Privately importing a vehicle from Australia?

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sparkvoip

12 posts

Geek

#226295 30-Dec-2017 12:08

So I'm looking at importing a car here from Australia (Australian designed & manufactured). Little unsure how to go about it though as I've never privately imported a car before, so was wondering if anyone has done it before and how it went, if theres someone who can handle it for you, etc. I've done a little research on the subject of compliance and NZ Customs requirements and found;

-Having an Australian Design Rules plaque stamped on the vehicle somewhere is valid evidence it complies with NZ crash standards & emissions regulations.

-Not having owned the car in Australia for at least 12 months would make GST and other fees on it payable to NZ Customs & MPI etc

-Documents showing sale of the car (Deregistration papers, Bill of Sale, etc)

Based on the above I think it is doable, but as I said keen to hear from anyone who has done it.

Cheers

afe66

3181 posts

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#1926942 30-Dec-2017 13:02

I brought car back from uk.

Contacted AA in chch who acted as import agent. Gave them vin number so they could check it made the relevant safety standards.

Left car with shipping agent in London who shipped to Lyttilton. AA picked it up, registered wof it fixed some rust.

Then rang me, I flew to chch went to AA paid the cash probably showed paperwork, paid the gst etc and drove it south.

Pretty much painless.

Other experiences might differ.

A.

sparkvoip

12 posts

Geek

#1926951 30-Dec-2017 13:30

afe66: I brought car back from uk.

Contacted AA in chch who acted as import agent. Gave them vin number so they could check it made the relevant safety standards.

Left car with shipping agent in London who shipped to Lyttilton. AA picked it up, registered wof it fixed some rust.

Then rang me, I flew to chch went to AA paid the cash probably showed paperwork, paid the gst etc and drove it south.

Pretty much painless.

Other experiences might differ.

A.

Were you bringing the car back with you after having owned it in the UK for a period or did you buy a car there to bring to NZ?

Sidestep

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#1926991 30-Dec-2017 14:24

I've shipped a few vehicles round the place, including Oz-NZ.
Even though it's physically closer, shipping a vehicle from Australia can be surprisingly expensive - equal to, or more expensive than shipping one from North America.

Contact some Shipping/Freight Forwarding companies. Start with a couple of the big well known ones (such as Mainfreight) to get an idea of an 'all inclusive' cost.

Then search around to see if you can wangle a better deal. You don't say where in Australia you're shipping from? I'm guessing you'll be sending it in a container.

Remember - included in 'all inclusive or full service' costs should be 'blocking and bracing' your vehicle into the container, outgoing & destination port service/security fees, customs & MPI clearance fees, documentation fees, container devanning/unpack charges, and 'border checking' the vehicle (cleaning fee if required by MPI will be extra). You should be allowed a reasonable amount of uncharged storage time in their yard at each end - maybe a few days to a week.

GST is charged on the total of the vehicle value AND the costs of shipping it. Make sure you have the vehicle value assessed and provable if you think it might be an issue.

If it's valuable, make sure you price out insurance - which is usually extra cost. 'Total loss' insurance can be quite reasonable, insurance against scratching/marring quite expensive.
Make sure they - or you take multiple photos of the vehicle's condition before shipment. It's very hard to prove how damage originated otherwise.

Clean it yourself - thoroughly - before shipping. Concentrate particularly on things like bugs/seeds caught in the radiator, dirt in tire tread, inside wheel arches, under your spare tire or on top of frame rails etc.
That sort of thing makes MPI freak out and send your vehicle off for an expensive - and sometimes damaging - high pressure clean

sparkvoip

12 posts

Geek

#1927012 30-Dec-2017 14:52

Sidestep:

I've shipped a few vehicles round the place, including Oz-NZ.
Even though it's physically closer, shipping a vehicle from Australia can be surprisingly expensive - equal to, or more expensive than shipping one from North America.

Contact some Shipping/Freight Forwarding companies. Start with a couple of the big well known ones (such as Mainfreight) to get an idea of an 'all inclusive' cost.

Then search around to see if you can wangle a better deal. You don't say where in Australia you're shipping from? I'm guessing you'll be sending it in a container.

Remember - included in 'all inclusive or full service' costs should be 'blocking and bracing' your vehicle into the container, outgoing & destination port service/security fees, customs & MPI clearance fees, documentation fees, container devanning/unpack charges, and 'border checking' the vehicle (cleaning fee if required by MPI will be extra). You should be allowed a reasonable amount of uncharged storage time in their yard at each end - maybe a few days to a week.

GST is charged on the total of the vehicle value AND the costs of shipping it. Make sure you have the vehicle value assessed and provable if you think it might be an issue.

If it's valuable, make sure you price out insurance - which is usually extra cost. 'Total loss' insurance can be quite reasonable, insurance against scratching/marring quite expensive.
Make sure they - or you take multiple photos of the vehicle's condition before shipment. It's very hard to prove how damage originated otherwise.

Clean it yourself - thoroughly - before shipping. Concentrate particularly on things like bugs/seeds caught in the radiator, dirt in tire tread, inside wheel arches, under your spare tire or on top of frame rails etc.
That sort of thing makes MPI freak out and send your vehicle off for an expensive - and sometimes damaging - high pressure clean

Thanks for all that info. Not too sure where yet, I'm still looking but likely to be NSW or QLD. Few in VIC as well. Container is cheaper than RORO I'm guessing? If so that'll be the route I'll take. Was not sure if I would need to physically fly over to Australia but given all that, that would probably be a good idea. Probably will be a private sale as well. Thanks.

afe66

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#1927017 30-Dec-2017 15:04

sparkvoip:
afe66: I brought car back from uk.

Contacted AA in chch who acted as import agent. Gave them vin number so they could check it made the relevant safety standards.

Left car with shipping agent in London who shipped to Lyttilton. AA picked it up, registered wof it fixed some rust.

Then rang me, I flew to chch went to AA paid the cash probably showed paperwork, paid the gst etc and drove it south.

Pretty much painless.

Other experiences might differ.

A.

Were you bringing the car back with you after having owned it in the UK for a period or did you buy a car there to bring to NZ?

I owned it in UK.

There are lots of people here who have bought direct from auctions in Japan.

If buying for export see if you can buy without sales taxes you will pay gst on purchase price.

A.