Transporting your car to Oz - everything you need to know!

[Savitar]

Hi,

 

This is an excellent thread, I've been looking for some of this info for a while, so thanks very much for all your posts.

My girlfriend is an Aussie and we plan to move to Oz within the next year or two and we'll both be taking our cars across, I have a 2008 BMW X5 and my girlfriend is about to buy another car so I wondered what sort of thing you thought might be good to make the most of the opportunity to make some cash? - I get the impression that the more she spends on a car, the more she'll gain when the time comes to sell in a few years back in Brisbane or Sydney.

We're thinking of something along the lines of a Nissan 370z or do you think it'd be more beneficial to spend some more cash and maybe get a BMW M3, Porsche 911 or Nissan GT-R? - All would be second hand.

We basically want to make some cash on re-sale, whilst having a good car to have a bit of fun with over the next few years. A classic may be an option too, is there anything you can think of that may be in high demand in Oz?

 

 

Thanks in advance,

 

G

 

Hey G,

 

You really need to plan this very carefully if you plan on trying to make money. While the difference in the price of cars between the UK and Australia looks large, you have to factor a lot of things in, for example :

 

You might look at a E92 M3 and think WOW, they are going for $150,000 but I can get one in the UK for £20,000! But you have to compare like for like (year for year, feature for feature etc). So lets say you spend £40K on a 1-2 year old E92 M3 which is retailing in OZ now for about $130,000 second hand. If you factor in costs in the UK to keep if for a year (insurance, tax, servicing etc) lets say worst case its £45K it owes you. Then you need to take into account importing costs, lets call that $20K, with the current exchange rate that makes it around $68,500 + $20,000 = $88,500. So you think, WOW, thats $130,000 - $88,500 = $41,500 profit, but wait!!.

 

Now take a look at the cost of a 2-3 year old M3 in Aus right now (as your will be a year older), and that are going for more like $105 - $115K, hmmm, now down to around $16,500. Still good you think, then you realise that as this is an import, its going to sell for lower than a local car (its just the market), so perhaps you get $95K for it as an import.....that leaves you with $6,500. Now that's a VERY fine margin and given that prices can change, import rules / costs can change, you might find that turning into a loss very quickly.

 

Seriously not trying to turn you off this, I am sure there is money to be made, but you need to go into it with your eyes open and some good research. Don't just look at now, think about all the costs, depreciation etc and set yourself a realistic goal....

 

Hope this helps

 

P.s. My and my fiance are bringing back (planning to) 2 X M3's.....so I have done the research.....

[Guest Guest67761]

Hey G,

 

You really need to plan this very carefully if you plan on trying to make money. While the difference in the price of cars between the UK and Australia looks large, you have to factor a lot of things in, for example :

 

You might look at a E92 M3 and think WOW, they are going for $150,000 but I can get one in the UK for £20,000! But you have to compare like for like (year for year, feature for feature etc). So lets say you spend £40K on a 1-2 year old E92 M3 which is retailing in OZ now for about $130,000 second hand. If you factor in costs in the UK to keep if for a year (insurance, tax, servicing etc) lets say worst case its £45K it owes you. Then you need to take into account importing costs, lets call that $20K, with the current exchange rate that makes it around $68,500 + $20,000 = $88,500. So you think, WOW, thats $130,000 - $88,500 = $41,500 profit, but wait!!.

 

Now take a look at the cost of a 2-3 year old M3 in Aus right now (as your will be a year older), and that are going for more like $105 - $115K, hmmm, now down to around $16,500. Still good you think, then you realise that as this is an import, its going to sell for lower than a local car (its just the market), so perhaps you get $95K for it as an import.....that leaves you with $6,500. Now that's a VERY fine margin and given that prices can change, import rules / costs can change, you might find that turning into a loss very quickly.

 

Seriously not trying to turn you off this, I am sure there is money to be made, but you need to go into it with your eyes open and some good research. Don't just look at now, think about all the costs, depreciation etc and set yourself a realistic goal....

 

Hope this helps

 

P.s. My and my fiance are bringing back (planning to) 2 X M3's.....so I have done the research.....

 

 

Good sound advice. I have been doing a lot of looking around at the options and researching a lot also to purchase a couple of cars to purchase for myself and my wife in the near future to bring back to Australia, and being in the Personal Import business with many years of experience at importing and also selling cars in Australia, I feel quite confident that there is amazing potential IF you do it right. With that said, I would always suggest that you look carefully at all of the costs and options before jumping in to something like this, always look at the potential both upper and lower ends then allow for the worst, and above all else make sure you follow the 'golden rules' when choosing the car to purchase:

 

- choose a vehicle of the same year, make and model as was sold in Australia with the same specification and trim level too. If you import a car which is different to what was sold here then it will stand out as being an import and will scare off some potential buyers and most likely end up with a lower sale price.

 

- choose a vehicle with reasonable mileage and in good condition as you would expect to see in Australia. If you get a car with underbody rust, which is quite common due to the snow and cold in the UK but quite rare to see in Australia, then that will obviously make it harder to sell also.

 

- choose a vehicle which is old enough to be out of warranty when it arrives in Australia as warranties are not internationally transferable. It would hurt your potential resale value if you were trying to sell a car with no warranty against local Australia delivered cars which still had some original factory warranty remaining.

 

- where possibly purchase a car with full service records as there is uncertainty about imported cars mileage being genuine because it's so easy to wind back the odometer, so having some records to prove the mileage and history would be very helpful to resale value.

 

Of course there is a lot more to it as well, but if you buy the right vehicle, don't over spend on the purchase price or importing costs, then you can more than double your total investment in some cases although usually I would expect to see a decent return of around 25-50% if you do research, calculate figures and buy reasonably well.

 

Here is an example of a 2010 BMW M3 coupe with sports automatic transmission purchased for around £27,000 today (around $41,000 at the current exchange rate). In 12 months time this car would be worth around $115,000 and would cost around $22,500 to import and get on the road in Australia, making your total investment around $63,500 plus whatever you have spent in the meantime for insurance and servicing in the UK. M3's are almost all the same specification as Australian models so as long as this is a good car with good history then you should sell it for close to Australian car value, but lets allow a little less to be safe and say it was worth only $95,000 then that would still be an excellent return on investment of around 50% or around $30,000.

 

Other excellent models to buy include Aston Martin, Bentley, etc but these might be harder to sell eventually, so I would usually suggest sticking to Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Range Rover, Porsche, etc.

 

I hope this helps anyone looking at these options a little further, bearing in mind that this is just my personal opinion. I am happy to answer some further questions for anyone ready to buy a car, and of course you are welcome to talk with us at Iron Lady Imports to help you import the car and get it on the road in Australia when the time comes too!

 

Cheers,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

[Savitar]

Good sound advice. I have been doing a lot of looking around at the options and researching a lot also to purchase a couple of cars to purchase for myself and my wife in the near future to bring back to Australia, and being in the Personal Import business with many years of experience at importing and also selling cars in Australia, I feel quite confident that there is amazing potential IF you do it right. With that said, I would always suggest that you look carefully at all of the costs and options before jumping in to something like this, always look at the potential both upper and lower ends then allow for the worst, and above all else make sure you follow the 'golden rules' when choosing the car to purchase:

 

- choose a vehicle of the same year, make and model as was sold in Australia with the same specification and trim level too. If you import a car which is different to what was sold here then it will stand out as being an import and will scare off some potential buyers and most likely end up with a lower sale price.

 

- choose a vehicle with reasonable mileage and in good condition as you would expect to see in Australia. If you get a car with underbody rust, which is quite common due to the snow and cold in the UK but quite rare to see in Australia, then that will obviously make it harder to sell also.

 

- choose a vehicle which is old enough to be out of warranty when it arrives in Australia as warranties are not internationally transferable. It would hurt your potential resale value if you were trying to sell a car with no warranty against local Australia delivered cars which still had some original factory warranty remaining.

 

- where possibly purchase a car with full service records as there is uncertainty about imported cars mileage being genuine because it's so easy to wind back the odometer, so having some records to prove the mileage and history would be very helpful to resale value.

 

Of course there is a lot more to it as well, but if you buy the right vehicle, don't over spend on the purchase price or importing costs, then you can more than double your total investment in some cases although usually I would expect to see a decent return of around 25-50% if you do research, calculate figures and buy reasonably well.

 

Here is an example of a 2010 BMW M3 coupe with sports automatic transmission purchased for around £27,000 today (around $41,000 at the current exchange rate). In 12 months time this car would be worth around $115,000 and would cost around $22,500 to import and get on the road in Australia, making your total investment around $63,500 plus whatever you have spent in the meantime for insurance and servicing in the UK. M3's are almost all the same specification as Australian models so as long as this is a good car with good history then you should sell it for close to Australian car value, but lets allow a little less to be safe and say it was worth only $95,000 then that would still be an excellent return on investment of around 50% or around $30,000.

 

Other excellent models to buy include Aston Martin, Bentley, etc but these might be harder to sell eventually, so I would usually suggest sticking to Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Range Rover, Porsche, etc.

 

I hope this helps anyone looking at these options a little further, bearing in mind that this is just my personal opinion. I am happy to answer some further questions for anyone ready to buy a car, and of course you are welcome to talk with us at Iron Lady Imports to help you import the car and get it on the road in Australia when the time comes too!

 

Cheers,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

 

Great advise Craig. Just one concern with your maths. There are no 2010 M3's in the country (UK) for sale at the £27K mark. Well, almost, there are two but they are both cat D (previous accident repair) and I personally would not suggest anyone touches them. I took a look at AutoTrader and Pistonheads and the cheapest non cat D coupe in the UK is around £34K. Now the things you need to be aware when purchasing a M3 to sell in the Aussie Market :

 

- In the UK they had different stereo options. Base, Business, HK (Logic 7) and Individual. In Australia, there was only HK and Individual. Therefore if you bought one that was less than HK (which a LOT of them in the UK are) then it would be harder to sell in Australia I think and very expensive to upgrade (well over £1,000).

- Most cars in Aus have EDC (not all, but most) where as the UK many don't have it.

- There are actually quite a large number that have the 18" wheels in the UK, almot none have it in OZ

- Mileage is generally higher in the UK than Australia. Really not sure why that is actually but its quite common to see 20,000 milage 2 year old cars in the UK whereas you can get lots of less than 20,000 KM cars in OZ for the same year.

 

So if you are looking for a M3 the a HK or individual stereo, EDC and less than 20K on the clock for a 2010 you are looking far more like £35 - £37K.

 

But, having said that, find the right one, with the right miles / features / service history / condition etc and I certainly agree you should be able to off load it (should you want to do that) for more than you paid for it. I, personally, look at it this way. I would never spend $130,000 on a M3 in Aus for a M3, I love them but I can't justify the $30 - $50K depreciation over 3-4 years. This way I get a 2011 M3 which I will have great fun driving around, ship it over to Aus and hopefully at least break even but if it was to seel for more, that is a bonus.

 

My advice, having spend many months looking at the M3 markets between Australia and the UK is

- Go for as lower milage / KM as you can in the UK as that seems to affect price more than anything.

- Ensure the spec you go for was available in Australia (i.e. at least HK stereo)

- Ensure it has full BMW service history so that it can be verify easily

- If you go for a AUC (BMW Approved used car) you will get a very good example, normally with 12 months warranty

- Typically, the more you spend on a car in the UK, the more it will be worth in Aus (I.e. if there is a 30K, non EDC version for £34 and a 10K, EDC, Individual stereo, competition pack for £40 there will probably be $20,000 difference in the price in Aus)....

- But the best advice, research yourself (the people buying, not you Craig) to ensure you know what you are getting into!

 

Happy motoring!

[bwatt99]

I got offered my parents 58 plate honda cr v es ivtec motor which cost them just over £10,000 not too long ago,as a going away gift,i can give them my astra sxi astra which they might keep or trade it in for something else. I was like no i cant,very nice of you but they keep going on about it to me,they said it will help you when you get over there and save you having to buy another car etc etc. Now that im going with the idea my bubble maybe already burst. As i dont know own the motor im sure i read you need to have been the owner of the motor for over 12 months which im clearly not.Ok my father has the same name would they know? So on that rule alone its maybe not possible? If i am allowed then can someone work out or give me a break down on what costs i would need to pay to have it shipped.and i mean all fees that would need to be paid out to get this on the road there. What are the postives of doing this and the negs. As they will be giving me this car for a swap with mine,i wondered what the costs would involve to import there motor vs keeping that money to import and selling my astra 2006 value approx £3500-£4000 approx and using that to buy in oz. I have read a few posts and seems a bit much to take in all the costs,is there a calculator to work out all the charges would be,or is someone on here have the knowledge or are in this business know more. Im just trying to figure out what this could cost me to take to oz,on what i can see approx the same motor i think is approx $22,000 approx. But my first problem is the not having the 12 months ownership Would be greatfull of any advise

[Hazelcrest]

I have just got through this red tape - its 18 Jan 2013. I am now happily driving my Citroen Zsara Picasso 2006 in West Australia. I did not bring my car to make big profits - infact after transportation costs, tax , stress & long time delays its hardly worth it especially as imported cars do not sell well in Australia. We shipped our car on the 12 October 2012 & its only just passed going over the pits 2 days ago. Its not just the red tape you have to deal with its the lack of help from our shipper , shippers agent in Oz & the agent you have to pay to get it through customs clearance. They all charge you but do not help you with any information on the next stage!! My Oz agent for my shipment told my she did not need to know anything about importing cars or documents required & passed me off to the agent getting customs clearance for Kent International. All they did was to tell me I just needed to pay various bills including $ 550 for steam cleaning for the car. I expected to collect the car from them upon paying the bill but no, the car was at Kent International. I discovered I needed a 48 hour permit (ended up buying 3 of them) to get the car but after speaking to the testing station discovered I had documents missing which should have been issued by Victoria (State) along with my white copy of Approval to Import. These people also had to send you a sticker after the test (cannot be passed until they receive the partial test document in order to get this flaming sticker!!) What ever happened to techology here & knowone advised me of this stage until it failed because I did not have a sticker. I had to send my appoval of the test (still needed this sticker before it could be plated & passed) on a $13 recorded delivery to Victoria. Obviously the 2nd 48 hour permit was not long enough to use for the retest. All I can say is I am glad we bought a second car (we need two cars anyway) instead of hiring a car till we were able to use our imported car. Finally the clerk tried to charge me for stamp duty in West Australia even though I had already paid tax on valuation (had to pay a valuer to get it valued = jobs for the boys). After twice asking why I had to fill another valuation - statutory declaration on the car & why I was having to pay such a high 12 month licencing fee. She declared she had included stamp duty which I told her I did not have to pay (repeated myself)because I owned it from new & she had already asked for proof of ownership which I gave her at the beginning. As she could seen I was getting annoyed she then phoned a friend who told her I did not have to pay it. My conclusion is I did the right thing bringing it cause the resell value was so poor in the UK. Buy one in the UK to make a profit - not likely!! Unless you enjoy getting frustrated pissed off with everyone. Its a wonder why we are called winging poms !! Winde up Aussies delibrately unhelpful.

[KZ1]

I have just got through this red tape - its 18 Jan 2013. I am now happily driving my Citroen Zsara Picasso 2006 in West Australia. I did not bring my car to make big profits - infact after transportation costs, tax , stress & long time delays its hardly worth it especially as imported cars do not sell well in Australia. We shipped our car on the 12 October 2012 & its only just passed going over the pits 2 days ago. Its not just the red tape you have to deal with its the lack of help from our shipper , shippers agent in Oz & the agent you have to pay to get it through customs clearance. They all charge you but do not help you with any information on the next stage!! My Oz agent for my shipment told my she did not need to know anything about importing cars or documents required & passed me off to the agent getting customs clearance for Kent International. All they did was to tell me I just needed to pay various bills including $ 550 for steam cleaning for the car. I expected to collect the car from them upon paying the bill but no, the car was at Kent International. I discovered I needed a 48 hour permit (ended up buying 3 of them) to get the car but after speaking to the testing station discovered I had documents missing which should have been issued by Victoria (State) along with my white copy of Approval to Import. These people also had to send you a sticker after the test (cannot be passed until they receive the partial test document in order to get this flaming sticker!!) What ever happened to techology here & knowone advised me of this stage until it failed because I did not have a sticker. I had to send my appoval of the test (still needed this sticker before it could be plated & passed) on a $13 recorded delivery to Victoria. Obviously the 2nd 48 hour permit was not long enough to use for the retest. All I can say is I am glad we bought a second car (we need two cars anyway) instead of hiring a car till we were able to use our imported car. Finally the clerk tried to charge me for stamp duty in West Australia even though I had already paid tax on valuation (had to pay a valuer to get it valued = jobs for the boys). After twice asking why I had to fill another valuation - statutory declaration on the car & why I was having to pay such a high 12 month licencing fee. She declared she had included stamp duty which I told her I did not have to pay (repeated myself)because I owned it from new & she had already asked for proof of ownership which I gave her at the beginning. As she could seen I was getting annoyed she then phoned a friend who told her I did not have to pay it. My conclusion is I did the right thing bringing it cause the resell value was so poor in the UK. Buy one in the UK to make a profit - not likely!! Unless you enjoy getting frustrated pissed off with everyone. Its a wonder why we are called winging poms !! Winde up Aussies delibrately unhelpful.

 

Compared to some of the bureaucracy in Australia, importing a car is not that bad. You just need to work out what is needed at the various steps and make sure you understand how the system works. i.e. the difference between importing & registering a car, why a valuation is needed, the registration process for an import etc. All the info is on this site.

 

If that is all too complex or time consuming for someone, then just let IronChef handle it all for you.

[pwkl]

There are really two main steps to bringing a car from UK to Aus. First is to ship/import the car into the country. Second is getting the car registered and fit to drive on the road. The two steps are independent from each other, the only link between the two processes is the Import Approval certificate which firstly allows it into the country, and secondly used to get the compliance plate (which is the sticker) to allow it to be driven on the road. As you found out, the complete Import Approval document (4 pages) needs to be acquired once you are in this country. Step 2 requires a good local garage that deals with inspections and the compliance process as they will tell you exactly what needs doing and what to expect. Like most things in life, you get good and bad companies for both steps so it's unfortunate that these things can happen but sites like this one as well as your local government road authority web site can provide all the information needed.

[Iron Chef]

I got offered my parents 58 plate honda cr v es ivtec motor which cost them just over £10,000 not too long ago,as a going away gift,i can give them my astra sxi astra which they might keep or trade it in for something else. I was like no i cant,very nice of you but they keep going on about it to me,they said it will help you when you get over there and save you having to buy another car etc etc. Now that im going with the idea my bubble maybe already burst. As i dont know own the motor im sure i read you need to have been the owner of the motor for over 12 months which im clearly not.Ok my father has the same name would they know? So on that rule alone its maybe not possible? If i am allowed then can someone work out or give me a break down on what costs i would need to pay to have it shipped.and i mean all fees that would need to be paid out to get this on the road there. What are the postives of doing this and the negs. As they will be giving me this car for a swap with mine,i wondered what the costs would involve to import there motor vs keeping that money to import and selling my astra 2006 value approx £3500-£4000 approx and using that to buy in oz. I have read a few posts and seems a bit much to take in all the costs,is there a calculator to work out all the charges would be,or is someone on here have the knowledge or are in this business know more. Im just trying to figure out what this could cost me to take to oz,on what i can see approx the same motor i think is approx $22,000 approx. But my first problem is the not having the 12 months ownership Would be greatfull of any advise

 

The only way you might have a chance of getting the Honda across the line would be if you lived in the same house as your parents (and have the same address on your licence as that of the Honda's V5). Otherwise you're out of luck. To be brutally honest, I wouldn't bring the Astra over either - better to sell it there and buy another one here.

 

I have just got through this red tape - its 18 Jan 2013. I am now happily driving my Citroen Zsara Picasso 2006 in West Australia. I did not bring my car to make big profits - infact after transportation costs, tax , stress & long time delays its hardly worth it especially as imported cars do not sell well in Australia. We shipped our car on the 12 October 2012 & its only just passed going over the pits 2 days ago.

 

Its not just the red tape you have to deal with its the lack of help from our shipper , shippers agent in Oz & the agent you have to pay to get it through customs clearance. They all charge you but do not help you with any information on the next stage!! My Oz agent for my shipment told my she did not need to know anything about importing cars or documents required & passed me off to the agent getting customs clearance for Kent International.

 

All they did was to tell me I just needed to pay various bills including $ 550 for steam cleaning for the car. I expected to collect the car from them upon paying the bill but no, the car was at Kent International. I discovered I needed a 48 hour permit (ended up buying 3 of them) to get the car but after speaking to the testing station discovered I had documents missing which should have been issued by Victoria (State) along with my white copy of Approval to Import. These people also had to send you a sticker after the test (cannot be passed until they receive the partial test document in order to get this flaming sticker!!) What ever happened to techology here & knowone advised me of this stage until it failed because I did not have a sticker. I had to send my appoval of the test (still needed this sticker before it could be plated & passed) on a $13 recorded delivery to Victoria. Obviously the 2nd 48 hour permit was not long enough to use for the retest. All I can say is I am glad we bought a second car (we need two cars anyway) instead of hiring a car till we were able to use our imported car.

 

Finally the clerk tried to charge me for stamp duty in West Australia even though I had already paid tax on valuation (had to pay a valuer to get it valued = jobs for the boys). After twice asking why I had to fill another valuation - statutory declaration on the car & why I was having to pay such a high 12 month licencing fee. She declared she had included stamp duty which I told her I did not have to pay (repeated myself)because I owned it from new & she had already asked for proof of ownership which I gave her at the beginning. As she could seen I was getting annoyed she then phoned a friend who told her I did not have to pay it. My conclusion is I did the right thing bringing it cause the resell value was so poor in the UK. Buy one in the UK to make a profit - not likely!! Unless you enjoy getting frustrated pissed off with everyone. Its a wonder why we are called winging poms !! Winde up Aussies delibrately unhelpful.

 

I'm going to hazard a guess and say that you've had other issues with moving over and settling in too, given how you're feeling about it all.

 

Firstly, if it were easy, I would be out of a job! I also tear out what little hair I have left on a daily basis.

 

Secondly, your case is very similar to one from a couple of pages ago. When bringing over a car, you (this is a generic 'you', not you personally) need to be clear about what jobs each person is doing. The shipping company in the UK ships the car from that end, but they don't handle anything else. At this end they will usually handball you on to a customs broker.

 

The customs broker's job is to make sure the car has all the necessary paperwork to get it off the docks and into the country. Once they've achieved that, the shipper is told where the car is and left to organise the rest themselves. I don't currently know of any other companies (other than us, obviously) that will follow the process right through to registration.

 

Steam cleaning is required on about 90% of cars, to the point that we don't bother telling anyone to spend money getting a valet in the UK. The charge is not just for the clean but also 2 tow truck trips to and from the cleaning depot.

 

It seems to be a very common misconception that once the car arrives in Australia, you can drive it around on your UK registration and number plates until you change it over. This is NOT the case. The process for permanently taking your car to another country is vastly different to hitting the Chunnel and driving to Europe on holiday. It means arranging tow trucks or driving around on permits until your car has its roadworthy and registration checks completed, a process which generally takes at least two weeks.

 

The process in WA is very convoluted, and very annoying to have to go through. I've been in discussions at a departmental level to try and rectify the situation, but getting government departments to change their procedures is like moving heaven and earth.

 

Lastly, despite how you may feel about the situation, you got very lucky with the person behind the counter registering your car - the only time you're exempt from paying stamp duty on your own car is if you're moving from another state in Australia and the vehicle is already registered in your name. You ARE meant to pay stamp duty on an imported vehicle being registered in Australia for the first time, irrespective of the scheme used to bring it over, so like I say, you got lucky!

Edited January 20, 2013 by Iron Chef

[bwatt99]

thats a shame as would have been a nice motor to have taken over and would have been a swap for my astra,annoying that 12 month rule,i dont live with parent have m own place and licence is on my own address,i dont think my parents have owned it for 12 months yet,they got it in sept 12

[macduff mike]

Hi Shaun, yeah the Christmas/NY break has slowed things down a little bit here too! Mind you, we've had 14 cars land in Australia over the break, so there's not much rest for the wicked!

 

If you shoot through the details via the form on the website I'll have a look so you can compare the two. It probably depends on the mileage on the M3 more than anything.

 

Putting the bike in with your personal effects should be fairly straightforward. We can do the import approval or you can do it yourself, but either way we can pick it up once your removal company has cleared the container with all your gear at this end. It's less dramas if they handle the clearance side of things if personal effects are involved.

 

 

 

 

Hi Mike, just jump on the website and shoot through all your details on the quote form, we'll get you sorted.

 

I have tried to do this but its just for cars, i have decided to just take my BMW motorcycle, i would like to ship it in my houshold container if possible,

Can you do this

[Guest Guest67761]

I have tried to do this but its just for cars, i have decided to just take my BMW motorcycle, i would like to ship it in my houshold container if possible,

Can you do this

 

Hi Mike,

 

We certainly can help with the process even if the bike is shipped in a container with your household goods, basically you would arrange with your relocation company to load and ship the bike along with everything else, then we can work with them to oversee the process at this end. I would be happy to calculate the likely costs involved once it hits Australia for you if you can provide the following by email .. please send to me at craig@ironladyimports.com:

 

- year of manufacture

- make, model & variant

- exact engine size

- current mileage

- any special features, options or modification

- realistic current market value

 

- a copy of the registration V5 paperwork

- at least one photo of the bike

 

Cheers,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

[macduff mike]

Thanks,

will get onto it today

[fotiscbf]

Hello.I have a HONDA CBF 600S 2008 and i want to import it to AU.Does anyone know if i need to modify the headlights as i live in Greece and here we ride/drive vehicles on right hand on the road?I want to be sure because i don't want to import it and have problem with the registration.Thank you in advance.

[Guest Guest67761]

Hello.I have a HONDA CBF 600S 2008 and i want to import it to AU.Does anyone know if i need to modify the headlights as i live in Greece and here we ride/drive vehicles on right hand on the road?I want to be sure because i don't want to import it and have problem with the registration.Thank you in advance.

 

If the lights on the bike dip to one side when on low beam then they should dip to the left for Australia, otherwise if the original lights are not directional dipping then it could be fine. The worst case scenario would be to swap the lights for ones from the same bike which was sold in a country in which they drive on the same side as Australia (either Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or the UK would be the obvious ones). It's very unlikely to be any major trouble.

 

Cheers,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

[fotiscbf]

The lights dip to the left.Probably you want to say that they must dip to the right for AU!Here in GR all the lights on vehicles dip to the left!Maybe i need to order new headlights from UK.Thank you very much for your answer.

[Guest Guest67761]

The lights dip to the left.Probably you want to say that they must dip to the right for AU!Here in GR all the lights on vehicles dip to the left!Maybe i need to order new headlights from UK.Thank you very much for your answer.

 

In Australia cars drive on the left side so oncoming cars are on the right, therefore when going to low beam your lights should drop down and to the left. If the lights on your bike already drop to the left then that is perfect. The worst case would be to get some lights from the UK to be safe but if what you are saying is correct then it might not be needed.

[fotiscbf]

Maybe i confuse your saying.I'm sorry.Let's make a plan.If i put my bike in front of a wall i see this:

 

/-------

/

------/

so the light dip to the left!

But i think in AU if you put a bike in front of a wall you must see this:

 

------\

\

\

--------

and here the light dip to the right.

I hope you understand the plan.Maybe it's the opposite meaning of your saying and you are correct.My english are not very good so i'm sorry.

[fotiscbf]

Oh no!The plan doesn't seem as i post it!

[fotiscbf]

If i can help you on the 2nd "/" on 1st plan press space until 1st and 2nd "/" alling with the 3rd and on 2nd plan press space on 2nd "\" until 2nd and 3rd "\" alling with the 1st.If you can't understand it it's ok leave it and thank you very much for your time

[Guest Guest67761]

Maybe i confuse your saying.I'm sorry.Let's make a plan.If i put my bike in front of a wall i see this:

 

/-------

/

------/

so the light dip to the left!

But i think in AU if you put a bike in front of a wall you must see this:

 

------\

\

\

--------

and here the light dip to the right.

I hope you understand the plan.Maybe it's the opposite meaning of your saying and you are correct.My english are not very good so i'm sorry.

 

 

After looking around for a long time I can't find any photos that clearly show the difference, but I am sure we have some misunderstanding. You would almost certainly need to swap the headlight from a bike made for countries with right hand drive cars where they drive on the left side of the road.

[sm02fly]

Hi All,

 

Great thread, has some really useful information.

 

I'm looking to emigrate to QLD in 12-18months, and due to baby number 2 on the way I am looking for a 4x4 or SUV for my wife to drive until we move then ship it over to sell. Ideal budget up to £20k.

 

I have looked at Range Rovers, Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7's and the like. Does anyone have other suggestions? Based on experience, what is the ideal car to go for in the premium 4x4 market to ship then sell in Australia?

 

Thanks!

[Angie78]

Hi,

 

I have a 2010 BMW 118, was just wondering is it worth my while bringing it over to WA or should I sell it here (N,Ireland). I really love my car, but if it is going to cost alot to bring it over, i might have to sell it here any help would be great.

 

Thank you

[Guest Guest67761]

Hi All,

 

Great thread, has some really useful information.

 

I'm looking to emigrate to QLD in 12-18months, and due to baby number 2 on the way I am looking for a 4x4 or SUV for my wife to drive until we move then ship it over to sell. Ideal budget up to £20k.

 

I have looked at Range Rovers, Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7's and the like. Does anyone have other suggestions? Based on experience, what is the ideal car to go for in the premium 4x4 market to ship then sell in Australia?

 

Thanks!

 

You are certainly on the right track with the models you are looking at currently. The best options are usually the better European brands including Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Range Rover, etc so as long as you buy a good car with similar specification to what was sold in Australia and don't over pay for it then you shouldn't be able to go too far wrong.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

 

 

Hi,

 

I have a 2010 BMW 118, was just wondering is it worth my while bringing it over to WA or should I sell it here (N,Ireland). I really love my car, but if it is going to cost alot to bring it over, i might have to sell it here any help would be great.

 

Thank you

 

The best thing to do would be to fill out the cost estimate request form on our website with all of the vehicle details and information about your relocation, then we can do a proper calculation and give you a breakdown of the likely costs involved in the process. The form is located at http://www.ironladyimports.com/cost-estimate

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

[Angie78]

Thank you,

 

Filled it out and all :wink:

[Guest Guest67761]

Thank you,

 

Filled it out and all :wink:

 

I have done some calculations and replied to your email. The good news is that it seems to be a very good vehicle to bring with you to Australia from a purely financial point of view. Please let me know if you need any more information.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports