Transporting a Motor Down Under

[_SBradley_]

Hi guys,

I'm moving to Oz next year. By all accounts, car prices over there are very high, and so I'm thinking of buying something almost new here and having it shipped over. Has anyone done this, and, if so, is there any advice you can offer? (From what I've read, it seems to cost ~£1k to have a car shipped over there.)

First of all, what to buy? We would like something with seven seats, because it's going to be the whole family over there, and we often travel together. At the moment, we have a Renault Scenic 5-seater (so we have to take two cars), so I'm quite tempted by the 7-seater Scenic. But, as far as I can tell, Renault doesn't exactly have a big presence in Oz. Would that make getting parts etc. difficult? Any other/better suggestions?

What about fuel? Last time I checked (which was a while ago), I think petrol and diesel were about the same price. But is there a reason to prefer one to the other down under?

And how about registering the vehicle? I imported a car from Japan once, and that required some modifications in order to comply with the UK regs. Does anyone know what, if anything, would have to be done to a British car to comply with the Aussie regs?

I'll admit that I've only just started researching all of this, so I'm sure I could get some of this from Google. But, if anyone happens to know anything and would be kind enough to offer some advice, I would appreciate it.

Cheers,
Simon

 

[Tesla]

Surely they'd impose hefty import taxes to deter people from doing this?

 

[VoG]

Re: Importing a car from the UK to Australia

So, what was the total cost… here goes… and be prepared, everyone wants some of your hard earned cash when bringing in a vehicle from overseas: (All figures in Australian Dollars)

Vehicle import application - $50.00
Shipping cost (20ft container) - $3025.00
Marine shipping insurance - $1892.00
Australian Duty & Entry Fees - $6456.41
Port & Statutory Charges - $489.50
Transport of container (Warf to Depot) - $429.00
Depot Charges (Unpack Container) - $407.00
Australian Quarantine Inspection Services - $193.00
Customs and AQUIS formalities re Motor Vehicle - $412.50
Valuation of Vehicle - $605.00
Transport by tilt tray (Warf to mechanic) - $132.00
Admin Costs at Mechanic & Secure storage - $176.00
Blue slip for imported vehicle - $113.50
Personal Import Plate - $154.00
Visual inspection unit (VIU) at RTA - $187.00
Registration Fee - $51.00
Motor Vehicle Tax - $166.00
Stamp Duty (on a Value of $42,000) - $1260.00
Compulsory Third party insurance - $326.00

Grand total (Car is now on the road!) - $16,524.91

General Tips:
1) When shipping the car, put some parts in it, you do not pay duty on the parts you bring in, they are cheaper in the UK than over in Australia so well worth preparing for.

2) You don’t need a KPH speedo if your current speedo shows MPH & KPH, I did however get mine changed so I could read the speed easily, I’d rather be concentrating on the driving than the speedo.

3) Drivers side exterior mirror needs to be flat glass not convex like the UK spec. My advise, get the Australian spec part in the UK or get a piece of flat glass stuck on and then remove after your inspection.

4) I have a stage 2 exhaust on my car – no problems with Blue slip inspection.

5) Get your vehicle valued in Australia not in the UK… it much easier this way and they take into consideration the shipping costs for the vehicle & subtract it from the value they put on the car

6) Be prepared for the fact that you only have a small number of insurance companies who will cover a personal import. (Just Car or Shannons are okay, although Shannons undervalue the car because its an import)

7) Just let DOTARS do their thing, be patient, it took nearly 4 weeks for my approval to come through but I only rang them once… there are only 8 – 10 of them in the office so you’ll soon become known if you ring everyday… and be nice to them!

8) Get your information together and send as much as possible to prove you own the car and have used it in the UK. Purchase invoice, service receipts, insurance documents (past and present if you have them) ferry tickets… anything that proves you have been using the car. You need to prove 12 months of continuous use in the UK

9) DO YOUR HOMEWORK… Make sure the car can operate in Australian conditions, everything will work and that you have priced up how much it would to buy the same car out here.. the Lotus for example was significantly more expensive at $99,990 plus on roads and dealer delivery!

10) Get the car cleaned in the UK, polished and make sure all the wheel arches are spotless, may seem a long task but it will save you the hassle of steam cleaning when it arrives in Australia, because my car was spotless it AQUIS passed it without any trouble.

Taken from here

Personally, unless it's something rare, i don't think ide bother, but thats just me.

 

[Tinders]

Most small 7 seaters are pretty small bud, the rear most seats are for icle kids really.

I'd expect some pretty huge import taxes tbh, i'd just go over to OZ and buy a proper 7 seater if space is important, they love toyota's so go for the jap version of the Previa, the Estima.

 

[PiKe]

Wouldn't it be easier to import a car from Japan?

 

[Janesy B]

Idea, crushed.

 

[_SBradley_]

Thanks for the info, everyone! I'm sure I found something some time ago where the estimated costs weren't nearly that high, but perhaps they really are.

I hadn't considered importing Japan->Oz, I must admit, but it's an intriguing idea.

 

[Phate]

I know someone selling an Estima with Eleventymillion seats.

Worthy consideration ;D

 

[_SBradley_]

After a little more searching, it appears that the suggestion to buy native or Japanese is a good one. As a rule of thumb, it looks like European cars are more expensive there compared to here; native/Japanese are actually cheaper there than here. Which clearly makes spending money on importing a "normal" car not worthwhile.

The other interesting thing I read is that LPG is generally available everywhere.