has anyone managed their own car import?

[Mandy Smith]

Hi we have been in WA for three weeks now and are eagerly awaiting our container, including our car. Now we knew there would be additional costs at this end (import duty, GST, potential cleaning) but our shipping agent here has just listed moreincluding the cost of a broker to handle our car! Paying for a broker is news to us and an additional cost we can't really afford.... can any advise do you have to use a broker? I've done lots of searching on line and see what has to be done and it looks like we need a valuation, quaratine clearance and a safety test (sort of mot) but I can't see anything about how/who can do these things. So can't we sort these things out for ourselves and cut out the cost of a broker? Anyone been through this who can advise please. We came prepared for a certain amount of layout on arrival down under but everything is so expensive our money isn't going as far as we expected. Grateful for any advice/experiences, thanks Mandy

[Iron Chef]

Hi Mandy, your agent is talking about a customs broker (not a vehicle import broker, like us). Using a customs broker only costs about $250 and is quite seriously the best money you'll ever spend. We do a substantial number of cars into Oz each year, and we use a customs broker every time. It's just not worth the risk. Put it this way, you have 3 days with your container on the wharf before you get hit with storage - a car on its own will cost you $70/day, a full container would be closer to $300/day. It's not the time to muck around with learning how do to Customs paperwork.

 

If you've only allowed for shipping, duty/GST and cleaning, then be prepared for at least another $1500-2000 in dock charges, and $800 to get the car on the road (THEN add registration costs).