Angela Christian Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 I can give everyone exact up-to-date costs of shipping a car from the UK to Australia as I just did it two weeks ago. Cost of my car in the UK (S-Type 2006 Jaguar): £8,000 (purchased Oct 11) Redbook value in Australia $28,000 Costs of shipping - I used a shared container as I was told other methods are risky (to your vehicle) £1,500 including all my possessions inside the car and £300 for insurance [=$2,200] First bill upon landing: $375 quarantine fee $330 broker fee (the broker organises the valuation) Two weeks later: Received the valuation. The car valued at $16,000 which I was very pleased about. I was told that brokers always value your car at MUCH LESS than the Australian market value. This is GOOD NEWS because it reduces your tax bill. I therefore paid $1,600 in GST and a further $800 in import duty (5%) + $70 for something else(?) - total tax bill was $2,447.00 Two weeks after that: another $660 "customs clearance" bill bills PLUS a further $660 for the stuff inside my car!! Which I was told would travel for free!! BE CAREFUL OF FILLING YOUR VEHICLE UP PEOPLE! THEY WILL GET YOU ANYWAY THEY CAN!! I then had to tow the car to a modification mechanic (was NOT allowed to drive it under any circumstances!) who charged me $330 just to certify the car was up to Australian standards! And by the way - you must speak to your mod mechanic WAY BEFORE your car is released! Your mod mechanic will ask you to write out a cheque to Nimrie for $85 for the modification plates and you must organise all your paperwork to go to him first and he will fill it all out and sent it to Nimrie - it's the blue & white import approval forms - must be originals. Your mod mechanic will know what to do so make sure you have a good yarn to him and don't just try to do it by yourself. Call Department of Transport for the closest Modification mechanic as not many mechanics are qualified - try to get one close to where your car is being held so you don't have to tow it too far. My car was held at Murrumba Downs. I used Tratty Transfers for my towing - they were excellent and by far the cheapest and they service all of Brisbane. They charged me $68 and helped me jump start my car because the idiots at the shipping yard in London didn't disconnect the battery before it left. Anyway...where was I?.....OK so we towed the car (well it was on the back of a trailer) to the mod mechanic in Strathpine where it stayed for the next 3.5 hours. My mod mechanic's workshop was in a cluster of workshops so when he finished he took it straight to the mechanic who did the roadworthy/safety certificate. That cost $70. There was no modifications to be done and the car was up to roadworthy standard - lucky for me - becuase if you're car isn't up to standard you're looking at bills of many hundreds. (This is Australia - expect to get ripped off....) After that I was able to pick up my car, the mod mechanic took off my British number plates and I drove to the Department of Transport in Strathpine and registered it. I paid the stamp duty....but told a bit of a porky about the value of the car so I didn't have to pay as much in stamp duty. Instead of showing them the valuation I just flashed the original invoice which had 8,000 written on it. The woman had so much paperwork she didn't notice the pound sign (or maybe she was just nice!) - so try that if you can! It will save you a lot! The absolute total cost of shipping my car from London to Brisbane was $6,450 plus the goods inside my car: $660 Time on ship: 1 month Time in quarantine: 1 month The big question: was it worth it? Everywhere I go people comment what a beautiful car I have and in fact I've seen the exact same car for sale for a staggering $23,000 more than I paid for it. Even if you add the shipping costs that's a profit of $17,000. Not that I care about profit. I absolutely love my car and to me it's worth a million dollars! Jaguars are highly respected luxury vehicles in Australia - even if you bought an older model - you're better off (than buying in Aus). Not only will you be the envy of all your friends, you also know if you ever want to sell it you can actually make a profit. Also I heard that they clean your car and charge you $400. This did not happen to me (in fact my car was filthy when it arrived). So here's a summary of those costs again: Shipping: $2,200 (and no, I did not have to drive to Portsmouth - I drove my car to Wembley to their base, which was five minutes from my house and they took care of the rest) Quarantine: $375 Broker fee: $330 GST & import duty: $2,450 Nimrie (modification plates): $85 Mod mechanic: $330 Roadworthy: $70 Towing fee: $70 It was a huge job, when I look at the whole thing from start to finish......but for me it was DEFINITELY worth it. Just make sure you have a car that is worth considerably more in Australia - and a car that is up to Australian standards (my guess is that most luxury type vehicles would be). Don't forget also - you have to own your car for no less than a year before you can ship it and you must prove that you are leaving the UK. So good luck to anyone doing this....any questions....just ask.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Christian Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Hi Jess, check redbook.com.au and see my post below. Remember, there are no Vauxhalls in Australia - so there may be modifications that have to be done which can be very pricey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Christian Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Hi Iron Chef,First time on here, we're looking at going back to WA this year and wondered if it was worth taking our family car and hubby's work van? Car is a Mitsubushi Shogun Elegance, 2005, about 80,000 miles on the clock, worth about £9,000 here, $20,000-$30,000 on car sales Van is a Vauxhall Vivaro Sportiv, 2008, about 60,000 miles on clock, worth about £8,000 here. Both in good condition, be great if you could give us as A!!! HA HA Thanks a lot Jess Hi Jess, check redbook.com.au and see my post below. Remember, there are no Vauxhalls in Australia - so there may be modifications that have to be done which can be very pricey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squarepusher Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Year 2009 Lotus - Evora - 3.5 V6 2+2 Sport Pack + Tech Pack Petro 275 BHP 6sp manual 15000 miles Aircon uk value £32,000 Red book Value $79,000 Destination Sydney NSW Is this worth shipping with the luxury vehicle tax ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sazgeering Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Ok I've been having a tinker with this for a little while and think I've got it pretty close. I've developed an Excel spreadsheet that provides an estimate of whether or not your car is Category A: definitely worth bringing, you'll do nicely out of it when the time comes to sell Category B: only worth bringing if you love the car and/or plan to keep it for a while Category C: not worth the aggro, you're better off selling it in the UK *Disclaimers* - the estimates are based on the following: 1) using our most complete 'A Package' service at AUD990 (it's set up for our customers, obviously!) 2) using RORO shipping from Southampton (does not include transport to get your car to the port) 3) the current GBP/AUD exchange rate 4) an estimated Australian Customs value calculated for your specific vehicle 5) includes customs duty, GST and LCT where necessary 6) a set figure for customs clearance (which I've deliberately set higher than what they normally come in at) 7) includes the cost of Australian Customs valuation and transport to the workshop once cleared 8) includes allowance for the minor modifications needed before registration 9) includes road registration and stamp duty costs (for a "no surprises" all inclusive cost estimate) As you can see, I've tried to be as upfront about the costs of getting the vehicle to Australia, and I have actually over-allowed on what many bills come in at. There are a heap of variables in here and each car is different, so don't be disheartened if you get a category C - the calculator isn't meant to be the ultimate authority, but it will give you a fair guide. What I need from you: - year of manufacture - make, model & variant - body type (coupe, convertible, etc) - engine size & fuel type - transmission - drive type (4WD, front wheel drive, etc) - mileage - any special features, options or modification - does it have aircon - realistic current UK market value - Australian RedBook value (www.redbook.com.au - click through to the page with 'Private Price Guide', 'Trade In Price Guide' and 'Price When New' listed, then tell us the 'Private Price Guide' range) - Australian market value (http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/search.aspx - search for the closest matching vehicle) - which Australian state/city Please note when you are searching that most Vauxhall, Opel and some Chevrolet models will be badged as Holden in Australia. Let's test it out :biggrin: **Please note, our responses will normally be just an A, B or C. If you want a full breakdown of costs, you'll need to email us via our website*** Hey - my details are - 2009 - MINI One - Petrol - 1.4 - Manual 6-speed gearbox - Front Wheel drive - 40,000 miles - Aircon - Alloy wheels, piano black and red leather trim on interior panels, otherwise standard spec. - UK value £8000 - Red Book value - The 1.6 engine equivalent (the MINI Cooper) is worth $31,100 - 48,800 for my year of car. - Australian Market value (closest match was for a Soft Top, John works Cooper) @ $36,000, or a clubman version 1.6 @ $28,000 Thanks in advance! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scrumpy Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 (edited) Hi,Iron Chef have a look at this link: http://www.raws.com.au/SEVSReg.asp?f...s_PerPage=1000 It seems to be a list of cars that dont need to be pre-owned for 12months, my car isnt worth bringing over, however if you can recomend cars from the list, that would be a good cash cow, I cant see a reason not to buy one/two and bring over, Any help greatfully recieved Many thanks May be best to PM me as this post seems to get lost now and then, Cheers Edited February 26, 2013 by scrumpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Christian Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Hi iron chef, I'm hoping you can help, we have been Melbourne for 4 weeks now and our car is sitting on my brothers driveway in the south of England waiting for us to start the painful procedure of getting over here. The details are: BMW x5 3.0d sports, 70,000 miles on the clock, with air con. Valuation in England was £12,000, valuation on redbook.com.au is $32,000. Hope you are able to help, kind regards, john Be careful with beemers. They don't hold their value as well as you think. Your car will value at less than the redbook value, I can guarantee it (I have just shipped my Jag over). If your UK value is £12,000 then that's about $18,000AU. It cost me $6,500 for the shipping, quarantine and taxes. The iron chef here says he can do for it cheaper but I don't know because most the fees were charged after arrival and $2,400 of that was the GST and import duty. So you're looking at a total cost of $24,000 (value plus shipping). You need to look on some Australia car sales sites to see what your model of BMW is selling here for - and then minus it by about 5,000, as cars are much, much cheaper if bought privately. They also vary state to state. I did well with my Jag because Jags hold their value really well in Australia - even a 15/20 year old Jag in Australia would be worth shipping, because it will still have a decent value on it. I can't say the same for BMWs however......(I checked all this out before I left when I was shopping for a car originally, with the knowledge I would be moving to Australia in a year's tme). If you love your car however, do it. You won't need to do anything to get it up to Australian Standard so that will be one expense you don't have to worry about. But if you're doing it to save a buck please do your research - for all the hassle involved you may be down a few dollars or just break even. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesCastle Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Is this thing serious? my soft top 2003 BMW M3 that cost 6k GBP is worth over 140k Ausd ? http://www.redbook.com.au/cars/research/BMW/M3/2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 James, If you click on the more details section of the car ad it will show you the private seller resale value. John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 (edited) I have been speaking with Craig at Ironlady and he has been extremely helpful. I have been looking at buying a top end car and bringing it over next year. I'm considering brining a 2008, Mercedes C class, C63 AMG or similar and an Audi A4 in the wife's name. These cars are worth far more in Australia than they are in the UK. My question is, does anybody have any experience of selling cars like this or, should I say imported cars? Do UK imports bring as much as original Aussie / German Aussie cars? Also, what about Satnav? Can you get a UK car with satnav reprogrammed for Australia? I'm sure you can but has anybody done this before? John. Edited March 3, 2013 by John S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Christian Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Is this thing serious? my soft top 2003 BMW M3 that cost 6k GBP is worth over 140k Ausd ? http://www.redbook.com.au/cars/research/BMW/M3/2003 No it isn't. You must look on used car sales to find the real value. Here's one for $42,000 http://www.carsales.com.au/car/brand%20new/dealer/demo/private/BMW/M3?eapi=2&sort=default&vertical=Car&silo=Stock&base=1216&Range=Price:Min,Max~0.5 The valuer still won't value it that high though, which is a good thing because the higher the value the more tax you pay. With a market value of around $40K and shipping & tax costs of $6 - 7000, it is definitely worth your while shipping it. Just remember anything that values over $57k attracts a huge luxury car tax - so be wary of that too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sustain Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Is this thing serious? my soft top 2003 BMW M3 that cost 6k GBP is worth over 140k Ausd ? http://www.redbook.com.au/cars/research/BMW/M3/2003 Here is a hint Purchase price when new Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesCastle Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 No it isn't. You must look on used car sales to find the real value. Here's one for $42,000http://www.carsales.com.au/car/brand%20new/dealer/demo/private/BMW/M3?eapi=2&sort=default&vertical=Car&silo=Stock&base=1216&Range=Price:Min,Max~0.5 The valuer still won't value it that high though, which is a good thing because the higher the value the more tax you pay. With a market value of around $40K and shipping & tax costs of $6 - 7000, it is definitely worth your while shipping it. Just remember anything that values over $57k attracts a huge luxury car tax - so be wary of that too! Thanks for your help, I just researched a bit more it's been raised to 59k for the LCT now ( insane and discriminating tax if you ask me!) So to bring it in roughly 7k AUs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwkl Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Thanks for your help, I just researched a bit more it's been raised to 59k for the LCT now ( insane and discriminating tax if you ask me!) So to bring it in roughly 7k AUs? Your M3 won't be valued high enough to warrant the LCT so don't worry about that. $7k sounds about right. I imported my M5 and broke down the costs here: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/transport-shipping/97053-transporting-your-car-oz-everything-you-need-know-75.html#post1345744 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Christian Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Thanks for your help, I just researched a bit more it's been raised to 59k for the LCT now ( insane and discriminating tax if you ask me!) So to bring it in roughly 7k AUs? It cost me $6,400 to bring my Jag in. The Jag valued at $16,000 by the valuer in Australia and $32,000 in market value. So the cost will increase the more your car is worth. Out of the above I paid $2,447.00 in GST and import tax (10% of the value for GST (VAT) plus a further 5% of the value for import duty + a couple of other contrived fees). I paid $2,200 (£1500) for the shipping and insurance. So the rest of that goes to the landing and broker fees. So expect the $6,500 to be more if your car is worth more as the GST and import duty will increase. Yes the LCT tax is completely crazy - typical government!! I call them the scumament! You think the British scumament is bad - wait til you meet the Australian scumament! On the bright side, as I said in my previous post, expect the valuer to value the car much lower than the market value - mine was HALF the market value - so you will probably escape that luxury tax if you're bringing in a car worth $42K. This doesn't mean you'll be able to sell your car for any less though! You should be able to sell it for the full market value. ALSO one thing no-one mentions is the stamp duty on registering your car - which everyone in Australia has to pay on first registering their car. In Queensland it's 3% of the value - which will add a further few hundred bucks on to your bill! However, I flashed the woman at the transport dept my invoice from the UK which was £8,000. She didn't notice the £ sign so I got away with paying 3% on $8,000 instead of $16K. I recommend doing the same and playing dumb if they pull you up on it. Do the math - 3% of $42K is SHEDLOADS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Christian Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I have been speaking with Craig at Ironlady and he has been extremely helpful. I have been looking at buying a top end car and bringing it over next year. I'm considering brining a 2008, Mercedes C class, C63 AMG or similar and an Audi A4 in the wife's name. These cars are worth far more in Australia than they are in the UK. My question is, does anybody have any experience of selling cars like this or, should I say imported cars? Do UK imports bring as much as original Aussie / German Aussie cars? Also, what about Satnav? Can you get a UK car with satnav reprogrammed for Australia? I'm sure you can but has anybody done this before? John. HI John, I just bought my Jag over from the UK. I don't have any plans to sell it but honestly I see no reason why your car would be worth less than an Aussie or German car. In fact if I go to sell it I am going to advertise the fact that it's a specially imported British car. I wouldn't be surprised if this makes it worth more. THe short answer is no your car will NOT be worth less than Aussie cars. My British Sat Nav doesn't work here in Australia and I have to get a new disc for Aussie roads. Jaguar wants $300! My guess is Mercedes will cost the same or more. Yes, welcome to rip off Australia! Sorry no you can't get Australian maps in the US or the UK - trust me I've searched. However, if you don't mind not using your inbuilt sat nav then you can buy a whole system for around $70 and attach it to your dash/windscreen. ps. don't forget you have to own your car for a year before applying. There is no negotiation on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwkl Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Yes, you can get Australian maps in UK, you need to use your google-fu and find an 'appropriate' source. It will depend on your system in the Merc so if its disc based, rather than HDD then last resort is buy a disc from a dealer here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest67761 Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I am not sure why but I don't seem to be getting emails from this forum when there are new posts anymore, so I wasn't aware there were more questions here again. Hi Iron Chef,First time on here, we're looking at going back to WA this year and wondered if it was worth taking our family car and hubby's work van? Car is a Mitsubushi Shogun Elegance, 2005, about 80,000 miles on the clock, worth about £9,000 here, $20,000-$30,000 on car sales Van is a Vauxhall Vivaro Sportiv, 2008, about 60,000 miles on clock, worth about £8,000 here. Both in good condition, be great if you could give us as A!!! HA HA Thanks a lot Jess Hi Jess, I think the Shogun would most likely be a winner to bring with you although I would like to know more so we can do a more detailed cost breakdown for you, and the Vauxhall would need to be looked into in more detail as it was not a model sold here, so I would appreciate it if you could fill out the cost estimate request form on our website with as much information as possible and even follow up with an email with some photos of the Vauxhall so we can accurately work out the costs on that one for you. Cost Estimate Request: http://www.ironladyimports.com/cost-estimate Email: craig@ironladyimports.com Cheers, Craig Moor Iron Lady Imports Year 2009Lotus - Evora - 3.5 V6 2+2 Sport Pack + Tech Pack Petro 275 BHP 6sp manual 15000 miles Aircon uk value £32,000 Red book Value $79,000 Destination Sydney NSW Is this worth shipping with the luxury vehicle tax ? This car would most likely incur a little Luxury Car Tax depending on the final valuation for Australian Customs, however even with this LCT payable it would be an excellent car to bring with you as it would end up owing you far less than it would be worth to resell here in Australia. You can fill out the cost estimate request form on our website for a more detailed cost breakdown. http://www.ironladyimports.com/cost-estimate Regards, Craig Moor Iron Lady Imports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest67761 Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Hi,Iron Chef have a look at this link: http://www.raws.com.au/SEVSReg.asp?f...s_PerPage=1000 It seems to be a list of cars that dont need to be pre-owned for 12months, my car isnt worth bringing over, however if you can recomend cars from the list, that would be a good cash cow, I cant see a reason not to buy one/two and bring over,Any help greatfully recieved Many thanks May be best to PM me as this post seems to get lost now and then, Cheers I will reply here for others who are interested and also PM you. You can certainly import cars under the SEVS Scheme without having owned them for 12 months first however there are a few things you need to consider: Firstly these cars can only be certified to meet Australian Design Rules (ADR Compliance) by a handful of workshops who have gone to extreme lengths to get the right to do each model, and this means that they charge a lot more for the work to recoup their investment. This could be anything from $2,000 to $35,000 depending on the vehicle model, how many other workshop can do them and the actual work involved. Compare this to the cost of ADR Compliance for a vehicle imported under the Persoanal Import Scheme at around $600 to $1,200 depending on the vehicle and which state you move to. The SEVS compliance laws are very strict regarding the vehicle condition. All vehicles imported under the SEVS laws must be totally original with nor modification or aftermarket parts, and they must also not have any previous accident repair history, rust or other problems. They must also meet strict emission regulations which many older vehicles with higher mileage will not. Vehicles imported under the Personal Import Scheme are exempt from many of these requirements. Another major consideration is the basic laws of supply and demand. As anyone could import the same cars without restriction you will find that there is always someone willing to do it for very little profit, so unless you are able to buy the car for well under normal market value in the UK then once all other costs are taken into account there will likely only be a small profit margin. If you are looking at the figures and it appears that there is AUD$20,000 to be made, then you will most likely find that the ADR Compliance cost is $8,000 for that model and the shipping, import and on-road costs will be another $8,000 leaving only a small potential profit margin. Long story short, you can do it but just don't expect to make a massive profit if you are buying cars at market value in the UK, be prepared to shop around for a really good condition car and pay more than you expect, and understand that the resale market in Australia is a lot slower than the UK with most cars taking anything from 4 weeks to 6 months to sell. Cheers, Craig Moor Iron Lady Imports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest67761 Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Hey - my details are- 2009 - MINI One - Petrol - 1.4 - Manual 6-speed gearbox - Front Wheel drive - 40,000 miles - Aircon - Alloy wheels, piano black and red leather trim on interior panels, otherwise standard spec. - UK value £8000 - Red Book value - The 1.6 engine equivalent (the MINI Cooper) is worth $31,100 - 48,800 for my year of car. - Australian Market value (closest match was for a Soft Top, John works Cooper) @ $36,000, or a clubman version 1.6 @ $28,000 Thanks in advance! :-) There are so many variants in the Mini range so we really need to know more about your car. Could you please complete the form on the website below with all of the details so we can do some research and get an accurate cost breakdown for you. http://www.ironladyimports.com/cost-estimate Thank you, Craig Moor Iron Lady Imports Is this thing serious? my soft top 2003 BMW M3 that cost 6k GBP is worth over 140k Ausd ? http://www.redbook.com.au/cars/research/BMW/M3/2003 There are a lot of variables which can alter the cost. If you want a good accurate cost breakdown then please fill out the cost estimate request form on our website below, however for now I can tell you that this car would easily be worth bringing to Australia as it will end up costing you around half what it would be worth to sell which would give you a potential profit of around $16,000 to $18,000 http://www.ironladyimports.com/cost-estimate I look forward to hearing from you soon to calculate the exact costs for this car. Regards, Craig Moor Iron Lady Imports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikyuu Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I think anything without aircon should be an immediate NO (apart from exceptional circumstances) unless you are comfortable sitting in a 50 degree oven in traffic. Even outside of peak summer, the strength of the sun alone through the windows heats the car rapidly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Chef Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 ^^^True. Unless you can get it fitted before you leave, or you own a classic car that never came with air con, having no air con on a late model car is the kiss of death for resale in Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Strakey Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 hi there! Not sure if this thread is still going but i'll give it a try anyway.. 2001 Lotus Elise 48000km No aircon £11500 $29000 Thanks, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chellywell Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 2010 Hyundai i20 Aircon 28000 miles £4800 $10,400 - $12,100 Thanks, Chell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike burke Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 Hi Iron Lady, heading to Sydney 2010 ford mondeo 2.0 tdiclub zetec with climate control a/c 20,000 mls(33,000kms) uk value £9,500 oz value 30,000aud red book value seemed to suggest $30,000 to $42,000-must be new car price? thanks mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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