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For NSW, use this to find an approved inspection garage. http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/registration/safetycheck/index.html They will advise what is necessary to get your car on the road. When your car is released from customs, you take it to your chosen garage.

I don't think he is, he wanted to take my M5 off me but once you get it here, you may change your mind about selling it...:laugh:

When it clears customs and is registered for use on the roads. There's no restriction on a sell date.

There was a similar post recently: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/transport-shipping/178081-sevs-list-true.html

Yes, you can get Australian maps in UK, you need to use your google-fu and find an 'appropriate' source. It will depend on your system in the Merc so if its disc based, rather than HDD then last resort is buy a disc from a dealer here.

Your M3 won't be valued high enough to warrant the LCT so don't worry about that. $7k sounds about right. I imported my M5 and broke down the costs here: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/transport-shipping/97053-transporting-your-car-oz-everything-you-need-know-75.html#post1345744

There are really two main steps to bringing a car from UK to Aus. First is to ship/import the car into the country. Second is getting the car registered and fit to drive on the road. The two steps are independent from each other, the only link between the two processes is the Import Approval certificate which firstly allows it into the country, and secondly used to get the compliance plate (which is the sticker) to allow it to be driven on the road. As you found out, the complete Import Approval document (4 pages) needs to be acquired once you are in this country. Step 2 requires a good local garage that deals with inspections and the compliance process as they will tell you exactly what needs doing and what to expect. Like most things in life, you get good and bad companies for both steps so it's unfortunate that these things can happen but sites like this one as well as your local government road authority web site can provide all the information needed.

It will be neither because they are LHD vehicles and in Aus it is RHD.

It's not a case of you getting them valued in Aus, that is just what will happen when your car is imported in to Aus under the Personal import Scheme. Customs will make charge you and make a valuation of your car whether you like it or not. I think they do consider the original purchase price, and it will not be the Aus market price, usually lower so a good ballpark figure is 75% of the Aus market value. In your case, $95,000 x 75% gives a rough valuation of $71,000. To use my actual car: UK value ~£21000 Aus market value ~$75,000 Actual valuation $40,500 http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/transport-shipping/97053-transporting-your-car-oz-everything-you-need-know-75.html#post1345744

Skippy, if you haven't been told already, once you land in Aus and have an address, get in contact with DIT to get the original copies of the Import Approval. You'll need them as you only got the top copy.

Take heed of Kakimoto's advice as that estimate is quite optimistic from the shippers. I trot this out quite frequently but here were my costs, bearing in mind I shipped as a separate item: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/transport-shipping/97053-transporting-your-car-oz-everything-you-need-know-75.html#post1345744

That's the original new price you've quoted, you'll need to choose a model and check the trade/private prices.

Not at all, you don't have to go for Audi. The general rule would be prestige, european models such as BMW, Merc, Audi, Land/Range Rover etc. although Lexus would be ok too. They do prefer autos here, and the smaller engines are not as popular although that is changing.

An R8, V10 preferably?:biggrin: Joking aside, it depends on your budget and requirements, but at a guess based on the Touran, a Q5 would be good as they like SUV's here but an A4 would be fine if you choose a high spec. Even a late model A3 could be good proposition. Best would be to look at the market value of the car you're thinking of on somewhere like redbook.com.au to get an indication of what's worth.

If you're thinking of importing, could you stretch to an Audi? You're more likely to find it worth shipping next year over the VW.

There's another sticky thread with more info but basically you got the right idea, parts, servicing and insurance would be higher for a car that never sold in Aus, in addition to a very small niche when it came to sell especiallly on a 107, its not exactly a classic 911 2.7 RS, no offense There are certain brands of cars which are worthwhile bringing but these tend to be prestige brands like Audi, Bmw, Porsche or high spec versions of certain models. I'd wager there was very little demand on a 107, Aussie's tend to like their big engined cars and Utes, although there is a trend to smaller cars now.

I didn't discover this website until after I shipped my car so I had a ballpark figure in my mind, estimated by my shipping company and some online calculators. It turns out that it cost 50% more than I had anticipated, mainly due to not knowing/understanding about marine insurance and the local state (NSW) taxes. But once it was on its way, there was nothing I could do about that. Having said that, it was/is totally worth it but really dependent on the car.

RORO would be quickest. Can't recommend as didn't use RORO, but speak with Iron Chef, Kakimoto as they have been very helpful to a lot of members here. As you quoted me, about 2 months before you leave you should apply for your import permit. Total timescales from shipping to on the road will vary but should be between 2 months & 4 months, although I've read have been as long as 6 months with problems.

You won't be able to buy an equivalent BMW for $15k, maybe an older, lower spec 318/320 or even the older E36 model? I see lots about...or consider other brands, you get more value in a Japanese car. For the same UK value, folks have to lower their expectations on what car they can buy here. Any german/prestige brands are way more expensive.

I think that would depend on the visa. My wife was main applicant and I was down as spouse on a subclass 136 visa (I think this is equivalent to 175 as I don't think a 136 is available anymore??) and I was allowed to import my car, registered in my name.

I've spoken with a few garages regarding this and the main point is that BMW's are technically 'imported' into Aus anyway as they are not manufactured here. There may be a few local alterations (eg speedo) for this market but the vast majority of parts for a BMW will be the same regardless of where the actual car originated from as they were all pretty much made in Germany in the same factories. As such, parts supply will be the same for imported cars as Aus cars unless your car is very special. The thing to bear in mind is that BMW's attract higher costs generally, but due to being a BMW, and not because it is an import. In the end, it's still a car and there are BMW specialists as well as main dealers who would be willing to service/repair you car regardless of whether you imported it personally or not. My advice is to get any work done in the UK first, bring some additional parts too (consumables but also consider brake pads, discs, spark plug, replace tyres etc) if you can, as you will save money than doing the same in Aus. This would also apply for other prestige cars. My personal opinion on your 330d (I think you said it was worth £5k) is that if you run it for a year barring any major issues then perhaps you'll break even due to age, mileage and engine.

They use the date you acquired the vehicle. The other date is the document issue date, and it's when the V5 was processed. I had to replace my V5 as I took my private plate off before shipping and the document date was only a week before I applied for my permit.

I put current UK market value in £, don't know if it made any difference.

heh, sorry this made me chuckle as it's more of a hassle to keep and ship over than it is to sell it in UK.

Nur spec too high pitched for me, I had a HKS superdrager, more baritone :smile: