DKC

The original purchasing cost ($145k) doesn't really matter. The car will be assessed against the market value of 10 year old Camrys in Aust, adjusted to reflect that it's untaxed sitting at the port. This will end up being around 60% of the market value. A quick search on carsales.com.au shows that 2005 Camrys cost around AUD 5000-6000. (of cause these will have done more kms than Singapore cars). So I guess the "tax" value of you imported Camry will be $3000-4000. This is hardly worth importing as the shipping cost will make this pointless. I suggest selling your car in Singapore and then buying something else here. It's more worth while importing if you're importing high value cars from countries that sell them cheaply (eg luxury cars from UK).

I would think you can bring the car in but let's wait for an answer from Iron Lady Imports which will be more useful than my educated guess.

I guess if you imported the cars separately then it may have to match. However our simultaneous import seems fine. Well I'll know for sure when my cars actually get into Aust. They are at sea currently.

Both my cars' V5s are in my name. Container and shipping is booked in my name but cars are shipped as one in my name, one in her name. No problems at all. So u don't need the V5s to be in different names.

Yes that should not be a problem. I have just received approval for 2 cars, both in my name, similar to your situation.

I know that we have to demonstrate that the car is owned and used for at least 12 months. My question is whether there is a minimum mileage limit? My car is parked at my residential address, full Tax disc and comprehensively insured for domestic, social and pleasure (no commuting) usage. Annual mileage limit 2000 miles only. Would this low mileage be a problem? Do I need to increase it even though I don't use the car much? Thanks!

Even without the need to convert to RHD I doubt a 2006 Mazda6 is worth shipping over. The general principle is that the more expensive the car, the more worthwhile it is. A quick chech on carsales.com.au shows that a 2006 Mazda6 with less than 80,000km can be bought for less than $10,000. So sell it and buy another car here.

My car also has MPH only on the dial face but the digital speedo can be configured to display kph or mph which stays on all the time. Does this satisfy the Aust Design Rule or will the dial face need to be changed to kph as well? Also does anyone know the exact rules about side rear view mirrors? I think I read that the driver side mirror cannot be parabolic? Another question about car batteries during transport - I assume most car's batteries cannot survive the 3 months or so at sea being not-started. How do they start the car when it arrives and do most cars end up needing a new battery? I know that an overly flat battery will become sulphated thus no longer chargeable at all.

I know it is usually allowed for husband and wife to bring 2 cars back even if both cars were registered under one person's name. What I wanted to ask is whether this is risky at all? Do you know of any previous case where a legitimate couple living together and moving to Aust together where this has been denied? Secondly it seems that for the PIS the Certificate of Conformity has no relevance at all? Is this something completely useless? Thanks Kenny

Thanks Iron Chef and Craig for a very informative thread. Sorry that the Iron Lady has passed away today. I’m an Aussie on a working VISA in the UK currently. I’ll be working here for 12 months so have the opportunity to bring 2 cars (myself + wife) back to Aust when I move back in 2014. I have a few questions that are a bit curly and hopefully someone will know the answer. Sorry for long post. I understand that it’s usually ok for both cars to be registered under my name here but there is no guarantee. So it’s safer if one car is registered to each of us? Does the law specify what type of VISA the 12 months qualifying period has to be under? Say I travelled to Europe for 1 month during my 12 month working VISA period and thus have only used the car for 11 months. At the end of my working VISA if I continued to stay in the UK as a visitor for another 2 months and thus have owned and used the car in the UK for 13 months in total. Is this acceptable? If I travelled out of UK on a Saturday and returned the next day (Sunday), is it counted as 2 days away or counted as none? I know they are strict with the 12 month rule and I'm planning on playing by the book. However I plan to make many weekend trips to Europe and how this is counted will determind how long I have to stay in the UK after my contract is finished to "serve the time". If I travelled out of UK (say to France) but I drove my car with me on a driving holiday, is this still deducted from the 12 months period as being “out of the country”? I’m getting a new 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera to bring back to Aust to keep for many years. I think this is a no brainer (Luxury Car Tax will hurt!). For the second car I have £40,000 - £60,000 (possibly 80k at a stretch) to spend on a car to bring back to Aust and sell for profit. I’m considering a few cars: 2010 Porsche 911 - £45k = AUD66k. Redbook 130-140k (66/130=50.7%) 2011 Porsche Panamera Diesel - £53k = AUD78k. Redbook 148-160k (52.7%) 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 - £85k = AUD125k. Redbook 221-240k (56.6%) 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 - £60k = AUD88k. Redbook 133-145k (66%) 2010 Aston Martin Rapide - £80k = AUD117k. Redbook 225-241k (52%) Any suggestions on what to buy? I know Iron Chef has suggested high end cars (eg GT3s) in previous posts. However I’m concerned that the Luxury Car Tax and the difficulty in selling them might kill the deal. I’m open to suggestions though! Thanks! Kenny