# Moving from Australia (Brisbane) to NZ (dunedin)



## TheMurraysNZ

Hi all! 

The husband and I are looking to make a move from Brisbane to Dunedin, in the next 2-3 years, the husband works at a company that can happily do au/nz transfers, and we fell in love with Dunedin whilst on holidays last year. 

My question is - Did you bother to take your car with you? A lot of the advice I have seen is to sell it here and use the money to buy a new one in NZ, but since we purchased it in 2010 and will only just finish paying it off a year or so before we go - the resale isn't worth what we have just paid, and we have a soft spot for the thing. If you shipped your car over, could you tell me approx what you paid, and how long it took to arrive? I have a few shipping sites saved for our belongings (we aren't taking everything) and they are around 5-7k for a 3bd home, so would the car be more than that?


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## Mark D

I shipped mine, 

Glad I did but also wish I hadn't. 

Pro, 

I have the car I cherish,
I like you paid fortunes for and wouldn't get much return,
It will 1 day be worth a fortune and mitsi stopped making them.
Cars here are expensive, very expensive, I paid 10k for a car I could have easily bought in the uk for half that or less, 

Cons
I still haven't got it on the road as it's 6 weeks plus to get it booked in for compliance test to get it ready for NZ roads. 
It's on the water which is salty and my car came here rather rusty when it was pristine before it left.
It came with damage and missing parts, the insurance I paid wasn't worth the paper it was written on, no one cared and even said this is something that happens all the time deal with it. ( expect damage and not to be paid out. 

If you bring it put it in a container with your belongings as once the door shuts it shouldn't open until it arrives at your house. 

My car also went missing for a day, and I was told I was luck I even got it at all. 

This came from GT international, who received the car from auto shippers.


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## escapedtonz

Mark D said:


> I shipped mine,
> 
> Glad I did but also wish I hadn't.
> 
> Pro,
> 
> I have the car I cherish,
> I like you paid fortunes for and wouldn't get much return,
> It will 1 day be worth a fortune and mitsi stopped making them.
> Cars here are expensive, very expensive, I paid 10k for a car I could have easily bought in the uk for half that or less,
> 
> Cons
> I still haven't got it on the road as it's 6 weeks plus to get it booked in for compliance test to get it ready for NZ roads.
> It's on the water which is salty and my car came here rather rusty when it was pristine before it left.
> It came with damage and missing parts, the insurance I paid wasn't worth the paper it was written on, no one cared and even said this is something that happens all the time deal with it. ( expect damage and not to be paid out.
> 
> If you bring it put it in a container with your belongings as once the door shuts it shouldn't open until it arrives at your house.
> 
> My car also went missing for a day, and I was told I was luck I even got it at all.
> 
> This came from GT international, who received the car from auto shippers.


Hey Mark,


Not really convinced a Mitsi Evo will ever be worth a fortune  
Do you not think there's just too many of them around ?
Every teenage hoon and his dog seems to have one, in differing states of roadworthiness!!!
Maybe if you'd bought a particular model brand new, never used it, kept it completely standard and wrapped it up in cotton wool for 25/30 years it may be worth something.

Lad who's training with me at the moment has an Evo 1 1993. Bought it as a road car when he was a teenager to pull the chicks - paid $15k for it back in 2002, used it for the road till 2004 then turned it into a full on race car and raced it for 4 years. Has done all the mods and work himself, has spent thousands, but says he'd be lucky to get $12k for it now even though it's spotless and never been in any accidents etc.
He just has it garaged waiting for a time when he can maybe race it again.
Says, if you have an ex. original group B rally car or a factory special that has been meticulously looked after then there's a chance it could be worth a decent price, but if you've just got a standard car like he has that you have modified yourself over the years etc etc there's just no market here for that kind of thing, so the price is unlikely to increase 

Yes I'd agree that cars here are expensive compared to what was on offer back in the UK, BUT the difference here is the ongoing motoring costs.
Those are way cheaper here.
Fuel is cheaper.
Road Tax (Rego - Vehicle License) is cheaper.
Warrants are cheaper than an MOT and don't seem as stringent.
Repairs, servicing, maintenance is cheaper.
Car insurance isn't compulsory and if you do decide to take out private insurance, the costs are half what we would pay in the UK.
So, taking that into account, does it matter that we have to pay more for a car here when making a purchase - it's all swings and roundabouts.

Toying with changing my own car at the moment. Will be travelling more KM's to work and back from December so want something a bit bigger, more solid, more comfort instead of a turbo charged skateboard.
Looking at VW Golf station wagon's or VW passat's which means the wife can also get a smaller car if I get something of decent size.
2007/2008 with around 70 000KM's on the clock are running from around $15k - $20k depending on engine size and spec, however those prices are usually bumped up a tad to cover for the fact most people will be asking for finance to buy them. 
I'd be looking at buying for at least $1-$2k less than advertised.

I've also done a lot of calculating over the last few days and it's defo not viable to get a diesel instead unless I'm doing lots and lots of KM's per year.
Yes the price of diesel is 60c a litre cheaper, but you've got RUC's to pay for of $58 per 1000kM and the extra $150 per year for the rego. Personally think it would cost me more to have a diesel.

I still wouldn't advise anyone to import a car to NZ. Seems too much red tape, wasted time, risk and hidden costs for my liking.
Yes, selling it will probably mean you cutting your losses just to get rid, but a far better option than bringing it in my opinion. 
Heard too many horror stories from people in the past who have run out of money trying to get their imported cars on the road and now after a year or two it's stuck rotting in a garage as NZTA will not give it compliance.

:faint:


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## Mark D

I don't mean fortunes more that it won't depreciate any more, 
I haven't seen any Evo 8s here the odd 9 or 7. 
Considering that it's stamped on the inside with a assembly number, Mitsubishi only made 5000 VIIIs world wide over every model. So as the year tick away and the numbers dwindle with Mitsubishi killing off the evolution they will become very rare. Mine is a 1 of a kind here. I can boast the only Mitsubishi Evo 8 GSR 260 in NZ. It was a UK only model that was made for the tuners.

VIII 260 = tuners version, stronger engine for the buyer to boost performance on there own.
VIII 300-400mr were pre tuned in the factory 
RS came bog standard no alloys no brembo's nothing plastic trim not painted, just road legal made to a cheap budget, so the buyer had the body and engine and added the bits they wanted like wheels and breaks, for track or road use to suit there needs. 

Look at the ford escort cossy, ok mine isn't perfect and I have no intentions of ever selling it ever. 

It's not a Subaru they are on every corner all over the globe, 

The VW is a good car but is it wise going down the euro route? Parts having to come this far and is there any good garages to sort them? 

The car market here is terrible, I miss the fact that cars are very easy to come across and in loads of different kinds, 

I drive a skoda for a while ( superb) basically a VW passat had everything a VW had apart from the badge on the front which made it massively cheaper. Made by VW as was all the parts, 

Ford make great cars too for long distance driving but That again is the euro route but there is for dealerships here. I have a honda civic saloon, paid $19k for it 2006 with 56k on the clock. Drives like new. Took it a long drive and I love it, cruise control is brilliant for long trips on the MWay. Saves speeding tickets lol. You can adjust the speed with your fingers which is weird lol. Plenty of room too. The only thing I have a problem with tho is visibility, the pillars are to big and it has a wee daft window that has no use which adds another pillar that blocks views on bends. But most cars have this build style now. The other reason I picked this car was that it has airbags everywhere front, back and sides all the way into the back, so we are all somewhat safe in the event of an accident. I get 500kms to $80 of 95ron ok for a 2L. If I was paying fuel every day I recon it would start to hurt. I wish I had time to take in more test drives and more options when I was buying but at the time I had no car and was on foot after supposedly buying a triton which looking back glad the deal went sour. 

Don't dare slaughter my car again or you'll get the cold shoulder that my baby your talking about lol.


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## TheMurraysNZ

Thanks guys - I think I might just have to make a list of quotes from places and figure out wether or not it's worth it. I would just hate to have just spent $60k au on paying off a car (including interest) and only end up with $20k and have to settle for a 2nd hand car since we don't want to end up with more repayments! 

I read your story Mark and I'd be so angry/bitter/heartbroken about finding rust and parts missing etc!


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## escapedtonz

Mark D said:


> The VW is a good car but is it wise going down the euro route? Parts having to come this far and is there any good garages to sort them? The car market here is terrible, I miss the fact that cars are very easy to come across and in loads of different kinds, I drive a skoda for a while ( superb) basically a VW passat had everything a VW had apart from the badge on the front which made it massively cheaper. Made by VW as was all the parts, Ford make great cars too for long distance driving but That again is the euro route but there is for dealerships here. I have a honda civic saloon, paid $19k for it 2006 with 56k on the clock. Drives like new. Took it a long drive and I love it, cruise control is brilliant for long trips on the MWay. Saves speeding tickets lol. You can adjust the speed with your fingers which is weird lol. Plenty of room too. The only thing I have a problem with tho is visibility, the pillars are to big and it has a wee daft window that has no use which adds another pillar that blocks views on bends. But most cars have this build style now. The other reason I picked this car was that it has airbags everywhere front, back and sides all the way into the back, so we are all somewhat safe in the event of an accident. I get 500kms to $80 of 95ron ok for a 2L. If I was paying fuel every day I recon it would start to hurt. I wish I had time to take in more test drives and more options when I was buying but at the time I had no car and was on foot after supposedly buying a triton which looking back glad the deal went sour. Don't dare slaughter my car again or you'll get the cold shoulder that my baby your talking about lol.


Yeah don't mind the euro route. By the time I come to buy I'll be looking at nothing older than 2009/2010 with low Km's and don't expect I'll be keeping it long enough to need spare parts or anyone to "sort" it.
Probably just keep it 3/4 years then sell it on before anything goes majorly wrong so the plan is just to maintain it and put fuel in 

Yeah I too miss the English car market, but it's tough. Gotta forget as it's not here and not available. The car market here is what it is and isn't gonna change unless another 60M people come to live here and want bargain new or nearly new cars.
Not into Ford or Holden. Wouldn't have a Mondrearyo.....yawn!
Don't mind Japanese (got 2 Japanese cars and a bike now) but there's nothing out there I like other than a Skyline GTR n that ain't gonna happen!

I'm not in a rush. Gonna wait till later this year see what I find up in Tauranga.


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## Mark D

The only car that will ever make me part with the Evo is a R34 GTR skyline. Not the new one tho. The sound is better than any music. 
Some fords in the uk are alright, loads of goodies, nice seats generally a nice place to be. Not a GM fan at all wouldn't thank you for 1. I had a saying years ago that if I became a millionaire I would crush every corsa I seen and replaced it with a a cheque for a different car. The vauxhall corsa has became a rare item compared to the scoobie which are now everywhere, there was 1 time I loved the sound of the boxer engine but now. I bloody hate it. 

Good luck in the car hunt, maybe a nice newish galant/ lancer. I liked the look of them.


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## anski

TheMurraysNZ said:


> Hi all!
> 
> The husband and I are looking to make a move from Brisbane to Dunedin, in the next 2-3 years, the husband works at a company that can happily do au/nz transfers, and we fell in love with Dunedin whilst on holidays last year.
> 
> My question is - Did you bother to take your car with you? A lot of the advice I have seen is to sell it here and use the money to buy a new one in NZ, but since we purchased it in 2010 and will only just finish paying it off a year or so before we go - the resale isn't worth what we have just paid, and we have a soft spot for the thing. If you shipped your car over, could you tell me approx what you paid, and how long it took to arrive? I have a few shipping sites saved for our belongings (we aren't taking everything) and they are around 5-7k for a 3bd home, so would the car be more than that?


As an ex Aussie I think cars are cheaper here, so it might be worth bringing it over. My friend (lives in Queensland) & has bought 4 Mini's on Trademe at various times & shipped them from NZ back to Queensland, think I recall him saying shipping was $400 plus other extras customs agent, paperwork etc, cars have to be steam cleaned.
I shipped a car here from Spain & it was an easy process once I had read the information on this website Guide to importing a vehicle | NZ Transport Agency

I would advise you taking a look on Auto Trader NZ or Trademe to compare prices & judge for yourself if it is worth it.

There are a few differences here you will find petrol more expensive 91 is $2.09 (can get discount dockets occasionally from Supermarkets like in Au)

In place of Pink Slips you have a yearly or 6 monthly Warrant of Fitness) WOF check depending on age of vehicle. Car licence is cheaper here no Green Slip here. Instead ACC is built into licence fee which is also cheaper here. Mine was $287 for a year!

I bought a car recently for $9,000 It is a NZ new 2001 Mercedes Benz Elegance C240. It had one previous owner who maintained it with full service history & only 85,000 km. I just had a WOF check and the mechanic was amazed at the condition, he said it looked Brand New.

So I would advise you to do your own research & consider bringing it, after all I always say the devil you know is better than the one you don't.

Also think th quote you got for shipping household stuff sounds excessive. I have used OSS on three occasions to ship household stuff from Brisbane to Auckland & no where as expensive so shop around & dont bring anything you will not use here. Second hand on Trademe is good for bargain & stores will negotiate.


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