# Selling a UK car import in Oz



## BrumLeedsLad (Jul 6, 2010)

Hi all,

I was speaking to a friend who has emigrated to Oz, who nearly convinced me to ship my car (BMW 320 Ci M Sport Coupe - '04) over when we emigrate next year.

However, I have seen some posts which suggest that imports (even when Oz registered) dont fetch the same sale price. This is understandable but does anybody know what the mark-down tends to be on imports? An Oz version would be AUD24-27k.

I wouldnt be taking the car to sell it, but inevitably would sell it at some point....any pointers???

Cheers!


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## patience (Nov 17, 2008)

Dont bother unless you have the patience of 10 saints.

I have been researching this for months as I own a Merc ML SUV outright and the headache with all the red tape, fees for this that and this and that then 25% import tax, shipping costs, will have to change my windows coz they are too dark, my mirrors coz they aint ozzy approved, I could go on and on and on about it. Then to top it all you cannot sell your imported car for 2 years. I love my car and I'm gutted. But I will have had a stroke by the time I can drive the thing in Oz. Lifes to short for all the stress, sob! BTW I thought I'd sell the car too if we ran out of money.


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

I agree with Patience (we still haven't got our Mustang on the road yet) and I would add that unless you're living in a metropolitan area where are you going to it serviced? I live in a regional area and until recently the only European car dealership we had were Mercedes, and now we have VW too.


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## Cipster (Sep 28, 2010)

So, I take there is no chance of bringing my (07) Mazda 6 from US to Australia.You guys reckon it will not meet Australian requirements ? Of course it is a LHD vehicle and I am not even sureif it can be registered there .I know I could bring it on a carnet but to my knowledge that's valid for one year only and I am going to be there for a little more time than that lane:


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

LHDs over here would be a nightmare really. Just think when you go into car parks you're going to either have to scoot over the gear stick to the passenger seat to get your ticket,or physically get out of the car, same with exiting the car park. Visibility when pulling out of a car parking space (nose to bumper spaces rather than side by side spaces). My friend had a RHD car and took it with them when the moved to Switzerland. Since it's LHD over there it wasn't too long before she got a LHD car...it was just too much hard work.


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

Cipster said:


> So, I take there is no chance of bringing my (07) Mazda 6 from US to Australia.You guys reckon it will not meet Australian requirements ? Of course it is a LHD vehicle and I am not even sureif it can be registered there .I know I could bring it on a carnet but to my knowledge that's valid for one year only and I am going to be there for a little more time than that lane:


You'll need to check the registration requirements for the state that you are bringing it into and then see if it's worth it. Insurance will be MUCH higher (check out Shannon's for an idea of the insurance since they are car specialists Car Insurance Australia - Classic and Vintage Car Insurance - Shannons). 

Personally I wouldn't have thought it was worth it. My husband was only saying to me the other night that it's my fault that we brought the Mustang since he wanted to sell it in the UK  Of course I didn't know back then all the issues that we would face getting it on the road because no-one tells you that!


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## Weebie (Sep 16, 2009)

European imports with books that aren't anything but Australian are worthless here in Aus. People save money from importing certain cars but lose money when resale comes up.

YOu would be lucky to get 10k i reckon for that.


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## Weebie (Sep 16, 2009)

Cipster said:


> So, I take there is no chance of bringing my (07) Mazda 6 from US to Australia.You guys reckon it will not meet Australian requirements ? Of course it is a LHD vehicle and I am not even sureif it can be registered there .I know I could bring it on a carnet but to my knowledge that's valid for one year only and I am going to be there for a little more time than that lane:



LHD's are only legal in Western Australia and it would cost you more than the car to get complianced than to bu ya new one.


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## Cipster (Sep 28, 2010)

My poor Mazda.I guess I am going to have to leave it behind ( and I was thinking that US federal requirements are drastic when it comes to import a vehicle ).Jokes apart , the reason I asked is that I bought the car brand new, it's in perfect shape , low mileage and I was just thinking since I paid a good amount of money for buying it new with the depreciation rate and everything else might as well bring it with me to Australia instead of selling .Not to mention that after looking at used car adds it looks that vehicles are quite pricey in the land of OZ......:rain:

P.S. Dolly, I drove a LHD in the UK for 6 months.Did not bother me much , but I do get your point with all the dreadful tollbooths and car parking areas.

Thanks for the info.You are all very helpful.
Anyone moving into US I will be more than happy to help with tips and suggestions


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

Weebie said:


> LHD's are only legal in Western Australia and it would cost you more than the car to get complianced than to bu ya new one.


In other states it is still legal to drive a LHD car as long as it's over a certain age. It varies from state to state.


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