Well, Saturday was it's first outing since arriving in Australia so Im working on finding the best roads around. There is supposed to be a great national park drive out towards Wollongong which Im going to try out, apparently its one of the better quality roads in Sydney. It was a double demerit weekend this weekend, the BIB were out in force as normal so I was extra careful with the speeding!

Okay, so there are a number of us out in Australia who have been tempted to ship a car over here and there are a number of PHer’s still in the UK who are thinking of taking the plunge and coming to Australia and want to bring their pride and joy with them.

Here’s my experience of shipping my beloved Lotus Elise 111R, it’s an 05MY with the touring pack, I purchased it from new with a first registration of June 2005. Mileage was under 5000miles… selling it in the UK wasn’t really an option as quite frankly – I didn’t want to and now it’s onshore in Australia, I’m exceptionally pleased I didn’t.

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.


Contacts:

Karman Shipping
Richard is a top bloke, car was put in the container & secured no damage to the vehicle and very well cared for.

Richard Korge
Karman Shipping Limited
Timber Lodge, Plantation Road ,
Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire , LU7 3JB
Tel. No. +44 (0)1525 851545
www.karmanshipping.com
info@karmanshipping.com

Cargo Online
Steve has been doing this for what appears to be years! Again, great bloke, knows exatly what he is doing and does his best for you in every aspect of the job.

Steve White
Cargo Online - Australia
Ph +61 2 9400 2635
Fax +61 2 9400 2625
Mobile +61 (0)416 182399
www.cargoonline.com.au
steve@cargoonline.com.au

Dotars (This is a link to the actual form you need to fill out!)
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/bull...

I guess the biggest question is… would I do it again and is it worth it….

MOST DEFINITELY YES!

I hope this helps you all out…

Kevin.

If the car is in your wifes name and the bike is in your name then you CAN bring both... you are only allowed one personal import PER PERSON per year.

Plenty of high powered cars and bikes out here and an equal number of speed camera's I would say.. its easy to get caught but there are times and places where you'll be okay. When you get here you'll soon realise (if in Sydney) how bad the traffic is and how shocking the driving is.

Where are you going to be based?? Im sure there are a few of us who could think of things to come over and help you fill up the container!