ArrowsEng

Try this for a great deal: BMW I8, in UK about 35,000pounds https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/10595214?utm_expid=.tpJdMtjvQA-ox8DOzal2LQ.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pistonheads.com%2Fclassifieds%3FCategory%3Dused-cars%26M%3D2897%26SortOptions%3DPriceLowToHigh whereas in Australia, about $150,000. https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2016-bmw-i8-i12-auto-awd/SSE-AD-6660690/?Cr=1 Its 4 seats, you claim to your friends its environmentally friendly and they are pretty quick and look flash. Surely this makes fiscal sense?

Depending on your preferences of cars, maybe look at a nearly new diesel. In the UK they are banning diesels soon and so they are becoming quite cheap, whereas in Australia we will happily use them for years to come. A lot of Range Rover, BMW, Audi and Merc diesels are coming to Australia with owners because the resale in the UK is terrible but in Australia is still ok.

On a standard car licence you can drive anything up to 4.5T GVM, over that you need a light truck licence. When you arrive, you will need to go to a licence office and see if they will convert your UK truck licence to an Australian truck licence or whether you need to resit a test. if your motorhome has a GVM less than 4.5T you are ok, no matter what it "weighs" as long as its weight is less than its GVM. The police don't like you loading your vehicles over its GVM. First rule for motorhomes in Australia is that the habitation door can only exit to the left of the vehicle (kerb side) or to the rear, if yours exits only to the right, sell it in UK.

I dont think either of them are on the current raws list: https://raws.infrastructure.gov.au/motorcycles/index.htm so you would have to get a raws to apply for one or as you mentioned just get a frame for the project when you get here

Depending on the age of the bikes you might get both. If either bike was originally built before 1989 you can bring it as a pre89 and the other as a personal import. Or you can contact a Registered Automotive Workshop (RAWS) and they can help bring in a post 1989 bike but they charge a lot for compliance. So you could bring the project as a personal import and the complete bike as a RAWS import if it is allowed under the SEVS scheme (specialist and enthusiats vehicle scheme). What are the 2 bikes?

I'd look at a Land Rover Discovery 3.0 Diesel, expensive in OZ but cheap in UK.

I know Iron Lady has that service in Victoria (Engineer, RWC, registration) I'd be surprised if he doesn't have it in other states also.

As long as you have owned it for more than a year then you will be fine. You apply for a personal import approval, see Iron Lady, he helps a lot of people bring over personal Imports from UK.

10 years ago there was no asbestos issue. It has only been a problem for about the last 18 months when the Australian quarantine inspection service decided to have a 100% implementation of the rule thats been around for a long time but had never really worried about. Now adays some people ship cars with no brake pads, etc and get them fitted in Australia so as they don't have to run the risk of testing. It means the vehicle has to go in a container and have a big sign on the windscreen saying "NO BRAKES, DO NOT START VEHICLE".

Hi Mopoke, we used Allied Pickfords out of Oxford. One car was a personal import, one car was a pre-89 import and the other was a race car import (a lotus 7 type clubman which was only going to be used for track days). You can only bring in 1 personal import per person. You can bring in as many pre-89 cars as you like but getting them complied is far more hassle than a personal import (unless you have owned it for mare than 12 months). You used to be able to bring in race cars but now they want you to prove you have a racing licence.

10 years ago, i returned to Australia after living for 10 years in UK. I packed 3 cars in the bottom of a 40ft container and the shipping company built a mezzanine floor above them and packed all our household goods above the cars. It was cheaper that way as the price difference from a 20ft to a 40ft was about the cost of shipping 1 car by itself so I got 2 cars shipped free (in a way).

For a 4x4 the rules in Melbourne (and should be the rest of the states), are a 2" lift and tyres that are no more than 50mm bigger diameter than the largest on the tyre placard do not need any engineers report. The snorkel no one cares about as lots of 4x4's run these, although most 4x4 have water in the diffs before they ever get water in the engine, this is because people put the snorkels on for looks and if they go though water they have forgotten to put a tube on the diff breathers (this should run up to above the doors) and so water enters the diff and causes more trouble.

The drive to Queensland is beautiful if you take the scenic route. Around the coast to merimbula or up over the dividing range into Canberra and see the capitol, then on to Sydney for a night or 2. Continue up the coast to Coffs Harbour and then into the Gold Coast and Brisbane. If you have the time to do it then its great. If you just want to scream up the cenre then its a bit boring.

If sellmycar offers you a low ball price, why not place it for sale on the forum or elsewhere for a bit above what they quote? Your type of car is for sale on carsales.com for $8,000. What does sellmycar offer to pay you?

Hi Apollo, headrests and lights are the same between UK and Australia so the only things that sometimes have to be done are the Child Restraint upper anchorages as not all UK cars have these and sometimes seatbelts as some of them don't have the right markings or no markings at all. Regards

Hi Apollo, if you bring the car as a personal import, there is no requirement for kph speedo or mirrors changed, these are only required if the car is brought in as a pre-89 or RAWS import. As a personal import, it is front seat headrests, seat belts, child retraint top anchor points, laminated windscreens, right hand drive, correct headlights, indicators and tail lights, correct exhaust system and the car being road worthy. Regards,

Hi Ruflix, I'm a VASS engineer in Melbourne so I do the compliance work on personally imported cars. The costs invoved once the car has been released by customs are: transport by tow truck to compliance workshop: $220 Compliance inspection, compliance plate from Niddrie nameplates: $500 Road worthy inspection (similar to MOT): $132, any cost to get vehicle to RW condtion, such as tyres, wiper blades, etc is dependant on state of car. Vicroads registration costs: about $800 per year for registration and TAC insurance. Basic number plate $36 (but there are options that can go up to $500+ if you like). 4.2% stamp duty which is payable at the value of the car (you pay this whether you bring your own car or if you buy someone elses car here, but as your car would be valued at around $3000 or less for import the you pay on $3k, so $126). Also about $47 for a Vicroads appointment to show them the car. If you register the car yourself you get an unregistered vehicle permit from Vicroads which costs between $40 for a day to about $80 for 28days, for a lot of customers, I register the car on their behalf but there is a fee for my time for that. So expect you budget $2000 plus a little for RW items such as wiper blades or a couple of tyres, that would then have you on the road for 12 months before your next $800 bill arrives for registration and insurance. remember though that if you buy someone elses car here, you still have to pay the 4.2% stamp duty and make sure the seller supplies the RWC and any registration remaining on the car. Regards.

Why not have it both ways! Bring the Merc as your personal import and bring the Elise as a RAWS complied SEVS car. Its more expensive to have the Elise complied as a SEVS (by several thousand dollars) compared to having it complied as a personal import but this way you can bring both cars if you wanted. I'm a Lotus person but I'd have the comfort of the Merc over the Elise in Darwins heat if you decide to only bring one.

Its not so much the rated shackles, which are just the end connectors to the vehicle its the connecting chains that are rated and have a stamped marking on the chain links themselves. What most places don't give you is the information that all trailers have to be built to the Canberra regulation of VSB1. I'll try and send you that from the PM.

Hi 99, I'm a VASS engineer in Melbourne and have done a couple of caravans for people. The main things you need are a 50mm towing coupling that has the ECE R55 markings which will be "B50-X" and a D rating of 14 (2000kg) or 20 (3500kg). You will need a set or 'rated' chains on the drawbar to match the weight of the caravan. If you have any internal gas cooking then you need a gas certificate, if you have any 240V electricity then you need an electricians certificate. You then need to have all the external, front and rear lights checked for compliance and then a "used trailer" compliance plate fitted which also has the tyre ratings included. PM me if you need any help or you want a quick assessment of what you've got. I'm in Vermont in Melbourne. Regards, Blake.

Hi Matt, as your car will be on the NEVDIS data base as an already complied vehicle, you will only need a victorian Road Worthy Certificate and as the car is already in your name, from interstate, you may also not have to pay the 4.2% stamp duty that Vicroads charges for when you purchase someone elses car or register your import for the first time. Either way you should apply for it being an Australian compliance vehicle as it should still have the original yellow import plate (if you took it originally from UK to Australia the first time) or it will have the original Australian compliance plate if you bought it here. Either way its the cheapest of all import options. Regards, Blake A. (Victorian VASS engineer).

Yes, many people do. I brought 3 cars back with me when I left the UK 8 years ago (a personal import, a pre 89 import and a race car import). If you love the car you've got and the pound to dollar ratio is less than 2 (as it is now) then its worth bringing over your car.

I would actually go as far as sayinging that Australians taste in cars has evolved to the point that you would be best to look at what SUV's are well priced to bring over. Every morning I drop the kids at school, 75% of cars are SUVs, and with the demographic in Melbourne moving towards an Asian (China and Indian specifically) buyer then I see them mostly driving mid to high end SUVs. I would suggest 3 to 5 year old Porsche Macan or Cayene, Merc Benz ML's or G's, BMW X's, Range Rover Evoques and Disco seem popular also and even the Audi Q's or possibly Volvo XC's or the big Jeeps. You could also do the popular Japanese Mazdas and Toyotas but not so much competition for those. If your going for the sports cars, there are importers in Australia called RAWS (registered Autpmotive Workshops) that can bring in cars on the SEVS list but they charge people a premium for the compliance (it used to be up to $10,000 compliance for some Ferraris and Maseratis and Lotuses) but some of these compliance costs have dropped in recent years but you can still effectively undercut these guys with your personal import as the compliance cost for a personal import is much cheaper. You could also bring in cars that aren't on the SEVS list, so something like the Lotus Exige is not currently available on SEVS but the Lotus Elise is, so bringing in an Exige would be a better option, or even something wild like a Ariel Atom!

Hi Alycat, the rules have not changed. Unless your car seat has a "Top tether" strap that goes over the top of the seat and anchors it somewhere behind the seat and an Australian standards mark on it, it will not be legal for Australia and so you would have all the same issues as raised at the start of this article.

The cleaning will range from $600+gst to one I've seen at nearly $900+gst. The basic costs are for transport of the vehicle by flatbed tow truck from the quarantine storage to the cleaning place and then back again. This is between $150 to $220 each way. I'd ask for a negotiated breakdown of the cost or get the vehicle inspected at the quarantine cleaning place. The cleaning cost is then the rest with some extra for the freight company to organize it all (I'd think $200 for the cleaning and an extra $100+ for the freight company).