Stormz

Right, I`ve been trawling the web and this forum and various other sources for some decent info on roughly how much a car would cost to import to Aus. As you may know, the Aus govt. are deliberately vague when it comes to the exact cost. I can`t take any credit for this info, but thanks to all the people who posted their experiences and the various other sources. I`ve just collated and condensed all the relevant info.
Hopefully this will make you less (or more) confused:

The shipping from the UK is the easy part. It will cost between £900 - £1500 from UK - OZ.

*************
OZ:
- There is no definitive set of costs to lay out not helped by the Aus Gov and each State seeming to make all the rules so vague as to discourage car imports. Every State has a different set of costs. Some States e.g. WA don't charge Stamp Duty, some depend on the Rego Office and where there is stamp duty they charge it on different values (your cost, market value, their value...) and at different rates depending on the state. It`s normally 2% stamp duty.

ROADWORTHINESS: budget $2500
Each State has it's own Roadworthy requirements (one set of rules for local cars and one set for imported cars and even testing centres have a different set of rules).
Qld doesn't require a kph only speedo but WA doesn't want Mph listed anywhere (you can budget about AUD800 - 1500 for a speedo change depending on vehicle).
Most seem to want the child safety restraint anchorage points fitted but only some want the wing mirror glass changed to flat glass rather than curved (they don't want you to see too much of the road in the wing mirror as it may confuse the driver!!!).
Qld is the worst for Rego in that each car has to go to have a private 'engineers' report and some companies charge AUD2500 when some others charge AUD500-750 (these reports also include having the work listed earlier done).

DRIVING PERMIT: budget $50
Between arrival and Rego some States allow you to purchase a temporary driving permit for a period (Nsw & Vic, others make you buy a permit each time the car moves (WA) and others make you trailer a car everywhere (Qld).

AQIS INSPECTION:
AQIS station inspections vary greatly from port to port and between different officers so that a perfectly clean car can fail inspection and need to be recleaned and a marginal car can pass. Aqis stations charge different amounts for inspections, different amounts for cleaning if it is required and different amounts for reinspections. One forum member with a Shogun was charged $250 per hour for cleaning and billed for 5 hours! Some Aqis offices have a 2nd fee for reinspection and some not - some higher than the first fee and some less. If you clean and hoover your car here before shipment there is a good chance of a pass with one fee say of $100.

CUSTOMS TAXES & VALUATION:
Each Customs Office makes a charge for calculating your taxes. Budget $100.
As taxes are normally levied on the as landed value and not your UK purchase price you will have to pay for an Aus Market value from which the as landed value is calculated. With a friendly valuer and creative clearance agent much lower taxes can be paid compared to a customs recommended valuer for an importer trying to do things themselves.
Have a look at www.redbook.com.au for an approx valuation.
Contact the RAC in your state for a customs valuation. I contacted RACWA in Perth: "The Customs Valuation can be carried out at a cost of $115.00 and can be arranged by contacting Mr Daniel Bennett at RAC Inspections on 08-9421-4278 for further assistance as required."

A car can be cleared of customs by the owner easily if they have the time and patience. A good Agent (not necessarily any one that we may recommend) can save in time and taxes paid many times more than their cost. Agents quote clearance fees of around $200 but we suspect that some of the other costs are rounded up so $400 may be a more likely margin.

PLATES: budget $100
An imported car need an engraved import plate similar to the ADR plate on Aussie cars.

REGISTRATION: budget $500 (tax disc/3rd party insurance)
Each year a car has to be reregistered and the cost depends on the State the car owner and the model of car.
Sometimes Rego offices give out number plates included in this fee and sometimes they are extra - budget $25.
Extra costs for upgrading the Gov 3rd party ins to fully comp cover - budget $250.

PORT & UNPACKING CHARGES: Budget $700.
Again each port is different, some more some less, some minimum charges, some per car some on the size of car, some depending on the shipping line, less if unpacked at the port or more if unpacked away from the port, usually cheaper at the port but most ports subcontract unpacking to a private company anyway so some pay more for the same unpacking. Sometimes a private unpack is cheaper but does not have an Aqis station close by so there's higher charges on a quarantine fail.

TAXES:
Taxes on cars is now 10% Duty and Gst is 10%. Duty is on the as landed value and gst is on the as landed value + duty + shipping.

*********
CASE STUDY 1:
We brought our car over (cos my company were paying all our relocation costs, so it didnt cost us anything - woohoo - plus we would have lost quite a bit of money if we had sold it before moving), but with hindsight we wish we had taken the hit and sold it and bought again here.

Its not just the speedo that you have to worry about. There are al sorts of other conversions that have to be done as well that they dont mention on any of the websites (Dotars, Aqis etc...)

Our car landed in Perth on 12th May and we still dont have our grubby little paws on it. Took a few weeks to get it through customs and Aqis, andthen went to the inspection centre to get a list of conversions need and its now spent 3 weeks or so at the garage getting all the conversion work done. (cost just over A$2000) Now just waiting for the PIP to arrive and then hopefully later this week we can take it to the Inspection centre (more money) and get it licensed (even more money).

Really would strongly advice you to think very hard about bringing a car over as a personal import. From everybody we have spoke to here inc, freight forwarders, the Garage, Dotars, other folk (mainly South africans) who have also brought their cars over, the inspection centre, every single one of them is saying its not worth it, unless it is a top quality classic car, worth megabucks. Note : The S.Africans are only doing it cos thats the only way to get some of their money out of the country and even with the hassle and costs they at least get something when they sell the car. All the others just about breakeven or make a loss if they are selling it. And even if like us you bring it over and keep it till it drops the hassle factor and various conversions are a nightmare.

Note : even when you think you meet all the requirements you get hit with something, cos xyz part isnt marked with the Australian Standards stamp and has to be changed


Further, your car will require:

Child restraints fitted
Immobiliser fitted.
Speedometer changed. AUD800 - 1500 depending on vehicle.
Possibly new headlamps - depends.
Flat glass on the drivers wing mirror.
Any tow bar removed.

But, prior to that, there is the broker fee for supplying documents for customs.
Then the customs fee itself.
A cleaning fee for Quarantine if required, and it usually is.

Then there is the GST (VAT to you and me at 10% of the purchase price, minus depreciation).
Then there is the duty also at 25% of the purchase price, less depreciation.

It may be possible to have the RAC in Oz do a customs valuation, as it will greatly reduce the % costs.

Then there will be "permits" required to collect the car and drive it to the import specialists to have the above work done.
Then there is the pit inspection to be done at the government inspection area.
Then there is the Personal Import Plate to order, and fit to the car.

Then there is another permit to buy in order to drive the vehicle to the licensing centre to get the vehicle registered and plated up.

Then, and only then can you drive away a happy man !!!!

I urge you to think very carefully indeed before going to the added expense of shipping your car down.
It truly is a nightmare, and unless it is a specific vehicle with specific tasks in mind, (as mine was) it isn't worth the cost and the hassle.

If you are going to drive it into the ground, it may be worth it.
Cars last much longer out here, and there are no MOT laws etc, so it could well last you your lifetime if cared for, but please contact Ozzie customs and request what % duty and GST and based on what cost prior to making ANY decision.

I hope this helps.

Chris.

********
CASE STUDY 2: (COURTESY EVO)
Been there done that got the only mk2 golf gti campaign in oz to my knowledge. Anyway it's simple and I've posted some stuff on evo about this so I'll just paste it down for you

Basically it goes like this

1. Application to Canberra, once approved you put in container

2. It arrives and you are charged taxes

3. Compliance work is carried out ie child anchor points and an extra brake light

4. Car gets examined by state adr standards

5. You register and insure car and drive home. Good work fella

This is a simple guide BUT if yuo know these five points you won't be in for any shocks!

See below for my full write up

For all the wannabe ozzies on the forum this is how I did it :-

I imported my car from the UK and have the satisfaction to prove it - VERY easy if you know what your doing. Lodge an application with DVLA in Canberra, ACT - costs £20. They approve in 2 wks.

Firstly you can ship for about £800. Then you pay an import tax (10% on purchase price) which you blag by making a receipt for less than the value of the car. The only problem I had was the steamcleaning. Get it done yourself someone trustworthy before shipping.

The car comes off the ship and is held in quarantine until inspected - mine took a week.

The car is then booked in to get compliance approval (phone them when it lands) which entails putting child anchors (plate containing thread) in the back and then having another brake light fitted to rear in centre. You get special road tax to drive during this time for the mods only.

APPROVAL TIME - Mine went through JUST as handbrake wasn't tight enough but it wasn't over the top inspection.

Once they approve it you can register (road tax) and buy your number plates. Custom plates are £50 so treat yourself, then you insure it and bob's your uncle. This sounds simple and to an extent it is and i will be doing again in another couple of years with something more exotic after a visit to the UK.

Personal imports are restricted to One car / person / year I think. Was it worth it - I had a golf gti worth £1000 in the UK and worth £4000 here so I think so yes. Not only that but I had modded (spent loads on it, new engine just a start) so someone else would have enjoyed it

If it sounds like effort don't bother but it worked for me, only tip is if it isn't standard don't tell them. Chances are if it's a rare car they won't know it's a performance exhaust etc

***************

So there you go. Clear as mud.

The best thing anyone could probably do is check out the excellent cost calculator at Karman shipping on this page:
http://www.karmanshipping.com/australia/australia.html

Vegemite Kids

Dont you just love the fact that they charge you duty and then have the cheek to charge you another fee where somehow, magically they get to charge you GST on the duty you've already paid

Stormz

Yeah. I`m not sure why they have to be trying so hard to stop people bringing any cars over. Is it showing how much of a rip-off 2nd hand cars are in Oz??

Flying Banana

Some good info on how to calculate the import duties on the Aussie Customs website:

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/re...ePrivOwnMV.pdf

I wouldn't say second hand cars here are a rip off. They are far more expensive than in the UK but IMO it's better than the UK where the company and hire car fleets are dumped onto the market causing massive depreciation to any private buyer who has bought a new car. If you bought a house new and it was only worth 1/2 what you paid for it a year later you wouldn't think it was a good investment.

Cars here last longer due to no crappy European winters and people tend to hold on to them longer. Might cost you more to buy initially but you gain by a better resale value when you sell it on.

Bodger

Does anyone have a list on what modifications are needed for Australia ?

I don't mind fitting a high level brake light, but I'm concerned about having to hack my car about too much

sonictigger

Thanks Stormz - just used the guides and we would lose approx £9k....mmmm decision made - shame, the cars only 3 years old and we love it (Rav4).

Thanks for the links.