Joker

Mate sorry to hear you have had so many dramas after the car has arrived. Your one big mistake was going to a BMW dealership to get the work done. I'm not sure what they're like in the UK, but in Australia, walking into a BMW service dept means "assuming the position". What they've charged you is a bloody disgrace! It's a good advertisement for using a broker, I have to say

 

To be honest, the dealer was pretty upfront about the whole thing. Although they quoted the price for the screen and the wheels, they didn't do the work but advised me to go back to the original garage to get the roadworthy without these items. They did the tyres but a mate did the discs and pads (they also hypothetically mentioned that the screen might become the subject of an insurance claim in the next 6 months - cough!, cough!).

But I take your point about a broker.

I thought on the bmw, there's a brake pad wear indicator and the computer tells you when its due. What was wrong with the windscreen?

There is a wear indicator but the minimum limit is different. BMW reckoned the windscreen had sand and dirt abrasions sufficient to cause sun diffraction so they couldn't pass it. I had been forewarned that the RWC is very hard on windscreens, not least because of the intense sun glare in Oz and the fact that abrasion over time can make visibility in the low evening sun virtually nil. I understand that BMW screens in Oz have a sun visor at the top which the UK screens don't have.

Finally got my car registered with Vic Roads after 4 months. :biggrin:

Thanks for everyone in this thread for the useful information (especially Iron Chef).

I won't go over the obvious questions that have already been answered numerous times but there are a few additional things that happened to me that might help someone else.

Road Worthy Certificate (RWC) - don't under-estimate how much this can cost and why. In the normal course of business, you need a RWC to sell a second hand car in Victoria. Because no one inspects the vehicle (other than the buyer) you can usually find a "friendly" garage that will go easy on the car. However, for imports, the garage are acutely aware that the vehicle is going to be inspected by Vic Roads straight after the issue of the RWC. Consequently, they are paranoid about losing their RWC licence and will make sure that they cover their arse. What this means is that you can get pulled up for all sorts of things. In particular, if you have a prestige vehicle and have a main dealer look at it then you are most likely going to be hit for all sorts of crap. My dealer failed my vehicle for two buckled wheels ($600 to be sent away and rolled; $2,000 for new wheels) a, new windscreen ($1,000); four new tyres ($2,000 for run-flats); and new font discs and pads ($600). Ok, the tyres, discs and pads are maintenance items but the other items, as the dealer admitted, where borderline compliance issues that would not be failed in the normal course of business. Luckily, a local garage was able to issue the RWC with just the tyres, disc and pads done. With hindsight, I Knew the tyres were borderline so it would have made sense to fit new tyres in the UK (much cheaper) and then bring the old ones over. The tyres would have been cheaper and I still have some wear left in the old ones despite the RWC fail.

VASS compliance - I know isofix child seats may get approved in the future, but most vehicles coming into Victoria will require a top tether seat belt fixing. Might not sound like much, but the parts for mine had to come from Germany so took three weeks and cost $600.

Vic Roads inspection - despite the concerns of the garages, the inspection is very quick, limited to checking the chassis and engine numbers against the paperwork. However, this brings another complication. On lots of newer European cars the engine number is not visible as its quite often hidden buried behind the oil pump or something similar. This is fine if your Road Worthy Certificate quotes the engine number. However, mine said "not found". I had to get written confirmation from the dealer on their letterhead that they had physically seen the engine number and confirmed what it was. Vic Roads would not have registered it if I wasn't able to get this.

Number Plates - Victorian number plates are different size to UK plates. Vic Roads do do a "Euro" plate but this doesn't fit either (and costs $495). The rear plate is not too much of a problem as the UK fixings are within the sizing of the Victorian plate but the front plate on my car is fixed at the top corners. When I took this off it revealed a dirtly metal plate with multiple fixing points, most of which would not be covered up with the Victorian plate. There is a company in Tasmania that does custom plate mountings for about $200 (Lakin custom plates). You can get away with fixing the Victorian plate without a mounting adapter, but in my opinion, it looks crap. And having already spent about $8k in getting the vehicle over here, it seemed to be a false economy.

In summary - would I do it again. Maybe. To be honest its been a bit of a chore. And as much as I like my car (BMW 530d) I can't use the power in Victoria (100km/hr max limit; 60km/hr suburban). Having said that, I would never be able to afford the same car over here (brand new my car would be about $130k!). Depending on second hand resale, I might be about $4k up but this is academic as I intend to keep the car for as long as it practical.

Just a little tip.

Don't bother with spending too much money on cleaning in the UK.

Mine was spotless when it left the UK (Oz agent confirmed that it arrived in same condition) and AQIIS have still insisted that it is steam cleaned in OZ. $200 for the inspection and $275 for steam cleaning.

I don't mind the cost; its just annoying when you believe you might be in the 5% that gets away with it. To be honest, I wish AQIS would just say that every car coming in has to be steam cleaned in OZ before clearance.

Hopefully picking it up in the next few days.

Thanks for all the help in this thread especially Iron Chefs valuable info.

Customs will ask you to get one at your expense (this is par for the course), but if they disagree with the valuation, they will get it revalued at their expense. As you can imagine, if that happens (never happened to me yet, touch wood), chances are it's gonna hurt

Any chance you can recommend a valuer for my 530d?

lol well some valuers tend to be more generous than others, but there are always limits to what can be achieved. Valuations that are wildly incorrect can result in the valuer losing their licence.

Presumably, if I don't get one, then customs will get one and charge me - is this correct.

Based on those sums, no not really, unless you really love the car and want to keep it. Financially, it's a break-even proposition at best.

 

 

 

If you're keeping the car in Australia and you're not returning to the UK in the foreseeable future, then yes, you will definitely have to pay tax on it, regardless of the circumstances.

 

 

 

Hi Trampy,

 

I have seen it done before, but it only applies to certain gases, and if you get it wrong, you end up with a car stuck on the docks (in the case of Brisbane, at $77/day storage costs) while you either get a licence (which also costs $600) or pay someone to go down to the docks to degas it (at an exorbitant costs) then pay for Quarantine to physically inspect the vehicle to ensure the gas has been removed (at your expense once again).

 

Given that de-gassing the air-con in the UK and re-gassing it in Australia shouldn't cost any more than about $200 total, it's a much easier way to go.

Thanks mate (just realised I'd used another username from a different forum - oops).

Regarding the customs valuation, is there any strategy to get this as low as possible (legally)?

Hi Ironchef,

Just a quick question on aircon.

My reading of the legislation is that if the car is imported under the personal import scheme and is shipped along with a migrants unaccompanied personal effects (ie in the same container) then no license is needed, and pre-charged aircon does not need to be degassed.

My car is coming over in a 40ft with my UPE's - have I understood this correctly or do I still need to de-gass.

Also, is it best to get a valuation sorted from the UK or wait until we arrive in Australia.

Ta

Trampy

How long did it take from sending it off to getting the magical email ????

Sent application by Interparcel on 1st July

Received by VImports on 5th July

Email confirmation of approval 27th July

So 22 days from receipt to approval - 3 weeks seems pretty standard I think

This deserves a picture response!

 

Quality :notworthy:

One of my favourite programs - The Fonz was just the coolest bloke on the planet when I was a kid.

Also - Henry Winkler is just one of the nicest people in the world

Just got the email from VImports confirming that we've got our import approval.:smile:

Thanks for all the advice in this thread Ironchef.

Happy wife = happy life, Joker :wink:

Alternatively,

Import 2 x cars - leave wife behind = happy Joker :wink:

Hi EMS1,

We're in the same boat as you although we're settling in Geelong so prices are a bit more manageable.

We've gone for 4 nights in a hotel in Melbourne and then 4 week short term rental in a holiday apartment in Geelong. Its much more up market than big4 but not as costly as Quest or something similar (although it could be classed as serviced)

My sister in law who already lives in Melbourne reckons two weeks might be a bit too short given that its not always easy to line up viewings when you want. In addition, you need to get utilities etc. sorted plus get references taken etc.

I reckon two weeks is too short, with three about the ideal, although others might have differing views. we've gone for four but that's mainly to have time to gets the kids schools sorted so this isn't an issue for you.

You're right about the cost of serviced apartments though, and the cost can really mount up.

Hope this helps

However, you don't want to feel rushed into taking the first thing that comes along so you have to weigh the cost of an extra week against the additional time it gives you.

Thanks for the quick feed-back.

Reckon I'll look to bring both.

Joker

Hi Iron Chef,

Great thread

We're finally migrating to Melbourne in August.

I've got a late 2005 BMW 530d Msport; 65k miles; fully loaded; owned from new

Wife's got a 2001 BMW 325i se; 80k miles; failry standard spec; bought second hand.

Whats your view on these two.

I'm guessing that the 530d's a yes as its a cracking motor. Not so sure about the 325i.

What's your gut feel with these two.

Thanks

Joker