So I bought a 1957 Chevy Nomad pickup from a guy in California without anyone seeing him. The next step was to pick it up and ship it to Australia. Fortunately, I had done this before, but this time it would require a lot more nonsense on my part than last time.
In early 2003, when we were returning to Australia, I drove my Corvette from San Jose to Los Angeles after having arranged transportation with a transport company back to Australia. As a beginner I thought it would be relatively easy as I had done my homework and knew what to expect on both sides of the Pacific. Of course, that’s not how it happened: the California shipping company, which advertises a lot in local Australian magazines, decided my fate by leaving it in their warehouse for three months before shipping. After being told it would only take 35 days in the water, that became my expectation …
This time I wasn’t there to take him to the shipping company, ask all the relevant questions, and I didn’t have the bandwidth to spend time taking care of all the finer details. Being in Australia, I felt it would be better to organize everything at this end, so I was looking for a company that could provide me with a total solution: Pick up the car in California, clear customs in the US, Ship it and organize DOTARS and Dispatch. customs at this end. Fortunately, there are several companies that offer this service in most of the Australian capitals.
Location played a big role in who I chose to manage transportation. I didn’t see much value in using a company based in Queensland or Victoria to take my car to Brisbane or Melbourne and then, at my expense, have to transport it by interstate truck. For the same money he could get her to land in Sydney without the added hassle and expense. Some companies will land them at various ports in Australia depending on the customer’s requirements.
The car I bought was only twelve miles from the port of Los Angeles, but my pickup fee was still stolen. Two hundred and seventy-five US dollars to pick up and haul twelve miles was a bit rich, but it was an easy option. Take it on the chin, keep going. The actual shipment was going to cost around A $ 3,000 in total, plus the local pick-up charge. For this, the company does everything: DOTARS approval, customs, GST and local taxes. The only other area you can sew in is quarantine; they may consider that your car needs to be steam cleaned. Fees vary by state, with NSW being the most expensive at around two hundred and seventy-five dollars.
DOTARS has a great website and clearly explains everything related to approvals, fees, etc. Check their website at [http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/bulletin/importing.aspx]
If you import a car over thirty years old, the GST amount to be paid is 10% of the value of the taxable import (VoTI). The VoTI is the sum of the customs value and customs duty and the amount paid or payable for the international transport of the vehicle and to insure the vehicle for transport (to the extent that the amount is not included in the value in customs). If the car you buy exceeds the luxury car tax threshold, you also pay a luxury car tax rate in addition to the GST. The luxury car tax starts at $ 57,000, and you pay 25% on any amount over this figure. This figure is subject to change, so if you are considering importing a car, check the latest details on the customs website at [http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4781]
This time I was assured that the worst case scenario would be for the car to stay in Los Angeles for a couple of weeks waiting for a container and a ship heading to Australia. This turned out to be true, with eight days on the shipping company and then another 35 days on the water. It is worth finding out if the ship goes directly to Australia, as it is possible to take the typical slow ship to China that stops at various ports before arriving here.
I had some photos of the car that I bought that you can see on my website. As mentioned in previous articles, based on the description of the owners, you had an idea of what you might get. Would reality match perception? Look at this space …