noofie

Hi,

Just wondered of anyone had looked into taking their car to Australia.

We have a Citroen C8 and appear to have lost about 4K on it since we bought it last year so we were wondering if we should take it with us.

Would be interested if anyone else has done the same or thinking about it and has got some outline costings.

Thanks
Jackie

Grayling

Try doing a search.

This has cropped up loads of times.....the consensus seems to be that, unless it is particularly rare or cherished, then the costs involved are prohibitive.

Apart from shipping costs you would have to pay a hefty import tax.

It would probably cost you far more than the £4000 you would lose selling it.

G

noofie

Mmmmm thought as much.

Did try doing a search but something wrong with my computer and the search box won't open.

Thanks.

Wishwewerethere

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=561128

moneypenny20

BigAPE's thread is probably the definitive 'article' on the subject. About 18 months old now but still very valid. It's probably mentioned in the previous link you've been given but I didn't re read the whole thread

shellynelly

hiya if you have a newish car i would personally bring it with you,(just my opinion) we wish we had brought ours with us, cars seem really expensive over here, especially second hand cars, you see cars for sale over here that look like they are ready for the scrap heap and they still want top dollar for them , like i said its only my opinion but research how much a similar car like yours would cost in oz,
good luck

E3only

Some very good deals at the moment in the market. The market is not doing well (Auto Sales).

Of course factor in
1. Shipping costs
2. Duty
3. The car that you have there has to be sold at a loss.

Etc etc

cookiestar

We are shipping one of ours, but only because it's a limited edition Lotus (only 25 were made) - otherwise we wouldn't bother.

bigAPE

The problem with Citroen C8 is their limited availability here which will no doubt lead to expensive parts and servicing. The C8 isn't even sold in Australia.

This article on importing your car will fill you in on the majority of the issues. While it's about 18 months old it is being maintained. It contains rough costs as well as provide a template Excel for you to use which will allow you to work out your own costs.

Rule No.1 - Be realistic with the UK value and don't expect top dollar on a sale in Australia.

To be honest most shouldn't bother. If you do plan to do it don't do it for financial gain, because in my experience with many people who have looked into this and even done it (including myself) there is no financial gain even on paper.

Al

slipshot

As Bigape has said, it's easy for people to say 'I wish I had bought my car as cars are expensive here', without looking at the many issues and practicalities of the situation. Everyone can easily see the price of cars in Aus before they leave.

But people do not see the costs of the shipping, taxes, registration, confirmation of ADR and may other items that take up the price. Like BigApe, I've been there and done it - for a cherished car.

Probably the worst thing you could take would be something like a C8. No-one will know how to work or service it, so you'll be relying on skill and luck. No Citroen dealer will touch it for a start so it will have to be an independent who will be guessing. You'll have to import parts at times, and if you get involved in an accident or someone rear ends you, for example, parts would again have to be imported. Which costs a lot, and means your car is off the orad for a long time.

Insurance will be extremely expensive for this very reason.

You'll automatically lose the warranty which will only be valid on a European spec car.

And then, you will have not probably keep it forever, as no-one will want to buy an unknown car with no parts or dealer network, so ultimately its value plummets as soon as it lands.

Totally not worth it, unless you want to lose a packet later, rather than lose something far smaller now...

TartanTam

There is a rough calculator/Spreadsheet on this importers webpage which should give you a ballpark figure.

My 4 year old Rx-8 would cost me just under £5K to take over.

Here is the link.

http://www.karmanshipping.com/austra...orthwhile.html

cheers,
Tam

bigAPE

Everyone always mentioned that calculator. Sadly it doesn't include a whole heap of additional costs.

All it will do is give you a very rough figure based on the common formulas, the one I built in Excel will guide you through the process of determining the "As Landed" Customs valuation (which can be as little as 60% of the street value in Australia) as well as preparing you for all the other costs that The Karman calculator doesn't, including Luxury Car Tax which will be an additional 33% if you qualify and their excel doesn't even take that into account. What most people really want to know is "is it worth it". When you have the full realistic costs and you match them against the cost of selling in the UK and buying in Australia you will get your answer.

As an example taking a 2007 BMW M6 as a marque, their calculator came up with a "total cost" of £11,000 while mine took LCT and all the other on the road costs into account and came up with £21,000. That's quite a difference.

Unfortunately this is one of those topics where you will get a lot of opinions, but to be honest the most valuable (certainly in my experience) are from those who have actually been there and done it. In my instance it was a minefield of unknown costs and charges which jumped out at me once I had done endless research and really thought I knew what I was doing. Do your research well before making a decision, at the very least invest in a proper vehicle valuation from a registered valuer in Australia. This will give you the Customs Value (on paper) which you can then base everything else on.

Al

tiredwithtwins

you should also figure into the cost of importing it to aus ... the cost of exporting it back to the uk if it doesnt work out for you in aus ...

remember that guy on one of the aus progs ... he imported his jazzy little sports car, only to have to send it back to the uk a month or so later when he and the missus split up
- i know this wont happen to you, but worth a thought

bigAPE

Wow...


All in all, if you are married and have kids there are many far more important things to be dealing with that your car. It's only a car and the amount of money you may or may not lose selling in the UK is not a big enough figure when you take all the costs of importing into account.

I spent an inordinant amount of time dealing with this shipping and realise now how selfish I was being as my poor wife ended up having to deal with pretty much everything else.

Al

Loubags

bigAPE is spot on. I imported my car 2 yrs ago (new beetle convertible) and it was and still is nothing but hassle. Read his thread on importing very carefully as there are lots of additional costs and requirements than you may initially think.

Also, once here, it is very hard to get parts for imported cars. I needed my brake pads changing a couple of weeks ago - major hassle as they don't have the same ones on the Oz models and so needed to be imported. Luckily I have a great mechanic friend who was able to help out, as the main dealers over here are not much use.

I had my windscreen replaced this week - major drama. Glass was imported, so took over a week to arrive, then the guys put it on the wrong way round so the aeriel sensor is in the wrong place and the radio doesn't work. They were really good about it - told me immediately they had made a mistake as they don't usually work on imported cars and will replace it at their cost - but the new glass will again need to be imported and so more waiting.

These are all minor issues, but you always need to let people know that it is an import and try and find someone who can modify parts where they can. And don't think it will always be possible. I have no air con in my car and wanted to get it fitted here. No chance. Basically it has to be factory fitted, so I've missed the boat on that.

Having said all of the above - I love my car and am really glad I've got it, so if it's special to you, then go for it but don't bother otherwise.