Wol

Someone said somewhere that in Oz the speedo of a car must be in Km ONLY - not mph/km or with an overlay in Km.

Is this correct?

I have had no luck with Honda trying to find out exactly how they can convert the speedo of an Accord - some say that you get reprogram the firmware, others that you have to get a new speedo installed. Trouble is, they don't do the model in Oz so I can't find out if that option is viable.

One thing after another......

Sazzle

Would it not be easier/cheaper to sell it here and buy new out there?

Wol

Easier, not cheaper!

They don't sell this Accord in Oz. It's only done 12000m in 3 years and is worth 8k as opposed to the 23k we paid for it.

DOH...

even counting the shipping, tax etc it would be a good deal - it's a super bit of kit. Just can't make up my mind.....

The speedo thing might be the decider!

keyurlavingia

In that case, just get the speedo changed. I am assuming you are in the US as you are talking about miles. I know a friend who took his car from the US to Canada and even though its not a problem there, he found it to be. He used to keep getting tickets being confused with the miles and kms while looking at the speedo. He got a speedo with KM in Canada for about $250 and its all good after that. Its not just the dial that needs changing, the whole speedo has to be changed. Be careful of keeping your miles on the speedo converted to kms. That way you don't break laws of showing wrong kms utilization on the car.

Keyur

Vegemite Kids

Personally I would advise - DONT BRING IT !!!!!

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

Vegemite Kids

Chris here (insignificant other).

Mairi has not explained the entire story, there are other bits and pieces that one should be aware of.

There are a few Aussies who buy "souped up" Toyota Supras and Nissan Skyline GTR's etc from Japan. Mostly these are chipped, therefore blisteringly quick. The mechanic at the import specialists informed me that all the breakpads have to be changed on most. In some cases tyres also have to be changed due to the increase in power. Expensive stuff, given that the speed limit is 110 kph.

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.

ABCDiamond

Just thought i'd mention about MOT laws. Both WA and QLD do not have these MOT equivalent test, but NSW does, it's called a pink slip. (just in case anyone from NSW reads this )

I'm not sure about all the other states.

evorobin

Nope it is crap. My car has small km with large mph and it went through as a personal import fine. I've posted on here before how easy (note I didn't say cheap) it is to bring a personal import in to Australia. But beware, you may get nailed for a % of the price of the car when you bought it as apposed to it's market value form what I know of the system. However there are a few ways of valuing it. I opted to show them the purchase <cough> receipt from when I bought it off the last owner. May be harder to do this if you bought it spankers. Best of luck anyway mate

Pollyana

RACQ say that you can leave the car marked in mph, it doesn't need converting. They do however suggest that you get the calibration of the speedo checked so that you know exactly what speed you are doing in kms.

Vegemite Kids

Different states have different requirements. In WA it is mandatory that the speedo is in KM's. Sounds like you are saying SA has easier rules. Perhaps we should have gone to SA


Rog, where abouts are you headed to in OZ ?


WA is (unfortunately) one of the hardest states to import a car into - apparantly (according to the import specialists we are using) even from other states in OZ you have to go through a pit inspection to get WA registration. The same is not true in reverse i.e "exporting" from WA to Eastern states.

evorobin

Interesting. From what I've read atleast WA and ACT allow left hand drive vehicles into the country/to be registered. Funny how different states vary so wildly...

Jacko1

We looked into taking a Merc out to Aus and the sums do not add up, even though the car is worth a fortune in Aus compared to here.
The duty and luxury car tax etc make it unviable. We were loking at a rough total cost inc shipping and all taxes of around £9K.
And then you have a car that you probably won't be able to sell easily in Aus, look at the values of imports here in the UK.

Also we have friends who have taken a car to Perth and they have had loads of trouble getting spares etc because the car is not Aussie spec

My advice would be leave it here and buy when you get there, possibly with the exception of Classic Cars

Paul J

Wol

Thanks everyone.

It really does seem a right pain to get the thing into NSW.

I had done the research, realised how much had to be done but thought that the potential loss on a 3 year old car selling it here in the UK was more than I could cope with!

However, I think I will have to bite the pullet and chicken out (joke).

FOR SALE: Honda 3l Accord V6 coupe. 1 careful owner, dealer serviced, only 12000m. Offers to ......

ABCDiamond

Have you posted this info on the "returning to UK" forum ?

bob and ginnie

Australia went metric from miles to kilometres on 1st July 1974 . . . nearly 30 years ago now!
I remember walking around the motor spare parts shops and they had heaps of stickers with kilometres per hour on that you could stick on your speedo for the particular model Holden or Ford Falcon, etc that you were driving, all up till then in MPH.
I still come across the odd car or two that is pre July 1974 still in MPH on the speedo . . a bloke at work has an old Toyota.
A lady in NSW a few years ago bought a second hand Jag imported from the UK that still was in MPH, and had km/h in small type, so I guess you can get that passed thro' the motor reg. people here.
Just as a side point, in Australia they call the yearly motor tax the "registration" which, by law, also incorporates 3rd Party bodily injury insurance (the legal minimum to be able to drive a vehicle on Australian roads here). My "rego" each year costs $540 for my 4-cylinder car, an extra $50 for 6-cylinder cars and $100 extra for V8's. That is in South Australia. Some States charge a little more, some less.
There is no MoT here, in NSW there is, but the coppers here in SA are able to pull you over at a breath test and check your rego is up to date, and the tyres and lights, etc are A1 . . or you get a defect sticker on your windscreen and 3 days to fix the problem and $18 to get it taken off by the local police.
You can get 3rd party Property insurance or Fire & Theft, or fully comp insurance if you want thro' a private insurer, which I recommend. I tell my kids that if you can't afford the $100 a year it costs for most vehicles to be 3rd party property insured, you can't afford to be driving on the roads! What if you hit a Porsche without insurance????
They have Honda Accords here. Personally, if it's not an expensive European car, that IS worth the time, hassle and money to bring it to Australia, then leave it in the UK and buy again here. If it's a Honda they don't sell here, how will you . . . or any new buyer . . . get spare parts in the future, as it wears out?? That could put lots of potential buyers off and lower the sale price in the future.
Just a few things to ponder.