on a mission

just sold my RS4 and Ducati 1098 as Im not paying the tax they want.

Phipsons

Thanks so much for that, the Wiki link was particularly helpful.

Looks like we'll be buying in Oz!!!

martin davidson

I imported 3 cars over to oz and sold them all before returning. what i remember there is no restriction if the car is over 10 years old .Just remember you have to dissmantle air con system completely and remove gas for oz regulations .You then have to pay percentage of valuation which can be done independantly then the gst charge on that..Hope this helps

Phipsons

Interesting!! We'd also been considering a classic car - might have more of a look into this option before giving up.

Thanks

cookiestar

We're planning on selling our Lotus Elise in the UK and buying another one when we move over - the costs of shipping and tax mean that it works out at much the same cost-wise, and much easier hassle-wise.

Timber Floor Au

When we first moved here, an Elise cost around $100k from within Oz.

Kinda kicked ourselves we dint have one spare we could have shipped with us ....

Nice cars !

cookiestar

Basic Elise S is around $70K I think, having looked online. We're actually planning on upgrading to an Exige S though (might as well treat ourselves if we can afford to!) - our current British spec Elise doesn't have air-con which I think will be a huge no-no in Brisbane and was also a contributing factor to not shipping our current car.

Timber Floor Au

totally with you there...

a car with no air con, is a deffo no no !!!

Makes me laugh... cars here all have rear window demisters ( heated RW )

lol

EmandRob

Right, get a cuppa and get comfortable...

We brought two cars with us. 2002 MG TF and 1981 Lotus Turbo Esprit. I'd personally say it was worth it, including all the costs, as they owe us nothing and if we'd sold them and brough local models over here it would have cost more... Euro cars (even Peugeots) are considered prestige, imported or not, and are worth more than the locat tat. I used a 2001 Ford that had rear leaf spring suspension and a SOHC engine, 70's technology, but that's another story...

Import is easy. Apply for import approval with DOTARS, cost bugger all and dead easy if you've owned the car for 12 months as you go down the personal import route that way. Then decide if it's going in a container (most costly route) or if it's going roll on, roll off. I shipped one of the two RORO for £1200, fully insured and landed in Brisbane. Other car was in a container with all the household stuff. You don't need to strip out the aircon stuff, just get it de-gassed and a certificate from an aircon place stating that they have decommissioned the system. The aircon isn't the problem. It's the gas - it's illeal to import it. But having said that the Lotus came in gassed up and no one even asked about aircon...

When it lands, you pay some duty on the 'as landed' value, which is a lot lower than the local market value as it is not yet a legal aussie car. Duty isn't painful if it's a personal import - MG dutiable value was about 80% of the UK value. If it's not a personal import, expect some pain. "Just bend over that there barrel please, Sir..."

Once it's here, you need to go through compliance. Another easy one, I just contacted QLD Transport and they told me where I could take it for the test. Some guys even come to you! Having two 2 seaters made it easy for me, but saloon/estate/family cars will need an aussie spec child seat anchorage fitting, which is relatively painless and not expensive. Compliance for the MG and for the Lotus was $240 + GST @ 10%.

After compliance is roadworthy (MOT). Just a case of make appointment, rock up, and take the test. MG flew through and the tester tried to buy it off us... Lotus was a pain at MOT time in the UK when it came to emissions, but the Aussies couldn't care less - "Still using less fuel than my V8, no worries mate".

Finally, it's registration time. You'd have to do this with a locally purchased car as well, so it's not really fair to say that this makes the process expensive or adds to the cost. Every car is taxed on registration and you have to but CTP insurance (if you haven't already brought it for the purposes of getting compliance and roadworthy). When you have that, you're legal and if you really wanted to you could sell it.

If you wanna bring cars over, it's not hard to do. But I'd urge you to bring expensive/prestige/sporty stuff like 911's, Ferraris, Lambo's, Lotus, Audi, Jag XK's and the like (insert your favorite prestige brand here). If you have a Lotus 340R, let me know! ;-)

For fairly accurate aussie values try www.redbook.com.au.
DOTARS and government transprot sites will tell you about taxation etc.
See if they are getting good money on www.carsales.com.au.

You could always send me an email with more questions if you want more info...

:-)

Rob.

p.s. any Lotus owners in Brisbane out there?

cookiestar

Rob - In my attempt to find ourselves a social life if/when we finally make it over to Brisbane, I found the Lotus Club Queensland - you might want to check them out: http://www.lotus.org.au/

Timber Floor Au

Theres also a very well represented MG club

and not just the old MG TA's or BGT's but also TF's

For me Im with the James Bond Esprit...

have you got the BLUE?

EmandRob

Well, the Lotus is in white with red decals, as the car in 'For Your Eyes Only' with the explosive alarm system. The MG is a really dark grey colour, with a black rag roof. MG is non-aircon UK spec and to be honest, now I'm Qld acclimatised, I don't need the aircon. Remember, we're only half as far from the equator as the UK, so while that means hot days it also means short days. It's cool at going to work o'clock and cool at going home o'clock - but it is stifling in the middle of the day. So for 9 months of the year the car has the roof permanently down and even has the hard top on in the winter, when dare I admit it, I even use the heater to keep warm! To be honest, once you get used to the climate, you only need aircon for a few hours in the middle of the day and then only in the heat of summer as well. In the cooler season I tend to use the heater. But then maybe having the roof down to get the breeze helps too.

Thanks for the posts about the MG and Lotus clubs, I'll certainly get in touch with them and try and make a few more friends. And if any one wants to meet up for a pint/cruise/look/ then I may be able to be tempted...

I'd still say it is a good way to get a good car at a good price, if you import. One of the added bonuses for us was that we knew the cars, knew they had no faults, knew they were well serviced etc so knew where we stood. Why would we want to get rid of a perfectly good car to buy one for more money that is very much an unknown in this way? If you were to import the special cars on personal import it might load the UK price by about £2500 or so all in duty and everything (check my sums by all means!), but having said that when we came here the MG was worth £6k in Blightly but about $25k here, so we definitely won on that. Same story for the Lotus as well, hence why they came, it just seemed to make sense.

If any one wants or needs specific advice on shipping cars, I can put you on to who I used and you'll get it all done by professionals who know what thay are doing. Any one who has shipped personal effects knows what sharks the shippers can be - charges to clean containers, hidden fees, cleaning contents, fumigation and the like. The company I used collected the Lotus, put it on RORO, got it here and used a local guy in Brisbane to do the paperwork to clear it. The whole load of them were fantastic, with not a hint of a sting or ripoff anywhere. Even the collection from Midlands and delivery to Southampton came in at a reasonable £200! So there really is no reason to not ship, you can hand over the car on your driveway and pick it up when it gets here, easy. So if you need help, let me know. It might cost you a drive in your toy though... :-)

Rob T.

Shaun&Dee

I have a 1970 Beach Buggy that I have owned for years. Its worth about £5k in the UK and I want to ship it to Cairns, QLD. Does anone have an idea how much this will cost. Its sitting in a garage gathering dust at the moment. Its all brand new and has never been on sand (100km since new).

What would be the best option? RORO or in a container? Thanks. Hers a pic http://www.muddock.com/VW.htm

wheep0

Very Interesting to read the thread comments..
I have a 16 month old Audi RS4 Avant loaded with extras.. Audi Uk offered me £ 44k ( $95k) for it, There is only one on Audi AU website for $ 152k..Even looking at £4k to get it here, £ 4 k on import tax, and 10% decrease on value for imported vehicle this still in paper makes sense to do...
Just dont know if I can be arsed with the rigmarole of it all... Driving a lovely motor over here just does not seem worth it...kinda like getting togged up in your best cloths for a night out in Bognor Regis... (No offence to anyone in Bognor)

stu:0

I say go for it and ship it out! Depending on where your going i cant belive the cost of cars here. Im in Cairns and fancy'd getting somthing a little more sporty and cant get over the cost. Early Audi tt's your looking at over $30 grand, they are £8 or £9 grand in the uk!!!
I keep looking on the autotrader to compare and i really shouldnt do it as it drives me nuts! I guess you just have to think your earning $ and not £ and you have to remember when you come to sell its worth more!