Cars = Shipping, Import, Tax, MOT = HELP please :)

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

Hi all,

 

I'm 20, been driving for 3 years now, and will sell my car before we move to Adelaide.

However, I've found an advert for THE perfect mini! Only, its here in the UK...

 

Could anyone give me more information, especially costs of;

• Shipping (I have a quote for £1450, but have no idea what it does and doesn't include)
  
• Could we put it in our furniture container?
  
• How much is the equivalent of an MOT and car tax?
  

The Mini was made in 1985, and I have found out that part of the import restrictions will be lifted as it's before 1989.

 

Any help would be great .

Thank you,

Chris

[Guest Dennic]

I don't know anything really but a friend was going to take her car, she gave up as every single bit had to be completely free of dirt and dust!!

Good luck

Denni

[tinkertailerdog]

Not sure about the dirt and dust thing. We took our Volvo, i washed and cleaned it myself but didn't bother with steam cleaning the engine or underside of the car as was told that customs this side would do that in regardless, which is what happened.

[sidestep]

In all fairness if you've obtained a shipping quote then why not ask your shippers? We would only be second-guessing whereas they will be able to tell you exactly what's included. Small print somewhere maybe?

 

Re the container - you buy space in a shipping container (or rent a whole one) by cubic volume so you can put what you want inside and anything such as wardrobes, drawers and cars can be packed with stuff to maximise the available space.

 

There's no such thing as an MOT in SA but you would need to get the vehicle registered and in order to do so you'd need to have it inspected at Regency Park where they would do a thorough roadworthy check. Look at http://www.sa.gov.au/subject/Transport,+travel+and+motoring/Motoring/Vehicles+and+registration where you can find all the info you need. The UK car tax equivalent would set you back $701 for 12 months

 

I wonder how long you'd want to keep it for if you did bring it. I like minis as well but I like my air conditioning a helluva lot more.

[snifter]

I do agree with what sidestep said about the aircon. I drove in one car without aircon the last time we were over and never again. It was awful and we were in the car for a fair while and often sat at lights and so on and it got uncomfortably hot. I'd not like to do that on a daily basis in the longer term.

 

Yes you can put your car in your container but unless you are not taking much you may end up having to take another container as a car, even a mini takes up room and the cost goes up loads. The crate it inside the container iirc. You would need to talk to the shipping company directly about costs of that etc.

 

And I seem to recall something about owning a car for a year in the UK before importing it to Aus being something to factor in.

 

There is a thread over on PIO about shipping a car and costs. And also one where the guy tells you if its worth you importing your car from the UK (ie if its financially worth it to import it. He rules out cars without aircon usually as not really worth importing).

 

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/transport-shipping/97053-transporting-your-car-oz-everything-you-need-know.html

 

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/transport-shipping/138727-worth-bringing-my-car-iron-ladys-trusty-new-calculator-reveals-all.html

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

I didn't even consider air con! That's a very good point .

 

Okay, well thank you everyone for your help!

I need to find out how much I'll have to pay for import tax, and I think that'll be the decider on whether I buy it or not!

Plus, I dont think we're taking much, so maybe the mini would be okay. Will have to check with shipper.

 

Is tax $700 for 12 months?

[ian mc]

I think you have to had owned the car for 12 months before they will let you import it.

[Guest tinkham_lee]

$700 dollars seems a bit high for rego, do you drive a v8?

Just had rego renewal for my rav4 it is was $547 for 12 months

there is no MOT but the car will need to pass a roadworthy to get its first rego.

you will have to pay GST on the value of the car in Australia, not the price you paid for the car in England

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

Thanks for al the help!

It sounds a lot easier to just buy a car over there!

There's too many payments and documents to sign, I'd be afraid of missing something haha

 

My dream for a classic mini might have to wait..

[ian mc]

There are plenty of old cars here people here use 25 year old cars as there main cars here so you can pick up a old cars here as they last a lot longer than the UK. No salt put on the roads no frost or snow.

[Guest Crushfamily]

You will pay GST on the value of the car and shipping, import duty @ 5%, stamp duty on the cars value to register it at 0.3% ish, vehicle inspection fees at $300. This is without all the mods you will have to make to allow it to be driven here including rear child restraint mounts (irrespective of whether you have kids or not). Also I still believe you have to have owned the car for 12 months even under the pre 1989 scheme. Minis were not made in your body shape at all (all have external hinges here) so body parts if you have any kind of accident here will have to be shipped from the UK. This is coming from someone who has shipped two cars here already. See here http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/transport-shipping/28856-shipping-cars-2.html

As an old Mini owner I couldn't think of a worse car to bring for everyday use! Costwise you are looking at double your shipping figure of £1450 - possibly more. What is your current car?

[Diane]

A guy up the road from us owns several minis, so there are a few around....but personally I would feel extremely 'small' in a mini on the roads here. I used to have a Ka in the UK, and have seen them on the roads here too, but when you see the size of some of the big trucks on the roads, and even some of the 4x4s that are driven around by Mums on the school run (coz it's so vital to have something capable of offroading when you drive in the suburbs, don't you know!)...well, in something the size of a mini you'd be like a pimple on an elephants bum to be honest, if the other driver even noticed you at all! Try pulling out of a junction when one of those things is beside you, and you soon realise you need something a little bit more substantial on the roads here! I think the smallest I'd feel happy with is something the size of a Mazda 2 (loads of those around these days!). Having said that, we do have an Austin Healey Midget here - but generally only use that for trips out through the hills (to a winery at the weekend for instance), not everyday driving....

 

If you're still determined to go ahead though, these are a bunch of nice people http://miniclubsa.asn.au/

Edited April 14, 2012 by Diane