Random
Importing a car
Just wondering if anyone has any info on importing a car, or knows of someone who does?
I've read through the bits I can find online, but all that has really told me is that I can't do a 'personal import' as I won't have owned and driven the car for 12 months overseas.
I suppose what i'm specifically looking for is any other options for importing it I may have apart from a personal import.
Any help much appreciated as i've been scratching my head over this for the past week or two!
yeah it all depends on where from so ill asume you want to get one from japan? Then if you know exactly what type and model your after it makes it alot quicker.
The next step is to go to an importing company id say stay away from ones that are just online find a good one where you can go and speak to them in person in your home city. JDS auto imports are good (Thats where i got my car from) also justjap or japanperformancedirect are all good.
Then ask them what they have and what guarantee you will get with it. Then usually what happens is you pay a deposit and the company sorts out the import itself and the australian standards changes such as tyres, seatbelts and headlights.
On a side not if you see a nice car with good mags dont expect to get the mags because to comply with standards they are removed back to standard rims.
from there most companies charge about $500 to do the rest but if you have time its cheaper to do it yourself, what needs doing is firstly you take the reciepts of purchase and the import papers and car to a R & T approved service station and they do a pit pass check however it fails straight away because you have no australian VIN number (costs about $50). They then tell you the closest place to go and get australian compliance plates and VIN number put on (bout $70). You then go back to the service station again and they do the same pit pass again and pass you.
From there you take all your bits of paper to your rego place hand it over with something like $700 (depending on how many cylinders) and you get you rego and number plates and its all done.
I hope this helps, all i can say is go through a reputable company so you dont get ripped off and dont try and do the whole import process yourself as it can get very costly and messy as you need to organise freight purchase and storage.
E.P.A .. Emo Patrol Australia.. We'll Make Your Life Hell <-- Add this to your signature for EPA domination!
Chuck Norris won 'Jumanji' without ever saying the word. He simply beat the living shit out of everything that was thrown at him, and the game forfeited.
shit that sounds cheap! what about import tax/duty??isnt that like a couple grand?
If it not much extra then i wanna import a car from UK, u can get a 2001 BMW 325i coupe for $17,000aud, or 2001 jag x-type for 8000pounds($20,000aud), so much cheape than aus!!
Random
It's the UK I want to import from. I'll have a look for companies round here, and also yesterday I noticed a guy with a car parked in his drive that is very similar to the one i'm after so I may see if he can suggest any local companies.
On something like an X-type Jag or BMW 325 you may have to pay a Luxury Car Tax to import it which I think is $12000 IIRC!!
guy at work imported his Audi S4 station wagon...only one in aus from the uk coz he has a job with us now...
nothing but headaches...he wishes he just sold it while it was in the UK and goes i would buy a HSV or something here
he filled out forms they told him and after he shipped it and he arrived they said wrong forms for permit these are the ones.
they said $12K for import tax/stamp duty based on value of $AU50K from value on UK....they said to him last week its based on local price which is $80K so extra $10K of tax....
he steam cleaned it inside and out 3 hours before going into container and paid 300pounds....here they said its gonna cost him $600 to clean it even after he showed them receipt of steam clean in UK with a date and time stamp....
he took it to get inspected and they said need aus standard seat belts.
went to body shop and they said no where to mount them.
cant on back of seat coz aluminium too weak....boot floor cant coz no room or somthing about being hollow due to spare wheel and tool positions.
he asked audi AU and they said take seats out and put others...he said F*CK OFF they are Recaro leather seats worth $10K
body shop said one other way but they wouldnt tell him over the phone...has to go in....he is worried they are gonna hack at his seats.
you could say he has had alot of dramas
3Y3 K4N 5P33K 1337.
omg is that audi light blue?! i saw one with a yellow plate on the back and a white one on the front, ended in GDG. i thought hmmm eruo plates but i couldnt see the normal aussie markings ( state etc ) i was like wtf?!
attn Über geeks, i play Second life. Patrio Graysmark.
Random
It sounds like you can get totally screwed over trying to import a car yourself! The only thing I think might cause real problems is the fact the model I want doesn't need a catalytic converter in the UK, but would probably be required to have one out here.
yeah i think so.Originally Posted by Patrio7
the plates are import plates to drive to places to get it all sorted.
he lives in mindarie i think...
where have you seen it???
DANS S4
That'd be meHi guys - my first post here!
Going back on topic, as I have first hand experience with importing cars (as you can see from my Audi), there are a LOT of things you need to know. You have to have a PERMIT TO IMPORT A VEHICLE which is obtained through Canberra I believe. www.dotars.com.au sould have all the info on getting that. It takes at least a month to sort out from outside the country, but may be quicker if you live here already.
1. You have to be able to prove ownership of a vehicle for 12 months in an overseas country to be allowed to import it.
2. You need to prove the value of the vehicle in the country you bought it from. This is a NIGHTMARE. The AU authorities will try to hit you with duty & GST based on THE ORIGINAL PURCHASE PRICE - with depreciation, this can be significantly more than the current value. I paid 30k GB pounds for my S4 almost 2 years ago. Current market value of a pristine one is about 22k, but I got mine valued by Audi before I left and luckily they priced it at 17.5k which is what the AU authorities based my duty and GST on. That, plus brokers fess, storage etc all came out at around $12k.
3. Quarantine - THIS IS A PAIN IN THE BACKSIDE!!!!! As Deano said, I had my car professionally steam cleaned inside and out, plus a full valet. Receipts to prove this had been done. The car was in showroom condition when it went into the container. They still wouldn't release it from quarantine until it had another 'clean' which of course I got charged for. Dont bother cleaning it before you ship as they will get you to clean it again when it arives. Just make sure it's not covered in dirt or bird crap and you should be fine.
Thats just to get the thing into the country. There is more fun to be had yet!
So, you finally can pick up your car. Hold on! Not yet! You have to have a temporary permit to move your car from where it is stored to a test centre. These are obtained from a licensing centre and cost $15.15 and are valid for 48 hours. You are only allowed to use these permits to move your car from the shipper to the test centre and from the test centre back to the shipper or home again. Thats it.
OK. The test centre WILL FAIL YOUR CAR - this is guaranteed. One of the pieces of paper that comes with the import permit is a form to obtain a PRIVATE IMPORT PLATE. You cannot get this until the test centre have seen the car and stamped the form. If thats all your car fails on, you are very lucky. The PIP takes about a week to get hold of. Only one place in the whole of AU is authorised to issue them - Niddrie Nameplates in Niddrie. Chances are you will not have child seat restraint anchor points and you may need to rewire your cigarette lighter (AU rules do not allow these to work if the ignition is switched off - most cars in the UK allow them to be operational at all times as some people plug thngs other than the lighter into them). As you can gather my car failed on these three points.
All in, importing my S4 from the UK is going to have cost me in the region of $20k AU give or take a few grand once I'm finished. Even after this is all done, I'll have paid less than it would have cost me to buy the same thing here, but it's a major pain in the backside. Not sure I'd bother with it again.
That said, I should be up and running middle of next week hopefully. Toot if you see me out and about
holy shoot, sounds like importing a car from europe is much harder than japan. Cause all i had to do was what i said in my post and JDS auto imports did the rest and it didn't cost me any more than $10K thats all up for the car, fee's, rego, pit pass and that.
E.P.A .. Emo Patrol Australia.. We'll Make Your Life Hell <-- Add this to your signature for EPA domination!
Chuck Norris won 'Jumanji' without ever saying the word. He simply beat the living shit out of everything that was thrown at him, and the game forfeited.
3Y3 K4N 5P33K 1337.
lol i live in clarkson, i saw the audi ( fogive me for not addressing you directly dan ) southbound on the mitchel freeway.
heres a test for your memory, fif you see a while VS sedan, black louvre on the back and a nova sticker the the right of the license place? i beleive we traded positions down the freeway a couple of times lol. small world hahaha.
attn Über geeks, i play Second life. Patrio Graysmark.
Random
That is a lot of mucking about!! I guess i'll have to at least get the child seat anchor points fitted, but luckily the cigarette lighter won't operate with the ignition off on the model i'm looking at so that's one less thing to worry about. Sure i'll get stuffed on a load of other things though.
As I said, I can't do a personal import as I aleady sold my car from the UK so I have to find a company to import it for me which may take a bit of stress out of it (maybe wishful thinking but you never know).
Dan, did you get stung for the Luxury Car Tax on the S4?
DANS S4
lol wish my memory was good enough to remember 2 hours ago let alone several daysI'll keep my eye open though once I'm properly out and about. I live in Mindarie, so in the same sort of area.
With regard to the luxury car tax, they raised the limit on it recently from about $53k to just over $57k based on what they feel is the real value of the car. Luckily for me, they accepted the UK valuation which meant it got in under the luxury tax band. Some poor guy imported a Jaguar though (was either an XK8 or XKR) and it cost him well in excess of 20 grand for duty & GST. Was near mine when I went to collect it from the shippers. I'm guessing either they werent aware that they needed to get a UK valuation prior to it leaving Blighty or customs just decided to charge based on the AU value. Either way thats painful!
If anyone wants it, I knocked up an Excel sheet that gives you an idea of what you might be charged in duty & GST. I don't know if I'm allowed to put it up on here so PM me your email address if you want it.
hey mate,
you should be able to attach it here when you post click on go advanced and then manage attachments, if you cannot put up .xls then you can def. put up .zip
<davy> remember when braveheart came out and everyone said you can't have mel gibson playing a scottish guy cuz it wont be realistic?
<davy> well look at him now
<davy> an alcoholic racist
DANS S4
It oks I know how to attach files, just not sure whether the mods allow .xls files with embedded detail. In todays environment where you can get a virus on your computer just from looking at a webpage, it's safer to keep stuff hidden away.
I dont mind mailing it to anybody who wants it though
Audi S4 - Imported from the UK
Full BOSE sound system
Random
You have PM Dans_S4
Edit - Just checked my e-mail again! Thanks for that. At least it gives a good idea of cost for me.
Last edited by Shortstuff; 26-10-2006 at 07:13 PM.
DANS S4
Here's my little beauty. Just got my plates and registration finalised yesterday
http://img172.imageshack.us/my.php?image=danss4nm6.jpg
Audi S4 - Imported from the UK
Full BOSE sound system
Graphic Designer
aaaaah gotta love Audis! Nice ride dude! Out of interest, why did you import it? You can buy S4's here.
Back in the hope things have settled down...
DANS S4
lol yeah but I paid less for mine when I bought it two years ago than I'd pay for the same here today. Even after taking duty, licensing etc all into account, saved myself probably the best part of $15k. Luxury cars are way too expensive down here
Audi S4 - Imported from the UK
Full BOSE sound system
child anchor points?Help just brought my Audi A6 diesel into Butler up road from Clar
Help just brought my Audi A6 diesel into Butler up road from Clarkson. Guess what car failed inspection on child anchor points. Thought Audis were one of the safest cars in the world.That'd be me
Do Audi know Oz is trashing their safety record?
Where the hell do I get them fitted -the inspector said drill holes through the rear parcel shelf - surely this cant be safer than the factory fittings?
If I ever get the car on the road I'll give you a hoot!
Hi Dans S4.It oks I know how to attach files, just not sure whether the mods allow .xls files with embedded detail. In todays environment where you can get a virus on your computer just from looking at a webpage, it's safer to keep stuff hidden away.
I dont mind mailing it to anybody who wants it though
Just looking at bringing in a SLK280 (2005). Looks to be worth it but the paper work. Any chance of a copy of your spread sheet.
Regards Generalpa.
Banned
yeah it all depends on where from so ill asume you want to get one from japan? Then if you know exactly what type and model your after it makes it alot quicker.
The next step is to go to an importing company id say stay away from ones that are just online find a good one where you can go and speak to them in person in your home city. JDS auto imports are good (Thats where i got my car from) also justjap or japanperformancedirect are all good.
Then ask them what they have and what guarantee you will get with it. Then usually what happens is you pay a deposit and the company sorts out the import itself and the australian standards changes such as tyres, seatbelts and headlights.
On a side not if you see a nice car with good mags dont expect to get the mags because to comply with standards they are removed back to standard rims.
from there most companies charge about $500 to do the rest but if you have time its cheaper to do it yourself, what needs doing is firstly you take the reciepts of purchase and the import papers and car to a R & T approved service station and they do a pit pass check however it fails straight away because you have no australian VIN number (costs about $50). They then tell you the closest place to go and get australian compliance plates and VIN number put on (bout $70). You then go back to the service station again and they do the same pit pass again and pass you.
From there you take all your bits of paper to your rego place hand it over with something like $700 (depending on how many cylinders) and you get you rego and number plates and its all done.
I hope this helps, all i can say is go through a reputable company so you dont get ripped off and dont try and do the whole import process yourself as it can get very costly and messy as you need to organise freight purchase and storage.
what he said but go see the guy at autotech imports hes very good and wont charge you through the roof
captain halfajob
or just send me a PM and ill organise everything for you
Lighten up.
Anyone had any experience importing cars from the states? Obviously the big issue there would be the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car. Unless its over 30 years old it can't registered as a left hand drive (in qld at least). And aside from that I imagine you'd have to go through a whole lot of the same rubbish to get it up to adr spec.
Four commodores and counting.
Tells it like it is.
QLD is a bit more lax but this might point you in the right direction:
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rd.../0/VSI3web.pdf
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rd...0/VSI18web.pdf
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