Car import rules to be relaxed from 2018

[DiscoMick]

Apparently the government is planning to relax the rules on private vehicle imports from 2018 when local production ends. Apart from allowing private imports of new cars, which will really annoy the dealers, the change will also allow imports of classic vehicles 25 years or older. So, might be easier to bring in those old Landys.


Australians to bypass car dealers and import directly from Japan and UK | Australia news | The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/10/australians-to-bypass-car-dealers-and-import-directly-from-japan-and-uk)

[Avion8]

Need the Australian dollar to heal up a little, but a great plan. May order my MY18 Defender direct from Land Rover!

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Need the Australian dollar to heal up a little, but a great plan. May order my MY18 Defender direct from Land Rover!Unlikely to be a Defender in 2018, or at least not as we know it! :D

But at least it will mean that the current 1989 cut-off for imported classics will now become a rolling 25 year age limit. :)

[V8Ian]

Need the Australian dollar to heal up a little, but a great plan. May order my MY18 Defender direct from Land Rover!
Although technically possible I doubt the dealers would allow it, try buying a Harley or Goldwing from the U.S.A., where both are half of the Australian prices.

[DiscoMick]

I assume the buyer would have to pay the cost of actually shipping the vehicle to Australia, getting through quarantine etc, which could easily exceed $5000. And what about ADR approval? Would the vehicle be legally registerable?

[mox]

Unlikely to be a Defender in 2018, or at least not as we know it!


Maybe is possibility of a new look alike of present Defender being available in 2018 with sanctions against Iran apparently being lifted. See www.morattab.ir (http://www.morattab.ir) There is now a diesel Morattab Herour, which should be a better proposition than the Morattab Pazhan with a Hyundai V6 petrol motor. Would have to check if they make them in right hand drive and what may have to be done to them to comply with Australian design rules. Maybe needs someone to send them a message of encouragement to get their website properly organised and have a native English speaker tidy up the final English language version.


Morattab has been producing Land Rover look alikes in Iran for many years. This was apparently done with help from Santana in Spain, which produced Land Rovers under licence. Santana has more recently been closed down due to recession. Earlier they produced the PS10 models, which could be described as something like a Series 4 - without coil springs or constant 4WD. Then this was replaced by Iveco Massif, of which sales were apparently disappointing.

[Cambo_oldjaguar]

The new proposed laws would mean that new vehicles which are compliant with UK or Japanese standards would be compliant here. No special Australian compliance plates needed anymore.

But how do you buy a new car in the UK? I haven't been able to find a "tax free export" dealer advertising Land Rover's in the UK, but there is a dealer offering this for Jags, so I can't see why not LR too.

Watford Jaguar Tax-Free Sales - Home (http://www.jaguartaxfreesales.co.uk/)

Tax Free means the 20% UK VAT is not payable. They build the car to your specification. So right hand drive, whichever market spec you want.

In the past these Tax Free Export sales guys had big disclaimers on their site saying "not available for sales to Australia" but it's not there now.

The warranty seems to be covered too, as per the Watford site;

All new Jaguar's come complete with the following After Sales benefits:
? Global 3-year unlimited mileage warranty
? Overseas support available through the International Jaguar dealer network.

So now, it's a matter of checking out if it's worth doing it or not...

Let's pick the new Range Rover Sport SVR as an example.

In Australia they are $245k new, excluding on road costs
In the UK they are ?78,941.67 excluding 20% VAT and on-roads.
At todays rates that's $162k

And as for shipping and import costs, have a look at this calculator tool LCT and Customs Duty Calculator for $162k Luxury Vehicle Import to Australia (http://aussieexotics.com/calculators/vehicle-import-costs/?value=162000)

Which shows an SVR being $230k "landed"

So in reality it's $15k more expensive here, on a vehicle that costs well past $200k it's not a huge amount really, especially considering there is $40k extra in LCT... I think you could knock $15k off the sticker price at a LR dealer here on a car like that. So it might not actually be worth the bother.

Other brands/models have much bigger price discrepancies though. The difference on a new Jag XJR works out at around $75k, Mercs, Porsches, similar numbers.

I think being able to import will be more useful than actually importing, gives you some leverage on the price of a locally delivered new car.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

The new proposed laws would mean that new vehicles which are compliant with UK or Japanese standards would be compliant here. No special Australian compliance plates needed anymore.

But how do you buy a new car in the UK? I haven't been able to find a "tax free export" dealer advertising Land Rover's in the UK, but there is a dealer offering this for Jags, so I can't see why not LR too.

Watford Jaguar Tax-Free Sales - Home (http://www.jaguartaxfreesales.co.uk/)

Tax Free means the 20% UK VAT is not payable. They build the car to your specification. So right hand drive, whichever market spec you want.

In the past these Tax Free Export sales guys had big disclaimers on their site saying "not available for sales to Australia" but it's not there now.

...<snip>.It's a bit premature to be advertising export to Australia, given that the scheme will only change in 2018 when Australia is no longer manufacturing or assembling cars here.

You also need to watch that both GST and Luxury Car Tax will be payable in Australia as well as other import and inspection fees.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Maybe is possibility of a ....

Morattab has been producing Land Rover look alikes in Iran for many years. This was apparently done with help from Santana in Spain, which produced Land Rovers under licence. Santana has more recently been closed down due to recession. Earlier they produced the PS10 models, which could be described as something like a Series 4 - without coil springs or constant 4WD. Then this was replaced by Iveco Massif, of which sales were apparently disappointing.Just like Santana in Spain, in Iran they were a Land Rover assembly plant which moved onto building under licence.

You could suggest it was similar to PMC using genuine UK and local manufactured parts.

The net result is that the Morattab have a direct lineage to the pre-Defender name Land Rover.

[Cambo_oldjaguar]

It's a bit premature to be advertising export to Australia, given that the scheme will only change in 2018 when Australia is no longer manufacturing or assembling cars here.
Sure.

But these tax-free export sales from the UK have existed for years, available to just about every country in the world. It's not a new concept.


You also need to watch that both GST and Luxury Car Tax will be payable in Australia as well as other import and inspection fees.
Did you click the link to that calculator tool which shows all of those costs?

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Sure.

But these tax-free export sales from the UK have existed for years, available to just about every country in the world. It's not a new concept.


Did you click the link to that calculator tool which shows all of those costs?Every country in the World except Australia. There are only 3 ways for an individual to import a vehicle to Australia.
Be a new migrant and bring the vehicle you already own with you.
Be an Australian resident, working overseas and bring a vehicle you've owned for 12 months before you return.
Purchase a car built before 1 January 1989.
The only other ways to import a vehicle is under the Specialist and Enthusiasts Vehicles Scheme using a RAWS authorised company.

see: https://infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/imports/

[Cambo_oldjaguar]

I'm well aware of that, I personally imported my Jag XJR when I moved back here from Europe.

These new changes to the law will allow the import of new cars, ie through these tax free export sales.

[Mick_Marsh]

And what about ADR approval? Would the vehicle be legally registerable?
I think the ADRs will eventually be phased out and international rules will probably be adopted. For the older cars, they will still have to be inspected and approved.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

I think the ADRs will eventually be phased out and international rules will probably be adopted. For the older cars, they will still have to be inspected and approved.For an older classic (currently pre-1989) they are required to have an authorised engineers approval for first rego. The engineer needs to certify that the vehicle complies with the applicable ADR at the date of the vehicle's manufacture.

This engineer's certificate has to be carried in the car for the rest of the vehicle's life. Private imports in the pre-1989 category do not get a personal import plate as happens with younger vehicles that you import when you migrate or return from a period working overseas.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

I'm well aware of that, I personally imported my Jag XJR when I moved back here from Europe.

These new changes to the law will allow the import of new cars, ie through these tax free export sales.O.K. and yes, as happened in Australia decades ago, but Australian taxes and tariffs need to be paid at the port of arrival. Not saying you, but some people think they can get a vehicle out of Europe tax free and it will arrive here tax free.

[juddy]

The moving of the pre 1989 Import on a year per year basis is good for bringing in younger vehicles, but its going to take many years to get in to the 2000 model year and onwards.

Land Rover will not support warranty for a none AU supplied dealer car, and I am sure others don't, I don't think this will change, there under no obligation to do so.

Its ok going to vauxhall for example getting a new corsa, but the radio will not be AU spec, the Satnav will not be AU spec, and also some vehicles are different mechanical for other markets.

Then theres all the other costs, UK transportation, AU transportation, shipping costs, insurance.

And if the $ stays strong then its not going to be any cheaper.

[Cambo_oldjaguar]

If it's not going to be cheaper to make your own import then it's a non-issue...

I do find it interesting that the official statement on the Land Rover Australia Website is only blocking tourist sales because of the compliance plates.

Land Rover? - Tourist Sales - Land Rover? Australia (http://www.landrover.com.au/fleet-and-business/tourist-sales.html)

Under the new laws, there will be no compliance plates anymore!

The radio frequencies and satnav maps are a non-issue. They can be changed in minutes to the local maps & other settings. I know, i've already had to do it.

Other things about the vehicle spec for Australia, there is nothing "Australian Market only" apart from the towbars, and a few settings in the CCF...

I agree though that it might not be worth the bother to import your own new Land Rover, if you are only saving a few % at the most compared to a locally delivered car.

For other brands though this a real shake-up...

[gromit]

Years ago it used to be cheaper to buy a UK made car in Europe then drive it back to the UK. People were ordering RHD cars for delivery in France etc. and bringing them home.
This was more to do with the pricing policy for each country & exchange rates.

Then there was the 'grey' market where companies imported and bypassed the local agent.
I had a Ducati 900SS with a Kph speedo which was about 1,500GBP cheaper than buying from the Dealer. Problem was, when I went to sell it, Ducati lowered the price of new bikes by about 1,000GBP to stop the grey imports. That cost me.......


Colin

[DiscoMick]

NZ seems to be pretty open to imports, so I wonder if this will result in more Aussies buying vehicles in NZ and shipping them over here.
Many of our vehicles are made in Thailand, so I wonder if Thailand will become a source of grey imports. Lots of Thai-built cars already get moved into neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Burma and Cambodia. Old Camrys seem to go to Cambodia to struggle on until they eventually die.

[shanegtr]

I'm sitting on the fence if this is a good idea or not. Sure everyone wants the cheapest prices possible - even at the expensive of "possible" Australian jobs? I don't buy the "consumer choice" line either - don't we have enough models of cars to "choose" from already in this country? Im all in favour of being able to bring in a car that's not normally available through the existing channels however. I think removal of the luxury car tax would be a better idea to give consumers a better deal, but in this current economic climate I cant see the removal of a tax being a favourable option to the government.

[Davehoos]

Their will always be a ADR or regulation.
they cant help them selves. I brought in 2 cars from NZ, and recently car parts. import duty was minimal it was the handling charges once it got to the docks.


The change will be to suit companies bringing there own vehicles in for large projects and not one off buyers. got excited until I saw the 500Km maximum requirement.