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

[mokas75]

Hi guys!

 

i'm new on this site..

we will apply for PR visa ( i have a sponsor in queensland) and -if all in order- have it in march/may 2014. (Fingers crossed)

 

the question: i would like to buy a car here, in Ireland and import there,next year.

Can i move there fe. In may and import the car only in next july? (Cause i have to wait the 12 months period)

 

also: i know, i can bring only 1 car/ 5 years there...but if we have 2 cars, registered with different owners ? (Me and my wife)

 

 

thanks in advance!

 

Andrew

[Guest Guest67761]

Hi guys!

 

i'm new on this site..

we will apply for PR visa ( i have a sponsor in queensland) and -if all in order- have it in march/may 2014. (Fingers crossed)

 

the question: i would like to buy a car here, in Ireland and import there,next year.

Can i move there fe. In may and import the car only in next july? (Cause i have to wait the 12 months period)

 

also: i know, i can bring only 1 car/ 5 years there...but if we have 2 cars, registered with different owners ? (Me and my wife)

 

 

thanks in advance!

 

Andrew

 

Hi Andrew,

 

In order to meet the requirements and be granted Australian Vehicle Import Approval for a car under the Personal Import Scheme you must have owned and used it for at least 12 months before moving to live in Australia. If you leave Ireland before the 12 months is up then although you may have "owned" the car for 12 months, you will not have "used" it for that long and will therefore not meet the criteria unfortunately.

 

The good news is that if you can delay your move and stay in Ireland until you have owned AND used the car for at least 12 months then you can bring one car per person, so between you and your wife you would be allowed 2 vehicles in total.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

[mokas75]

Hi Craig!

thanks very much for your quick reply.

 

that's sad, because we can't delay our move, as my daughter should start the scohool in Australia.

 

There is really no other whay to import and register a car in Australia which doesn't belong to me for 12 months?

 

For example: i buy the car this month, wil pay the tax until next july, but move in may 2014 and bring the car in july 2014?

Or the australian custom will refuse me to import the car , because i moved in may and not used really the car in june,july?

 

How an Australian citizen or a PR visa owner can buy an import a car from abroad,so? (They never owned the car before,right?)

 

the last question: how about motorbikes? A bike is considered as a car, so only once/5 year?

i have a KTM Adventure 640, i would really bring it to australia, in the same container with my car and house staffs...

 

 

 

thanks again

 

Andrew

[samsaidi]

Hi all,

 

I emigrated to Sydney in April and brought my car over, finally getting it registered 4 weeks ago. It's a BMW 123d 2008 with 35,000 miles on the clock owned from new with a host of options. Value in the UK was about £10,000 and the market value here in Oz is somewhere in the $25,000-$30,000 bracket. I consider I have broken even and if it was anything other than a BMW/Audi/Merc with bespoke options, or a car 1-2 years old, I probably wouldn't have bothered.

 

This has been my experience:

-Car travelled in a container with my goods with Crown relocations at an *extra* cost of £2200 (includes the $500 quarantine fee at the Oz end). If it hadn't been more convenient to go on the container I would have used Iron Lady Imports, who are slightly cheaper.

-I had to apply for the VO1 import permit ($50) before the car could leave the country, it took 5 weeks due to holidays and they will bounce it back if you don't send a copy of every page of your passport! So apply for this permit if you are even thinking about taking your car, as you will struggle to do it at the last minute

-Car arrived with my goods intact and engine started (new battery installed before it went). Some teething problems on arrival but sorted out.

-The customs value (less than market) was decided at $21,000 and I then had to pay about $3500 customs charge (more than the 15% I had expected) before the car was released

-***You are unable to drive the car away until you have arranged a blue slip inspection (like the MOT) at a suitable garage. This can be near to you but you must drive the car straight to the garage from the importers***

-If you can, it is a good idea to use a garage you can trust not to rip you off. The blue slip inspection is $55 and I didn't need anything extra done. It is the same principle as an MOT, so if your car is roadworthy and has tether points in the back (for the child seats), you shouldn't need to incur any other charges. I used Bill Buckle in Brookvale, Sydney and can highly recommend them.

-I then had to go to the RTA (equivalent of DVLA) office locally with the blue slip to register the car and pay registration charges which included $570 CTP (compulsory third party insurance, obtainable online - allow a few days) + $300 registration and $700 stamp duty. I got yellow number plates which were $40 and that was it. The garage fitted the plates for me and off I went. I was offered a service through Crowns to do this all for me, at a great expense (probably $1000 extra but I couldn't get a true confirmation from them - I was not impressed)

 

So the total costs for a car potentially worth $30,000 were about £5500 made up of:

GBP - £2200 export

AUD - $5160 comprising:

--$50 permit

--$4200 taxes (work it out pro-rata for the value of your car)

--$570 CTP

--$300 registration

--$40 plates

 

Bearing in mind selling the car in the UK before leaving would therefore have given me $23,000 (£10,000 + £5,000) to spend in Australia it is doubtful whether it is worth the hassle. Having said that, because it is a BMW I would have struggled to replace the car like-for-like at that amount of money due to the exorbitant cost of European cars.

 

Well, I hope that helps someone.

 

Good luck

Sam

[zeroasylum]

Hello thank you to the Iron chef for this very helpful thread. I have my import approval but I just want to check if this is the procedure once car is in Victoria.

So car is shipped arrives on the docks goes through quarantine and customs duty etc is paid.

 

Can I then get a temporary permit from Vic Roads to drive it to my home or does it need to be on a car transporter?

 

Then I take it for roadworthy (get another temporary permit to drive it there)

 

Then they tell me what needs to be done if nothing then form is stamped to send to get personal import plate from printers. Then back to road worthy place for them to attach the plate.

 

Then a trip to Vic Roads for inspection and registration.

 

Is this how it works or am I missing any steps.

 

Many thanks

Zeroasylum

[Guest Guest67761]

Hi Craig!

thanks very much for your quick reply.

 

that's sad, because we can't delay our move, as my daughter should start the scohool in Australia.

 

There is really no other whay to import and register a car in Australia which doesn't belong to me for 12 months?

 

For example: i buy the car this month, wil pay the tax until next july, but move in may 2014 and bring the car in july 2014?

Or the australian custom will refuse me to import the car , because i moved in may and not used really the car in june,july?

 

How an Australian citizen or a PR visa owner can buy an import a car from abroad,so? (They never owned the car before,right?)

 

the last question: how about motorbikes? A bike is considered as a car, so only once/5 year?

i have a KTM Adventure 640, i would really bring it to australia, in the same container with my car and house staffs...

 

thanks again

 

Andrew

 

Hi Andrew,

 

Unfortunately the Personal Import Scheme requirements state that you must OWN and USE the car while living outside Australia for at least 12 months before moving to live in Australia, therefore you must be in your previous country of residence with the car for the full 12 months. The day you leave for Australia is when the qualifying period ends and if it's not 12 months then you will not get approval to bring the car with you.

There are other import schemes which allow anyone to import certain makes and models without previous ownership, however this is a very limited list basically including only makes and models which were not sold here in Australia in order to protect the local Australian used car market.

 

The exact same thing applies for bikes. There are many models available for import under other scheme without requiring 12 months ownership so if that model is available for import (on the approved import list and at least one workshop licenced to carry out ADR compliance) then you can import it without previous ownership, otherwise if it's not available for import under the normal laws then the Personal Import Scheme including 12 months ownership will apply.

The bad news is that I can see no KTM models on the approved list at all so in order to get this bike into Australia you must have owned it for 12 months before moving to Australia so we can apply under the Personal Import Scheme.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

[Guest Guest67761]

Hello thank you to the Iron chef for this very helpful thread. I have my import approval but I just want to check if this is the procedure once car is in Victoria.

So car is shipped arrives on the docks goes through quarantine and customs duty etc is paid.

 

Can I then get a temporary permit from Vic Roads to drive it to my home or does it need to be on a car transporter?

 

Then I take it for roadworthy (get another temporary permit to drive it there)

 

Then they tell me what needs to be done if nothing then form is stamped to send to get personal import plate from printers. Then back to road worthy place for them to attach the plate.

 

Then a trip to Vic Roads for inspection and registration.

 

Is this how it works or am I missing any steps.

 

Many thanks

Zeroasylum

 

You seem to have some information which may be from different states of Australia as the process is quite a lot different in each state. There is a lot of things that can vary depending on what else happens in the process, it's sort of a domino effect with varying possibilities, so it's not really possible to give an easy step-by-step guide however you can rest assured that we know exactly what we are doing so regardless of what happens we will be able to take care of things for you.

Now that you have the approval I assume you will be ready to ship the car soon. Please email me with details and a copy of the import approval so we can get started.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

[Savitar]

Hi Craig,

 

Just looking at the new forms for importing a car.

 

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/imports/application_forms.aspx#io1

 

As you may remember (as I have posted here a few times), my partner and I are planning on bringing in two cars (one each) to OZ. The documents don't allow for any space for "is this car in your partners name" but you have mentioned a few times that its quite possible. Are you able to let me (and the other readers) know how you go about filling in the form for the import for this (not line by line here, just in general) and what supporting documents you need? The reason I ask is that almost all the documents I have on the car are in my name (ownership, tax disc, insurance etc) so not sure what they look for in terms of supporting documents other than a licence in her name with our home address?

 

Thanks,

[Guest Guest67761]

Hi Craig,

 

Just looking at the new forms for importing a car.

 

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/imports/application_forms.aspx#io1

 

As you may remember (as I have posted here a few times), my partner and I are planning on bringing in two cars (one each) to OZ. The documents don't allow for any space for "is this car in your partners name" but you have mentioned a few times that its quite possible. Are you able to let me (and the other readers) know how you go about filling in the form for the import for this (not line by line here, just in general) and what supporting documents you need? The reason I ask is that almost all the documents I have on the car are in my name (ownership, tax disc, insurance etc) so not sure what they look for in terms of supporting documents other than a licence in her name with our home address?

 

Thanks,

 

When the time comes to start preparing the applications you should send us all of the paperwork and we will see what else is required, what might need to be altered, etc to format the application properly for your specific situation because it's vastly different for everyone depending on their circumstances, then we will actually submit the application on your behalf and follow it through to completion, after all this is part of our service too!

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

[Kopper]

Hi.

Has any one imported a Porsche 911 997 cabriolet and sorted out the rear child seat anchors to pass the road worthy test.

I am looking to import mine to Perth and want to know the costs of doing this and the ease or not.

 

Thanks in advance

[Big bird 12]

Hi Iron Chef,

 

I was on to you a few months ago re taking our camper van to Oz.

 

Its a v/w 2001 7 berth campervan.

 

Only problem is, it's left hand drive.

 

You said it was a none runner due to it being left hand drive..

basically I'm back to ask you is there any way round it?

We are loosing a or fortune selling it(that's if we even find a buyer in time in this market).. :-(

Looks like they are worth a lot more money in Oz.

 

Any suggestion ?

 

Cheers

[Iron Chef]

Hi Iron Chef,

 

I was on to you a few months ago re taking our camper van to Oz.

 

Its a v/w 2001 7 berth campervan.

 

Only problem is, it's left hand drive.

 

You said it was a none runner due to it being left hand drive..

basically I'm back to ask you is there any way round it?

We are loosing a or fortune selling it(that's if we even find a buyer in time in this market).. :-(

Looks like they are worth a lot more money in Oz.

 

Any suggestion ?

 

Cheers

 

 

Well put it this way, it can come into Australia under the PIS, but it needs to be converted to RHD before it can be registered. Financially, it doesn't make it a worth while proposition, sorry.

[nicmark]

Hi all,

im in a little panic. Our shippers come in two weeks to put our belongings in storage for two months. I am about to apply to ship our car and which we will be delivering to the shippers in October and I'm struggling a little with the new on line documents and what they want.

 

Has anyone got any advice please on what info they want and how long it takes. I think my heads just muddled with everything else

 

thanks in aadvance

 

Nik x

[Iron Chef]

Hi Nik,

 

It's fairly self explanatory on the website, but that doesn't necessarily make it easy - if it were easy we wouldn't be in business . We can assist you if you like - we've dealt with so many unusual scenarios over the years that we've learnt there are many ways to get the necessary docs together. In terms of time taken, allow 3 weeks plus postage time from Canberra. You've left yourself a reasonable amount of time to get it sorted, so there's no need to be too stressed about the import approval. But get on to it now, just in case DIT ask you for further evidence (which obviously delays the process).

[nicmark]

Hi Nik,

 

It's fairly self explanatory on the website, but that doesn't necessarily make it easy - if it were easy we wouldn't be in business . We can assist you if you like - we've dealt with so many unusual scenarios over the years that we've learnt there are many ways to get the necessary docs together. In terms of time taken, allow 3 weeks plus postage time from Canberra. You've left yourself a reasonable amount of time to get it sorted, so there's no need to be too stressed about the import approval. But get on to it now, just in case DIT ask you for further evidence (which obviously delays the process).

 

 

Hi Ironchef,

Really appreciate your advise and am trying to sort it myself, like you said it should be fairly straight forward:no: I tried the online assessment and failed miserably so I've emailed the application and documents had the confirmation that its been received but cant find how to make the fee payment apparently theres a secure service but i cant find it.

 

can you please assist again

 

nik:twitcy:

[Guest Guest67761]

Hi Ironchef,

Really appreciate your advise and am trying to sort it myself, like you said it should be fairly straight forward:no: I tried the online assessment and failed miserably so I've emailed the application and documents had the confirmation that its been received but cant find how to make the fee payment apparently theres a secure service but i cant find it.

 

can you please assist again

 

nik:twitcy:

 

Hi Nik,

 

Unfortunately you can't make payment by credit card for applications submitted by email, so the only option you have now will be to get a bankers draft from an Australian bank or an Australian money order and post it to them. Credit card payment is only available for applications submitted using their online system. Where possible it's usually best to have us take care of the application for you as we get are experts and get it done with a minimum amount of fuss.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

[Dawson79]

Advice needed regarding shipping cars to Perth.

We own two cars and are thinking of only shipping one to WA from London.

We have a BMW X5 worth approx £18.5k & a BMW 630i worth approx £22k

We have spent two/three weeks looking at all valuation & car sale websites and they are valued approx as $40k & $80k respectively.

It makes financial sense to take the 630i but later down the line we will eventually want to sell the car. Is it really that hard to sell an import, we are not trying to make money but dont want to get stuck with the same car for ever.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[yasir457]

Hi Dawson

 

I got my Landcruiser 4x4 shipped from Scotland to Perth recently. I have seen lots of BMWs here and they are expensive. I've checked and the import cars do sell, esp when they are good ones. I don't see any problems with your BMWs to be sold here. You plan to bring One car over here only. I'd suggest you get both cars in here (provided it's in the two of you's name separately). They are very expensive here and X5 is the car for Perth- you'll enjoy it, even if it is little old........

 

All the best

 

Advice needed regarding shipping cars to Perth.

We own two cars and are thinking of only shipping one to WA from London.

We have a BMW X5 worth approx £18.5k & a BMW 630i worth approx £22k

We have spent two/three weeks looking at all valuation & car sale websites and they are valued approx as $40k & $80k respectively.

It makes financial sense to take the 630i but later down the line we will eventually want to sell the car. Is it really that hard to sell an import, we are not trying to make money but dont want to get stuck with the same car for ever.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Savitar]

Hi Dawson

 

I got my Landcruiser 4x4 shipped from Scotland to Perth recently. I have seen lots of BMWs here and they are expensive. I've checked and the import cars do sell, esp when they are good ones. I don't see any problems with your BMWs to be sold here. You plan to bring One car over here only. I'd suggest you get both cars in here (provided it's in the two of you's name separately). They are very expensive here and X5 is the car for Perth- you'll enjoy it, even if it is little old........

 

All the best

 

They do not need to be one each in each of your names. As long as its insured to be driven by both, there is an existing relationship (husband / wife etc) and you both live at the same location, you can bring one back in each of your names...

[Guest Guest67761]

Advice needed regarding shipping cars to Perth.

We own two cars and are thinking of only shipping one to WA from London.

We have a BMW X5 worth approx £18.5k & a BMW 630i worth approx £22k

We have spent two/three weeks looking at all valuation & car sale websites and they are valued approx as $40k & $80k respectively.

It makes financial sense to take the 630i but later down the line we will eventually want to sell the car. Is it really that hard to sell an import, we are not trying to make money but dont want to get stuck with the same car for ever.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

Both of these cars should end up owing you far less than the likely resale value in Australia so they would both be excellent options to bring with you even if it was to just sell for a little profit when you get here. Imported cars do sell fairly easily as long as they are in good condition and presented well, just don't think about trying to sell them to a dealer as they will offer you almost nothing for them because most Australian dealers are dogs, however as a private sale most buyers will not care too much either way about it being an import as long as you have all of the paperwork and the car appears good.

 

If you wanted a breakdown of the likely costs to import these cars then please fill out the cost estimate request form on our website at http://www.ironladyimports.com/cost-estimate

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

[jamesw7]

Hi - i have seen on threads a reference to selling your imported car in australia within 2 years seems to attract some further tax or customs charge. However, i have not been able to find any detail on this. Does anyone know the exact law or who charges these levies? I can't imagine it is tax, so not sure exactly whether this is an urban myth or something that needs to be considered - imported car 18 months ago.

 

Cheers,

James

[Dawson79]

Help needed!!!

Can't seem to find any 630i in Australia only 650i & 640I. Do they share same

parts etc or am I bringing a car I can't repair and no one will risk buying eventually!

cheers

[Guest Guest67761]

Hi - i have seen on threads a reference to selling your imported car in australia within 2 years seems to attract some further tax or customs charge. However, i have not been able to find any detail on this. Does anyone know the exact law or who charges these levies? I can't imagine it is tax, so not sure exactly whether this is an urban myth or something that needs to be considered - imported car 18 months ago.

 

Cheers,

James

 

Hi James,

 

I am not sure where this incorrect information started or why it's seems to be so widely believed to be true but I am assure you there this is not the case. There is normally no restriction on reselling a car when you get to Australia unless you have entered into some special agreement to get import approval when you might not have otherwise met the requirements exactly which itself is very rare ... basically the short answer is that unless otherwise specifically stated on your import approval you can sell the car anytime you like.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

 

 

Help needed!!!

Can't seem to find any 630i in Australia only 650i & 640I. Do they share same

parts etc or am I bringing a car I can't repair and no one will risk buying eventually!

cheers

 

The BMW 630i was not sold here in Australia however in this age of high fuel prices this model could be more appealing to some than the far less economical V8 model (18mpg compared to 28mpg). With regards to parts, as long as you get a helpful dealer then BMW Australia are usually willing to order any parts that might be unique to your car otherwise in the modern age of the internet it's usually quick and easy (and cheaper than buying locally) to order the parts from the UK yourself if necessary.

The figures we worked out show that this car should end up owing you at least $30,000 less than the nearest similar model in Australia so there should be no risk of losing money when it comes time to resell this one, however it's obviously your decision if you want to bring the car with you or not.

 

Cheers,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

[rattykatty]

Hi! Has anybody brought a box trailer with them? We are getting a container and was just going to stick it in that. It's only used for storage and wouldn't be on the road? Is it going to be a hassle or worth it?

[bomber284]

Great post mate! I have gone through the system and waiting for mine to arrive in less than 2 week. I expected about $5K but if they use the method you have said it should halve it to around $2.5K.... Don't worry though, I am still thinking $5K until I actually see it, you know what these Aussies are like, it near enough bankrupts you trying to emigrate!