Hi, I'll be moving to brissy nexy year and would like to know if its worth taking my car with me? or has anybody imported a car into oz and what sort of hassle did they get from customs etc and what sort of prices did they pay.

also what sort of price should i pay for a container to ship all my stuff over in, including the car, I reakon i can fit everything i want to take into a 20foot container. whats the deal with the containers do you pack it yourself or do they pack it for you and do they put a great container outside your house so you can fill it or what? also insurance, who is good what sort of insurance would be best.

cheers

What sort of car do you have? Generally, unless its somthing sentimental, or speccy, its not worth shipping.

I got a BMW 3 series, its nothing special but looking at BMW prices in oz i would never be able to afford one over there for a long time and i can't say i like jap cars of which there are lots in oz.

check out:

karman shipping ltd

click on 'australia' then the link 'is it worthwhile to ship my car?' ....this gives you a good idea of the costs involved & whether it is worth it or not...

I have a 4 year old cherokee jeep & it is worth it for me, so I will be doing it next year...

Check out www.redbook.com.au, and see how much it would cost to replace in Aus.

Other people will know more than I about this, but i do think you need to have the speedo guage changed over to show K's only, not mph. That would be at least one cost involved in bringing it over.

The speedo reads both mph and kph as standard so i wouldn't think it need changing, would it? i've checked out the aussie autotrader and for the same model as mine i would be paying about A$8k to A$10k and i never payed even close to that when i bought it 18 months ago.
it seem that european cars are very expensive over in oz.

What about the bike Pickle, you can't forget the bike mate!!!!!!!!

I thought in aus they had to read Kph only, but as i said im not sure.

All secondhand cars are very expensive here, but yes, european ones more so. Nearly passed out when a friend told me she was selling her 3 year old golf gti for $35k!

The two most likely modifications needed to bring a modern UK car to Oz spec are:

- rear vision (wing) mirrors – normal flat non-tinted mirrored glass only is acceptable, (i.e. not convex) and cost in Australia normally less than A$50

- speedometers – must normally be in kilometres per hour only and cost in Australia about A$200

...so these costs also need to be factored in.

The main thing that makes it worthwhile for me is the low amount I am likely to get for my car in the UK & the higher relative cost of second hand cars in Oz.

not decided about the bike yet, gotta look into the price and availabilty of bikes in and around brissy, talking of bikes...........I'm off out for a ride seeing as its actually sunny here for once.

Aus, Red Book
2002 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

4th Gen Hatchback GTi 5dr Man 5sp 1.8T

National average price - private sale* $23,500 - $27,100

UK, Parkers, Private Good £ 9790 = $23,000

Be aware that the second hand value of privately imported cars is lower than cars sold here with "compliance plates"

Don't forget to factor in such things as registration,insurance, import duties and compliance repairs for your BMW, which is classed as a luxury car over here, and as such, attracts higher charges. Also any modifications have to be done apparently before the car is released from storage so I would expect storage and mechanic costs also. You would not be able to drive on the road without rego and insurance paid before leaving storage also.

Also take into account if you are able to get parts for the car over here, as some parts on overseas vehicles are not interchangable with parts available in Australia, and you are only allowed to use genuine BMW parts to avoid warranty exclusions. So you might be in for a long wait if parts have to be shipped from the Europe, as a guy at work found out. He waited a month for a part for his BMW that was sold here in Brisbane to be sent out.

So should I take my car? This is a hot debate in our house right now. IE Hubby says NO WAY and I want to take it as I am bizarrley attatched to this inanimate object.

Do a price comparison as I did above for your exact model.
There is not the great difference in price that some think.
In fact some European cars are cheaper here than in UK.