Looking to import S130 from UK to Australia

[ctr62k]

Ladies and Gents

I have been resident in Australia for some 4 years now, but have arrived back in UK for working holiday for a few months.
I will attempt to get the Lotus to a roadworthyish standard fairly soon and will then look to ferry it back to Queensland (Cairns).
Has anybody got any experience of this, and can let me know any issues that may arise - I would certainly be grateful for advice.
Are there any particular problems associated with importing low volume production, older vehicles that may not be fully roadworthy?
There is certainly a big market for imported US and Jap vehicles, but not so for UK vehicles.
I have only spotted 2 Elises since I have been in Australia, and would be delighted to hear from any other other Lotus owners from that side of the world as there does not appear to be a local Lotus network for me to ask these kinds of questions.

Regards

Justin

[Elanintheforest]

Justin
I helped a mate in Melbourne ship a Plus 2 130 last year, and it?s pretty straight forward but the costs add up. It was a non-running project car, and that wasn?t a problem. The components of cost were:

Getting the car from UK home to port handler ?200
Handling the car in the UK (empty tank, clean, load and strap) ?900
Shipping in shared container $3000
Handling car in Aus docks (unload and REALLY clean!) $1500
Aus tax (GST) $1200
Getting the car from port to home $300.

Total, from memory, something like $9000 / $10,000

When the car is ready to be put on the road, you?ll need an engineers report (about $600) and then a roadworthy certificate.

So a car that he bought over here for ?3000 turns out at about $15,000 / $16,000 before getting it on the road.

The Aussie customs are very fussy about the car being clean, and insist on it being steam cleaned on arrival. This can cost a lot more than the price indicated above, if you present the car with any animal hairs or any traces of dirt in the wheel arches, etc.

The compliance with safety rules varies from state to state?Google ?importing car into Australia (or Queensland)? to see what rules apply. So long as the car has a laminated screen and good seat belts, it?s not usually a problem on pre-1989 cars?things get tougher after that (or thereabouts) date. Join Club Lotus in Australia and find out who can do an engineers report in Cairns?.you may have to take the car to Brisbane.

I'm sure that the Aussies on this forum will give you a better perspective of what happens when the car is landed, and how to get the engineers report.

Mark

[robertverhey]

Hi

There's a very informative document on http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/ ... index.aspx

I've imported two cars from UK to to NSW. It's a lot cheaper if the car starts and runs, because you can do a "roll on, roll off" import. Also depending on age of car and how long you've owned it overeas, you may be may exempted from some of the taxes and charges. PM me if interested in more info, there's a few ways to save some of these charges.

Robert

[ctr62k]

Gents

Appreciate the assistance.

For the benefit of anybody else who is thinking about doing this:

I was a bit alarmed at the prospect of $9-10,000 to be honest, but I have been quoted so far (in a shared container, not RORO) 955 sterling for all UK charges/handling/freight with a charge of 420 sterling to cover Australian handling/port charges.

I think I still have taxes etc to cover, but against a nominal value, this should not be too expensive.

I will keep you posted as I find out more info.

Looking forward to year round use of this fine car!

[Elanintheforest]

Justin
Make sure that the quotes you get include insurance, or know where you are at risk...handling and freight. It's fairly common to have bits pinched and a few scrapes added to the car.

My mates car was a non-runner, which may have made a difference to the handling charges...if yours is, let them know.

To ensure you don't get whacked at the Australian end, get the car spotless...inside, underneath, wheelarches, under the bonnet and in the boot.

Mark

[ctr62k]

Thanks Mark

I'm taking alll of your good advice on board

[europatek]

Hi Justin,

I shipped my Elan from the UK to Melbourne last year. Total costs were around $5.5-6k. I used RORO as the car is a runner. You can save quite a bit by using RORO and I would suggest if you can get the car running, do so and ship it this way.
Before you ship you need to make an application to DOTARS for an ?Application to import a motor vehicle? - $50. Without this you will not be allowed to bring the car into the country. Also, I can?t state enough how important it is to have the car ?really clean? inside, outside and under the wheel arches. I entrusted this to my shipper who failed me and left me with a hefty cleaning bill as a result.
You?ll also need to organize a customs agent who can act on your behalf to complete the customs clearance into Australia. I started dialogue with an agent before I shipped the car, provided all the paperwork once shipped and the clearance was approved before the car arrived in Melbourne leaving me just to pick it up.
Below is a basic outline of the costs I incurred:-

DOTARS - $50
Shipping and insurance- $2000
Port, customs, customs agent - $800
GST - $2500

To put the car on the road in VIC at least, you?ll need a RWC. I approached a motor engineer friend of mine regarding the engineering certificate and he said it would not be required.

A couple of final points ? ensure the car is clean!! Ensure everything is in order ? paperwork, customs agent etc?.. as you do not want the car sitting around on the docks when it arrives. The port will only hold the car for 3 days before they start charging storage. And as I discovered the ports/customs/quarantine know how to charge. You don?t want to know how much they charged me for cleaning four wheel houses. :
Hope this helps,
Matt.