Trans-Tasman car relocation

[WhiteRice]

´Sup playas

I´m leaving these fair shores in a few weeks, for Beautiful Melbourne, where the grass grows greener...

I plan to take my car over there when I get a chance, and I gather that the whole process is a real bitch.

Has anyone done this before, and are there any pitfalls other that what the customs website details?

Also, does anyone know much about the modifying scene in VIC? can I do anything to it without it getting crushed? Plans are mild: intake, exhaust and brake rotors

Cheers for the help

Andrew

[Trivium]

I don't know the exact laws, but my old flatmate brought in his car when he moved - he had to pay extra tax on the value of the car? so valuing it lower might help on the customs side of things

Edit this off the customs site

If its a new or used car up to 30 years old (so your Euro) you pay 10% of the car in customs duty and 10% in GST

Example . You have purchased a 2005 Jeep Laredo from the USA, with the original US dollar value of US$ 21,960. The vehicles Australian Customs value is AUD$ 28,920. As this is a new car, import duty will be charged at 10%, then GST applied on the sub-total (the Customs value and the import duty):
Price AUD$ 28,920
GST 10%
Duty10%
= AUD$ 6073.20

bit steep eh

Moar

The Luxury Car Tax


If the total GST inclusive value of your vehicle is in excess of AUD$ 57,009 (this figure is set by the Australian Tax Office annually), your vehicle either commercial or private use may incur Luxury Car Tax (LCT). Luxury Car Tax is an additional tax, leived at 25% on the amount in excess of a certain threshold, which generally relates to cars with a customs value of over AUD$ 42,999.

Compliance


If your car is less than 30 years old, it will require Compliance Certification. Typically, compliance includes (but is not limited to) the following:

• Child restraint anchor points.
• Replace driver side door mirror to correct standard.
• Weighbridge certificate.
• Engineer certificate (not all vehicles).
• Imported Blue Slip (ensures roadworthiness for RTA).
• Personal import compliance plate.
• Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA) Visual Identification Unit inspection
  (not all vehicles).

Off the Aussie LTSA-style site

Federal Government makes the laws governing vehicle standards but the state authorities, `Vic Roads' in the case of Victoria, issue various guidelines interpreting the standards. Regulation 801 requires that one must not modify a vehicle `except with the approval of, or in accordance with guidelines issued by Vic Roads'. Some common modifications have been explicitly approved and notices are available covering them. Many modifications also require an `Engineers Report' to be submitted by `an appropriately qualified engineer'. The general principle seems to be that a vehicle must be "at least as good" as when originally built, in terms of safety, emission control and so on. If the vehicle is substantially modified, this principle must still apply.



Wheels and Tyres.

There are limits to big wheels and tyres. The largest allowed rim increase is 25mm (1") larger than the widest wheel that the manufacturer offers for the vehicle. Tyres must be appropriate to the rims and the load and speed rating must equal or better the manufacturer's specifications. This means that the owner of a fast and heavy 4WD, such as a Range Rover or a an 80-series Land-Cruiser, is much more limited in the choice of tyres than the owner of a more mundane vehicle.
The rim diameter can be increased by 50mm (2") but the overall tyre diameter cannot be increased by more than 15mm.
The track can be increased by up to 25mm, but not on cars with front-wheel drive and McPherson struts, nor with diagonally split brake systems.

Brakes, Steering and Suspension.

Authorities are understandably reluctant to allow tampering with steering and brakes: An engineer's report is required for any modifications to the braking system, however other evidence may be acceptable if this involves converting to another system optionally supplied for that vehicle and model by the manufacturer - check first.
Steering and suspension components cannot be cut, welded or heated unless they are then inspected by X-ray and a comprehensive report is included.

Body and Chassis.

An engineer's report is needed for changes to the vehicle's frame or chassis, and if the vehicle was manufactured after 1972 a report is required for any change to the passenger compartment and panels forward of the fire-wall. The chassis can be extended, but an engineer's report must cover any extension forward of the rear-most spring hanger and any modification to major suspension components.

Engine Conversions.

The regulations allow a replacement engine to be fitted if it is "similar" to the original. This includes an engine offered as an option by the manufacturer provided that other components, especially `structure, suspension and brakes', are upgraded to match. A different engine of similar `power, weight and emission standards to that of the original engine' may also be fitted, but an engineer's report is needed for any modifications to supports or structure. The replacement engine must be of the same age as the vehicle or newer and must meet all emission standards applicable at the vehicle's date of manufacture
If a significantly different (ie. larger and more powerful) engine is to be fitted, an engineer's report must certify that the vehicle is still safe and satisfies the regulations for construction and emissions, and must also cover any effects on 'the drive-train, stability and traction'.


Hope this helps

[SLOTEG]

think you have to have owned the car for two years prior to shifting too

[Esprit]

Originally Posted by SLOTEG

think you have to have owned the car for two years prior to shifting too

Yeap, owned and used for more than 2 years.

Luxur car tax is gonna sting me big time when I move

[Horny_Devil]

fuck moving to victoria

[Mortarion]

Im currently in WA and that will come in handy! only on CTR overe here according to the local honda club!

[deedubz]

theres more to it, when you register the car to Vicroads, you have to pay stamp duty to Vicroads. That is 4% of the value of the car and registration for a year is around AUS$575. Im planning on importing my Evo5 there as well at the end of this year but Ill see how much it will cost all up to see if its worth it.

[Coupe-R]

From what I was reading up on everything, they make it as hard as possible for you to get your car over there.

like prooving why you need to take it with you, and saying "its an expensive race car" is not an excuse.

i can't remember all of what it was saying, but basically they make it has hard as they can, and as expensive as they can.

I would say it could even be up to $7,000-10,000 for a honda civic by the time its shipped, complied, and registered.

Its the registering part thats hard, getting it there is all fine and dandy

[Trivium]

Yep, you run the risk of it failing complience and having to ship it back here again.

Unless your cars uber rare, I believe you should just sell it over here and then sorce a car over in Auzzie

[WhiteRice]

Of course they make it hard - they have a domestic car market to protect.
According to the website, you have to have owned/driven the car for 12/12 before shipping. I believe that my car complies, and I don't mind spending a couple of grand to get it there.
The thing about selling here and buying there is - have you seen how much cars cost? Imports are ridiculously expensive (a result of their import laws), and domestic cars are shit. If I import my car there and sell it, I'll make a huge profit, in spite of shipping/registration charges. If I sell here, and buy over there, I'll pay big money for a shit car. No contest, really.

I remember seeing ads for a 1990 MR2 GT-LTD, typical price is 10-12K AUD. WTF? Over here they cost a crate of beer.

[M3_Power]

Originally Posted by WhiteRice

If I import my car there and sell it, I'll make a huge profit, in spite of shipping/registration charges. If I sell here, and buy over there, I'll pay big money for a shit car. No contest, really.

I think you are dreaming to be honest. Have had multiple friends that went through the exercise and all have come out and said it's pointless.

I had a friend that export an EVO 6 over there and drove it on a temporary registration for tourist cars or something and he ended up shipping the car back to sell it because it just wasn't worth the money to keep it over there (after taking into consideration of compliance and insurance (apparently this one is a real killer))

Also had another CSL owner that went through the exercise and proved that despite the price differential of CSL here in NZ (about $85K if he sold it locally) and Australia (buying one of similar age and condition for AUS$120K) that it was better off for him to sell it here than ship it over ...

[Trivium]

Just been talking on MSN with a friend who tried importing his 2002 STI over to aussie with him, to get the car restored back to factory spec, then imported and complied, he was looking at $13k....

[Antz]

Originally Posted by M3_Power

I had a friend that export an EVO 6 over there and drove it on a temporary registration for tourist cars or something and he ended up shipping the car back to sell it because it just wasn't worth the money to keep it over there (after taking into consideration of compliance and insurance (apparently this one is a real killer))

I think its called a Carney (sp?) this would be the cheapest way to have your car there but I think there is a time limit, however it does not need to comply with local compliance laws as long as it complys with NZ laws and has a current WOF/Reg.

I would definitly look into these to see if they would suit what ya want to do, but as said above I doubt you could run your car on one of these forever, I believe its a 12 month thing, but could be wrong

[Dionysus]

Originally Posted by Esprit

Luxur car tax is gonna sting me big time when I move

Sell it and buy a Monaro?

[CoupeTurbo]

Victoria is the worst for imported cars by far......

[CoupeTurbo]

i think your kidding yourself if you think your car is going to be worth heaps over here if it is an ek9 there was a sir with a built k24 for sale and it took ages to sell and ended up going for about 15k

[SLOTEG]

what are the honda prices like over there?
if i did move over i couldnt see myself driving some commonwhore, maybe an xr6-t but thats it

[WhiteRice]

It's a matter of principle. I simply will not buy one of their s#!thouse cars.

[Ali]

Originally Posted by WhiteRice

It's a matter of principle. I simply will not buy one of their s#!thouse cars.

Dont know about the EK k24, doesnt sound shithouse at all.

[CoupeTurbo]

then why are you asking? it seems youve already made you mind...

[Mortarion]

i saw an ek cxi civic for 10k the other day, i damn near fell over laughing!

Only reason I'd bring my EK over is because I love it so much, and itd be damn unique here...

and it'd mean i can finish building it how i originally planned

[NightRyder]

Guys, correct me if I am wrong but as already mentioned above, the car obviously needs to be owned and driven for at least 12 months (indeed you guys in NZ fall in this category already) but getting it over here to Oz is a bit of a pain in the rear side!
Depending on which State you move to, bringing your ride over across the Tasman is a costly exercise and it tends to scare me too!
Each State or Territory has slightly different laws and regulations but generally speaking they will hit you with all these taxes and stamp duty which again (as mentioned above) makes it hard for cars to be imported.
Why?....damn local Holden and Ford's market which is the mass production car made and sold here in Oz. Friggen annoying and biased just to protect the local market.
In a way this is fair because it allows for more jobs here in Oz , but it is unfair to hit those wishing to import their own cars from overseas with all this revenue raising excuses...Grr!
Me living in Oz believe this is a load of BS and wished they can make certain importations easier so those who love their cars and want to keep their cars (provided they meet basic guidelines) can have ease in shipping their cars over.

Damn Holden's and Ford's!!...and sh!t thirsty cars too!

If anyone can share or provide decent experiences in importing cars from NZ to Oz, I would also be interested to hear. I myself would like to import a car from NZ to Oz because the cars you have over here are rare and unique cars. I like rare and unique cars....

[CoupeTurbo]

i imported my gtb wagon in 2002 waste of time (money) wish i never bothered.