability is quite small. That only leave the RAM 2500 Power Wagon with the 6.4L Hemi. An awesome truck, but that gas mileage is going to hurt!
 

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