Shipping a vehicle

[Dancha85]

We are at the start of deciding whether to bring a vehicle over or not. It would not be a car but a lorry 7.5t. This would be to convert to a horse box whilst over in Australia. Prices for these seem crazy so thinking it may be financially viable to do this.

the main question I have is does the vehicle need to be completely empty to come? It would be a box van with potentially pets inside that are needed to complete the conversion. 
 

I feel this is a silly question as otherwise wouldn’t it be beneficial for people relocating to fill there vehicles and thus save on removals too? 
 

thanks for your help. 

[Marisawright]

15 hours ago, Dancha85 said:

We are at the start of deciding whether to bring a vehicle over or not. It would not be a car but a lorry 7.5t. This would be to convert to a horse box whilst over in Australia. Prices for these seem crazy so thinking it may be financially viable to do this.

the main question I have is does the vehicle need to be completely empty to come? It would be a box van with potentially pets inside that are needed to complete the conversion. 
 

I feel this is a silly question as otherwise wouldn’t it be beneficial for people relocating to fill there vehicles and thus save on removals too?

I hope you mean parts inside not pets!

It's worth asking on this thread, which is monitored by a company that does car imports to Australia. No idea if they'll handle a lorry but worth asking.

 

Edited August 5 by Marisawright

[EatCheese]

I'll half answer your question and ask one of my own:

 

I shipped a motorcycle with topbox and side luggage from London. It's sitting on my driveway in Sydney now, but I have not yet registered it in NSW. The luggage was fitted to the bike during shipping and it was full of personal items. I would say if you can bring personal items or not depends on your shipping company. The vehicle and anything inside is subject to quarantine inspection and in my case, there was some dirt in the top box so I had to pay ~$250 to get it fumigated. It is almost certain that a lorry which has been used anywhere near a farm or to move animals would fail quarantine inspection and need to be fumigated, probably for a lot more than $250 due to the larger size. 

You may already know this, but you need to pay GST on the market value. There are some rules which are vehicle type specific. My motorcycle has a speedometer in mph with a minor scale in km and an odometer in miles only. That's fine for motorcycles. There will be different rules for goods vehicles. 

My costs to ship the motorcycle were about £1500 in the UK and $1500 here (GST at 10%, fumigation etc).

 

---

My question:

Does anyone know if I need to pay NSW stamp duty to register the vehicle?

ServiceNSW as usual are crap (they once seriously told me I needed to change my name by deed poll, or not deed poll but whatever deed poll is called now; due to them having some information for me with a first and last name only and some with a middles name; I was supposed to pick one and then go change my name by deed poll). Anyway, for the stamp duty, in two separate calls about the bike, I have been told in one call I need to pay 3% stamp duty and in another call that the bike is exempt from stamp duty as it was registered in my name in the UK. Anybody know which is correct?

 

 

[StephaneNash]

Shipping a vehicle can seem like a big hassle, but it doesn’t have to be. Prices can vary quite a bit, so it’s worth shopping around.

[StephaneNash]

On 26/08/2024 at 15:15, StephaneNash said:

Shipping a vehicle can seem like a big hassle, but it doesn’t have to be. Prices can vary quite a bit, so it’s worth shopping around.

If you're moving a car across country, you’ll want to start by getting quotes from a few companies. Make sure to read reviews to get a feel for each company's reliability.

[StephaneNash]

Just now, StephaneNash said:

If you're moving a car across country, you’ll want to start by getting quotes from a few companies. Make sure to read reviews to get a feel for each company's reliability.

Also, check if they offer door-to-door service or if you must drop the car off at a terminal. Sometimes, a terminal-to-terminal option can be cheaper but less convenient. Don’t forget to prepare your vehicle for shipping by removing personal items and taking pictures of its condition. This way, you have a record in case anything happens during transport.