Importing home Appliances from the UK

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Adamanski

54 posts

Master Geek

#198565 14-Jul-2016 11:09

Does anyone have any experience importing new appliances from the UK for personal use to NZ?

I have been looking for a new washer and dryer and came across an Australian forum for importing euro appliances and saving a bundle, with the dollar/pound being so good I figure now might be the opportune time, but before progressing wanted to see if anyone here had experience doing the same or if anyone sees any red flags.

I've contacted a seller in the UK who can sell VAT exclusive so I don't need to worry about claiming back, and have contacted a couple of repack/forwarders who can palletise & protective pack the items for LCL shipping to Auckland.

Miele washing machine WMH 121 WPS £875

Miele Heat Pump Dryer TMG 840 WP £875

Total: 0.43m3 and <170 Kg + treated wood pallet and packaging is £275 to Auckland port, clearance and local charges I'm estimating at $160. Customs site lists duty of 5% for both washers and dryers, then GST applied. HiFX to transfer currency at >£0.55:NZ$1.00

Looking at landed cost of around NZ$4638 - $5094 depending on what the currency does between now and when I would have to pay duty & GST, budgeting for shift from 0.55 to 0.48:1.

Equivalent models in NZ retail for $3499 each which never really discount, so potential saving from importing of $1904 - $2360.

Con's - no CGA & unsure about international warranty (unlikely) although standard warranty in NZ only 2 years from memory.

The question I have that I haven't been able to find an answer yet - legality of changing the plugs to AS/NZS 3112 plug, any worries here? And while I intend to hang onto these for a long time, would there be any issue selling one day?

Appreciate any comments or feedback!

richms

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#1592431 14-Jul-2016 11:45

You may have to change to a 15A plug depending on what they actually take.

Plenty of kitchen appliances from the UK use the full 13A - kettles being one and that is technically too much for a 10A plug even tho most people get away with it.

Richard rich.ms

DarthKermit

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#1592435 14-Jul-2016 11:52

Yeah, if you have to use 15 amp plugs, you'll have to have 15 amp wall sockets. Any sparky can arrange to do that for you.

Adamanski

54 posts

Master Geek

#1592442 14-Jul-2016 12:13

Thanks for the reply guys. From the technical data of the dryer, the total connected load in kW is 1.1, so current would be around 5A at 240V? Is that correct so standard 10A socket/plug would be fine?

richms

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#1592446 14-Jul-2016 12:27

Adamanski:

Thanks for the reply guys. From the technical data of the dryer, the total connected load in kW is 1.1, so current would be around 5A at 240V? Is that correct so standard 10A socket/plug would be fine?

Depends on what the nameplate says, but yeah it should be good. As the UK makes them rate the cable to what the fuse is in the plug and they only really have a 3 or 13A fuse available, the cable may be 1.25 or 1.5mm cable, which will not fit in the average cheap crappy plug from bunnings and you will need to find a heavy duty plug like used for long extension cords which are 1.5mm. There may be a HPM one available at bunnings that does it but I have found them a prick to work with, with poor quality molding meaning they have sharp edges and they used a hopeless live hinge in the plastic to hold it all together. PDL plug from the wholesalers will be the go.

Richard rich.ms

Adamanski

54 posts

Master Geek

#1592448 14-Jul-2016 12:38

Thanks @richms, I'll talk to my sparkie about sourcing the plug once I bring them in.

Any thoughts on models or process much appreciated!

PhantomNVD

2619 posts

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#1592451 14-Jul-2016 12:47

As far as changing UK to NZ plugs go, no sparkie required if the plug draws less than 10A. Mine were all 'used' when I moved here, as I brought a container load of household stuff with me. For the first few months I simply used a 10A 'quality' multi adaptor that had its own 10A fuse with an NZ plug on the wire to plug into the wall. After never tripping this plug, I slowly changed out the plugs for each device (iron/kettle/dishwasher/washing machine/dryer/ hairdryer etc) over the next few months, and now have only a single uk/NZ adapter left for a "wall wart" I have yet to find a local equivalent for (wife's DVR charger).

FWIW I did use the $3.50 Mitre10 cheapie plugs, and had no worries at all. Key step was the quality UK power adapter with inbuilt 10A fuse which validated the whole process initially.

(And 10 years later I have very few of those old appliances anyway 😉)

Adamanski

54 posts

Master Geek

#1592480 14-Jul-2016 13:11

Thanks for the input.

PhantomNVD: ... Mine were all 'used' when I moved here, as I brought a container load of household stuff with me...

Just out of interest is duty applied to 'used' goods when you brought these over here?

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jmh

458 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1592495 14-Jul-2016 13:40

Adamanski:

Thanks for the input.

PhantomNVD: ... Mine were all 'used' when I moved here, as I brought a container load of household stuff with me...

Just out of interest is duty applied to 'used' goods when you brought these over here?

No but they have to be genuinely used and not in its packaging. They do check, I gather.

richms

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#1592509 14-Jul-2016 13:59

A friend who did a year and a bit in the UK was told by the movers to not use the original boxes for the TV and stereo stuff when coming back, if that was just so they could sell their crating service or what is something best left to you to decide ;)

Richard rich.ms

Adamanski

54 posts

Master Geek

#1592596 14-Jul-2016 15:03

Haha, yeh not surprised.. Not willing to risk anything getting caught with Customs - if the process works I can see we'll look at bringing in more items when we build.

We just bought some Grohe tapware online from Germany, ordered on Friday night and arrived to work by courier Wednesday morning - will be bench marking everything I can with overseas now.

PhantomNVD

2619 posts

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#1592602 14-Jul-2016 15:05

Yes, if they seem too new, you will likely get pinged for import tax, but as I had the whole container of household gear, and HAD used them and shipped them in the shippers packaging, I had no issues.

I wasn't trying to imply ways around import tax, just ease of adapting the plugs to local standards,

And AS I was typing this, my wife came with the iron if forgotten we even owned (and obviously hardly ever used!) to change over, so here's the pics of the 5 min job...

13A plug, 5A appliance, 2.5mm wire (properly crimp ended) cheap local plug, easy (legal) plug swap (remember UK wires use brown for live and blue for neutral)

Easy job!

mdf

3513 posts

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#1592626 14-Jul-2016 15:39

jmh:

Adamanski:

Thanks for the input.

PhantomNVD: ... Mine were all 'used' when I moved here, as I brought a container load of household stuff with me...

Just out of interest is duty applied to 'used' goods when you brought these over here?

No but they have to be genuinely used and not in its packaging. They do check, I gather.

Rules are different if you've been living overseas (for longer than 21 months) or not: http://www.customs.govt.nz/inprivate/sendingitemstonz/householditems/Pages/default.aspx. We when came back, the form we filled out required declarations about time away.