Marion Jennings

Hi, I am moving to Sydney in April 2013. I am wondering if it is worth bringing a 2004 Range Rover worth around £8000 to Sydney? There seems to be so many taxes and regulations, but then again cars seem relatively expensive to buy in Australia. Has anyone brought a car from UK to Australia recently? I would appreciate you help and any advice. Best wishes, Marion

RedDragon2008

Someone did a spreadsheet years ago do a search for it and do the calc.

I would think its not gouing to be worth it given the costs of physcial shipment are going to be a hefty part of the existing value.

But only you can determine the cost benefit. Just dont assume having a car arrive here will save on rental car when you arrive.

Marion Jennings

Thanks for your advice, I will do the maths, cheers!

chris955

It CAN be worth it but only if the value there far exceeds the costs which for a 2004 Range Rover they should. There are lots of costs and plenty of red tape so think carefully.

Alfresco

A recent thread.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...=importing+car

commonwealth

no no. they are cheaper to buy here.

chris955

Why make a comment like that that you know to be incorrect and misleading ?

KJCherokee

Without knowing the model, 2004 Range Rovers are being advertised between $38,000 and $45,000, so if you can only get the equivalent of $12,000 to $13,000 for yours in the UK it may make good sense to ship it over.

Alfresco

Then at £8000 to sell in the UK, it may well be worth shipping over if it is good condition.

Chris N Lora

please ignore this post, agreed very misleading ... personally if you can put it in a 40/45ft container and bring it over in the long run it will be cheaper ... over here they are asknig $8000 for 10 year old cars the second hand market is to expensive to me .. when we came we brought brand new as it worked out better for us.

furkew

they are asking $8000 but not getting it. Both cars & bikes on the second hand market are not selling. There are some excellent deals to be had at the moment.

Shipping a car to Oz is in most cases not worth the hassle and expense.

take into accout:
shipping.
taxes
possible compliance issues
cleaning at this end (they are rarely clean enough for customs)
rego

Once here the car is classified as a grey import, and this can then lead to:
difficulty getting parts if it not a standard Oz model
Difficulty and dearer insurance being a grey import and maybe an unknown model to an Oz insurance company
higher servicing for the same reasons.
reselling grey imports generally mean lower prices and harder to sell.

Also worth taking into the equasion, you will be in Oz 3-4 weeks minimum before getting your vehicle on the road. You will need to rent in the meantime, which is not free.

All that said, its always worth doing the homework, and if its of sentimental value, rare or high end market (although this attracts higher taxation on import) then you will probably want to bring it.

If its just a car, dont bother.(IMO)

Chris N Lora

its a Range Rover, they have them over here, the compliance issue is not going to be to much of an issue as all range rovers are imported over here. I was going to bring my car from england over here but decided to buy a car here(as it was not viable to bring a 56 plate vectra over here as they do not have the face lift shape) guess what built in europe and shipped over. not many cars are made here in aus now my car is exactly the same spec as a car in UK ... Rego will not be hard to get the standards are not as strict as UK, well in NSW they do not seem to be as a vehicle at my place passed a rego with a rotten chassis to buy the same spec vehicle over here is going to cost a lot more also there are hardly any 2.5 diesels here I have been looking for one myself. Also the amount aussie want for a beat up car over here is shocking they must think people are mugs!! that is another reason they are not selling.

chris955

I have to agree, the majority of cars in Australia obviously are imported and in most cases are almost identical to cars from their 'home' country. A Range Rover in the UK is probably 99% identical to a Range Rover in Australia. Given the huge difference in value and assuming the OP can afford to take it then I would do it. I wouldnt do it for a more 'ordinary' car but a prestige brand I would say go for it.

Alfresco

I agree with Chris.

And one thing to bear in mind, is that to pass Road Worthy it can't have any oil (fluid) leaks of any kind, as these will need to be repaired before a compliance certificate is issued.

KJCherokee

Yes, the vast majority of cars over here are imported - but the ones sold here by dealers all have Australian Design Rules compliance plates which a private import will not have: it is the lack of this plate that will affect insurance and resale value.