Thread: IMPORT 110 from UK 2011

I know from UK members who have come over for a long stay and tour of the country that they had issues with the cleanliness of the vehicle and getting it through quarantine. They can be as petty as washing the whole vehicle for a few specs of dirt that may harbour soil bourne diseases, and they just wash it and bill you, they dont ask. So make sure its spotless inside and out.

Thanks for this some say even when it is spotless they might still get it steam cleaned again so we willf actor that in. Now trying to find out about insurance on personal imports.

Hi there, we imported a 1967 Lancia about 8 years ago. It did need a steam clean but from memory they still only charged about $200 for that. But with your 110 there may be a considerable amount of soil / dirt underneath which may cost more to remove.
Also, although hopefully not such a problem for your 2004 110, if there is any rust on the vehicle & you don't get it treated before you present it for a roadworthy (MOT) there is a small chance that it will be blacklisted & will never be able to be registered - not sure how true this is, just going on what we were told at the time.
Good luck!

Originally Posted by Ace

I know from UK members who have come over for a long stay and tour of the country that they had issues with the cleanliness of the vehicle and getting it through quarantine. They can be as petty as washing the whole vehicle for a few specs of dirt that may harbour soil bourne diseases, and they just wash it and bill you, they dont ask. So make sure its spotless inside and out.

I imported a car a while back from the UK - the Quarantine washing issue is somewhat overstated. Yes they are tough but all you do is get it cleaned here and pay the money. Compared to the overall importation cost, the cost of meeting Quarantine requirements is not all that great.

Yes get the car cleaned inside and out so that it is spotless inside out but assume that it will still require cleaning when you get here.

In my case, my jag was steam cleaned inside and out before leaving the UK. It arrived in White Bay in Sydney and was assessed as needing cleaning - I was then advised to drive the still UK registered car across Sydney to the Botany quarantine station to have it cleaned. There the car was put on a hoist and washed underneath with a high pressure hose - no where near the standard that it was given when the car left the UK. $400 and I was on my way. It was just easier to go through the motion rather than complain.

Garry

Gary spot on with what he says, it all depends on what side of the bed they get out of, a average inspection is 15mins, the chap who signs off the paper work really does not give a monkeys, paying for extra cleaning if you have to is nothing compared to the full shipping cost you are paying..

Thank you all for the posts very helpful. We are happy with the costs for cleanliness and expect it to be done again on arrival Brisbane. We are going to use Anglo Pacific we think in shared container!

We are not sure about insurance and also the issue of valuation it says it can be valued in UK for Tax or on arrival to OZ as it may be valued much less due to personal import reducing value ? Any ideas or advice ?

Originally Posted by timber1

Thank you all for the posts very helpful. We are happy with the costs for cleanliness and expect it to be done again on arrival Brisbane. We are going to use Anglo Pacific we think in shared container!

We are not sure about insurance and also the issue of valuation it says it can be valued in UK for Tax or on arrival to OZ as it may be valued much less due to personal import reducing value ? Any ideas or advice ?

When I imported my car it was damaged and I had problems with the insurance claim. I insured the car with Lloyds of London for what I paid for it in the UK (and what it was worth). However the car was worth about 50% more in Australia. When the car was being driven onto the truck for transport to the ship, the exhaust manifolds were badly damaged and later the security system was stolen while the car sat on the wharf in Sydney (my car came out on a car carrier).

I put my car in for repair here and Lloyds said it was under insured by 50% so only paid half of the repair cost. Reason, I had insured it for the UK price not the Australian price. So I said that if I had insured it for the Aust price and the ship sank with the car what would have they paid - answer was UK price because that is all I would have been out of pocket. As usual they wanted their premium and the cake as well.

Being an overseas insurance company I really had no cost effective option but to cop it sweet and pay the extra myself. I believe that if I had able to use NSW consumer laws I would have won but there was no one the start action against in the jurisdiction. Lloyds only used an agent who was contracted to manage admin issues but could not be held responsible.

So - I would look at insurance carefully - I did not and just assumed a company with a reputation like Lloyds would be suitable - Not.

Garry

Originally Posted by garrycol

I imported a car a while back from the UK - the Quarantine washing issue is somewhat overstated. Yes they are tough but all you do is get it cleaned here and pay the money. Compared to the overall importation cost, the cost of meeting Quarantine requirements is not all that great.

Yes get the car cleaned inside and out so that it is spotless inside out but assume that it will still require cleaning when you get here.

In my case, my jag was steam cleaned inside and out before leaving the UK. It arrived in White Bay in Sydney and was assessed as needing cleaning - I was then advised to drive the still UK registered car across Sydney to the Botany quarantine station to have it cleaned. There the car was put on a hoist and washed underneath with a high pressure hose - no where near the standard that it was given when the car left the UK. $400 and I was on my way. It was just easier to go through the motion rather than complain.

Garry

yeah, i think they probably get every car cleaned that comes in as a matter of arse covering. I was more saying to plan for a bit of a headache and a few hundred extra bucks that may have otherwise not been budgeted for.

As for insurance, can the shipping company offer insurance?