Coming to NZ from UK, with car

Coming to NZ from UK, with car

Author
Discussion

MRTOAD

Original Poster:

117 posts

219 months

Thursday 10th September 2009
quotequote all
I plan to spend a couple of years in New Zealand, arriving in December, and I'm seriously considering shipping a car from the UK for my own use but ultimately to sell. Certain cars are a fair bit more expensive in NZ than in the UK but of course some will be easier to sell than others. I'm considering something like an E36/E46 BMW M3, E39 BMW M5, BMW 330Ci, BMW 6 series, Mercedes SLK/CLK, 2002 Range Rover Vogue. Any advice much appreciated.

Edited by MRTOAD on Thursday 10th September 15:59

Sneak

130 posts

201 months

Thursday 10th September 2009
quotequote all
I did the same a few years ago and took my 930 turbo, it was fantastic. Some of the driving roads in the Sth Island are spectacular and with very little traffic.
Sold it on when I left for a small profit - result!

The one thing I would advise is to be careful with the shipper you use and make sure you get your own insurance - don't rely only on the carriers insurance. It's covers virtually nothing for you if there's any damage.

I understand some of the import rules have changed recently so I'm not sure my import experience is still relevant - am interested in answers though as a return is on the cards.

Edited by Sneak on Thursday 10th September 17:16

Omerta

2,013 posts

258 months

Thursday 10th September 2009
quotequote all
I like the plan, but some of the models you mentioned wouldn't be able to be registered here due to recent changes to emissions standards.

Imports now need to meet Euro 3 or later standard, basically meaning anything you'd want to drive for fun made earlier than year 2000 is probably not an option.

If you were immigrating (with the visa required for that) and had owned it in the UK for more than 1 year you could bring certain older models in as a baggage vehicle, but that sounds like its not your plan.

You can get some idea of resale prices on www.trademe.co.nz which is our eBay equivalent. Post here on what you're planning to bring out before you buy and you might get some good advice (or not wink)

Oh and if there's any room in the container for some heavy TVR bits.... posting brake hubs to the colonies is hellish expensive these days. biggrin

D1GGY

177 posts

216 months

Thursday 10th September 2009
quotequote all
Hi

As the others have said there are some complexities that you need understand before commiting, you could end up with a very expensive ornament....

I imported my Elise 111R last year, i am happy to offer my experiances and observations if this would help you.One thing to consider is that if you sell your car within a certain time frame after you arrived then you will be charged import duty....a slideing scale that can be a little painful, ask me how i know!

I agree on the parts front.....Do you think you could fit in the boot a 2bular exhuast, A toelink kit and a four brake discs and a pair of elise indicators.

I used pantalvers through an agent for the shipping and found them very good, There are a number of different agents that serve them. cost about 1200GBP. others have flown their cars......

I also took out independent insuarance.

We can deal customs and MAF clearance in a later instalment, along with Code of Compliance etc etc.

mark

Omerta

2,013 posts

258 months

Thursday 10th September 2009
quotequote all
Just a thought... even if the OP's plans don't eventuate (or he takes exception to us filling every corner of his container with random bits smile), maybe we should look at a consolidated shipment. I'm sure there's others here and in that list of Kylie's for the drive out that have shiny bits they'd want to bring out if the opportunity presents.

Esprit

6,370 posts

290 months

Thursday 10th September 2009
quotequote all
Omerta said:
Just a thought... even if the OP's plans don't eventuate (or he takes exception to us filling every corner of his container with random bits smile), maybe we should look at a consolidated shipment. I'm sure there's others here and in that list of Kylie's for the drive out that have shiny bits they'd want to bring out if the opportunity presents.
I'd be keen! smile I want to buy another Elise (or parts thereof)

D1GGY

177 posts

216 months

Thursday 10th September 2009
quotequote all
Lets do it! Now we need to figure out how.....LOL.

I guess we need to ascertain who needs what and by when, oh and probably be best to start another thread or hit the PM's?


MRTOAD

Original Poster:

117 posts

219 months

Friday 11th September 2009
quotequote all
Many thanks for the feedback.

Omerta, thank you for mentioning the EURO 3 compliance requirements. This narrows my choice somewhat!

D1GGY, as I don't plan to seek residency at this stage, I will need to look at the import tax that different vehicles attract.

I will carry out thorough research regarding regulations and tax before committing. Assuming the car has cleared NZ customs, tax paid and road legal, I'd wanted to get an idea of what would be easy to sell at a profit. There seems little point in shipping a car worth £10k in the UK and the same in NZ, when there certainly appear to be a few models going for double the UK value (based on 2.4 $NZ to £).

Omerta

2,013 posts

258 months

Friday 11th September 2009
quotequote all
One other thing not mentioned yet - you will need to pay 12.5% GST (VAT) on the cost of the car incl. shipping. This is separate to the import tax already mentioned.

I still think it's worth doing, but choose carefully smile

uncinqsix

3,239 posts

217 months

Friday 11th September 2009
quotequote all
MRTOAD said:
Many thanks for the feedback.

Omerta, thank you for mentioning the EURO 3 compliance requirements. This narrows my choice somewhat!
Euro 4 if it's a diesel...

Kiwi XTR2

2,693 posts

239 months

Saturday 12th September 2009
quotequote all
Omerta said:
One other thing not mentioned yet - you will need to pay 12.5% GST (VAT) on the cost of the car incl. shipping. This is separate to the import tax already mentioned.

I still think it's worth doing, but choose carefully smile
But if you buy-to-export then the VAT should come off at the front end.

stevoSTi

443 posts

204 months

Tuesday 6th October 2009
quotequote all
Afternoon all.

I plan on emigrating to NZ (ChCh) in a couple of years with my wife (a kiwi) and am interested in the notion of bring something over that may make me some £ ultimately.

You mention the rules are different if a resident, does that mean I could bring anything in and if so I guess the question is what? - What's a rare sight over there?

On a related note a friends husband works for a frieght company and is over there now setting up a NZ operation so will have a word and see if he can do 'mates rates', if so would be happy to help out with car parts as a one off.

Tidy.

Steve

Esprit

6,370 posts

290 months

Tuesday 6th October 2009
quotequote all
You can't just bring anything in as a resident, it still must meet relevant emissions and/or frontal impact standards.

You can apply for an SIV (special interest vehicle) exemption with LandTransport if you've got something that falls outside of the norm (something like a Noble or TVR would need this).

If you're looking to bring something in as an immigrant, you need to have owned the car for at least 12 months overseas to bring it in with you.

If you bring a car in as an immigrant you must keep it for at least 12 months after you arrive, otherwise you'll be charged GST (12.5% of the car's import value) when you on-sell it.

If you're looking at bringing in a car to make money on, the following cars are a good bet:

- TVR Griff / Tuscan / T350 / Sagaris
- Noble M12/M400
- Ford Escort RS Cosworth
- Ford Sierra RS Cosworth RS500
- BMW M3 E30
- Lancia Delta Integrale
- Honda NSX

These represent cars that came here in incredibly small numbers and so have better value here... although bring in a good one... a pommy rustbucket will never sell here.

Don't even think about bringing in something japanese (bar the NSX) as they're ALL much cheaper / common here, and as for things like BMWs, they're pretty plentiful too.

If you bring in a car from the UK that's plentiful here, you'll be competing with cars in much better condition. Cars last well over here in our climate and don't in the UK and like-for-like, people tend to avoid ex-UK cars like the plague if there's a Jap/NZ alternative.

Cars like the Tuscan (3 in NZ), Noble (2 in NZ) etc will sell simply because there's no alternatives.... although bear in mind there's also a terribly limited market, so could take you many months to sell.

Omerta

2,013 posts

258 months

Wednesday 7th October 2009
quotequote all
Good summary... we almost need a sticky on the subject of immigrating / importing cars, emissions, SIV, etc.

Redmist336

255 posts

197 months

Wednesday 7th October 2009
quotequote all
Esprit said:
Omerta said:
Just a thought... even if the OP's plans don't eventuate (or he takes exception to us filling every corner of his container with random bits smile), maybe we should look at a consolidated shipment. I'm sure there's others here and in that list of Kylie's for the drive out that have shiny bits they'd want to bring out if the opportunity presents.
I'd be keen! smile I want to buy another Elise (or parts thereof)
Count me in. At some point I need to drag in a Cerbera (and half a container ship of spares to keep it running), and I've been hunting for a Europa, however the VX220 looks to be very similar in "fun" terms but for substancially less money.

Daniel.

stevoSTi

443 posts

204 months

Thursday 8th October 2009
quotequote all
Thanks Esprit realy helpful pointers there, and as not coming for 2.5 years I have time to find the right car and apply for the relevant SIV paperwork etc.

Was thinking about getting a TVR or similar anyway so may all pan out.

Stevo