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