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Thread: Cost of taking the car with us?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Bristol, UK -> Nelson!
    Posts
    481

    Default Cost of taking the car with us?

    We recently bought a newish car as the one we used to have was getting increasingly unreliable/dangerous/cutting out for no reason in the middle of a very busy motorway junction... etc. We were hoping to keep it going until our planned move date (end of July next year with luck and the wind behind us) but we didn't dare risk it with 2 small boys in the back.

    The plan had been to sell/scrap the old car when we left and buy new in NZ, saving the shipping costs. However, given we had to buy a replacement, we're now thinking of taking the new car with us.

    I don't think I read the rules on importing a private car carefully enough, as from an initial scan through it seemed that if we'd owned the car for a year before we moved and planned on keeping it for >2 years on arrival, we wouldn't be charged for importing it.

    It seems that while it is exempt from customs duty, we may still have to pay GST at 12.5% on its value at the time of arrival. As we've already paid VAT on it in this country, that seems a little unfair (then again, tax in general seems unfair to me).

    Does anyone know exactly what we'd have to pay to bring the car with us, or where I could find out? (aside from shipping costs, I've been quoted a nastily large amount of money for that already). Would it make more sense to sell this car when we leave the UK and buy new in NZ rather than try to import it? (the amount the car depreciates may be less than the amount it would cost to take it with us!) Has anyone else taken their car with them & would you do the same again?

    Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this =)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Essex
    Posts
    21

    Default

    Hi

    You are right you do still have to pay 12.5% GST, this is worked out on the shipping and insurance costs plus the value of the car.

    www.customs.govt.nz

    is a good site to help with the cost calculation.

    We are in the same boat but have decided to sell the car and buy a new one when we get there.

    Hope this helps.

    Mark and Jackie

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Bristol, UK -> Nelson!
    Posts
    481

    Default

    Thanks for the link. Joy, we'll have at least $3000 to pay in GST on arrival if we import the car.

    Can you get a decent second hand Prius in NZ, anyone?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Waiake, North Shore
    Posts
    70

    Default

    My understanding is that you pay no GST if you have owned the car for over a year. So if you are planning on going to NZ next July you should be ok. Just the cost for a bigger container. Also if you buy the right car (european, Audi BMW etc) they sell for a premium in NZ so you could even make a nice profit.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Stanley Bay, Auckland, NZ
    Posts
    1,480

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by KatieBen View Post
    Can you get a decent second hand Prius in NZ, anyone?
    Try here!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Canterbury, NZ
    Posts
    1,793

    Default

    Thought you could read this...
    http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=11537

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Raumati South
    Posts
    661

    Default

    Hi
    We imported a car. You won't need to pay GST if you are a new migrant, had the car for >12months and been out of the country for >21 months. Some details are here http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/factsheets/44a.html

    You don't pay duty if you keep it for 2 years after arrival and if you sell before that time you pay a proportion based on time in country before selling.

    We had a European car and had no issues apart from the local dealer being useless. We sold it for about 2.5 times it's sterling value (so in line with the exchange rate at the time) which in real terms meant a lot more to us. It was definitely worth it for us as we had space in the container so didn't cost anything additional except for the aa certification which was about 300 dollars out of memory. MAF charges were minimal as the car was spotless

    I've since imported a vehicle from the Japanese auctions and you do have to pay GST on these as you didn't previously own them

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    4,455

    Default

    Make sure that you read Importing a Motor Vehicle factsheet.

    You can check out Autotrader for second hand prices.

    A couple of other points that you will want to consider:-

    Occasionally the car is damaged in transit either by the movers putting it in the container or whilst in the container, so would ensure that you include suitable insurance.

    The car will likely take 8-10 weeks (and sometimes longer) so you will need to buy another car in NZ anyway, to get around whilst you wait for it, or you will need to include car hire charges.

    Ian

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Christchurch, NZ
    Posts
    432

    Default

    I thought about bringing my car, I will have to get a quote from a company to see what it may be! as selling it here will leave me at a loss.

    Anyone suggest a company?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Christchurch, NZ
    Posts
    432

    Default

    http://www.eliteshipping.co.uk I'm getting a quote from these people So I will let you know what figure they give me. They say a normal saloon is 850 to NZ.

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