Bringing back a car from England

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Bringing back a car from England - any gotchas?

kiwifidget

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#293265 10-Jan-2022 12:26

Hi,

A family member in the UK is wanting to buy a car there, but is also considering a move back to NZ and bringing said car with them.

They would prefer to buy a car that later should sell easily in NZ at a later date.

I've mentioned that petrol vs diesel is probably not a factor.

That it should be a model that is readily available in NZ re servicing and parts.

Should have mph and kph on the speedo.

Miles and kilometres on the odometer, is that even a thing?

I've never been in a modern European car sold as new in NZ so I'm not sure what info their dash boards can display.

Importation issues aside, what should they avoid when looking at a car?

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#2846059 10-Jan-2022 12:29

Afik it'll need frontal impact certs etc

For GST they'll have had to own it for 6 months in the UK and not sell it for 2 years here otherwise they will have to pay gst

elpenguino

3419 posts

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#2846063 10-Jan-2022 12:36

Due to the use of salts on UK roads I would thoroughly check whether it has been affected by this.

There's an export certificate required at the UK end although I exported a motorbike in 2002 without realising this and it still happened OK.

Most UK vehicles have mph and kph on the speedo , with one in a larger font than the other.

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nztim

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#2846069 10-Jan-2022 12:43

If car is less than 20 years old the speedo requires ONE form of KPH reading, this could be on the inside of the dash (smaller than the MPH) or the the digital dash changed to KPH

Odometer can be in miles (wof places can choose miles or kms when completing a wof)

If the Vehicle is diesel it the odometer MUST be changed to Kilometers (most modern cars this can be done in the computer menu somewhere) this is because RUC can only be purchased in kilometres

other than that check Salt on roads and frontal impact laws (note frontal imapct doesn't apply to cars over 20 years old)

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kiwifidget

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#2846071 10-Jan-2022 12:54

Thanks guys.

That tip re odometer being in Kms as a requirement for RUC was not something I had considered.

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Obraik

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#2846083 10-Jan-2022 13:14

Small diesel cars don't do well here due to the cost of RUC.

With the way things are moving, buying something that is an EV will likely have better resale value when it comes here. I'm not sure how it works with private imports but with the Clean Car Standard coming into play soon, if it doesn't meet those requirements then an extra fee might be required on entry.

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wratterus

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#2846088 10-Jan-2022 13:23

RUC is no issue. It's registered has having ODO in MPH when it's certed and when you buy RUC, you get sent units in miles rather than ks. That would be a great loophole though haha.

Have a friend who brought a Santa Fe back a year or so ago, was worthwhile (as in would not have been able to buy a vehicle of the same condition etc for what it cost) but they were exempt from some tax due to exceptional circumstances (around Covid etc). Can ask if you have any specific questions.

RobDickinson

1524 posts

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#2846089 10-Jan-2022 13:24

You'll get $ back when you register an EV or PHEV now I suspect even with a private import..

As to the rest thats still not passed yet

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afe66

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#2846124 10-Jan-2022 14:27

I did this in 2010/11 with my 2006 Ford Focus. (clean the car alot, especially if it has been off road to prevent dirty on the underside failing MAF)

I used the AA in chch as my agent so Lyttleton was the point of entry. Shipping was 1500 pounds.

I contacted the AA then gave them the VIN number from which they could lookup where it was made and double checked it made the required safety etc.

Left the car with an agent in London and next thing I heard was from the AA in chch who had picked up the car, examined it WOF reg etc.

They mentioned some under the body corrosion.

Then I turned up at the AA, paid the gst as I had owned it for less than one year, plus warrant etc and drove it home.

If doing something similar again I would look at trying to buy the car in uk VAT exempt which then you could do if you knew you would be exporting the car from the UK within a year of buying it. When it arrived in nz we paid the uk price plus shipping and GST on this, so we ended up paying GST on uk VAT from memory.

This was in 2011 when it arrived in nz so some details may have changed but in the end the whole experience via AA was seamless and anticlimactic.

If I was in the uk now, I would look at buying an EV because the second hand market in the UK is huge with lots of ex lease EVs and many different models available and our market is very very small and prices reflect that. Probably 60 Kw leaf as I have had a uk 24kw. The really new evs such as hyundai / kia probably havent gone through the lease cycle yet so realisticlly might be hard to source and I think trying to import a tesla wouldnt be worth the hassle.

Obraik

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#2846233 10-Jan-2022 15:55

RobDickinson:
As to the rest thats still not passed yet

I think we can assume that it will pass

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Daynger

435 posts

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#2846315 10-Jan-2022 17:00

afe66:

I did this in 2010/11 with my 2006 Ford Focus. (clean the car alot, especially if it has been off road to prevent dirty on the underside failing MAF)

I used the AA in chch as my agent so Lyttleton was the point of entry. Shipping was 1500 pounds.

I contacted the AA then gave them the VIN number from which they could lookup where it was made and double checked it made the required safety etc.

Left the car with an agent in London and next thing I heard was from the AA in chch who had picked up the car, examined it WOF reg etc.

They mentioned some under the body corrosion.

Then I turned up at the AA, paid the gst as I had owned it for less than one year, plus warrant etc and drove it home.

If doing something similar again I would look at trying to buy the car in uk VAT exempt which then you could do if you knew you would be exporting the car from the UK within a year of buying it. When it arrived in nz we paid the uk price plus shipping and GST on this, so we ended up paying GST on uk VAT from memory.

This was in 2011 when it arrived in nz so some details may have changed but in the end the whole experience via AA was seamless and anticlimactic.

If I was in the uk now, I would look at buying an EV because the second hand market in the UK is huge with lots of ex lease EVs and many different models available and our market is very very small and prices reflect that. Probably 60 Kw leaf as I have had a uk 24kw. The really new evs such as hyundai / kia probably havent gone through the lease cycle yet so realisticlly might be hard to source and I think trying to import a tesla wouldnt be worth the hassle.

Is VAT exemption only for new cars though?

I have been eyeballing bringing something here too, but with inflated second hand car markets worldwide its not really worth it unless its VAT exempt, even then its tight.