zlou

Hi there,

Does anyone know how easy/ expensive it is to move cars to Australia. We have a Lotus Elise that we would like to ship over and possibly a Lotus Elan which is a claasic car, but not sure that would be worth any more money in Oz?

I hear cars are expensive in Oz, but so is a lot of things by the sounds of it!

Thanks for any help

Tramps_mate

Shipping cars is very expensive. From your comment are you shipping the Elan to sell? Elan's aren't worth much really are they?

I thought cars were expensive at first, but if you look hard they can be fairly reasonable IMO...

chris955

Prestige cars are worth a lot more here, something like an original Élan would be worth very good money. The Elise is also worth a lot more here. Anything other than your basic family cars are expensive 2nd hand. As long as you have owned and used the Elise for a minimum of 12 months it will be fine to import and the Élan is OK because of its age. As with many things there is lots of red tape and hoops to jump through but it can be worthwhile.
The Elise is one of my favourite cars, I could never afford one here but I am considering one as a toy back in the UK.

skinnygeorge

Its usually worth bringing prestige and classics over, but do the homework on value here and duty you will be charged. Getting a low valuation from somewhere can help. But I have been told Jags and TVR`s are worth the agro. Also go for a good shipping company. There are real chancers out there who go through 2nd,3rd and 4th parties and by the time it gets here after being sat god knows where for months, Its been bounced around and packing cases have fallen on it etc. Insurance a must. I know people who have been through it. A friend thought He`d lost his Norton for ever and could not contact the shipping agent, Alarm bells rang. Then a few months after its due date, It arrived safe and sound.

Buzzy--Bee

Contact Mike-S on this forum, he has just shipped two cars here and may be able to give some advice.

BB

Kenzi

I had mine shipped over and got it this week... I applied for my import approval on 18th Aug and got it at the start of November. The costs were as below. A lot of work and a lot of chasing up is required, but its worth it to drive your pride and joy for the first time again!

2008 BMW 335i

Key Facts -

You need to have owned it AND used it for a min of 12 months. Although they let me apply in Aug when I had only owned it for 8 months as by the time I had it, it is now 12 months owned.

You must be on a 457 or longer visa. No working holiday visas

You must have your air con degassed before shipping.

You will need to supply them with every piece of paper work they require and jump through EVERY hoop they put in your way.

It takes a good few months and there will be a lot of waiting not knowing whats happening during it. Customs/Quarantine do things at there own pace and decide when things are done. My car arrived on the 20th Jan, I only got it on 7th Feb.

Your shipping dates are only estimated, mines had to wait an extra week in Singapore due to congestion.

Make sure your car is SPOTLESS!! I had mine detailed the morning of shipping, it then went onto a trailer to the shipping depot 8 miles away and straight into the container, quarantine still failed it saying there was soil found.

Make sure you find a decent person to value it. The one my logistics company used valued mine against an M3... Which costs about $30k more! Only when I argued this, did he admit it and customs lowered the customs value.


Car Import Costs Actual Cost

Container Shipping $3,515.00

Fremantle Port Charges $558.25

Customs Sea Cargo Automation $44.00

Customs Entry Processing Fee $70.00

Cartage ex Fremantle Wharf To AQIS Inspection Facility $400.00

Wharf Booking Fee $20.00

Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) Documentation $392.00

Container Unpack, AQIS Inspection And Steam Clean $1,470.00

LGF Logistics - Customs Clearance $350.00

LGF Logistics - AQIS Supervision $82.50

Customs Duty On Motor Vehicle - 5% of Declared Value $2,219.91

Import GST - $36891.77 + Freight Cost + Duty x 10% $4,912.39

Car Valuation $160.00

Vehicle Examination $90.00

Rego $550.00

Air Con Re-gas $180.00

Pip Plate $89.00

Total $ $15,014.05
Total £ £10,213.64

But when I sell it.. I will make quite a profit even after the big shipping bill.

zlou

Thank you so much for your feedback, it was very helpful and a real eye opener. I suppose the next thing to do is get them both valued to see if a profit could be made to cover those shipping & entry costs.

Thanks again.

Mike-S

Contact Richard Korge at Karman Shipping, he'll provide all the information you need and a quote for the shipping, I'd suggest you do it in a container rather than roll on roll off, for the safety of the vehicles. I've just sent my car via Richard, incredibly helpful chap.

http://www.carshipping.co.uk/

As others have said already, you need to have owned them for 12 months prior to moving out, if not then the whole process becomes much harder (if not impossible), but at least the Elise is on the SEVS list so could be brought over. If you qualify for the 12 month ownership then the importation is pretty straightforward, if at first very daunting (based on my importation of our cars to Victoria).

Is the Elise an S1 or S2 ? Only reason I ask is that S1's are harder to come by over here so command a fairly high resale value, certainly a tidy Sport160 was recently up for $40k+. S2's are easier to get so I wouldn't really bother. Parts for either will be a pain to get, you'll have to get them from the UK I'd imagine. Make sure it's in pristine condition before leaving the UK though and have any little jobs done that you've been putting off.

The Elan, is it the FWD version or is it a 'proper' Elan ? If it's the FWD, sell it in the UK, but if it's the classic Elan then bring it, they're worth good money. One thing to consider though is that UK cars have been subjected to the ravages of salty roads whereas Aussie ones haven't, so some classic car people look very hard at UK cars because of the associated rust issues from the salt. Yes, classics are cheaper in the UK but I do know a few classic car chaps here who wouldn't touch an ex-UK car, because of the salt and the potential for future issues. There's nowt so queer as folk that's for sure.

There are 2 ways of bringing over a classic, one is under the 'pre-89' import permit route, the other via the standard 'personal' import permit. Having just brought our 1979 Spitfire out here initially under a pre-89 permit I can categorically state DO NOT use the pre-89 import if you've owned the cars for more than a year, use the personal import permit route, it allows a lot more flexibility and is cheaper when the car arrives. We changed the permit once the car was here due to the changes it would've needed to comply with the ADR's relating to the age of the vehicle, they were just ridiculous. The only issue with the personal import permit is that you can only bring one car per person in a 5 year period, so if it's just one of you coming out, whichever one is registered in your name is the one you're bringing. If it's 2 of you and the car's are registered individually in your names then tickety boo.

The import permit forms & information can be found here

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roa...les/index.aspx

Degassing A/C isn't required if you've owned the car for more than a year, there's an additional form to sign for AQIS/Customs, I have it here for when my Range Rover Sport arrives in 3 weeks time. Be prepared to provide & supply *a lot* of paperwork, they love the paperwork here that's for sure.

We were lucky, we could just fit one car in our 40ft house contents container so the Spitfire went in there, that saved us a significant amount of money as all we've had to pay for is the 20ft container for my car. A 20ft currently costs £1765 via Karman, plus insurance, so mine is coming is at £2000. A 40ft was about £3500 if I remember right, but that was 7-8 months ago so it's likely to have increased.

Drop me a message if you'd like anymore help, if I have the answers then happy to give them.

Cheers
Mike

spuddyo

I have imported a Lotus Esprit and know two other people in the local Lotus club who have done the same thing in the last 12 months. Due to the rarity of Lotus cars here and the inflated prices both new and pre-loved, it is well worth the time and effort.

If you use a shared container instead of sole container, the price of shipping should be laess than 2K ( UK Pounds ) and will save you some cash. Do not even consider RORO shippings, I don't know anyone who has done this and had a happy experience. Try Anglo Pacific in the UK they do shared containers and offer a good service.

The local Lotus dealerships charge like wounded bulls so planning to do your own maintenance is a good idea. There is a Lotus specialist in Melbourne that have good spares stock, and UK companies like SJ's ship to Australia and are usually very fast so parts are not an issue.

The total cost of getting my Esprit shipped to Australia and landed was about AU$6,000 including freight, duty and GST. One bit of advice I can give you, is that when you fill in the customs / shipping forms do not put a pound or dollar sign in front of valuation figures.

Buzzy--Bee

Hey Mike, I would very much like to be present when it arrives! I'll bring beer.

BB

Mike-S

No worries, will drop you a line when it's here & clears customs. Can't wait now

Kenzi

Thats the first time I've heard that one?? If you search google the rules will come up you have to remove the gas and you cant really import a car if you haven't owned and used it for a year.

You have to pay $100 fee for importing a charged device, and if it still has the gas present, it will cost you another $600.

I got my mate at BMW to remove the gas for free and paid $180 to get it regassed over here.. Saving $400!

Mike-S

I've read & seen it happen both ways, so don't doubt what you're saying. As we've owned the car for 2 years, I have a form to sign about the air conditioning system and haven't had to de-gas it. The rules around personal imports are slightly lax and as I've found out, certain exemptions are given, essentially saying that as I've owned / driven it I'm accepting its failings (for want of a better description). Had exactly the same with our other car.

Anyway, it doesn't arrive until sometime round the 3rd March (if it doesn't get stuck in Singapore), so I'm sure that'll give enough time for things to change

Kenzi

Good luck with that.. Mines got stuck in Singapore for over a week! I waited 7 months for my car so everyday it sat there or at customs here it wanted it more and more!!!

Should finally get it on the road tonight after it arrive 20th January!!

Mike-S

Yeah, I left the UK in October so the car's been in storage since then being serviced & prepared, finally got delivered to the docks and went on a boat at the end of January. Due in Singapore later this week for a week's stopover then onto the next boat. Considering our house contents container was stuck in Singapore for a month, I don't hold out much hope for the Rangey to get here on time

Enjoy the first drive, watch out for the speed cameras