Wiz'n'Ton

As it says on the tin. I have 2 bikes I really don't want to sell, and would love to bring them with me to NZ. Also, for comedy value my wife would love to import a Fiat 126 to NZ in the container (if we get one). Has anyone imported a vehicle in their container/ separately from it - either car or bike?

If so, any tips on how much it cost, which government agency you spoke to, and how do you get it legal onthe road in NZ?

Ta muchly,

Wiz'n'Ton

PaulGent

Hi

I imported my car to NZ. Its german and i imported it using a roll on roll off company. It was much chealer than container. It took about 12 weeks t get here though and spent 5 weeks on the dock in Singapore. Didnt do the car much good!

The real headache began when it got here. Its a night mare. The compliance testing in nz is really difficult. There is all the details on the NZ Customs website under importing a vehicle. You dont have to ay GST (like VAT) as long as you dont sell for 1 year. You should read all the stuff you have o do on the website and then be prepared for the testers to rip ur car to bits when it gets here. If they find any rust then it will HAVE to be sandblasted etc etc.
In total mine cost me about £4000!

As for bikes. I thought about bringing mine or buying new in uk and exporting. In the end i found out that jap bikes (new and 2nd hand) are cheaper here than in uk.I bought a Honda ST1300 (Pan European) for more that NZ$8000 less than the same bike in uk! German and Italian bikes are more expnsive in NZ than uk though.

I hope that helps. If you need more then let me know and I will let you know all the gory details...lol

Paul

scracha

Basically if you like the bike, it's over 4 years old or non-Japanese then I wouldn't hesitate to bring it.

The GST exemption thing only applies if you have owned the bike for at least one year prior to importing it or your arrival (whichever is first). You also have to keep it for at least a year after arrival. The GST is calculated on the shipped and insured value of the bike.

Make sure it's a bike that's available here (a lot of them don't make it here) otherwise it's really tricky.

For Japanese metal...generally:-
New bikes are cheaper here (i.e. Suzuki 1200 for 10K NZD).
Bikes under 4 years old are about the same price.
Bikes over 4 years old tend to be much dearer here. It's as if they don't depreciate very much whereas in the UK they're ridiculously cheap.

Obviously the current exchange rate plays a large part. It's worth noting that the Kiwi's tend to put in much higher mileages on their bikes (better weather, larger distances between populated towns and better roads would be my guess as to why) although you do find the odd exception.

Givi luggage, paddock stands etc are much dearer here so bring it to sell even if you're not taking the bike.
As PaulGent sez, KTM's, trumpets, beemers and Ducati's are way more expensive here.

If you're getting a container over here then you're looking at a measly 2 or 3 hundred quid to stick the bike in. Say bye bye to your much safer braided brake hoses as the compliance retards say they have to have NZ stamps on them. Helps if you have the original exhausts too (even though emissions here are way higher and noise restrictions appear to be a joke).

I personally wouldn't bother importing a car although when I see 5 year old Mondeo's advertised for 14K NZD I do wonder.

Vehicle prices. www.trademe.co.nz www.motorcycletrader.co.nz www.autotrader.co.nz

MAF are the biggest headache. We found it a bit laughable as our stuff had already been double handled and delivered. The MAF guy couldn't make it on the day our container arrived at the house and he'd already told us which stuff he was interested in. Lets just say a few boxes got opened up and then resealed. Two other immigrants (Dutch and English) we know had a similar experience.

Steamclean your bike, find a laser printer to print a receipt for the steamcleaning and ask your friendly local bike shop for one of their wooden crates that new motorbicycles arrive in. They'll still ask you stupid questions like whether your sportsbike has been ridden off-road on farmland.

cottageinthesky

sent you some karma, scracha. Always good to hear from someone who really knows their stuff!!

Ian & Sharon

Also, you need to carry out a brake certification. Depending on the make it can be a nightmare, I brought over a Lambretta and Lambretta did not export to NZ so trying to get an official agent was hard especially sine they went bust in 1971 !

What bikes are they ?

MAF were ok with me and were just asking about the scoot rather than checking it, but I guess its where you go and who you get.

The WOF and cert was painless enough.

Feel free to ask any questions, I still have all the paperwork so if I don't know I can look it up.

Ian

Wiz'n'Ton

Thanks for all the response - this forum ain't half handy! From what I've read, this could be a little bit tricky.

The bikes are:

a) Piaggio Vespa ET4, 124cc 2001 reg
b) Yamaha TZR250 1kt, 250cc 1986 reg

Seems like the Piaggio should breeze it (for values of breeze) if there's a distributor in NZ, (is there?) but the Yammie is gonna be a prob it seems as it is
a) discontinued,
b) a 2-stroke
c) pretty old and
d) has small amounts of rust on it

D'ya reckon it's worth even trying to bring these over or should I sell them over here, and bring the proceeds over to buy some newer Jap stuff once we're settled in?

What's the biking scene like in NZ? Also, if I do bring a container, what should I stock it up with that bikers in NZ need, that I can sell on cheap to you lot and make a tidy profit myself? Oh, and does the governement take umbrage to a little entrapraneurial spirit like this? Am I even remotely likely to get away with a container of my bed + 300 Harris paddock stands?

Cheers folks,

Wiz

PaulGent

Hi again

I think that customs could take a dim view of your plan to start your own import business.
The biking scene is very lievly over here and there are certainly plenty of fantastic roads to ride even in the North Island. I have joined a local branch of Ulysses MC club (for old cirnkly bikers) and have done some fantastic Sunday runs. It pays to join a club I've found because the locals know all the best routes and the roads where the police are less likely to pull you over for doing 1km ph over the limit.
Biking kit is pretty much the same price over here as UK if not a bit cheaper unless you want specialist stuff like Harley clothing or good cheap leathers. I bought a new Hein Gerrike set of 2 piece leathers in UK before I left and they have been great and cheaper than I could find them here.
As far as you Yam is concerned then my advice would be, if theres any rust at all on it then don't bother! My Merc had a little surface rust underneath as you would expect on a 9 year old car from UK. Here the Certification inspector saw this as being really serious and I had to take it to a certified repairer who then had it sandblasted underneath (twice). After all thsi they found that the rust was not serious but it still cost me $3,000 just for the sandblasting etc.
As far as the tax free thing is concerned on personal imports. It is correct that you have to have owned the vehicle for at least 12 months to import without paying GST tax. The customs peopl then value the car when it gets here and you sign to say that if you sell it inside the 12 months you will repay the GST to customes. However the liability decreases proportionally every month through the 12 months. So if you import a vehicle and sell it after 6 months you will only owe 50% of the GST. Simple eh!?

There is lots of other stuff to do with importing vehicles but I won't bore you with it now. I guess you just have to make up your mind about how much you really want to keep your bikes and car and whether it si worth the hassle.

I hope this helps...

Paul

Wiz'n'Ton

Certainly does Paul - in light of this I've off-loaded the TZR onto a mate on a 'long-term' loan as can't bring myself to sell it.

The Vespa is going on e-bay this weekend!

Thanks for the help with this, and I'll PM ya if anything else crops up.

Cheers,

Wiz

hazeandsteve

(Well done for dumping the mod wagon.)
We went to the expo this weekend, and PSS seemed to think I was having a laugh when I asked about air freighting my XJR.
I flew it to Canada for a holiday, so I know it's possible, but has anyone got experience of flying the bike over. From the owners club, we know Yamaha import to NZ, so no great panics. She's defo coming, the wife bought it, and I've spent more than it's value on tinkering, and basically don't really want to be without it when we land.
If it has to go in the box, fair enough, but would like to know the options.

donscbr6

oh man,

Reading this thread is really disheartening. I want to bring my landrover and two bikes. The bikes should be fine, had them for longer than a year. but the landy might be a problem, by the sound of things. It's a landrover for goodness sake, it was born with rust.... sigh.

Eranu

an interesting thread people... i guess the message is that newish (but not too new) bikes, with no rust(!) we will be fine.

i have 2 bikes atm... a brand new R6 and a VFR800.. dunno whether to bother bringing both?