Import Car to Oz?

[Guest stuart & kerry]

Hi,

Just about to immigrate to Perth WA as part of a job opportunity, but we are not sure what to do with our car.

Ideally we would sell in the UK (car currently up for sale) but the market is dead. So we are trying to weigh up how much it would cost to import to Oz to remove this uncertain factor of selling/not selling, and also opposed to how much we stand to lose in UK by dropping to a silly price. It is import duties and taxes we are interested in, we already have a price to ship over of £2200 which we would be happy to pay if import costs can be acceptable.

Is it allowed to import cars - have been on the site to look but am a little confused as they only really refer to collectibles or vintage cars?

If it is allowed, does anyone have any general rules for approx percentage of car value the import costs would be?

[Guest Brickie]

Importing A Car To Australia

 

http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4371

[Guest stuart & kerry]

Thanks Brickie,

No offense taken, no probs,

Good info, thanks for that,

 

ps;I take it I need to consider a decent brickie for a suitable house, or build myself?

[Guest Brickie]

 

ps;I take it I need to consider a decent brickie for a suitable house, or build myself?

 

Depends on what you are after in your house, I have no problem with ppl trying bricklaying their selves....:biglaugh:

[Guest tony sutcliffe]

Hi,

If you decide to bring the car with you, make sure you get DOTARS approval before shipping it out here. We brought a box trailer out here back in May without permission from Canberra to import it (our carriers told us we wouldnt need any approval as it was only a box trailer!), however we are still waiting the green light to remove it from storage in Brissy as the good old government dept in Canberra keep 'losing' our documentation! Turning out to be a real nightmare, Ozzy authorities are really strict on any vehicle imports, to be honest i'd be tempted to cut my loses & flog it in the UK if you can. Price of new cars here is much cheaper than England, we bought a brand new Mazda 3 on the road for £11,000. Good luck! :jiggy:

[Guest bigAPE]

Sorry for cross posting from this thread, but I know that a lot of people don't follow links...

 

I have been reading through these couple of threads on Importing your Car and wondered if you had read the article I wrote last year on Importing your Car to Australia. I had major trouble finding reliable and accurate information on the process and how much it would cost, so once I have completed the process I documented it all and wrote down all the costs for a complete On the road to on the road figure. I have even included an Excel chart which you can use to calculate your own.

 

I should state that these figures are based on the cost last year and are specific to importing to Victoria, however in the hundreds of conversations I have had about this and the countless rough estimates I have helped people knock up it appears that little varies from state to state regarding procedure and cost. The figures are not formal and they are provided only in the hope that they can help people figure this minefield out.

 

In general the answer is that it's not financially worth bringing your car over. It's a very costly/time consuming process and I can assure you the last thing you want to experience when you move out is more of Australia's famous "red tape". Of all the people I have spoken too only three could have made money (on paper) and even then their cars where classics and they could have made very little. The best you can hope for is the break even and in which case it's simply not worth the hassle.

 

if you do choose to use the Excel, then please note that as PI (Personal Import - known as a "Yellow Plater" or "Piss Plater" in the trade) your car will be worth less than other used cars of the same age, marque, etc. Also you will find it very hard (read impossible) to trade it in. You would have to sell privately and you should expect to get the lower end of the range for the same car on the private sale market.

 

Alternatively, if you supply the following information I will have a quick look for you:

 

• Make
• Model
  
• Model Type
  
• Body Type
  
• Engine size
  
• Transmission
  
• Year of Manufacture
  
• Mileage
  
• Condition
  
• What you believe the car is worth in the UK ?
  

 

So an example would be:

 

• Make: Toyota
• Model: Land Cruiser
  
• Model Type: LC4
  
• Body Type: 4 Door
  
• Engine size: 2982cc
  
• Transmission: Manual 4x4/4x2
  
• Year of Manufacture: 2004
  
• Mileage: 15,000m
  
• Condition: Excellent
  
• What you believe the car is worth ? £15,000. Usually £21,000 but the market is not good now
  

 

Hope this helps

 

Al

[Guest stuart & kerry]

Sorry for cross posting from this thread, but I know that a lot of people don't follow links...

 

I have been reading through these couple of threads on Importing your Car and wondered if you had read the article I wrote last year on Importing your Car to Australia. I had major trouble finding reliable and accurate information on the process and how much it would cost, so once I have completed the process I documented it all and wrote down all the costs for a complete On the road to on the road figure. I have even included an Excel chart which you can use to calculate your own.

 

I should state that these figures are based on the cost last year and are specific to importing to Victoria, however in the hundreds of conversations I have had about this and the countless rough estimates I have helped people knock up it appears that little varies from state to state regarding procedure and cost. The figures are not formal and they are provided only in the hope that they can help people figure this minefield out.

 

In general the answer is that it's not financially worth bringing your car over. It's a very costly/time consuming process and I can assure you the last thing you want to experience when you move out is more of Australia's famous "red tape". Of all the people I have spoken too only three could have made money (on paper) and even then their cars where classics and they could have made very little. The best you can hope for is the break even and in which case it's simply not worth the hassle.

 

if you do choose to use the Excel, then please note that as PI (Personal Import - known as a "Yellow Plater" or "Piss Plater" in the trade) your car will be worth less than other used cars of the same age, marque, etc. Also you will find it very hard (read impossible) to trade it in. You would have to sell privately and you should expect to get the lower end of the range for the same car on the private sale market.

 

 

Alternatively, if you supply the following information I will have a quick look for you:

 

• Make

• Model

• Model Type

• Body Type

• Engine size

• Transmission

• Year of Manufacture

• Mileage

• Condition

• What you believe the car is worth in the UK ?

So an example would be:

 

• Make: Toyota

• Model: Land Cruiser

• Model Type: LC4

• Body Type: 4 Door

• Engine size: 2982cc

• Transmission: Manual 4x4/4x2

• Year of Manufacture: 2004

• Mileage: 15,000m

• Condition: Excellent

• What you believe the car is worth ? £15,000. Usually £21,000 but the market is not good now

Hope this helps

 

Al

Al,

Thanks for this info, much appreciated,

Your article looks very helpful, although I am beginning to appreciate it is better to ditch the car here in UK than have the hassle importing. Problem is the market in UK for big cars especially is dead, and I have a feeling I may be left with car (plus the house!) when self and family wish to come to OZ.

Anyway, if you could kindly quickly assess my costs I would be very grateful, here are my details :

 

 

• Make: AUDI

• Model: Q7

• Model Type: 3.0 TDI Quattro S Line 5dr Tip Auto Diesel 7 seat

• Body Type: 4 Door

• Engine size: 2967 cc

• Transmission: Automatic / Tiptronic (manual) 4x 4

• Year of Manufacture: 2006

• Mileage: 17,000m

• Condition: Excellent

• What you believe the car is worth ? £30,000.

Much appreciated if you could assist,

Regards

Stuart

[Guest bigAPE]

Anyway, if you could kindly quickly assess my costs I would be very grateful, here are my details :

 

 

• Make: AUDI

• Model: Q7

• Model Type: 3.0 TDI Quattro S Line 5dr Tip Auto Diesel 7 seat

• Body Type: 4 Door

• Engine size: 2967 cc

• Transmission: Automatic / Tiptronic (manual) 4x 4

• Year of Manufacture: 2006

• Mileage: 17,000m

• Condition: Excellent

• What you believe the car is worth ? £30,000.

 

 

 

Hi Stuart

 

Bizarre, this is the second car in an hour that I've looked at for people on expat forums which falls in or close to the Luxury Car Tax band and I've not had to do that before. Roughly...

 

UK Value: ~£30,000 (your valuation based on the current poor market values)

Aus Value: ~$85,000 (~£38,700 - Drive + Redbook)

Final "on-road" Expense: ~£9,700 (including Basic Duty/GST of ~$11,600)

Saving: ~£7.46p (that's what it comes out as)

 

Note - "On-road" means the cost from being road legal in UK to road legal and running in Australia excluding insurance

 

Depending on the Valuation you get you might be liable for some Luxury Car Tax (LCT @ 25% currently, likely going up to 33% in the next week).

 

See attached PDF Car-Shipping-Victoria-Costs-sk.pdf for more details

 

Hope this helps

 

Al

[Guest AngelaCDyer]

Hi,

 

I shipped my car out to Perth in Jan despite everyone saying it was a bad idea. I have an MX5, I like my car and more importantly I just didn't have time to sell it and wouldn't have got a decent price. I am glad I did as I found the process quite hassle-free in the end! I used Allied Pickfords (highly recommend them) and just included the car in a 40ft container together with all my household stuff....which meant it just cost 1000 GBP extra for the car. Allied Pickfords were brilliant - they managed practically everything (Although I had already arranged the Dotars Approval myself). I had been told to expect to pay for modifications and all sorts of other things, but after paying the expected import duty was just told my car was ready to pick up and that was it! Of course I had to get it re-licensed and new plates, but you can do that in a day.....There was quite a bit of paperwork, but all in all, I had been expecting it to be much harder than it in fact turned out to be....and so would do it again (although as the other post mentions - you won't make money on your car - but that was not my intention).

 

The only other thing though is that it did take an extra month to clear through customs/quarantine etc....but I was lucky in that I had access to another car so wasn't relying on using this car straight away....I guess if you need to rent a car in the meantime it means extra hassle.....

 

Anyway, hope my experience helps.

Cheers,

Angela

[stillhere]

thanks for the info angela as mine is a classic its not an everyday car so wouldnt bother me about having to wait or the resale value not taking it to sell dont think i'll ever sell if i get her there

just wanted to say thanks for the positive vibes all may not be lost 4 ruby lol

[Guest bigAPE]

I shipped my car out to Perth in Jan despite everyone saying it was a bad idea. I have an MX5, I like my car and more importantly I just didn't have time to sell it and wouldn't have got a decent price. I am glad I did as I found the process quite hassle-free in the end! I used Allied Pickfords (highly recommend them) and just included the car in a 40ft container together with all my household stuff....which meant it just cost 1000 GBP extra for the car. Allied Pickfords were brilliant - they managed practically everything (Although I had already arranged the Dotars Approval myself). I had been told to expect to pay for modifications and all sorts of other things, but after paying the expected import duty was just told my car was ready to pick up and that was it! Of course I had to get it re-licensed and new plates, but you can do that in a day.....There was quite a bit of paperwork, but all in all, I had been expecting it to be much harder than it in fact turned out to be....and so would do it again (although as the other post mentions - you won't make money on your car - but that was not my intention).

 

That's great news Angela, it's wonderful to hear about people who had a positive experience shipping their car. I have to ask, is there no equivalent to the VASS certification in WA ? This is the official engineering standards approval you have to go through to get your yellow Personal Import plate.

 

Al

[Guest stuart & kerry]

Great info, I begin to feel encouraged,

Thanks for your info, really helpful,

Stuart

[Guest AngelaCDyer]

Hi,

Just one other thing re: Shipping the car & my household goods. As mentioned earlier I used Allied Pickfords whom were brilliant, but for the shipping insurance I used an independent Insurer which was much cheaper for the same level of cover. I'm typing this from an internet cafe at the moment and can't remember their name, but I got the information from another thread on this forum when researching which removal company to use. Using an independent Insurer will save you quite a bit of money so definitely shop around. Allied Pickfords was pretty cool about me doing this (their insurance rates were pretty expensive), and fortunately not one thing broke anyway and the car arrived in great condition, so didn't need to make any claims....

Cheers,

Angela

[Guest AngelaCDyer]

Hi Al,

I'm actually travelling abroad at the moment so can't go and check all my paperwork etc...but basically Allied Pickfords managed most of the paperwork for me (at no extra expense). We did have to send a form in once the car had cleared customs/quarantine (and yes, they do always seem to re-clean the car in quarantine....but it didn't cost that much - and again was managed by Allied Pickfords) Anyway, we rec'd in the post a yellow "import approved" sticker which you stick on the inside of the front passenger door - and then I only had to drive the car to the vehicle licensing centre (no bookings required), where they check over your car (like an MOT) and then they gave me my new plates (which were white WA plates, not special import plates)....it was all pretty straight forward (I had accidentally taken the car to the licensing centre before receiving the import approved sticker - but everyone was very friendly and helpful, so when I went back the second time, they remembered me and cleared me through very quickly). Oh, and for completeness I should add that on the day you want to drive to the licensing centre, you just need to ring up and arrange a temporary 3 day insurance on your existing UK plates which allows you to drive to the licensing centre or police station and back to your house only and gives you time to change to the new plates.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Angela

[Guest bigAPE]

Interesting, in Victoria all imported cars have to be inspected an approved by a certified VASS engineer who signs the car off as meeting Australian Engineering Standards. Once this is done you apply for your Personal Import Plate, which is actually a metallic plate which is fixed to the engine bay of the car to show that it meets all standards. Its not a sticker really and you wouldn

[Guest melbert]

Hi Al,

I'm actually travelling abroad at the moment so can't go and check all my paperwork etc...but basically Allied Pickfords managed most of the paperwork for me (at no extra expense). We did have to send a form in once the car had cleared customs/quarantine (and yes, they do always seem to re-clean the car in quarantine....but it didn't cost that much - and again was managed by Allied Pickfords) Anyway, we rec'd in the post a yellow "import approved" sticker which you stick on the inside of the front passenger door - and then I only had to drive the car to the vehicle licensing centre (no bookings required), where they check over your car (like an MOT) and then they gave me my new plates (which were white WA plates, not special import plates)....it was all pretty straight forward (I had accidentally taken the car to the licensing centre before receiving the import approved sticker - but everyone was very friendly and helpful, so when I went back the second time, they remembered me and cleared me through very quickly). Oh, and for completeness I should add that on the day you want to drive to the licensing centre, you just need to ring up and arrange a temporary 3 day insurance on your existing UK plates which allows you to drive to the licensing centre or police station and back to your house only and gives you time to change to the new plates.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Angela

 

 

Hi Angela

 

My other half has got a job in Perth and we are looking into bringing our little mini with us. We have some concerns with the car as it is a '92 model and the forms refer to ADR's that my hubby thinks it can't pass. Do you know of the tests your car had to undertake?

 

Many Thanks

 

Mel

[Guest amandatom]

Hi All,

 

We're also departing the UK for warmer climes in Brisbane. Have been there 7 months already & bought a very old jeep to get about in for an extortionate price. Seeing as the prices have plummted in uk we'd like to buy a newer one here & ship it. Is there not an allowance for people emmigrating to bring their belongings in tax free as there is here in UK. We'd keep & use it here for 1yr whilst we wait for the permanent residency to be granted, then apply for import permission and ship.

 

Make :- Jeep

Model :- Grand Cherokee

Model Type :- Limited 3.0L Diesel

Body Type :- 4x4

Engine size :- 3.0

Transmission :- Auto

Year of Manufacture :- 2006

Mileage :- 20000

Condition :- Excellent

What you believe the car is worth in the UK ? :- 8500

 

Sorry for cross posting from this thread, but I know that a lot of people don't follow links...

 

I have been reading through these couple of threads on Importing your Car and wondered if you had read the article I wrote last year on Importing your Car to Australia. I had major trouble finding reliable and accurate information on the process and how much it would cost, so once I have completed the process I documented it all and wrote down all the costs for a complete On the road to on the road figure. I have even included an Excel chart which you can use to calculate your own.

 

I should state that these figures are based on the cost last year and are specific to importing to Victoria, however in the hundreds of conversations I have had about this and the countless rough estimates I have helped people knock up it appears that little varies from state to state regarding procedure and cost. The figures are not formal and they are provided only in the hope that they can help people figure this minefield out.

 

In general the answer is that it's not financially worth bringing your car over. It's a very costly/time consuming process and I can assure you the last thing you want to experience when you move out is more of Australia's famous "red tape". Of all the people I have spoken too only three could have made money (on paper) and even then their cars where classics and they could have made very little. The best you can hope for is the break even and in which case it's simply not worth the hassle.

 

if you do choose to use the Excel, then please note that as PI (Personal Import - known as a "Yellow Plater" or "Piss Plater" in the trade) your car will be worth less than other used cars of the same age, marque, etc. Also you will find it very hard (read impossible) to trade it in. You would have to sell privately and you should expect to get the lower end of the range for the same car on the private sale market.

 

 

Alternatively, if you supply the following information I will have a quick look for you:

 

• Make
• Model
  
• Model Type
  
• Body Type
  
• Engine size
  
• Transmission
  
• Year of Manufacture
  
• Mileage
  
• Condition
  
• What you believe the car is worth in the UK ?
  

So an example would be:

 

• Make: Toyota
• Model: Land Cruiser
  
• Model Type: LC4
  
• Body Type: 4 Door
  
• Engine size: 2982cc
  
• Transmission: Manual 4x4/4x2
  
• Year of Manufacture: 2004
  
• Mileage: 15,000m
  
• Condition: Excellent
  
• What you believe the car is worth ? £15,000. Usually £21,000 but the market is not good now
  

Hope this helps

 

Al

[lynnes]

Hi Al

We have a ford puma coupe 1.7, 2001. 3door in excellent condition. with about 60.000 on the clock. we paid almost £4000 only 5 months ago and we would really like to keep it. would really appreciate some info on whether it is worth shipping out or not.

many thanks

lynne

[lynnes]

ps

moving to brisbane

[deborah]

The 1st rule of shipping a car to Australia, is that you must have owned it in the UK for at least 12 months. (Unless it is more than 30yrs old (?) )

 

Apparently, even all your personal belongings have to be owned for at least 12 months also...!!???

[Guest bigAPE]

Apparently, even all your personal belongings have to be owned for at least 12 months also...!!???

Nope, you can have owned items for less than twleve months but you are required to declare them and pay duty on them.

 

Al

[deborah]

That's what I meant to say ...... " or pay import duty.." :notworthy:

[Guest muffing]

Hi,

 

I've had my car for 14 months and recently arrived in Perth WA with a working holiday visa. I'm currently working for a company that is willing to sponsor me after my 6 weeks probation. This will give me a 457 Visa. Can you please give me an idea of the total cost for importing my car to Perth from the UK, and an idea of the street value of my car once in Australia?

 

Thanks

 

Make :- Audi

Model :- TT

Model Type :- 225

Body Type :- 4x4

Engine size :- 1.8T

Transmission :- Manual

Year of Manufacture :- 2003

Mileage :- 46,000 miles

Condition :- Excellent

What you believe the car is worth in the UK ? :- 9500 pounds

[Guest truemanfamily]

hi angela,

 

we are importing our m3 to perth with allied and pickfords did you clean your car before putting it in the container but still had to pay for the cleaning from quarentine?

did you not have to change the clocks or wing mirror glass? did your clocks have miles in big and kms in small? did you have to put child saftey seat anchors in tha boot. it is very daunting shipping a car but your thread has made me feel much better hope mine goes as well as yours would be great if you can help cheers Ray

 

 

Hi Al,

I'm actually travelling abroad at the moment so can't go and check all my paperwork etc...but basically Allied Pickfords managed most of the paperwork for me (at no extra expense). We did have to send a form in once the car had cleared customs/quarantine (and yes, they do always seem to re-clean the car in quarantine....but it didn't cost that much - and again was managed by Allied Pickfords) Anyway, we rec'd in the post a yellow "import approved" sticker which you stick on the inside of the front passenger door - and then I only had to drive the car to the vehicle licensing centre (no bookings required), where they check over your car (like an MOT) and then they gave me my new plates (which were white WA plates, not special import plates)....it was all pretty straight forward (I had accidentally taken the car to the licensing centre before receiving the import approved sticker - but everyone was very friendly and helpful, so when I went back the second time, they remembered me and cleared me through very quickly). Oh, and for completeness I should add that on the day you want to drive to the licensing centre, you just need to ring up and arrange a temporary 3 day insurance on your existing UK plates which allows you to drive to the licensing centre or police station and back to your house only and gives you time to change to the new plates.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Angela

[Guest bigAPE]

hi angela,

 

we are importing our m3 to perth with allied and pickfords did you clean your car before putting it in the container but still had to pay for the cleaning from quarentine?

did you not have to change the clocks or wing mirror glass? did your clocks have miles in big and kms in small? did you have to put child saftey seat anchors in tha boot. it is very daunting shipping a car but your thread has made me feel much better hope mine goes as well as yours would be great if you can help cheers Ray

Perhaps I can answer some of your questions

 

 

• Cleaning your car on the dock is entirely up to the quarantine officials who inspect your car. It's a crap shoot and not worth worry about. Even if you have your car cleaned professionally they may still charge you to have it done again. My advice is clean the car inside and out, top and bottom (specifically underneath the wheel arches). If all you have ever done is drive on tarmac that should cover you.

• Providing your instrumentation has KPH on the dash as well as MPH then you will be fine. The KPH inner ring on my TT was tiny and that passed fine.

• No change should be needed with the wing mirrors

• If you do not have the small loop anchor points on the rear shelf or back of rear seats then they will require you to have them fitted. They are part of the ADR and law in Australia. Even if they don't mention it in an engineering test (which some haven't) you will still be breaking the law driving the car without them. I have been told several times that some states don't require the equivalent of a VASS (in Vic) engineering test, this may be true but your vehicle must still comply with the Australian Design Rules (ADR) and you're in breach of the law driving a car which doesn't. Even if they don't require you to have the test. This may mean that in the event of a serious accident your insurer may be able to invalidate your policy. Just a warning.

 

Al