Bringing over your car

[Kanniewagnie]

I want to know if any one actually brought over their vehicle.

I've read all the previous posts of people advising against this, so no need to tell me it's not worth it.

I'm just curious if anyone can speak from personal experience?

[Eva]

nope, someone I know brought his motorbike with

[MarcK]

Hi I brought my bike across. Expensive to do and fairly complex to get it on the road with licenses etc. my advice is not to bring a vehicle across but if its vintage then that's a whole different story.

[RMR]

Hi, I am seriously looking at bring one of our vehicles across. Settling the car and adding up the extra cost for:

• the container
• import duty/taxes ($275 Australian Customs vehicle valuation, $313 import duty, $746 GST)
• road registration costs (($750 ADR compliance, $150 roadworthy requirements, $726 registration (12 months)), $0 stamp duty (exempt in WA)

It still looks financial viable looking at what the same car, ie model,age and milage, would cost in AUS. The only thing that I am still unsure about is the actual process to get the car the road worthy. Does anyone have some experience on this? Is it really such a big deal? Is there anything that I am missing?

[Kanniewagnie]

Older posts mention that insurance will be significantly more expensive just because the vehicle is imported. I struggle to make peace with loosing our VW we paid R450000.00 for 3 years ago, has 60000 kilo's on, and now has a 'book value of R250000.00. It feels like such a waste of money - and then we have to buy a 2nd hand Asian make in Oz for $20000! Certainly does not feel right. We worked so hard to get what we have now. Even some of the heavy Oak furniture we will not take over because what does it help to pay for a 40 ft container if the things don't fit in the Oz house?

We are extremely excited about the Visa approval, but now the difficult decisions lie ahead... At least I ordered a 'private sale' board today to put up in front of the house as soon as we're ready to sell... At the moment we're very uncertain about what to do next... With the weak Rand, the little profit from the house sale won't help much. That is why it will help a lot if we can at least take over a decent car - unfortunately all advise are against that, that is why I hoped someone could speak from experience and not hear say.

[Eva]

I met a lady who brought her car here from the UK, she had endless hassles, had it cleaned before leaving the UK they insisted it had to be done again here. I remember her complaining about a few things and how long it took to get processed but can't remember all the details. She couldn't get spares for it as the model was different to anything in Aus (although the same make was available) and then she moved back to the UK and battled to sell it because no-one wanted to buy a 'different' car here.

[AndreaL]

http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/21606-bringing-cars/?hl=%2Bbringing+%2Bcar+%2Baustralia

[21yearsoutofrsa]

http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/importing_a_car_to_australia.htm

You may find this of some use.

It doesn't details post importations costs, things like lower resale values, more expensive parts, more expensive services.

[jm01]

I am sure if you compare exchange rates and duties it might still be viable to take over a car if the mileage is low and the model new.just be careful of one thing.for example,in rsa there is something called a grey import.this referees to vehicles imported and not bought at an agency,or garage ,of that specific brand.when vehicles like these end up at an agency,that workshop can refuse supplying spares or service to that vehicle.they can easily pick this up via the chassis(vin) number.

I am not sure if Australia will see things under the same light,maybe not.

[HansaPlease]

Is it a Tiguan?

The way I see it, you're going to pay at least R30,000 in import costs and that's not even the cost of actually transporting it. Then you're going to pay more for insurance, probably more to service it, and then you're going to take a bigger hit when you sell it in Aus because it's an import. If you compare that to the R250k you get for it in SA, you'll still be a lot worse off in the end by bringing it over.

R250k is about $26k/$27k, and that will get you a pretty decent second hand car in Aus. Add the money that you would have spent importing it and I would argue that you could even get a better equivalent over here.

I'm not sure why you're saying you'd have to settle for a $20k Asian make (not that there's anything wrong with most Asian makes)? European cars, although gaining in popularity over here are seen as unreliable, and their second hand resale is actually quite low - because they're expensive to service and repair.

Sorry, I know it's not what you want to hear, but this isn't here-say, it's just logic.

Edited June 1, 2013 by HansaPlease

[Mara]

As for your comment that houses are to small, you will not fit your furniture into them, that is also an old wives tale, it all depends on where you are going to live and what kind of house you rent. I have a lounge, in which I have two lounge sets, a very bulky set consisting of 1x2seater couch and 2xchairs, as well as another set which consists of 1x3seater and 1x2 seater. The chairs/couches do not touch the walls and there is a passageway against the one wall leading to the main bedroom and study...so small? definitely not, and there are many houses just like it. The difference is we do not live in or near the city center, by choice, we live on the outskirts.

[AndreaL]

I agree with Mara on that one, size of house ( and this would be the same in RSA if you think about it) depends on if you are living in a city ( where units would probably be the case) or further out where houses ( especially newer ones) are bigger.....and on what you can afford.

If you look at houses built in the last 10 years, most of them have a theatre room or family/rumpus room, 4 bedrooms, some have two living areas, a large outside entertaining area etc.

What tends to happen is that many of us start off in a smaller house when we first arrive, it may be due to budget or sometimes because you choose to live closer to work, but once you find your way around and investigate, you find the areas with bigger houses or that suit whatever needs you have.

I also have a lovely large house with big lounge that easily accomodates a great big corner unit style lounge that is over 2 metres long either way and has a chaise and most importantly that huge TV that men seem to insist on....lol

My dining room easily sits the table and buffet, as well as another lounge, TV etc and we have lots of space.

I'm sure if you look around you will find something that suits you, or if you start smaller, many people store their belongings until they do move.

I wish I could explain better, but essentially you move to a town or city you know nothing about, and it takes time and experience to work out how it all works and what areas are value in terms of land size etc.

I think if you work on the assumption that closer to the city means smaller (not always) housing, further out means lifestyle properties, then you will find something that suits.

[RAD]

Kanniewagnie, I know you said you didn't want hear say but don't dismiss what everyone is saying here. I am not sure if you or hubby have work here already but if you do not yet what everyone mentioned above are very important things to consider. Firstly I think all of us miss our material possessions that we all worked hard to accumulate. However many of us when we get here realise that this move is not a parallel move of our lives from SA. It is different and requires adjustments and sacrifices as we sit fit. This in fact is not as bad as it may sound. Yes when people move the period of adjustment can be trying but isn't that what adjustment is all about. Finding your feet and taking steps forward. I can appreciate your skepticism about what to bring vs lifetime of accumulating. In my opinion perhaps you are over thinking this but of course your decision is yours make. I look at our example, we came over with no job, took me 4 months to get a job and hubby 7 months. However we adjusted. In SA we had a fantastic life, like so many on the forum. However when we got here, we adjusted our lifestyle so much that we only bought a car after 5 months. We have only now bought a 2nd car (cash). Anyway what I am trying so say is even though we had to adjust, we are completely happy, my children are thriving. You and your family could be happy too, just give yourself the chance to and of course bear in mind the realities of migration. Heed what people on the forum are saying. If I offended I did not mean to but just wanted to let you know that not all things stay the same when one migrates and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

[rozellem]

Slightly off topic (babbel):

My husband and I had the biggest arguments over two (bloody) couches he wanted to ship over from our home in the UK, store in Sydney for 9 months till we arrived. I did not want the albatros(es) around my neck. World events ensured we arrived in Syd with a bit of a cash flow problem, but because we did not have much stuff, we could be more flexible and make decisions off the cuff. So glad we were in that posision. It also taught us so much. We did not have a car for 8 months. Today, 4.5 years later I am sitting in Sydney listening to to the rain on a roof I own. Phenomenal.

[Guest May]

With regards the car, also bear in mind you might have problems with parts and service or it might cost me. We also thought about it, I know someone bringing in a vintage car its quite a bit of efftort

[RMR]

The car that we want to bring over is a Golf 6, 2009 model with 55000km's and lots of extra's . Outstanding debts is only R80k. Settling it at the bank and estimated costs of around R80k. I could have a very decent car for approximately R160k=AUD16k. Some of the advantages are:

• We are familiar with the service history and mechanical condition
• Its my wife's car that she use to drive to work and back, therefor 55000km's soft km's.
• Car is in a like new condition.

I have been in contact with "Iron Ladies Import" that will manage the import process on my behalf. Have anyone dealt with them?

@HansaPlease, why will the service costs will be more? Do you have an estimate of how much more the insurance be cost?

[Johan&Karen]

It is interesting to note all the remarks regarding the importing side of the vehicle, but you really need to contact the vehicle registry centre in the state/city where you want to register the car. You need to check with them what the requirements are to get your car on the road. Two things they will most certainly asked to replace is the front windscreen as well as all the seatbelts of the car and if you do not have a car of the same model that is available in Oz, you really going to struggle to get those parts.

A friend of mine imported a car to Darwin in 2010. That was the easy part. The car is still not registered due to all the things he have to change. Another thing is it depends where you go in Oz. If you bring over a Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Volkswagen to any town in Northern Territory, you will not be able to sell it or get very little for it. Same situation in rural areas in other states.

You need to do your homework really well. Contact the vehicle registry centre where you want to go.

[RMR]

Johan&Karen, noted with thanks. Its a Golf 6, 2009, which if fairly new and from what I see fairly common in most major cities in AUS looking at the number of 2nd hand models available. I do not think that parts would be an issue. I thought that the front windscreen would be an issue and was going to replace it. Will check with the Vehicle Registry Centre on other on requirement need to get the vehicle on the road.

[flowman]

You guys are making me lus to take my tiguan with, fully loaded with every option...paid over R400k in 2009 and now worth about R250k...only 30000km. I've seen the models in Oz and found them with little options and very basic etc. so it is going to be difficult to get a good second hand one with similar extras. Maybe we should..... I'm going to give it some serious thoughts.

[Kanniewagnie]

Flowman, we are in exactly the same position. It hurts. That is all I can say.

[Kanniewagnie]

Thank you for the good advice everyone. I have a lot to make peace with. We also looked at plain tickets to activate the visas, accommodation, etc. I honestly don't know how we'll afford to even survive 2 months without employment.

Kom tyd kom raad.

[RMR]

@Kanniewagnie, I checked with the AUS agent on the concerns raised in this thread. Below is their response. This has reaffirmed my decision to take the car to AUS. You can PM for their contact details.

"Your vehicle appears to be the same basic specification (5 door hatchback, 1.4L turbo engine, 6 speed manual transmission) that was sold here in Australia and it has the same TSI model designation so you should have no trouble with most of the mainstream insurance companies here in Australia. It's only when the car is a make, model or variant which is different to what was sold here that people would normally find it harder to get insurance and rates to be substantially higher.

Also being the same model that was sold here it should cost exactly the same as any local model Golf for servicing and repairs too.

Resale value can be a little lower especially when the car is different to what was sold here, however yours being the same should not suffer from a low resale value as long as the car is comparable to others available for sale at the time as far as mileage, condition, etc.

There will certainly be no issue getting the car to a roadworthy standard if imported through us because this is what we deal with every day. I can assure you that it would be a very simple process as long as there are no safety issues with the car, but even if there was something that needed repair it would not be a hard thing for us to arrange anyway.

We frequently find that everyone has heard 'horror stories' from somewhere but very few people are speaking from their own experience so it's likely that they are exaggerated and/or fictional stories started by someone who just didn't know all of the facts. They often originate from shipping companies who don't deal with cars and find it easier to turn people off the idea rather than trying to help them find someone who can help.

The purpose of our business is purely to help individuals like yourself bring your car with you. We are doing good business because in most cases it's well worth bringing these cars to Australia, so rest assured that you will be in good hands with us."

[HansaPlease]

Sounds like good news.

Admittedly I made the assumption that the models you were bringing over had no equivalent in Aus, rather than it being an exact model that is available here, so that's my mistake.

He does confirm though, that you will most likely encounter the exact problems that I mentioned with insurance, parts, servicing and resale if the car is not of the same make, model and variant that is available here, so the negative stories do not come entirely from the clueless masses making up stories as he implies.

Anyway, sounds like they are keen to help so I shall jump firmly back in my box. Best of luck with it and let us know how you get on, it would be good to hear actual success stories to counter all the negative ones.

[Kanniewagnie]

Riaan, you give Flowman and me a bit of hope. Ai, die tiquan ry tog soos 'n droom, dit sal AWESOME wees as ons hom kan saamvat! I'll definitaly look into this.

[Sunnyskies]

RMR, your agent doesn't mention having to put the plate on your engine that identifies your car as an import and which apparently devalues your car. Perhaps query this with him, as you need to factor in the loss you may suffer if your car is devalued in this way.