Can someone explain car purchasing in Oz?
Discussion
I'm looking for some advice on the car purchasing process in Australia. I will be in WA for one month in December/January for a holiday. Whilst there I would like to purchase a car (a classic car for less then $10,000 AUS) to use for the month and then ship back to the UK.
As most of you know, in the UK you buy a car, you keep part of the log book and the car is yours to drive once tax and insurance are arranged. How does it work in Australia? I understand each state may be different but the likelihood is that the car would be purchased in NSW, transported to WA and then shipped home at the end of the holiday.
The car I'm looking at is registered until March 08, which works well for me. Do I need an address in Oz to register it in my name? If so, would I be better off registering it at a friends address in Sydney rather than the address we'll be at in WA? I know this must be possible as people go out to Oz and buy cars to travel around in all the time. I'm just unsure as to the process with regard to registering and insurance.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I should add that this is not a money making scheme, I know it would be much cheaper to rent a car. it's just something I've always fancied doing.
As most of you know, in the UK you buy a car, you keep part of the log book and the car is yours to drive once tax and insurance are arranged. How does it work in Australia? I understand each state may be different but the likelihood is that the car would be purchased in NSW, transported to WA and then shipped home at the end of the holiday.
The car I'm looking at is registered until March 08, which works well for me. Do I need an address in Oz to register it in my name? If so, would I be better off registering it at a friends address in Sydney rather than the address we'll be at in WA? I know this must be possible as people go out to Oz and buy cars to travel around in all the time. I'm just unsure as to the process with regard to registering and insurance.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I should add that this is not a money making scheme, I know it would be much cheaper to rent a car. it's just something I've always fancied doing.
Edited by CQ8 on Wednesday 18th July 21:50
CQ8 said:
I'm looking for some advice on the car purchasing process in Australia. I will be in WA for one month in December/January for a holiday. Whilst there I would like to purchase a car (a classic car for less then $10,000 AUS) to use for the month and then ship back to the UK.
As most of you know, in the UK you buy a car, you keep part of the log book and the car is yours to drive once tax and insurance are arranged. How does it work in Australia? I understand each state may be different but the likelihood is that the car would be purchased in NSW, transported to WA and then shipped home at the end of the holiday.
The car I'm looking at is registered until March 08, which works well for me. Do I need an address in Oz to register it in my name? If so, would I be better off registering it at a friends address in Sydney rather than the address we'll be at in WA? I know this must be possible as people go out to Oz and buy cars to travel around in all the time. I'm just unsure as to the process with regard to registering and insurance.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I should add that this is not a money making scheme, I know it would be much cheaper to rent a car. it's just something I've always fancied doing.
I can't imagine what "classic" car you will get for under $10K, cars are more expensive here. You might find an MGB or something in that range?As most of you know, in the UK you buy a car, you keep part of the log book and the car is yours to drive once tax and insurance are arranged. How does it work in Australia? I understand each state may be different but the likelihood is that the car would be purchased in NSW, transported to WA and then shipped home at the end of the holiday.
The car I'm looking at is registered until March 08, which works well for me. Do I need an address in Oz to register it in my name? If so, would I be better off registering it at a friends address in Sydney rather than the address we'll be at in WA? I know this must be possible as people go out to Oz and buy cars to travel around in all the time. I'm just unsure as to the process with regard to registering and insurance.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I should add that this is not a money making scheme, I know it would be much cheaper to rent a car. it's just something I've always fancied doing.
Edited by CQ8 on Wednesday 18th July 21:50
You are right in that each state has different licensing laws. In WA, you would just transfer the existing registration into your name (and pay the ripoff stamp duty for the privelidge). Be aware though that (again in WA) the car rego includes compulsory 3rd party personal injury only) insurance. F/C or 3rd party property insurance is non compulsory here
In most other States the stamp duty is at a lower rate than in WA so you might be wise to keep NSW rego?
Again I assume you have researched this, but I don't know of many (if any) cars you could buy cheaper here than in UK. That includes the last Monaro...
(Unless you are talking about Australian "classics" which aren't available there, but again I don't know what would be <$10K, a GTHO Falcon PhaseIII sold for $3/4 million a few weeks ago...)
I cant think what you would get for < $10K here that you would really want to ship to the UK...maybe a V8 Commode? V8 Torana? I dont think either would be in particularly good condition and I'm sure you could track down a Commode or Falcon in the UK.
Oh and be wary of buying the Ford Falcon here...from what I have been reading the Inline 6 and transmission in them is near on unsupportable outside of Australia...Hence the slow demise of Ford Australia with their un-exportable cars
As the bloke before me mentioned the true Aussie classics are selling for frightening amounts of money.
Also until very recently Australia has tended to miss out on the hot version of european and japanese cars. Most performance cars are Japanese imports and the few true aussie delivered vehicles tend to command a decent wedge of cash.
With the pricing of cars here...well it takes a car 10-15years to drop to a similar price to what you would pay in the UK after just 3.
I believe that most people that buy a car here to travel go to the cheap backpacker places...there are a few around that will sell you an old car for $1500 and promise a $600 buy back at one of their other offices or at the point of purchase...i am not sure how the registration works.
If you want to send something back I think you would be best trying to line some viewings before you leave and just turn the number plats in a stick it straight on a ship home.
Oh and be wary of buying the Ford Falcon here...from what I have been reading the Inline 6 and transmission in them is near on unsupportable outside of Australia...Hence the slow demise of Ford Australia with their un-exportable cars
As the bloke before me mentioned the true Aussie classics are selling for frightening amounts of money.
Also until very recently Australia has tended to miss out on the hot version of european and japanese cars. Most performance cars are Japanese imports and the few true aussie delivered vehicles tend to command a decent wedge of cash.
With the pricing of cars here...well it takes a car 10-15years to drop to a similar price to what you would pay in the UK after just 3.
I believe that most people that buy a car here to travel go to the cheap backpacker places...there are a few around that will sell you an old car for $1500 and promise a $600 buy back at one of their other offices or at the point of purchase...i am not sure how the registration works.
If you want to send something back I think you would be best trying to line some viewings before you leave and just turn the number plats in a stick it straight on a ship home.
Have a look here, and see if anything for less than $10k catches your eye...
www.carsales.com.au
You should be able to search be state and price.
As a guide, an early MX5 is still going to cost about $8-9k, and anything European is deemed a luxury car, even French cars!
www.carsales.com.au
You should be able to search be state and price.
As a guide, an early MX5 is still going to cost about $8-9k, and anything European is deemed a luxury car, even French cars!
Thanks for the advice guys. Just to be clear, I'm not trying to buy a car to save or make money. I don't mind if I spend the same as I would in the UK, or even more, as I'm not intending on selling the car when I get it back. I just thought it would make the trip more interesting than driving around in a hire car! I was planning on buying another old car in the UK anyway, so I'm just doing my shopping abit further from home! I realise the cost of shipping and import taxes will push the cost up though.
I'm looking for something from the 1960's or 70's and either a British or European make. The 10k budget is flexible and really just a starting point. If I can't find anything I like for that sort of money then I'm happy to spend abit more. I know rust is still an issue in Oz but it doesn't seem to be as big a problem as the UK, probably because they don't dump a load of salt on the road at the first sign of winter.
So would I be right in saying that on top of any purchase price there is an additional payment of stamp duty? Does anyone know what the % is in NSW? And that the plates and rego stay with the car and include minimal insurance but you'd be wise to buy better cover?
I'm looking for something from the 1960's or 70's and either a British or European make. The 10k budget is flexible and really just a starting point. If I can't find anything I like for that sort of money then I'm happy to spend abit more. I know rust is still an issue in Oz but it doesn't seem to be as big a problem as the UK, probably because they don't dump a load of salt on the road at the first sign of winter.
So would I be right in saying that on top of any purchase price there is an additional payment of stamp duty? Does anyone know what the % is in NSW? And that the plates and rego stay with the car and include minimal insurance but you'd be wise to buy better cover?
AS PomB said above, have a look at www.carsales.com.au to see what is around. I think you will be shocked by the cost of anything interesting...
If this doesn't work out, (by the time you pay our inflated prices, then ship it back and pay VAT and import duty?) how about buying something in England and sending it over for the trip then shipping it back again? You should avoid duty that way and probably buy cheaper as well to offset the double shipping.
eta: still not sure what kind of car you want, but here is an example of what $10K will buy in MGs.
1968 MGB Mk1 in fairly ordinary condition
If this doesn't work out, (by the time you pay our inflated prices, then ship it back and pay VAT and import duty?) how about buying something in England and sending it over for the trip then shipping it back again? You should avoid duty that way and probably buy cheaper as well to offset the double shipping.
eta: still not sure what kind of car you want, but here is an example of what $10K will buy in MGs.
1968 MGB Mk1 in fairly ordinary condition
Edited by madazrx7 on Thursday 19th July 10:23
madazrx7 said:
AS PomB said above, have a look at www.carsales.com.au to see what is around. I think you will be shocked by the cost of anything interesting...
If this doesn't work out, (by the time you pay our inflated prices, then ship it back and pay VAT and import duty?) how about buying something in England and sending it over for the trip then shipping it back again? You should avoid duty that way and probably buy cheaper as well to offset the double shipping.
Thanks for the website, I've mainly been looking on www.carpoint.com.au , which is has alot of the ads from Unique Cars magazine, so seems to have more of the type of car I'm looking for (ie classic cars).If this doesn't work out, (by the time you pay our inflated prices, then ship it back and pay VAT and import duty?) how about buying something in England and sending it over for the trip then shipping it back again? You should avoid duty that way and probably buy cheaper as well to offset the double shipping.
I've thought about shipping a car out there as well, but will need to look into it abit more though.
hmmm I am sure I have read somewhere something about bringing a car in temporarily...
Maybe here? >>> http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/
Also keep in mind mate that December / January is getting to be the hottest time of the year. Not only can a car be an incredibly uncomfortable place to be in the heat (especially without air con) but you need to thnk about reliability of the car to.
You can be on the road for an 8hour stretch here and not actually get anywhere so you need to be comfortable and for your own safety and enjoyment of the holiday you need your car to be reliable...last thing you need is to be broken down on a 42degree day on a lonely road.
Blown head gaskets are common on older cars here through lack of maintenance and just using our mineral laden water instead of coolant...in fact it seems that most cars over 15years old turn to shit pretty quickly!
You need tyres to be in top condition to...I made the mistake of using 2nd hand tyres when I had an ancient Datsun 200B and suffered a blow out on the freeway (the tyre completely disintegrated with no real warning) on a 45degree day...the wheel was to hot to touch when I went to change it and a quick feel around the other 3 tyres revealed them to be to hot to touch as well so I suspect the tyre simply overheated...oh and to top it off by the time I had got the wheel changed over heat soak from the engine and sitting in the sun with no air flow made the engine temp gauge go off the top of the dial.
Maybe here? >>> http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/
Also keep in mind mate that December / January is getting to be the hottest time of the year. Not only can a car be an incredibly uncomfortable place to be in the heat (especially without air con) but you need to thnk about reliability of the car to.
You can be on the road for an 8hour stretch here and not actually get anywhere so you need to be comfortable and for your own safety and enjoyment of the holiday you need your car to be reliable...last thing you need is to be broken down on a 42degree day on a lonely road.
Blown head gaskets are common on older cars here through lack of maintenance and just using our mineral laden water instead of coolant...in fact it seems that most cars over 15years old turn to shit pretty quickly!
You need tyres to be in top condition to...I made the mistake of using 2nd hand tyres when I had an ancient Datsun 200B and suffered a blow out on the freeway (the tyre completely disintegrated with no real warning) on a 45degree day...the wheel was to hot to touch when I went to change it and a quick feel around the other 3 tyres revealed them to be to hot to touch as well so I suspect the tyre simply overheated...oh and to top it off by the time I had got the wheel changed over heat soak from the engine and sitting in the sun with no air flow made the engine temp gauge go off the top of the dial.
Well we've travelled in Oz quite alot now, this will be our six or seventh visit and have driven around most of WA, parts of NSW and Queensland. But this time we're staying put and renting a house in Margaret River for a month so won't be doing any long journeys.
When we were travelling north in WA a few years ago, there was a suzuki jeep on its side about 20m from the road. The driver was just standing on top of the vehicle (ie on the passenger door) reading a book and waiting for someone to come by and pick him up. He'd been waiting 3 hours and as it was his wife's car, he only had a copy of Jackie Collins to read! Like you his tyre had gone and then the car rolled over in the brush.
I think it's called a Carnet de Passage and you have to put down a deposit, which is refunded when your vehicle returns to your own country. I think this is to stop you selling without paying the required taxes. It's used alot by overland travellers.
When we were travelling north in WA a few years ago, there was a suzuki jeep on its side about 20m from the road. The driver was just standing on top of the vehicle (ie on the passenger door) reading a book and waiting for someone to come by and pick him up. He'd been waiting 3 hours and as it was his wife's car, he only had a copy of Jackie Collins to read! Like you his tyre had gone and then the car rolled over in the brush.
I think it's called a Carnet de Passage and you have to put down a deposit, which is refunded when your vehicle returns to your own country. I think this is to stop you selling without paying the required taxes. It's used alot by overland travellers.
I looked into bringing my Noble over on a temp entry. They can charge up to the value of the car as a holding deposit if i read it correctly. Kinda put me off seeing as the only figure i can find on the Noble was a purchase price of $195k new in 2005!!!
As for the Monaro. Whats the story there???? How do we in the uk get better examples for less money. The Elise, ohh my god, how much!!!
Are there any car bargains in Austraila? Are the homegrown cars better deals? I am coming over to stay before christmas and have been sadly disappointed by what i can get for 10-15k english. Hoped to be driving a nice Ute or Monaro, Looks like i will be in an old Cougar!!!
As for the Monaro. Whats the story there???? How do we in the uk get better examples for less money. The Elise, ohh my god, how much!!!
Are there any car bargains in Austraila? Are the homegrown cars better deals? I am coming over to stay before christmas and have been sadly disappointed by what i can get for 10-15k english. Hoped to be driving a nice Ute or Monaro, Looks like i will be in an old Cougar!!!
I don't understand how the Monaro was sold cheaper in England than here, I have questioned it before. Cars seem to hold value longer here as well.
Still for the £10-15K you mention ($25-40K) you would have a fairly good choice of say 3Y/O V8 Commodores or Falcons.
http://www.redbookasiapacific.com/au/vehicle/price...
http://www.redbookasiapacific.com/au/vehicle/price...
Still for the £10-15K you mention ($25-40K) you would have a fairly good choice of say 3Y/O V8 Commodores or Falcons.
http://www.redbookasiapacific.com/au/vehicle/price...
http://www.redbookasiapacific.com/au/vehicle/price...
ajg31 said:
15k is only 33 australian and TBH i am not overly struck by those cars 
May be a real tart and have a mini cooper s for a while 
You might find an 04 MCS around the top of your price range, not many of them here though. May be a real tart and have a mini cooper s for a while I still work on a 2.5:1 conversion (or 40p/$ the other way) I know the $ has improved a bit since then, just means I get a little bit more than I expected when I come over there
eta: as for a Cougar, apparently they were sold here between 99-2002, can't say I've ever seen one though. None for sale in WA at present.
Edited by madazrx7 on Saturday 4th August 03:19
I owned a Ford Cougar from new in the uk and it was one car i really liked. Underpowered buy comfy on long runs. In the UK they are like 2-4k max but again in Australi the pricing is nearly double. Be nice to own something you dont see everyday
The SS holden is growing on me a bit more, more than spending 10k on a 12yr old BM
From the other threads it sounds like the old bill over there are as bad or worse than the uk so maybe a performance car is not the way to go!
The SS holden is growing on me a bit more, more than spending 10k on a 12yr old BM
From the other threads it sounds like the old bill over there are as bad or worse than the uk so maybe a performance car is not the way to go!
ajg31 said:
I owned a Ford Cougar from new in the uk and it was one car i really liked. Underpowered buy comfy on long runs. In the UK they are like 2-4k max but again in Australi the pricing is nearly double. Be nice to own something you dont see everyday
The SS holden is growing on me a bit more, more than spending 10k on a 12yr old BM
From the other threads it sounds like the old bill over there are as bad or worse than the uk so maybe a performance car is not the way to go!
Mate, tell me about it. An early model MX5 which is what I was originally after are still around 9k for a semi-decent one, but couldn't fit all my stuff in it (muso). This was the next best handling car I could afford that was practical. The SS holden is growing on me a bit more, more than spending 10k on a 12yr old BM
From the other threads it sounds like the old bill over there are as bad or worse than the uk so maybe a performance car is not the way to go!
Bring something decent over with you. The Aussie car market is a joke
Colonial said:
Mate, tell me about it. An early model MX5 which is what I was originally after are still around 9k for a semi-decent one, but couldn't fit all my stuff in it (muso). This was the next best handling car I could afford that was practical.
Bring something decent over with you. The Aussie car market is a joke
Bring something decent over with you. The Aussie car market is a joke
Colonial said:
To give you an indication of the sorry state of the Aust used car market...
My 1995 318is cost me 10k. And that was at the cheaper end of the market (start of last year). Depressing isn't it?
Colonial I think you should point out that those prices are £ not $...My 1995 318is cost me 10k. And that was at the cheaper end of the market (start of last year). Depressing isn't it?
(You can make the £ sign on an Aussie keyboard by using ALT+0163)
I've just moved to Australia and bought a car from a dealer only a few weeks ago. Admittedly this was in Queensland, so the system might be different to where you plan to be, but I'll tell you what happened anyway in case it helps.
When I bought the car, they transfered the registration there and then (no posting away forms like in the UK). However, at the time I didn't have a Queensland license, so it took them an hour to get the transfer done! My wife and I had to provide passport, credit card, birth certficate (they don't like Scottish birth certs though because they are different, don't know about English ones) and our marraige certificate. The transfer was done over the phone by the dealer (on a Monday - no idea what happens at weekends). If I'd had a Queensland driver's license they could have done it all in 5 minutes!
Next day we went to get Queensland driver's licenses - they use them a lot here for ID purposes. Swapping the license was really easy (for a start I was already in the system because I bought the car the day before), and I got to keep my UK one. The only catch with this is I needed proof of address or a statment from someone already on the system to confirm an address. Fortunately my wife is an Aussie so she was able to do it for me.
Honestly speaking I have no idea how people come over, buy a car and then drive around for 6 months before going home (at least no idea how they do it legally). Having said that, all of the people I've spoken to at any of the Government organisations has been more than helpful when sorting things out, even working out ways to bend the rules to get things done (using my wife to certify the address is one example), so don't be afraid to ask once you get here.
After all that the car I ended up with is a 15 month old Ford Falcon, ex Ford fleet, balance of manufacturers warranty and all for 20000 AUD, just over 8k GBP. I've now moved from Queensland to Melbourne, so need to re-register it etc. Based on what happened when I bought it, I'm going to get a Victorian License before I do anything else.
As one of the others said, anything European is regarded as a luxury brand. I nearly choked when my father-in-law told me that what you were paying for with a Peugeot is the badge!
When I bought the car, they transfered the registration there and then (no posting away forms like in the UK). However, at the time I didn't have a Queensland license, so it took them an hour to get the transfer done! My wife and I had to provide passport, credit card, birth certficate (they don't like Scottish birth certs though because they are different, don't know about English ones) and our marraige certificate. The transfer was done over the phone by the dealer (on a Monday - no idea what happens at weekends). If I'd had a Queensland driver's license they could have done it all in 5 minutes!
Next day we went to get Queensland driver's licenses - they use them a lot here for ID purposes. Swapping the license was really easy (for a start I was already in the system because I bought the car the day before), and I got to keep my UK one. The only catch with this is I needed proof of address or a statment from someone already on the system to confirm an address. Fortunately my wife is an Aussie so she was able to do it for me.
Honestly speaking I have no idea how people come over, buy a car and then drive around for 6 months before going home (at least no idea how they do it legally). Having said that, all of the people I've spoken to at any of the Government organisations has been more than helpful when sorting things out, even working out ways to bend the rules to get things done (using my wife to certify the address is one example), so don't be afraid to ask once you get here.
After all that the car I ended up with is a 15 month old Ford Falcon, ex Ford fleet, balance of manufacturers warranty and all for 20000 AUD, just over 8k GBP. I've now moved from Queensland to Melbourne, so need to re-register it etc. Based on what happened when I bought it, I'm going to get a Victorian License before I do anything else.
As one of the others said, anything European is regarded as a luxury brand. I nearly choked when my father-in-law told me that what you were paying for with a Peugeot is the badge!
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