Jump to content

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


Iron Chef

Recommended Posts

I know it is usually allowed for husband and wife to bring 2 cars back even if both cars were registered under one person's name. What I wanted to ask is whether this is risky at all? Do you know of any previous case where a legitimate couple living together and moving to Aust together where this has been denied?

 

Secondly it seems that for the PIS the Certificate of Conformity has no relevance at all? Is this something completely useless?

 

Thanks

Kenny

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Guest67761
I know it is usually allowed for husband and wife to bring 2 cars back even if both cars were registered under one person's name. What I wanted to ask is whether this is risky at all? Do you know of any previous case where a legitimate couple living together and moving to Aust together where this has been denied?

 

Secondly it seems that for the PIS the Certificate of Conformity has no relevance at all? Is this something completely useless?

 

Thanks

Kenny

 

Hi Kenny,

 

We process applications like this all the time and as long as you have the necessary paperwork and present the applications correctly then there should be no problems at all. If you are using our service then we will ensure it goes through without a hitch.

 

I believe the Certificate of Conformity is typically a UK or European document which would show that the vehicle meets the requirements of those countries, however it would not have any bearing on the suitability for Australia. All cars imported into Australia must be individually inspected and certified to meet Australian standards with any necessary modifications done to make sure it meets the criteria here. Again if you are using our service then we will work all of this out for you.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
Guest Guest67761
Hi Iron Chef,

 

I have a question for you, if i have finance on the car, and i've owned it over 12 months and the car is in my name, if i settle the finance would i be allow to import it to australia? or do you have to have owned it outright for 12 months?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Paul

 

Hi Paul,

 

As long as it has been your car then it makes no difference if it was on finance at all. In some cases the car might be in the name of the company you work for and we can get import approvals as long as we provide evidence that this was primarily your car, so your situation should be very simple.

 

I i would suggest that you settle the finance at least a few weeks before you plan to ship the car as there is normally a police and finance check done at the port and it can take a couple of weeks for the 'all clear' to come through.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Paul,

 

As long as it has been your car then it makes no difference if it was on finance at all. In some cases the car might be in the name of the company you work for and we can get import approvals as long as we provide evidence that this was primarily your car, so your situation should be very simple.

 

I i would suggest that you settle the finance at least a few weeks before you plan to ship the car as there is normally a police and finance check done at the port and it can take a couple of weeks for the 'all clear' to come through.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

 

Hi Craig,

 

much appreciated for help on this matter, that greatly changes things for me :)

 

Best regards

 

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi,

 

I've leased a car from Audi for over 2 years in my own name and have the option to buy it but not in my name as is usual with lease cars. If my wife bought it would it count as us 'owning' it for over 12 months for import purposes? The car is a 2011 Audi A6 Avant with about 26,000 miles if that has any bearing on it.

 

many thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Guest67761
Hi,

 

I've leased a car from Audi for over 2 years in my own name and have the option to buy it but not in my name as is usual with lease cars. If my wife bought it would it count as us 'owning' it for over 12 months for import purposes? The car is a 2011 Audi A6 Avant with about 26,000 miles if that has any bearing on it.

 

many thanks

 

Just to clarify my understanding - the lease was in your name however the vehicle registration (V5) was not in your name? If this is the case then you could still get approval to bring this car to Australia as long as you can provide documents to show that this car was for your exclusive use. Ideally a letter from the lease company however we might get away with a copy of the lease paperwork, your insurance policy and anything else you have to show that this was your car. I will only be able to say for sure once I see all of the paperwork.

 

If the car was purchased from the lease company by your wife, assuming her name is not on any paperwork relating to the lease for the past 2 years, then it would not help at all. It would be far better to keep everything in your name if you are the one who was leasing the car.

 

I would be happy to give more advice once I see some paperwork .. craig@ironladyimports.com

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You MUST be able to prove you have owned and used the vehicle for a full 12 months. If you try to pull the wool over their eyes believe me you will lose the car and get a fine. You must have documentation to prove the car has been in your name and at your address and have been insured for the full 12 months.

 

my friend car insurance is in her boyfreinds name , but has her down as the main driver , car in her name etc ,,,, this ok ???

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Guest67761
my friend car insurance is in her boyfreinds name , but has her down as the main driver , car in her name etc ,,,, this ok ???

 

This would be no problem. We would be happy to help prepare and submit the application for Australian vehicle import approval for this vehicle based on the information provided. It will not matter who is insured to drive the car if it's registered in the name of the person who wants to import it, and even if it's in the other persons name then we can still provide the correct information and paperwork to have the application approved within the Australian government guidelines.

 

Please let me know when you are ready to start the process and I will happily advise what paperwork we need from you.

 

Regards,

 

Craig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Hi iron chef,

we have been trying to decide wether or not to bring our car over to OZ with us for some months now but can't decide which route is best to take.

we own a ibis white Audi A5 sport line.", we bought it ffrom new 15 months ago costing £34,000.

we firstly got it on finance but have just recently paid of the remanded of the balance which was £20,000 so the car is now fully owned out right by my husband, the car is now worth approximately £25,000 as it is 1 1/2 yrs old.

could you tell me a rough estimate of how much you think it would cost us to ship it to OZ including all taxes and all other cost it requires to get the car up and running over there.

we love our Car and really don't want to past with it but we don't want to pay over the odds to get it there and find out that if we ever decided to come bk and sell the car in OZ we would of lost out on a lot of money. From what I can see the same sort of car in OZ are very expensive compared to uk and we might not even be able to buy a car similar once over there as the cost seems so high, is this correct? Do u no roughly how much our car would b valued at in OZ?

The other thing is my husband works on the oil Riggs off shore 2 weeks on 2 off but this Is still classed as uk would this also be a prob for the 12 month thing?

our car details are:

Audi A5 2012, ibis white sportback s line 2.0 TDI, 5 door.

any information would be greatly appreciated

thank you shell

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Guest67761
Hi iron chef,

we have been trying to decide wether or not to bring our car over to OZ with us for some months now but can't decide which route is best to take.

we own a ibis white Audi A5 sport line.", we bought it ffrom new 15 months ago costing £34,000.

we firstly got it on finance but have just recently paid of the remanded of the balance which was £20,000 so the car is now fully owned out right by my husband, the car is now worth approximately £25,000 as it is 1 1/2 yrs old.

could you tell me a rough estimate of how much you think it would cost us to ship it to OZ including all taxes and all other cost it requires to get the car up and running over there.

we love our Car and really don't want to past with it but we don't want to pay over the odds to get it there and find out that if we ever decided to come bk and sell the car in OZ we would of lost out on a lot of money. From what I can see the same sort of car in OZ are very expensive compared to uk and we might not even be able to buy a car similar once over there as the cost seems so high, is this correct? Do u no roughly how much our car would b valued at in OZ?

The other thing is my husband works on the oil Riggs off shore 2 weeks on 2 off but this Is still classed as uk would this also be a prob for the 12 month thing?

our car details are:

Audi A5 2012, ibis white sportback s line 2.0 TDI, 5 door.

any information would be greatly appreciated

thank you shell

 

Hi Shell,

 

We would need to know more information about the car (mileage, transmission type, etc) and your specific situation (when you are moving, where in Australia, do you want to ship the car with household goods or separately, etc) before we could give a really accurate calculation of costs involved and give you an idea of the likely Australian value. The best idea is to complete the cost estimate request form on our website with as much information as possible so we can give you an idea of costs and other useful information:

 

http://www.ironladyimports.com/cost-estimate

 

There should be no major difficulty with us preparing an application for Australian vehicle import approval for your husband even with the offshore work, we have certainly taken on far harder situations and got approvals easily.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I can see that I'm going to need to read this a number of times before it makes sense but the gist seems to nbe that of you're desperate enough to take your car then you're willing to pay through the nose.

 

I would consider taking my car only because it cheap as chips to run over here and given the distances I can see myself covering over there would think it might be similar there too.

 

a silly question maybe but are most cars petrol or is there a fairly even spread of diesel and petrol? I query only because I have a diesel but equally would have to consider cost of diesel with petrol?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Guest67761
I can see that I'm going to need to read this a number of times before it makes sense but the gist seems to nbe that of you're desperate enough to take your car then you're willing to pay through the nose.

 

I would consider taking my car only because it cheap as chips to run over here and given the distances I can see myself covering over there would think it might be similar there too.

 

a silly question maybe but are most cars petrol or is there a fairly even spread of diesel and petrol? I query only because I have a diesel but equally would have to consider cost of diesel with petrol?

 

Making the choice to bring your car to Australia should never be one of desperation, it should be something you decide to do because it will end up owing less than buying a similar car in Australia or because it will be worth more in the end so should you choose to sell it then you would actually profit. Of course it will depend largely on the specific car which is why we offer to do a detailed cost calculation (http://www.ironladyimports.com/cost-estimate) so you can make an decision.

 

These days there is a fairly even spread between petrol and diesel cars here in Australia. I have not seen a petrol station without diesel pumps in many years even in the most remote areas.

 

Let me know if you have any questions about the importing process or fill out the form on our website above if you wanted some us to look at the costs and provide you with other useful information too.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I brought my 1 year old Volvo XC60 here in a container with furniture etc. (which gave us more space). Iron Lady did all the work but I did my own import docs as there were special circumstances to plead as the car was new. I would have lost probably £10000 on selling it outright and a new one here is around $70k. Importing was easy, compliance was handled by Craig's Perth garage. Volvo have transferred the warranty and honoured a recent recall, but my only disappointment is that the in built sat nav cannot work in Oz as the system is different. Amazing that Volvo don't have a solution.

European cars are terribly expensive here so do think about it again. We also shipped a 10 year old Clio Sport on RoRo, again handled by Craig and have no regrets. It cost more to clean it but we have a low mileage car here that we have owned from new and that we know and Maddington Central in Perth (who were the agents for Iron Lady) now do our servicing for it, very reasonably and source parts from the UK if needed. And its a diesel and diesel fuel is readily available and is cheaper than UK.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Renault Clio DC 88 it does 50 mpg at the moment in town and better in summer which although not as good as stated in log book (are they ever£???) is bloody good. I did the maths re converting figures to Km and litres and it not much less that the new ones over there. I have no idea how road tax works in oz and guess it will vary across the states but mine is 94 co2 so is free here :biggrin:

I felt that with the miles to cover and the eco aspect it might be worth taking with me but I really don't know

its had one owner, me, since new and was registered 26th Oct 2011. I know its sad but I don't buy brand spanking new cars every week and know exactly when I bought it.:biggrin: it cost £11000 new (retail £12450 and I haggled for my price) and I have valued it as about £8000 when I insured it in sept this year

 

much as I love it its the fuel economy and my awareness of miles I would be covering that makes me think it might be worth bringing with me.

 

I'm also conscious that although its doing well and only two years old I'd need to consider servicing and potential repairs.

 

I tend to keep my cars until I've saved up for a new one rather that trade in reg as I had the thought of bloody HP and loans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Renault Clio DC 88 it does 50 mpg at the moment in town and better in summer which although not as good as stated in log book (are they ever£???) is bloody good. I did the maths re converting figures to Km and litres and it not much less that the new ones over there. I have no idea how road tax works in oz and guess it will vary across the states but mine is 94 co2 so is free here :biggrin:

I felt that with the miles to cover and the eco aspect it might be worth taking with me but I really don't know

its had one owner, me, since new and was registered 26th Oct 2011. I know its sad but I don't buy brand spanking new cars every week and know exactly when I bought it.:biggrin: it cost £11000 new (retail £12450 and I haggled for my price) and I have valued it as about £8000 when I insured it in sept this year

 

much as I love it its the fuel economy and my awareness of miles I would be covering that makes me think it might be worth bringing with me.

 

I'm also conscious that although its doing well and only two years old I'd need to consider servicing and potential repairs.

 

I tend to keep my cars until I've saved up for a new one rather that trade in reg as I had the thought of bloody HP and loans.

 

See my post above......

I would check the value here and have Iron Lady advise on that. Then look at where you are moving to and see if there is a Renault dealer in town as a last resort or a local garage advertising that they service Clio's. In Perth, it happened that at Maddington Central one of the guys was Renault trained so he knew the car. We had a problem with HT leads and replacements had to come from the UK as the Aussie spec was different...but it didn't cost a lot. The ignition key broke in the ignition lock and we had to call an auto locksmith. That cost $400 including new programmed key (which they ordered) and on site repairs. That could have happened in England. The car cost £1300 to ship, plus Iron Lady fees and about $1300 customs clearance and cleaning. (That was because the car left the UK in January 2013 covered in snow and could not be fully valeted, whereas the Volvo was valeted and was in showroom condition when it was packed.) Insurance through Shannons (not many will insure imports) was less than in the UK and road tax was around $400.

Second hand cars here are expensive compared to the UK. Craig told us that with all the charges, we would break even if we sold the Clio here and that seems to be the case. But it saved rushing around to buy a car when we got here as even $6000 will only buy a 10 year old 140k car in Perth.

Only problem is that the Clio speedo has kms in red and difficult to see and speeding cameras are everywhere and hidden to catch you.

The Volvo stupidly has a milometer only and the kms are on a separate digital read out as part of the computer (which stays on the display) but it has cruise control which is invaluable.

I had an unrepairable puncture with the Volvo and as the Pirelli tyre here is different, they could not mix tyres so I had to buy 2 totalling $700 (again in the UK they were £300 each). And I had to buy an emergency spare, jack etc. (Volvo supply an inflating kit!) otherwise I could have been stranded as the car had to be recovered by the RAC to a garage and that was $1200.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Volvo stupidly has a milometer only and the kms are on a separate digital read out as part of the computer (which stays on the display)

 

My car also has MPH only on the dial face but the digital speedo can be configured to display kph or mph which stays on all the time. Does this satisfy the Aust Design Rule or will the dial face need to be changed to kph as well?

 

Also does anyone know the exact rules about side rear view mirrors? I think I read that the driver side mirror cannot be parabolic?

 

Another question about car batteries during transport - I assume most car's batteries cannot survive the 3 months or so at sea being not-started. How do they start the car when it arrives and do most cars end up needing a new battery? I know that an overly flat battery will become sulphated thus no longer chargeable at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My car also has MPH only on the dial face but the digital speedo can be configured to display kph or mph which stays on all the time. Does this satisfy the Aust Design Rule or will the dial face need to be changed to kph as well?

 

Also does anyone know the exact rules about side rear view mirrors? I think I read that the driver side mirror cannot be parabolic?

 

Another question about car batteries during transport - I assume most car's batteries cannot survive the 3 months or so at sea being not-started. How do they start the car when it arrives and do most cars end up needing a new battery? I know that an overly flat battery will become sulphated thus no longer chargeable at all.

 

My Volvo complied with the Aussie law as the kph display can stay on all the time.

 

The Clio was shipped RoRo as we sent it separately on the day we left the UK. The Volvo was shipped in the container which gave us more space for furniture and was cost effective. The Volvo took about 3 weeks to clear as compliance requires a pit inspection and the certificate has to be sent from Melbourne by post before you can register the car. You now have to register the car in person (rather than the agent doing it) and be ready to prove again that it is a personal import as they may try and charge stamp duty. You have to visit a Drivers centre and join a long queue to do all this, and visit again when you apply for your driving licence.

 

The registration includes the third party insurance so you can drive the car away when the plates have been fixed and then call Shannons to insure fully.

 

I did not have a problem with mirrors so you could check what mirrors are on a Clio Sport and Volvo XC60 to see how they compare.

 

The Volvo had tinted rear windows and the agent had to show that these were factory fitted and we did have a moment when the agent thought they would require the change of windows (the Volvo windows were darker tints than fitted in Australia).

 

There were no battery problems either when the cars arrived. I understood that they disconnected the battery in the Volvo but not in the Clio. If you use Iron Lady, they arrange pick up of car and getting it compliant.

 

You do have to have less than a quarter tank of fuel when shipping and you cannot leave anything loose in the car other than what it was delivered new with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
Hey Iron Chef,

Fantastic advice dude. I've trawled through 9 pages of info on here and learned a great deal, thank you, but nothing quite matches my situation.

My wife has been in Perth for 4 weeks on a 457 visa and I'm going to join her in 3 weeks. We have a 1980 registered VW Type 2 Bay window camper that has been part of our family for 5 years and we're reluctant to leave it.

It has a Devon Moonraker conversion which I've never seen available in Oz and we'd want to ship to keep it, not to make money.

We haven't even looked at costs yet but I' estimate its value in the UK to be whatever we can get for it. Current prices seem to be between £5k and £25k! (There are a lot of chancers out there!)

I realise I probably won't be able to get the paperwork sorted before I go but I just want a rough estimate of costs, door to door.

 

Being a classic there's some superficial rust and I've heard horror stories involving excited customs types and hammers that make me nervous.

 

I'd also intent on claiming LAFHA if I get a job when I arrive and you mentioned previously that may have some affect on our ability to import it.

 

The bus is in my name and holds a UK MOT cert but is currently garaged pending a resolution (either shipping or selling).

 

Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hi all,

 

Portlaunay - did you import in the end, we are planning to take our '78 westy, that we imported from california 6 yeas ago, so definately part of the family

 

Iron chef - will customs get upset with rusty brake drums, and the normal underside corrosion on a 40 year old van?? thats my only concern, as my van is in good nick, but do ineed a show standard underside??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Guest67761
My car also has MPH only on the dial face but the digital speedo can be configured to display kph or mph which stays on all the time. Does this satisfy the Aust Design Rule or will the dial face need to be changed to kph as well?

 

Also does anyone know the exact rules about side rear view mirrors? I think I read that the driver side mirror cannot be parabolic?

 

Another question about car batteries during transport - I assume most car's batteries cannot survive the 3 months or so at sea being not-started. How do they start the car when it arrives and do most cars end up needing a new battery? I know that an overly flat battery will become sulphated thus no longer chargeable at all.

 

Sorry for not spotting this message sooner. Sometimes I do not get the notification emails from PIO to let me know there are new messages. :mad:

 

The requirements here in Australia will vary between states and to a smaller degree also depending on who inspects your car on the day as there are certain discretionary exemptions for cars imported under the Personal Import Scheme which can be a little hit and miss, so please do not assume too much in advance or put too much faith in your car needing the same thing as anyone else who has gone through the process recently.

 

Generally speaking any speedo reading in km/h should be accepted including a smaller digital display as long as it remains visible all the time. It is rare for our client to have to replace the speedo these days.

 

Side mirrors must be replaced with flat glass under the normal compliance laws (SEVS Compliance) however this is one of the exemptions for Personal Imports so it should not need to be replaced.

 

Transit time should only be around 4-5 weeks for RORO or around 6-8 weeks for container shipping. Most cars with decent batteries will b e fine for this sort of journey however if you are in doubt then by all means fit a new battery and make sure it's fully charged prior to shipping. If the car arrives with a flat battery they will jump start it with a battery pack and if it fails to hold a charge we will have our workshop try to recharge it properly otherwise a new battery could be fitted although this is fairly uncommon to be needed.

 

I hope this helps with some information for you. Please let me know if I can offer any more advice or if you wanted to look at shipping with us.

 

Cheers,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Guest67761
Hi all,

 

Portlaunay - did you import in the end, we are planning to take our '78 westy, that we imported from california 6 yeas ago, so definately part of the family

 

Iron chef - will customs get upset with rusty brake drums, and the normal underside corrosion on a 40 year old van?? thats my only concern, as my van is in good nick, but do ineed a show standard underside??

 

Customs have no concerns about the condition of the vehicle at all. Their only issues are with regards to illegal items being shipped so make sure there are no fireworks, guns, etc.

 

Quarantine will be looking for any bio-security issues - basically anything that could continue growing in Australia which could be bugs, spiders, untreated wood, etc but again they have no concern over rust or other areas of the vehicle condition as long as it's not bulky areas of dirt, mud, etc

 

Rust on the brakes and structure of the vehicle would be a roadworthy issue and looked at as part of the road registration process. If there are any major issues then you could have them fixed prior to shipping or take care of them at this end prior to registration, but it would not stop the vehicle being allowed for import just to set your mind at ease.

 

Regard,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Customs have no concerns about the condition of the vehicle at all. Their only issues are with regards to illegal items being shipped so make sure there are no fireworks, guns, etc.

 

Quarantine will be looking for any bio-security issues - basically anything that could continue growing in Australia which could be bugs, spiders, untreated wood, etc but again they have no concern over rust or other areas of the vehicle condition as long as it's not bulky areas of dirt, mud, etc

 

Rust on the brakes and structure of the vehicle would be a roadworthy issue and looked at as part of the road registration process. If there are any major issues then you could have them fixed prior to shipping or take care of them at this end prior to registration, but it would not stop the vehicle being allowed for import just to set your mind at ease.

 

Regard,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

 

 

Excellent news, that was what i was half expecting, but reading all the posts about scrubbing tools, and the like, i had a moment of fear when i was thinknig about the parts that get hot ie brake drums on my bus. The structure,being a claifornia import is very good, the only bad patch has been cut out and replaced over the winter. All the underside in sealed in waxoyl, and i try to deal with any issues as i see them.

 

Do iron lady do vehicle inspections prior to shipment at all? i have bug bombs (as used on aircraft for fumigation) that i can pop off a few prior to shipment, and all the interior is prepared wood from VW back in the 70's.

 

its all getting exciting now, that in less than a year we should be driving in QLD!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Guest67761
Excellent news, that was what i was half expecting, but reading all the posts about scrubbing tools, and the like, i had a moment of fear when i was thinknig about the parts that get hot ie brake drums on my bus. The structure,being a claifornia import is very good, the only bad patch has been cut out and replaced over the winter. All the underside in sealed in waxoyl, and i try to deal with any issues as i see them.

 

Do iron lady do vehicle inspections prior to shipment at all? i have bug bombs (as used on aircraft for fumigation) that i can pop off a few prior to shipment, and all the interior is prepared wood from VW back in the 70's.

 

its all getting exciting now, that in less than a year we should be driving in QLD!!

 

The only pre-shipping inspection would be a fairly basic one for insurance purposes and would not have any relevance to Australian Customs or Quarantine services. Bug bombing the vehicle is a reasonable idea however you would still want to make sure any dead bugs are removed as Australian Quarantine see dead ones as being almost as bad as live ones still. Basically you should do your best to ensure that the vehicle is fairly clean in advance then just expect to pay for extra cleaning here at this end too. Any wood in the vehicle should be fine as long as it's obviously treated in some way, for example plywood which is commonly used in camper conversions presents no issue.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Moor

Iron Lady Imports

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...