Importing a car into Australia from the UK

[Kirium]

Just wondering if anyone has imported a car into the country at all.

I'm toying with the idea of perhaps importing a car from the UK. If anyone has done it or knows of a place with info about importing (preferably from the UK and apart from the customs web site, I've had a look at the guide on there) feel free to voice your experiences.

Cheers

[Road Warrior]

As a personal import?

According to the "new and improved :mad: " importing rules, you have to have owned and driven the said car for a mimimum of 12 months overseas before they will let you bring it over.

The thought has crossed my mind too, as im currently living in big steenky england, but after reading all the guff it hardly seems worth it!!

[Kirium]

Yes, for my own private use... Possibly only as a track car...

[KeenGolfer]

Have you checked http://www.dotrs.gov.au/ ?

[Uncle Tone]

Just wondering if anyone has imported a car into the country at all.

I'm toying with the idea of perhaps importing a car from the UK. If anyone has done it or knows of a place with info about importing (preferably from the UK and apart from the customs web site, I've had a look at the guide on there) feel free to voice your experiences.

Cheers

Watch for rust!!

[Kirium]

Have you checked http://www.dotrs.gov.au/ ?

Yeah just having a look around there now...

Doesn't seem like much chance of getting a track car in... Is the purpose of gleaning nearly $12,000 in taxes (customs, GST and LCT) on a $50,000 car merely to scam us even more or to discourage importation so much that we'd just give up?

Now to push for a 2-3 year work transfer to the UK... :bash:

Guv'mint sucks...

[mark78]

Just wondering if anyone has imported a car into the country at all.

I'm toying with the idea of perhaps importing a car from the UK. If anyone has done it or knows of a place with info about importing (preferably from the UK and apart from the customs web site, I've had a look at the guide on there) feel free to voice your experiences.

Cheers

I've looked at doing the same thing, as I'm currently living in the UK and can't believe how cheap the cars sell for here. Mind you, there aren't many V8's going around, due to petrol prices. More Beamers and Mercs than you can poke a stick at tho. 2004 used models selling for the same price as 98 - 2000 Oz models.

Anyway I'll get to the point... I looked into importing one, on the basis of selling it once I got it to Oz to make a tidy profit. Unfortunately, it seems like a big hassle to me, because by the time you pay high taxes, shipping etc, it doesn't really save you much, if anything at all. :( I would only do it if I came across a rare car which I wanted & wasn't available in Oz. I guess everyone would be doing it if it was profitable...

[M&Ms]

Just curious: what car u actually thinking of importing from the UK?? A TVR Speed 12 perhaps? :eek:

[Road Warrior]

On the UK Ebay site a 1995 BMW 740iL went for £1800 :bash:

Basically the new laws require you to line the pockets of greedy car dealers...or the tax man...or both. But if you wanna live/work in the UK for a cuppla years (read: tolerate it) it might be worth it..as someone else said Beemers can be had heaps cheaper than here.

[Kirium]

The inital idea hatched with something like an Caterham 7 or Ariel Atom... But I've seen a few 2000-01 BMW M5's go for about £20,000, which is about $45-47,000 + around $9,000 to $11,000 in customs duty, GST and maybe luxury car tax if it makes the threshold will give you a late model M5 for around $55,000ish or a bit more... half the price they go for here...

I was only thinking about it thanks to possible work in the UK for 2-3 years, buying an RHD M5 for example over there for £20,000ish and bringing it back with me when i'm done (and can afford the import taxes after 2-3 years paying off the loan) but purely for personal use. But the inital idea hatched with something like an Atom...

[Kirium]

A half price M5 just sounds a bit too good to be true tho... :(

[Road Warrior]

The 7 series are heaps cheaper...gotta make sure it has all its MOT's though...and unless it has spent every winter garaged the thing will be farked after 5 years!

[Kirium]

The 7 might be cheaper, but it'll never be an M... :D

The other thing i was uncertain of was any difference between a RHD UK delivered M5 and an Oz delivered car, that would require more work to bring it up to ADR standard...

[Road Warrior]

but 750's are fooly sick :D

You could call the national distributor or head office in Oz and ask them what the differences are...I would imagine emissions wouldnt be a problem.

[Swordie]

An M5 is a very nice car and may have future classic potential. 7 Series seem to keep dropping in price and don’t hold their value very well. If the car being imported is more for driving pleasure than worrying about values then you will not be too disappointed.

At the end of the day the cost of a car is depreciation, interest, servicing and running costs. The gap in price between an import and local car may not warrant the risk considering when considering the cost of holding a car.

When I looked into purchasing an import I came to the conclusion that the market generally values them accordingly. I took the import I considered to a dealer and they spotted it straight away, it was car they would not want to touch as a trade-in or sell. They also said there could be some variation on parts that make servicing potentially costly into the future.

If you are importing something like an M5 it would be good to get feedback on experts in the trade. For example ask a BMW dealer what they think and what to watch for. BMW may have a policy of not touching an import. M5's seem to be quite rare in Australia, I hardly see any come up for sale. This could be enough to help cover some of your costs.

[Kirium]

If I were to import something like an M5, it'd definately be a keeper... depreciation wouldn't be a worry, and there's plenty of "Euro garage" type places around that do work on Porkers and M cars and the like, and who know what they're looking at and dealing with...

There's about 5 E39 M5's on carsales.com.au for sale, alot of them mention that they're selling to upgrade to the new V10 M5 that arrives later this month, and the cars they're selling are all between $90k and $110k. That makes picking one up for a total outlay of around $55k - $58k, a bargain in my book. I don't know for certain that there's no other differences apart from radio/nav stuff that may need software/firmware update or things like that.. But that's just from an outsiders POV. I'd definately consult a few experts both here and in the UK.

Of course, it's all unfortunately speculation until (if) I get the job.

Got me thinking tho...

[M&Ms]

If I were to import something like an M5, it'd definately be a keeper... depreciation wouldn't be a worry, and there's plenty of "Euro garage" type places around that do work on Porkers and M cars and the like, and who know what they're looking at and dealing with...

There's about 5 E39 M5's on carsales.com.au for sale, alot of them mention that they're selling to upgrade to the new V10 M5 that arrives later this month, and the cars they're selling are all between $90k and $110k. That makes picking one up for a total outlay of around $55k - $58k, a bargain in my book. I don't know for certain that there's no other differences apart from radio/nav stuff that may need software/firmware update or things like that.. But that's just from an outsiders POV. I'd definately consult a few experts both here and in the UK.

Of course, it's all unfortunately speculation until (if) I get the job.

Got me thinking tho...

Also remember that the UK still uses the imperial system for measurement of speed, and thus your car will have a speedo that reads in MPH rather than km/h.

[Kirium]

I think most UK cars you see have measurements in both metric and imperial... it looks a little cluttered tho. like this one...
http://www.bmwm5.com/photo/data/531/12966DSCN0819.JPG

i'm sure you could come by a regular metric one like this as a spare part somewhere...
http://www.bmwm5.com/photo/data/531/7128Cluster_Check.JPG

[Road Warrior]

You're obsessed arnt you :lol:

[Kirium]

There's no hope.... :D

[seldo]

I think most UK cars you see have measurements in both metric and imperial... it looks a little cluttered tho. like this one...
http://www.bmwm5.com/photo/data/531/12966DSCN0819.JPG

i'm sure you could come by a regular metric one like this as a spare part somewhere...
http://www.bmwm5.com/photo/data/531/7128Cluster_Check.JPG
I'm surprised some of you blokes haven't commented already - maybe you don't read your own instruments while you drive......Notice the second photo? Tacho = 6900, Speedo = 310, Temp = off the clock @ 150+C!!!!

[Kirium]

It's a shot of the dials during an instrument test, like on a commodore when you press the mode and up button before turning the car on, and cycle thru the displays. the commodore does the same thing, except the speedo needle goes to 100kph, not 260... :D

[Swordie]

It probably worth tracking down a local expert in importing European cars. I’m not sure who to talk to. If it's a complicated process importing something back it may be worth paying for the assistance.

A BMW car club might be worth having a chat to as well.

[JohnS]

There's about 5 E39 M5's on carsales.com.au for sale, alot of them mention that they're selling to upgrade to the new V10 M5 that arrives later this month, and the cars they're selling are all between $90k and $110k. That makes picking one up for a total outlay of around $55k - $58k, a bargain in my book.

Kirium good luck i hope the math works out. M5 is a fantastic car!

These guys can help you...

http://www.karmanshipping.com/australia/australia.html

and remember that imported cars will be worth 10 - 15% less than australian compliance plate cars on the open market.

[Kirium]

Good idea Swordie, I hadn't thought of getting in touch with a BMWCC. If a posting to the UK does eventuate, i'd certainly be seeking the services of a specialised euro importer, i just don't know if there's many around.

Thanks for that link John, there's some good info on there, and the actual shipping of the car seems to be somewhat simpler than i initially thought. Like I mentioned, if it were to happen, the car would certainly be a keeper, i wouldn't be too interested in selling it, even at a bit of a profit over the cost of getting it here... The rough figures seem to be pretty solid, but further accurate investigation would be needed, and I suspect that there'd be a few hidden costs somewhere that would put the price up a bit, but going on around $55-58k, on the road, down under for a 400hp V8 Euro sleeper would just be awesome... and a bargain too...

:cheers:

[Swordie]

A shame you are not going to UK soon as the Ashes will be on.

[Kirium]

Work in the UK is far from a done deal... far far from it... but in the event it does come up, i want to know as much as i can about what i'd have to do to import a car so i can take advantage of the opportunity...

[Road Warrior]

You should just go anyway, enjoy the power of the £££ and the variety of things you can do and see!

[Kirium]

Geeze... after driving an F6 Typhoon for an hour and a bit this afternoon, i'm not so sure about the effort and cost of bringing a BMW back from the old dart is worth it anymore...

Those FPV's are quick...

[M&Ms]

Geeze... after driving an F6 Typhoon for an hour and a bit this afternoon, i'm not so sure about the effort and cost of bringing a BMW back from the old dart is worth it anymore...

Those FPV's are quick...

Please tell us more :)

[Kirium]

I've written a nice big long blurb about it in flappists thread about his F6 in the general private... :)

Edit: You're not validated... :doh:

New thread impending... sit tight...

[HSV,_I_GOT_ONE]

Kirium if you do decide to import an M5 please do tell whats involved in the process you can PM me or even start a new thread. I'm very interested in how this can be done as I am keen on importing either a TVR or a Marcos into Australia. I'm a big fan of the British super cars :D

[Kirium]

Mmmmm... TVR...

Bring back a Sagaris... :drool: Credit must be given to a manufacturer that names one of its cars after a missile...

http://www.webwombat.com.au/motoring/news_reports/images/tvr-sagaris3.JPG
http://www.webwombat.com.au/motoring/news_reports/images/tvr-sagaris2.JPG
http://www.webwombat.com.au/motoring/news_reports/images/tvr-sagaris1.JPG

0-100 in 3.6 Giddyup


The TVR Sagaris costs about £50,000 (€75,000) or $122,000 in Australian dollars and, even if you tack on another $20K for compliance and exportation costs, the $150,000 total will still be enough to trounce a Ferrari 360 Modena, the asking price for which is more than double: $369,500. -from WebWombat

[lano]

:) [QUOTE=Kirium]The inital idea hatched with something like an Caterham 7 or Ariel Atom... QUOTE]

The atom isn't street legal here... yet. It will be in a few months, and they will be exporting them to Australia when they are.

I was talking to a mates mate the other day, and he's actually flying from Melb to Syd to have a test drive..... :)

[Octane]

I know that this is an old thread, but I couldn't resist after what happened to me last Monday and it may still hold some relevance…

Quoting Kirium...

Yes, for my own private use... Possibly only as a track car...
and

The initial idea hatched with something like an Caterham 7 or Ariel Atom...

Kirium, I can tell you now, the Ariel Atom 2 as a track car is absolutely, positively, undeniably AWESOME!

Here are my instructions...
- You forget all the issues of importing a car personally from the Old Dart.
- You sell a kidney (if that is what is required)
- You but an Ariel Atom 2 here in Australia

That simple.

As lano said, the Atom isn't street legal here as yet... though apparently ADR compliance is underway.

I just went to a drive day on Monday at Oran Park where we got to drive Renault Clio Cup hatchbacks and the Atom. Basically the Clio is a '59 Cadillac in "comparison" (as much as you can compare these two cars).

With a Honda VTEC 2L and a mass of around 500 kg, rearendedbysemitrailer acceleration starts at idle and continues to < insert large number of revs here >… and these were the base model 160 bhp versions!
:eek:

Steering is INCREDIBLE, to adjust your line in corners you mildly tense a muscle in your wrist and it is there.

Clipping apexes is AWESOME with the exposed wheels and you can look THROUGH the Atom's space frame to see the left hand front tyre better.

Some photos of the day are at...
http://www.openwheelers.co.nz/newmodel/atomexperience.htm#track6

My good self is in the bottom-right photo where the instructor is proclaiming the merits of lifting off the right pedal and pressing the middle pedal every now and then...
:)

If any of you ever get the chance to drive an Atom DO IT!