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JBO76

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Posts posted by JBO76

  1. Thanks Kristian

     

    That makes sense to me. I put myself in the position of a prospective buyer and think "would I go for a 50% discount for an import? "

     

    I would buy an import all day long at a 50% discount! Your figure of 85% feels a lot more realistic and this is roughly in line with using the trade price listed in the red book.

     

    Just wanted to check with you whether the customs duty is corrrect at 10%? I have seen this listed as 5% elsewhere.

  2. I have spent quite some time looking into the option of shipping a a BMW X5 to Australia and thought it would be helpful to share what I have found out so far.

     

     

     

    Following on from pretty comprehensive analysis, I have come to the following conclusions:

     

    • Shipping your car will save you one extra hassle when you relocate (having your own car could also provide helpful familliarity if you have young children) but this will be offset but the administrative hoops that you will need to jump through

     

     

    • Whether this is a good move economically depends on how long you are likely to own the vehicle for:

     

     

    If you are looking to keep the car and run it into the ground (depending on the vehicle you take) the cost of exporting + UK value is likely to be lower than purchasing the car in Australia. In the examples I looked at the saving was in the region of 25% butt this saving could be offset by higher costs of insuring an imported car.

     

    However, if you think you might sell the car at some point then it is possible that you will not recover your costs.
    I have spoken to 3 different garages and each said that the resale value of imported cars is approx 50% of an Aus spec. car. This sounds like a lot to me but the general view was that non Aus spec cars were not popular and selling on would be very difficult. If this really is the case then the best option might be to find an imported car and buy that!

     

    I have looked at a number of different cars and concluded that the AUS$ resale value needs to be just over 2.0 - 2.5 x the GPB£ value for your to breakeven i.e. that the cost of UK purchase/shipping/tax/registration is equal to the Aus$ value.

     

    I found a really helpful spreadsheet posted on the Moving2Melbourne website (see details and link below) which sets out all of the costs that you are likely to encounter when shipping your car and although many of them are small, they really add up.

     

    Link to moving2Melbourne here - thanks for your really helpful website guys!

     

     

    http://www.moving-to-melbourne.co.uk/news/574/general-australian-news/importing-a-car-to-australia/

     

     

    My worked example below is based on importing a used BMX X5 Sport 3.0d - 2004 with approx 100kms on the clock. It is worth noting that I have based the resale or street value on the "trade in" price in the red book - this represnts a 17% discount to the resale value. I find it hard to believe that the resale value of an import is really as low as 50% of an Aus spec equivalent but if this is the case then the value will be much lower than that used in my example.

     

    I cannot claim to have put the spreadsheet together - I would love to hear from you if you thik that these costs or assumptions are not realistic.

     

    SUMMARY

     

    Australian Dollar to UK Pound 0.6493

    UK Value of Car £12,500

    AUS Street Value $29,000

    AUS Customs Valuation of Car @65% $18,850

     

    Total Cost of Shipping £6,157

    Replacement Cost in Australia £18,831

    UK Value + Shipping £18,657

    Total Gain £173

     

    DETAILED COSTING

     

    Shipping

    UK Charges

    RORO Shipping from UK to VIC £700

    Insurance (2% UK Value) £250

     

    £950

     

    Customs Duty & GST

    Customs Value $18,850.00

    Customs Duty (10% Customs Value) $1,885

    GST (10% Value + Duty + Shipping) $2,073

    Luxury Car Tax @ 25% over $57,180 $0

    Total $3,958 (£2,570)

     

     

    Australian Agent Charges

    Agency (Estimated) $200

    Quarantine Entry Fees $25

    Customs Entry Fee $35

    Air Conditioning Fee $50

    AQIS Fees / Quarantine $300

    Local shipping charges $200

    Customs Levied Customs Entry Fees $72

     

    Total $882 (£572)

     

    Australian Compliance Charges

    Vehicle Valuation (done in UK) $220

    VASS inspection $290

    Personal Import Plate $76

    Roadworthy Test $85

    Child Seat Anchor Point (optional) $500

    Total $1,171 (£760)

     

     

    Charges from Vic Roads (DVLA)

    Appointment Fee $10

    Inspection Fee $22

    Registration Fee $168

    Transport Accident Charge $356

    Insurance Duty $35

    Number Plates $27

    Motor Vehicle Duty $754

    Total $1,374 (£892)

  3. Many thanks Iron Chef for all of your advice on this topic. This is a really helpful thread.

     

    We connected briefly in the chat room and I mentioned that I had a Mazda 5 which sadly has never been released into the Oz market. I like the car a lot but not so much that I would be happy to get stuck with a big loss when we come to sell it. Selling a car that no-one has heard of will not be easy and I dont fancy doing that.

     

    Given that we are not coming out for about 18 months we have time to buy an alternative and bring that with us instead. We would need another family car with big boot etc and am wondering if you have any advice about particular makes/models that could make export a lucrative option.

     

    We will be brining our furniture out also so am also curious to know whether I am best to bring the car in a container or RORO?

     

    Many thanks

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