ArrowsEng

Have you tried Lysterfield lake park, good long walk around the lake, we've seen a few wallabies grazing around it. Also Jells park or anywhere along the Dandenong creek trail but watch out for the cyclists or even the gardiners creek trail that runs along the side of the Monash at points.

Hi miw54, In reality, if you wish to replace your 2004 Renault with another 2004 Renault in Australia, then you would be better off selling your car and buying another one here in Australia. You can get 2004 Renault Megane, 75000km for around $3500 or a Renault Scenic, 110000km for around $3000 or a Renault Clio, 86000km for around $4000. Every state in Australia has different cost involved with changing ownership of cars or indeed registering a second hand car brought in from overseas. I can only advise you about Victoria's costs as thats where I live and deal with VicRoads, the licensing authority for Victoria. It is best to get a price for shipping your car to Australia from someone like the Iron Chef, on this forum, its his business to get cars shipped at a good price and I've heard he does this well, so best to start with a shipping cost from his company "Iron Lady Imports". There are 2 ways to ship your car. One is Roll On Roll Off, which means the car goes by itself on a ship and this is not bad if you can ship it 6 weeks before your due to leave and maybe borrow a friends car in the UK until you are ready to fly, this cuts down the amount of time you need to hire or be without your car in Australia until yours is ready. Iron Chef can give you better idea of shipping times but i think its 6 to 8 weeks from UK to Oz. The second way is to pack your car in a container with your household goods, the cost of this is generally the difference that the car takes up in space in a container, so if your household can be packed into a 20ft container then the cost of shipping your car is the cost of going from that 20ft container to say a 40ft container to be able to fit the car in. I did this in 2008 because I could cleverly squeeze 3 cars into the bottom of a 40ft container then build a mezzanine floor above the 3 cars and fit the equivalent of a 20ft containers worth of household goods above the 3 cars (my 3 cars were 15ft long, 14ft long and 10ft long). Back in 2008 the cost was approx. pounds 7000 for the 40ft compaired to 4500 for the 20ft, this included all packing and unpacking etc. A rough guide for RORO shipping was pounds 1200 for each car, but as mentioned above, please get up to date numbers for these from a professional like Iron Lady Imports as mine are a bit old. You also need to pay 5% import duty and 10% GST on the whole cost of car and shipping and also customs entry fee $65 and customs agent fees - need to get quotes. As your car is air conditioned, you can't import the gas in your AC into australia without a gas licence, some agents can help you with this but sometimes you have to get your local garage in the UK to de-gas the AC and give you a certificate to say its empty and then get the AC re-gassed in Australia, approx $150. Once your car has arrived in Melbourne you need to go through the following process (I'm going to put this on the Victoria Forum soon too as I have been asked a few times what happens once the car arrives). Once the car is in quarantine, you have to budget on it being steam cleaned, this involves the car being put on a tow truck, taken to a special place that blasts it with water and then gets returned on the tow truck, it will cost over $500. Once this is all paid, you can get your car delivered on the back of a tow truck (about $200) or sometimes you can pick it up. If you wish to drive it on the road you have to get a 28 day unregistered vehicle permit from Vic Roads for this, i think they are about $60. You then need to take the car, with your Personal Import Approval letters (there are 4 in total) to a VASS engineer, there is a list on VicRoads website and I'm one of the engineers on that list. The VASS engineer checks that your car has correct working seatbelts for all seats, that the headrests are correct for each seat and that there is an ADR 34 acceptable Child Restraint Anchorage for each of the rear seats. This is where some European cars need these fitted at an approx. cost of $110 per seat (usually 2 or 3 required). Once this is done the Engineer signs the Personal Import papers and one gets sent to Niddrie nameplates for the yellow PI sticker that gets stuck to the passenger door B-pillar to say it complies. VASS engineers charge $165 to $220 for this. Once the sticker is fitted, you take the car to a Road Worthy Certificate garage, who will check the car is mechanically safe - similar to a MOT but you only have to do this when the car is being registered on changing ownership, not every year as with an MOT. The RWC costs around $265, unless there are issues that the mechanic wants fixed, common issues for older cars are sand blasted, stone chipped windscreens to be replaced or suspension ball joints are worn. These costs vary from almost nothing to many hundreds of dollars to fix. Finally with the Import Approval signed and RWC, you can go to a VICRoads office and get your car registered but there you get another lot of fees: Appointment Fee: $16.90 Inspection Fee: $27.00 Registration Fee: $270.40 Transport Accident Fee: $443.00 Insurance duty: $44.30 Number plates: $34.00 Motor Vehicle Duty: (4.2% of the value of the vehicle, based on a $3000 car, this is:) $126.00 VicRoads charges = $961.60. Many of the above VicRoads charges you will incur, whether you buy a car here or bring your own but if your buying a car here you can make the seller supply the RWC and it should already have number plates. You can then finally insure your car but be careful not to mention its a personal import, unless you have to, its not dishonest but the insurance companies will put on a premium if they think the car is not Australian delivered. Finally most insurance companies give you the option of Fully comprehensive insurance (covers you and whatever you might hit) or Third party-Fire and Theft if the vehicle is valued under $1000 but this means if you hit someone, there car is covered but not yours. Regards, Blake.

The only way to import a recent Alpina is through the Personal Imports scheme and so you have to own it and use it overseas for more than 12 months. If you are going to be living in Japan for 12 months or more, then a RHD Alpina is great to import as it is basically a BMW and parts for those are easily supplied from BMW places in Australia or over the internet from US, Germany or UK. You can't just import an Alpina through a RAWS as they are not on the DOTARS list of SEVS vehicles as they are considered a BMW and BMW has imported all its models as full volume production cars, preventing grey importers from bringing them in. If you find an Alpina that is Pre-89, you could import that under a different scheme but that depends if you want a car that is more than 25 years old.

How many kms? what year is it? and is it 2 or 3 seat ute? RWC?

My wifes a Civil Engineer in Melbourne and earns over $100,000. Why don't you go to work and hubby looks after the kids? Or get part time work and then earn over $125,000 and live comfortably? It will all depend on where your jobs are and where your happy to live or how far you want to travel each day for work. Where is the job that is being offered?

I have to agree with Skippy1, when I brought 3 cars over with me, 1 was a bit grubby, 1 was clean but not showroom condition and the 3rd was showcar spotless. All 3 still got sent for steam cleaning as the Quarantine department in Australia want to make sure that no rogue seed pods or mad cow disease (or whatever other excuses they have this week) gets into Australia, so they all get the $500+ steam cleaning charge. 2 of my cars returned to me grubbier than when they went into the container, guess which one didn't!

Just about the bringing of your car, for a Personal Import, you must have owned and used it in another country for a minimum of 12 months before you can bring it back with you, so if you think you will return before 12 months, keep the 2006, if you think you will be coming back in 13 to 15 months then get yourself 2 of the best you can afford and you and your wife can bring in one each (as long as you each are eligible for permanent residency), put them in the bottom of a 40ft container and have your belongings put in on a mezzanine floor that the shipping company will build above your cars.

Hi Kiwi44, because you came to Australia before 1st September 1994, you are eligible for permanent residency, see these guys: http://www.ozkiwi2001.org/resources/eligibility-for-resident-return-visa/ if you are going to live permanently in Australia, I'd suggest an Aussie passport for your kids as the website above shows that Kiwi kids in Australia get hit for full Uni fees and aren't allowed a lot of child care or other benefits that other migrants can get. According to the Australian immigration, kiwis are a special breed that don't get the same as other people - a bit like George Orwells Animal Farm, all creatures are created equal, its just that some are created more equal than others! I see you want to bring your 2006 BMW to Australia as well. As its a BMW, you would be hard pressed to get a good one cheap enough in Australia, so I would definitely bring yours, especially if you plan to keep it for a few years. Just don't tell the insurance companies its an import or they might double your yearly premium. If your bringing the car to Melbourne, let me know as I'm a VASS engineer and can sign off your PI for registration. Regards, Blake A.

Hi Fishenka, In Victoria, you could come to me as I'm a VASS engineer and can sort out the CRA's and the Personal import plate for your car. In Sydney the system looks to be a little different. See: http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/registration/downloads/vsi/vsi_04_registration_of_imported_vehicles_in_nsw_24_may_2011.pdf I would ring either Top Secret imports - 02 9622 2333, they are a Registered Automotive Workshop (RAWS) and comply lots of different cars for people and know all about fitting CRA's, or try one of the Engineers that might sign off the Personal Import paper (you have 3, one of which has to go to Niddrie Nameplates to get a yellow PI plate that gets attached to the passengers door B-Pillar), try Terry Toomey 0408 232 372 and see what he can advise you with the NSW system. A normal cost for the Engineers report is $165 to $330, the installation of the CRA's are between $50 to $110 each, you will need 3 as you have 3 adult rear seats. The guys above should be able to advise other costs in NSW as well, such as a "blue slip" - similar to a MOT and any other registration costs.

Hi Fishenka, is your car Australian delivered or is it a Personal Import? If you have the owners manual of an Australian delivered car it will have instructions on how to install the Child Restraint Anchorage bolt and hook into a 3/8" nut and plate thats installed in the back of the car. If your car is a Personal Import with a 2nd row of seats then by law it must have had the CRA's installed and checked by an Engineer who signed off the import papers. What is the type and year of your car?

Hi Jlew, What type of classic car are you looking to bring out? I am a member of the Lotus Club in Victoria and they are part of the Marque Sports Car Association. The MSCA run sprint days around Victoria about 10 times a year, its generally only expensive if you hit something! They run sprints at Phillip Island raceway, Sandown Park, Winton and Haunted Hills or even DECRA. They also have Healies, Triumphs, Datsuns, MG's, TVR's (mine are Lotus and TVR). I think its in the $200-$300 range for the day. Also when you get to applying for the Import Approval for your car, let me know, I can advise which is the best import approval depending on the age of your car or what other cars you might be bringing to Australia. Regards, Blake A.

Hi Jim, What year is the build of your car? Is it newer than 1977? If it is I just want to strongly suggest that if you can apply for the car as a Personal Import (if you have owned it for more than 12 months and can prove it with the V5) then please go for the Personal Import instead of the Pre-89. In Victoria, I am a VASS engineer, I sign off the PI or Pre-89 cars before they get registered. With a PI you only have to make sure the seatbelts, seats and child restraint anchorages are correct and I can sign these off for around $220. If you go for a Pre-89 import, you have to make the car compliant to the Australian Design Rules for the year it was built, that means if the car was built after 1977 it needs to have Intrusion bars put into the doors, possibly cat converters fitted and other items. The door beams are $450 to $650 PER DOOR, depending on how hard they are to fit. Please let me know which State and which car you are bringing and I can help a little better with what you might need if you have to bring it as a Pre-89.

Clean it as best you can yourself but the Australian customs will get your freight forwarder to get it steam cleaned in Australia at a secured site. Is this a caravan or a white Ford Transit?

I would be more concerned about getting a house in the right school zone to get into a good school rather than what time of the year to come across. As mentioned above, the school system here runs a zone system, so as long as you live in the catchment area, your kids get to go to the local school as soon as you move in. The quality of school results varies a bit and spend a bit of time looking at which schools get the best results for your kids not just for Primary School but for Secondary School also. That way if you move somewhere and your kids make friends then you don't have to move again to get them into a good school. I moved to Vermont in Melbourne because the local primary and secondary schools get good results.

There are 3 ways to import cars to Australia. 1) Personal Import, where you need to have owned and used the car for more than 1 year in another country before you can import it to Oz (you can't just buy it and leave it in a mates garage in the UK for a year while your in Oz either, you have to show that you were living there too!). These only need a VASS engineer to sign them off when they arrive in Australia (Victoria). 2) The second way is you can import a SEVS car through a Registered Automotive Workshop, this is more expensive and the cars you can bring over are limited but there are cars such as VW Scirroco, Maserati 4200, MG ZT, Google SEVS or RAWS to find out the rules. 3) Pre 1989 cars can be imported but they go through a slightly more rigorous engineering scrutiny than a Personal Import. If your into Old Ford Escorts, Jags, Bentleys or Mini's then this can be good but speak to a VASS engineer first (thats what I do for a living) as these need a VASS report and will probably need extra work such as Intrusion bars fitted in the doors, which makes them a bit more expensive.

Hi Richard, The Pre-89 rules are a bit more expensive to have a car Complied to in Australia compared to the personal import rule. With the Personal Import rule, the car just needs to have seatbelts with manufacturers tags, headrests at the right height (750mm above the seat base) and Child restraint anchorages fitted for any 2nd row seats. With the Pre-89, you need to make the car comply with the Australian Design Rules of the year it was manufactured. This means Anti-Intrusion bars to be fitted to the doors ($350 to $600 per door depending on how hard the job is), new rubber brake tubes if you can't see the markings on the old ones, possibly a kph speedo if the original only shows mph and emissions system brought up to standard, which might mean new cat converters fitted, along with the Child Restraint Anchorages. I am currently doing the engineering report for a friend who has brought in a pre-89 Bentley Turbo to Australia, so we have just gone though his modification list. The whole cost will depend on which Engineer you get to sign off the car in the state that you want to register it. Unless the car is for yourself, I'd be surprised if you would make money on an XJS in Australia. Also, if anyone is bringing a PI, try and get an Irish car to bring over, it has a kph speedo and so Australians would be more likely not to notice it as an English import. Australians tend to be quite snobbish about English imports as they expect them to be rust buckets due to the gritting of the roads and so you won't get the same prices as an Australian delivered car. Regards, Blake A.

The legal requirement is anything over 2" requires an Engineers certificate. This is under VSB14 from Canberra: 4.11 LOWERING OR RAISING VEHICLES None of the codes in VSB 14 allow for the raising of any vehicle where the wheel track has also been reduced. These vehicles are subject to individual approval on a case-by-case basis. Raising the height of the vehicle may be performed without certification providing the overall increase in vehicle height is not more than 50mm. This may be achieved as a single modification such as the installation of a 50mm lift kit, or by a combination of smaller lifts as described below:  the fitting of body blocks or lift kits (50mm maximum if no other modifications resulting in a change of vehicle height are performed);  suspension modification, (50mm maximum if no other modifications resulting in a change of vehicle height are performed);  changes to tyre size (maximum change in tyre size diameter of 50mm); or  a combination of the above that results in a change of vehicle height not exceeding 50mm. So your 40mm of the Touareg is no problem. I think your problem might be that if you haven't already got an Import Approval for your car, Canberra will probably reject the VIA as you have been living in Australia for 2 years already. I believe there is a 6 month limit on the time you can be in Australia after which they reject the VIA.

I did this about 7 years ago, returning to Melbourne, from the UK, with 3 cars in the bottom of a 40ft container and having a mezzanine floor built above them that then had the household goods. If the one container has car and goods, I'd keep to the same freight forwarders to cover the whole container. The trick with the car is not letting the freight forwarder charge you too much to have it steam cleaned. Every car coming to Australia will get transported to a quarantine site to be steam cleaned on the outside, no matter how clean it is and for this you will be charged. Try not to pay more than $500 but some will try and charge over $1000. Then contact a VASS engineer from Vicroads website, who can sign your import papers (ranges from $330 to $660 depending on number of child restraints that have to be fitted) and get a roadworthy from a RWC workshop and you can then register your car in Victoria. You can get a 30 day permit from VicRoads that allows you to drive your car, unregistered, during daylight hours, while your getting the above work done, to save using a tow truck.