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

[vetrof]

Mattt said:

papahet said:

Tricky Ravenglas said:

I was intending to import two cars from uk which are both registered in my name although my wife uses one and I the other. Am I picking up that this would not be possible?

Correct.

You sure? Infrastructure website FAQs says it's possible under certain circumstances in the name of a spouse.

I'm tending to agree with Mattt.

I have had some email discussions with people at ([e-mail]) and find them very helpful. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that.

Oz Import Site said:

Q. I have two cars, both registered in my name. Can I import both under the personal imports option?
No, however, under certain circumstances, a second vehicle can be imported in the name of a spouse or de facto partner, but the spouse or de facto partner is required to meet all requirements of the personal imports option. In these cases, proof of the relationship should be provided.

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/imports/...

Edited by vetrof on Friday 2nd August 07:15

[Hoopsuk]

Ok Folks,
Below is a break down of costs I went through with an agent before I went down the carnet route. In the spirit of the thread title- All the facts, there are the following caveats.
All figures are rounded, the total years motoring cost at the bottom is conservative as it was actually more in the 3k boundary but I rounded the charges up. All figures that are 'facts' are in green all others 'estimates' are not highlighted. In an ideal world for such a case study i would have done 2 identical vehicles for the year to have numbers for comparison, but i'm not that keen on money burning.
Note that I have been particularly generous with the low duty estimates for the PIS in an effort to make it the best case scenario. I was informed the duty was likely to be significantly higher.




Basically, the Carnet is there for tourist types to avoid the costs associated with permanent migrants so it should always be cheaper in the short term. Its not the solution for guys that want a drive or ride for years and find the prices down here eyewatering but its an option for more transient Aus residents.

Another factor which hasn't been mentioned on here yet is exchange rate, Say you brought your 50K USD car over here in May 2012 and sold it now or later in the year then convert the AUD back into USD, you would have lost almost 20% on your initial value. In this respect, currency fluctuations are a significant factor on your investment for those looking to make a quick buck, particularly in the current market of the ever declining AUD.

I would be interested to know the numbers from any other cases where people have say imported a TVR tuscan (or any other UK derived vehicle) bought for 15K GBP in the UK and sold successfully for 70K AUD down here?
Has anyone got real world experience of making a load of money on the import? are the gains as good as the classified ads suggest?

Edited by Hoopsuk on Saturday 3rd August 15:36

Edited by Hoopsuk on Saturday 3rd August 15:37

[Tricky Ravenglas]

Thanks for the help I will check with the link given in attempt to get both in. Much appreciated.

[Sandgroper]

james280779 said:

Yes- I have shipped pre-89 911's among others.

not cheap- whatever you think its going to cost- factor at least for $40k for an average one costing you 12-15k gbp in the UK including car purchase. Then also factor in the time and effort.

If your set on a 911 - mine is currently for sale. 1985 911 carrera cab, grand prix white with oxblood interior. I looked at about 50 in UK and here - this was the best by far. Also fully reg compliant with all documents and Rego.

up for $43k which is a $1k loss over what it cost me - but I have had a 911 for the last year so not all bad news.

$40k seems very expensive mate, I shipped a Porsche over earlier this, car cost me 12,500 sterling, admittedly, I used a RORO vessel, but all up, including engineering certificate and pit inspection, about $26,000 delivered and on the road.

[vetrof]

Just wanted to add this guide to this thread, a it is referenced as the best import thread in the wiki.

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

[Gollum]

james280779 said:

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

Hi James,

Does this definately apply for a personal import do you know? The difference a UK and Aussie valuation makes for mine will be huge as it takes it well up into the LCT bracket I am being told?!?

I guess it comes down to whether I as the personal importer can count myself as the purchaser in the following?!?



When the transaction (UK price converted) value method is not used
•
The importer cannot demonstrate that the purchase
took place for the sole purpose of
exporting the road vehicle to Australia. An exampl
e to illustrate this is when the exported
road vehicle has been used overseas prior to making
the decision to export to Australia.
•
The purchaser cannot present to Customs and Border
Protection staff at the port of entry,
satisfactory purchase documentation such as invoice
s, receipts, etc, which could verify the
full purchase price of the road vehicle.
•
The road vehicle has been purchased overseas for o
nly a token or nominal price.
•
Between the date of purchase of the road vehicle a
nd its subsequent exportation to
Australia, its value has altered due to the followi
ng occurring:

This is from the same document you have quoted, do you know if this is the case or not?

I daren't hope after what one of the agents told me yesterday, I was starting to look for proof etc when I came across your post.

[Google [bot]]

Go fk yourself Gollum.

[custardtart]

Who said that?

[Bibbs]

Hey Guys,

Father-in-law is emigrating, and bringing over his 1992 XJS.

Just trying to find details about the ISOFix stuff. Can someone point me in the right direction on what the requirements are please?

[pikey]

Bibbs said:

Hey Guys,

Father-in-law is emigrating, and bringing over his 1992 XJS.

Just trying to find details about the ISOFix stuff. Can someone point me in the right direction on what the requirements are please?

ISOfix is new to Aus and not mandatory.

What is mandatory is a mounting point for a rear tether child seat for the back two positions. The graphic here explains http://pediatrics.about.com/library/ask/blask_0819...

Basically, he'll need a spot to mount two of these http://oi50.tinypic.com/25zl8vl.jpg Importers will often do it for you, but beware that they can really mess up the trim.

[Bibbs]

Cheers P.

Bombed down to SuperCheap and got a pair.

So I'll post them over for him to fit.

[Gollum]

Righto, coming out of this process as we have relatively unscathed (wallet aside), here are my pointers/numbers for info.

We almost didn't attempt this and were it not for this post, I don't think we would have. As it happened, we eventually pushed the button back in October.

We shipped with Karman Shipping who I can't recommend highly enough, Richard is a wealth of information, seemingly online 24/7 and was very close with his estimated costs here in Australia. The network of people that he works with over here are second to none although I didn't use the compliance/roadworthy guys as I wanted a specialist dealing with my car.

Timescales:
Pick up in the UK - 12th Oct
Shipped - 14th Oct
Picked up by me (on a temp road license) after clearing customs and quarantine - 6th Dec.
Complianced by me (child seat harness points)
Engineering Cert
Road worthy Cert at AutoHaus 911 (Great guys)
Registered and on the road - 15th December.


Costs in AUD$:

1. UK prep--------------------------------------------$1,533
2. Shipping and insurance-----------------------------$3,676
3. Port charges/customs etc---------------------------$2,580
4. Duty (tax)-----------------------------------------$3,200
5. GST hang on (Tax on tax)---------------------------$7,087
6. LCT What?(tax on tax on tax)-----------------------$5,294
7. Stamp Unbelievably(tax on tax on tax on tax)-------$3,200
8. Rego-------------------------------------------------$787
9. Nameplate---------------------------------------------$86
10. Roadworthy-------------------------------------------$160
11. Engineer---------------------------------------------$275
12. Compliance items--------------------------------------$24

Was it worth it? Yes I love paying tax!

Still...


Heads up:

1. If you want to know up front what your likely costs are, use the calculator on here: http://www.carshipping.co.uk
2. You do not have to drain the air-con on a personal import.
3. The car was spotless when it got here so was not re-cleaned.
4. I had a car cover, cleaning products, chamois cloths, CD's etc all in the car - no problems and no charges.
5. Irrespective of what Porsche Australia will tell you - All 911 shells from 996 on leave the factory with the child seat anchor points already fitted. I looked at a GT3 (standard body) that someone had broken rather badly and they were present, same with mine (wide body).
6. I would recommend finding a specialist in your car, not a specialist in compliance to advise on compliance issues - it may save you $,000's

Edited by Gollum on Saturday 4th January 23:36

[Ginos]

Great thread.

Some questions on these two points from Gallum's post:

5. Irrespective of what Porsche Australia will tell you - All 911 shells from 996 on leave the factory with the child seat anchor points already fitted. I looked at a GT3 (standard body) that someone had broken rather badly and they were present, same with mine (wide body).

Q - is there a way of finding out whether the 997.2 has the anchor points?

6. I would recommend finding a specialist in your car, not a specialist in compliance to advise on compliance issues - it may save you $,000's

Q - can you elaborate? Not sure I understand why.

Cheers

[Gollum]

Hi Ginos,

These are both personal perspectives and not necessarily down to fact however:

Europe does not require the Aussie child seat restraints so if they are in the 996, they will be in future models until the system is replaced by something international (that I hear is on the way)

Autohaus Porsche specialist (for arguments sake) rather than Imports R Us are going to have a better understanding of your vehicle and will value your ongoing potential ongoing business to boot.

Again - just my opinion

Good luck with the import.

[Ginos]

Useful info, thanks.

I'm doing the big drive tomorrow to put the car on the ship. Going from Switzerland to the UK, via Germany and spending the night at the ring for the hell of it. I only hope the weather is decent.

Cheers.

[Gollum]

Good man!!!

I can recommend The Lindenhof in Nurburg village itself. Best pub in Germany!!

Renata does a great steak and you'll be well received (If they're open in March) Sat looks changeable but Sunday looks perfect for a lap or two.

V Jealous!!

[custardtart]

Have been looking at a few cars recently and found a couple of UK imports lurking amongst them. As someone who imported a car from the UK I took the view that the point for me was to get something I couldn't find already here and get a bloody decent one. However the two cars I viewed recently highlighted why some people view imports with suspicion and value them accordingly. Car number one was advertised as a Uk import but hadn't been advertised as originally being a different colour! This wasn't disclosed to me until I found the evidence whilst getting down and dirty during the viewing. Probably most people would never have know because once it's over here there's no official way of finding out the original colour.

Car number two wasn't advertised and only disclosed when I went to view it and queried the grubby condition of the anodized bits. they had the classic evidence of being from a damp climate and not here. The I checked the history and found that the car had had a new speedo in the UK meaning the car actually had nearly 30k extra k's than advertised - which went to explain the grubby condition. If the owner had simply removed the invoice for the speedo replacement I'd have been none the wiser on the actual kilometres, again something hard to do in the UK because of the MOT and TAX paperwork.

So, whilst I'd stand by my import, it's no wonder they get a bad rap here!

[Andy205wrc]

Emigrating to Oz on a residency visa in August and taking our VW Touareg V10 TDi.
After reading this thread i am going to use the dedicated car shipping company as mentioned on here rather than Bonner who are taking the rest of our stuff. Doing this as i think a dedicated shipping agent will have more experience of whats required than just a general agent.
They are using Grace in Sydney to move our stuff to Newcastle.

Thanks to all for taking the time to post experiences, it does help tremendously for us newbies.

Will let you know how we get on......

[Jamest5r]

Hi all, firstly thanks to op for a great thread have.read all 19 pages and I'm still confused on a couple of points, looking to be in brisbane late next year and would love to take my car with me it's not worth a lot but has been mine for a decade and I'd rather not leave it behind, only worth about 5k but it's sentimental lol, questions I have is how modified can I get away with??? Looks pretty standard from the outside just under the bonnet is different, any advice greatly welcomed cheers

[Hasbeen]

I have a Triumph TR8.

It has a Range rover 4.6 injected engine controlled by a Haltech computer, [as is V8 supercars], a ZF BMW high stall auto, a Nissan/HSV Holden diff, Volvo front discs, calipers, master cylinder & booster, & Nissan rear discs & calipers. I built the hand brake system.

It has aftermarket McPherson struts, custom springs & anti roll bars.

We have a compliance system, where the modifications must be approved by an approved compliance engineer, & the car fitted with a compliance plate to confirm it is all approved for road registration. It cost me $1000 for all these modifications to be approved by such an engineer.

I wanted to fit a hydraulic hand brake system, but could not find any engineer willing to approve such a system on my car.

If your modifications are well engineered, & not too far out there, you should not have too much trouble getting it compliance. You will have the hassle of finding an engineer in a place you don't know, & transporting it to them.

I would suggest you look for a Volvo club in the city you are going to, & ask for help. It would work with most makes, & should do so with Volvo.

Oh, & good luck.