importing a car FROM Oz TO the UK...nuts or what?
Discussion
Hello, I've just joined PH with a view to getting insights to this question, but with any luck I can stick around and become a worthwhile contributor here too.
In short, my missus has just received her visa to live and work in the UK. I hope to double down on this, with my own visa soon.
We currently live in oz.
I understand the laws regarding the importation of vehicles from the UK to Australia very well, including the fact that this can be quite lucrative.
However....and my question is....are there any vehicles at all, which could represent a worthwhile investment of time and money, to bring with us from aus to the uk? From the many hours I've looked into this...it doesnt seem to be the case....however aside from trying to navigate the complexity of the dvla website on this subject....i simply don't understand the various rules and categories which govern such imports to the uk. Obviously, exchange rates affect the viability of this consideration too.
I know quite a few people have taken hsv sedans and utes with them, however this is presumably more out of attachment with their car...as it doesn't seem like a financially rewarding thing to do.
Are there any rules regarding personal imports into the uk, which make this more favourable?
In short, my missus has just received her visa to live and work in the UK. I hope to double down on this, with my own visa soon.
We currently live in oz.
I understand the laws regarding the importation of vehicles from the UK to Australia very well, including the fact that this can be quite lucrative.
However....and my question is....are there any vehicles at all, which could represent a worthwhile investment of time and money, to bring with us from aus to the uk? From the many hours I've looked into this...it doesnt seem to be the case....however aside from trying to navigate the complexity of the dvla website on this subject....i simply don't understand the various rules and categories which govern such imports to the uk. Obviously, exchange rates affect the viability of this consideration too.
I know quite a few people have taken hsv sedans and utes with them, however this is presumably more out of attachment with their car...as it doesn't seem like a financially rewarding thing to do.
Are there any rules regarding personal imports into the uk, which make this more favourable?
foibles said:
I know quite a few people have taken hsv sedans and utes with them, however this is presumably more out of attachment with their car...as it doesn't seem like a financially rewarding thing to do.
They're probably about the only vehicles where it IS financially rewarding - or, even, viable.There's a truckload of costs to pay - transport, tax - and time/hassle on paperwork. So there's no point on doing it with anything fairly ordinary. So what's in Oz that isn't really seen here, or has a BIIIG value difference?
I think Mike Brewer did just this on "wheeler dealers around the world and I'll buy super car at the end just ignore the fact that I've spent thousands on air fair while having fun". It was a early escort I think and from the show it wasn't that expensive to ship (maybe $1k) and he turned a profit as it was a rust free good example.
HSV used to fetch good prices before we had Monaros / VXR8
I suspect the only niche is the Utes but they don't fetch as good prices as they used to either.
Unless you have anything old and desirable - probably USA pick ups or Jap imports - I assume Oz imports would be rust free (from non seaside areas)
I suspect the only niche is the Utes but they don't fetch as good prices as they used to either.
Unless you have anything old and desirable - probably USA pick ups or Jap imports - I assume Oz imports would be rust free (from non seaside areas)
I imported a car from the EU, yes I only had to drive it over....but it was full of beer and wine!
I had a certificate of conformity, so that it proved it was UK spec for resale purposes, but, that would not be an issue for you, as it would not be owing to the fact your speedo's read in KM, as as fan of imports from Japan many here don't worry about that sort of thing.
I went down to Portsmouth DVLA office, filled in a couple forms, paid for a first registration, and a couple of number plates, and was on the road for less than £120.
If the car is over 3 years old it will require an MOT test, which will cost from about £40-£55 depending where you go for it.
It is only dealers who don't like Joe public importing cars.....because it is often cheaper.......in my case I saved & and a 1/2 grand.........it cost me about about 2-3 days of running around for a £7500 grand saving ......and bringing in a shed load of booze what's daft about that!
If the car is over 6 months old you may get away with not paying UK tax on the vehicle, as you would already have paid that in OZ (UK tax is currently 20%)
You must really do your sums to see if this is worth while for the cost of shipping.....the time getting here (it's a while as it's up hill!), and then finding a buyer when you want to let go of it....I believe those big Holdens and large engines in them are monsters, but, I don't know what the market is for them. Oz cars might not be rust proofed as well as Euro cars, so you might have to get it under sealed/wax injected, or it will turn into a heap of rust in minutes.
You will find driving in Europe a load more fun than in OZ, as we have corners here ( I drove from the airport in Darwin to a wee town 800km south of Darwin, and made about 4-6 turns!) Fuel is very expensive here, but in OZ you do many more miles/KM's so will be used to filling up and spending loads...
good luck...it's fun beating the system, and if you can make some money as well.....even better
I had a certificate of conformity, so that it proved it was UK spec for resale purposes, but, that would not be an issue for you, as it would not be owing to the fact your speedo's read in KM, as as fan of imports from Japan many here don't worry about that sort of thing.
I went down to Portsmouth DVLA office, filled in a couple forms, paid for a first registration, and a couple of number plates, and was on the road for less than £120.
If the car is over 3 years old it will require an MOT test, which will cost from about £40-£55 depending where you go for it.
It is only dealers who don't like Joe public importing cars.....because it is often cheaper.......in my case I saved & and a 1/2 grand.........it cost me about about 2-3 days of running around for a £7500 grand saving ......and bringing in a shed load of booze what's daft about that!
If the car is over 6 months old you may get away with not paying UK tax on the vehicle, as you would already have paid that in OZ (UK tax is currently 20%)
You must really do your sums to see if this is worth while for the cost of shipping.....the time getting here (it's a while as it's up hill!), and then finding a buyer when you want to let go of it....I believe those big Holdens and large engines in them are monsters, but, I don't know what the market is for them. Oz cars might not be rust proofed as well as Euro cars, so you might have to get it under sealed/wax injected, or it will turn into a heap of rust in minutes.
You will find driving in Europe a load more fun than in OZ, as we have corners here ( I drove from the airport in Darwin to a wee town 800km south of Darwin, and made about 4-6 turns!) Fuel is very expensive here, but in OZ you do many more miles/KM's so will be used to filling up and spending loads...
good luck...it's fun beating the system, and if you can make some money as well.....even better
^^^ Sorry, what? ^^^
The car will more than likely not have an EU CoC which means, if under ten years old, will need an IVA test.
Part of passing the test is that the speedo must have MPH markings on it.
Unless the car has been owned for at least six months, is part of a repatriation package and will be owned for at least a year it will be subject to 10% import duty and 20% VAT.
The car will more than likely not have an EU CoC which means, if under ten years old, will need an IVA test.
Part of passing the test is that the speedo must have MPH markings on it.
Unless the car has been owned for at least six months, is part of a repatriation package and will be owned for at least a year it will be subject to 10% import duty and 20% VAT.
MidnightXR6 said:
I had my Falcon Xr6 turbo imported from OZ.
Under 10yrs needs an IVA. Needs alot of paperwork from OZ to show it conforms to UK standards but you may be able to use the personal import rule.
Shipping can vary from 1k to 3k depending on how you do it.
Much want! Any pics? still standard?Under 10yrs needs an IVA. Needs alot of paperwork from OZ to show it conforms to UK standards but you may be able to use the personal import rule.
Shipping can vary from 1k to 3k depending on how you do it.
Thanks for the input so far everyone, I greatly appreciate this.
I have to say that the odometer issue is a problematic one....i know that some cars I've imported into oz from England but which originated from Japan or oz, simply had the km on the kmh sign on the dash, pasted over with the letters mp to give mph, and then had a convertor fitted.
Obviously many new cars have digital dashboards, so you simply configure the display from one to the other with ease. But this almost certainly won't apply to ford or fpv, as they were never designed for euro markets.
I assume that it is an absolute requirement for every car registered in the UK to show and measure mph, regardless of make, year of manufacture, ownership, etc?
I have to say that the odometer issue is a problematic one....i know that some cars I've imported into oz from England but which originated from Japan or oz, simply had the km on the kmh sign on the dash, pasted over with the letters mp to give mph, and then had a convertor fitted.
Obviously many new cars have digital dashboards, so you simply configure the display from one to the other with ease. But this almost certainly won't apply to ford or fpv, as they were never designed for euro markets.
I assume that it is an absolute requirement for every car registered in the UK to show and measure mph, regardless of make, year of manufacture, ownership, etc?
mattdaniels said:
I don't know the rules for importing in to the UK but I hope it's less painful than it is taking your car to Oz.
I guess this sort of reinforces my point. You see, I don't find the PIS (Personal Import Scheme) for taking cars into Aus that difficult, largely because I've assisted others in the past - and now it is merely a process. But as with any process / procedure, you need to be familiar with the rules. I'm certainly familiar with the rules for UK to Oz imports (and despite the significant - and partially unnecessary - bureaucracy) and it is still a 'viable investment' (of time, money, etc). Sadly, it seems that - irrespective of how simple or complex the Oz to UK process may be - there are essentially no cars for which this is worth doing.For instance, a nice cheap FPV turbo 6cyl ute in Aus may be around $14K AUD (7500 GBP), but probably wouldn't fetch more than 10-12K GBP - hence once freight, customs, inland transport, taxes and mechanical costs are considered....if one did make anything, they'd lose it on the pie and chips they'd be eating whilst doing it.
I'll stick to some of the classics - and restrict my search to the likes of Ferrari 328GTS or an old VW Kombi etc etc
foibles said:
mattdaniels said:
I don't know the rules for importing in to the UK but I hope it's less painful than it is taking your car to Oz.
I guess this sort of reinforces my point. You see, I don't find the PIS (Personal Import Scheme) for taking cars into Aus that difficult, largely because I've assisted others in the past - and now it is merely a process. But as with any process / procedure, you need to be familiar with the rules. I'm certainly familiar with the rules for UK to Oz imports (and despite the significant - and partially unnecessary - bureaucracy) and it is still a 'viable investment' (of time, money, etc). Sadly, it seems that - irrespective of how simple or complex the Oz to UK process may be - there are essentially no cars for which this is worth doing.For instance, a nice cheap FPV turbo 6cyl ute in Aus may be around $14K AUD (7500 GBP), but probably wouldn't fetch more than 10-12K GBP - hence once freight, customs, inland transport, taxes and mechanical costs are considered....if one did make anything, they'd lose it on the pie and chips they'd be eating whilst doing it.
I'll stick to some of the classics - and restrict my search to the likes of Ferrari 328GTS or an old VW Kombi etc etc
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