crikey

I have read loads of posts on the expense of shipping cars to AUS & had decided against it, Talking to a friend today though & he asked why you can't just put it in the container with your funiture?

I know there is still the taxes & multiple beaurocracy fees but could I do this?

Stockton

In the early 90's I met an Australian who bought a vintage Corvette while visiting the US and shipped it home in a container after filling it full of a whole bunch of other gear. His shipping company basically told him he was paying for the space and whatever he put in it (within reason) was up to him.

You should check with your own shipping company obviously, but I suspect they won't have a problem.

adamlt1972

I know there has been a few threads on car importation which will better inform you of the situation, but I think there a number of issues you'd need to consider;
1) Any import tax you pay will be based on the Aussie value of the car which will be much higher than the UK value. Consequently you'll be paying out a lot of money to ship the thing, then would have a tax bill to pay on top of that.
2) There will be a cost at the other end in terms of ensuring the vehicle is able to be registered in Australia.
3) You'd need to ensure that the vehicle was properly secured and insured for the journey over, as things regularly can get damaged when shipped. Its not the end of the world if a few glasses in a box are smashed, it's a different matter if your pride and joy gets smashed around on the high seas.

I'm not saying it can't be done, just that everyone would be doing it if it was so straighforward, especially given the high prices of 2nd hand cars in Australia.

lolylew

our shippers told us you had to have an import licence which can take a while to get, and if you dont have one before its shipped its refused......thats what i thought they said anyway, best check first tho'!

cookiestar

Simple answer is yes. We're doing it. It's not straightforward though. DO a search of the forum for car import threads to get yourself up to speed on the requirements and (often huge) cost implications.

cookiestar

The import licence from DOTARS takes up to 17 days processing at the moment.

bigAPE

As you have said you have already read up on this on the various threads. Nothing changes, only the cost of the shipping. You still have to do everything else, including all the duty and GST costs, etc.

In fact the process becomes a little more complex because you have to proportion out the percentage cost of shipping and vehicle insurance of your car and that of our personal effects from the total cost of the container.

Al

cookiestar

Our insurance (touch wood) is looking pretty straightforward. Car is being treated as one sum on money and charged at a certain percentage, household belongings are being charged at a different percentage, and we set the value ourselves.

aussiedreamer

Wish we had pursued bringing our car over a bit more thouroughly.
2002 Volvo S40 sold for 2500 pounds. 1996 Pajero $11000 dollars low K's. 2002 Astra Estate $22000.
Room in container free. GST and import duties still wouldn't have put our Vovlo at $22000 didn't even look at the Volvo's as couldn't afford to.

J

La Vida loca

I brought mine over, easy as anything and I did it the hard way.

Get your import licence first $50. You must have owned and been with the vehicle for 12 months, minimum.

The easy way is to ensure you have a broker who knows the rules and systems, fees are port clearance, cleaning, GST and some others..

The only thing id say, is although we like th ecar we brought the resale is crap, as Australians believe that European cars are built in mars and parts cannot be purchased without taking a mortgage and they are rust buckets....

Geelong Gent

A recent arrival from Hong Kong did this and his car (an E Type Jag) was sent all the way back. He was lucky his company paid for the duplicate fees and double shipment costs.

Consequently he is not getting a bonus this year