Transporting your car to Oz - everything you need to know!

Cool, that was laymans

So technically I can leave it in my dads name so? (il read deeper into the links by the way )

Fecking aussies are afraid of a bit of stiff competition against your NA Holdens and Fords. Im sure forced induction will catch on eventually! Some say its Witchcraft lol!

Yeah you just need an invoice in the name of the importer on the paperwork.

Plenty of supercharged Holdens and Fords over here too - in fact Ford sell a turbo 4.0 6 cylinder and a supercharged 5.0 litre V8 these days Reliability is up there with mid-1990s Land Rover though...

Are the same costs involved though? Does it work out cheaper or dearer?

And also....am I wrong in thinking that next year it will be pre 1990 cars, the following pre 1991 cars and so on? Just want to be clear on that as I have 2 other projects that are 1990 and 1991......

Thanks very much for a very informative post, I do have one question though which I have read various answers to, but can you bring more than one vehicle, I have a car and two motorcycles i want to bring, all in my name but the wife's insured on ten car too , any help would be appreciated !

Are the same costs involved though? Does it work out cheaper or dearer?

 

And also....am I wrong in thinking that next year it will be pre 1990 cars, the following pre 1991 cars and so on? Just want to be clear on that as I have 2 other projects that are 1990 and 1991......

Costs would be exactly the same as if you were to do a personal import. Unfortunately the pre-1989 rule will stay as such until 2018, after which point it will be the 30 year rule.

Thanks very much for a very informative post, I do have one question though which I have read various answers to, but can you bring more than one vehicle, I have a car and two motorcycles i want to bring, all in my name but the wife's insured on ten car too , any help would be appreciated !

You can only bring in one vehicle every 5 years now, unfortunately. If your wife regularly used the car, then she'd need to demonstrate that fact through means other than the registration papers, which would leave her bringing in the car and you'd be able to bring in one of the bikes.

I think the car would need to be in your wives name for the 12 month period before you leave.

^^They do show a bit of leniency with registration when it's husband/wife situations like this.

When should I apply for import approval? As soon as you've met the criteria for importing, or as soon as you have your visa. DON'T make the mistake of waiting until you're about to come over to Australia! Our government has a long history of making running changes to legislation without letting anyone know.

On the DIT website you'll see something written about 17 working day turnaround times - this is rubbish, expect up to 5 or 6 weeks. The section that processes applications is terminally (and in my opinion deliberately) understaffed, and you see that the 17 day processing time doesn't include peak periods, and they always manage to find a reason for slower processing (at the moment, it's the strong AUD v USD making everyone buy US cars...)

Which companies do insurance for personal imports? When most mainstream insurance companies in Australia hear the 'i' word (import), they will smile and show you the door. If your car is a model already sold in Australia, do NOT mention it is a personal import. There's nothing underhanded or illegal about doing this, so don't worry you're not breaking the law, you're just avoiding confusion on their end.

If your car is rare or unusual, I recommend Car Insurance for car enthusiasts and owners of classic and vintage cars - Shannons , or if you're under 25 Car Insurance for Young Drivers and Modified Cars - Just Car Insurance In the interests of ethical probity, I have all my cars insured through Shannons - they offer big reductions if you have multiple vehicles or home insurance through them too.

Great info there lad. No doubt I have a heap of questions waiting to come out but just cant think of any. il have a read of the previous link when I have free time and go from them. Cheers....

hi Ghost,

My hubby had a car and 2 motorcycles to import. Unfortunately you are only allowed to import 1 vehicle per person every 5yrs under the personal import schemes. All 3 vehicles were in his name but a few months ago we chose to tfr one of the bikes into my name ( as i have a bike licence) on the log book we just changed the first name and left every detail the same. the log book came back as one owner still and i have been granted permit to import with no problems. Our car and bike is to sail at the weekend, but we are pretty sure there are other ways to import our other bike and we will make enquiries on arrival. One vehicle each applies to the personal import scheme. It is worth a try it has worked for us!

hi Ghost,

 

My hubby had a car and 2 motorcycles to import. Unfortunately you are only allowed to import 1 vehicle per person every 5yrs under the personal import schemes. All 3 vehicles were in his name but a few months ago we chose to tfr one of the bikes into my name ( as i have a bike licence) on the log book we just changed the first name and left every detail the same. the log book came back as one owner still and i have been granted permit to import with no problems. Our car and bike is to sail at the weekend, but we are pretty sure there are other ways to import our other bike and we will make enquiries on arrival. One vehicle each applies to the personal import scheme. It is worth a try it has worked for us!

thanks for that informatiion , if u get anyfurther with your other bike please let me know

Air conditioning - what needs to be done? When you read the Department of Environment and Heritage's website, you'll read that no vehicle can be imported into Australia with R12 gas, which doesn't apply to many people these days.

Most of us have R134a, which is still regarded as an ozone-depleting substance, and therefore, to bring a car in with R134a still in the aircon system, the importer must have the appropriate licence to do this - back in the old days, it was only $50 to get the licence, but because of recent changes, it has now jumped to $600. I should point out that the wait to actually get a licence is horrendous too.

The alternative is to make sure your air-con is de-gassed before it leaves the UK. I'm not sure what your local mechanic would charge you to do this, but I doubt it would be much more than 20 or 30 pounds. From there, they need to sign the relevant paperwork to show that it has been done (I can send you the form for this), and then you give this form and the tax invoice from the mechanic to your customs broker in Australia. Re-gassing costs around $100AUD so you still end up miles in front compared to getting the $600 licence.

Hi

I am looking to take a Range Rover over in Feb 2011, do you mean that it would be better for me to have it de-gased before I apply for the import permit? It is a Vogue on a 56 plate. Thanks Michael

I'm thinking of taking my van. I can't believe that all I've been offered for it here is 7K! its only a year old with 6K miles on the clock and list price new is 19K! how the hell can it drop in value by £12000 in a year? the dealers say the financial crisis has caused it.

Bummer!

Hi

I am looking to take a Range Rover over in Feb 2011, do you mean that it would be better for me to have it de-gased before I apply for the import permit? It is a Vogue on a 56 plate. Thanks Michael

Sorry, I should clarify that last post - the de-gas paperwork only needs to be provided for customs clearance in Australia, you don't need it to apply for your import approval

I'm thinking of taking my van. I can't believe that all I've been offered for it here is 7K! its only a year old with 6K miles on the clock and list price new is 19K! how the hell can it drop in value by £12000 in a year? the dealers say the financial crisis has caused it.

Bummer!

What sort of van is it?

Sorry, I should clarify that last post - the de-gas paperwork only needs to be provided for customs clearance in Australia, you don't need it to apply for your import approval

 

 

 

What sort of van is it?

Peugeot boxer 330

Sorry, I should clarify that last post - the de-gas paperwork only needs to be provided for customs clearance in Australia, you don't need it to apply for your import approval

 

 

Thanks for the clarification. So after I have gained my import licence for the car you are saying that once it is in Australia that the customs people will require it to either be de-gased or aplly for another licence which may take up to 6 weeks, is that right?

Peugeot boxer 330

Ok you tested me on that one! We don't get them here, but they're a shared model with the Fiat Ducato, which we do get here. My suggestion would be to try and sell it privately over there (don't go to dealers, they can smell desperation a mile away, and will value your car accordingly...). If you can get GBP9-10K for it, I wouldn't bother going to the trouble of bringing it over. If you're stuck on GBP7K then it might be a viable option.

Sorry, I should clarify that last post - the de-gas paperwork only needs to be provided for customs clearance in Australia, you don't need it to apply for your import approval

 

 

Thanks for the clarification. So after I have gained my import licence for the car you are saying that once it is in Australia that the customs people will require it to either be de-gased or aplly for another licence which may take up to 6 weeks, is that right?

I'm saying it's far easier and cheaper to get it de-gassed in the UK just before you leave than to try and get a licence once the car arrives here

Hi

Iron chef this is an excellent post, it will continue to be widely used due to the second hand prices of cars in the UK versus Aus.

We have a Subaru Legacy (Liberty in Aus). I know they are dime a dozen in Aus but I am looking at about £5k if I can shift it locally. I am looking at the taxes involved in shipping do I look at the private sale on the redbook site or the trade in to base the customs charges on?

Thanks

Rob

Rob - what year and model is your Legacy? If it's a GT-B it's probably worth looking at bringing it over, if not, then you'd be doing it for the love, not the money.

In terms of what figures you look at, the dealer trade-in prices are useful if you want to be pessimistic/pragmatic, the private sale prices are more accurate if you know what you're selling and how to sell it. As always, good mileage and condition will always improve your car's value.

Hi Iron Chef

Its a 2006 but just a normal sports tourer. Second hand prices are just on their arse, to replace in Aus will cost $18k. If I sell it over here I will be lucky to get £5k, thats about $8k. I am trying to calculate the taxes and shipping tonight.

Question: I transferred this car into my wifes name in February from my name, can I still import it in her name?

Thanks

Rob

Hi Iron Chef

I have a classic that I have just put in storage but intend to ship over next year when we get sorted. Its a 1966 LHD, but irreplacable, Porsche 912 fully restored.

Question: I filled the bonnet with a sander, car cover, axle stands, drill, paint brushes and some vinyl. Inside the car there is a childs car seat. Is this ok, I dont mind paying tax on the tools, there worth about £200 quid.

Thanks

Rob

Hi Iron Chef

 

Its a 2006 but just a normal sports tourer. Second hand prices are just on their arse, to replace in Aus will cost $18k. If I sell it over here I will be lucky to get £5k, thats about $8k. I am trying to calculate the taxes and shipping tonight.

 

Question: I transferred this car into my wifes name in February from my name, can I still import it in her name?

 

Thanks

Rob

Based on your second hand price in the UK, that would be worth bringing over to Australia. If you owned the car for more than 12 months before you transferred the car to your wife's name, you'd still apply in your name, not hers.

Hi Iron Chef

 

I have a classic that I have just put in storage but intend to ship over next year when we get sorted. Its a 1966 LHD, but irreplacable, Porsche 912 fully restored.

 

Question: I filled the bonnet with a sander, car cover, axle stands, drill, paint brushes and some vinyl. Inside the car there is a childs car seat. Is this ok, I dont mind paying tax on the tools, there worth about £200 quid.

 

Thanks

Rob

That's no problem - being pre-1989 it can be imported without any hassles. What's more, because it's over 30 years old, you can register it in any state in Australia without having to convert it to RHD.

With the tools and other inner cargo, they can generally stay inside the car, but won't be covered by insurance, so if they go missing, you won't be able to claim for them.

Hi

I was after someone to sort out all the paperwork to import my car and bike apart from the import licences. I have applied for them already but need all the other bits sorted out in Brisbane, any recommendations?

Thanks

Michael

does the car after be in the name of the main visa applicant ?