How much does it cost to bring a \'vette into OZ?

[pauld]

Guys,

 I have a friend with a 'vette who is emigrating to Australia and he was wondering how much it would cost to get his car into the country. What duty does he have to pay and are there any other costs excluding of couurse the shipping???

Thanks Paul.

[jdunne]

paul,the age of it matters as does where in AUS it is going to as well as value,you can be hit for import duty as well as gst at 10% on that....once here it is relatively easy to register depending on which state it is in.....john;35

[59er]

Paul,

JDunne is correct about the age being a factor.

Unlike the UK, In Australia, If a car is less than 30 years old then it will need to be Right Hand Drive if your freind wishes to have his car fully licenced.

Conversion costs are significant so this is of course one major factor.

Age also determines the amount of duty as the older cars attract minimal duty but the late cars attract the maximum duty.

The 10% Goods and services tax applies to all cars and even the freight cost is included in this calculation.

If the car is valued by the Aussie Customs at higher than $55k AUD then it will also attract a "luxury car" tax.

Other ancilliary costs are minimal.

So let us know what year model it is and we should be able to give a more accurate estimate.

Mark.

[Brutus]

And all this before you factor freight costs into the equation.  It almost gets to the stage where it would be cheaper to sell the car before hand and buy another when he gets over here.

[pauld]

His car is a 1972 so maybe he wont have to get it converted to right hand drive. But the other costs sure do sound like they can mount up, maybe he would be better to sell and then get another once over there.
 Thanks guys for all your help.

[Nik]

for less than $5000au (from the east coast USA) you can get it imported to your state. If he owns it for less than one year, then he will have to pay a whopping 25% (including the 10% gst I believe) duty unless he plans on taking it out of the country again (and can prove so). Check out our customs page at http://www.customs.gov.au/site/index.cfm?nav_id=670&area_id=5 - click on import / export and then motor vehicle. If he has owned it for more than one year, these costs will generally be waivered - just make sure he didn't buy it for more than $53000au otherwise he will be hit with a whopper of a luxury car tax.

The conversion costs are approximately $11500au for a professional mirror (www.corvettes.com.au). But this can be waivered due to the 30year rule.

There are also compliancing issues, but you should be able to do them yourself (headlights pointing slightly to the left for instance, and exhaust if its not original etc).

if you want conversion rates:
http://www.xe.com/ucc for the universal currency converter.

All in all, when I bring my vette back, I plan on spending about $4000USD on everything. Not including the RHD conversion.

This is a reply to an email I sent regarding the matter, but I believe I can get a better deal:

___________________________________

Dear Nik,
 
Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding prices and information on importing a 1968 Chevrolet Corvette.  I am pleased to offer the following information for your perusal.
 
Corvette Queensland can have your vehicle shipped from L.A to Brisbane and transported to Gympie for a conversion.  Although because the vehicle will be over 30 years of age a complete conversion is not needed.  This ruling is for all states in Australian including N.S.W.  Only the basic things for example the headlight (so the dip in the correct direction), seatbelts etc will have to be changed and also an inspection will have to be carried out on the vehicle.
 
Estimated costs involved:
 
SHIPPING L.A to Gympie      $4,400.00 Inc GST
This price includes:
* Packing Us and unpacking in Australia
* Customs clearance US & Australia
* Shipping - Ocean freight
* Australian Port Charges
* Quarantine
(In short, everything from L.A to Brisbane)
 
DUTY & TAX
No duty on a thirty year old car but 10% GST will be charged on the Australian value of the vehicle.
 
CONVERSION
* N.S.W. Engineers Report   ranging from $450 - $1,000.00 depending upon condition on vehicle.
* Estimation on parts, labour and inspection fee to make vehicle fit for Australian roads ranging from $1,250.00 to $2,000.00.
 
Thank you for your attention tot his matter.  Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
 
Kind Regards,
Kylie Sprigg
ADMINISTRATION
 
Ph: 61 7 5482 7833
Fax: 61 7 5482 8562

[Nik]

just found out I was wrong about teh 1year policy (I think). There seems to be no mention of it on the customs website anymore (crap).

might drop them an email =\