Importing a car to Australia - All the facts... Hopefully!

[james280779]

ariddell said:

Keep in mind the regulations vary state to state, in Vic a personal import needs to go through ADR compliance with an engineer from a specific list before Vicroads will register it.

I suspect going by your posts above James that the Northern Territory is rather less stringent in their requirements than the other states, so alas I fear your experience is not representative for most.

Edited by ariddell on Tuesday 3rd July 01:01

I thought all imports were governed by Canberra and not by state?
That being the case why not save a fortune and register it in another state then just transfer the car over as an interstate?
The MVR are super stringent here so maybe the QLD ones are not as tough?

[ariddell]

james280779 said:

I thought all imports were governed by Canberra and not by state?

Only the actual Import Approval stage is processed & granted federally by DOTARS, beyond that it is down to each state to set their own regs for registration.

[james280779]

for once its worth living in the territory! hate to think how much I would have spent extra. Maybe I should start up a business lol

[Bibbs]

James,

I've a few questions about trying to import, is it okay if I drop you an email?

[james280779]

Bibbs said:

James,

I've a few questions about trying to import, is it okay if I drop you an email?

no worries

[justnotsure]

Hello again guys,

I have received the 4 x forms from DOTARS to import my Lotus Elise 135R and I have an arrival date into Fremantle (Perth) on the 18th August, I have a couple more questions for the knoledgable on here:

1: Would you recommend getting an agent to deal with the port authorities etc to get a more favourable valuation etc.

2: Is there anything I can be doing to make this smoother ie: apply for registration now etc.

3: Can anyone recommend a Mechanic / Garage that can carry out any alterations to the Lotus if needed; ie: My tyres are almost on the limit and I think it may fail due to this and I have read somewhere that door mirrors need to be flat and Lotus ones arn't.

Thanks in advance

Kurt

[james280779]

justnotsure said:

Hello again guys,

I have received the 4 x forms from DOTARS to import my Lotus Elise 135R and I have an arrival date into Fremantle (Perth) on the 18th August, I have a couple more questions for the knoledgable on here:

1: Would you recommend getting an agent to deal with the port authorities etc to get a more favourable valuation etc.

2: Is there anything I can be doing to make this smoother ie: apply for registration now etc.

3: Can anyone recommend a Mechanic / Garage that can carry out any alterations to the Lotus if needed; ie: My tyres are almost on the limit and I think it may fail due to this and I have read somewhere that door mirrors need to be flat and Lotus ones arn't.

Thanks in advance

Kurt

when did you buy the car?
it will need new tyres almost irrespectively as they usually insist on new rubber.
cant apply for Rego until the car has passed inspection

[james280779]

went through and noticed an old post.

As you have owned the vehicle less than six years, use your uk price, Convert this to $ and your good to go. Even with depreciation I wouldnt recommend getting it valued here.

I reckon you paid 15k ish for yours when buying? that equates to $23,250 value.

An up to date value for yours would be nearer $35-40k.

you can see how much less tax you'll be paying- nearly half. Thats about 5k all in all your pocket.

All you need is the original receipt.

I'll pm you the address to send the beer to

[justnotsure]

James,

I bought the Car March 2008 so have owned it for 4 years+.
Thanks regarding the Rego advice, will do this obviously after the inspection.
Do you know of a good Tyre shop in Perth as I will need 4 x AO48's or may go with the a cheaper option???

Cheers

Kurt

[pikey]

james280779 said:

As you have owned the vehicle less than six years, use your uk price, Convert this to $ and your good to go. Even with depreciation I wouldnt recommend getting it valued here.

Hi James, I've got a Cayenne in transit at the moment (so I can't do anything differently!) and noticed your comment about valuation.

A Cayenne's (2011) value in the UK is clearly an awful lot less than it is in Australia, hence having the valuation done in the UK would have been the better way to do it. However I was told by the customs chap (Government bod) at Sydney that I *have* to have it valued for customs once it arrived. They will take into consideration how much I valued it for insurance transit purposes, but it's what they think once it is here that matters. (He also recommended using an agent to clear it.)

Perhaps they are different from State to State, or that the rules have changed but in bringing to NSW I had no option but to value it after arrival.

Ben

[james280779]

said:

Hi James, I've got a Cayenne in transit at the moment (so I can't do anything differently!) and noticed your comment about valuation.

A Cayenne's (2011) value in the UK is clearly an awful lot less than it is in Australia, hence having the valuation done in the UK would have been the better way to do it. However I was told by the customs chap (Government bod) at Sydney that I *have* to have it valued for customs once it arrived. They will take into consideration how much I valued it for insurance transit purposes, but it's what they think once it is here that matters. (He also recommended using an agent to clear it.)

Perhaps they are different from State to State, or that the rules have changed but in bringing to NSW I had no option but to value it after arrival.

Ben

As far as I know - importation including taxes are the same australia over- they are governed by Canberra.

Local registration is governed state by state.

(i may be corrected on this)

As long as you have owned the car less than 6 years - you can use your original receipt for the valuation.
I too have been told by 'agents' that I MUST GET A LOCAL VALUATION because customs said so. When I pointed out it wasnt a legal requirement and under the import act I had owned less than 6 years- it was never mentioned again.

Remember the agents are making money off you, I had one where they invoiced me for a valuation. I asked them to prove it had been done as I worked out the tax to be exactly the figures from my UK receipt. They bluffed for a while before refunding my money.

I will see if I can find the proper legal stance mumbo jumbo

[james280779]

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/...

ok the website has changed and the six years part has been 'omitted' however in both your cases I think you have a case to use the UK value.

there only seems to be two reasons they can argue why not if you have the proper paperwork....

1. additions/ substantial modifications = more tax
2. depreciation through wear and tear = lower tax.

I dont think they will argue point 2 as it might mean less tax - especially if vehicles are in good condition.
If your vehicles are standard they cant substantiate point 1.

Edited by james280779 on Monday 9th July 06:46

[james280779]

justnotsure said:

James,

I bought the Car March 2008 so have owned it for 4 years+.
Thanks regarding the Rego advice, will do this obviously after the inspection.
Do you know of a good Tyre shop in Perth as I will need 4 x AO48's or may go with the a cheaper option???

Cheers

Kurt

sorry - I am not in Perth so no idea. I would personally buy them online and then just pay fitment.

[ariddell]

I had a UK valuation and an AU one done on my TVR, the AU one was done sight-unseen by sending off pics and filling in a couple of forms.

The AU valuation came back significantly lower than the UK one, even back in 07, so that was the one I presented to Customs and they accepted it with no issue.

I used MVVS for the AU valuation ([e-mail] 0398855075).

[pikey]

Thanks

james280779 said:

As long as you have owned the car less than 6 years - you can use your original receipt for the valuation.
I too have been told by 'agents' that I MUST GET A LOCAL VALUATION because customs said so.

The person I spoke to wasn't an agent but in customs (in fact he recommended an agent can make things easier).

I do have the original invoice (I purchased it brand new) so will challenge if it's worth it. However I've now engaged an agent, who has taken details away and says they should be able to give me a number that's very close to what customs will value it at. I'll wait to see what this is first.

[sensible]

Kurt

The Ao48s are only sold via the Yoko motorsport dealer here in perth and that is Wheels world in Osborne Park, It is the same with any of the motorsport tyres here
Toyo is Racetune motorsport services in Bayswater
Dunlop is Kosterias in Kalamunda
Bridgestone is BTC Bentley
Also they dont all stock all the sizes and compounds that you can get in the Uk

It is alot cheaper to get them from the Uk and ship them here
You need to keep the price below $1000 Aud or you will be slugged import duty on them, I do this by buying and shipping 2 at a time

[justnotsure]

Thanks for the advise, can I ask who you buy from in the UK?

[sensible]

I run Avon slicks from BMTR.co.uk but have used Demon Tweeks for Toyos before

[Bob the Planner]

james280779 said:

went through and noticed an old post.

As you have owned the vehicle less than six years, use your uk price, Convert this to $ and your good to go. Even with depreciation I wouldnt recommend getting it valued here.

I reckon you paid 15k ish for yours when buying? that equates to $23,250 value.

An up to date value for yours would be nearer $35-40k.

you can see how much less tax you'll be paying- nearly half. Thats about 5k all in all your pocket.

All you need is the original receipt.

I'll pm you the address to send the beer to

I must have squeake in by the skin of my teeth - did no know about this rule.

[james280779]

Bob the Planner said:

I must have squeake in by the skin of my teeth - did no know about this rule.

just checked out your profile, hate to break it but your gonna have to write off the chimera as you wont be able to get it out here without returning to the UK for 12 months - had to do the same with my Cerb. Was absolutely gutted!!